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By Bjorn Hansen, MMATorch columnist
James Toney reminds me of Dom from "Entourage" - an overconfident, overweight, strong-arming, rule-breaking thug. No disrespect to the former Champ, he's a world-class boxer who can turn off the lights on any UFC fighter if his barely protected knuckles ever make contact.
What I'm trying to say is, even though I respect his scrapping skills, I feel his pompous persona has a contaminating effect to the sport. Plus, I'm not even going to try to lie to you; I just get that indescribable, unjustifiable sense of revulsion every time I see him.
Ever since he made Dana White unusually nervous at a crashed press conference at UFC 106, Dana's usual all-business, no gimmick mindframe has been disturbingly altered. This is the same man that calmed and pacified a rowdy anger-filled Brock Lesnar by merely whispering in his ear, and now he's getting bullied by James Toney? I feel like an overly concerned mother wanting to sit Dana down and tell him how I worried I am about this new friend he's been hanging around with.
I'd been the lead cheerleader for the Herschel Walker-Jose Canseco fight because of all the exposure a second-tier promotion like Strikeforce could uniquely exploit.
That was because Strikeforce has never pretended to be the face of MMA. They've been a B+ promotion with a few straight A fighters, and last February they opportunistically milked a former Heisman's Trophy winner for as much media cream as possible (now isn't that an upsetting mental image?). They're a fledgling organization doing anything to survive. If they have to put on a few freak-shows here and there, so be it. It's like a finely polished mid-level manager selling a little dope on the side to help ends meet. He risks his middle management title and perceived integrity, but hell, it works.
Dana's the CEO of the MMA world and he can't be undertaking the same kind of respect-lowering stunts as Coker. The rumor is Dana usurped Toney just to spite Strikeforce and had no idea what to do with him next. Wrong. On the same night as Strikeforce in Nashville, in the same TOWN, whispers were being heard of James Toney vs. Kimbo Slice as of this past weekend.
Side note: Now I know Dana insists he didn't bring James Toney in for "freak shows." But if Kimbo Slice vs. Ray Mercer and Ray Mercer vs. Tim Sylvia were both freak shows, doesn't the associative math property taught in fourth grade dictate that Kimbo Slice plus James Toney equals everything but legitimate MMA?
Using James Toney against Strikeforce? That would be akin to the United States patronizing terrorists for using biological warfare, then outbidding the terrorists on the next shipment to start their own biological attacks on those terrorists. Except this is more like promotional terrorism; destroying your opponent with no regard for innocent civilians. It's remarkably shrewd business-wise to steal the thunder from Strikeforce with recently-seized Toney, but it is disappointingly misleading to MMA newcomers.
If freak-show fights were bad for MMA in a second-tier league on the fourth slot, what sort of perception will inexperienced fans have if the UFC (which some people actually believe IS Mixed Martial Arts, like Band-Aids, Xerox, or Kleenex) hosts a circus for the main event?
The unversed fan will only know that there will be two big MMA events going on in the same town on the same night and will automatically deduce that the UFC's event is the only one worthy of their time, money, and attention just from ubiquitous branding alone.
The UFC is MMA, and it would be prudent for them to behave becomingly before things got out of hand. We don't want this evolving uncontrollably into the UFC's adaptation of Dream's SuperHulk Tournament just because they know they can get away with it.
While the fight isn't confirmed yet, Ibarres (Rampage's former and Toney's current trainer) and Toney want the fight, Kimbo's manager wants the fight, and despite how soon the event is, it seems so does Dana. If Dana is able to succeed in pitting Kimbo vs. Toney in Nashville the same night three quality champions are being crowned on the other side of town, it'll be a regrettable travesty to the sport of MMA.
There used to be a time when the UFC counter-programmed, they did it by offering a better product. "Don't eat that free Spam in a can being handed out by Coker, enjoy our gourmet surf 'n' turf prepared by Chef Dana." Remember when Fedor fought Brett Rogers on CBS, the UFC put out fights like Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin in order to confuse newcomers into thinking that night's big MMA event was on Spike and not CBS.
If any uninitiated fan fell for that trap, they'd have missed Fedor's legendary KO, but they would have been treated to guaranteed MMA greatness. These fights were surgically selected by Dana and Co. to deliver. Despite it being Zuffa protecting their self-interest, it was MMA and MMA fans who were the winners.
To detract media attention and innocent-natured fans who just don't know any better away from watching greats like Dan Henderson, Gerard Mousasi, and Shinya Aoki in order to see a former street-fighter take on a former boxer, spoils any claims of legitimacy Dana has been able to garner for MMA over the years.
Just because Tony and Kimbo would be wearing quarter-pound gloves and fighting inside of an Octagon doesn't mean in any sort of way that we would be watching Mixed Martial Arts. A donkey as we know, by any other name, is still a jackass. (A freakshow as the main event, not the fighters, I love you Kimbo!)
Dana claims this "regional promotion" we call Strikeforce isn't a competitor. It's Showtime and CBS silly. That's like big brother fighting his lil bro's battles, just because he can. Spike and Versus must not have the most push in the industry. But aside from this game of semantics, we all know that if Strikeforce can stay afloat long enough financially, they'll have cracked the UFC's mythical steel curtain sufficiently vulnerable to penetration by one or more other major promotions.
Every event card offered is always riveting and action-packed. They have been able to lay claim to the UFC's most escaped fighters, like Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Jake Shields, and Shinya Aoki. They're the only active promotion to be on network television, something Dana keeps promising us will happen for the UFC except he sounds more like a father telling his four-year old daughter that next Christmas will be the year she gets the pony.
Sure, Strikeforce has its share of pitfalls as well (one word: Overeem). They're still trying to get a hang of the process, specifically with timing, whether it be of their champions or striking the perfect balance between airing fights and commercial breaks. My point is, despite some rookie mistakes that come with the learning curve, you'd have to inform a first-time viewer that Strikeforce was a meager minor league.
Dana has to be nauseous at the thought of any promotion gaining ground, and he is obviously willing to stop at nothing to prevent it from continuing. He's willing to cut off the nose of MMA just to spite its face, and we're the ones being forced to view the mug.
With cross-training and multiple disciplines being the lifeblood of contemporary MMA, who would have guessed that it would be the UFC who would risk regressing the sport back a decade and a half?
Whenever it might happen, and Apr. 17 looks to be out now, as the fans enter one by one, Dana White will be nothing more than circus leader P.T. Barnum smugly smiling while thinking to himself "there's a sucker born every minute."
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Bjorn "Norwegian Nightmare" Hansen is a weekly columnist for MMATorch. If you've got questions or comments, send them to: bjorn.hansen@fiu.edu...
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