MMA Dumb Shit 2020 Update
Or Was It A Full Moon This Past Weekend?
Welcome to the latest C’mon Now newsletter. This is the place where I’ll share my thoughts on all the goings-on in MMA. Those thoughts could range from media criticism to advice for folks looking to get into MMA writing to why certain fighters or managers are not good for the sport.
Today I’ll catch you up on the ever-growing MMA Dumb Shit list for 2020.
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Was it a full moon or something on Saturday night, because it sure brought out a lot of bad takes.
First we have this gem from UFC president Dana White: “I don’t give a shit about the coronavirus.”
Look, I know White likes to think of himself as some kind of bad ass, but this is dumb even considering the low bar White has established. White might not care about the coronavirus, but the UFC fighters, fans, employees and media might. So, maybe the guy who should reassure those groups that the UFC has a plan in place to deal with things needs to do more than puff his chest and act like he’s sone kind of Jonas Salk-type figure.
Next we have Yoel Romero urging his translator to say something extremely dumb. When your own translator looks at you like “man, you better not say that,” you might not want to take a second and huddle up to make sure you're sending the right message. Romero didn’t do that, he told his translator to tell the media what he said. The fact that the translator audibly sighed before he began speaking was practically a scream of protest, but he delivered Romero’s message.
“You have to remember that his descendants from Africa were great runners and he should’ve planned better for that.”
Dumb, just dumb. I have no other words for that.
Brian Ortega decided he had beef with rapper Jay Park because Park translated something Chan Sung Jung said during an interview with Ariel Helwani. So, being a man of reason, Ortega waited until Jung legged it to the restroom at UFC 248 and then slapped Park in the face.
That’s dumb and embarrassing and I do not understand where that gets you street cred or tough guy points, if that’s what Ortega was shooting for.
What’s even dumber is that Ortega, knowing a police report was filed on the incident, but no charges pressed, went on social media and admitted to slapping Park in a tweet he later deleted (via MMA Junkie).
If Ortega is charged, it’ll probably be a misdemeanor charge, but even so, there’s really no reason to admit to any crime. At least make the police and prosecutors do some work. Sheesh.
Say two women deliver one of the best title fights in history and say you have some kind of negative opinion about adult women making an informed decision to fight in a cage for money. Your best bet is to keep that opinion to yourself. Islam Makhachev did not do that on Saturday in the wake of the fantastic “Fight of the Night” bonus winning contest between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Judging by the responses I saw and that the tweet has since been deleted, things did not go well for Mr. Makhachev as far as the reaction to his take.
This one is not from UFC 248, but it did happen over the weekend so I’m going to call it UFC 248 adjacent. Justin Gaethje wants to fight Conor McGregor. Gaethje’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz (more from him in a bit), wants Gaethje to fight McGregor. UFC president Dana White does not seem to want Gaethje to fight McGregor. When asked what his reaction will be if he doesn’t get the McGregor fight. Gaethje told ESPN he would assault White.
“I cannot take that into account. I’ll get fired. I’ll punch (White) in the (expletive) nose. If you’re going to take away an opportunity off my table, then I’m going to (expletive) fight you. I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“It’s not fair, and I’m not going to stand for it. I’m very levelheaded. I respect the boss. But if he (expletive) tries ... that, I’m going to war.”
If someone wants to offer a prop bet on this, it’s probably safe to bet against Gaethje following through on this threat.
Okay, onto Abdelaziz. As you probably know, he likes to act a fool at (most) times. He did just that at a PFL event and slapped another manager in the face. He caught a charge behind that, which he should have because that’s assault. However, he seems to think slapping another manager is somehow tough (maybe he and Ortega can bond) or admirable. So he decided to, well, I don’t know what you would call this:
It puzzles me how any fighter he represents can look at some of the things Abdelaziz has said and done and think, “You know what? That’s the guy I want to manage me. I want fans and media to think of me every time he rolls up to a buffet and tries to attack someone.”
