January MMA Q&A looking at Jon Jones on cocaine, Kimbo Slice signing with Bellator, Conor McGregor, and more.
I thought I was done with MMA writing, but my love for 411 and Larry Csonka kept bringing me back. MMA provides a ton of talking points thanks to an incompetent man running the largest MMA organization in the world, a collection of fighters who say and do dumb things, and 200 MMA shows taking place every month.
That hasn’t really changed from where the sport was when I stopped writing full-time a couple of years ago. I was burned out from a painful time at FiveOunces and not even weekly columns with my best friend Samer Kadi could save me. If anything those half-assed columns were even more proof that I needed to step away. Since then I’ve done some one-off columns just out of my love (and partial guilt) to Csonka. In doing these one-off columns, I’ve started to have fun again. The UFC/Reebok Q&A column really re-ignited my passion for MMA writing.
So I’ve decided to try this again, but on a monthly basis. Every month, on some random day, I’m going to do a self-media-scrum where I ask questions that the paid MMA media wouldn’t dare ask and answer those questions that the paid promoter wouldn’t dare answer truthfully.
Let’s begin.
What are your thoughts on the Jon Jones situation?
I think Jon Jones is an extremely talented fighter if he can train during the day, do some coke at night, and still dominate an elite fighter like Daniel Cormier. Think about it, Jones wasn’t at his best during that fight. No, he wasn’t on coke when he stepped into the octagon, but he was obviously on coke at some point during his training camp. After partaking in the nose candy, Jones probably didn’t sleep well and was sluggish the next day for training. Meanwhile, Cormier was getting plenty of sleep and training his ass off. Even if Jones only lost one night of good sleep and one day of good training, that could’ve made all the difference in such a high-level fight.
Do you think Jones is an addict?
His one-day rehab stint tells me that he’s not. However, the weird lookaway punches he was throwing during the fight (obviously the sign of a fiend) and his remarks about how easy the weight cut was (we all know coke makes you skinny) tell me a different story. I’m going to need a little more proof though before I just label someone an addict. Two chicks in the Bentley is just a sign of someone having a good time. Four chicks is the sign of an addict.
Why was Jon Jones allowed to fight?
Because he would’ve sued the company if he was pulled. That’s what Dana White says anyway. The truth is that they knew they had a money fight on their hands, their first one in forever, and they didn’t want to lose it. They didn’t want to shuffle Anthony Johnson or Alexander Gustafsson into the fight against Cormier, losing their upcoming FOX main event, or cancel another PPV event by pulling Jones.
Yes, Jon Jones could’ve potentially sued if he was pulled from the fight because cocaine isn’t on the banned substances list, but if the UFC released a statement that said, “We have pulled Jon Jones from his fight out of concern for his health and safety. While cocaine is not on the banned substances list, this is a very serious issue for us and Jon Jones. We don’t want our fighters competing or training under the influence of any type of drug as they could be a detriment to themselves, their opponent, and their training partners. Our first priority is getting Jon Jones clean and healthy.”
If the UFC released a statement saying something along those lines and Jones still sued them then that would just go to show you the character of Jones and would’ve become a PR nightmare for him instead of the UFC.
Who do you believe: Jon Jones’ mom or Dana White?
When it comes to a question of truth involving Dana White, always go with the person who isn’t Dana White.
Did you know that Conor McGregor fights this weekend?
I did, because the UFC has done an outstanding job of promoting him. I watch the NFL playoffs and have seen all the ads for the event. They’re well done and I like the single focus on McGregor. It’s a nice change of pace from the usual “these two are so evenly matched” nonsense that they try to sell. McGregor is the star. So you sell him. If he wins, all that promotion pays off. If he loses, Dennis Siver looks like a real threat in the division.
My only problem with the weekend’s event is the timeslot. The main card starts at 10 PM EST on Sunday. I know that they want to capitalize on a big football weekend and run a bunch of ads during the NFC Championship game on FOX, but you’re asking people to stay up until at least midnight on Sunday if they want to see McGregor fight. I know that a lot of places are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day, but that doesn’t ensure that people will stay up that late on a Sunday.
Will every UFC/Reebok shirt look terrible?
As long as the Reebok logo is very prominent on the shirt, then yes, they will all look terrible. Speaking of terrible, I saw the Official Reebok Apparel Handbook or whatever. What a load of garbage that was. For those of you who value your time, let me give you the sparknotes:
*Fighters and anyone associated with them must wear Reebok clothing at all times and for all events. That includes post-fight showers.
*Fighters will get every penny, except some of those pennies will go to a charity who isn’t a fighter.
*Fighters get to pick the color and a cool logo from FlamingText.com to go on their gear.
*If a fighter loses his gear, he has to pay for it. That should make pranks on The Ultimate Fighter a little bit more exciting.
*If a fighter doesn’t wear his gear, he can be fined or removed from the fight.
WAIT JUST A SECOND! Can the fighter sue the UFC if they are removed from the fight?
Nah. Not wearing your Reebok gear is a much bigger deal than doing cocaine less than a month out from your fight. You can have bags of coke in your hoodie at the press conference before the event and as long it’s a Reebok hoodie. Make sure to put the Reebok logo on your coke bag as well, just incase.
The UFC/Reebok Super Official and Strict Handbook pretty much outlines everything that you can (wear Reebok) and can’t (don’t wear Reebok) do, but it says nothing about how much the fighters will actually make on the deal. My guess is that they’ll be paid in Reebucks, which are worth 1/100th of a cent.
What is World Series of Fighting trying to do by signing Thiago Silva and Matt Hamill?
Go out of business.
Better fight this weekend: Donald Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson or Patricio Freire vs. Daniel Straus?
That’s a tough one because both fights are extremely awesome, but I’m going with Freire vs. Straus simply due to the fact that it’s five rounds. I like Cerrone and Henderson more as fighters and am more interested in that fight, but three rounds is going to hurt it. Both of those guys are made for five-round fights. In fact, I think every lightweight fight that’s slotted in the co-main event should be five rounds. The UFC is selling McGregor this weekend, so I understand the want to put him in the main event, but we’re all going to be really disappointed when McGregor wins in the first round while Cerrone and Henderson just get going in the third before their 15-minutes are up and they leave it in the hands of the judges.
You can’t go wrong with either fight, but the fact that we could potentially see Straus vs. Freire for an extra 10-minutes makes me lean towards that bout.
Getting publicity. Bellator signing Kimbo is no worse than UFC signing CM Punk. Sure, he’s 40-years-old and has probably been hanging out with pornstars and working fixed boxing matches since his last fight in 2010, but at least he’s fought before unlike Punk. Scott Coker is doing anything he can to make Bellator look like a viable competitor. He got Kimbo, they’re rumored to be making a run at Alberto Del Rio and they’ll likely make a run at Brock Lesnar too. When Kevin Garnett retires after this season, they’ll probably offer him a big contract as well.
Now they need to capitalize on this Kimbo Slice signing by book Slice vs. James Thompson vs. Bobby Lashley in a triple threat fight.
What do you think of Anderson Silva KO’ing guys in training?
I think that guy has a great story to tell his kids.
I'll take one more question.
When is Samer Kadi coming back?
Thanks everyone for your questions. I’ll see you in a month.
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