Playing Devil's Advocate for Junie Browning
by dropkick101 on Dec 14, 2008 5:05 PM EST
20 comments
Disclaimer: Junie Browning's antics this season were childish and inappropriate. There is never any excuse to throw glass at somebody, especially for the trivial disagreements that caused Junie's outbursts. That is, unless they do something to piss you off and you're on a reality show that stipulates no fist fighting in the house. Then how are you going to express your anger if you don't heave glass at their face? Just kidding.
With that out of the way, I feel the need to give the devil his due. Junie is a talented prospect and that is about as far as it goes. We have seen many other fighters at his level simply fade away after a stint on TUF. Junie showed up at the TUF house with nothing really to separate himself from the pack. He was surrounded by guys with legitimate college wrestling accomplishments and unparallelled jiu-jitsu accolades. On paper, as a kid from Kentucky who barely finished high school, he had nothing on some of these guys. This was his one opportunity to make something of himself.
While Junie was in a mixed martial arts competition and labeled by the UFC president as a very talented fighter, a lot of his potential opponents were just as, if not more, talented. It was very likely that he could have lost and shattered any hopes he had of making this a career. As much as a competition this was, it was also a reality show. Junie decided to turn himself into a character that people would not soon forget. There's an old saying that the only bad attention is no attention at all. Guys like George Roop and Roli Delgado will be forgotten very quickly but fans and fighters alike will not soon get the taste of Junie's antics out of their mouths.
A lot of what Browning did was tasteless and downright dumb. At the same time, it was no doubt a smart move in order to separate himself from his competitors. He saw a flaw in the machine he could take advantage of and he did it to a tee. He could push the envelope to a certain limit and basically guarantee attention and a spot on live TV as long as he was mildly successful within the cage. After the show he used his notoriety to gain a spot at Xtreme Couture with some of the best fighters in the world in order to to turn his mid-level talents into upper level fighting skills. Has anybody heard of Jules Bruchez or John Polakowski signing up with a top level fight team?
Whether or not this type of behavior will be "rewarded" in the future by allowing guys to stay on the show remains to be seen. But, like it or not, Browning took advantage of the circumstances and put himself on the map in this sport. Based on his comments at the finale, it looks as though he succesfully used the show as a springboard to get his name out there and now that it is, he can focus on becoming a succesful mixed martial artist. While his offbeat shenanigans deserve no respect, there's no doubt he does deserve a certain level of respect simply for being an opportunist.
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Fuck him. He can win the lottery or become a top draw in Japan or Brazil or Greenland. I wish nothing bad upon…except when I watch the UFC I don’t want to see his four year old face and be reminded of his two year old antics. This isn’t pro-wrestling, the UFC doesn’t need to develop evil “heels” to get buys. The UFC doesn’t need him, he’s a terrible image for the sport. However, if the UFC really wants to keep him around hopefully Joe Silva will have him fight Spencer Fischer or someone who will demolish him. Again…fuck that guy.
by MattTil on Dec 14, 2008 5:18 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
This isn’t pro-wrestling, the UFC doesn’t need to develop evil "heels" to get buys.
On the contrary, as much as you might not like it, they do. Brock Lesnar and Tito Ortiz are the two biggest draws in the sports history. Brock is literally from pro-wrestling and still hypes a fight as such and all of Tito’s pre and post fight antics are based in pro wrestling type hype. The sport will sell itself but the drama element or addition of some type of compelling story or grudge match will sell it even further. Other examples include Kimbo’s career, Ken Shamrock’s career, BJ Penn post-Stevenson fight (licking the blood and declaring Sean Sherk "dead") and the upcoming Hughes v. Serra match up.
by dropkick101 on Dec 14, 2008 6:37 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You’re not wrong at all. Drama sells, no doubt about it. Polarizing personalities get buys, but I don’t think Junie is the guy for the job. He’s just a douche. As talented as he supposedly is I don’t think he is going to beat BJ, Kenny F or even a midlevel guy like Aaron Riley. That’s just my hunch. If Junie proves me wrong I will give him and you kudos…
by MattTil on Dec 14, 2008 6:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Oh, no I’m not saying that Junie is definitively that guy. I can in no way make a prediction that he will one day be able to hold a candle to guys like Penn or Florian. What I am saying is that, while you may not like the dude and consider him to be a douche or a pussy or an asshole or whatever, his polarizing personality is going to attract attention from a large contingent of fans and, like it or not, that’s gonna give him TV time until he fucks up in the cage. Leben was prominently featured on fight night shows directly after TUF1due to his personality and the maturation he underwent both as a person and a fighter kept him on the shows thereafter.
All I’m saying is whether you like Browning or not and whether you think he has the ability to succeed at the top level one day is irrelevant, really: you’re at least going to have to get used to seeing him around for a while.
by dropkick101 on Dec 14, 2008 7:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I’ll buy that completely. My personal preference is that he fucks up in the cage sooner rather than later. Doesn’t Diego Sanchez need a first opponent for LW?
by MattTil on Dec 14, 2008 7:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
“Love me or hate me, long as they are saying my name.”
by iiowyn on Dec 14, 2008 6:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Wow that is incredibly interesting. Expected, but interesting nonetheless.
People can judge Junie’s actions all they want but when it comes down to it, he’s going to be the one getting paid. If he’s able to put his game together he could be the most successful fighter off of this season. What he really needs is an opponent whose going to come out and publicly bash his actions as bad for the sport and all of that.
by dropkick101 on Dec 14, 2008 6:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Dana must have looked at then when he handed Junie his FOTN bonus.
by cyph on Dec 14, 2008 7:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Dropkick101...
This is another great write up, sir…. but I’m so fuckin tired of hearing about Junie Browning. I’m really hoping now that TUF is done we’ll stop hearing about him except if its an actual conversation about a fight he has had. Now that TUF is done, he is now just another name on the roster…just like the others.
He had a great performance against Dave Kaplan, it was impressive. Now lets the real reality set in and that is that Junie Browning is a mid level Lightweight. He’ll never be in a title hunt and he’s just a space filler for cards now. His skill doesn’t show anything that really proves that he’ll be a contender. At best, Junie Browning can be a gatekeeper for the Lightweights.
I Rec’d this in the hope that this will be the last TUF related Junie posting we see on here… lets move on everyone.
How Dana could force the main eventers of UFC 92 to stand on stage w/ LL Cool J at the VGA’s was just sad… I felt bad for all of them… that had to be uncomfortable and embarassing at the same time. The looks on Mir and Wanderlei’s faces were priceless.
by Gunslinger20 on Dec 14, 2008 9:50 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
He’ll never be in a title hunt and he’s just a space filler for cards now. His skill doesn’t show anything that really proves that he’ll be a contender. At best, Junie Browning can be a gatekeeper for the Lightweights.
I agree with you that I don’t think Junie will ever be at the level where he will be in the title hunt. But time and time again these TUF guys keep improving fight to fight and getting better and better. The wild slugging Forrest Griffin that left his chin out when he threw haymakers is not the same Forrest Griffin that holds the most prestigious title in MMA that we see today. While I verbally assaulted Rashad in another post, there is still no denying that he is in no way the same one dimensional wrestler that he was on TUF2.
What I’m saying is while I don’t think Junie is going to break the top 10, many said the same things about guys like Forrest, Rashad, Jardine, and Florian. It’s highly unprobable but not out of the realm of possibility. Let’s take the wait and see approach before completely writing the guy off.
by dropkick101 on Dec 14, 2008 10:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
"A lot of what Browning did was tasteless and downright dumb. At the same time, it was no doubt a smart move in order to separate himself from his competitors. He saw a flaw in the machine he could take advantage of and he did it to a tee."
I think you are giving Junie way too much credit for having the mental capacity to think this out. He didn’t see a flaw in the machine, he has a personality flaw. He has an alcohol problem and he is a victim of arrested development. I am not going to “wait and see” with Junie. I am writing him off. The kid will be in jail before he is ever a top ten fighter in any league.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
by Warhand on Dec 15, 2008 11:22 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’m not sure about that. Based on some of his comments where he claimed he was “playing it up” and “trying to be entertaining,” I would think at least he exaggerated some of his behavior.
In terms of “having an alcohol problem” – no, he doesn’t. He’s a bad drunk which is different than being an alcoholic or having an alcohol problem. The guy Browning is consistently compared to – Chris Leben – talks all the time about how he used to drink every single day and would sleep all day and drink all night despite the fact that it was ruining his life. Now he can’t touch booze at all in the fear that he’ll go on another bender and fuck his life up again. That’s an alcohol problem. Junie Browning took too many shots of whiskey in the TUF house on a few separate occasions and got rowdy.
I know it sounds like I’m basically harping on semantics, I just think it’s necessary to distinguish between a real alcohol problem and somebody that occasionally drinks too much.
by dropkick101 on Dec 15, 2008 2:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
well, i purposely didn’t call him and “alcoholic”. semantics indeed. IMO if you are a “bad drunk” you have an alcohol problem. many people can drink and not act the way he did. I get rowdy when i drink but i don’t throw glasses at people and call out every person sitting within 20 yards of me. Junie should not drink.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
by Warhand on Dec 15, 2008 3:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He was def impressive on Sat night. I don’t think anyone can dispute that at all.
by lbk on Dec 15, 2008 11:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
And? It was obvious Browning’s striking was much improved. That shows committment. That is something in the right direction.
by lbk on Dec 15, 2008 1:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
A humorous side note
When my wife walked into the room and saw Junie and Kaplan fighting she watched for a few seconds with a confused look on her face and then asked, “What is wrong with these guys? Are they having retarded people fight in the UFC now?” I responded, “The proper term is developmentally disabled and no they are not. Their I.Q.s are not low enough to be considered D.D.” She thought Junie looked like he had downs syndrome.
"Stop smiling you are about to be punched in the face !"
by Warhand on Dec 15, 2008 3:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
That’s awesome. Based on that remark alone your wife could provide better MMA commentary than Mauro Ranallo.
by dropkick101 on Dec 15, 2008 7:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
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