Official Apology to Pat Miletich and WAMMA

by mattman73 on Dec 17, 2008 2:39 PM EST Comment 48 comments

Last night I made a post that I considered to be a satirical news story and meant to be comedy and not taken as fact. Unfortunately maybe I didn't make it clear enough that the post was meant as satire. So I am providing a link to that post in question and am posting this disclaimer about that story to clarify and hopefully clear up any confusion over my post.

Here is the link to my previous post:

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2008/12/16/695167/josh-barnett-out-of-wamma

At the request of WAMMA I the writer mattman73 would like to apologize for any confusion this post may have caused. I made an attempt to write a satirical piece of comedy and it is my understanding that even though I stated in the last sentence it was satire that some people may not have realized it was comedy. The statement I attributed to Pat Miletich about suggesting the rule change to WAMMA's rankings policy was totally made up on my part as an attempt at satire. WAMMA in no way changed their policy on their rankings in any way I tried to represent. Those were my statements in an attempt at satire. I did no valid research on this comedy piece and to take anything in this piece as fact would be a mistake. I do hold Pat Miletich in high regards as an upstanding member of the MMA community and am sorry if I offended him. I am truly sorry for writing lame satire and for any confusion my post may have caused. If my attempts at comedy offended anyone at all I am sorry. Thank you to Bloody Elbow and I'm sorry for any trouble I may have caused for you.

I hope this clears up any problems that had been caused.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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Why so serious???

Is it just me or is Wamma taking themselves way to serious? I mean i read Mattmans original post, and found great humor in it, so its hard for me to understand why Pat and Wamma would not? So i say bravo to your apology Matt, but boooooo to Wamma for acting like a big bully.

by Leathers97 on Dec 17, 2008 3:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Someone actually read what they said, took it to its logical conclusion, and applied it to their currently illogical ratings (according to what Miletich said). That, apparently, pissed them off something fierce.

I, for one, applaud the effort by mattman – getting sand in WAMMA’s vajayjay is to be praised.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 3:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Dude

That shit was dead-on-balls accurate. If Miletich hadn’t directly contradicted WAMMA’s ratings during the interview, they could’ve skipped any confusion. And you said it was satire right there in the damn article. The fact that WAMMA does not have more important things to worry about – like conducting themselves in a logical manner, or being relevant, or determining whether Matt Lindland or Vitor Belfort should be the favorite going into their WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT – than your article makes me laugh and cringe at the same time.

I personally think you should’ve told them to fuck off. You pointed out that it was satire repeatedly. In the post itself. Miletich is a legend of the sport, but his involvement in WAMMA is a black mark on that record, and any personal involvement he had in contacting you about your post reeks of personal vendetta, pettiness and, frankly, a frightening amount of time on his hands.

Fuck WAMMA.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 3:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

What is this “WAMMA” you speak of? Didn’t they used to make frisbees??

Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Dec 17, 2008 3:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

“Didn’t they used to make frisbees??”

LOL.

by Kierkegaard on Dec 17, 2008 3:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that was WHAMMO :)

"I should apologize to girls for saying Sexson threw that helmet like a girl. I’m not even sure girls do that." - TAG 05/08/2008

by Captain Fubar on Dec 19, 2008 11:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Did WAMMA actually take the time to complain about a satirical fan post? Now that is just funny, what a bunch of douchebags.

by who me on Dec 17, 2008 3:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

It's worse than that

They requested a retraction/apology. It’s laughable and cringeworthy – just like everything they do.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They requested a retraction for a fan post that actually stated it was satire? I guess it’s good that I didn’t have any respect for them to start with because this would of killed it.

by who me on Dec 17, 2008 4:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Damn you all and your filthy opinions and free thought! Damn you all to Hell!

Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Dec 17, 2008 4:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good thing there isn’t a Hell – but I always feel like I’ve accomplished something when I get condemned to eternal suffering. Like I’ve done my good deed for the day.

Oh, and FUCK WAMMA.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 4:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

eternal suffering? Hmmm…sounds familiar, lol.

Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Dec 17, 2008 4:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Please recomment this post!!!

I would like to make sure everyone that saw my previous post gets a chance to see my disclaimer.

I don’t want anyone who misinterpreted my previous post as anything besides a satirical news story even though I stated it was satire to be left with the impression anything I said in that previous post was fact.

Once again I am truly sorry if I misled anyone that read my previous post.

by mattman73 on Dec 17, 2008 4:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Apologizing for the complete reading comprehension fail of others… I’ll rec it just because I want more people to see how fucking stupid and infantile WAMMA (and, in this case, Miletich, if he’s involved) truly is.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 4:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Did no one at WAMMA understand that this makes them look a lot worse than any potential confusion over a satirical fan post? The apology is getting more attention than the satire did.

by who me on Dec 17, 2008 4:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wamma are nothing more than embarresing,anyone throwing their weight behind these wannabies should quite frankly be ashamed.They are doing absolutely nothing for the sport and their reaction to mattman’s post says it all"PATHETIC".

by welshcardsfan on Dec 17, 2008 4:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wait…WAMMA actually responded to a fanpost?

Seriously? WTF?!

by Tonley on Dec 17, 2008 4:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Exactly.

They’re so estabished they have nothing but free time on their hands.

Oh, and that was satire, in case you’re fucking stupid.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 4:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well...

as you guys know…

I’ve done multiple interviews with them and they do read this site. Pat is a registered member here. So I’m sure they regularly check this site and others for anything related to their “business” as well they should. I’m not saying anything they did in regards to requesting a retraction for satire is right or wrong…I’m just explaining that they do check things out.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 17, 2008 4:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not going to weigh in on the sheer pettiness of it all?

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 6:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think...

I’ve let my feelings on WAMMA be made more than clear.

WAMMA: Hard Truths and Failed Promises is my article that I think summed it up pretty well.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 17, 2008 10:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, me too

But I’m always happy to reiterate.

Fuck WAMMA.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 11:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

WAMMA is so full of shit.

by Michaelthebox on Dec 17, 2008 7:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Goddamn WAMMA.

Fedor needs to sign with the UFC pronto if for no other reason than to walk around as the UFC heavyweight champion instead of being referred to as WAMMA heavyweight champion. You might as well call him the Fruit Loops & Crocs Champion of the World. About the same amount of relevance.

by dropkick101 on Dec 17, 2008 8:04 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Mm-hmm.

by subo on Dec 17, 2008 9:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Also, Mattman, why’d you back down so easy? Shoulda told them sorry they were offended but you were writing an article poking fun at them, which you placed a disclaimer saying it was satire. If anything, I would’ve just put a disclaimer on top in bold letters. They should be apologizing for some of their bullshit. Militech is the man and a pioneer in this sport but you can’t just make up a rankings committee without the assistance of the strongest organization in the world and pretend that it’s credible.

by dropkick101 on Dec 17, 2008 8:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think he felt bad and was worried he maybe got BE into trouble or something.

Long live the Bloggers!

by Benicio on Dec 18, 2008 4:42 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You should have backed down from the posters

Seriously, you tired that Fedor/Penn argument on another article no one bought it. So you make up a fake story in hopes of swaying everyones opinion. Give it up, all you did was piss off Pat Miletich.

The argument against Penn’s No #1 status is who he’s actually fought at LW overall to earn that top ranking, not who he has fought recently.

Of course you are not looking at that. You just want to slam WAMMA any way you can.

by bignerd on Dec 17, 2008 9:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Talk about completly missing the point. The arguement about Penn’s number one status is completly irrelevant to the discussion in any of the threads on this, WAMMA is the ones who said Penn was the number one lightweight. The problem was that it was said that his ranking would go down because he hasn’t fought other guys they ranked as top guys in the division when they didn’t do that to other guys who haven’t fought top 10 competition in years. No one is arguing if Penn or Fedor deserve the rankings they are talking about inconsistancies in WAMMA statements and actions, I just don’t see why that is so hard for some people to understand.

by who me on Dec 18, 2008 12:17 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And how did Fedor get his #1 overall WAMMA ranking out of the gate? How was he included in the initial title fight with Sylvia? And how is Barnett ranked NOW???

by subo on Dec 18, 2008 5:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If you weren’t so out in front trying to bash WAMMA you would understand why the statement does make sense. The next time BJ Penn fights at LW it will be close to year between fights, and we don’t know if he will fight any one consequence. With the inactivity of Penn combined with #2 vs #3 fighting it’s very plausible the winner of the fight ought to be the #1 ranked LW and carry WAMMA belt.

You can cry that Fedor or Barnett were not too active between 2006 – 2008 but WAMMA is handing out belts now and both those fighters are taking of fights of consequence, unlike Penn. Maybe if he beats GSP and can ask for WAMMA’s 170lb title.

I know you are all hating WAMMA. There are 20 “Give WAMMA Hell, Matt” posts on here but it was Pat Miletich who took exception to taking his quote out of context.

by bignerd on Dec 19, 2008 3:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1. Was it Pat Miletich that complained about the satire? It was Michael Lynch that sent the e-mail threatening to sue for libel not Miletich and it was Lynch that demanded an apology for Miletich. Have we even heard anything at all from Pat Miletich on this subject?

2. Who is the “fight of consequence” that Barnett is taking in the known future or has fought recently? Barnett is in a similar boat to Penn from the past and the present. Honestly as far as proving how good you are in MMA circles, fighting GSP is infinitely more consequential than fighting Gilbert Yvel, Penn isn’t ducking top competition he’s fighting another number one ranked fighter.

3. WAMMA ranked Fedor number one well before he fought a “fight of consequence” and won their belt. The very fact that this wasn’t a issue at all in the past is the very reason that it is inconsistent for it to be a reason now for a different fighter.

Honestly I agree with the statement that a guy who isn’t fighting high level fights in his division shouldn’t keep a high ranking in his division. I don’t think Penn really deserves to stay at number one if he isn’t fighting top guys and defending the belt (hopefully Florian is next on his list) but because that didn’t matter to WAMMA at any time in the past when they were ranking guys it is extremely inconsistent to consider that now or even suggest that it will be an issue for one guy now when it was never an issue for any other fighter in the entire history of their existence.

You are still missing the actual point here because you seem to be stuck on the wrong issue that came out of that statement. Your stuck on whether Penn deserves the ranking or not in the future and on that point I completly agree with you, it’s just that that is irrelevant to what was being discussed. If WAMMA doesn’t treat every single fighter the exact same way and hold them to the exact same standards they used in the past for determining their rankings then they are showing a inconsistency that calls their methods and their proclaimed unbiased position into real question.

by who me on Dec 19, 2008 4:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1) It was Pat who found the article and sent it to Micheal. Pat’s been on other websites recently monitoring and rebutting articles for false information on his health.

2) Penn isn’t fighting LW but Barnett is fighting HW. Barnett recent fights won’t move him up in the rankings but does keep him active to stay ranked. Different scrutiny too, Penn is for the belt, Barnett whether he stays relevant enough to challenge for a WAMMA belt. An aspect the author (Matt) tried to muddy and exploit. GSP fight doesn’t count for Penn at LW because its Welterweight match.

3) It is the same standard for all fighters. WAMMA wasn’t making decisions on rankings in 2006-2007 because they were not handing out belts. Now, they are debating rankings and looking for belt holders. It just so happens Fedor and Barnett became active and BJ Penn inactive in period when WAMMA has come around to do this. If Penn were taking a on Top #5 LW soon WAMMA consider him #1, like they did for Fedor . . . but that is not the case.

by bignerd on Dec 19, 2008 4:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1. how do you know this?

2. Yes I understand all that, the point was that Penn is actually taking a infinitely more important fight than Barnett is now and he has fought vastly more important fights in the division that Barnett has fought in his division in years. Barnett ‘s utter lack of top competition apparently isn’t an issue at all nor was it for the last year of WAMMA rankings but it’s suggested that Penn not fighting enough fights against top guys in his weight class is an issue for his future ranking.

Oh and the quote didn’t say anything about staying active it was that he wasn’t fighting top contenders (and it implied this was because the UFC won’t cross promote even though the discussed next contender for the lightweight belt is number 4 ranked Florian which should fit what is being said just fine). Barnett hasn’t and isn’t fighting top contenders but that is completly irrelevant to his ranking. Fedor wasn’t fighting top contenders when they originally ranked him or when they kept him ranked at 1 for 6 months before the Sylvia fight. That is the inconsistancy here.

3. If not fighting top competition in your weight class wasn’t a issue in rankings for the last year or currently for the fighters we are talking about (or any other fighters they have ranked) but all the sudden it’s being brough up as an issue for BJ Penn now then that is a glaring difference in standards. WAMMA released their first rankings December 2007 and ranked Fedor number one in heavyweight(before the valueless Choi fight and over 2 years after the Cro Cop fight) they didn’t start handing out belts for 6 months after that. They were making decisions on that first ranking by what happened in 2007 and they kept Fedor at number one for 6 months before he fought ranked Tim Sylvia without it being any issue at all. Barnett hadn’t fought anyone when they first ranked him and he hasn’t fought another top heavyweight since and his next fight isn’t against a ranked opponent either. If they are using the same standard for every fighter then Penn’s ranking shouldn’t be affected either as long as he fights any lightweight in the next year or so just to stay active in that division(and as I said before I don’t agree with that but that is what WAMMA has done in the last year for other fighters).

You are saying that Fedor and Barnett became active at a time when Penn became inactive but WAMMA has been ranking fighters for a whole year now without fighting top level competition being mentioned as a issue in the way that Pat mentioned it in that quote. You are acting like WAMMA just started but they have been doing this for a year and this never was a issue before and it has only been mentioned as a issue for Penn now. If WAMMA would like to clairify then that would be fine but that statement by Miletich is completly inconsistant with WAMMA rankings currently and for the last year and that is what has been discussed in all of these threads.

by who me on Dec 19, 2008 5:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just in case anyone is still confused.

As I stated it was never my intention for that to be taken as fact. I tried to label it as such so no one would try and take it as fact. To me I clearly labeled that as satire. However if some people read that last line that said it was satire and didn’t get it that it was satire then the only thing I may have done wrong was not making clear enough that it was satire. But at no time was it my intention to make anyone believe any part of it or that Pat said those things.

Since I was writing it as SATIRE and not expecting or wanting anyone to believe it as fact I wasn’t concerned when writing it that it made sense factually. Wouldn’t that have been defeating the purpose of my SATIRE for it to make sense factually?

Now maybe I didn’t write a good SATIRE but that also wasn’t my intention I’m not a professional writer. My intention was just to write a SATIRE.

by mattman73 on Dec 19, 2008 11:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Josh Barnett, if he beats Gilbert Yvel, will be fighting for the WAMMA belt despite not having fought a top 10 HW since 12/31/06.

End of story.

by subo on Dec 19, 2008 6:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think the real end of the story is that Atencio said that if Yvel won he’d be getting the WAMMA title shot.

by who me on Dec 19, 2008 7:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You almost wish it could happen since that would punch holes in credibility of both Afflication and WAMMA that a truck could fit through.

"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."

by AJB on Dec 19, 2008 7:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m already praying for it.

by subo on Dec 19, 2008 8:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Please tell me this is a joke....

if this is legit…. bravo Mattman73…. WAMMA, if you read this….you have a novel idea here but you know what else is a novel idea… national health care.

by Gunslinger20 on Dec 17, 2008 11:09 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

one question

Was this meant to be sattire? HAHA i had to do it!

by irepdaronx on Dec 18, 2008 2:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

1)First of all, I may be a bit gullible, but from what I`ve seen and heard from WAMMA the alleged statement from Pat Miletich actually made sense. Now to me, that`s the frightening part. Pat Miletich`s association with actually could WAMMA make him capable of making that kind of statements. On the other hand, I don`t really think it was all that obvious that it was made up. Compare the Miletich-quote to Atencio`s “He`s got all the tattoos and stuff” and you tell me which one you would have guessed was made up? Once again… WAMMA=logical in a fucked up kinda way. I mean, sooner or later they WILL start making (I think they already have) ranking-rules that would punish UFC-fighters.
2)With their semi-odd ranking system, what would happen if they for instance ranked Wand and Rampage as no1 and no2 and all of a sudden made the fight a WAMMA-title fight? Now THAT would be hilarious! Two LHW title fights on one card. Talk about Ultimate!
3) When someone goes so completely out of the way to apologize as Mattman has done, I always assume that it`s made in order to make the one demanding the apology to look stupid. Which in this case wasn`t all that difficult. Well Done Mattman!

"They called him the axe-murderer because he was murdering chumps. They should have been calling him the chump-murderer..." Rampage Jackson (commentating on the fighting abilities of Wanderlei "F#ck Chuck" Silva.)

by BlueberryMuffin on Dec 18, 2008 5:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

There’s no problem in putting Aoki-Alvarez up for the WAMMA belt especially when Penn isn’t going to be fighting back at lightweight for a while, if again at all. The problem is the inconsistencies with their statements.

by dropkick101 on Dec 18, 2008 9:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tim Sylvia already reverbed what EVERYONE in the MMA blogosphere stated when WAMMA was forming. WAMMA is irrelevant if the UFC isn’t on board. End of discussion.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Dec 18, 2008 12:42 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

FUCK WAMMA ;)

by attgnp on Dec 18, 2008 9:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Incredible. I can’t believe they went this far hahaha. FUCK WAMMA. sue me.

by poundnground on Dec 18, 2008 10:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Just another case of uppity suits with too much time and not enough brains. I wonder if there is some mortgage insurance company these zipperheads can go cornhole. They clearly have proven they are up to the intellectual challenge. Fuck them and good for you mattman73.

by fightfan942 on Dec 19, 2008 1:05 AM EST reply actions 0 recs