Besides, didn’t Jackson say that he wanted to rematch Forrest first?

Additionally, wouldn’t bother anyone that the only way to get more African Americans to watch is to have two African American’s battle?

I think Lyoto needs a win against at least one more high profile LHW before he gets a titleshot, particularly due to his lack of marketability. A decicive win (KO or submission) against a top LHW would help him greatly. But I think Rampage definitely deserves the shot more. He KO’d Silva, and his previous fight with Forrest was very close and highly contested. I know he wants to fight Forrest, but at this point, I think he’d be better off going after Rashad and getting his title back. IMO, it’s better he look forward rather than backwards.

being incredibly ignorant to what I’m saying. Like…so much so that it is kind of hard to believe. It has nothing to do with the state of the CURRENT fanbase…it has everything to do with expanding that fanbase.

i agree. why do we acknowledge that 2 african americans are fighting for the title? i hate the fact that we judge black men’s accomplishments on the color of their skin. no one cares when its a white guy vs. a white guy. its like you’re talking down to any black man, because you’re so impressed or awe struck that he was able to do it. congrats to rashad, congrats to rampage on being excellent fighters, not excellent “black” fighters. who cares about race?

Rampage/Rashad should absolutely be viewed as a milestone, but not to be blown out of perspective. The black community (and Hispanic) should be a huge target for any promotion and the situation should be publicized, even celebrated, but not over-hyped to the point of cheapening the impact it may have.

That’s exactly my point! Yay! You get it! It shouldn’t be “THE focal point” but the fact that it isn’t a novelty bout makes it more legitimate and adds to the ability for this fight to increase appeal.

I watched the Iron Ring and thought it put negative stereotypes in far too positive a light.

Crazy horse and TI acting like fools. Crazy Horse bragging that he never trained. TI acting like he could whoop any of the MMA guys. If TI had talked to any other coach the way he talked to Charles Bennett. It would have lead to a serious beatdown.

I think it needs to be acknowledged as a milestone. Who knows, down the road we may look back and see that as some sort of turning point in the acceptance of mma in the black community?

As for your thoughts, it also shouldn’t be played out because the guys are black. While it does mean something, it doesn’t mean everything.

and that is the point. It isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but it should be noted to some degree.

how many white running backs have won the super bowl?

it doesn’t really matter. we’re all people and it just so happens that two people who just so happen to be black havent met up before. it could be because the sport doesnt have as many black fighters. plenty of asians, whites, brazilians, have met before.

were all people and in a place like american mma where folks are more worried about their bottom lines than any ideology, i dont think race is a real issue unless we bring gratuitous attention to it.

this is an MMA site. You must be forgetting the attention that Donovan McNabb got a few years ago for being a black QB in the super bowl. Or the Bears/Colts Super Bowl where one of the major stories was it being the first time two black head coaches met in the super bowl. and so on…and so on…

I get that you guys wish we lived in a world where it didn’t matter…but we don’t. And I get that you’d really like to frame it like somehow the reason that we don’t is because people like me write articles about exposing the sport to new fanbases…but you’re wrong

But why don’t you find the youtube vid of the Cantwell armbar from this month and show it to them. Might make them think twice about the ‘dry humping’ cliche.

becuase it was the first time a pink haired orlando native ko’d a balding miami native?

And I do see your point. This is a good post. I’m glad someone was brave enough to talk about this.

I don’t know what surprises me more. The fact that people can turn a very basic concept into something so clouded and confused or the fact that I am surprised by it everytime. I read this little piece and thought, “Yeah, he’s right about that. This might open up a new demographic for the UFC. Thats a good thing!” Then I started reading the comments……….Now I am left thinking, “Wow! People are really ignorant and prone to turning anything into controversy.” I kind of think you knew exactly what you were doing though Brent. Seriously, you must have known that this would stir up the pot. Sometimes I make comments with the intent of stirring up some shit and I get a little hint of that with this piece.

weve had tons of black title holders. do you think now that black guys are fighting eachother, theyll get just now get excited about it? come on.

whos white here that waited til after that brazilian royce left UFC and whites fought eachother before they liked mma? i’d bet no one.

is moronic. And you’re wrong.

it’s not about the “achievement”. its about the possibility of expanding the fan base into a new demographic. how are you not getting this? Look at the viewership numbers for UFC events and you will see that it is mostly white. My sons are black and they are always more interested in the fights in which a black man is fighting. Its about being able to idetify with the competitors.

do you agree that having more high profile black fighters would help to do this?

that all of those are significant on their own. And I have talked at length about how strongly the latino market can drive boxing PPV’s when there is an interest from an ethnic standpoint and that is certainly a marketplace deserving of attention.

Asian champions would open the avenues for expansion and a British champion would allow for some bigger results on the UK cards for sure.

I’m just saying 2 African-Americans fighting over the biggest title in the sport? Kind of a big deal

But the proof is in the pudding. If a given marketing approach is predicted to produce a given result, and actually does produce said result post-implementation, then it’s not stereotyping at all. It’s simple reality. And that is at the heart of this article and discussion. This (potential) match-up scenario between Rampage and Rashad creates a great opportunity for market expansion. It’s not a slam-dunk, but if it’s played correctly then this could improve MMA exposure to an as-yet (relatively) untapped market.

are not the same

very good point. We as mma fans, race aside, look at this as a great fight between two outstanding fighters and little more. Just like when Dungy and Lovie were coaching in the superbowl, I was like “interesting, good to see”, but didn’t change my view of the game any. However, someone who is not a fan, may see it as a bigger event and be drawn to the sport through that.

race is as big of an issue in australia as it is in the us

in the ‘nationality vs. race’ identifiers. Filipinos don’t flock to Manny because he’s Asian, they flock to him because he’s Filipino. Brazilians weren’t massive fans of De la Hoya, Mexicans were. Race/ethnicity is probably a higher rated issue in melting pot countries than nationalism is.

this is exactly what all of this amounts to

People can’t pimp out that Henderson-Franklin is the first time a born again former math teacher from Cincinnati will face a former Olympian and 1/16th Walla Walla Indian ?

just like Dr. King…a man who obviously thought that burying his head in the sand and not talking about racism would make it all go away. Come on, the absolute last thing that creates change is the avoidance of talking about the subject. Of course I have a vision of a better tomorrow, but no problem has ever been solved by pretending it doesn’t exist.

And the funny thing is that we’re not even talking about racism! At least my article wasn’t. All I was saying is that this may, by some chance, expand the appeal to a segment of the black community. Just like successful Latino boxers drive the Latino fanbase up in boxing…etc.

I never said anything about holding black fighters down or anything of the sort. I said that this was a chance for there to be a more positive story which could be a draw for an audience who has had trouble identifying with the sport because the amount of successful black fighters is pretty low honestly.

As to shackelford’s above point. It is the exact opposite of his down talking “we’re catering to you” rant that he is trying to pin on us. It is, as I said above, a way for there to be a fight for the sports biggest title to be contested by two African American men who are deserving of their spots. I.e. NOT a novelty main event, but a legitimate main event with a storyline (which as I said above also, should not be the MAIN storyline to the fight) that can potentially be appealing to new fans.

It’s been people like you who have acted like there is more to what I’m saying than that and claim that I’m “talking about racism.” If you take the time to read the article or any of what I said in the comments I have not once…not ONE SINGLE TIME…used the word racism. As a matter of fact, you are one of only TWO people in the entire thread to use the word racism in this conversation.

I couldn’t disagree more.

Rooting for Rampage becasue he is black or st. Pierre becasue he is French Canadian or Huerta becasue he is Mexican isn’t racist. Rooting against against Evans becasue he is black or Big Nog becasue he is Brazilian or Junie Browning becasue he is white is.

My favorite golfer is Tiger Woods, initally becasue he is part black and I can see a little of myself in him. I also root for Anthony Kim (performance), Andrea Romero (his style of play in the 2007 British Open) and Boo Weekly (highly entertaining). I can see none of myself in the other three, but i root for them nevertheless.

We will always naturally gravitate towards people who are like us. When people no longer actively shun people who are unlike us is when racism will end.

God dammit people. Learn to read or don’t bother commenting.

I spent the entire debate over the Yoshida thing saying that it was NOT motivated by race. Don’t come in here shooting your mouth off if you’re just going to make shit up.

think that it is racist to boo someone specifically because of their race…while it is not racist to cheer for someone because of theirs.

Regardless…I don’t think the content is confusing in the least nor was my point difficult to grasp. People twisted it into something it was not or missing the point entirely. I am very clear that this fight would be:

A) Historic. Because it would be. Much as I have stated here in the comments section…it was historic for two black coaches to meet in the super bowl. It would be historic for two african american fighters to fight for a title for the first time. Any of these smartass comments about “would it be historic for (insert random comedic fighter note) and (other random comedic fighter note) to fight for a title?” are blatantly missing the point.

B) Potentially a fight that would increase the appeal of an event and the sport for a certain segment of the population. Maybe it wouldn’t but the idea that it is a possibility is hardly outside the realm of reality and there is a mountain of evidence in other combat sports that fans sharing nationality or race with fighters can drive interest.

Yes, I said “yay!” because someone chose to focus on what is the actual point of the article rather than twist it into something far more controversial.

Also, can we all please stop saying “race issue” or “race card” whenever someone speaks about race? This is not a particularly controversial article in any way. Saying “hey, this could increase appeal for a segment of the population” or “this would be the first time in history” is hardly “dropping the race issue” in some sort of shocking way.

And it’s Brent…not Brett.