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The story has been updated with more dialogue between Bloody Elbow and Jason Appleton

Yesterday news came out that former UFC fighter Junie Browning now has an arrest warrant in Las Vegas for failure to appear in court.  The court date was for battery charges acquired while hospitalized following a suicide attempt.  Shortly after the hospital incident Browning was dropped by the UFC.  Less than a week later a promotion by the name of MMA Big Show swooped in and signed Browning to main event their November 28 card.

Following the news of Browning's failure to appear in court I reached out to MMA Big Show's owner Jason Appleton to ask about the situation.  His responses were interesting, to say the least.

On the arrest warrant:

I just found out about the arrest warrant this morning, an hour ago.

On if MMA Big Show was simply trying to sign a controversial fighter with little regard to his well being [given Browning's recent suicide attempt and apparent instability]:

What's funny is the perception people have on what I've done with Junie. I got a call from his manager asking if I'd stick him on a card and agreed to do so. Simple as that. I book UFC vets all the time and never expected this much attention to come out of it. Do I feel responsible for any of this? I'm not Kanye West and I don't think I'm Jesus so what exactly should I consider myself responsible for? I booked a fighter to fight. I didn't make him do anything nor have I so much [as] spoken with him directly. Junie is responsible for himself and he knows that.

On if MMA Big Show feels that they have any responsibility in the situation to not follow through with the fight or if their concern is "whatever is best for business":

I'm sorry, I do a lot more than write articles for a website so I have to be careful about what I do and don't do. I have $30,000 invested in this event from which I feed my family of 5. Are you telling me I should cancel Junies fight and risk losing tens of thousands of dollars, because of something I just found out about an hour ago and still don't know the details of? I know a lot of you don't like Junie, he has issues. I get that. But while you hate Junie and make attempts at pointing the finger at me for giving him an opportunity, you are still using his name to pump up your web traffic to increase your sites ad revenue. So while you are asking me how responsible I feel about Junies actions, implying I should cancel his bout, maybe you shoud consider pulling everything relating to Junie Browning off your website and give back every dime you've made from writing about him. How responsible do you feel for feeding off a man with obvious issues. You write about the opportunities I provide for fighters who need them. In this situation, you are simply sniping from the saftey of the hills with nothing to lose.

Ignoring the heavy irony of a man who signed Browning to fight mere days after a reported suicide attempt and alleged battery on hospital staff accusing me of feeding off a man with issues, I did decide to resubmit a carefully worded list of questions back to Mr. Appleton to try and further drill into the promotion's mindset in signing Junie, promoting the fight and their plans going forward. I have not yet received a response but will update this post with any details I do receive from this point.

Allow me, before I get to the updated e-mail "interview" with Mr. Appleton, to address some concerns.  The reason that I felt this story deserved following up isn't because we're making money hand over fist talking about Junie Browning.  At the height of Junie's popularity we weren't making any money off of talking about his season of The Ultimate Fighter.  Honestly aside from the Kimbo Slice fight week and the finale events TUF has driven next to none of our traffic as a site.

The reason I felt this was worth looking into is because legitimate news outlets were reporting on the story and pointing out that despite the situation, Browning is booked to fight.  I, personally, felt that it would be interesting to talk to the promoter who scooped him up less than a week after he attempted suicide and put him in a main event to see what the promoter feels is his obligation toward A) the well being of the fighters and B) the public image of a sport.

It is also worth noting that this event takes place 3 days before the state of Indiana officially begins regulating MMA.  So there will be no state oversight to look into how fit Browning is to compete.   The card was in place prior to Browning being brought on as far as I can tell so I am in no way implying that they are ducking sanctioning, simply saying that I would feel more comfortable if he had to go through more comprehensive medical checks as well as having a commission overseeing the entire situation.

With that said...let's move on to the "interview."

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Obviously you were aware of the situation with Browning's suicide attempt and battery charges prior to his manager's request to put him on your show.  Why then did MMA Big Show decide to put him on the card in the main event?

I actually wasn't fully aware of the situation at first. I had just heard through the vine that Junie was dropped from the UFC and that day his manager called me to see if I'd want him on a card. As I understood it he had taken some pills and while out of it at the hospital the staff woke him up to drink something to flush him out and he went off a bit not knowing what was going on. I think the media is making a much bigger deal out of this than it truly is.

Was the fact that he had attempted suicide recently a concern in deciding to make the fight?  You said that his manager requested it so you booked it "simple as that."  Is it really a situation where "simple as that" applies?

Not sure what kind of response you are trying to provoke. I knew Junie had a personal issue and was dropped from the UFC. I didn't know all of the details. Look, Junie has some issues. We all know that but as I've said before, I'm not booking him to babysit my kids or host a lecture on better housekeeping. Junie is a fighter and a fighter with personal conflicts that he's trying to sort out. Only those with the most to hide point in other directions. Junie has admitted repeatedly that what happened was his own fault. He isn't hiding anything and hes taking the steps to better himself because of it. Mistakes are made by all of us all the time. Its whether or not we learn from them that matters.

Was there any request on MMA Big Show's part for Browning to get a psychological evaluation prior to competing?  The reason for the question is simply that in the fight game it is dangerous to have a fighter competing at less than 100% mentally as well as the established link between athletic brain trauma and suicide attempts.

Are you serious?

How would you respond to those who say that the promotion has jumped at the opportunity to have a controversial figure on your card as an attention grab despite the entire situation with an attempted suicide and multiple charges of battery?

I know that what you all know from blogs and news media is a lot different than the facts of what went down and this whole situation is being milked and dramatized for the sake of web traffic and tv ratings. Have you ever woke up to a sound in the middle of the night swinging your arms to find out it was your wife coming back to bed after going to the bathroom, or maybe your dog or cat etc? I have, a few times. I'm one of those guys you dont try to wake up or you might get hit. I have sleep Apnea and when I am awoke I dont know whats going on for a while. Junie, allegedly being under the influence of what he took and then being jolted awake by a group of people most likely shook Junie up and was cause for an outlash. I don't know what I would do if I were woke up by a group of people trying to force something down my throat.  I'm really not defending Junies actions. I know it sounds like it but I wasn't there. I can't judge Junie for what may or may not have taken place. I'm a fight promoter. If Junie did anything illegal, then a judge will do their job and place judgement but it's not my job or anyone else.
 
As far as me snagging Junie as an attention grab...of course there is value in media attention as a fight promoter, but this certainly isn't what I had expected to come out of it. So many focus on the negative side of Junie. Fact is, Scott Cornwell as a very talented up and comer that Junie needs to be concerned about and both men are training hard for this fight. This is what Junie needs. A goal set and the desire to achieve it to keep his head focused and clear. Far too many people would rather stand under a man on a ledge and tell him to jump than offer him a hand and a way to rebuild himself.

While you wait on finding out more information from Junie's manager, right now...knowing the bare facts of: Suicide attempt, battery charges and threats to "kill and rape" the family of hospital staff, and now a warrant outstanding in regards to the entire situation...is the MMA Big Show plan to go ahead with the fight as planned?

I've spoken to Junie and his manager. Yes, the fight will move forward as scheduled. It's not my place to discuss what I was told but it appears there was a clerical error and Junies laywers are handling it. The fight is still on and nothing has changed.