Decade of Change: MMA Edition
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 12, 2010 10:42 AM EST
in MMA News
45 comments
Over at SBNation.com there is a series of articles going up this week focused on things that we would like to see changed over the next ten years in our respective sports. The MMA article for the "Decade Of Change" series went up today.
The piece covers seven things I would love to see change in MMA over the next 10 years to aid in the growth of the sport. Here is a taste from Decade Of Change: MMA's Continued Growth Relies on Several Key Alterations:
No. 1: Olympic Style Blood Tests
The truth is, steroids are a massive problem in sports. And I don't only mean athletes actually being on them, but speculation of who is and isn't. Look at what happened in boxing over the past few weeks. There has never been any actual evidence tying Manny Pacquiao to steroids, only the Mayweather family deciding that he must be using to be as good as he is. That alone resulted in the fight of the century for boxing falling apart.
Olympic style blood testing goes a long way toward at least assuaging the constant chatter of who is and who isn't using. The last thing the sport can afford -- if it wants to continue growing -- is a massive steroid scandal. Which, given that there have been steroid accusations made about UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, does not seem that far away. It would be an incredibly progressive move for an American sport to have blood testing. The only real question is, are state athletic commissions ever going to become progressive enough to move to something so comprehensive?
There are six more key alterations I would like to see made to the sport in the piece. Go give it a read. And keep an eye out for other sports' editions of the series as they are very interesting reads.
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jesus...yes...fixing
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 12, 2010 10:36 AM EST up reply actions
Be careful. You don’t want to get demoted from Editor to “guy who does that Fightlines nonsense.”
by MMAEruption on Jan 12, 2010 11:21 AM EST up reply actions
Agreed. I love the idea of the WEC as a training ground to help season newbies, while at the same time taking those seasoned fighters and letting them perform in the UFC. The UFC wants excitement: nothing like the lighter weights to give them that excitement. WEC always delivers.
I love me some Sexyama!
I will gladly source it...
i pulled it from a site that didn’t have it sourced and I know it wasn’t them who took it so had nothing.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 12, 2010 10:56 AM EST up reply actions
After reading up on Olympic Style Blood testing
I think it’s a joke. What they need to do is have ever state AC make it their mission to constantly have and use the most cutting edge UA and Blood Testing available.
I think that this is where all these groups that pop up and say they they care about the fighters can do something to prove that they actually care about that and aren’t in it for the money. Research all of the testing programs that are out there, figure out a good national or international testing program, and look for a way to get it funded and pressure the AC’s and orgs into using their method.
A national or international system is really the only way to be effective, and if they get it big enough they can probably find ways to help keep the costs down by working with certain labs and by having so much volume. Maybe Zuffa can work on doing somethign like this after they get the sport regulated, but them doing something company wide really won’t help if they aren’t the only major org going in the world.
Missed erection
I will probably set off a sh*t storm by saying this but steroids and performance enhancers are not gonna go away. Why fight it? Why not monitor and regulate the use? The performance enhancing industry is not going anywhere. Billions are made off the average person wanting to look like a professional athlete. Most don’t have the tenacity to get to the top and the ones that do will do anything to stay there. There is a way bigger issue which is why the sport has seen a rise in popularity. MMA has been around for 1000s of years in many prominent cultures. The Romans and Greeks who in many ways we pattern our society after would have considered any elixir that could have made them better a gift from the Gods, especially one that worked. Why does the average Joe who will never fight in a ring/cage really care what a fighter does. Why is Congress so involved in steroids. What about the horror industry that has grown exponentially in the past ten years there selling a brand of depravity on a whole other level. Given the personality and fickle nature of the average fan the MMA trend will be a shadow of it’s former self by 2015. The trendy affliction/tap out shirt wearing fan will be long gone before steroids will. Just my opinion.
by son of mark on Jan 12, 2010 11:56 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Because
Taking steroids is like pretending to be handicapped and competing in the Special Olympics.
HI YAH!
by Thats It For you! on Jan 12, 2010 12:34 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Nope
But I watched the episode of South Park last night where I stole it from so it was fresh in the brain. In all seriousness though its an unfair advantage no matter how you look at it, and the answer isn’t to allow/ regulate steroid use.
HI YAH!
by Thats It For you! on Jan 12, 2010 1:22 PM EST up reply actions
It’s unfair because all fighters don’t want to use that, and if they don’t then they will be at a disadvantage. I’m no expert on the substance but they are banned for a reason, so allowing them will put athletes in the position where they either take them or be at the disadvantage.
HI YAH!
by Thats It For you! on Jan 12, 2010 1:30 PM EST up reply actions
LOL i totally agree with you there, Since MMA is going to impact your health in a negative way for sure.
HI YAH!
by Thats It For you! on Jan 12, 2010 1:38 PM EST up reply actions
that's not always true
you could cycle like crazy going into a fight and a better game plan with better technique will almost always win. Steroids don’t equal gas and cardio, often time its just the opposite
The problem comes from outside of the major leagues. It’s expensive to monitor and regulate it, so there’s no way for that to be done outside of the “major leagues.” Then you have the problem that if everyone in the big leagues is doing it, you’ll have to do it to get into the big leagues, but no one will be monitoring those people properly, and that’s where the serious problems will happen.
The other thing is, monitoring and regulating is not a perfect system, look at prescription drug use (in the real world and in the sports world) so it would be very hard to come up with a way to regulate and monitor the situation that would work.
solid arguement.
I think that once you take away the mystique and stop making it so tempting to get an unfair advantage the real athletes who are solid with great work ethic and talent will rise to the top regardless. With all the self righteous people and media( yes the media are not people they are demons inhabiting human hosts) but that’s for another forum., trying to make unrealistic expectations a being able to keep up with the technology presidents have shown that decriminalizing certain substances you take away the perception of the unfair advantage. the one thing that I struggle to refute is your comments on the cost of regulating and outside the pro level.
Why is Congress so involved in steroids.[sic]
Because sports are considered interstate commerce.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by themachiavellian on Jan 12, 2010 1:26 PM EST up reply actions
I agree with most of those, but I disagree vehemently with the contention that the UFC’s approach to announcing is the best way. I actually think that Gus Johnson is a fine play-by-play announcer, who certainly has room to improve. However, there’s something to having an established and recognizable voice announcing an MMA broadcast…especially if you’re looking to appeal to and attract casual fans who are familiar with the other sports a network may carry. Using a veteran voice lends credibility to the telecast. And nothing against Joe Rogan, but I always have new fans wonder why the guy from Fear Factor is providing color commentary. People like Frank Shamrock, Pat Miletich, Frank Trigg, and Randy Couture have all been valuable assets, and in 10 years, Ken Florian might be the best of all.
What I would want to see is an insistence that any network deal for UFC ensure that it be handled through the Sports, rather than the Entertainment, Division. Tape delayed shows for the West Coast won’t fly.
I didn’t mean to imply that the UFC “announcing” is the best possible. I just meant that they aren’t willing to give up production and cave to whoever the network says needs to be on commentary. And they shouldn’t give it up given that I do think Johnson hasn’t really improved at all and had that awful moment with Seth.
Are there better announcers in the world than Goldie and Rogan? Sure! Sorry if I implied otherwise. All I really meant was that the UFC isn’t giving up control.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 12, 2010 12:55 PM EST up reply actions
Well...
obviously you have to say “we’re implementing testing on ____ date” and make it clear that it will be random from that point on. That will allow people to get off and (hopefully) stay off.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 12, 2010 12:53 PM EST up reply actions
To be honest
From the picture and the first part of the title, I thought this was going to be a chronological view of Alistairs body transformation.
"You don't come to have your fingernails or your toenails painted. Goddamn, you come to fight, not to be a fairy."
Don Frye
by keyboardwarrior on Jan 12, 2010 12:55 PM EST reply actions
if you made the gun that was used to kill the man, did you kill the man?
"You don't come to have your fingernails or your toenails painted. Goddamn, you come to fight, not to be a fairy."
Don Frye
by keyboardwarrior on Jan 12, 2010 1:56 PM EST up reply actions
HGH test is a wash
There is no effective test for HGH. In all the years of the Olympics, no one has ever been caught using HGH. Victor Conte, the founder of Balco, said that there were entire teams using steroids and HGH, and they were never caught. Mayweather is such an idiot.
by illmaticwarrior on Jan 12, 2010 1:29 PM EST reply actions
I love the fact that random keyboard warriors accusing guys of taking steroids is a reason to have olympic style testing. That isn’t going to happen and shouldn’t olympic testing is a joke in itself, testing is fine the way it is it catches cheaters look at Barnett. Until then a bunch of bitter people making cheap accusations about people juicing holds about as much credence as Toney saying his dad was a death fighter none at all.
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