Let's be real, it sounds like many fans and fighters do not want to hear the truth. Many of us are aware that fighters rarely enter a fight 100%. That’s cool, we can accept that. But if a fighter comes out and casually reveals how he or she truly feels mentally or physically before a fight?!? Stop the presses, we’re talking about a major political gaffe. I understand we want a show. I understand that no one wants to hear excuses. But . . . damn. Really?

A veteran fighter like Mirko Filopovic states rather bluntly that he’s taking this fight on short notice, he doesn’t have enough time to train but he’ll do his best. He gets trashed by his opponent, Frank Mir and fans.

Pat Barry states he broke his hand and foot DURING his match against Cro-Cop and he gets trashed for his performance by Dana White, Cro-Cop and fans. I wonder what Dana White thought after Barry posted his post-fight casts via Twitter. On another note, Urijah Faber breaks his hands in a good match against Mike Brown and he’s applauded for being a warrior. Whatever. No real point there, I’m just saying.

After defeating Chael Sonnen in an epic 5 round one-sided fight he was losing, Anderson Silva states he had a rib injury. Whoa, talk about big mistake. Fans then lambast him for excuses, being afraid of Sonnen, his piss-poor wrestling and not to mention Silva’s outright refusal to speak, learn or try English -really??? How dare he continue to have his manager translate his post-fight comments. On another note, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua used his manager as a translator. During the 2nd Machida fight, he mentioned a knee injury in the post-fight presser which required surgery. Whatever. No real point there, I’m just saying.

I feel great, man. I haven't felt like this in a long time. It's been a good six, seven years since I felt the way I do now. The last time I felt like this was when I had my world title. You're going to see at the weigh-ins how good of a shape I'm in. I'm in really, really good shape. – Tito Ortiz

At this point in his career we know that Tito Ortiz tends to exaggerate the status on his health. But the last thing many people want to hear is the truth. Here’s a short list of things that affects a fighters performance that we just don’t want to hear . . . well depending on who they are.

 - Death of family or friends.
 - Their financial situation and the purse for their upcoming fight.
 - Recent family problems.
 - Lack of training partners and/or facilities.
 - General health which includes injuries incurred during training.
 - Mental problems.

In the end fighters complain, lie and exaggerate. We know they’re not supposed to but . . . come on, give them a break. Tim Sylvia hopefully learned this after his Randy Couture fight. In the end, he needed surgery. 9 times out of 10 Joe Silva and Dana White are pretty much aware of the pre-fight injuries. Dana White more or less picks whom he backs up in post-fight press conferences by publicly confirming fighters’ circumstances. White was never a huge Sylvia fan and it showed. When they offer information about how great they feel, there’s a chance that they’re probably reading a script to help sell the fight. Unfortunately some fighters have strong emotional impulses and may decide to tell the truth and/or speak their mind. And some fighters are simply not media saavvy. I don’t really have a strong end point or anything other than to say, jeez, give these guys a break. Yeah, including Tito Ortiz.