185 is looking like a pretty solid card
🙂
What does everyone think of Benson Henderson's move up to welterweight BTW? Will it actually be a good thing for him, or is it just something he's doing because there's no clear path for him to get back to a title shot at lightweight?
lol_donkaments said:
Couldn't disagree more. He's an athlete. Not a celebrity like Charlie Sheen. And he's the p4p best fighter. Without GSP, and Anderson not 100%, he is the only superstar in UFC. So that means the two big names on the sport tested positive for drugs. Is it asking too much for a clean sport? Without junkies and cheaters?
Yes... but one of them tested positive for something that nobody really cares about. Athletes do recreational drugs all the time and even when they're silly enough to get caught, people simply don't care. Take Wes Welker, he got pinged for recreational drug use in the last NFL offseason and got a brief suspension, but there was no outrage from the public - either when it happened, or when his suspension got cut in half. Does anyone even remember that Andre Agassi got caught using crystal meth? Michael Phelps basically just got a slap on the wrist from the US Olympic Committee when he was photographed with his face in a bong*. Most people believe it's a waste of time even testing for these drugs, since they don't enhance performance.
So like I said, if this story was going to cause a black eye for the UFC it would have already happened. But it didn't. Joe Public doesn't really care. Hell, even Reebok don't seem to care and if it's not a problem for the conservative-as-hell corporate sponsors... let's be honest, it's only
really fuel for Jon Jones haters. Who only make up a small portion of the hardcore MMA fanbase, and who are going to continue consuming the product regardless.
Even people who hate the UFC as a whole don't particularly care about it, because they've got a heap of better material to draw from (rampant use of
actual PEDs, every second thing that comes out of Dana White's mouth, and of course "OMG it's awful bloodsport won't someone think of the children").
Plus it's not like Jones has a squeaky-clean Captain America image to protect. His behaviour out of the ring is arrogant at best and his highlight reel consists of some of the most violent and vicious stuff ever
done in any sport, period. He's a dangerous guy, very possibly the best fighter in the world, and kind of a jerk. Now that people know he's dabbled in cocaine he's... still a dangerous guy, still probably the best fighter in the world, and still kind of a jerk. It changes nothing. If anything, it actually fits his image. I'm almost disappointed he gave a half-arsed apology and went to rehab (for one day LOL).
* don't be under any illusions BTW - the fact that there was a picture was the real story there. The story "Michael Phelps does weed at a party" without any accompanying picture almost certainly doesn't make the news, and he probably even gets to keep his sponsors.
