Good to see that UFC star Chael Sonnen got his suspension cut in half. Heard the hearing was a joke. Between athletic commissions run by government appointees who are, at times, totally unqualified for their roles and the wacky judging of some MMA fights there is never a dull moment in the ever growing sport of MMA. Sonnen needs a solid fight and obviously a win to get back to the rematch phase with Anderson Silva in my opinion. In my opinion, Sonnen not having a fight prior to fighting Anderson Silva would be a strategic mistake.
How's this for a fantasy scenario, GSP beats the holy hell out of Josh Koscheck for three rounds and then in the 4th round in Montreal GSP is severely cut, the fight is stopped and Koshcheck leaves Quebec with the hometown hero's title and more angst than a serial killer?
For that rematch, one would be printing money.....oh, I forgot, MMA 'purists' aren't wild about 'rematches.' My bad.
Yeah, I get it MMA crazies, this isn't pro wrestling but, remember, that I did include the term 'fantasy.'
Jim Ross, speaking like a typical fan who doesn't care about performers abusing PEDs, despite knowing the health consequences of such decisions better than most, is glad that Sonnen has had his suspension reduced, so he can get back to watching him fight in marquee matches ASAP. Hey, I've got a brilliant idea, maybe Sonnen should hire Ross to be his manager? It would be a match made in heaven. All Ross would have to do is rehash the same shady spin he used to defend WWE from media criticism after the Benoit tragedy like: "This is not a steroid issue. That horse has got to be put in the barn and unsaddled.".
If that wasn't bad enough, Ross wants to see a Montreal screwjob blood stoppage finish where Josh Koscheck steals the title from GSP at UFC 124. Just think, the rematch could be hot enough to sell out UFC's first ever Dome show at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on April 30th, 2011. Hey, why stop there, maybe you could have Dana White pay off referee Herb Dean to ring the f*cking bell as soon as the first drop of blood trickles from GSP's face. Then you could book the corrupt owner against the Canadian blue collar hero in a boxing match. At least that would be original booking in MMA.
over 1 year ago
Keith Harris
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I think your commentary is more of an over reaction then normal.
1) The hearing was a joke, and the running of commissions has been heavily scrutinised especially since the weekend by plenty of people other than Ross.
2) PED’s in and of themselves aren’t an issue, and the water is murky regarding legality and acceptance. Today’s sport’s supplement is tomorrow’s banned substance. As for Sonnen we can cynically assume his Testosterone Replacement Therapy is an excuse and not a reason in order to get his suspension reduced and continue using a ‘steroid’ (though he would still need to test within acceptable limits) but it is still just assumption on our part.
3) A cut stoppage tends to be an unfortunate ending rather than a screw job and you only mention it because it’s Montreal. This is not GSP’s last fight with the promotion, he’s not going to a rival and there would be an automatic rematch if it were to happen. Every booker and promoter realises the value of a rubber match and it won’t just be J.R. thinking this.
Yes, J.R. still has a Carney mentality a lot of the time but let’s not get dramatic each time he makes a blog post.
1) Yes, the hearing was a joke and the running of the CSAC deserves to be scrutinised after such a farce, but Ross completely ignored that Sonnen played a big part in making that hearing a joke with his quack doctor and his own strange claims. The only person on the Commission who genuinely understood the TRT issue was Dr. Van Lemon and he wanted to uphold the original suspension. Moreover, most journalists who lambast the current “wacky judging” of MMA fights thought Sonnen was full of it to. It sounds like Ross didn’t watch the hearings and thus shouldn’t be making pronouncements that conclude that Sonnen’s reduced suspension was a good thing.
2) I don’t really disagree with this point, but I would argue that the cynicism is warranted given all the inconsistencies in Sonnen’s story. However, Ross didn’t give such a well thought out and nuanced argument, instead he just said “bravo to Chael Sonnen” and couldn’t wait to tell people how he should be booked next.
3) A cuts stoppage in MMA may be an unfortunate ending, but often in wrestling it is used as a screw job finish to build to a rematch. Usually the match gets called off just as the bloody babyface is about to get his revenge on the dastardly heel, such a finish was used at the Great American Bash 1988 to screw Luger out of the title when he suffered minor cuts and had NWA World champion Ric Flair in the torture rack submission. I mention it not because the fight is in Montreal, but because it’s pretty clear where Ross got his “fantasy scenario” from. ;-)
by Keith Harris on Dec 8, 2010 11:21 AM EST up reply actions
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