Alexander Gustafsson (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)It's been raining in Chicago this week. Lake Michigan, a normally placid and calm body of water, has been made angry by the wind and the rain. Where sailboats normally dawdle by, white caps are raising up. But between April showers comes sunshine and the extra light that exposes the city's residents to the dusty reality that are our homes. Initiate Spring Cleaning.
For some readers, like my friend who lives in forever-sunny Miami, spring doesn't warrant serious cleaning, but in a three-season city like Chicago (freezing, lukewarm, and humid) dirt and grime can hide for months inside 4 p.m. sunsets.
Like a Chicago winter, the UFC recently went dark, four weeks with no fights, only this week awakening in Sweden. Of course, the schedule picks up through the summer, starting with this coming weekend's much-anticipated matchup between UFC light heavyweight champion Jonny "Bones" Jones and top contender "Suga" Rashad Evans. The Jones vs. Evans fight could be overhyped, but I'll still be paying the $55 PPV. It's because that fight and the next month of UFC content is so excellent -- and the last month has on the contrary been devoid of good storylines -- that I'm recommending five storylines that need to be swept up and tossed out.
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jon Jones
He's tall and he kicks people, but no matter how bad Alexander Gustafsson beat up a rusty Thiago Silva, there is little compelling rational minds to compare the Swedish giant to Jon Jones. Unfortunately, the MMA Twitteratti is by habit irrational. The Gustafsson vs. Jones argument might be the freshest of the old and crusty stories being recycled, but it could easily be the most ridiculous. The comparisons and the simple-mindedness of thinking that that the Swedes reach will somehow be the antidote to Jones' constant advantage (9.5 inch against Evans) is too finite to be realistic. I was impressed with the skyscraper's kicks and ability to slow down Silva in their fight, but the obsession with pushing him towards a fight with Jones is premature, and already a bore.
Oh, and though he's -500 in Vegas, it's also a little rash to assume a Jones victory on Saturday. There is at least one psychological advantage working in Evans' favor: Big Brother Syndrome.
Gilbert Melendez's Strikeforce purgatory
Melendez is a good fighter. He's won six of his last seven fights and should one day be considered for a running the UFC, but the constant bellyaching about not making it into the big show is beginning to seem counterproductive. The UFC might move him over if he becomes a marketable draw, but his downcast pestering (unlike the joyful Tweeting of guys like Roy Nelson) has come across petulant and whiny. I like watching Melendez fight, but he's wasted too much airtime complaining about his Strikeforce contract (there are more fights to come) and not enough time trying to become that promotion's all-star. It's not often you are given run of an economically stable promotion. The sooner Melendez recognizes that he can create a profit for himself in Strikeforce, the sooner he can make the transition to the UFC.
King Mo fallout
I'm as guilty as anyone else for being sucked into the drama surrounding King Mo's NSAC suspension and subsequent firing from Zuffa, but I think we can all agree that the apologies (while late) have finally been delivered.
For me, what became the most interesting aspect of the whole affair was the in-fighting amongst the MMA media. The journalists in MMA are often tagged as fan-boys before reporters, and many did get caught up in defending King Mo, and others began eviscerating those journalists' weak-handed opinion pieces (Kevin Iole at Yahoo.com did the best job of finding facts as they related to the hearing and accusations of racism by Pat Lundell). The entire episode exposed the industry's sensitivity to criticism and just how incomplete many assessments of the event became when clouded by ego, and the constant trumpeting of fighter's rights. Truth is, with the notable exception of Josh Gross at ESPN, much of the MMA media does chose to chase the bamboo shorts. Moving forward, the media should be a little more cognizant of when they choose to defend a fighter and why, because with King Mo it was poorly executed and dragged on for far too long.
Bellator exists?!
I've been on the Bellator beat for several months, writing several profiles for FIGHT! Magazine and finding myself impressed with their often under-evaluated talent. With the UFC in hiatus Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney had the month to host fights and appear on the MMA talk show circuit. He's soft-spoken, but between his simple message (tournament formats are, like, cool) and fun title fights, many fans were screaming about how great the organization could be for the sport as a second-tier competitor.
The Bellator model will continue to be successful because they're on the Viacom bankroll, and that means billions of dollars backing each decision. MMA companies are entertainment and media entities, not sports organization and Viacom knows how to makes sustainable and profitable programming.
It's time to get used to Bellator. They aren't (that) new and they aren't going to be an also-ran for too much longer.
TRT in MMA
Has there ever been a more discussed topic where less was known? The UFC and the NSAC are both to blame, the former for a lack of will to enforce any comprehensive drug policy and the latter for not having clear guidelines. Scratch the surface further (and many have) and you quickly find that the most fundamental question: Is TRT dangerous? If so, at what levels? What levels should earn exemptions? Are there natural ways to raise TRT without taking creams or injections? The lack of information is so profound that complaining about it seems off-point. Investigations like the ones reported by ESPN's Josh Gross on fighter pay would probably shed some light and get public opinion in one direction. Do that and we can get the UFC and NSAC to do something more than displace blame.
For an interesting read on how TRT can be beneficial read the lengthy feature by Craig Davidson in this month's Esquire.
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