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June Mailbag
June Mailbag
More bloviating per square inch than an "O'Reilly Factor" marathon:
it's the requisite monthly installment of the Sherdog.com
mailbag.
Recent opinion pieces on Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Kimbo Slice and the ten most career-morphing performances prompted responses from readers. Any correspondence not submitted in crayon and/or a red gooey substance is, as always, favored.
The highlights:
Incorrect Correction
Just wanted to inform you of a possible correction that is needed in your recent article titled "A Beached Bad Boy."
The article states, "But Ortiz -- who has only lost to Chuck Liddell (Pictures) (Pictures) and Randy Couture (Pictures) (Pictures) in the seven years he's been with the company -- is certainly no worse off than Liddell himself, who has racked up losses in two of his last three bouts."
That statement is incorrect: Ortiz has also lost to Guy Mezger (Pictures) and Frank Shamrock (Pictures) in the UFC. However, I may be wrong as well, you may just mean during the time that Dana White has served as president of the company.
--Ryan Llewellyn
I received several notices about this alleged factual error-this one by far the most polite-but your latter intuition was the right one: I meant to suggest that Ortiz had only lost to two fighters in the seven years he had been under the Zuffa umbrella. The Shamrock and Mezger fights were held during SEG's regime.
So much for having a coherent thought.
I just read your article about Ortiz and UFC and find it humorous (or at least glaringly ironic) that you, and the general tenor of Sherdog.com for that matter, are employing the same sort of propaganda that you accuse the UFC of to get an audience. Your article may not be the "We are the best, the rest of you can screw off" card - but it is blatantly on the anti-UFC bandwagon that seems to be gaining steam.
I used to enjoy visiting Sherdog but find it increasingly negative and biased against the UFC. It seems to me that you guys would be better served to not be so obvious about your biased journalism. There are still plenty of us that have been following the fight game for years and recognize the level of talent in the Zuffa organization - regardless of the [people] who run it. However, it seems that we are unwelcome and should move out of the way before we get steamrolled by the "I hate Dana" train that runs on Sherdog.com's tracks.
-- Shea Strickland
One of the most frustrating parts of committing an opinion to public court is that you'll inevitably be accused of subterfuge against "the other guy." Editorials lambasting EliteXC will invite labels of being "anti-competition;" editorials questioning the UFC's management practices must mean Gary Shaw is sending me bouquets.
I have neither animosity nor warmth toward any one particular MMA entity. The UFC is the biggest, most structurally sound, most talent-rich promotion in the world. It's the best combat sports product by a mile. They don't need rah-rah puff pieces.
I found White's treatment of Ortiz to be grating and unprofessional. It prompted a few paragraphs. There is no hidden meaning and no guerrilla campaign against the Zuffa Empire. Oswald acted alone. Move on.
Wanted to get your opinion regarding some thoughts I have had recently about Tito.
After watching the Lyoto Machida (Pictures) fight and seeing him almost land a slick triangle it occurred to me that Tito, despite being an exceptionally talented and well-rounded mixed martial artist, seems to insist on forcing a ground-and-pound game plan - why? Clearly, someone who can give the best submission fighters in the world all they can handle knows something about the ground game - but can you remember the last time you saw him attempt a submission? Perhaps some desperation armbars in the closing minutes of his loss to Randy Couture (Pictures) but other than that I can't think of many.
So, my long winded question is - why does a fighter as seasoned as Tito force the same tired game plan over and over? He should know better by now.
--Greg Mednikov
As Joe Rogan pointed out, Ortiz has a very credible submission wrestling game. He excelled in Abu Dhabi competition-albeit against smaller foes like Matt Hughes (Pictures) and Rumina Sato (Pictures).
Problem is, submission isn't what brought him to the dance. He favored ground control and striking, and that's obviously what he's most comfortable doing. Maybe snagging Machida will encourage him to open up more in future fights.
The First Kimbo Slice Reference in Nearly 15 Minutes
Great article on Kimbo Slice. I think its time for Kimbo to step up to the plate myself. But if Bas Rutten (Pictures) has his way, along with Gary Shaw, this train has just begun. I can't say that I blame either: if Kimbo is making money, why not continue on with the hype? It makes perfect business sense, but I cant help but think the hype is getting blown way out of proportion for a fighter who has not paid his dues like others in this sport. There are many more guys deserving of the reputation in the sport than Kimbo Slice.
It's pretty clear he needs to step up to the plate, but I have my doubts it happens anytime soon.
--Jesse Donathan
Slice is telling media he'll be facing Brett Rogers (Pictures) next and that's a pretty bold move. I'd sooner see him rematch James Thompson (Pictures) to help satisfy the moaning over the premature stoppage.
I can't understand the complaints over his marquee status, though: casual fans and media weren't clamoring for Robbie Lawler (Pictures) and Scott Smith to headline. They wanted Slice and Slice is what they got. All affiliated parties should be grateful he was around to spearhead the move to network television. Better Lawler/Smith as a co-main event than not on TV at all.
Recent opinion pieces on Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Kimbo Slice and the ten most career-morphing performances prompted responses from readers. Any correspondence not submitted in crayon and/or a red gooey substance is, as always, favored.
The highlights:
Incorrect Correction
Just wanted to inform you of a possible correction that is needed in your recent article titled "A Beached Bad Boy."
The article states, "But Ortiz -- who has only lost to Chuck Liddell (Pictures) (Pictures) and Randy Couture (Pictures) (Pictures) in the seven years he's been with the company -- is certainly no worse off than Liddell himself, who has racked up losses in two of his last three bouts."
That statement is incorrect: Ortiz has also lost to Guy Mezger (Pictures) and Frank Shamrock (Pictures) in the UFC. However, I may be wrong as well, you may just mean during the time that Dana White has served as president of the company.
--Ryan Llewellyn
I received several notices about this alleged factual error-this one by far the most polite-but your latter intuition was the right one: I meant to suggest that Ortiz had only lost to two fighters in the seven years he had been under the Zuffa umbrella. The Shamrock and Mezger fights were held during SEG's regime.
So much for having a coherent thought.
I just read your article about Ortiz and UFC and find it humorous (or at least glaringly ironic) that you, and the general tenor of Sherdog.com for that matter, are employing the same sort of propaganda that you accuse the UFC of to get an audience. Your article may not be the "We are the best, the rest of you can screw off" card - but it is blatantly on the anti-UFC bandwagon that seems to be gaining steam.
I used to enjoy visiting Sherdog but find it increasingly negative and biased against the UFC. It seems to me that you guys would be better served to not be so obvious about your biased journalism. There are still plenty of us that have been following the fight game for years and recognize the level of talent in the Zuffa organization - regardless of the [people] who run it. However, it seems that we are unwelcome and should move out of the way before we get steamrolled by the "I hate Dana" train that runs on Sherdog.com's tracks.
-- Shea Strickland
One of the most frustrating parts of committing an opinion to public court is that you'll inevitably be accused of subterfuge against "the other guy." Editorials lambasting EliteXC will invite labels of being "anti-competition;" editorials questioning the UFC's management practices must mean Gary Shaw is sending me bouquets.
I have neither animosity nor warmth toward any one particular MMA entity. The UFC is the biggest, most structurally sound, most talent-rich promotion in the world. It's the best combat sports product by a mile. They don't need rah-rah puff pieces.
I found White's treatment of Ortiz to be grating and unprofessional. It prompted a few paragraphs. There is no hidden meaning and no guerrilla campaign against the Zuffa Empire. Oswald acted alone. Move on.
Wanted to get your opinion regarding some thoughts I have had recently about Tito.
After watching the Lyoto Machida (Pictures) fight and seeing him almost land a slick triangle it occurred to me that Tito, despite being an exceptionally talented and well-rounded mixed martial artist, seems to insist on forcing a ground-and-pound game plan - why? Clearly, someone who can give the best submission fighters in the world all they can handle knows something about the ground game - but can you remember the last time you saw him attempt a submission? Perhaps some desperation armbars in the closing minutes of his loss to Randy Couture (Pictures) but other than that I can't think of many.
So, my long winded question is - why does a fighter as seasoned as Tito force the same tired game plan over and over? He should know better by now.
--Greg Mednikov
As Joe Rogan pointed out, Ortiz has a very credible submission wrestling game. He excelled in Abu Dhabi competition-albeit against smaller foes like Matt Hughes (Pictures) and Rumina Sato (Pictures).
Problem is, submission isn't what brought him to the dance. He favored ground control and striking, and that's obviously what he's most comfortable doing. Maybe snagging Machida will encourage him to open up more in future fights.
The First Kimbo Slice Reference in Nearly 15 Minutes
Great article on Kimbo Slice. I think its time for Kimbo to step up to the plate myself. But if Bas Rutten (Pictures) has his way, along with Gary Shaw, this train has just begun. I can't say that I blame either: if Kimbo is making money, why not continue on with the hype? It makes perfect business sense, but I cant help but think the hype is getting blown way out of proportion for a fighter who has not paid his dues like others in this sport. There are many more guys deserving of the reputation in the sport than Kimbo Slice.
It's pretty clear he needs to step up to the plate, but I have my doubts it happens anytime soon.
--Jesse Donathan
Slice is telling media he'll be facing Brett Rogers (Pictures) next and that's a pretty bold move. I'd sooner see him rematch James Thompson (Pictures) to help satisfy the moaning over the premature stoppage.
I can't understand the complaints over his marquee status, though: casual fans and media weren't clamoring for Robbie Lawler (Pictures) and Scott Smith to headline. They wanted Slice and Slice is what they got. All affiliated parties should be grateful he was around to spearhead the move to network television. Better Lawler/Smith as a co-main event than not on TV at all.
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