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After all the hoo-hah of the recent title fights, has it affected the Champions Legacies?
13 Apr 2010
By Jamie Kennedy
A legacy can take years or even decades to build, yet all it takes is a matter of 25 measly minutes to jeopardise the foundations that have been built up for so many years, ruining a fighters God like presence forever. Over the last two months Georges St Pierre, BJ Penn and Anderson Silva have all defended their titles and all three have faced immense criticism. Rightly or wrongly their legacies and legendary status' have come under scrutiny with the fickle media and internet fan base.
There is a reoccurring theme that seems to be seeping into every major UFC event since the turn of the year and I'm not talking about an injury list that would make Darren Anderton blush. What has remained the same is anti-climatic main events, particularly title fights.
It's these fights that I'm going to focus on and I'll start with BJ Penn versus Frankie Edgar. Now let me start by saying that this isn't a swipe at Edgar as he went in there did his job, fought the fight how he wanted and implemented his game plan to perfection, well done to him. The fight, however was nothing more than a sloppy Boxing match with BJ looking content to stand in the middle of the cage without even a single take down attempt. BJ looked tired and really out of shape compared to how he looked against Kenny Florian, perhaps he underestimated Edgar? In which case you reap what you sow.
Still everyone has an off night but can this be held against BJ and does it tarnish his legacy? Absolutely. In Newcastle after choking out Joe Stevenson, (who was so bloodied he looked like a scene from Hostel) BJ was asked by Joe Rogan- 'are you taking it more seriously?' to which an out of breath BJ replied "look at my abs, look at my abs", well where were these abs in Abu Dabi? To me this performance smacks of the classic BJ not training correctly and allowing his ego to rule his training camp.
Speaking of ego's this brings me nicely onto my next point: Georges St Pierre' inability to finish fights. Is this fact or myth? It's myth. In my opinion the reason Georges couldn't get that elusive finish can be put down to one of two things; either Dan Hardy's zen like mind control and ability to go to his happy place as GSP tried to tie him in a double winsor, or the fact that GSP's confidence took such a battering that his fear of being Matt Serra'd makes him want to avoid risks like Bob Geldoff avoids soap?
Where as BJ is guilty of underestimating his opponent, i'd say that Georges problem is that he shows his victims ( and lately you couldn't call anyone he's fought anything but victims) to much respect. The difference is that he did try to finish the fight, it's just Hardy was used to being twanged about like a Stretch Armstrong on Christmas morning if his stint in Shaolin (as featured on UFC primetime) was anything to go by; no pain grasshopper.
Georges is all about respect and is a humble champion that wants to be an ambassador of the Sport. He follows a game plan to perfection, studies hard, trains harder and dominates every minute of his fights but can his lack of recent finishes be held against him and tarnish his legacy? Absolutely not.
Georges' win first, entertain second attitude might not please every fan but it actually helps move us away from the 'humancockfighting-brigade' and brings us a step closer to legitimising the sport in the mainstream media. If Georges had headlined the card in Abu Dabi Dana White would be rubbing his belly like Dawn French at an all you can eat for £10 Buffett. Unfortunately Anderson Silva was given the honour.
"What we do to ourselves dies with us, what we do to others remains immortal"
In the UK we have to put up with Joe public mentioning Alex Reid after they hear the words Mixed Martial Arts or UFC as when given an opportunity to mention the world class talent the media would much prefer talk about our ubber-tanned simpleton Hollyoakes actor instead making him the face of the Sport to John and Margaret Smith of Penrith. So what better opportunity to showcase the Premier Mixed Martial Arts organisation in the world when it's on TV in the UK at a reasonable hour and therefore being shown in pubs and working man clubs up and down the country? Even better still the worlds pound for pound greatest fighter was at the top of the bill, this really was realistic chance of changing the public and medias perception of the sport.
The first two rounds saw Anderson taunting and mocking Demian Maia with showboating, high level Boxing defence and superior footwork all the while unleashing a jab as nasty as Nick Cotton. The showboating was annoying but his bobbing and weaving along with his twinkle toes footwork were a thing of beauty. However what followed made me miss The Reidenator.
In Andersons first year in the UFC he smashed through every fighter he faced in super quick time and with more violence than an evening in with Tommy and Pammy Lee. He beat the champion Rich Franklin with a flurry of knees that Joe Rogan proclaimed to be "A ballet of violence". Why is it then that he felt the need to circle away, refuse to engage, taunt and swear at Maia in Portuguese for the final three rounds?
The fans in Abu Dabi were loud in cheers for the champion, those cheers soon turned to jeers into the third round, by the fourth chants of "Maia Maia Maia" circled the arena, by the fifth chants of "GSP GSP GSP" filled the humid Abu Dabi air. This was a missed opportunity for the UFC in both sealing the middle eastern Market and further tightening their stranglehold on the UK.
Anderson Silva clearly felt Maia was not a worthy opponent and while I agree to a certain extent the disrespect and petulance shown by Silva has put me off wanting to watch him fight in the future. It was a fight he could have finished at any time but instead decided to try his best Ali impression and failed miserably. Does this fight change his standing as the greatest fighter in the world? No. Should it be held against him? Absolutely. Does it tarnish his legacy? Absolutely.
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