UFC187: Champions Play It Slow and Safe

Chris Weidmann and Daniel Cormier are boring. The UFC 187s  main events produced a much lower quality of fights than fans of the Middle and Light Heavyweight divisions are used to.  The losses of Anderson Silva and Jon Jones as kings of their domains have hurt UFCs entertainment value.  The damage has never been more evident than in the two main events of UFC 187 where both Chris Weidmann and Daniel Cormier though victorious left the fans feeling a bit short changed in terms of excitement.  Granted, the disappointment wasn't on the level of "Fight of the Century" of which 32 lawsuits are still pending but I was left longing for the days of the spectacular knockouts of Anderson Silva and the sharp elbows and knees of Bones Jones.  Chris Weidmann is a large man for his weight class he has almost the same physical characteristics as Anderson Silva. The difference is while Silva wielded his size like a scalpel Weidmann uses his like Thor's hammer.  The UFC middleweight champion withstood an early barrage by Vitor Belfort, sustaining a cut above his eye.  The champion, however, managed to gather himself, take Belfort down, and mount him while he pummeled him into a referee stoppage. It was simple, brutal, and effective but it wasn't very entertaining.  It is clear that the Brazilian veteran without his TRT supplements is succumbing to the ravages of time much like the previous middleweight champion. It may not seem fair, to compare Weidmann to a ring legend like Silva, but Weidemann touts those controversial wins over Silva as proof of his ability.  While there is no doubting that his style is clearly effective, it doesn't feel like you're watching the world's best middleweight. Maybe I've been spoiled by years of seeing Anderson Silva's brilliance in the octagon but the contrast between the two styles leaves me feeling hollow and wishing for a more skilled fighter to take his belt.  He implored the crowd, post fight, to "stop doubting" him.  Maybe they wouldn't if Chris had a win over an elite fighter under the age of 38.

Weidman (l) Belfort (r) Photo: MMAjunkie.com

Ironically, the light heavyweight championship match was no different. Rumble Johnson showcased a flurry of heavy kicks and punches that almost knocked Cormier senseless in the early rounds.  As the fight went on, however, Cormier's stamina proved to be the difference.  The eventual champion was able to display the Olympic level wrestling skills Jon Jones didn't allow him to.   He controlled the fight from the early 2nd Round and finally put Rumble out of his misery in the 3rd, by rear naked choke.  While this was more entertaining than the middleweight fight (DC was knocked down more than once by Johnson's strikes), it suffered from the same lack of showmanship routinely showcased by the previous champion. Cormier is the Mayweather of the UFC in regards to his style being boring but highly effective.  As if to drive home the point, Cormier even called out Jon Jones, just minutes after winning his championship.

  

"Jon Jones, get your shit together" Photo (AP/John Locher)

These new champions may have intended to cement their legitimacy with the fans, but in my opinion they did exactly the opposite.   All they did was remind the fans of who was missing.  Most people don't like change, especially when that change is inferior to the previous product. Both Cormier and Widemann  have a long way to go to gain credibility with the UFCs casual fans.  Tonight, they came off sounding more like insecure men begging the crowd to believe in their greatness.  That, may prove to be a tall order.  Most fans believe Silva and Jones have no one to blame but themselves for losing their belts.  Including me.  

A Humanistic Perspective...

Political Science Prof. Jerry Hough,
Duke University
Photo: Duke University

The recent faux pas by Professor of Political Science Jerry Hough of Duke University has predictably
brought out the usual players in our never ending debate about race.  Interestingly, a perspective I rarely see broaching the subject made its way into the discussion and dare I say...its brilliant, thoughtful, and honest.  An Asian American commentator who's screen name is "ssun" attempts to set the record straight in regards to why their group is touted as the "model" minority and thoroughly deconstructs the myth is solely due to their character and determination and that their success should be used as an indictment on the struggles of Black America.

From "ssun" www.youngcons.com:

I'm one of these "asians who succeeded in spite of discrimination and hardships." When my family first immigrated we were too poor to afford to even turn on the air-conditioning in the hot Texas summers. My high school had at least a 30% drop out rate just judging by the size of the freshmen and graduation class. Now I attend an Ivy league university, well on my way to getting a Ph.D. in high energy physics.

But my success is not because of just me. Both of my parents have masters degrees from china and taught me algebra, geometry, Chinese years before when any of these subjects were taught in my not so great public school.

The current success of Asian americans are because of many reasons and not simply because of a simple can do spirit like its often touted in the media. Part of the reason for Asian american success is the immigration policy of the united states allows only highly educated, successful Asians to immigrate to the United States in the first place. It is near impossible to immigrate to the US unless you have either money or higher education. These highly educated 1st generation then pass on that success to their children.

The values that people credit for their own success are not their own. No one was just born brilliant, hard working, kind and strong. If you have these traits they were instilled in you by either your parents (who had to have gotten it from somewhere also) and the community that you grew up in. That good moral character that you're so proud of is not your own, you got it from the experiences you had growing up in stable families and neighborhoods.

For those of you who blame african americans for a "lack of character" remember, that racist jim crow policies forced them to live in slums and ghettoes just 50 years earlier. People still alive today were robbed of a stable childhood not by the lack of will or character but by cold hard laws and policies not 50 years past. Just because we repealed those laws during the civil rights era doesn't mean they got their childhoods back.

And now you blame these people for not instilling the same values in their children that you got from your parents and community. How can you expect some parent who grew up in the slums to teach their children geometry when they don't know that themselves?

I think most people agree that America has had some very racist policies in the years before the civil rights. And even if we repealed these policies, it doesn't mean that the play ground is now fair. Wealth, character and most of all knowledge, knowledge of not just academics, but how to manage money, how to resolve conflict, how to negotiate with others and all passed down from one generation to the next. This is why racism of the past is directly responsible for the under performance of minorities in the present. To say that, well everyone's equal under the law now, so minorities are just lazy if they fail is blissful ignorance of reality.

A lot of people are saying this professor is wrong and racist, not just racist. He's simply not listing to those people.

This the compassionate, humanistic, and honest perspective that has been missing in our perpetual battles about race and class.  It's type of honest reasoning that MLK was striving for.  Being honest about why the American social order is twisted requires a level of compassion that most are afraid to give.  We have been led to believe that it is a zero sum game and that has poisoned the well of understanding necessary to truly put the past behind us.  We're more afraid of losing our position than fighting real injustice.  It is frustrating, but the current climate of political correctness wouldn't be needed if weren't for two greedy squabbling cousins in 1676 Jamestown, Virginia.    "Race" even isn't a real scientific classification for humans. It is a fictitious social construct that didn't exist before Bacon's Rebellion showed what a united underclass can achieve.  The concept, however, has been the lynch pin of our social structure ever since.  Even if you don't believe that race isn't real, the notion of one group being "superior" has been an albatross on all of us.  Poor whites who suffer economic hardships feel unfairly targeted by attacks of "white privilege" feel just as frustrated as poor blacks who can't walk down the street without being harassed by law enforcement regardless of whether or not they committed a crime albeit with less fatal consequences.  The "War on Drugs", Mass incarceration, Redlining, gerrymandering, and the militarization of America's police departments are issues you only ignore if you think they don't affect you.  The flaw in this thinking is not realizing they already do.

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Strength to Love,” 1963

How many more jobs would the local small businesses be able to support if the tax dollars spent to house inmates at for profit prisons were spent on small business or educational initiatives?   Imprisoning an entire group of people who's only crime is being born different creates resentment for law enforcement, degrades prison as an effective deterrent to crime, and costs taxpayers millions that could be better served re-investing in our communities.  Tuition based charter schools wouldn't be necessary if everyone had the same educational standards and access to resources regardless of income.  The 2008 financial crisis was the direct result of a decades of under education, legal housing discrimination, and a desperation to achieve the signature status symbol of the American middle class.  Home ownership.  For many people, not just minorities, the crash took their only means of escape from poverty and kicked them right back down the socioeconomic ladder. Many Americans regardless of background were left in a worse position than ever. I realize I've vastly oversimplified the problem but there have been many books written that explain America's social dynamics in depth. For the purposes of this post, I'm keeping it short.

July 13, 2012 Roanoke, VA
President Obama gives "you didn't build that" speech
Photo: Associated Press

"ssun" is not afraid to give credit to the people who help successful people excel.  He (assuming he's a guy) didn't have to demean anyone else and it didn't take away from his success to admit he didn't do it alone.  In fact, it shows just how a powerful a unified cultural objective can be.  That's the secret that keeps most of us frustrated and angry.  We are worship the "self-made" man or woman not realizing that it took the sacrifices of a lot of people in their lives to get them where they are.  President Obama tried to convey this point a few years ago and was excoriated in the conservative press for his verbal flub.  Politics aside, it was clear what he meant.
Parents sacrificing countless hours of sleep and money to make sure their kids get an education, practice their craft whether it be music or sports, or to get the mentorship they can't provide just for their child to have a chance to take advantage of a big break.  Actors who became famous because someone took a chance on them.  The entrepreneur who succeeded because their family supported them financially, physically, and emotionally, with no guarantee of a return on the investment.  Anyone who is "self-made" is there because of hard work and help from others.  The two aren't mutually exclusive and that's the idea that must enter to the American discourse.  We won't get anywhere if we aren't moving together.