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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Should Conor McGregor Spearhead a Fighters Union?

August 17, 2016 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez
Conor McGregor

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III, and thank you for coming back for another round of the fact and the fiction in MMA. A big thank you for your comments and votes last week. It is much appreciated and encouraged. Last week, unfortunately for Todd Vote, Mark Radulich steamrolled through such subjects as Frankie Edgar making a run for the bantamweight strap, Tyron Woodley calling out GSP and Nick Diaz, and Dominick Cruz fighting Jose Aldo or Conor McGregor among other topics. Mark grabbed the lead and never turned back earning himself a 13-to-4 victory. Nonetheless, great effort by Todd and thank you both for your contributions.

This week, we have two behemoths of the game who will fight tooth and nail to keep their 2-0 streak alive. Dino Zee and Wyatt Beougher will lock horns on subjects like the newly formed Professional Fighters Association joining the fight to unionize UFC fighters, Conor McGregor spearheading the movement for a fighters union, Cris Cyborg’s torturous weight-cut to 140 pounds, and much more. Strap in and hold on because it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! Let’s get the ball rolling…

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
Dino “Salad Bar” Zee
Contributor, 411 Wrestling Zone
2-0-0

VS

BLUE CORNER
Wyatt Beougher
Host/Reviewer/Columnist, 411 MMA/TV & Movies/Wrestling Zones
2-0-0

The new Professional Fighters Association (PFA) has the right idea, and the right muscle and backing, to make an impact with regard to a fighters’ union; however, to find success they will have to get along, and work with, the MMA Fighters Association (MMAFA), who has already seen the PFA’s independent entrance into the game as bad taste.

Dino Zee: FACT Look, I’m no expert on this kind of stuff, and so I’ll just say so right at the start. I know lots of people like to pretend to be giant business types and all that, but I’m just a simple fan of MMA. That said, yeah, I think it’s essential that the PFA and MMAFA figure out a way to get along and smooth things over. The enemy already exists for them, and it’s the UFC. Diluting the fight by having two entities out for the same thing while not working together can’t possibly be the best way to go about getting things done. Again, not an expert.

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION This feels more like a VHS/Betamax thing to me (for the younger readers, think Blu Ray vs HD-DVD). Honestly, it would be for the best if the PFA and MMAFA could work together and pool their resources to try to bring about better treatment for fighters, but considering the MMAFA basically called out the PFA, I’m not sure if that will actually happen. Plus, the PFA has the backing of the directors of the NFLPA, MLBPA, and NHLPA, so in theory, they have a support system in place to help them with any struggles they may encounter along the way, so I’m not sure that it is necessary for them to work with the MMAFA in any meaningful capacity. I do agree with the head of the MMAFA when he says that PFA being run by agents would seem to constitute a conflict of interests, and fighters who are represented by other agents may be less likely to join the PFA for that reason. On the other hand, the MMAFA hasn’t exactly made a lot of progress in improving fighter treatment in spite of being around since at least 2009, so it’s entirely possible that a different approach may be what is needed to actually make some much-needed changes. Honestly, anything that helps improve conditions for fighters is a good thing in my book, so whether or not the PFA and MMAFA end up working together or one of them ends up a footnote in the other’s Wikipedia page, I just hope to see some positive changes being made.

Conor McGregor hits the nail on the head when he says fighters need to bunch together and support each other and that the moment for a fighters’ union needs to be spearhead by the likes of fighters like himself; however, he falls short by admitting he needs to be selfish at the moment and cannot take that leadership position. Ultimately, this proves that a fighters’ union is still a long way down the road.

Dino Zee: FICTION I would say it proves that Conor McGregor isn’t the guy to lead the charge, and it shows the big problem in getting the Fighters Union really going with a head of steam. However, this doesn’t prove that all fighters feel the same, nor does it prove that there is no fighter willing to stand up.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT I’m a big McGregor fan; that said, he doesn’t strike me at all as the leader type. He comes across as too selfish, and I mean that in the best way possible, as it has led him to some tremendous success in a relatively young career. He would make a fantastic mouthpiece for a group like the PFA or the MMAFA, but I think a proverbial fighters’ union would be better served if someone else was doing the decision-making. And like I mentioned in my first response, I sincerely hope that fighters end up with a union or an association like the ones that represent other professional athletes, but at this point, with the current MMA landscape that has one major player and a bunch of minor ones, it would take either a major change or near-total participation from fighters for a union to actually enjoy any kind of success. Unfortunately, while fighters like McGregor and Ronda Rousey could afford to take long layoffs and risk being blacklisted by the UFC in order to bring about that change, I can’t see people who are fighting for three-, four-, or five-digit paychecks risking their livelihood, potentially permanently. I sincerely hope that I’m wrong, and the competition between these two fighters’ organizations actually increases support for their causes among their potential constituents, but for now, I just don’t see a union really taking hold in the next twelve to twenty-four months.

Anthony Johnson is unfortunately correct; the anticipated bout between Jon Jones and himself is never going to materialize.

Dino Zee: FICTION I took Rumble’s comments to be almost antagonistic to Jon Jones, if I’m being honest. The idea that the whole division has “moved on” just doesn’t seem correct to me. Sure, one might have to tell one’s self the type of things that Rumble said, provided one were competing in the same division as the guy that can’t seem to get back into the cage. That said, DC vs. Jones 2 and Rumble vs. Jones are the two biggest fights the UFC can make at 205, and I’d wager a small amount that the UFC is aware of this fact. I’m not going to be the eternal cynic and say that Jones is never coming back (because over in the wrestling zone, you’re supposed to “wait and see” or something like that), and so I’d have to imagine that Jones vs. Rumble is going to happen. Maybe not soon, and maybe not even when it’s all that interesting anymore, but it’ll happen.

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION Call me crazy, but I’m optimistic that Jones’ recent Instagram video actually has some substance and that he will be back in the Octagon soon (as in, six months or less). And while Johnson has talked about retirement, he said back in January that he would likely fight for three more years, so barring a major injury or a change of heart, even if Jones does end up serving a full two-year suspension, “Rumble” should still be around, though the anticipation for a Jones/Johnson fight would admittedly take a huge hit in that instance. If Jones and Johnson don’t end up fighting at some point, though, it will be a huge missed opportunity for the UFC, though the blame for that should fall squarely on Jones.

SWITCH!

Michael Bisping is indeed the UFC Middleweight Championship because the USADA is, as he says, “in the mix.”

Wyatt Beougher: FACT I’m not totally sure that I agree with Bisping’s seeming implication that the UFC’s top-level middleweight fighters are all using performance-enhancing drugs, but considering over half of his career losses have come against fighters who are either linked to PED test failures or were using TRT at the time they fought Bisping, it’s definitely not the most outlandish claim to make. To be completely honest, I think Bisping being at the top of the middleweight division right now has as much to do with Anderson Silva’s decline as it does to the USADA, as I don’t think Bisping would have been able to get past “The Spider” even if he did win any of those fights against Dan Henderson, Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, or Wanderlei Silva. But there again, Silva’s record isn’t impeccable anymore thanks to a failed drug test, so maybe Bisping is right after all. And while it’s certainly possible the USADA played the biggest role in Bisping’s ascendancy, and while he did acknowledge the improvements to his game, Bisping giving so much credit to the the UFC’s new drug testing program feels to me like Bisping is selling himself short.

Dino Zee: FICTION Trust me, I’d love to go off on some rant about how Bisping is here because of some outside forces, but Bisping is the UFC Middleweight Champion because of two things: 1) His willingness to fill in for an injured Chris Weidman, and 2) His ability to take the fight to an opponent who did not consider him to be any type of challenge. We can talk about USADA all day long, but without Weidman’s injury, there’s no title shot for Bisping. Without Rockhold’s arrogance (and buggered knee), he probably still isn’t Middleweight Champion. But, at the end of the day, it was his wanting to fight on short notice, and his ability to land punches on the unprotected face of his opponent that got him where he was. Certainly, moreso than any new drug testing protocol that some people may want to rush and give all the blame/credit. They can be “in the mix” all they want, they still didn’t land the shots on Rockhold’s face.

The preview to Cris Cyborg’s upcoming documentary showing her agonizing and dreadful struggle to make the 140-pound catch-weight limit confirms the notion which says she cannot make the bantamweight limit of 135-pounds and should, in fact, not bother fighting at 140-pounds.

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION While it would almost certainly be torturous for Cyborg to make the cut to 135, I don’t think it’s impossible. After all, there are plenty of fighters who have a disastrous weight cut in preparation for one fight and barely make weight (or miss weight altogether), only to bounce back the next fight out and make weight with ease. The cynic in me feels like the real reason Cyborg can’t make 135 is because she doesn’t want to. Back in August of 2015, during the height of the Rousey/Cyborg hullabaloo, Cyborg’s own nutritionist, George Lockhart, not only said that Cyborg could make 135, but that he could have her back up to around 170 pounds for the fight without using an IV, so even the relatively recent IV ban shouldn’t be an excuse for her not being able to make the bantamweight limit. It’s also telling to me that as soon as Rousey lost to Holly Holm and the potential fight lost a lot of its luster, Cyborg immediately went from saying she could make 135 to saying that she wouldn’t. So I maintain that for the right price and/or fight, Cyborg would make 135, but at this point, she’s continuing to choose not to.

Dino Zee: FACT Yeah, this one seems pretty easy. While I am a huge Rousey fan, I never held it against Cyborg for not dropping to 135 to make the fight happen, much like I never held it against Ronda for insisting that the champion fight at her weight class. It just seemed rather clear that 135 was going to be either impossible or dangerous for Cyborg to make, and I think many of Ronda’s fans chose to ignore that all for the chance to call Cyborg a “coward” in an incredibly short-sighted point of view.

Now, as far as her not needing to bother fighting at 140, I think that point is actually irrelevant to her inability to make 135. Sure, we were treating those 140 catchweight fights as ways for her to ease into the cut at 135, but even if that’s not a possibility, making her give up a few pounds for some fun fights in the UFC makes sense. There’s no 145 weight class in the UFC, and even if some of the women walk around closer to that weight, the fact is that they fight at either 135 or 115, so giving them a little bit of an even playing field against Cyborg is still the fair play. If we’re going to cut the UFC appearances, then yes, stop having her fight at 140. If not, then those are still fine.

We wanted Derrick Lewis to replace the injured, Ben Rothwell, against Fabricio Werdum and not Travis Browne.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT Personally, I would have preferred the fight be postponed, but without knowing the full extent of Rothwell’s injury and subsequently his recovery time, I can absolutely understand why the UFC would want to find Werdum a replacement opponent. But I definitely would have preferred to see Derrick Lewis as that opponent rather than Travis Browne. Sure, Browne is currently ranked three spots higher than Lewis in the UFC’s current rankings, but he’s also already lost to Werdum and hasn’t put together two wins in a row since 2013. With the relative lack of depth and frequent injuries that plague the heavyweight division, this fight could very well be a title eliminator, and while Lewis is completely unproven in big fights, that, to me, is preferable to Browne wilting seemingly every time he takes a step up in competition. Throw in the fact that Lewis is on a four-fight win streak, that three of those wins have come by (T)KO, and that he just dispatched one-time gatekeeper Roy Nelson, and I think that Lewis would have been a much better replacement for Ben Rothwell than Travis Browne.

Dino Zee: FACT A lot of that is due to me not being a fan of Travis Browne in the first place, but also because I’ve enjoyed Rothwell’s rise up the card recently, and was sad to see it all come to a halt in the fight against Dos Santos. So I was hoping to see him rebound against Werdum. When he went down, I definitely was interested in seeing if Lewis would get the call. Lewis is earning some fan cred with his fun style and willingness to fight every few months, and getting a massive step up against the former champion would have been quite the opportunity.

But, alas, we get Browne in a rematch of a fight that saw him rendered completely ineffective against Werdum. Can’t wait.

So who won? Did Dino stop Wyatt dead in his tracks? Or, did Wyatt bring his record up to 3-0? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Saturday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!

And that’s it for today, but as always, we’ll be back next week with another contest! And please, be sure to vote!

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