Mixed Marital Articulation: ESPN continues to phone it in
In the latest edition of “Hot Button” on ESPN.com, ESPN asks visitors which potential super-fight they would most want to see: either Boxing’s Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, or the UFC’s golden carrot of Anderson Silva vs. George St. Pierre. As a fan of both, I’d really want to see Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. I do not think it will ever happen, but I would love to watch that fight, just so boxing can turn in a relevant and good main event on a major card.
The problem I have is that ESPN’s Chad Dudas absolutely stumbles through his defense of the GSP vs. Silva card launching inaccuracies at an alarming rate, as if he just looked up a bunch of fighters on Wikipedia and started typing a bunch of garbage at 1 am. I know that ESPN is going to phone in MMA for a while now that Jon Anik is gone, but couldn’t they at least get Franklin or somebody that actually watches MMA to write this?
Let’s look at some of the ridiculous statements Mr. Dundas makes in this feature:
In the unlikely event their bout actually occurs, the winner of Pacquiao-Mayweather will be anointed the king of kings, but his kingdom will be badly in decline and his time at the top will be short indeed. By comparison, Silva and St. Pierre will both enter theirs in their primes…
Yes that’s right, Mr. Dundas seems to believe that Anderson Silva is entering his prime at 36, on his nine -fight winning streak. I don’t care if Anderson says he will fight for another seven years, that is as ridiculous as thinking that Albert Pujols will be a triple crown threat in ten years. GSP has arguably been in his prime for a few years as well, and it is no guarantee that he will fight for the next five years, either. After all, BJ Penn is losing the fire at age 32.
…the winner of St. Pierre versus Silva faces a bright future. He’ll go on to more super-fights against other super competitors like Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez and a next generation of martial artists…
Are you joking? If you are going to throw out fights that are never going to happen, at least make them remotely feasible. Jon Jones ,yes at least that fight MIGHT make sense for Anderson, should he win (and be bored), but there is zero chance that St. Pierre would ever consider fighting Jon Jones, not unless there was a massive payday attached- and Cain Velazquez? How? Would Velazquez cut a leg and an arm off to make 205 to fight Anderson? Would Anderson put on 45 pounds Barry Bonds style to fight Velazquez? Chad Dundas knows that Velazquez tilts the scales at over 250 lbs, right? This isn’t the PRIDE days where we just didn’t care if Sakuraba gives up 50 pounds to an opponent.
Where Pacquiao-Mayweather represents the last gasp of a once-proud sport, Silva-St. Pierre will be another major milestone on MMA’s continued march into the mainstream. It’ll be a catalyst for continue growth, not the final nail in the coffin.
March into mainstream? Let’s see how Velazquez vs. Dos Santos (you know those really big guys that Dundas thinks can drop 50 pounds) does on FOX before we throw around the M-word with MMA. It is sad, but I kinda agree with the knock on Boxing, hey Andre Ward is still a boss right?
I know ESPN is going to be giving MMA the hockey treatment for a while without Anik, but can’t Bristol just take a few weeks off before they go out and buy some new talent to fill Anik’s role? There is no way they cannot afford to go out and throw some money at Ariel Helwani.
Tune into Mixed Martial Articulation, Live on KSSU.com Monday Night at 9pm PST only on KSSU.com
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