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Since the UFC’s inception in 1993, there has been a constant struggle to legitimize the sport with the general public. Whether it is John McCain’s comments referring to it as a “bloodsport” or more recent homosexual remarks from legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum the sport has faced much criticism.

The mixed martial arts faithful have challenged these accusations and insults for years, but the stigma around the sport is still alive. The national television deals that Elite XC and Strikeforce signed and the UFC’s video game deal prove that the sport has began to reach the mainstream audience however there is still a long way to go.

There is still a common misconception among members of society that mixed martial artists are trying to “kill” or “mame” eachother inside of a cage and this is something that the sport has tried to get away from throughout the years.

Over the past two weeks however, unintelligent comments by a few high level UFC fighters have done little to help the sport escape the poor image so many people have.

In an interview with Mark Madden on WXDX Frank Mir Stated “I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries. That’s what’s going through my mind.”

Only a few days later, Marcus Davis states that he hopes Dan Hardy “dies of aids.” These are not the first death wishes that have came up in the UFC and likely will not be the last. Before their UFC 94 bout, B.J Penn stated during the primetime series that he wanted to kill Georges St. Pierre.

To be fair both fighters did apologize for their comments afterwards however this does not excuse the fact that it was said in public. Idiotic comments such as these do not only hurt the reputations of the fighters who say them, but it looks bad on the sport as well.

I completely understand that trash talking is part of the fight game. Like in professional wrestling, building up a fight is important because the sports success is so dependant on pay-per-view buys. Fights such as Ortiz vs. Liddell and Penn vs. St. Pierre are among the best sellers because of the animosity built up between the fighters.

When we look at other sports, idiotic remarks resulted in punishment either through suspension of severe fine. National Hockey League player Sean Avery was suspended six games in late 2008 because of a comment about other players falling in love with his “sloppy seconds.” Last year when Serena Williams threatened to shove a tennis ball down a judge’s throat she was fined $82,500 and another comment would have raised this to nearly $200,000.

Perhaps the most serious situation was with MLB pitcher John Rocker in 2000. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he said he would not play for either of the New York teams because he would not want to take a train “through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids.” For these inexcusable comments, Rocker was suspended for the entire spring training and the first 14 games of the regular season.

Obviously there are many differences between mixed martial arts and any other professional sport. Not only does it take a completely different mindset to fight, but the amount of times a fighter competes per year in comparison with other sports is much less.

Perhaps suspensions are not an option due to fighters only getting paid for when they fight. When a football or hockey player gets injured or suspended during the season, they often still recieve compensation due to their contracts. Fighters are paid on a fight by fight basis. Simply put, if you are not fighting, you are not making money.

This is not acceptable behavior by world class athletes and perhaps its time that Dana White put his foot down. These fighters who come out and make public death threats or wishes need to be reprimanded for their actions or such activity will continue to happen and make the sport look bad. White needs to do something to curve this activity and set an example that death threats should be left out of the sport.

MMA HQ Commentary, Frank Mir, MMA HQ, Marcus Davis, UFC

Strikeforce signed Vitor “Shaloin” Riberio in late 2009, but the Brazilian fighter still hasn’t seen action inside the cage just yet.

“I really, really try to push for information but it’s not so easily,” Ribeiro noted to MMAJunkie.com.  “I hope I can fight in April.  I don’t know what card.  I think the CBS show is going to be pretty hard, [for] my first fight.  I think it’s more sure to go on Showtime and then CBS.”

Although the UFC is criticized by many MMA fans — with quite a few of the complaints holding water — fighters are routinely informed well in advance which card they can expect to fight on.  This gives fighters proper training time, adequate time to bring in new training partners, and additional flexibility when looking for sponsors.

Riberio isn’t the only Strikeforce fighter who is unsure when they’ll next see action.

I’ve spoken with a handful of Strikeforce fighters who have expressed disappointment that they’re never really sure when they’re going to fight.  It’s mid-February, and Strikeforce is expected to have a CBS card sometime in April, but no one is sure when or where this event will take place.  It’ll most likely take place at the H.P. Pavilion in San Jose, but nothing has been confirmed.

If an April CBS card does come together, it’s expected middleweight champion Jake Shields against PRIDE superstar Dan Henderson will be the main event bout.  In recent weeks, I’ve heard unconfirmed reports that a potential fight between Shields and Scott Smith is possible — Strikeforce didn’t respond to e-mails regarding the matter.

As Strikeforce continues to gain more recognition, I hope Scott Coker and company are able to make adjustments necessary — it’s not fair to the fighters, or the fans who are possibly looking to make travel arrangements.

Even with nothing confirmed, MMA fans can expect to see Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Dan Henderson, Scott Smith, Gegard Mousasi, Fedor Emelianenko, Lyle Beerbohm, Muhammad Lawal in action as early as April on CBS.  It’s possible Frank Shamrock and Pat Miletich could also lock horns sometime in May or June, assuming they aren’t on the still unannounced April card.

MMA HQ Commentary, MMA HQ

Gegard Mousasi is coming to the UFC. No, the deal hasn’t been signed. There hasn’t even been discussions, as far as I know. The Dutch-Armenian fighter is still under contract with Strikeforce, where he holds the light heavyweight belt. He’s expected to put that belt on the line against wrestler Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in April. And by all accounts he’s very happy with the promotion and the way he’s been treated.

I’m just making a little crystal ball prediction based on a Sherdog report that Mousasi has fired his M-1 Global management team. M-1 Global is the Dutch/Russian company that has a co-promotion deal with Strikeforce. It was M-1’s demand for this kind of deal that prevented its biggest star, Fedor Emelianenko, from signing with the UFC last summer.  

With M-1 out of the picture it clears the way for Mousasi to go wherever he likes. Obviously, the UFC is where the biggest fighters make the biggest money. Seems like a no-brainer. Mousasi, who has been Fedor’s training partner, has recently been training with UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, who – surprisingly – was cageside at last month’s Strikeforce: Miami event (that couldn’t have sat too well with UFC president Dana White no matter the public face he put on).

The only thing about Mousasi signing with the UFC that gives me pause – and likely gives him pause, too – is that the UFC doesn’t allow its fighters to compete in other promotions. It makes sense. You don’t want your fighters to lend their name, their popularity, to the competition and also take the risk of getting injured while doing it.

 Strikeforce has no such issue. They foolishly allow their fighters to fight wherever and whenever they want with no regard for their Strikeforce obligations. Alistair Overeem is exhibit A in this regard – he hasn’t fought for Strikeforce since he won the heavyweight title two years ago although he’s fought seven MMA bouts and five kickboxing bouts for other promotions in that same time period. Strikeforce even has an “exchange” program with the Japanese-based DREAM organization. That’s good for Mousasi, who’s a DREAM champion and who plans to compete in the DREAM light heavyweight grand prix in May.

 Still, the upside of being in the biggest and most-widely known promotion in the world – and fighting against the best fighters, which Mousasi obviously wants to do – will be too hard to resist.

MMA HQ Commentary, Gegard Mousasi, M-1 Global, MMA HQ

Senior circuit matchups may be irrelevant for potential title fights, but they often are fun, intriguing matchups fans have longed to see.  I’m going to briefly cover some recent senior circuit fights, along with discussing future fights that will take place in the coming months.

Matchups between Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman and Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg during UFC 109 in Las Vegas were extremely popular, anticipated fights.  Couture, 46, and Coleman, 45, met for the first time in a fight that should have happened at least a decade ago.

Although they are in the same age group, Couture proved he’s the more skilled, durable geezer, and finished the fight with a second round rear naked choke submission.  Unfortunately, some MMA reporters believe Couture may have retired Coleman after their fight last weekend.

Serra landed a big shot to drop Trigg for the KO victory, as it also looks like it’s time for Trigg to hang up the gloves.

The UFC also has several other senior circuit fights planned in the future, with Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell meeting for a third time after the 11th season of The Ultimate Fighter.  Liddell, 40, has beaten Ortiz, 35, twice before but has lost four of five fights since his last meeting with Ortiz in 2006.

As one of the most dominant UFC champions ever — and the most dominant UFC LHW champion — I’d like Liddell to retire, win or lose, after his third fight with Ortiz.  I don’t want to see him effectively serve as a human punching bag against Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua, while winning a decision against fellow aging superstar Wanderlei Silva.

His place in UFC history is set, and there is no need to put additional blemishes on his Hall of Fame career.

During UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi this April, Renzo Gracie, 42, will fight former welterweight champion Matt Hughes, 36, in yet another senior circuit fight.  It’s going to be a matchup between a former superstar wrestler who utilized ground-and-pound and top control against a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter.

It’s possible the fight could end up turning into a sloppy boxing fight, with fellow MMA legend Pat Miletich breaking down the fight over at Five Ounces of Pain.

After these current proposed senior circuit fights are over, the futures of all fighters remain unknown.  Couture could eventually find himself back in the title hunt, but all of the other fighters likely won’t get anywhere near contender status again.

Even though title runs are unlikely, the UFC could still put together a number of things, depending what the fighters request.  Possible rematches between Couture and Ortiz or Couture and Liddell would likely be popular among MMA fans.  Ortiz has continued a war of words with Coleman, and viewers absolutely love grudge matches.

In the welterweight senior circuit, a rematch between Serra and Hughes could be appealing later in 2010.  There has been some friction between Hughes and the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), but the UFC is unlikely to put Hughes against top-10 competition any time soon.

Until we learn more, let’s just sit back and enjoy some upcoming senior circuit fights.

MMA HQ Commentary, MMA HQ