ALL FOR SHOW

Barry Laminack: MMA is a sport, and sports shouldn't be scripted

Barry Laminack: MMA is a sport, and sports shouldn't be scripted
Brock Lesnar has not been seen in a real fight for a long time, which is why his spectacle seemed fake. Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

This past weekend at UFC 226 a lot of strange, interesting, and weird things went down inside the octagon, but none more so than after the final fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier.

Cormier, a heavy underdog, got the surprise knockout victory in the first round over “the baddest man on the planet,” solidifying himself as one of the better fighters in the history of the UFC; so it's a shame that such an occasion would be followed by making a complete mockery of the UFC and MMA.

Before we get to what happened you need to know that prior to the fight they (the UFC) felt it important enough to take the time to point out that Brock Lesnar, former UFC fighter and current WWE "fighter" had  walked to the cage to sit and watch the fights.

Right away I thought it was odd that they were pointing this out, especially since Lesnar was really making a show of it and making sure that everyone in the arena could see him, as well as the TV cameras could find him.

Fast forward to the end of the main event Daniel Cormier is in the cage and during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Cormier grabs the mic from Rogan and proceeds to call out Brock Lesnar by saying he wants him next.

OK, first things first, it’s pretty odd for a guy who just beat the champ to call out another fighter. Usually it’s the other way around - challengers are usually the ones who call out the champs.

Secondly, why is he calling out somebody that’s not even active in the UFC? Lesnar hasn't fought in the UFC since 2016 partially because he's not good at MMA anymore and partially because he was suspended for steroid use so he went back to pretend fights (aka pro wrasslin’).

But for some strange reason, rather than calling out the No. 1 contender or anyone else that’s been active in the sport over the last 18 months, Daniel Cormier decides to call out Brock Lesnar.

So Brock Lesnar enters the cage immediately after Cormier calls him out and, in true WWE fashion, grabs the mic, shoves Cormier and drops a very WWE style rant. The whole spectacle had a very rehearsed feel to it. None of it seemed genuine (at least not to me).

It was fake, it was set up, and it was garbage. It's not needed.

MMA is a sport.

What happend was the equivalent of Nick Foles standing on the stage after the Super Bowl, trophy in hand, and calling out Tony Romo - only to have Romo rush to the stage, shove Foles and tell him he’d see him next season.

Now look, I understand the dynamics of the fight game. I get that “bad blood” and other forms of conflict help to promote fights. And even if the antics of guys like Conor McGregor are calculated and not 100% genuine, at least it doesn’t SEEM fake (at least not as fake as the post UFC 226 main event stuff did).

And stop with that talk of mutual hatred between the two. This isn’t a case of bad blood. In fact, DC went on record saying how he and Brock have had a great relationship and that Lesnar was even nice to his kids.

If all that is true, then why are they acting like they hate each other all of a sudden?

Maybe I’m getting all worked up over nothing. After all, if you believe Dominick Cruz this fight is probably a no-go anyways.

“If he makes it to the fight I’d be shocked,” Cruz told the Scott & BR Show on 1090 AM in San Diego. “And I just mean that because USADA is the toughest anti-doping system there is on planet Earth, and that guy is absolutely doping. Period. No ifs, ands or buts about it. And he’s not been in mixed martial arts, so of course he’s been doing that stuff. How they’re going to get him to be clean on fight night is beyond me.” - (source: mmamania.com)

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
Astros lose to Braves, 6-2. Composite Getty Image.

Reynaldo López struck out seven over six scoreless innings, Orlando Arcia homered and the Atlanta Braves won their third straight, 6-2 over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

López (2-0) allowed four hits and walked one in his third straight sterling outing to start the season.

“It’s like I’ve always said, for me, the important thing is to focus,” López said through an interpreter. “To have the focus during the outings and then, to be able to locate those pitches.”

He has given up one run in 18 innings for an ERA of 0.50.

“He threw the ball really well against a really good hitting club,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “Another solid one.”

Arcia hit a solo home run to left in the second and a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Luis Guillorme and backup catcher Chadwick Tromp each hit a two-run double in the ninth to put the Braves ahead 6-0.

“Tromp has done a good job ever since we’ve been bringing him in these situations and filling in,” Snitker said. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him back there. ... He’s an aggressive hitter. He’s knocked in some big runs for us in the limited time that he’s played.”

Kyle Tucker homered for the Astros leading off the ninth against Aaron Bummer, and Mauricio Dubón had a two-out RBI single to cut the lead to four. After Bummer walked Chas McCormick to put two on, Raisel Iglesias induced a groundout by Victor Caratini to end it and secure his fourth save.

“They pitched well, and our guys are grinding out at-bats,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “Even in the ninth inning there, we’re grinding, fighting until the end.”

Hunter Brown (0-3) yielded two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks in six innings. Brown allowed nine runs in two-thirds of an inning in his previous start, last Thursday against Kansas City.

Brown said he executed better Tuesday than he had in his previous two starts.

“He mixed all his pitches well,” Espada said. “The breaking ball was effective. He threw some cutters in on the hands to some of those lefties. He mixed his pitches really well. That was a really strong performance.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: 2B Ozzie Albies was placed on the 10-day injured list with a broken right big toe. IF David Fletcher had his contract selected from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Albies’ place on the roster.

Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (right shoulder inflammation) threw a side session Tuesday, but Houston will wait until Wednesday to see how Verlander feels before deciding whether he will make his first start this weekend against the Nationals, Espada said. ... RHP Luis Garcia (right elbow surgery) threw around 20-25 pitches off the bullpen mound, and RHP José Urquidy (right forearm strain) also threw off the mound, Espada said. ... LHP Framber Valdez (left elbow soreness) played catch off flat ground.

UP NEXT

Atlanta LHP Max Fried (1-0, 8.74 ERA) starts Wednesday in the series finale opposite RHP J.P. France (0-2, 8.22).

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome