The UFC welterweight division is a mess

Author:

Chael Sonnen

Keywords:

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Subtitles:

I hate to tell you I told you so and by hate to say that I hate to say I told you I so please interpret that correctly which is nothing makes me happier in the world than telling you I told you so but let's take a look at the welterweights okay the welterweights right in front of us have been put on trial for the last eight weeks they have had an unofficial term okay Scott Coker would love what's going on with the UFC welterweight in the last eight weeks because it's a Grand Prix it just wasn't announced and quite frankly it's a mess when I get to the i-told-you-so part so many people thought that Leon Edwards was going to be fighting George Maas at all because of the backstage altercation I told you guys not only will that fight not happen it cannot happen it cannot happen for deeper rooted issues was that compelling was that organic do you have b-roll do people want to see the fight yes yes yes and yes it doesn't matter those guys had nothing to do with one another the trains had not left the tracks they were not headed for one another make sure you keep that peace I will tie it in a moment but they had nothing to do with one another each other then they fought on the same card they were backstage at the same time and they both other t-shirts off because they fought very close apart so for it's a bad action it was a bad action for Leon to tease George and walk by and say some of those a bat worse action for George to walk over there a worse or worse action for George to then Landa what did he call it a three peas in a soda nina punch leon four times in the face and lock the whole thing was really bad you have to understand if you then give those guys the fight if you then use that footage that you have to try to monocyte monetize something and drive an industry or promotion forward you're now rewarding a bad act if you do that one time that's how guys are gonna go out and get fights now you can't go out and get a fight like that you have to get a fight the old-fashioned either coming up the rankings or get a microphone in your hand and entice a guy to take the action put a microphone in his hand and say you got it let's put these mics down let's put pins in our hands let's sign this and let's do this and you face them off that's how you build a fight if you won a single time reward a guy by giving him a fight through a bad action then any time somebody wants a fight they just walk up and smack the other guy and make sure that there's a camera on not only is that wrong not only is that illegal not only is that unprofessional not only does that send the sport in the industry back to the Dark Ages which had fought itself through but now I'll send you get you open your door to a pro wrestling you're opening the door nice and wide two two guys realizing they can do some great business with one another and getting together and it just doesn't work I mean I I really have to remind you it does open the door to pro wrestling you guys remember don't forget the history of professional wrestling most people have forgotten fact let me let me just educate you real fast the history of professional wrestling they really were trying to pin one another or stretch the other one and make him submit the same two ways that you can get your hand raised in professional wrestling right now we're the same ways we professional Reza was real when it was an actual competition they were legitimately trying to put the other one shoulders down for one two three or stretch them in what Josh Barnett will call catch wrestling which comes from that day from the Verne Gagne ins and the Lou Thesz of the world make the other guys submit but the pool was real small there's only about eight wrestlers and they were the traveling circus and they tear the tent down and they drive it to the next territory the next day promoters set the tent up pop the popcorn they come in they go beat the hell out of one another get in the car the van drive on to the next town and do it all over again finally one guy looks over the other guy and says am a little bit sore how about tonight we just kind of pretend to fight there's ways to this we'll make it look like a fight as a matter of fact if you'll give me that here's what I'll do for you I'll let you win as long as we can both leave here and feel good and not actually compete tooth and nail and grit and black ties and rollin lips I'll let you have the victory it pays the same and then they started to find ways to disguise it they started to find ways to call matches they started applying techniques they started to find ways to stall and entertain the crowd they try to decide hey what's best for business who should go over but that's how professional wrestling started it started as a legitimate competition a very legitimate competition people forget that and overtime is about hey how can we get the most eyeballs on it so I understand that giving Leon Edwards and George Mazda doll a fight with one another which is likely to come down the line they can definitely still fight and you can definitely bring up that backstage altercation at that con but you cannot go from A to Z on that you cannot go from the mound to a homerun all on that you can't do it and in the better bet other bad actions that we've seen from Linux Lewis versus Mike Tyson which comes to mind or Jon Jones versus Daniel Cormier which comes to mind don't forget those happen at press conferences after the contracts were already signed the trains had already left the tracks then there was some organic stuff that happened along the way that is completely different khabib and Conor that is completely different from moving forward with that as a promotion once they're already headed to one another those guys had nothing to do with each other other than they were in the same proximity backstage with their t-shirts off in London and a bad act happen I'm only sharing that with you because it's very relevant to understand why it did it happen but it's also relevant to understand the situation's the welterweights are in right now Anthony Pettis contributed in screwing up things at welterweight and then drop back down to 155 that's great for Anthony Pettis he's gonna have a huge fight I think would just engage me that's a big fall that's a big fight that's a co-main event on with a title fight as the headliner or that's a main event fight if there's no title on the line then that's a big fight but as far as the welterweight go he screwed it up you look at what George Maas Vidale did yeah he's gonna stick around at welterweight that's the good news but he goes out takes out the number one contender who by the way was starting to do a short program with Ben Askren who was sitting in the front row got screwed up it got screwed up the robbie lawler the Askren are you gonna rematch him was it a weird finish was it a legitimate finish huh what do you say what'd he say got screwed up tyron woodley dropped the strap to come mark i screwed up none of this stuff was it was supposed to be the way it was supposed to be so now you're looking at Maz Badal versus Askren if those rumors are true you're looking at Lawler vs. Woodley of those rumors for truth is that how every but the four participants would have come to the table and looked at each other and pointed across that I'll take you y'all take you that's how that's what we're gonna do that's what's gonna be best for eyeballs and attention and everything that goes into the business know the other side of it is there's really not a better option at least not one that I can come up with it's a bit of a paradox for matchmaking right now and most importantly guys you want to take most care they actually got perfectly right Kamara versus Colby that is perfectly right maybe a little overdue and as far as overdoing Colby's participation in colby was the interim champion Colby sure got a world fala fight Koby for me is still the interim champion I guess somewhere along the way they took his belt away I guess that that happened I didn't see that indie coordination if you will in that but I'm told that's the way the facts are either way Kemara undisputed champion Colby top guy they're gonna fight everything else is gonna have to fall into place that's just the way it is