Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Lack of consistency in UFC discipline, and Respect for Georges St. Pierre
Dec 14, 2011 - 7:55:32 AM HYDEN BLOG: Lack of consistency in UFC discipline, and Respect for Georges St. Pierre

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Miguel Torres got released this past week for making some bad remarks on Twitter. I don't think the comments he made are fireable offenses, but apparently Dana White did. It would be one thing is he were consistent. However, he's clearly guilty of bias. Miguel made a joke about a rape van, "If a rape van were called a surprise van more women wouldn't mind going for rides in then. Everyone loves surprises." Forrest Griffin made a joke that was also inappropriate, "Rape is the new missionary." Both tweets are stupid and inappropriate, and both guys deserve punishment.

Rashad Evans made some really stupid comments directed towards Phil Davis at a recent press conference, "I guarantee you'll be the first one to take a shot cause I'm going to put those hands on you worse than that dude did them other kids at Penn State." Davis went to Penn State, which is probably what prompted Evans to make that statement.

I think that what Rashad said is far worse than what Griffin or Torres tweeted. Yes, joking about rape is just stupid, but referencing the Penn State scandal has more serious consequences because there are names and faces involved. It makes the statement personal.

I think it's crap that Torres gets released while Griffin and Evans get slaps on the wrist. All three guys messed up, there's no debating that, but to release one guy while two other guys get virtually no punishment is garbage. It shows a clear favoritism. Apparently, Forrest explained to Dana that his statement was making a comment on how disturbingly common rape has become. That's just dumb, and an insult to our intelligence. If you want to make a comment on how rape is disturbingly common, say that. You don't tweet some dumb-ass joke, then try to soft-shoe your way out of the ensuing s***storm with an excuse a high-school sophomore would think is stupid.

I understand there's going to be some bias when it comes to discipline, it's part of the game. Being this blatant about it, though, is insulting. We've seen this stuff before, Nate Marquardt gets cut while Chael Sonnen gets to stick around, even though Chael is responsible for a litany of offenses far exceeding what Marquardt did. Chris Leben is another guy who gets chance after chance even though he's messed up more than almost anyone in the UFC. Loyalty is great, but you can't treat this like a high-school clique. The same rules have to apply to everybody.

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A lot of people are jumping on the "Jon Jones is the second best fighter in the world" bandwagon. I'm tempted to do it myself, but I still have to give Georges St-Pierre the nod as second best in the world, after Anderson Silva. That's not a slight to Jones at all, it's giving respect to GSP, who has earned the No. 2 spot. When you take potential out of the equation, and solely look at performance, you have to go with GSP. I've been saying for quite some time that Jon Jones has a good shot at going down in history as the greatest of all-time. His potential is extraordinary. However, there's a big difference between potential and reality. We can't shortchange GSP on his accomplishments, he's achieved a hell of a lot.

In his last 9 wins, totaling 36 rounds, GSP has lost maybe three rounds at most. That's a ridiculous stat. This is against good fighters, too, not bums off the street. Jon Jones may go down as being better than everybody, but the body of work that GSP and Silva have put together put them ahead of Jones right now. It's important to keep perspective here and not get caught up in the moment.


Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com