“Well, let’s put it this way, I was cussing. I was cussing. I was literally, just, f***ing pissed. And I’m not really blaming Herb, per say. I’m blaming the way the system is. It needs to be like boxing where we as corners don’t have to go to the doctor to stop the damn fight, where we just stand up in the cage or whatever and we throw the towel and the fight is over. It should be a simplified rule, just like boxing. Who knows the fighters better than the coaches, as far as what the fights can do and what they can’t do? Who knows them better? We do. Not the doctor, not the refs. We do. If we see our fighter and we know he’s going to take a beating, we should be able to throw the damn towel and without any interruptions from the doctor or anybody. And we shouldn’t be reprimanded from it… I’m sorry I’m angry about it, but it just angers me that fighters are getting injured more than they need to because of one stupid rule that prohibits us from just doing a simple thing like boxing does… It shouldn’t be looked down upon. If that’s the official rule [that corners can tell officials to stop fights] , then it should be that, ‘hey, you guys, we encourage you. Know your fighters. Don’t let your fighters take the punishment.’ In this case, I bet you Ray Longo and Matt Serra were thinking, ‘f**k, I want to throw in the towel.’ I bet you they were. I bet you they weren’t thinking, ‘come on, Chris, pull out of it.’ I bet you they were thinking, ‘what the f**k is going on?!’ They care so much about their guys and they’re such great coaches, I know they were thinking the same thing. There should be a clear understanding of how we need to stop these fights, because Chris didn’t need to take that unnecessary punishment. He did not. And I dare anybody to disagree with me.”
-Luke Rockhold’s AKA coach Javier Mendez expresses his frustration with the UFC 194 fight against Chris Weidman not being stopped in the third round during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Penick’s Analysis: Here’s the problem with his assessment – Weidman’s corner sent him out in the fourth round. Corners have always had the ability to stop a fight, at least in between rounds, and it’s been a problem for years that corners don’t take advantage of that. Yes, corners should know their fighter, and they shouldn’t let their fighters take that type of punishment; unfortunately, all too often they do. Far too many fighters are sent out by their own teams for further damage when they should be saved from themselves, and if they instead followed the mindset Mendez expresses here, lots of fighters would take a lot less damage.
[Photo (c) Gary A. Vasquez via USA Today Sports]
You know who else should be pissed? Anyone who gives two shits about Chris Weidman’s well-being.
not pissed