#TrueTalkTuesdays 10
MMA Rankings should be respected and used to make title fights
Currently, MMA rankings are more of a guideline than an actual standard. We can have fighters that grind out the rankings for years to break into the top ten, doing everything they can to move up the ladder. Then out of nowhere, Brock Lesnar jumps out of retirement to contend for a title versus Daniel Cormier.
LOL!
It’s funny but it also isn’t. This isn’t fair to everyone else who is playing the game and working the rankings to earn a shot at the title. This doesn’t happen in Football, Basketball, or any other major sport. I can’t just bring my team into the Superbowl just because I have a celebrity lineup that is going to bring a ton of people to watch.
No one would stand for that at all. All the teams would get up in arms and raise hell to the NFL if they did something like that. But in MMA, it happens all the time.
I understand that promoters do this purely for financial gain. It isn’t charity – the UFC, Bellator, PFL, and every other promotion is out to make a profit. But like I said before, where do we draw the line between profits and integrity?
Why do we have rankings if any celebrity can just skip the line and go straight to the top?
I think you should have to be the #1 contender to fight for the title – no ifs, ands, or buts. Within the top 15 they can mix it up (#4 vs #7, #9 vs #14, etc). But for a title shot, it should always be the #1 contender that gets the call.
While having these spectacles like Brock Lesnar or CM Punk jump into the fray out of nowhere might have been entertaining, I think the sport has progressed enough to let go of these cheap money grabs. If you want to make them a main event, fine, but don’t give them title shots out of nowhere.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?
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