March - 2015
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
40
For every contender, for every
champion, for every legend
caught with their hand in the
cookie jar there is an army of
rising talent behind them.
There are humble aspiring ath-
letes cutting their teeth at re-
gional shows looking towards
their own goals of greatness
who see the legacy of those
they aspire to with now tar-
nished legacies.
In addition to the athlete, don’t
for one second think that there
aren’t still hyenas in the wait,
just drooling at an opportunity
to shred everything the MMA
community has built and pick
the carcass clean discrediting it
all as a fluke. They are anxious-
ly waiting to point their finger
and say “I told ya so!” with re-
gard to our sport being a flash
in the pan and far too barbaric
to expect anything more than
savages destroying themselves
like crabs in a barrel.
They are a distant second
though to the damage that
is caused to the community
when these failures come to
light. For every kid that spent
countless hours on the mats
honing his grappling, kicking
the banana bag working his
leg kicks, eating healthy to stay
in shape and do it right. For
every one of those young ath-
letes who aspires to be a frac-
tion of what Anderson Silva
has accomplished in his career,
how crushing is the news that
he may not have done it natu-
rally?
That my friends is the true fail-
ure of our sport and our com-
munity. When it happened in
baseball they talked about it
being the culture of the game.
It was commonplace. Sadly it
would appear that culture is
alive and well in MMA circles
spanning the globe.
The time is now to slam our fist
on the table and demand this
culture be reformed from the
top down. It is time to explore
every option, to exhaust ev-
ery opportunity, in an effort to
crush the idea that cheating is
an option when chasing MMA
glory.
MMA does not have a cen-
tury old history of legendary
athletes to rely on to hold our
faith. There are no Jackie Rob-
insons or Lou Gherigs to reas-
sure us that our game can be
legendary regardless of scum
like Barry Bonds and Alex Ro-
driguez.
MMA as a community must
take a step back and raise the
bar. Even if it costs a few mil-
lion pay per view buys to run a
bum out of the sport the long
term effects of not doing so
could be far more devastating.
Now the echoes of that deci-
sion would hold weight. Then
again, to stand idly by and do
nothing, that also holds weight.
It holds far more weight to be
quite frank. To define the line
clearly would be immediately
costly. Yet if those in charge
continue to blur it as they have
chose to do for years now, the
cost may be too much to bear.
For every Benson Henderson,
for every Jose Aldo, or Cain
Velasquez, there is a wealth of
integrity. Their integrity and the
impact they have on the sport
is priceless. It elevates those
around them and it is athletes
like them who have brought
the sport to new heights. Their
contributions can never be
quantified both in and out of
the cage.
Sadly the dishonor of some of
their peers has had an equal if
not superior effect on things.
Sadly a battle has begun in our
sport and the scales are tipped
unless those in a position to do
so demand reform.
As it stands today the value of
integrity may not be able to
foot the bill when considering
the costs of dishonor. Time will
tell.
