We’re right back into the thick of things. UFC 324 went down on Saturday, and UFC 325 goes down this Saturday. So let’s answer some questions about both, and a few other things.
If the rumors are true and Alexander Hernandez was going to fight injured what will his punishment be?
First, let’s start with the obvious: we don’t know anything right now. There are a lot of rumors about what was going on before the planned Alexander Hernandez-Michael Johnson fight; the betting lines shifted, and then the UFC pulled the fight. That is the extent of the hard facts on the ground.
But, for the sake of your question, let’s assume the rumor that Hernandez suffered an injury and was going to fight anyway is true. This is where things get tricky. Because it’s not illegal to fight while injured. To some degree, all fighters do so, though the extent of those injuries varies. But if you’ve been a fan of this sport for any amount of time, you know that there are countless stories about fighters entering bouts while compromised, and trusting they were good enough to win, regardless. Because that is the nature of the sport.
The reality is, fighters need to fight to get paid, and very, very few of them are making enough money where they can skip out on a fight and it won’t negatively impact them financially. And it may not even be a financial burden. T.J. Dillashaw fought Aljamain Sterling with an injury that functionally prohibited him from having any real chance to win, but had he withdrawn from the bout, he probably wouldn’t get a title shot, so he stepped in anyway. Or Alex Pereira was the main event and didn’t want to withdraw because he thought he could beat Magomed Ankalaev anyway. It’s an extremely common thing to happen.
So, if he was injured, Hernandez trying to fight anyway is not really a punishable offense. Heck, Michael Bisping used to lie about having one working eyeball to fights, this happens. Where it becomes a problem is who placed the bets on the bout that shifted the line so significantly. If it was Hernandez’s best friend or teammate? Obviously, that’s a huge problem. If it was just somebody who figured out he was hurt and passed that information along, not really Hernandez’s fault.
And while this is completely speculative, my gut assumption is it’s the latter. Like Isaac Dulgarian, Hernandez has ties to Factory X, and given the heat that came down on Dulgarian after his alleged fight-fixing incident, it would take either the stupidest or the most brazen man alive to try and pull something like this. I know guys who get punched in the head for a living usually aren’t geniuses, but it’s hard for me to believe anyone would be that stupid.
However, it is fun to think about Alexander Hernandez sitting down with his crew like that scene with Dougie and Jem talking about doing this Fenway job.
“Be smart and boot it.”
“So you’re not going? Why’s that?”
“Because we’ve got a ton of f*cking heat on us, for one thing.”
“We’ll put a move on them. We’ve done it a hundred times before.”
*Immediately places $100,000 on Michael Johnson*
Alexander Volkanovski’s last ride?
Would the retirement of Volk be the best for him regarding of the outcome of his fight?
He wins, and he retires at the top in front of his home crowd.
He loses, and he retires in front of his home crowd and avoids a likely tough run that would somewhat taint his legacy.
I’ve been on the record for quite some time that I think this weekend has a good chance of being the final time Volkanovski makes the walk to the octagon. As the fight has gotten closer, my opinion on that has changed, by not my opinion on if he should retire — he absolutely should.
Volkanovski has accomplished basically everything that he can accomplish in this sport. He’s a no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer whenever he does retire, he’s widely loved, and he’s one of the very best fighters of his generation, on top of having made a pretty good chunk of change. What more is there?
The answer is, of course, more. He can add more title wins to his resumé, more paychecks, and if he’s really lucky, a second belt. But at what cost? And what’s the likelihood of success?
Father Time takes no prisoners in this sport. Volk has done an admirable job of fending him off, but he showed his face with the Ilia Topuria loss, and if Volk keeps this up, he’s coming again. Maybe not with Diego Lopes this weekend, but soon. And the thing about Father Time is he’s not gentle. Every fighter is already trading long-term health for financial gain, but the older you get, the more rolls of the dice you take, the riskier it gets. Volk hasn’t been in a bunch of massive wars in his career, but the last few years have been rougher. There’s no need to keep going.
If Volkanovski wins on Saturday, there are few better endings you could hope for than to leave a sport on top, with a win in your home country. That’s the dream! And while Volk may harbor some dreams about fighting Topuria for the lightweight title, that’s more of a fantasy than something real. So it may not be the big, flashy ending that he thinks about at night, but I would strongly encourage Volkanovski to lay down the gloves on Saturday and move forward to the next phase of his life, which will be equally as fulfilling and lucrative, I’m sure.
I really enjoyed this card. It was highly entertaining for the most part. Lost in the craziness was the fun fact that we had an epic Battle of the Nicknames in Jean “Lord” Silva fighting Arnold “Almighty” Allen, thus making it a “Lord Almighty” fight.
Which two fighters’ nicknames could combine to be better than “Lord Almighty”?
I can’t believe I didn’t notice this before the fight. I’m so upset.
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones
Hi Jed, can you give your thoughts on Daniel Cormier not wanting to be friends with Jon Jones ?
(For context: They did a russian show together and Jones criticized Cormier for “wanting to be enemies for life because it is more lucrative”) Among other things.
Like with most of their rivalry, I believe Daniel Cormier is being a reasonable person, and Jon Jones is being lame. The biggest reason I believe this is because Cormier gave his side of things, and honestly, he lays it out very cleanly.
“Maybe I’m all those things to him,” Cormier said. “Here’s the deal: we were around each other every single day. We were cordial. We had times where Jon and I actually laughed. We laughed together at stuff. But if I didn’t have to be around him, I’m not going to voluntarily be around him. Why would I want that?
“I don’t harbor the emotion of the past that I did with him. I really don’t. But we spoke negatively about each other’s families; we had a nasty, nasty thing. He cheated, constantly. I don’t have to let him off the hook and be his friend. That would be me just going, ‘Everything you did is good.’ It’s not. It wasn’t good. So yeah, I can be cordial, I can work alongside you, I can do my thing, but I don’t have to be your friend. I’m a man. It is what it is. I’m not going to be friends with you.”
Dude, that’s pretty normal behavior. He and Jon Jones had a personal and professional rivalry that escalated to an extremely bad place. Most people aren’t going to be friends after something like that. If Cormier was still harboring a grudge that meant every time he sees Jones, a shoe is being thrown, that would be silly. At some point, you let the past lie. But letting the past lie is not the same as embracing it.
And why would Cormier embrace it, when Jones, to the best of my knowledge, has done nothing to reckon with his malfeasance or make amends? Reconciliation comes through admitting fault and making amends, not just saying “that was a long time ago, let it go.” Maybe Jones has made a sincere, heartfelt effort to make peace with Cormier, but I’m skeptical. Not just because we have nearly two decades of Jones’s previous behavior to guide us, but because of his response to Cormier rejecting his friendship. When your response to someone not wanting to befriend you is “that guy is a d*ckhead,” well, maybe you weren’t really trying to befriend him.
The truth of life is that not everyone is going to like you. There are 8 billion people in the world; the odds are against you. Most people accept that, but some can’t. Jones does not seem to be one of the people who can accept it.
Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in questions. Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send them to me. Every Sunday (sometimes I forget and it happens on Monday), I’ll put out a call for questions on The Feed. Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane; just drop y
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