MarcV

JCal:
Fedor is Russian Orthodox and you ask a good question about God and fighting. There is a huge difference between fighting just to fight and hurt someone versus fighting for sport (and income). The Bible is not devoid of fights. it doesn't mean it's good or bad, but probably speaks of both the human nature and a male trait. Men hit things and enjoy doing it. We hit baseballs, golf balls, each other in football, etc. Too often boys/men are discouraged from tough physical activities because it isn't "nice." That is why we have such a feminization of manhood. Boys in school are taught to behave like little girls: "Sit down and be quiet and fold your hands and be gentle."

No doubt jesus was a gentleman, but I am sure he could've kicked butt. He chose not to.

Religiously/morally, from the traditional Christian perspective, sin (or even goodness and badness) is in the intention. If our intention is to do evil, it is sinful. If a mma fighter goes into the ring/cage intending on crippling, killing, hurting someone, I believe the intention is sinful. If the fighter's intention is to win the fight, it is not sinful and does not represent amoral behavior.

In short, I get the impression that Fedor does not want to kill anyone. He simply wants to win the fight. Many times after a submission he will even try and help his opponent up. This is what I generally appreciate about mma: so often the combatants hug and acknowledge each other kindly knowing that they are both taking part in sport, but not with the intention of permanently injuring each other.

Does God want us to try to kill each other during a sport? Certainly not, but does God think that tough sport is immoral? I would think not as long as the intention is good.

And we can go on....

jcal

Sounds good to me! Its good to see a minister appreciates a good contest even if it can be brutal. I work with 2 reborn christians and they despise it, but they despise almost everything. They are like walking contradictions. Peace

Baby Jay D.

To OP, well done. Good write up and I know you put a lot of work in. You make some very good points and I have no doubt many played a part in fedor not joining the UFC.

But it seemed to me you were glorifying Fedors morals in your post. In saying Fedor is too humble to play the UFC company role. Too honourable to deal with people like DW etc. And that was the reason he didn't sign with the UFC. I think his dislike for Danas actions etc. played a tiny part in the deal collapsing.

The primary reasons Fedor is not in the UFC now are, M1-Global demanding too high a price with co-promotion and the rest and the UFC also asking fighters to sell their souls to the company when they sign a UFC contract. If M1 weren't in the picture, with their corrupt and manipulative ways, Fedor would be in the UFC imo.

BTW repped for your effort.

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munkie

Fedor had minimal input in where he signed at. The UFC spoke with his promoters at length. Had very little contact with Fedor. M1 wants to copromote, UFC doesn't copromote with anyone, simple as that.

MooJuice

thanks for the great thread everybody

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HitOrGetHit

It was a great topic You had some really good points!

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Ruckus

Good point of view and repped for the effort. Although I do not agree with all of the OP it does bring an interest provocation of thought and discussion.

I have to disagree with this statement, due in large part to facts. MMA is in the top tier of most popular sports, not only in America but worldwide, due in large part to the efforts of UFC. To say that their business model is outdated and doesn't work for competitive sports is inaccurate. Proof being in their (the UFC's) earnings and continual growth worldwide while other promotions struggle and fail, regardless of the popularity of mma. Also if Liddell was in his prime we would see the Silva/Liddell match, both being on the UFC roster.

Why is it that the SF champ has not fought in SF for nearly 2 years? And I believe that you were referring to Silvia, a former UFC fighter as well as AA, another former UFC fighter and currently a free agent. The competition in the UFC had gotten better in the HW's therefore they were no longer at the top of the food chain, hence their move to Affliction and subsequently SF. Nog, Mir, JDS, Carwin, Velasquez, Kongo, Gonzaga, Cro Cop, Dunfee, as well as some of the guys coming in, I'd say that the UFC is a bit stronger in the HW's. After Werdum I don't really think there is anyone to compare. In addition Barnett is on 'roids (3 + tests since his last fight in the UFC) so he really doesn't count.


It's a job is right. Providing the best for his family with his job outweighs any sentiments of humility and character. The UFC made an offer, his management had another offer which meant more bottom line for income, the UFC didn't bite, SF did. Therefore he signed with SF. Athletes who play their game with the approach of "it's a job" go where they get the most money. All other reasoning's are useless speculation IMO.

See above HW breakdown. As far as bank accounts, Fedor in SF=Dana's Bank Roll with the UFC. That IMO is a push. I also say that Fedor in the UFC is as good if not better for mma popularity due to the fact that the promotion of UFC continues to grow. While I think that SF will be around much longer than than most other promotions who have come and gone, they will always be second fiddle to the level of competition of the UFC. I haven't seen any information to suggest otherwise.

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