I got a bit excited last week, before reality set in as I realized the comeback fight for two of my favorite fighters may be a fixed fight.
Before the hype train leaves the station for the return of UFC legends Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carrano, let’s temper those expectations a bit.
The fight will be a promotion by the YouTube sensation Paul Brothers, the same that arranged last year’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson contest, whose contract reportedly contained stipulations that the longer the fight went, the more money Tyson made.
I’m not an attorney, but as an amateur observer it would appear that contractual stipulations dictating payment based on a round-by-round outcome would be fixed.
I didn’t watch the fight because I’m not interested in the worn story of an old veteran un-retiring for one last run. Fighters degrade.
According to reports, the fight went eight rounds and Paul won by decision.
That’s preposterous. Twenty years ago, Tyson couldn’t last eight rounds with an over-the-hill Irish nobody named Kevin McBride.
Professional wrestling died because people realized it was not real. As the public became aware of the UFC, new heroes emerged including Rousey, Carano, John Jones, Gorges St. Pierre and Connor McGregor. With the recent rash of alleged fixed fights from the UFC, the Paul Brothers or any other organization, the fighting world is taking a step backward.
I love nostalgia, but there is something juvenile in holding on to the past for performance’s sake. People need to make a living, pay their mortgage and have the resources to give their children a great upbringing. I’m just not a fan when it’s done dishonestly.
Rousey and Carano had their time, their moment in the spotlight, and even landed gigs in TV shows and movies after their fighting careers ended. Two working actors going to fight full-tilt in an octagon for a payday in their 40s seems too strange to be legit.
