Some fighters make careers out of going out there and winning championships, putting on great fights, and showing up for war no matter what. These are the top guys in the game, the best overall P4P fighters, but we’re not talking about them today. On the other side of the tracks, there’s an entirely different breed of MMA fighter competing for an entirely different P4P list, and that’s the P4P list of excuses.
Not knowing the rules
When Chael Sonnen tapped out against Anderson Silva in the 5th round of their first fight, a fight that Sonnen was absolutely dominating, he went on to say that it was due to a misunderstanding of the rules of MMA. You see, when Chael tapped out, he thought he was just forfeiting the round, not the entire fight. He was under the impression that he could tap out in the 5th, lose the 5th round, and have the other 4 rounds go to the judges where he would easily claim the decision. As it turns out, when you tap, you lose the whole fight – not just that one round. We believe you, Chael. Check out our Top 10 Chaelisms right here.
Aliens
There’s been a lot of talk about GSP’s interview on the Joe Rogan Podcast where GSP straight up said he gets abducted by Aliens all the time and they prevent him from fighting at his best. Wait, that’s not what he said at all? Leave it to the MMA media to misinterpret even the most basic of conversations. GSP never said he was abducted by aliens; it was Joe who insinuated that for comedy and then went on to keep talking about it in later interviews out of context, making GSP look like one of those crazy tinfoil hat people. You know that thing that comedians do? Comedy? And no offense to the tin foil hat people. You know who you are. We’re watching you. Anyways, the whole GSP alien thing was totally blown out of proportion and he was totally misquoted, but we’re still including it on our list of excuses because that’s how we roll.
They’re watching me…
No, this isn’t the cold war, it’s the UFC baby! Quentin “Rampage” Jackson (Those are sarcastic air quotes around Rampage, by the way) has famously been quoted as blaming losses on spies in his training camp. Were his coaches playing both sides of the field? Probably not, no. Were his training partners spilling the beans to his opponents? It’s possible. “Hey so, I’ve been watching Rampage train, and here’s what he’s going to do… he’s going to come at you full force with strikes…” It doesn’t really take a rocket scientist or a spy, for that matter, to come to such a conclusion so we’re leaving this one up to you guys.
We’re regulated by the government!
Anytime Dana White doesn’t have a good answer to a question, he can fall back on his favorite scapegoat, the athletic commission. “The judges sucked? Not our fault, we didn’t hire them… yet they’re the same judges we DO choose to hire again and again when he host fights in other countries.” (Paraphrasing here…) Dana why won’t you sign Ben Askren? “Cos we’re regulated by the government, DUMMY!” Dana why can’t your TUF fighters make weight? “Cos we’re regulated by the government, idiot!” Dana why isn’t fighter pay more transparent? “Cos we’re regulated by the governemnt!” Dana what are the UFC’s plans for 2014? “Cos we’re reg– Oh, I mean, uhh.. Lorenzo.. help me out here.. uhh.. WORLD DOMINATION.”
Trained too hard
You had to know Tito was going to make it onto this list. In the last 10 years, he’s probably hurt himself at training camp more than he’s hurt his opponents in the cage. Some fighters will blame over training and injury on a loss after the fight, but Tito won’t even show up to the fight. After running out of sick days in the UFC, he joined up with Bellator where he… you guessed it… called in sick on his first day.
The Old 70% Rule
Conventional wisdom tells you that when you’re in the title fight of your life, you definitely shouldn’t go all out, especially not in the 5th round when the fight is tied 2-2. Wait, it doesn’t? Conventional wisdom doesn’t tell you that at all? Well, what the hell was Johny thinking then? Yeah, we get it, pull your punches so you don’t gas out too early, but what good is a full gas tank once the fight is over?
Later, Johny went on to say the reason he was only punching at 70% of his strength was because he was using the wrong hand wraps. He was using the thinner ones for this fight, when normally he’ll use the thicker ones. Also, don’t forget the whole drug testing thing too. Johny’s making a very strong and clear effort to make it on top of this list, it’s the closest he’s come to a number 1 spot but once again, it’s left in the hands of the judges…
Who Wins Top P4P Excuse?
Until recently, the top spot on TigerMMA’s Top P4P Excuses List was held by none other than the American Gangster himself, but recent events have put a new man at the top of that list. Congratulations are in order for Mr. Hendricks who now holds the top spot on Fightstate’s 2013 Top P4P Excuses. With the holy trinity of lame excuses (Drug testing, hand-wraps and 70%), Johny unquestionably has this top position in lock down.
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