Trading Shots: When to fight – and when to pass – on a short-notice call

In this week’s Trading Shots, the UFC found itself in need of a short-notice fight once again, and this time the man who once famously said no was especially eager to say yes. Now retired UFC and WEC fighter Danny Downes joins MMAjunkie Ben Fowlkes to discuss the move and the logic behind it.

Downes: Ben, the MMA gods have looked down from high atop Mt. Xyience and found us unworthy. Another injury has cost the people a main event. This time, a foot injury has forced Daniel Cormier out of his title fight with Jon Jones at UFC 197, so Jones will fight Ovince Saint Preux instead.

We know that Jones has had a bit of a history with short-notice fights, so it got me to thinking about the nature of last-minute replacements. Fans are usually disappointed no matter what, yet if someone decides to turn down the fight, he or she is criticized by promoters and fans. While it’s certainly hard to show sympathy for Jones given recent events, isn’t he in a no-win situation here? Yes, he could win the fight, but what else does he gain from this?

Fowlkes: Well there’s some money in it for him, which is nice. All these lawyers ain’t cheap, Danny. Then there’s another chance to get on TV and yell at Cormier (might I suggest: Get your foot together!), which also seems like something Jones might be interested in.

But I see your point. Jones is probably the greatest light heavyweight in the world, if not the greatest fighter period. Beating OSP doesn’t add to that, though losing would certainly detract from it. And since he’s still fighting someone within his own division, he doesn’t even get the tough guy points other fighters do when they accept a short-notice bout well above their usual weight.

It’s a raw deal, in other words. But isn’t this at least partly a result of a situation Jones has made for himself? I mean, no, he didn’t injure Cormier, but think about the reasons why he pretty much had to accept whoever the UFC could find.

First, there’s the UFC 151 debacle, where Jones turned down Chael Sonnen on late notice and then got blamed for the cancellation of the whole event. Then there’s all the trouble he’s gotten himself into, from the hit-and-run that cost him the title to the alleged drag racing incident that landed him in jail on a probation violation just a few days ago.

Call me crazy, but I suspect he did the math on his current standing with fans and the UFC and concluded that he couldn’t say no right now. Still feeling sympathetic to young “Bones” Jones now?

Downes: True. Given recent events and the UFC 151 criticism, Jones had to take whatever fight the UFC offered him. He doesn’t have the political capital to sit out another event. And maybe if he fights and looks like the incredible fighter we know him to be, all the drag racing/bodycam footage/hit-and-run stuff become appositives in more flattering articles about his brilliance.

That said, what about other, less brilliant fighters? You have to admit that the “I’ll fight anyone, anywhere” attitude is at its best foolhardy, and at its worst just plain stupid. There’s a difference between taking a fight on a month notice and taking one on a week’s notice (like the Sonnen one), but either way, you’re taking a risk.

OSP is a totally different type of fight than Cormier. I’m sure the people at Jackson-WInkeljohn will come up with a suitable plan, but it still presents problems.

Part of it is that people think MMA is “just fighting.” There’s levels to this stuff, Ben. Tactics, training schedules, nutrition, strength and conditioning cycles – we’ve passed the day when a couple of casual brawlers can step into the cage and have success.

Yet fans and others still fall victim to some tough guy ideology that says if you prefer to be calculating, you’re a coward. Everyone likes Donald Cerrone, but you yourself have said that his career choices have been less than tactical and fraught with potential disaster.

Can you still be a “real” fighter and turn down fights? You live in one of the most masculine states in the union, so I can assume I know the answer to this one, Lash LaRue.

Fowlkes: I think a lot depends on where you are in your career, and why you’re turning down or not turning down a short-notice fight. If there’s one aspect of this that I wish more fans understood, it’s this. Not all short-notice fights (or short-notice fighters) are created equal.

For instance, if you’re already the champ, as Jones was when Dan Henderson withdrew from UFC 151? Then I think you’re under no obligation to take whoever the UFC can scrounge up.

It’d be very cool of you to do that. It might also be a good long-term business move. But you don’t have to, and it doesn’t make you any less of a fighter or a champion if you decide no, you’d rather wait for the real challenger. After all, the powers that be chose that challenger for a reason, right? Or, you know, so they would have us believe. If you can throw any warm body into that spot, what does any of it even matter?

But if you’re a contender who’s hungry for that title shot, and if you’re reasonably in shape and close to your fighting weight, then I think you might want to roll those dice.

Consider a guy like Neil Magny, who I wrote about just the other day. He’s knocking on the door at welterweight, and he’s clearly a very good and still improving fighter, but let’s just say TMZ isn’t waiting for him at the airport. He needs a chance, and an injury to someone else might be the best hope he has right now. In his situation, wouldn’t you advise him to stay ready and keep his phone on?

Downes: Whether it’s a short-notice fight or any fight for that matter, each should be judged individually. Jones and Magny have differing levels of leverage, popularity and status, so it would be wrong to paint them with the same brush.

There certainly are scenarios when it’s preferable to take a short-notice fight. I agreed to fight Chris Horodeckion five days notice knowing I was 25 pounds over-weight because it made sense. Even if I wasn’t at my optimal condition, it was a way for me to get into the WEC.

Short-notice fights can make sense, but they don’t always make sense. A hero may die once and a coward dies a thousand deaths, but the smart ones try to figure out how to not get killed.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who also writes for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.