Twitter Mailbag: Fowlkes on Belfort-Henderson TRT, 'King Mo,' GSP-Hendricks

It’s a busy week in the MMA world, so it’s only fitting that the Twitter Mailbag should be bursting with questions from our dear readers.

As promised, there are more prizes on offer this week, only this time around I made no attempt to select winners according to any sort of merit-based system. Instead, I just selected the best questions that I most felt like answering (which is what I always do), then chose four of those at random.

The first winner I picked will receive our grand prize – a UFC “Ultimate Fight Collection” DVD set – with three others receiving UFC 163 DVDs. Winners are named all the way down at the bottom of this week’s TMB, so be patient (or, you know, just scroll down and get it over with).

Everyone else, you can ask a question of your own and potentially win future prizes by tweeting your query to @benfowlkesMMA. Now on to this week’s batch.

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@benfowlkesMMA Do you think the TRT debate will overshadow the main event this weekend? Where is Vitor’s PR rep telling him to shut up? #tmb

— Mike Walker (@MikeOlympic) November 6, 2013

I hope it won’t completely overshadow the Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson fight, which ought to be a good one, but I also hope we don’t try and pretend like it’s not a question mark hovering over the whole thing. Here we have two fighters who we know are using synthetic testosterone. They got the doctor’s notes, got the OK from the commission in Brazil, and hey, they’re both essentially 185-pounders who agreed not to cut weight, so they can feel free to bulk up and smash each other for our entertainment. That makes me feel a little bit gross for looking forward to it so much, to be honest. It also makes me think about a friend of mine who half-jokingly calls for an “all-inclusive” division where fighters can use whatever performance-enhancing substances they like. Or, as he puts it, “One division for the guys on all the gear, and one for regular, all-natural fighters.” On Saturday, it seems, we’re going to get a little glimpse of what that gear division might look like.

But it’s interesting that Belfort takes so much more flack for his synthetic testosterone use than Hendo does. As near as I can tell, the major differences between them are that 1) Henderson has never tested positive for steroids, while Belfort has, and 2) Henderson handles questions about his TRT use much better than Belfort does. The second one shouldn’t matter so much. The first one is critically important. That’s the one we should be focusing on, not the fact that one of these two dudes is more apt to put his foot in his mouth.

@benfowlkesMMA if Hendo loses, do you think he retires?

— Ryan Manahan (@Ryan_Manahan) November 6, 2013

Not yet. As Henderson said this week, he thinks he has “at least two years” before he thinks about retiring. Then again, he’s also said that this is the last fight on his current contract, and we just heard UFC President Dana White say if he loses his third in a row at UFC Fight Night 32, “he could possibly start thinking about retirement.” Obviously, the UFC can’t make him quit. The most it can do is tell him that he’s no longer welcome in the octagon, which it seems unlikely to do. My guess is that while Henderson might have a good deal of money at stake on Saturday night, his entire fighting future isn’t hinging on the outcome.

@benfowlkesMMA With 2 losses to Newton, King MO is clearly overrated. Who is the most overrated fighter in MMA? Where does King Mo rank?#TMB

— Kevin Nail (@kevin_nail) November 5, 2013

I guess it depends how highly you rated him to begin with. It also depends where you rank Emanuel Newton, since he’s one of only two people who have beaten Lawal in his five years as a professional. It’s possible that we got too hot, too soon on Lawal, maybe because we looked at his wrestling pedigree, his raw aggression, and his power and then assumed that the sky was the limit. It’s also possible that Newton is better than we thought. Either way, if there’s ever been a fighter who needed to go back to the drawing board – and soon – it’s Lawal.

@benfowlkesMMA What’s going to be key for Hendricks if he’s to beat GSP? #TMB

— Sam Ashworth (@Sam_Ash180) November 5, 2013

I think the biggest key for Johny Hendricks is going to be getting on offense and staying there, regardless of what Georges St-Pierre does. That’s something you hear a lot of fighters talk about, but it’s tough to do, especially against a guy like GSP, who has so many ways to turn your attack against you. We’ve seen that shut down past opponents. They worry so much about his takedowns or his jab that they don’t open up and go for it. They wait, and in waiting they make GSP’s job so much easier. So far, one of Hendricks’ great strengths has been his willingness to get right in people’s faces and pressure them. That, and the ability to knock a man into the land of wind and ghosts with a single left hand. Against St-Pierre, Hendricks can’t get caught standing there and waiting for the champ to decide how it’s going to go. As we’ve seen, that’s a great way to end up on the wrong end of a frustrating 25-minute beating.

@benfowlkesMMA #tmb what do you think of a scoring system that accepts tied rounds but with a 4th winner deciding Judge in case of a draw?

— Leon MacCormack (@lmaccormack87) November 4, 2013

Our current system accepts tied rounds, not that judges take advantage of it. It also accepts 10-8 rounds, but judges are similarly reluctant to use that. Seems to me that it’s not the 10-point must system that’s the problem – it’s how we use it. Right now, a close round where one fighter is slightly more aggressive and lands a late takedown is typically a 10-9 round for that fighter. If the other guy comes out in the next round and absolutely dominates from start to finish, but never seems really close to finishing, it’s probably going to be a 10-9 for him. Sorry, but that’s just dumb.

I think the problem is the boxing mindset that comes with the 10-point must system. Judges are used to looking for things like knockdowns to signify a 10-8 round, but MMA isn’t quite that simple. There are lots of ways to dominate a round, and so we have to implement the system in such a way that reflects the difference between winning a round by a little and winning by a lot (or, as you mention, doing just enough to come up even). Trouble is, who’s going to go first? No judge wants to stick his head up and say, “You know what? This is what a 10-8 round looks like now. I’ve changed my mind.” We’d need some kind of formal directive to force that kind of broad change in scoring. If we can get it, we might even curtail some of the worst impulses of fighters who have learned how to manipulate the judges.

@benfowlkesMMA you’ve said in the past that Chandler is the best outside of the UFC, where do you rank Alvarez now? #tmb

— Hugh O’Donnell (@hughodonnell97) November 3, 2013

That’s a tough one, mainly because the fight was so close. It kind of feels like they could fight 10 more times (which might be Bellator’s best hope right now) and split it more or less down the middle. I guess for now you have to say that Eddie Alvarez is the best fighter outside the UFC, with Michael Chandler as a very close second. Who knows? After the inevitable rubber match, it might switch back again.

@benfowlkesMMA Why do refs get in fighters’ faces while they are recovering from illegal blows? Shouldn’t 5 minutes be 5 minutes? #tmb

— Dave Brown (@davebrownradio) November 7, 2013

It should, but fighters are never going to take the full five minutes. The crowd gets antsy, the ref is standing there looking at the aggrieved party like he’s some frozen pizza that’s taking forever to cook, and so it rarely takes more than a minute or so for him to hustle his cup a few times and claim he’s good to go. Meanwhile, the other fighter gets a breather and usually suffers no meaningful punishment at all. Maybe the question is, why wouldn’t you kick your opponent in the groin at least once?

@benfowlkesMMA what level of bullshit is it that Dana White doesn’t want “young guys” doing TRT? Shut stable door after enhanced horse bolt?

— Mat Smith (@Neuronautuk) November 6, 2013

I think it’s the UFC’s attempt at a practical compromise with the idea of phasing out sanctioned testosterone use over the long haul. Or maybe I just hope it is. Maybe it’s really just damage control masquerading as reform. Regardless, we’ve heard from fighters recently who have been, shall we say, discouraged by the UFC from applying for testosterone exemptions. Of course, those exemptions are granted by athletic commissions in most places, so the UFC can’t actually stop them from asking for or receiving one. What it can do, as we saw with the Ben Rothwell situation, is come down on those fighters even harder than the commission will if they screw up the tricky business of hormone “replacement.” It sends a message, and it’s supposed to.

When I asked White on Tuesday’s media call if the UFC was intentionally trying to limit new therapeutic-use exemption applications, he replied, “Definitely, especially young guys. Young guys don’t need to do it. There are certain cases where guys need it. And listen, the TRT thing is totally legal …”

From there, of course, White gave us the usual spiel about how the real concern with TRT is that fighters are abusing it during training camps and tapering down for the pre or post-fight drug screenings. He’s right to be concerned about that, but it’s not the only concern. And if we’re going to reclassify TRT as something only old guys get to do, we have to wonder a) what counts as old in MMA (Forrest Griffin was, I believe, 32 years old when he got on it), and b) how can we possibly justify having one set of rules for fighters over a certain age, and a completely different set for everyone else?

My hope, however, is that this was just poor phrasing followed by familiar evasive manuevers on White’s part. I think you can look at the UFC’s efforts to limit new TRT “patients” and see it as a sign that the UFC sees the potential for real trouble here, but doesn’t want to go to battle with current users like Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson over a substance it has defended their right to use. Instead, maybe the UFC would rather let those guys gradually age out of the sport while preventing new TRT users from taking their place, thus eliminating this legal gray area from the sport. Honestly, I could think of worse plans.

@benfowlkesMMA Has MMA ruined other sports for you? Did it make boxing seem as genteel as seniors playing tennis? My eyes glaze over… #tmb

— Baltasar Shepard (@BaltasarShepard) November 6, 2013

This is something my wife says a lot, actually. She’s an MMA fan who was never much of a boxing fan, and when I try to flip the TV to HBO or Showtime for a little recreational boxing action, she’s sure to mention how boring it seems compared to MMA. I get that. I enjoy boxing, but it’s a totally different sport. The athletes in it are specialists operating under special rules. Once you get used to the full range of techniques in MMA, boxing can feel like a frustrating, restrictive enterprise. As much as I admire Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s ability, I watch him fight and I can’t stop thinking about how easy it would be to ankle pick that guy. That’s not to say boxing (or, for that matter, wrestling or sport jiu-jitsu) is ruined for me. Maybe it’s just been put in the proper perspective.

@benfowlkesMMA Wouldn’t more fans support Bellator if they had more positive stances on fighter pay, PEDs, and contracts than the UFC? #TMB

— Darcy LeDrew (@DarcyLeDrew) November 6, 2013

In theory, maybe. But it’s one thing to have people support the idea of what you’re doing and another to have them sit down and watch all because of the things they like about your behind-the-scenes efforts. Fighter pay, PEDs, contracts, none of that is readily apparent on TV come fight night. You have to know about it to even know about it, if that makes sense. Most MMA fans, they just want to see the biggest and best fights, regardless of how we get there.

@benfowlkesMMA GSP wanting no time limits, I can see that being interesting but I’m not sure it would make the fight better, your opinion?

— tyler griggs (@Tyler_Griggs) November 6, 2013

I don’t think it would make fights better for spectators. Would it make them better for fighters? Depends what kind of fighter you are. Some would be encouraged to blitz their opponents early, others to play it slow and try to wear opponents down. Promoters would probably hate it, and so would TV executives. Martial arts purists would probably at least claim to love it. Thing is, this is entertainment. It’s a sport too, but it’s only a job for people like GSP because other people can be convinced to pay to see it. Making the sport less fan-friendly would be a bad idea in that sense. Plus, are we supposed to let fighters go as long as it takes until there’s a winner? What if they go an hour or more? What if we stretch into the next day and we’re not even past the prelims? We’ve got jobs and families and stuff, man. Fight the fights and let us move on.

@benfowlkesMMA is there anything at all to gain as a fan from Dana and Bjorn’s twitter spat? Does it hurt/help MMA?

— Mitchell Stucky (@ShanksTheStucky) November 6, 2013

I maintain that stuff like that neither helps nor hurts MMA, mostly because people who aren’t already MMA fans probably aren’t paying attention to the Twitter accounts of Dana White or Bjorn Rebney. And if you are an MMA fan, well, this doesn’t surprise you. Look at White’s Twitter timeline (seriously, do it right now) and you’ll see him pretty much always engaged in petty bickering with fans, wherein his go-to move is to insult their appearance and/or number of Twitter followers. So that’s his idea of social media discourse.

It shouldn’t affect our outlook on the sport so much as our notion of what kind of dude Dana White is (the kind who, even as a grown man, will insist that he’s right and you’re wrong because you’re fat and he has more friends than you). As for Rebney, he certainly chose his moment to lash out, and with a highly selective point about ratings. It’s true that Bellator did over a million viewers for its most recent event, while the UFC did just over 100,000 for its Fight Night event from Manchester. What Rebney didn’t bother to mention was that this was basically the biggest show Bellator had ever attempted against just another event on FOX Sports 2 (aka: not the good FOX Sports) on a Saturday afternoon. Apples to oranges, Bjorn.

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Congrats to @BaltasarShepard, who is our grand prize winner this week. Also congrats to @MikeOlympic, @kevin_nail, @Tyler_Griggs who all get UFC 163 DVDs. The rest of you get only my gratitude and begrudging respect, which, I’m told, are both worthless.

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Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie.com and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.com.

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