Twitter Mailbag: Fowlkes on White's Riddle rant, Edgar-Penn, drug testing, more

For a week with no UFC event, there sure is no shortage of topics for this Twitter Mailbag.

I guess that’s what happens when the UFC president goes off on a story you wrote, all while drug testing agreements fall apart in full public view and a legendary ex-champion comes out of retirement to compete in a weight class 25 pounds below where he was the last time we saw him.

Suppose we’d better dive right in. You can send your own questions to @BenFowlkesMMA via the magic of Twitter. Links to hilarious GIFs are also welcome.

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@benfowlkesMMA reg Riddle’s retirement, do you feel pay is too low compared to other pro sports? Does it stop people from competing?

— Hans Jacobs (@hansandstuff) September 12, 2013

Let’s rap about Matthew Riddle’s statements, shall we? Then let’s get into UFC President Dana White’s statements about those statements. We might as well discuss it, since everyone else seems to be.

As you can probably tell from the story, Riddle got pretty worked up talking about his retirement. He said he felt like he wasn’t making enough money, wasn’t respected by promoters or fans, and generally didn’t think it was worth all the pain and suffering anymore. Mostly, he seemed frustrated. He also seemed like he was acting impulsively, and even admitted that he might be back within a year or two.

We can argue about whether he was making what he’s worth as a fighter (Riddle estimated his average yearly take, after fees and expenses and the like, at about 50 grand a year; White pointed out that his last two years in the UFC were more lucrative, though he conveniently left out info about his first couple years), but that’s not really the point. It’s Riddle’s body, his brain, his life. He could be making half a million dollars a fight, but if he didn’t feel like it was enough to justify the health hazards or the headaches anymore, that’s his call. The dude taking the punches is the only one who gets to decide whether he’s being paid enough money to do it. Normally I’d say Riddle should quit if he doesn’t like it. But then, he did quit. That was what the story was about.

That’s why I don’t get White’s apparent outrage over it. In a video released by “UFC Tonight,” the UFC president blasted the story for being one-sided. But we’re talking about a story in which a recently cut, freshly retired former UFC fighter explains why he decided to call it quits. His explanation was that he felt unappreciated and underpaid. Who can tell him he’s wrong? Who can say he has no right to feel those feelings? It’s not as if he accused the UFC of any specific malfeasance, so what other side to the story is there?

When White went off about Riddle’s questionable value as a prelim fighter, about his history of failed drug tests and self-sabotage, I couldn’t really disagree with too much of what he was saying. At the same time, this is not a story about low fighter pay or UFC mistreatment of athletes or anything like that. It’s one guy, a little bit hurt and angry and disillusioned, explaining why he doesn’t want to do this anymore. His explanation might have been self-serving at times, and it minimized his own mistakes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an honest portrayal of how he feels as he’s headed out the door. White can have his opinion on Riddle’s opinion, but that doesn’t invalidate it.

As for your actual question, which, I admit, I totally ignored (sorry, Hans), my answer is: not really. Fighter pay could certainly stand to improve, and it would help if the UFC (which doesn’t talk about fighter salaries until a fighter complains, thus making White mad enough to pull some figures) were more transparent about what it takes in and what it pays out. But as with many other high-profile, potentially lucrative fields, we come back around to the idea of tournament theory. The money in MMA is at the top. The grueling process of getting there whittles down the number of participants, which is pretty much exactly what we’re seeing with Riddle. It’s a harsh and sometimes heartbreaking system, but that’s prize-fighting for you. It’s never been a business that values second place.

@benfowlkesMMA So, BJ and Frankie are gonna do it again brother. Is there any reason we should care about this fight? #TMB

— Jeremy Sexton (@jeremysexton) September 11, 2013

Sure, if you’re a fan of either B.J. Penn or Frankie Edgar. And both guys have loyal, passionate fan bases, so between the two of them, that covers a lot of people.

What I don’t understand is how this is in any way a good deal for Edgar. He beat Penn twice. Now he has to go through the motions of the reality TV show – which, according to previous coaches, is either completely miserable or just barely tolerable – all for the chance to do it a third time? I don’t see the upside.

For Penn, it’s different. I can see how, in his mind, it would make for a great story if he came back now, avenged his losses to Edgar, then got the belt one more time. I just don’t see it happening that way. Edgar was too quick for him when they fought before. Even Rory MacDonald, a welterweight, was too quick for him in his last fight. Now you’re telling me that he’s going to go down to featherweight (in his mid-30s, by the way, having never done it before), and this time everything will be different? I don’t want to say it’s impossible, so instead I’ll just call it improbable.

@benfowlkesMMA Vada, Wada, or yadda yadda? Is the GSP/Hendricks saga really in the interest of cleaing up the sport or is it all posturing?

— K. Carter (@therealkcarter) September 11, 2013

At the core, I believe that both Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks had the best intentions here. I believe GSP wants to prove that he’s a clean fighter, while maybe also using his position to advance the cause of enhanced drug testing across the sport as a whole. And Hendricks? I believe Hendricks would pee in a Dixie cup on command every single day of his training camp, if you asked him to. I think the problem is all the cooks in the kitchen, particularly on GSP’s side.

In emails forwarded to me by Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer, GSP’s representatives seem to have thrown around some contradictory statements and asked a lot of unnecessary questions about the NSAC’s supplemental testing program via a WADA lab in Salt Lake City. That made it appear as though, no matter what they heard from the NSAC, they were committed to doing VADA testing, and were looking for a way to decline to the NSAC’s offer of enhanced testing without explicitly saying no. I don’t blame Hendricks’ manager for seeing that and suspecting that there might be some agreement between VADA and the GSP camp that he’d rather keep his fighter clear of. Do we blame GSP for that? I don’t think so. The man doesn’t write his own tweets. You really think he’s at home researching the difference between VADA and WADA?

I suspect he had a general idea of what he wanted to do here and his handlers took care of the rest. The good news is, GSP will undergo enhanced testing for this fight. According to Dr. Margaret Goodman, he’s already started his VADA program. As Kizer said, enrolling in it means as little as declining it. Neither is proof of innocence or guilt. Not unless he fails one of these tests. If that happens, thus disrupting what should be one of the UFC’s most lucrative events of 2013? Brother, look out.

@benfowlkesMMA W/ the 3 shows in 2 days the UFC had now over (w/ only TUF to satiate your addiction) what does UFC-level mean nowadays? #tmb

— Baltasar Shepard (@BaltasarShepard) September 11, 2013

It means several different things, depending on the circumstances. There’s UFC pay-per-view level, which is reserved for the upper-tier fighters (or at least the biggest draws). There’s UFC on FOX Sports 1 level, which could be anything from a non-title main event to a Wednesday afternoon time-filler in Brazil. There’s UFC on Facebook level, which means show us something quick or pack your bags and update your resume. Then there’s UFC “Ultimate Fighter” level, which means you’re either a diamond in the rough or a cheeky character with dyed hair and a jaunty hat, there to get beat up by the diamonds in the rough. In other words, simply slapping the UFC logo on a fight doesn’t necessarily make it good or important or exciting. That part is up to the fighters.

@benfowlkesMMA do you think that its fair to Dominic Cruz if he doesn’t return early 2014 that they strip his belt? #tmb

— Drewskeei (@DrewJitsu27) September 11, 2013

It’s unfair in the same way that the whole situation – the injury, the setbacks, the lengthy layoff for an athlete in his prime – is unfair. Honestly, it just plain sucks, and you can’t help but feel for the guy.

At the same time, we’re getting to the point where the UFC has to do something. Cruz hasn’t fought since October of 2011. That’s a long time for a still-developing division to go without its champion. The UFC has been very patient with Cruz, and thankfully so, but this can’t go on indefinitely. I’d say giving him until the start of next year is more than fair. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not ready to jump right in and defend a championship belt that’s been collecting dust for more than two years by then.

@benfowlkesMMA Is there any way Gustafsson wins this fight? If so, how do you think he can do it?

— John Michaels (@LeafsRapsJays7) September 11, 2013

Any man with Alexander Gustafsson’s size and athletic ability can’t be counted out. It’s just that, when the man in the other corner is also a big, strong, gifted athlete like Jon Jones, it’s an uphill climb.

If I have to bet my mortgage on this one, I’ll take Jones every time. Mostly that’s because, aside from his temporary lapse in armbar defense against Vitor Belfort and his excruciating lapse in toe joint coherency against Chael Sonnen, we really haven’t seen too many weaknesses or vulnerabilities from him. Gustafsson almost certainly won’t outwrestle him, and there’s no reason to think he’ll submit him. That leaves the big Swede with a puncher’s chance. It’s not no chance, but it’s probably the closest thing to it.

@benfowlkesMMA What your personal favorite style of fighting to watch? Slick Jiu jitsu? Throwing bungalows? Wrassling? Other?

— Logan Smith (@LoganasaurusRex) September 11, 2013

I love me some sick jitz, bro. Then again, the caveman part of my brain loves to see two guys throwing caution and CTE fears aside as they pummel one another with all the hardest and sharpest surfaces of their bodies. Wrestling? I appreciate a good double-leg, and nothing makes a room full of supposedly adult men chuckle quite like hearing the term “high crotch” on TV over and over again. But mostly, the thing I love about MMA is the way it blends them all together in a constantly evolving sport. Now if we could only do something about the eye-poking and the fence-grabbing.

@benfowlkesMMA all of the @TeamAlphaMale fighters are capable of capturing the belt in their respective divisions, but who has the best shot

— Doug Ancey (@Totally_Dougin) September 11, 2013

That’s a tough one, Doug. I’m torn between Joseph Benavidez at flyweight and Chad Mendes at featherweight. Lately both of them have looked like the second-best guy in their respective weight classes, but both also have losses against the current champs, which can make it more difficult to get another chance. If you force me to choose, I’ll take Benavidez, mostly because that division is shallower and his turn has to come around again soon, if only because of a lack of other options. All I know is that if one of those Alpha Male guys doesn’t get a UFC title soon, weed-loving coach Duane Ludwig might have to switch to peyote.

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.