Twitter Mailbag: 'Fight Master,' Mazzagatti's blunder, non-code dress codes

Although it’s usually dominated by UFC-related questions, this week’s Twitter Mailbag gets slightly more inclusionary thanks to your queries on Bellator’s new reality show, Jon Fitch‘s World Series of Fighting debut, and more.

Got a question of your own? Ask it on Twitter in the general direction of @BenFowlkesMMA.

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@benfowlkesMMA did you watch the premier episode of Fight Master? If so, what’d you think? Was it eerily similar to TUF? #tmb

— Kevin Thang (@Skip2MyJays) June 20, 2013

I thought “Fight Master” was different enough from “The Ultimate Fighter” to feel fresh, and yet not so different that it seemed to be trying too hard. In other words, I enjoyed it, and I was kind of surprised that I did. Granted, reality shows all have a certain feel, and this is no different, but having four very different coaches all watching the fights together and playing off one another felt interesting without being cloying. I’m not sure if I’ll still feel that way after a full season of this, but for now I think Spike TV has something worth watching. Or maybe I just think that because I came into it with such low expectations.

@benfowlkesMMA #TMB Which coach would you pick to train with were you a winner of an elimination bout on Fight Master, and why?

— Adam Berrones (@adamberrones) June 20, 2013

As I watched Montana’s own Tim Welch (406, what?!) interview the coaches after winning the very first elimination fight on “Fight Master,” I noticed that I was hoping he’d pick Greg Jackson, then relieved when he finally did. Maybe it’s because I like Tim and want to see him do well, and when I look at the panel of coaches I see only one who’s known for turning good fighters into great ones. No offense to the other three coaches, who are all awesome in their own ways (if you need someone to shout at an extremely high volume in your corner, Joe Warren‘s your guy), but Jackson has them all beat when it comes to MMA coaching experience. Then again, it depends what kind of person you are and what you want out of a coach. Some people want a guy who’s been in the big fights himself (Randy Couture or Frank Shamrock will do nicely there), others want a super intense guy to scream in their faces (again, Warren), but I’d want a calm, thoughtful coach with a philosophical approach who can make me better without making me scared of him. If he happens to have coached a few guys to world championships in the past, even better.

@benfowlkesMMA #tmb what do you make of jones vs gus? you think it’ll shut up all the haters whining about jones size advantage? #haters

— Stuart Wray (@BlazinPipeBand) June 14, 2013

The first time I read your question, I answered it without getting to the part about the size advantage. Will a win for Jon Jones against Alexander Gustafsson shut up the haters? Oh, poop no. The Jon Jones haters are not like some Tuesday night book club, bound together by frail ties that are easily broken as soon as someone swears off wine or refuses to read anything but historical fiction (my God, Karen what is your problem?!). No, the Jones haters are on some League of Shadows-type stuff. They will not quit and they will not go away. If Jones beats up someone his own size, they’ll find a new reason to hate him. They’ll also probably decide retroactively that Gustafsson was never really that good to begin with. That’s how it goes when you can’t bring yourself to accept that the world’s best light heavyweight has that belt around his waist for a reason.

@benfowlkesMMA Your thoughts on the new UFC dress code? I think it’s another step in the right direction. #tmb

— TheKidd (@VineStreetLife) June 18, 2013

The UFC says it’s not so much a dress “code” as it is a request for fighters to stop wearing shorts and flip-flops to media events [http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/06/no-official-ufc-dress-code-but-benson-henderson-still-laments-loss-of-freedom]. Typically, a code has more than two points. That’s why the Code of Hammurabi, with its nearly 300 laws, counts as such, while the local 7-11's “no shirt, no shoes, no service” policy is basically just a reminder to get it together, dude. Having seen the way the MMA media dresses at some of these events, I don’t know if there’s a real danger that anyone will deem a guy like Benson Henderson unprofessional for wearing shorts and flip-flops. At the same time, it’s not like the UFC is requiring ties and dinner jackets here. If you regard the inability to show off your calves and toes as oppression, you better be glad that you’re good enough at this fighting stuff that you don’t have to go get a real job. Same goes for the MMA media.

@benfowlkesMMA #TMB I was very impressed with his fight Saturday night, thoughts on next move for @TheJamesKrause?

— Evan Willcock (@ewillcock) June 20, 2013

I was also impressed with James Krause, and my advice to him now would be: stay ready. Especially in the UFC, where the pace is frantic and the bookings are done months in advance, and especially in the lightweight division, where there’s a lot of talent and thus a lot of tough fights to be had on relatively short notice once someone inevitably gets injured, the best thing you can do as a new fighter in the weight class is to keep your body ready and your phone nearby.

@benfowlkesMMA After WSOF last weeknd, does Dana’s assessment of Fitch as being on the “downside of his career” seem oddly prescient?Or not?

— Matthew Thomas (@mthomf1) June 20, 2013

As Dana White pointed out during his customary post-post-fight press conference media chat in Winnipeg on Saturday, he was actually kind of wrong about Jon Fitch. Yes, he’d declared the welterweight to be officially on the downside of his career, but he also predicted that he’d sign with one of the smaller organizations and quickly become champion. He was right about the first part. Fitch signed with the World Series of Fighting (making $30,000 to show in his first fight), but so far his bid for a title there isn’t going so well. He got dropped and then choked out by Josh Burkman (who made $16K and $16K, BTW), from which you could conclude that a) Fitch really is on the downside, and falling fast, or b) Burkman is better than we thought, regardless of which initials he currently has stenciled across his gloves. Or maybe it’s both. What I can tell you is, Burkman’s lost only one fight since getting bounced out of the UFC in 2008, and it was a decision against Jordan Mein. Maybe getting choked out by that dude isn’t something to be ashamed of.

While we’re on the subject of the Burkman-Fitch fight, however, a note on Steve Mazzagatti’s non-stoppage. White went off (and I do mean OFF) on “The Mazz” after UFC 161, and while he’s right that Mazzagatti is generally regarded as the worst ref in the sport, that chokeout wasn’t anywhere near his worst showing. Yes, he was out of position on that one, and sure, it looks bad when a fighter has time to choke a guy out, flip him over, then stand up and pose – all before you make a move to stop it. But if you go back and watch that fight, everything’s happening pretty fast. Fitch was rocked when Burkman got into the choke, then got DDT’d into the mat when he sunk it deeper. You don’t see a lot of guys finish that choke from half-guard, and you certainly don’t expect Fitch to get finished that way. I agree that Mazzagatti probably shouldn’t be reffing the main event of any pro fight card at this point, especially when his body of work includes enough screw-ups to get a person fired from Radio Shack, though apparently not enough for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to admit its error by continuing to give him high-profile assignments. He’s not a good ref, but the Burkman-Fitch thing? That could have happened to a lot of refs. Although at least Herb Dean probably would have been kneeling down on the side of the choke rather than on his heels watching from afar as Burkman went all “Breakfast Club” freeze frame at the end.

@benfowlkesMMA can you see Vitaly Minakov fighting a top 10 HW someday? #TMB

— chucky (@chucky50187) June 20, 2013

Maybe, but he should start by fighting a top-15 heavyweight, which could be tough in Bellator.

@benfowlkesMMA If you had to give BJ Penn one of these 3 titles, best of the worst, worst of the best or neither. Which would it be? #TMB

— Larry Bell (@LarryJBell) June 19, 2013

The fact that you didn’t even include best of the best as an option will no doubt enrage B.J. Penn‘s loyal contingent of fans, so I’m just going to start this off by clarifying that they should direct their indignant rage at you, Mr. Bell, and not me. And while it feels like a copout, I have to go with “neither.” More specifically, I’d call him the least consistent of the best. When Penn was hungry and motivated and focused, he was a terror. When he slipped into complacency, or even when he fought at a weight that didn’t absolutely force him to show up in shape, he was merely very good. He was also, as Dana White said, too tough for his own good. That’s why I don’t want to see him come back. He can take a beating, and he’s stubborn enough that he’ll insist on it, and in the end it won’t get him anything except a couple more paychecks he doesn’t really need anyway.

@benfowlkesMMA What do you think is the best strategy for fighters? Wait for the promised title shot or stay active and take other fights?

— T A (@botl435) June 19, 2013

Take other fights. Unless the wait is less than six months, you’re better off staying busy and making money, because you might not get that title shot in the end, anyway. We’ve seen the way this works in the UFC, which, especially when it comes to title shots, is known to giveth and taketh away somewhat capriciously at times. If you take other fights and lose, chances are you weren’t ready to be champion, at least not for any length of time. If you insist that you won’t even get out bed for anything less than a crack at the belt, you might get rusty, definitely won’t get paid, and might just piss off the UFC and your fans in the meantime. A fighter’s window of opportunity is so brief, they can’t afford to spend the better part of a year or more sitting around and waiting for just the right opportunity. Especially since they never know when that opportunity will get yanked out from under them, and then what was all that waiting for?

@benfowlkesMMA Chances the next time Jake Shields loses, that will be his last UFC fight? Boring fighter who is pretty F’N expensive. #TMB

— Brian (@LiqMiquchi) June 19, 2013

He didn’t make a lot of friends with his split-decision win over Tyron Woodley, that’s for sure. When I see Jake Shields in fights like that, it makes his friendship with the Diaz clan seem even more baffling. If someone who was not a Cesar Gracie brother-in-arms fought like that, the Diaz boys would be the first to criticize him as a boring point fighter. When their buddy does it, somehow they think it’s awesome. I don’t get it. I also don’t get what Shields’ long-term goal is here, because that? Yeah, that’s not how you make your case for a rematch with the champ.

@benfowlkesMMA Do you see Dana White retiring in the next year? And who do you think would be a good replacement for him?

— Mike Taghizadeh (@miketagh) June 19, 2013

I see Dana White continuing to do this job until he falls over dead at a post-fight press conference some day. Or maybe at a blackjack table. According to this New York Times article, working obsessively and sleeping only a few hours a night might help you become a super rich, super successful fight promoter, but they are not traits that are conducive to a long, healthy life well into one’s post-retirement golden years. Who knew?

@benfowlkesMMA If Anderson Silva beats Wiedman, should and will the UFC make the superfight?

— geeg (@blahhelloblah) June 19, 2013

Which superfight is that? The one with the smaller Georges St-Pierre, which Silva wants but GSP doesn’t? Or the one with the larger Jon Jones, which Jones is open to but Silva isn’t terribly excited about? I wouldn’t be surprised if Silva had to agree to both in order to get either.

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.