Black fighters booed

[White Shogun]

"The control that White exercises over the UFC underscores the sport's central mission: to claim an air of legitimacy. That, however _ whether it's because of promoters who acknowledge staging mismatches to guarantee a bloodbath or crowds who regularly boo black and Asian fighters _ is no simple task."

I just wanted to add that if anyone thinks the UFC is racist and isn't trying to promote black fighters, take a look at the level of competition that guys like Melvin Guillard and Cheick Kongo have faced since signing with the UFC. IMO the UFC is desperate to have a marketable, black face to promote. Anderson Silva is good but he doesn't speak English.

EDIT: I posted the link to the article but it was moved or is no longer available, so I have removed the link. It was in the LA Times.
Edited by: White Shogun

 

[Kaptain]

WS, page could not be found.

 

[White Shogun]

WS, page could not be found.

I don't know what happened to the article, I haven't been able to find it again.

 

[Poacher]

"...or crowds who regularly boo black and Asian fighters."

Yeah that's right, try to tar the UFC as racist. Joke.

 

[Ground Fighter]

This all comes down to business. Dana White realized that a great deal of his fan base, are White people who turned away from boxing a few years ago because of all the blacks and hispanics. If he sees that keeping the UFC as White as possible is also going to keep his profit margin up, then he's going to keep it White.

Personally, as far as actual "racism" being present in the UFC goes...anything is possible. However, I highly doubt that Dana White is sitting at his desk right now, laughing madly like a James Bond villain, and thinking of ways to "keep the black man down". He's just a business man, only primarily concerned with making money. Even if he were racist, the fact that 95% of the UFC's best fighters are Caucasian is just a bonus to him. Its not Dana White's fault that no one can find a black fighter good enough to beat the UFC's best fighters. MMA is just not a sport that blacks excel at. They can search under every rock for their "great black hope", but its doubtful that such a creature even exists. Period. Edited by: Ground Fighter

 

[michiganblkman]

I think that the fact should be brought up that this sport has only been active in the United States since circa 1993 (When Royce Gracie mowed everyone down), and mainstream popular over the last two years.

In only 13 years exposure and 2 years mainstream time, its unlikely that we have seen the best athletes participate in these events.

I have been on the bandwagon since it came out in 1993. I took my first Jiu Jitsu lesson in 1996 (Shameless plug for myself.

)

 

[White Shogun]

Sure.. world class Olmypic level wrestlers aren't real athletes. Everybody knows the guys who roll at the Abu Dhabi every year are just couch potatoes compared to those uber athletes playing cornerback in the NFL.

I don't think we've seen the best athletes compete in the NFL and NBA in years, either.

 

[jcolec02]

I don't think we've seen the best athletes compete in the NFL and NBA in years, either. [/QUOTE]

correct...the best athletes playing basketball are still mostly in europe and the big guys get into boxing over there because football is a sport that isnt popular in europe...yet...

 

[michiganblkman]

It will be interesting to see how the sport evolves in the next few years.

 

[dkr77]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

 

[Ground Fighter]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Black players? Or actual humans, like us?

 

[michiganblkman]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Now that you mention it, that reminds me that Ed "Too Tall" Jones, of the Dallas Cowboys had a less than stellar performance when he tried boxing professionally.

 

[Sark6354201]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Black players? Or actual humans, like us?

That is a bit extreme...

From the guidelines post:

* No racial or ethnic slurs or attacks on white nationalities, and no religious slurs. An honest dialogue about sports and race by definition will include negative observations about an individual or race, but if your objective is simply to attack a group of people go elsewhere.

 

[JD074]

It will be interesting to see how the sport evolves in the next few years.

It has already evolved.

 

[White Shogun]

The difference in MMA and other sports is going to be the availability of training and opportunity. White kids who want to fight aren't going to have to go to inner city ghettos to find quality trainers and gyms, the way they do with boxing. They won't have to put up with racial slurs and insults just to get some ring time. The mentality of many of the men already in the sport won't allow it to be dominated and taken over by thugs.

Not to mention that MMA is international in scope in a way that football and even basketball will never be. How many Japanese or Brazilian athletes will you ever see in basketball or football, the chosen sport of the world's true 'athletes.' It is a decidedly jingoist and paternalistic notion that football and basketball are the only sports where 'true' athletes can be found.

When you take a close look at international sports that are unaffected by bias to the extent of the Big Three in the United States, you will find many white athletes at the top of their sports. Gymnastics, Olympic wrestling, powerlifting, many track and field events, swimming, full contact martial arts, grappling and jiu jitsu, shooting, archery, 99% of all winter sports, international basketball, baseball, etc. I could go on but I think any unbiased observer would have to admit that there is no lack of world-class white athletes... except the minority in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.

 

[Ground Fighter]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Black players? Or actual humans, like us?

That is a bit extreme...

From the guidelines post:

* No racial or ethnic slurs or attacks on white nationalities, and no religious slurs. An honest dialogue about sports and race by definition will include negative observations about an individual or race, but if your objective is simply to attack a group of people go elsewhere.

First of all, I was just asking whether or not the NFL players, who've tried MMA, were black or White. I may have made a condecending remark, however, I did not use a "racial slur". Secondly, if you've actually taken the time to read any of my "more lengthy" posts, then you would know that I DO contribute "positively" to this site.

When the day comes that I start dropping the "N-bomb" all over the place, then you can put on your badge and play "CF Content-Police".

Edited by: Ground Fighter

 

[Sark6354201]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Black players? Or actual humans, like us?

That is a bit extreme...

From the guidelines post:

* No racial or ethnic slurs or attacks on white nationalities, and no religious slurs. An honest dialogue about sports and race by definition will include negative observations about an individual or race, but if your objective is simply to attack a group of people go elsewhere.

First of all, I was just asking whether or not the NFL players, who've tried MMA, were black or White. I may have made a condecending remark, however, I did not use a "racial slur". Secondly, if you've actually taken the time to read any of my "more lengthy" posts, then you would know that I DO contribute "positively" to this site.

When the day comes that I start dropping the "N-bomb" all over the place, then you can put on your badge and play "CF Content-Police".

"but if your objective is simply to attack a group of people go elsewhere. "

You suggested that blacks are not human. That constitutes an attack. Also, I never called into question your contributions to the board, I merely quoted the entire section.

 

[dkr77]

Black players? Or actual humans, like us?


Groundfighter, Several black NFL football players have tried. Names escape me but I remember they were well known for their "athletic prowess." Also, there is a strong argument that blacks should indeed be considered a separate species from caucasions. The genetic difference between the two is much more distant than what the main stream media would have us believe.

 

[Ground Fighter]

Black players? Or actual humans, like us?


Groundfighter, Several black NFL football players have tried. Names escape me but I remember they were well known for their "athletic prowess." Also, there is a strong argument that blacks should indeed be considered a separate species from caucasions. The genetic difference between the two is much more distant than what the main stream media would have us believe.

I agree.

The average ******* I.Q. hovers somewhere around 85, whereas the average Caucasoid I.Q. is about 100. Aside from the intelligence difference, there are the physical ones as well. The walls of the average ******* skull are much thicker, which translates into a smaller cranial cavity, allowing less brain mass.

But these are some differences that the mainstream media will do their best to avoid discussing.

 

[michiganblkman]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Black players? Or actual humans, like us?

LOL @ "actual humans, like us?"

I was wondering. Should the few sports records held by "not actual" humans be removed from the record books or the entries annotated with and asterik?

Whats the criteria for qualifying as an 'actual human'? Some type of DNA analysis?

 

[Alpha Male]

Species is a biological classification comprising related organisms that share common characteristics and are capable of interbreeding. Members from the same species can produce fertile offspring. A horse and a donkey, while capable of interbreeding, will produce a mule, which is not fertile. Thus, they are not from the same species.

All races are from the same species, since based on this definition, we can all produce fertile offspring.

On a lighter note, I am about to watch UFC 58. It just came out on video at Blockbuster. This sport will have to go mainstream sooner or later despite the media's reluctance.Edited by: Alpha Male

 

[White Shogun]

Can we bring this thread back around to the discussion at hand: Are the UFC and it's fans racist? Do they boo black fighters merely because they're black?

I say no.

I say the UFC is desperately searching for a marketable black fighter.

I think that white MMA fans finally have a sport (besides hockey and NASCAR) in which whites are actually given a fair shot at competing - and they're doing well.

I'm not going to sit here and try to say that there aren't any good black MMA fighters. There are. Jackson is one of them, Anderson Silva another. But what I appreciate (so far) in MMA is that there appears to be a lack of a double standard when it comes to appraising the actual abilities of white and black fighters. Yes, the announcers usually describe black fighters as explosive, athletic, etc, and white fighters are usually described as tough or as technicians. But when you have white guys KO'ing people left and right, you can't say it's all because of technique. There are some definite white bad asses in the sport, and I personally think there are a lot of white MMA fans who root for them because they are white.

The reaction of people who obseve such phenomena should be no different than when they hear Diego Sanchez say he thinks about his race every time he steps into the Octagon, or when Brazilian fighters of all stripes talk about being proud of their heritage. The point is it should be okay for people to be white and proud, and to root for white fighters merely because they're white. No other race is denied this, and white's shouldn't be, either.

 

[michiganblkman]

Can we bring this thread back around to the discussion at hand: Are the UFC and it's fans racist? Do they boo black fighters merely because they're black?

I say no.

I say the UFC is desperately searching for a marketable black fighter.

I think that white MMA fans finally have a sport (besides hockey and NASCAR) in which whites are actually given a fair shot at competing - and they're doing well.

I'm not going to sit here and try to say that there aren't any good black MMA fighters. There are. Jackson is one of them, Anderson Silva another. But what I appreciate (so far) in MMA is that there appears to be a lack of a double standard when it comes to appraising the actual abilities of white and black fighters. Yes, the announcers usually describe black fighters as explosive, athletic, etc, and white fighters are usually described as tough or as technicians. But when you have white guys KO'ing people left and right, you can't say it's all because of technique. There are some definite white bad asses in the sport, and I personally think there are a lot of white MMA fans who root for them because they are white.

The reaction of people who obseve such phenomena should be no different than when they hear Diego Sanchez say he thinks about his race every time he steps into the Octagon, or when Brazilian fighters of all stripes talk about being proud of their heritage. The point is it should be okay for people to be white and proud, and to root for white fighters merely because they're white. No other race is denied this, and white's shouldn't be, either.

In all fairness to the discussion, I would say the black fighters get booed because most of them suck and the fans feel they arent getting their moneys worth.

As of late, most of the white fighters that have entered the octagon have had "game" and put on a good show. Those that lacked technical skill have made up for it with plenty of heart.

Bottom line, if you bring your A game and come to fight, the you will get a standing "O" no matter what color you are. Bring anything less, then you get justifiably boo'ed.

 

[Triad]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Former Chicago Bear and OSU Buckeye and hostage taker Alonzo Spellman is now trying his hand in MMA. Finally, a dominant athlete arrives to give the sport some credibility. This story was on ESPN a few weeks back. Ironically, it is one of the few times I've seen MMA mentioned on the "sports" network.

Bottom line, if you bring your A game and come to fight, the you will get a standing "O" no matter what color you are. Bring anything less, then you get justifiably boo'ed.

Accurate point, if your fight has action you get cheered. If your fight is filled with holding - you tend to get booed.

The black fighters aren't the problem, it's the pathetic "white" writers that print the garbage that WS first posted about. It's not like millions of whites don't pack stadiums and arenas to cheer for black athletes in other sports.

 

[White Shogun]

There have already been several NFL players try their hand at MMA and even with a lot of fanfare none have had much success.

Former Chicago Bear and OSU Buckeye and hostage taker Alonzo Spellman is now trying his hand in MMA. Finally, a dominant athlete arrives to give the sport some credibility. This story was on ESPN a few weeks back. Ironically, it is one of the few times I've seen MMA mentioned on the "sports" network.

Bottom line, if you bring your A game and come to fight, the you will get a standing "O" no matter what color you are. Bring anything less, then you get justifiably boo'ed.

Accurate point, if your fight has action you get cheered. If your fight is filled with holding - you tend to get booed.

The black fighters aren't the problem, it's the pathetic "white" writers that print the garbage that WS first posted about. It's not like millions of whites don't pack stadiums and arenas to cheer for black athletes in other sports.

When and where is Spellman's first fight? I'm willing to bet he gets tooled by the first competent mixed martial artist he faces.

Triad makes an excellent point. It isn't the fans, it's the idiot writers who make this kind of thing an issue. But I still believe that MMA has grown so rapidly in part because its white fans have white stars for whom they can cheer.

There are some white fighters that I don't like. Chris Leben comes immediately to mind. He annoyed me on when he was on TUF. He was a cry baby and wtf with peeing on the guy's bed? Now with his bright red mohawk and gigantic tattoo covering his back, he strikes me as a guy who is trying to be what he 'thinks' an MMA fighter is like, instead of just 'being' an MMA fighter. He is almost like a stereotyped caricature of what detractors think an MMA fighter is supposed to be like.