The UFC Ready For Prime Time? We Think NOT.

As many people out there now know the UFC is set to make its American debut on broadcast television this November and as that day gets closer, those opposed to the UFC having a home on prime time television have amped up their campaigns. As a sport I feel MMA has just as much of a right to enjoy prime time exposure as the NFL, NHL, NBA and the MLB does, but as a business the UFC really needs to tighten up and give many of their athletes and figure heads some proper media training if they are ever to truly be taken seriously.

Recently celebrity blogger and renowned idiot Perez Hilton spoke out about the rampant use of homophobic remarks used by many athletes in the UFC, UFC President Dana White and UFC announcer Joe Rogan. He is calling into question why none of these people had been formally reprimanded? Now first things first, we at Action Recon detest Perez Hilton, he is a bully, reports on mostly useless information, rarely has his facts straight when he sounds off about things outside his area of expertise and has actually used the slur “F*ggot” himself. As a matter of fact GLAAD has spoken out against Hilton in the past for his use of vulgar anti-gay slurs. Any further proof you need that we don’t like this kook can be found here. Shameless promotion aside Perez for the first time in his life actually raises a valid point.

We now live in a world where the use of the term “f*ggot” in a business setting can get you into some hot water and is not tolerated when conducting business with the proverbial big boys and its about time. My question is how the hell can the UFC be ready to do real business and take their brand to the next level when you have the president calling people “f*ggots” and “c***s” and their top announcer running his mouth like he is half way through his half witted comedy act? What is this some sort of a joke to you guys, grow up! On top of that numerous athletes of theirs are on record using the homophobic slur over and over again and none of them have ever been put in their place for doing so by any of the upper management. Perhaps one of the most moronic examples of their athletes stepping out of line comes from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira :

In August, UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was quoted saying that he would not train with gay students. He was quoted in USA Today saying, “What if the gay person has that malice of having physical contact with me, of staying there grappling? I would have no problems having a gay student in my academy, but I would rather not train with him.”

Yes Antonio because you are so incredibly attractive men will be falling over themselves to grapple with you.

How can anyone contain themselves around you Antonio? I needed a cold shower after seeing this pic.

Are any of these people in question hateful homophobic people? I don’t know. If yes to hell with them, if no good for them, but all of them need to get a handle on their emotions and learn how to act in front of the camera if they want to enjoy continued success.

After announcer Joe Rogan caught some heat for using the “f*ggot” slur he issued this pathetic apology : “I apologize for my use of the word “f*ggot. I enjoy that word immensely, and although I do not intend for its use to be interpreted as a negative term for homosexuals, but rather as I’ve always used it to imply that a person is weak and pathetic, which I believe Rios to be. I understand that in this ultra-sensitive, politically correct world we live in one must be careful of the words they choose, for in choosing the wrong one you can give your adversary a new angle of distraction, as I see Rios is concentrating on that now instead of owning up to the fact that he has no f*cking idea what the proper terminology of the kick he criticized me of describing was.”

If an announcer in the NFL dropped the “F” bomb on someone and was for some reason not fired on the spot, do you think his public apology would look like the ramblings of this bafoon we have above us here? The simple point here is that if this is how the UFC goes about handling a controversy it’s pretty clear they are not ready for the added attention that a prime time deal will bring and they clearly have no clue how to work damage control in a bad situation.

UFC President Dana White is another guy who has caught some trouble for using the “f*ggot” slur in the past. The question that we really need to ask when considering if the UFC is ready to show along side organizations like the NBA, NHL and NFL is could you imagine any of their presidents posting a video of themselves acting in the following manner?

The answer to the above question is “NO” by the way.

After all is said and done MMA as a sport is more than ready to be in prime time and more than deserves to be there, but the fact of the matter is the UFC is in no position to take it there as they have often made themselves look like a bush league organization due to the fact they lack a great deal of professionalism in the way that they conduct themselves in the public eye. The powers that be are not going to tolerate this kid of crap and if the UFC doesn’t get their act together and start acting the way they want to be perceived then they are never going to find the acceptance they have been looking for all these years.

Related posts:

1. GSP proves time and time again what a great champion is made of. If only more famous people could think and act like him.
2. Josh Hansen getting Ready for X-Games.
3. Cameron Zink getting ready for the 2011 FMB season
4. Brusco Warming Up – Ready For X Games Sk8 Big Air
5. TAHITI DAY 5 UPDATE – TIME TO DROP