« Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk at UFC 90 | Home | Jake Shields was right – Noons vs. Diaz probably won’t happen »
Steve Cofield gets it right (again)
By Zach Arnold | August 20, 2008
Tito Ortiz as MMA’s version of Barry Bonds? About as good of a sports analogy as you can get right now.
The difference between the two men, however? We still (think we) know that Bonds can swing a baseball bat and do so in a limited role as a DH. Can Ortiz beat anyone that’s considered mid-level competition? Would he beat Babalu? I have my doubts.
Topics: Affliction, MMA, Media, UFC, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
That’s one difference between Ortiz and Bonds. Another is that there is overwhelming evidence (via “Game of Shadows”) of Bonds’ steroid use, while the same can’t be said for Ortiz. I think that’s a pretty big difference, given that most people think “steroids” when they think of Barry Bonds.
For Bonds and Ortiz to be a good analogy Ortiz would need to:
1. have his named completely intertwined with steroids
2. be an enemy of the media
3. have such fearsome offense that no one would want to fight him
Actually when I think of Barry Bonds I think of a great athlete who’s been harrangued and slandered by chicken shit reporters.
Double R
Actually Bonds has made his own bed with reporters and former teammates who seem to equally despise him. His standoff-ish, self centered attitude did him no favors to begin with but when you throw in him blatantly deceiving people about cheating on Steroids and HGH well the guy has a fairly earned reputation.
As for Tito, sure he was a PR nightmare for Dana White (who seems to equally relish being a jerkoff) but I don’t think that he’s someone the media loathes because that same hostility doesn’t seem to carry over towards them.
As to whether he can beat a top guy still, that remains to be seen. I found his win over Forrest Griffen questionable at best but I think he would have beaten Rashard Evans rather handily had he not received a points deduction.
And when you figure he can hang in with a lot of top level guys and beat medium talent guys that is no different at this level than Barry Bonds being completely unable to play his OF position at this point and his injuries severely limiting his ability to play.
In that sense both still have some level of success but it isn’t enough to declare either a premier player in their sport any longer.
Rp
At least Bonds doesn’t complain about money 99% of the time.
In Tito’s defense, look at who he’s lost to. It’s like shitting on Sylvia for losing to Fedor, Nog, and Randy. I’m not a Tito fan at all either.