Friend of our site


MMA Headlines


UFC HP


Bleacher Report


MMA Fighting


MMA Torch


MMA Weekly


Sherdog (News)


Sherdog (Articles)


Liver Kick


MMA Junkie


MMA Mania


MMA Ratings


Rating Fights


Yahoo MMA Blog


MMA Betting


Search this site



Latest Articles


News Corner


MMA Rising


Audio Corner


Oddscast


Sherdog Radio


Video Corner


Fight Hub


Special thanks to...

Link Rolodex

Site Index


To access our list of posting topics and archives, click here.

Friend of our site


Buy and sell MMA photos at MMA Prints

Site feedback


Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

« | Home | »

How big of a deal is this for UFC & Anderson Silva?

By Zach Arnold | April 12, 2010

Print Friendly and PDF

I noted in my article about UFC 112 judge Doug Crosby needing to apologize to UFC management that his actions would create a negative reflection upon the people who hired him and the boss he worked for (Marc Ratner).

The event already has drawn enough media controversy. So, what do we say about the fact that Anderson Silva didn’t have his gloves taped for the main event fight against Demian Maia?

Bloody Elbow: Anderson Silva’s gloves weren’t taped

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

12 Responses to “How big of a deal is this for UFC & Anderson Silva?”

  1. Alexander says:

    Well alot of people are gonna be talking about Anderson in a negative manner for quite sometime. Its not like Dana is gonna release the guy.

  2. Mark says:

    This is just an internet issue. One of those things people obsess on for a week or so online and the rest of MMA fans don’t even realize happened. Who cares. He didn’t load his gloves (although I think most people wish he did in this case) and older MMA fights, especially some older PRIDE fights, had gloves without tape and nobody cared and nobody cheated. A non-issue unless you’re just out to bitch about everything Anderson Silva does.

    I hear he passes Salvation Army kettles without tossing in change regularly. Some say he even pretends he’s reaching in his pocket to donate but then just ends up doing his air guitar victory dance and running away. What a bastard.

    • Booker says:

      older MMA fights, especially some older PRIDE fights, had gloves without tape (…)
      Can you give at least one example of such fight in PRIDE?

  3. kutti says:

    no bloody knockout within the first two minutes..what a disaster. this was just a bad matchup. silva did not want to go to the ground. maia did not want to trade punches on the feed. BOTH were running around..silva has won quite rightly. (sorry for my bad english)

  4. Phil says:

    Internally, the glove thing will make the UFC pay more attention to taking care of the things athletic commissions usually take care of when they are fighting in a place without an athletic commission.

    Externally, there will be some whining, and it will give some conspiracy theorists some extra ammo, but it really looks like an oversight, and no real harm appears to have been done.

  5. Fluyid says:

    The Silva thing with the tape missing won’t have legs, but it’s a serious thing. I have been an inspector for hundreds of MMA and boxing matches and it seems unthinkable that someone would do something to gain an illegal advantage, yet we know it happens.

    The UFC doesn’t have anyone in the commission role backstage, making sure that handwrapping is done properly, and if one of their guys isn’t wrapping the fighter’s hands, then there’s a real potential for abuse. Their guys wouldn’t do it, but they don’t wrap everyone’s hands.

    • Ultimo Santa says:

      Wow…scary stuff. Great insider perspective, Fluyid.

    • Bryan says:

      It is the respective state commission’s responsibility to inspect and sign off on any handwrapping and then on the tape on the wrists of the gloves. Who then controls it for international events?

      • Fluyid says:

        Yeah, the inspector signs off on the handwraps. Then at a later time an inspector (might be a different one, just depends on who is available) watches the gloving process and signs off on the gloves. The gloves have to be taped up properly.

        I can’t say anything about international events outside of what I read, which is that the UFC regulates it all.

        As an inspector, you sort of float around in the back and watch stuff. The job varies by the individual. You can do things like watch people wrap hands, make sure that corners don’t go out with anything not permitted, keep the dressing room area free from people who aren’t supposed to be there and stuff like that.

        If you’re a lazy inspector, you can sit there and wait for people to come up to you and then you can simply sign on the handwraps that they present to you. I’ve seen that. I don’t feel 100% certain that all inspectors even know what to look for. An inspector can also simply sign off on gloves that have already been put on and taped without them seeing it. I’ve seen that also.

        Not that I’m some great and ethical person, but I won’t do that. I’ve had fighters come up to me with the gloves already on and taped and I’ve made them take’em off and redo it in my presence. It’s not the most comfortable situation, but fair is fair.

        • Bryan says:

          That’s usually how it goes in New Jersey. You generally can have your hands wrapped by someone on your team and then you have to have them inspected by a state inspector. I’ve never had a problem with them, but I have been backstage on shows where people have been denied and then have to re-wrap. It actually happens pretty frequently, and at least the corners have to make some changes to comply with then inspectors. I was rejected in Massachusetts of all places and had to re-wrap, and this was before state sanctioning. In my experiences, the state actually observes the taping of the gloves. In fact they are the ones who hand you the gloves and watch as you sit in a chair getting taped up.

  6. 45 Huddle says:

    It seems like the UFC has certainly had some growing pains through their international expansion.

    Certain markets have under/over performed compared to expectations. Issues with drug testing at the start. Now issues with certain regulatory things such as gloves.

    The glove thing is a very very serious thing that should not be slipping through the cracks. I’m not saying anybody did anything wrong…. But that mistake cannot happen again.

  7. Zack says:

    Dana is amazing at dictating what the talking points are coming out of a show. Anderson took all the blame for the show. The big winners are Renzo/Hughes who put on a total stinker and skated away scott free. Even the BJ/Edgar 5 round sparring match would’ve come off way more lame if it was a main event.

    So instead of anyone harping on the match making, or judging, or how the last three fights were all pretty lame, Anderson takes all the heat.

Comments

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture.
Anti-spam image