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Jack is back… with tripe
By Zach Arnold | February 9, 2006
By Zach Arnold
A few days ago, I wrote a rebuttal to a Jack Encarnacao article about the similarities (or lack thereof) between the MMA & pro-wrestling industries. Well, Jack is back… with more. So am I.
Encarnacao’s article theme this time is about Randy Couture, and he speculates on whether or not Couture will come out of retirement to work in MMA again. Somehow, Jack thinks that the idea of coming out of retirement is strictly trademarked by professional wrestlers and no other athletes. Quote from his article:
As most know, Couture announced his retirement from the fight game after being knocked out in the second round by Chuck Liddell in their record-setting rubber match last weekend. Most approve of the retirement, feeling Couture has no more to prove and will only risk tarnishing his legacy if he begins to push his 42-year-old body past its physical limitations.
In this case, we will see MMA mimic pro wrestling? Will we see Couture come out of retirement to pop another buy rate? Will he have an itch he can’t stand to not scratch? Will UFC, like a dealer, keep pushing in Couture’s face the drugs – adrenaline, competition, glory – that he needs by proposing more fights to him after he’s already hung it up? Just “one last fight”?
I would like to list several names of athletes from other sports who came out of retirement (once or multiple times):
- Sugar Ray Leonard
- Thomas “Hitman” Hearns
- Larry Holmes
- Michael Jordan
- Roger Clemens
- Mario Lemieux
Athletes who go into retirement and come out of it is not an exclusive phenomenon to pro-wrestling.
Encarnacao finishes off his lackluster article with this paragraph:
How UFC deals with Randy Couture in retirement will set a very important precedent. The right thing to do is take care of him for life, not tempt him to come back to fighting, and keep him around as a constant reminder and motivator to up-and-comers. He should be a living, healthy, human assurance that great fighters will not be forgotten once their bodies can no longer keep pace with their desire to compete.
UFC has absolutely no responsibility to take care of Randy Couture. They paid him good money as a main eventer over a long period of time. Now, it is easy to dispute the kind of treatment UFC gave him before 2003, but that’s not the argument presented here. Couture is now in Las Vegas and given that UFC’s home base is Vegas, he’s not going away any time soon.
Nobody believes that Couture is going to drop out of the MMA business. He and Matt Lindland promoting the Sportfight shows are very important, especially in the Portland market. A market that is neglected by a lot of MMA insiders, when in fact it should be heavily cultivated.
Jack finishes off his article with the line: “Got something to say? E-mail me at [email protected].” As someone who read Jack’s articles in the past in The Boston Globe, I’m surprised at the (lack of) quality of his Wrestling Observer pieces in comparison.
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