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MMA notebook: The debate over free speech in relation to UFC’s Mir & Davis
By Zach Arnold | March 2, 2010
Jeremy Botter over at Heavy has a profile article on Cain Velasquez post-Nogueira victory.
Dan Hardy’s game plan against Georges St. Pierre on 3/27 in New Jersey? Extend the fight out as long as possible and frustate the champion.
A defense of Frank Mir and free speech for MMA fighters. You can have free speech and also suffer the consequences from any stupidity that arises from such free speech. For every action, there’s a reaction. Mir’s comments were dumb because UFC didn’t need to give critics ammunition to keep them out of markets such as Ontario province and Melbourne. Yes, money ultimately talks with politicians, but the UFC has invested significant money into lobbyists all around the world to get legislation of the sport passed in countries. Comments like the one Frank Mir and Marcus Davis made only make things a little bit more difficult.
First it’s Tim Sylvia vs. Wes Sims and now New Brunswick will have it’s first amateur MMA event at the Moncton Lions Centre on March 20th.
When I saw this headline — KO, broken face don’t stop local MMA fighter — I figured it would be as ugly as The Des Moines Register articles were yesterday. It is.
MMA regulation in Wisconsin coming as soon as September 1st?
Josh Barnett fighting in DREAM surprises no one.
A web site called Responsibility Project has bought key words on Google’s search engine so that when you type in “Mixed Martial Arts” and similar terms on Google News, a link to their web site appears.
Meet the MMA fighter who got a 3-second knockout win in a fight.
The casting line-up for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
I guess the dispute Barnett had with DSE (Real Entertainment) is no longer an issue.
Zach,
The comments made by Frank Mir and Marcus Davis can be seen as free speech issues. But it’s also about what’s g and bad for business. Even the president of the UFC had to deliver an apology (insincere as it was), when he threw his temper tantrum at Loretta Hunt.
Regulating the “free speech” of athletes happens all the time in mainstream sport organizations like the NFL, NBA, and MLB. If an athlete does something or says something to embarrass the league, there is a penalty because it’s bad for business.
Fighters and promoters need a reality check. If you want to try making your sport mainstream and big time, then you have to play by the same rules as every other mainstream sport. If you don’t want to play those rules, then stop going after the major television deals and distribution deals. Freedom of speech within limits, so watch what you say.
Any indication yet whether Barnett’s deal with DREAM is just Sengoku getting a booking fee or whether he’s just straight up signed with them?
I think we’ve seen the last domestic fight for Barnett
Most people don’t really understand what “Free Speech” means. This is not a “Free Speech” issue.
If you think this is a free speech issue, you might be idiotic.
Free Speech limits the governments ability to bar citizens from voicing opinions/beliefs. It does not extend to private companies. If your employee speaks out of line you have every right to reprimand and or fire them.
Many corporations forbid employees from speaking to the Press without permission. That is a common line in employee contracts. UFC used to (haven’t seen a contract in a while) have the same clause in their contracts.
That said, I’m sure nothing will happen to Davis and they’ll fight again in the UK or Ireland.
This is absolutely right.
The only thing would be if there was no clause in their contracts they are technically contractors, but, from what I’ve seen those contracts are really inclusive.
A couple nitpicks from previous posts:
-St. John is in New Brunswick. St. John’s is in Newfoundland.
-St. John is hardly “rural”. It’s a city.