UFC boss White confirms Matt Mitrione turned down Strikeforce fight with Daniel Cormier

good for us, Mir-Cormier is a terrible matchup

 

For the record, I completely agree with White about being pissed at Mitrione. Take the freaking fight. How many chances do you honestly think Mitrione will EVER get at a title?

 

Dana's Airing of Other Guys Dirty Laundry is Getting OLD...These Guys AREN"T Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots that he Can just Wind Up, Program & Send Out There to Fight...These Guys RIGHTFULLY Have their OWN Agendas & SHOULD Look Out for their Own Best Interests...@ the End of the Day, Dana White Certainly WON'T...

Dana White WOULDN"T Last Half a Round w/ANY UFC Fighter (@ ANY Weight), yet he Bumps his Gums like HE'S a Badass Himself...1nce Again, White's "WANNABE Vince McMahon" Schtick Gets the Better of Him...

SHOULD Mitrione Fight Cormier???...Yeah, Probably...But REED Takes Issue w/White PUBLICLY Chastising Mitrione for Making what he Feels is the Right Decision for HIS OWN Career...




REED:hammert:

 

I think there's a fine line between simply voicing your opinion and "airing dirty laundry".

I wasn't a big fan of the way White handled the Jon Jones situation but I don't feel quite the same about this one for some reason.

 

The thing is Mitrione, while being quite game, is not ready for an elite wrestler like DC. Mitrione has done far better than I expected him to since come off TUF, but he's clearly not in the same league at this time as DC. That fight is nothing more than throwing Mitrione to the wolves and its not fair for a guy that's trying his best to make it in a tough sport for which he got a late start.

 

Cormier is an elite wrestler that prefers to box. Mitrione is probably as good as he is ever going to get. He might improve slightly in some areas, but at 34 years old he isn't going to ever be 'ready' for an elite wrestler.

I have no problem with fighters rejecting fight offers that they aren't contracted to. I understand that a fighter has a singular obligation to do what's best for his own career.

But ulitmately I just prefer guys that are willing to take any challenge. I prefer the guys that would have taken this fight despite being an underdog on paper. In my opinion, a loss to Cormier would more be constructive to Matt Mitrione than another 2 years in the gym and fighting the Cheick Kongos of the world.

Now, with that being said, there is a bigger problem here. Strikeforce doesn't have the roster to keep putting on shows. Guys are going to get injured. And if the UFC's recent run is any indicator, they are going to get injured OFTEN. Zuffa needs to get out of Strikeforce/Showtime deal and roll these guys into the UFC roster. It's another example of Zuffa greed leading to thin cards and crappy match-ups. Pulling guys off the UFC roster like Mir or Mitrione isn't the answer. The UFC just cancelled a freaking card due to injuries. The depth isn't there on either side.

And while I'm ranting, let's go a step further. Scrap the TUF show and develop talent on small, non-PPV Fuel TV shows. Use the Strikeforce Challengers model that developed guys like Cormier, Larkin, Rockhold, Lavar Johnson, Woodley, etc. As a monthly series on Fuel or FX, these cards wouldn't generate huge ratings or immediate returns, but it would develop some depth far more quickly and clearly than TUF. In the end, the return would be huge.

 

Imagine Roger Goodell Running Off @ the Mouth, Every Single Time Something NFL Related Fell Thru, and OPENLY BLAMING an Involved Party, Justified or Not???....REED has NO Problems w/Dana White's Role in UFC, but it's Getting to the Point that he's DENIGRATING Fighters, Every Single Time they Make a Choice he ISN'T Cool w/....




REED:fist:

 

Agreed. Dana's always been outspoken but its getting worse and worse each year and he's just flat out insulting to some fighters when they don't make the decision he wants them to.

 

mitrione is garbage. sucks for cormier though. that would've been an easy impressive win over semi name guy before he makes his splash onto ufc.

 

Garbage? That's a bit harsh Mr Browning. I think Mitrione is a lot better than anyone expectd him to be given his NFL and TUF background. He's shown more promise than any of the ex-football players thus far. While at one one point I thought Schaub had the goods, his chin is always going to hold him back.

 

I don't get why they want Meathead to go to Strikeforce, I would be very skeptical about this move if I was Mitrione. If they want DC to get an impressive win before he makes the move to the UFC, give him a Strikeforce guy. Rogers or someone of that nature. I kind of like the Rampage/Meathead fight. I think you could put this on a free card as the main event and it would draw pretty big interest. If it has to go on a PPV because of what they are paying Rampage put it on a ppv as a co main event with a lightweight championship fight. I know it has nothing to do with anything in titles but it would be fun.

 

he sucks. has like 6 fights w/ zero significant wins. not exactly a spring chicken either and i dont ever see him being any of the top 10 guys. he's a fatter less talented version of brandon schaub.

 

But has a much better chin than Schaub and that's critical in the HW division.

 

The Thing is, ALL Fights Begin with the Fighters STANDING, Where Mitrione is a LEGITIMATE THREAT to Anybody...Dude has a NICE Pair of Hands, by MMA Standards...Despite his Age, Mitrione CAN Improve...

He'll NEVER Be an Accomplished Wrestler or BJJ Black Belt, but Mitrione CAN Learn & Potentially Implement Some Fundamentals of GROUND Fighting...He's NOT There Right Now, Obviously & As Such, REED Can See Why Meathead ISN'T Crazy about Facing Cormier Right Now...

REED & other CASUAL MMA Fans would Gravitate Towards a Meathead vs. Rampage Bout...That's a GUARANTEED Slugfest...All StandUp, All Haymakers & Dirty Boxing...Like Brother Jarhead Said, U Could Make this the Co-Main Event of ANY PPV or Make it a Headliner on Non Subscription T.V....



REED:hammert:

 

I'll be perfectly honest, any heavyweight in the UFC right should not be seeking a fight with DC. He's a huge threat to anyone not named Junior Dos Santos and I'm not saying he's not a threat there either I just think JDS is damn good. I'm calling it now, DC is the best heavyweight in the division right now next to JDS. I can't imagine any up and coming heavyweight wanting to take that chance unless it were for the UFC belt or for a lot of money.

 

What about Werdum? He offered to step in too. Probably afraid he's actually beat Cormier. It would not be an easy fight.

 

I don't see Werdum beating Cormier, best chance is if the fight hits the ground which it won't because DC's wrestling is good enough to dictate where the fight takes place and he'll keep it standing.

 

I don't know man. Werdum's striking has looked damn good lately and he's a huge guy.

 

No argument from me there, his striking is vastly improved, but his chin is still somewhat shaky and DC's got very deceptive speed in his hands and good power to boot.

 

For sure DC is way faster and has good hands.

 

Give Sonnen the fight with Cormier. What do you think Anthony?

 

I like Werdum-Cormier. It's a logical next step after Barnett since Werdum lost to Overeem in the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix before Reem jumped to the UFC.

On top of that, Werdum doesn't currently have a fight scheduled. And for Werdum, while it's not an upward step in the UFC's HW division, it does give him a title shot and some notoriety should he beat Cormier. Werdum is going to need that kind of momentum to ever sell a potential rematch with JDS.

But back to Mitrione. Don't be naive. Mitrione will NEVER, EVER, EVER get his wrestling defense to a point that it helps AT ALL against Cormier. Sure Mitrione could improve to the point that Cheick Kongo can't take him down at will, but he will never be any more prepared to defend Cormier's takedowns than he is right now. He couldn't defend them today, and he won't be able to defend against them in 4 years. Nor will he ever be any more able to get Cormier off him in the future.

 

He'd lose badly but he'd probably take the fight if offered.

 

UFC: Matt Mitrione talks about why he turned down fight with Daniel Cormier

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/10/...-interview-strikeforce-daniel-cormier-rampage