3 reasons why Forrest gets to keep his job and you don’t
The recent turn of events with Forrest Griffin has spurred an interesting discussion in the MMA community. The discussion stems from trying to figure out whether Forrest Griffin could get fired if he loses his next match to Tito Ortiz at UFC 106. On paper it would seem like a no brainier, it would be 3 losses in a row. Is it really this simple though? The clear answer is no. This is because Forrest has unique assets that are valuable to the UFC that are independent of his performance. Forrest isn’t even the only fighter who has such privileges. There are several fighters who have slipped into severe slumps and have not been cut from the UFC. So what are these things that fighters like Forrest have that other fighters don’t? Here are a couple theories of mine.
1. They are former title holders – If you held a title at one point in your career that gets you a lot of bonus points. It’s similar to most other sports. Take a look at golf, if you win a major you’re set for the next 10 years even if you do terrible every single year after you have won your major. I believe the same concept applies to fighters. If you are a former title holder then you don’t get fired, instead you get “retired” if you are old enough. If you are still young though, in Forrest’s case, UFC just prays that you get out of your slump before you rack up 4 or 5 losses in a row.
2. The losses were to high caliber fighters – It’s not just losing that puts you in danger of being cut but who you lose to. The reason why Forrest will still have job security is because look at the last two people he fought against. He lost to an undefeated Rashad Evans so that loss isn’t too bad, and you can’t even really count the loss to Anderson Silva because that’s not even his DIVISION. Not to mention Silva is arguably the best pound for pound fighter today so you really can’t blame Forrest for taking a couple licks against very hard opponents. Now if he lost to low tier fighters THEN he might be in trouble.
3. They draw a big audience – If there is one reason why the UFC can forgive you for a bad performance it is because you pulled in a huge audience. Forrest has a decent following that always continues to grow. This is because he is a pivotal figure that represents the beginning of the MMA explosion. If it wasn’t for him and Stephan Bonnar the UFC might not be in the place it is today. You can even start to see it with Kimbo Slice. Kimbo may have lost but he brought in 6.1 million people to WATCH him lose. Those kinds of numbers mean big money for the UFC, and as a result they will hold on to you for as long as they can before it becomes pretty obvious that you have to be cut.
So if you are a fighter that recently got cut from the UFC with two losses in a row as well, the above reasons explain why Forrest is still in the UFC and well….you’re not.
Popularity: 3% [?]
ckfighter