UFC 202: Don't overreact to the McGregor-Diaz news conference
Of course what Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz did by throwing water bottles and other things at each other Wednesday during a news conference in Las Vegas to promote their rematch at UFC 202 was the height of stupidity. It was hardly decision-making at its finest.
That’s especially true of whoever was running the UFC’s Twitter account after the incident and couldn’t wait to tweet out clips of their fighters making fools of themselves in public. It’s happened with the UFC’s Twitter before, when it was cheerleading the brawl in the lobby of the MGM Grand following a news conference between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones back in 2014.
News flash: If you’re trying to promote a fight, making your fighters look like cavemen isn’t the way to do it.
By throwing things at each other and making themselves look like they lack even the least amount of self control, they essentially guaranteed themselves that they’re going to be hauled in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission and get a talking to from commissioner Pat Lundvall, who seems to live for this sort of thing.
They’ll also probably be fined and ordered to do some community service.
But let’s not get carried away here.
Nobody is going to be handcuffed and/or fingerprinted. No one is going to be locked up. And no one should be suspended, though with the Nevada commission now calling the shots, one never knows.
It’s past time for an unambiguous statement from UFC management, particularly president Dana White, that this kind of behavior won’t be tolerated. Someone could get hurt, and if it’s an innocent bystander, it’s all the worse.
Anyone who thinks this kind of stuff is going to help sell fights either hasn’t celebrated his 14th birthday yet or is so out-of-touch with reality that they’re not worth cultivating as fans.
But yeah, two guys who are going to punch and kick each other on Saturday aren’t going to get people any more excited to buy it by throwing water bottles at each other.
The issue apparently began when McGregor was, as he almost always is, significantly late. Diaz called him on it and things got out of control.
It’s not a good look and delivers a pro-wrestling vibe to the UFC.
It’s vastly different than what Cormier and Jones did by exchanging punches in the lobby of the hotel. UFC security chief Joe Williams injured his back, but that episode carried all sort of potential for disaster.
This one, not so much.
It’s two Alpha males who are wound up tight following a long and stressful training camp.
Neither wants to cede an inch to the other for fear of somehow losing face. Someone loses his cool, the other reacts and we have this kind of incident.
It’s regrettable, because it spotlights MMA in the worst possible light.
But it’s not much more than that.
Relax.
This is the equivalent of going 50 mph in a 35 mph.
The UFC should handle it internally with its code of conduct. Hopefully, the Nevada Athletic Commission doesn’t decide it needs to create a spectacle and have another disciplinary hearing that would be little more than trying to extort money out of the fighters.
They shouldn’t have done it, but they did.
It’s over. No one was hurt.
Don’t make it more than it is.
And get ready to see a sensational fight on Saturday.