The new MMA general news, events and thoughts thread

[Carbomb]

I'm only mentioning those two because they're the ones most frequently referred to as the "nicest guys in MMA". I'm sure there are other good guys, but I don't know enough to say whom. Shogun, maybe.

You raise an interesting point about checks. The sheer proliferation of professional fighters who do objectionable shit should be grounds enough for promotions to carry out background checks on the fighters they sign. It won't happen, though. Too much money to be made.

[Brewster McCloud]

Yeah, I'd be downcast if GSP had been up to some naughtiness. I wouldn't say it's "sheer proliferation" as the vast majority of pro fighters don't commit crimes, but with McGregor and whatnot it's become a topic. You have to compare it to other sports: there's probably a greater number of MMA fighters being violent and doing horrible things rather than, say, beach volleyball players. I'd say get a shrink on board and vet them at regular intervals; what else can you do?

[Carbomb]

4 minutes ago, Brewster McCloud said:

Yeah, I'd be downcast if GSP had been up to some naughtiness. I wouldn't say it's "sheer proliferation" as the vast majority of pro fighters don't commit crimes, but with McGregor and whatnot it's become a topic. You have to compare it to other sports: there's probably a greater number of MMA fighters being violent and doing horrible things rather than, say, beach volleyball players. I'd say get a shrink on board and vet them at regular intervals; what else can you do?

Sorry, should've been clearer: when I said "sheer proliferation", I was talking in comparison to other sports. Whilst they're nowhere near the majority in MMA, they're frequent enough as to be unacceptable. Matt Hughes, Thiago Silva, War Machine, Josh Grispi, Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Rumble Johnson, these are just a few off the top of my head, and they're too many. Hell, even Gustafsson is a bit of an arsehole, too. Oezdemir too.

[Brewster McCloud]

Yes, but you'd have to crunch the numbers, which I can't be bothered doing just now. My gut feeling is that rather more MMA fighters get up to cuntitude in their spare time, rather than athletes from other sports, or the population in general, but I'm not an authority on it at the minny mo. 

At least Gusty served his time and emerged as a better person, though.

[jimufctna24]

MMA has a problem with domestic violence. A study a few years back indicated that MMA fighters were more likely to commit domestic abuse than individuals from other sports. And that included the NFL. 

There are some good eggs in the sport. I haven't heard many people say that the likes of GSP, Bas Rutten, JDS, etc are wankers. But comparatively speaking, MMA doesn't have the best record when it comes to attracting and nurturing good people. 

The Ferguson story didn't come as much of a surprise. The rumours had been circulating for a while. It was also clear on TUF years ago that he had a real nasty side. 

[Brewster McCloud]

17 minutes ago, jimufctna24 said:

MMA has a problem with domestic violence. A study a few years back indicated that MMA fighters were more likely to commit domestic abuse than individuals from other sports. And that included the NFL. 

 

 

Have you got a link to that? I'd love to read it.

[jimufctna24]

14 minutes ago, Brewster McCloud said:

Have you got a link to that? I'd love to read it.

After searching, it was a HBO investigation. The methodology wasn't perfect. But the results were still worrying.

-https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2528207-hbo-real-sports-report-blows-the-lid-off-mmas-domestic-violence-problem

[David]

On 3/15/2019 at 9:53 AM, Carbomb said:

The more stuff that comes out about MMA fighters, the more I'm dreading the emergence of news about GSP or JDS having done something abhorrent.

There was a report a few years back that GSP was spotted at an event wearing black shoes with white socks. Chilled me to the fucking bone that did.

[Carbomb]

54 minutes ago, David said:

There was a report a few years back that GSP was spotted at an event wearing black shoes with white socks. Chilled me to the fucking bone that did.

That was Michael Jackson's signature. The monster.

[David]

6 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

That was Michael Jackson's signature. The monster.

Come to think of it, the guys I've seen sporting that look in pubs, clubs and supermarkets the nation over have usually been wrong 'uns. Surprised it wasn't used as evidence to convict in Jackson's court case.

[David]

On 3/15/2019 at 9:28 AM, Brewster McCloud said:

Christ. Stop being dicks, MMA fighters. You're tarnishing the reputation of fine fellows who like to enter a cage and smash the shit out of someone for a living.

Think it's more than a fighter "being a dick" by the sounds of this one. Sounds to me like the guy needs help, and his wife is looking to get him that help rather than take any kind of action against the guy.

Some more information has come to light on the issue; 

Quote

Tony Ferguson’s wife filed a request for a temporary domestic violence restraining order after Ferguson allegedly took their son for six days and a series of “frightening” incidents, per court records.

Cristina Ferguson, spouse of the former UFC interim lightweight champion, filed the request Wednesday in Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court after she said Tony Ferguson forcefully took their son from her parents’ home, pushing her and her mother away in the process on March 7, per documents obtained by MMA Fighting on Friday.

Cristina Ferguson wrote that Tony Ferguson “grabbed and pushed me and my mother and we have been in constant fear as a result of [Tony Ferguson’s] threatening and violent behavior.”

The restraining order request includes that Tony Ferguson stay away from his 2-year-old son, as well as Cristina Ferguson’s parents and her brother. She is asking for Tony Ferguson to undergo a 52-week batterer intervention program and “undergo a psychiatric evaluation and follow any and all prescribed course of treatment and medication.” Cristina Ferguson wrote that there is a fear that her husband will flee with their son and she is asking for full custody of the child.

Tony Ferguson has not been arrested, nor charged with any crimes.

The court has scheduled a domestic violence prevention services investigation into Tony Ferguson for March 22 and a hearing for April 5. MMAjunkie was the first to report the news of the restraining order request.

According to Cristina Ferguson’s declaration to the court, Tony Ferguson, 35, arrived at her parents’ home, where Cristina had been residing, on March 7. Tony allegedly asked their son, “Wanna go for a ride?” Cristina said she told Tony it was too late and he could not take their son. She wrote that she and her mother stood in front of Tony to prevent him from leaving, but he pushed them both out of the way, ran back into the house, out the back door and over a fence — all with his son in his arms.

Cristina wrote that Tony left his cell phone and his car behind and ran away on foot with their son, who was not wearing shoes or a diaper. It was also raining out, she wrote.

“I was terrified for the safety of our son,” Cristina wrote.

Earlier that day, Cristina wrote that Tony had been acting irrationally, asking her whose car was parked outside the residence and if she was withdrawing money from their joint bank accounts to take their son to Italy.

“I am not Italian and I do not know anybody in Italy,” Cristina wrote.

Cristina filed the request for a restraining order March 13 and Santa Ana (Calif.) Police Department officers went to Tony’s residence that day to “remove” the child, per the police incident report. In a welfare check, police reported that the child “appeared well taken care of” and Tony Ferguson “let the child go with his mother on his own free will.” The Santa Ana police has responded to several calls to the Ferguson family residence over the last 14 months.

The March 7 incident was the culmination of what Cristina believes is a series of “mental” breaks that Tony has been having, she wrote. Last month, Tony allegedly had increased delusions and paranoia, she wrote. Tony “believed our son was Jesus Christ and [Tony] was the second Jesus Christ,” per Cristina’s declaration. She wrote that Tony asked their son if he was possessed or overtaken by other beings, which frightened the child.

In a statement sent to media Cristina Ferguson, via her attorney Jeffrey L. Heath, she wrote:

“Tony Ferguson is a good husband and good father to our son. The current legal proceedings are a part of a process to ensure that Tony will receive the help necessary to continue being the best possible, as well as to pursue his passion and career as a UFC champion fighter. All positive well wishes are sincerely appreciated and I hope our privacy will be respected.”

Here are key claims made in Cristina’s declaration, by date:

Feb. 5: Cristina wrote that Tony did not sleep and he believed there would be a great flood as a result of the lunar eclipse. Tony allegedly purchased a life raft and took Cristina and their son on a drive inland, all the way to Palm Desert, Calif., about 111 miles from their home in Santa Ana. Cristina wrote that Tony woke her and her son up in the middle of the night there and said they had to leave, because they were not safe. Tony promised to seek help with mental issues if there was no flood, but later refused, she wrote.

Feb. 12: Tony had what Cristina described as a “psychotic break or a panic attack.” He screamed in her face, sweared at her and believed she was someone else, she wrote.

“I woke up late that night to [Tony] standing over me accusing me of being a witch,” Cristina wrote.

Feb. 16: Cristina wrote that Tony unplugged the refrigerator and turned off half the power in their home, because he believed there were cameras in the refrigerator and ceiling fan and that he was being watched. He also cut the wires to the heat and air conditioning units, she wrote, because he believed there was a tracking device in it. Tony allegedly tore the vanity mirror off the bathroom wall, because he believed there was something behind it and took his son’s food away because he believed it was poisoned.

Feb. 19: Tony allegedly agreed to be taken for psychological help at Keck Medical Center at USC. Cristina and her father went to pick him up, she wrote. When they arrived, they saw furniture and walls in the home had been destroyed. The mantel was ripped off the wall, because Cristina wrote that Tony believed there was a hidden doorway under the fireplace. Santa Ana police were called that day, which is also around when she moved into her parents’ home, she wrote.

March 5: Cristina wrote that she picked Tony up to take him again to Keck Medical Center again. While they were driving there, they hit traffic on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles. While the car was moving, Cristina wrote that Tony jumped out, onto the freeway, ran away, jumped over a fence and disappeared. He did make it back to their family residence later.

There were other situations in January 2019, as well as situations all the way back in January 2018, the latter of which was when Cristina wrote that Tony was drinking heavily and displayed “manic behavior,” she claimed. She added that she believes things began getting worse when Tony injured his knee in April 2018 and needed surgery. That injury forced him out of a UFC 223 title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“There are many frightening incidents which I have yet to list in this declaration,” she wrote. “However, I have videos and photographs of [Tony’s] frightening, irrational and paranoid behavior, which depicts [Tony] crying, laughing, muttering, yelling, etc., for no apparent rational reason.”

Cristina wrote that Tony allegedly had a “mental break” after winning The Ultimate Fighter 13 in 2011. He flew home to visit his parents in Michigan and was removed from the flight because of an alleged outburst. Cristina wrote that Tony went to the hospital in Michigan and he was prescribed Risperidone, a medication that can be used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar.

Tony and Cristina were married in 2012 and she wrote that things got better until 2017 when his “unstable behavior began to surface.” At that time, she wrote, he was also drinking heavily. There was a time when Tony vowed to protect her and their son, but Cristina wrote that he has begun to think she is evil and will not let her shower or be in the bathroom alone.

“[His] behavior is getting worse and more frightening,” Cristina wrote. “I am afraid that during one of [Tony’s] episodes [Tony] will kill me, our son and/or himself.”

Cristina added that she has not filed for divorce and believes that Tony is in need of mental help.

Tony Ferguson (24-3) is regarded as one of the best fighters in the world and is a prominent name in the UFC’s lightweight division. He won the UFC interim lightweight title at UFC 216 and last competed in October when he defeated Anthony Pettis via second-round TKO at UFC 229. Ferguson has won 11 consecutive fights dating back to Oct. 19, 2013.

Tony Ferguson, nicknamed “El Cucuy,” was surprisingly passed up for the an interim lightweight title fight at UFC 236 next month. That bout will pit featherweight champion Max Hollowayagainst Dustin Poirier. UFC president Dana White wrote to a fan in his Instagram comments this week that Ferguson is “dealing with a lot of personal issues right now and can’t fight.”

“Hopefully things turn around for him and he can get back in there,” White wrote.

Tony Ferguson’s management firm Paradigm told MMAjunkie in a statement: “This is a private family matter that is in the process of being resolved.”

Hopefully Ferguson can get the help he needs, for his family first and foremost. Fighting should be the last thing on his mind at that point in time.

[Carbomb]

Fucking hell, that's some pretty intense shit. Absolutely agree with David - he needs to take steps to heal before he even thinks of setting foot in the cage. He's clearly in a bad place right now; something almost Benoit-esque about it.

[WeeAl]

With a fighter it's always going to be difficult to know of the mental health issues being experienced have been brought on by fighting, or if that person would have gone through them regardless of their occupation. Schizophrenia, Bipolar or CTE symptoms, to whatever it may be, I feel pretty uncomfortable at the thought of Tony Ferguson ever getting hit in the head again. If he does get treatment, hopefully it is able to help him live a normal, healthy life again and his family are able to return to a point where they aren't afraid for their safety or his. 

[AdamTH17]

Yeah, that reads like a very upsetting and harrowing situation. Hope he gets the help he clearly needs before he considers resuming his career.

[ColinBollocks]

Reads like a CTE nightmare. I wonder if the UFC got word about all this and that's why Tony was passed over? The timing makes you wonder how linked this is to his non-title fight.

I just hope his wife and kids remain safe. His wife should be praised for getting out of there while also trying to get Tony the help he needs and is probably too proud to get.