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Kalib,
I know you are not reading any more of this shit and I don't blame you really. I wouldn't either. I respect the fact that you got on this website and posted despite the obvious ridicule you have received and will continue to recieve. You are the fist major fighter I have ever seen post here. Respect.
Secondly, let me apologize for a joke I made at your expense about you and Lutter working the drive-thrue @ Mickey D's where GSP went for his after-fight meal. In fariness, I did say Serra was the shift mgr. I also got a pretty big laugh out of a photshopped pic of your face on Forrest Gump's body as you(he) ran away from the truck chasing you(Nate's face was photoshopped on the guy in the truck). Again...sorry.
What I will say as a big fight and sports fan is this. Fans don't always have to be fair or unbiased, most of the time they are neither. What most fans do want, is someone they can transfer their own hopes and aspirations to, someone to represent them in an arena that they are neither qualified nor capable nor even willing to be in. Again, there is nothing fair about it. The sport of fighting or fighting itself is the most romanticized topic of all time next to war and as a veteran I think I have a decent idea as to what that means. There is an expression in war and in sports as well about "going out on your shield". I think THAT is what most fans expect to see when they pay their hard-earned money to watch a PPV. You spoke about being injured and about not wanting to get knocked out. I respect that as I have neve been in a ring or cage and have never been knocked out(at least not by punch or kick). What I don't quite get is the mentality in a fighter which says, "I can avoid damage and live to fight another day even if I lose a brutally boring fight". In war, you CAN retreat(unless there is no where to retreat to) and regroup and "live to fight another day". In MMA or boxing, if you do that, you lose alot of credibilty with the fans. These are the same fans which give you and Dana White your respective, if dramatically different, paychecks.
On the other hand, fighters who "go to war" everytime they step into the ring or cage are romanticized as "warriors" for there entire careers. Arturo Gatti was never a world-class boxer, although some may disagree, but he fought every fight like it was life or death. Sometimes he was the giver and sometimes he was the taker. In the end, he went out on his shield to a lesser opponent but that is NOT how he will be remembered. Chris Leben makes more money than you, not because he is a better fighter, but because he is willing to go to war everytime he steps in the cage. I have seen Phil Baroni lose more fights than I have seen him win, but I have never seen him run from anybody. Last time I checked, he is still getting signed to major fights, even if he is more "show" than "go" at this point in his career. Frank Shamrock got his arm broken badly by Cung Le and punched him in the head with it for God's sake! There are probably a hundered other examples of this type of mentality in combat sports but the bottom line is, if you get in there and go to war you will almost always make more money and get more love than if you play it safe and try get a decision or at least not get hurt. Guys like Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell don't get in the cage and suddenly realize, "Wow, I think this guy punches harder than me" or "wow, his gameplan is alot better than mine." They get in there and say"Damn, I guess I am gonna have to find a way to knock this guy out." and they ususally do. Wandy has lost three fights in a row but there are hundreds of people on this site alone that STILL think he is gonna hold the title again. And to Wandy's credit, even if he is being picked apart by Jardine, I guarantee he will STILL be trying to knock the guy out until the bell sounds.
If you are concerned about your own health an inabilty to earn a living due to serious injury, I can understand that. Unfortunately, there are a lot of professional athletes that have been left by the wayside after they were used up and broken because they gave it ther all everytime out and that is WRONG. Sadly, I don't think this mentality of self-preservation is going to ever make you a lot of money in this sport and may ultimately force you to either take more risks or change your career path altogether. Anyway, best of luck in the future.
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Shogun is NOT the champ. He did NOT get robbed. The fight WAS close. There WILL be a rematch. STOP crying.
RIP Tanner, Mask, McNair, A. Gatti, V. Forrest
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