Fightmania Mailbag: Gina Carano, Chuck Liddell and More

A couple of weeks ago, we ran our first Fightmania mailbag, and Fightmania readers are back to give a few more opinions and fire up a couple more debates.  Before we get started, don’t forget that you can possibly be a part of the next mailbag by e-mailing me at any of the links at the bottom of the editorials here at Fightmania.com.  Make sure that you include your first name and location (gratuitous and excessive compliments also accepted).

I’m overrating Gina Carano, says Shad of Liverpool:

If you had to pick five fighters for Zuffa to sign, Gina Carano would be one of them?  Are you crazy??!  Carano probably isn’t even the best woman fighter out there, and when push comes to shove, women’s MMA isn’t as big of a draw as men’s MMA yet, so I just can’t agree with that pick.

Well Shad, while I realize that Carano is just one of many talented female fighters out there, who else can you name among the women’s ranks that has the name recognition and appeal of Carano?  Without sounding too cynical, MMA is a business and Carano is the only women’s fighter so far that can draw more eyes to the television, which makes her a valuable commodity.

I agree that the women haven’t yet had the chance to get the fan support that male fighters have (it would help if silly rules like three minute rounds didn’t make female fighters look like lesser competitors), but that’s exactly why Zuffa should snatch up Gina.  Why give your competitors a chance to offer something (ie: women’s MMA) that you can’t?  Instead, sign the most recognizable female fighter out there and add yet another area of the business that you can dominate your competition in.

A couple of readers, including Ramon from El Paso, TX agree with me on Chuck Liddell:

There’s no reason why the Iceman should be forced to retire yet.  First of all, it’s his decision (like you said), and second of all, the guy can still fight.  Randy [Couture] hit it on the head when he said that Liddell’s fighting style lends itself to getting caught sometimes, and it was a matter of time before Chuck got caught a couple of times.  I still think he can fight, and there are others like me who will pay to watch him fight even if it’s not for a title.

Thanks for echoing the main point of my column, Ramon.  Guys like Chuck Liddell don’t just fight for fancy titles, fame and money.  They fight because they enjoy it.  As long as Liddell can continue to compete, he should be allowed to do so.  If Dana White cares about his friend, he will simply put him in there with a little less dangerous competition, and put Liddell under the main event so that Liddell can still get his fighting fix in, and fans can still see an MMA legend in action.  Now, if Liddell can no longer beat even meager competition, then it’s time to hang them up.  Until then, if he’s having fun and the fans want to see him fight, why stop him?

My UFC Hall of Fame recommendations were a mixed bag, according to James from St. Louis:

I just read your UFC HoF article, good stuff as always.  I have to disagree with some of your suggestions, though.  I’m no fan of Tito Ortiz and Frank Shamrock, but I can see where you’re coming from there.  But guys like Evan Tanner or Pat Miletich?  Why should they get in when they probably weren’t as good as most of the fighters competing today?  I liked Evan Tanner and I was sad when he passed away (and Miletich is a great trainer), but come on now.

This is where I differ from a lot of people, including James.  I think that any good Hall of Fame should include the top athletes from each era, regardless of how they stack up against other eras.  Along with Ortiz and Shamrock, Tanner and Miletich were two of the best competitors from the period between the early UFC days and the “TUF era” that we’re now in.  Both guys won titles, fought some of the toughest competition that was around when they were active, and helped carry the company until Zuffa’s takeover finally paid off and the sport exploded.  It’s important to recognize the guys that were around before most of today’s fans started following MMA, I think. 

I think there needs to be an MMA Hall of Fame that exists outside of any one promotion, to be honest…like WAMMA, but not as corny.  That way, we could see the truly best fighters honored (as well as other contributors to the sport, like Helio Gracie, great trainers and even promoters/broadcasters/media) without regard to politics or whether they had their best days in the UFC.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in, even if you didn’t end up in the mailbag.  Make sure to keep those comments, questions and rants coming, and we’ll see you next time.

 by Jon Hartley for Fightmania.com

Tags: Chuck Liddell, Dana White, Evan Tanner, Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, UFC, WAMMA