Is UFC/Mixed Martial Arts fixed?

Dep!

It all looked a bit WWE Lite last night lads and too much mega money is riding on a McGregor Vs Aldo showdown for the belt for them not to have asked Mendes to take one for the team.

Boxing has been rampant with fixed matches for years so why should this be any different?

osarusan

No it isn't.

Boxing hasn't 'been rampant with fixed matches for years either'.

Mr_Muffin

I wouldn't think so. These fighters only got to that level due to the desire and ambition to win/become the best.

But then again everyone has their price.

Nodin

Dep! wrote: »

It all looked a bit WWE Lite last night lads and too much mega money is riding on a McGregor Vs Aldo showdown for the belt for them not to have asked Mendes to take one for the team.

Boxing has been rampant with fixed matches for years so why shoud this be any different?

By jaysus, I haven't heard a such compelling combination of evidence and persuastion since that fella tried to sell me a pet invisible unicorn.

Cool_CM

Dep! wrote: »

Boxing has been rampant with fixed matches for years so why shoud this be any different?

Because it is?

kneemos

osarusan wrote: »

No it isn't.

Boxing hasn't 'been rampant with fixed matches for years either'.

I'll meet you for the rematch.

Gatling

Haters be hating

Cantona's Collars

Mendes gave as good as he got,he did better than others who faced McGregor.Took a vicious left then went down and all he could do was cover up.
I'd challenge anyone here to take a punch like that and not do similar.

Did anyone look at the Lawler v McDonald fight on the card? Could you call that a fix?

It's amazing the begrudgery of the Irish.

Dep!

osarusan wrote: »

No it isn't.

Boxing hasn't 'been rampant with fixed matches for years either'.

:pac:

Seriously?!

Take your pick! http://bleacherreport.com/articles/965780-13-most-shocking-scandals-in-boxing-history/page/6

Dep!

zerks wrote: »

It's amazing the begrudgery of the Irish.

Lol. Nothing to do with begrudgery. I think UFC and MMA in general has fixed fights, be it with McGregor or whoever.

Money talks and there was too much of it riding on a McGregor Vs Aldo showdown for the belt.

Gatling

Dep! wrote: »

Lol. Nothing to do with begrudgery. I think UFC and MMA in general has fixed fights, be it with McGregor or whoever.

Money talks and there was too much of it riding on a McGregor Vs Aldo showdown for the belt.

Based off exactly if that's the case every major sports event is fixed .

Do you think mini mendes and mcgregor sat down with a script first

Dep!

osarusan wrote: »

No it isn't.

Boxing hasn't 'been rampant with fixed matches for years either'.

1947. That's as far back as rigged boxing matches go.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/965780-13-most-shocking-scandals-in-boxing-history/page/10

In 1947, Jake LaMotta was a great boxer on the rise, but he was looking for a greater rise, and favor with the mob.


The mob controlled boxing, and wanted LaMotta to take a dive against Billy Fox for an extra $20,000 and a guaranteed title shot against Frenchman Marcel Cerdan.


LaMotta tried to hit him, and Fox's knees went weak. LaMotta carried him in what increasingly became an obvious fix.


By Round 4, the fix was obvious, and LaMotta lay against the ropes to allow the light-hitting Fox to pounce on him. Fox was awarded the fourth-round TKO.


LaMotta was awarded his promised 20 grand and title shot, as well as an investigation from the FBI years later

Two more words for you regarding boxing and how dodgy it has been in the past: Don King!

osarusan

Dep! wrote: »

:pac:

Seriously?!

Take your pick! http://bleacherreport.com/articles/965780-13-most-shocking-scandals-in-boxing-history/page/6

Seriously.

One of those links is a proven fix, which happened over half a century ago.

There is one other alleged fix, which also happened over half a century ago.

One fix and one allegation is not even close to proof of fixing being 'rampant'.

osarusan

There is no doubt that when the mafia controlled boxing, there were fixes, as most money could be made gambling. But that ended a long time ago.

But it certainly is not 'rampant' any more - certainly not at title level, where there is so much money involved that a bribe isn't worth enough to throw a fight.


Are there fights that are fixed? I'd say so, but they are very rare - rare enough to make the news. Danny Green vs Paul Briggs is the most recent I can think of that looked fixed to me (at least, Briggs dived, for whatever reason).

Junkyard Tom

All the butt-hurt CMcG haters have no angle left except to say the fight was fixed.

Get.
a.
life.

Nodin

Dep! wrote: »

Lol. Nothing to do with begrudgery. I think UFC and MMA in general has fixed fights, be it with McGregor or whoever.

Money talks and there was too much of it riding on a McGregor Vs Aldo showdown for the belt.

You seem to be saying its the norm. While its safe to say that - human nature being what it is - a fight may on occasion - be fixed by one or both parties, you've provided no evidence of this and seem to be just trotting out wild generalisations.

Cosmo Kramer

Not a fix but the whole thing was just a money making excuse once the Brazilian lad dropped out. McGregor was parading around with a belt that means nothing afterwards. A pointless exercise really.

Herpes Cineplex

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

All the butt-hurt CMcG haters have no angle left except to say the fight was fixed.

Get.
a.
life.

You wouldn't get it any other country. Ireland is full of bitter lemon suckers and the bitterness is strong in them.

Nodin

osarusan wrote: »

There is no doubt that when the mafia controlled boxing, there were fixes, as most money could be made gambling. But that ended a long time ago.

But it certainly is not 'rampant' any more - certainly not at title level, where there is so much money involved that a bribe isn't worth enough to throw a fight.


Are there fights that are fixed? I'd say so, but they are very rare - rare enough to make the news. Danny Green vs Paul Briggs is the most recent I can think of that looked fixed to me (at least, Briggs dived, for whatever reason).

Last major one I remember involved Lennox Lewis. Don King had managed to get some old woman in as one of the judges. She'd never judged a boxing match in her life, and they asked after how she marked it. She said 'Mr King had one of his friends help me'. The referee (British, well known) made a few calls that even ITV were aghast at (albeit in the understated British way). He left the stadium immediately after the fight, went straight to the airport, and was unable to be found or contacted for some considerable time afterwards. Can't remember who Lewis was fighting at all, at all.

Gatling

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Not a fix but the whole thing was just a money making excuse once the Brazilian lad dropped out. McGregor was parading around with a belt that means nothing afterwards. A pointless exercise really.

Ah sure the guy who turns up once a year in the ufc has fought 8 times but ducked out 5 times in the 8 fights for various reasons.
Wonder who's belt means nothing

Dep!

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

All the butt-hurt CMcG haters have no angle left except to say the fight was fixed.

Get.
a.
life.

You and others need to calm down. The title of the thread asks "Is UFC/Mixed Martial Arts fixed?" not "Was Conor McGregor's fight fixed?"

The first question has been raised for years, Im not the first one to point it out. McGregor's fight is merely being used as an example.

I do find it interesting that, per poll, at least 14 other people agree with me but have yet to post in this thread. Speak up lads.

Nodin

Dep! wrote: »

You and others need to calm down. The title of the thread asks "Is UFC/Mixed Martial Arts fixed?" not "Was Conor McGregor's fight fixed?"

..........

You realise that the former implies the latter also.....?

Dep!

Nodin wrote: »

You realise that the former implies the latter also.....?

Christ :rolleyes:

Yes but Im looking for a general debate on it.

AllGunsBlazing

Nodin wrote: »

Can't remember who Lewis was fighting at all, at all.

Holyfield.

michael999999

Nodin wrote: »

By jaysus, I haven't heard a such compelling combination of evidence and persuastion since that fella tried to sell me a pet invisible unicorn.

Would you have a number for him by any chance?

Dep!

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

Holyfield.

Interesting. Was that Holyfield Vs Lewis I or II?

AllGunsBlazing

Dep! wrote: »

Interesting. Was that Holyfield Vs Lewis I or II?

The first one. Not exactly fixed, but King pulled every stroke possible to make sure his man avoided defeat.

Nodin

Dep! wrote: »

Christ :rolleyes:

Yes but Im looking for a general debate on it.

"Are some MMA matches fixed?" is the thread title you wanted there.

pmasterson95

Brave move OP going against a bandwagon. Never gunna go well here tho.

Mr. CooL ICE

There has been fixing in MMA. Pride FC had huge ties with the yakuza and many fighters claim they were 'approached' before fights. The now defunct EliteXC (which had backyard brawler Kimbo Slice as a champion) was corrupt as fcuk. It happened when the sport was young and relatively unregulated.

Was last night a fix? No.

Wabbit Ears

Its a buisness first and as 'sport' second. If course matchups are calculated and instructions given. It is real fighting with real skill and real talent, but its laughable that anyone believes there is nothing more to it then two men in a ring mono 'n mono.

sid waddell

It's a choreographed pantomime with each fight following a pre-written storyline. I thought everybody knew that at this stage?

osarusan

Nodin wrote: »

Last major one I remember involved Lennox Lewis. Don King had managed to get some old woman in as one of the judges. She'd never judged a boxing match in her life, and they asked after how she marked it. She said 'Mr King had one of his friends help me'. The referee (British, well known) made a few calls that even ITV were aghast at (albeit in the understated British way). He left the stadium immediately after the fight, went straight to the airport, and was unable to be found or contacted for some considerable time afterwards. Can't remember who Lewis was fighting at all, at all.

Lewis Holyfield 1?

Bad judging - now that is rampant!

Dep!

Doctor Jimbob wrote: »

The day after McGregor won.


Funny that.

Well yes, because from looking at my social media feeds Id say about 70% of Ireland are MMA "fans" today. So if we cant talk about it today then when should we?

titan18

zerks wrote: »

It's amazing the begrudgery of the Irish.

There's just as much bandwagoners as begrudgers amongst the Irish tbf

Talib Fiasco

Corruption to some degree is prevalent in some regard in all sorts....but the UFC seems pretty clean cut to be fair. In a sense it is still an organisation to hit it's peak as it grows and grow in popularity, so who is to say in 5/10 years more questionable decisions don't occur.

Boxing has improved massively, but bad calls and "fixes" still occur. I was watching a fight yesterday afternoon which was a very very close fight, with the winner only winning 2/3 more rounds but he was in his back yard, and two of the card had him winning 10 and 11 of the 12 rounds. And this was a small fight attended by a very small crowd. Of course situations like this happen very infrequently but they do happen. There have been questionable stoppages etc. in the UFC/MMA too...it just happens with sport.

The begrudgery allegation is laughable.

Sheamus is a 3 time world champion in WWE. And he gets real injuries, and inflicts them. But because he's Irish we can't question whether the WWE is a real challenge or the outcome is arranged? Seriously?

L'prof

McGregor took some serious elbows to the face. Would a man who was going to take a dive be trying that hard to knock his opponent out? No chance. I do feel the fight was called too close to the bell but I still have no doubt in my mind that had there been a 3rd round, the end result would have been the same. After last night, I think I'm finally starting to believe the hype Just a pity it wasn't Aldo in the ring and he didn't have to settle for this interim title!

RedemptionZ

That kind of ending is pretty common in MMA, one guy can seem to be on top (Mendes) and then make one mistake and suddenly be rocked. Maybe it seems fixed to a viewer who hasn't seen that many fights, but it's normal enough. The referees primary function is to protect the fighters. Mendes would've been seriously hurt if the fight wasn't stopped.

L'prof

L'prof wrote: »

McGregor took some serious elbows to the face. Would a man who was going to take a dive be trying that hard to knock his opponent out? No chance.!

I presume the query is not whether someone would "take a dive", but is the sport more choreographed than representing a genuine open contest. Wrestlers take huge risks in the WWE, throwing each other off cages through tables and the like. But it's not really a valid contest, it's more entertainment with participants using their pain thresholds to make lots of money while "winning".

czechpeter

I cant quite put my finger on it but I get a shady vibe from Dana White whenever he opens his mouth. I wouldnt put match fixing past him.

Billy86

Dep! wrote: »

You and others need to calm down. The title of the thread asks "Is UFC/Mixed Martial Arts fixed?" not "Was Conor McGregor's fight fixed?"

The first question has been raised for years, Im not the first one to point it out. McGregor's fight is merely being used as an example.

I do find it interesting that, per poll, at least 14 other people agree with me but have yet to post in this thread. Speak up lads.

My guess is the vast majority of them hate McGregor with a passion, but probably don't watch much/any MMA at all. It's a large demographic in the the sour old country that is Ireland.

Billy86

titan18 wrote: »

There's just as much bandwagoners as begrudgers amongst the Irish tbf

Shameful stuff isn't it? Seeing people get behind one of their own countrymen going on a tear and becoming arguably the biggest name in their sport (in terms of name recognition/PPV draw), where no Irish person had done so before.

We should all feel ashamed. Ashamed and guilty.

Billy86

Billy86 wrote: »

My guess is the vast majority of them hate McGregor with a passion, but probably don't watch much/any MMA at all. It's a large demographic in the the sour old country that is Ireland.

Do people question the WWE because they begrudge Sheamus?

I think it's great to see an Irish fellow do well. But it still doesn't seem like a real sport to me, perhaps because it is promoted in a manner similar to the WWE with people calling each other out and trash talking non stop.

Billy86

Deleted User wrote: »

Do people question the WWE because they begrudge Sheamus?

I think it's great to see an Irish fellow do well. But it still doesn't seem like a real sport to me, perhaps because it is promoted in a manner similar to the WWE with people calling each other out and trash talking non stop.

In your first sentence, I assume you mean do they question the legitimacy of the WWE as a 'real' sport (as in non pre-determined outcomes; a genuine test of wrestling abilities between competitors)? The answer would be no, and that is because it is openly scripted and choreographed. If you think the same is true of the UFC... let's just end this discussion here. :pac:

I do have to consider what you would consider a "real" sport, though?

Mr. CooL ICE

Deleted User wrote: »

Do people question the WWE because they begrudge Sheamus?

Erm, what?

Deleted User wrote: »

But it still doesn't seem like a real sport to me, perhaps because it is promoted in a manner similar to the WWE with people calling each other out and trash talking non stop.

It pretty much used the same marketing methods as WWE back when it couldn't make a profit. It created a reality show (TUF) and was placed immediately after the weekly WWE show. It simply wanted to poach some of the fans, and, well, it worked.

Doesn't mean it's fixed though. That's just stupid.

nxbyveromdwjpg

Yes they faked Chad's jaw.

This threads suggestion is ludicrous, just absolutely ridiculous.

Wabbit Ears

Sure now people will be saying all sorts of mad stuff like match fixing happens in football as well. Madness I tells you.

Galwayguy35

The results of wrestling matches are decided before the actual event happens, that doesn't take away from the fact that wrestlers are people who work hard to get to the level of fitness needed to take part.

I don't believe the UFC fights are fixed though.

Billy86

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

Sure now people will be saying all sorts of mad stuff like match fixing happens in football as well. Madness I tells you.

Forget match fixing, isn't all of football also just choreographed and staged from start to finish, and just 'pretends' that the outcome isn't predetermined? Just like golf.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage wrote: »

Erm, what?

It's that this thread has thrown up the crazy idea that any questioning of Dana White's sport is based on begrudgery.

Which is clearly nonsense, like saying anyone questioning the legitimacy of the WWE is motivated by some jealousy of Sheamus (Irish fellow, 3 time WWE Champion, worth about 10 million, but not as popular on Joe.ie as McGregor).