Mailbag: Here and there

You can follow Kevin Iole on Twitter at @KevinI

This week's mixed martial arts mailbag runs the gamut of topics, from Corey Hill's comeback after a devastating injury to Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White's behavior, as well as many others in between.

I want to thank everyone for their submissions all year. It's you guys who have made the mailbag what it's become. My wish for the New Year (other than peace, prosperity and all that jazz) is for you to remember to include your first and last names on your comments and questions.

Having said that, let's get right into your questions and my answers. And thanks once again for a great 2009.

Hill no inspiration

Corey Hill is not an inspiration to me. Is mixed martial arts the only thing he can do? A good story would have been if he returned to school and developed a skill that led to a new career. I am a double organ transplant, heart and kidney, and my medical situation forced changes. This guy chooses to return to a job that is short-lived and he faces the danger of further damage to his body. Why would he want to put his wife through more torture? If he can't move on, maybe she should.

David Wardell
Pacifica, Calif.

Everyone is going to view Hill's situation differently. Being a fighter is something he loves to do, has long wanted to do, and does to support his family. He endured a great deal – as did his wife – in order to come back. I find it inspiring that he didn't just give up and find a job working minimum wage for the rest of his life. Rather, he worked hard to pursue a dream and I think there is a message in that for everyone, whether you're a fighter or not.

Did UFC assist Hill?

Great article on Corey Hill. I remember that fight and night vividly. I'm curious and I didn't see anything mentioned in your article, but what kind of assistance did Corey receive from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and president Dana White after this terrible injury? Did they help him in any way besides paying him his fight purse? Paid medical? Extra money? Thanks.

Henrik Strame
West Chester, Pa.

Hill says they did. To quote him directly, he said, "The UFC was awesome throughout this whole thing and was so good to me, I feel indebted to them."

Lower PPV price?

What is your opinion on whether the UFC should consider reductions in the price of pay-per-view events like UFC 108, where the quality of the card is substandard by most measures? While I understand that there may end up being some excellent fights, the card is obviously lacking in terms of no title fights and few marquee names. Ultimately, I suppose the free market will dictate whether the UFC needs to do this in the future.

Eric S.
Folsom, Calif.

Good question, Eric, and I think you answered it yourself. I tend to believe the UFC is putting on too many fight cards a year and should reduce the number by two to four to prevent problems such as you document from arising. Having said that, UFC 107 was panned by many critics going in, but it turned out to be an awesome night of fights and the PPV results were very good (I have heard in excess of 600,000, though that's not confirmed). The one thing I know about the UFC is that they know their audience. If they see pushback in terms of price, they'll do something about it.

Annual mega-show?

I'm wondering why the UFC and the other MMA companies wouldn't want to have a yearly Super Bowl-type promotion for fans. You could hold it in the new Cowboys Stadium or any other retractable roof venue. My idea would be a two-day promotion with an NBA All-Star Weekend-type feel. They could have lesser known fighters compete on Friday with some musical entertainment, then blow off the roof on Saturday with a killer three-hour pay-per-view show. Create a FanFest and great entertainment and you will have MMA's WrestleMania. With ticket sales, PPV sales, concessions and merchandise, I don't see how this isn't great for everyone involved.

Brian
Cleveland

Before I begin answering Brian's question, I should note that I trimmed it considerably since it was longer, I believe, than John Grisham's last novel. It's a great idea in concept, Brian, but it would never work. Of course, the UFC as the industry leader wouldn't want to give its competitors a vehicle to increase their visibility, but forgetting that, you want to put virtually ever star in the sport on this one card. That won't work for a number of reasons. You'd have to do the schedule all year around that one card, to make certain fighters are available for that date. That would impact their title defenses/challenges, etc., in their respective organizations. I'd love to see an MMA WrestleMania, but I'm afraid it's unrealistic.

Ratner to the Hall? Really?

Come on Kevin! Marc Ratner in the UFC Hall of Fame? Let's see, he's been with the UFC for three-and-a-half, four years now? Come on! The guy is doing his job. Maybe after a decade, but now? Boy, we hand these "awards" and "inductions" out like they're candy. No, Ratner does not belong in the UFC Hall of Fame. Guys like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes, etc., have put in a decade-plus of fighting their hearts out. You don't put a non-fighter in the Hall alongside them for less than four years of work. He's doing his job promoting the UFC, no matter how good a job he's doing. Lets see where the UFC is one decade after he joined the ranks and then consider his worthiness to be in the Hall. It's extremely premature now. You have to put in the time! Fours years ain't nothin!

Ed Purtatoe
Pennsylvania

You make a good point, but I wanted to point out how much progress MMA has made in being sanctioned not only in North America but around the world. No one is more responsible for that than Ratner, who has logged incredible miles traveling to meet with various national, state and regional governing entities. I'm not saying he's more worthy than a fighter, but there has to be a place for contributors in the Hall (And Charles "Mask" Lewis was inducted) and Ratner is a great fit.

Jones DQ a mistake?

Regarding the Jon Jones disqualification in his Dec. 5 match with Matt Hamill, to me the slow motion replay seemed to show that at the point of contact, Hamill was actually struck by Jones' forearm and not the point of the elbow. If I'm viewing this correctly, would that not then be a legal strike and not a cause for disqualification?

Chad Landers
Studio City, Calif.

I don't have a tape of the fight nearby to view this as I answer, Chad. My recollection is that it was the point of the elbow that connected. Given that referee Steve Mazzagatti and the Nevada Athletic Commission watched the replay before rendering their verdict, I will assume they were correct. If it were the forearm, it would have been legal. The point of the elbow, a so-called "12-to-6 strike," is not.

Dana's behavior

Isn't it time that Dana White starts acting like a mature adult and stop acting like a child? Every time he can't sign a fighter or another organization is upcoming, he badmouths them like he were a teenage girl. I cannot imagine NBA commissioner Donald Stern or NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acting this way. This guy is the head of a billion-dollar corporation. Shouldn't he stop cussing and badmouthing people and behave like a CEO?

Ryan T.
Riverside, Calif.

I think the important thing is for Dana to be himself, not to try to emulate how someone else acts. Love it or hate it, what you see from Dana is the real Dana White. He built the UFC into the billion-dollar corporation it became by acting himself and I'd assume he'll keep doing that as he goes forward.