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MMA mailbag: Fighting ba(n)kers

Yahoo Sports

I had to fight a desperate urge Saturday following UFC 85 at the O2 Arena in London to walk up to Kevin Burns and ask him if he were a baker or a banker.

A late substitute, Burns won a $50,000 bonus for the submission of the night in his first UFC event when he choked out Roan Carneiro.

At the post-fight news conference, a UFC representative was providing media members with background on Burns and noted that he is a banker.

I cringed, even though being a banker is a noble profession.

Three days earlier, I had done an interview with Thiago Alves, who was set to fight Matt Hughes in the main event. Alves was talking about how he got into mixed martial arts and telling me about his family in Brazil.

He said his family was in the baking business. The only problem was, I misunderstood him. I thought he said it was in the banking business. And so, as I was writing my column about him prior to UFC 85, I dutifully noted that he came from a family of bankers.

Unfortunately, that wasn't correct. He comes from a family of bakers. I did the interview in a conference room in the hotel where he was staying in London and no one was around, so it wasn't like I was distracted. It was simply an honest mistake.

We corrected it as quickly as possible, but I wanted to acknowledge the error and apologize to both readers and Alves for the mistake. I also wanted to acknowledge Luke Thomas, of the MMA blog Bloody Elbow,for calling it to our attention.

With that, I'll get to your emails about an assortment of MMA topics. My answers are in italics.

MAYWEATHER-UFC?

There are rumors that boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., who announced his retirement on Friday, will soon sign a deal with the UFC. Last week, UFC president Dana White said he would be making an announcement that will rock the MMA world. Have you heard any of these rumors? Do you have any insights on this story?

Jason
White said after Friday's weigh-in that the topic of the announcement is so far out in left field that none of the handful of reporters he was speaking with would appeal to guess its subject. What I know for sure now is that it has nothing to do with Mayweather. I sent White a text message about it Monday. He emphatically denied it and said there is nothing to it. I am not sure of the announcement's topic, but unless White flat-out lied, it won't have anything to do with Mayweather.

FABER-YAMAMOTO?

Now that Urijah Faber has defeated his biggest challenger, Jens Pulver, who will the WEC send in to be slaughtered next? My suggestion would be to try to get Kid Yamamoto. If I recall correctly, didn't Urijah challenge Yamamoto? For MMA purists, I would think that would be a hell of a fight. Both are charasmatic, but more importantly explosive and dangerous fighters. Who do you see winning that fight?

Otto Caballeros
Washington, D.C.

It's a wonderful fight, one of the best three or four matchups that could be made. Yamamoto is 17-1 and his only loss was on a cut. He's a superb wrestler, has great kick boxing skills and is versed in submissions. Faber and Yamamoto are very evenly matched, though I might give Yamamoto the slightest of edges on the basis of better wrestling.

HOW GOOD IS LASHLEY?

I just read that another WWE star, Bobby Lashley, is going to enter MMA. He is another decorated wrestler, like the UFC's Brock Lesnar. Do you see the possibility of Lashley facing Lesnar down the road? I think it could be a great match based on their size and skills. It should also draw a big crowd. Any thoughts?

Will Coremin
New York

Lashley only recently began to train in MMA, so he's several years behind Lesnar, who had been training for a few years before making his debut in Los Angeles last June. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they could meet if Lashley turns out to have MMA skills. I'm skeptical, but if he does, at 6-foot-3 and about 265 pounds, he'd be the physical equal of Lesnar. And I agree the bout would do well.

DOESN'T LIKE IT

I can't stand when people write "I'd like to see you fight Kimbo. He'd show you how bad of a fighter he is." It is really annoying. Where in your article did you say you could fight Kimbo? Have you ever said you were even a fighter? I don't think so. Obviously, you can't beat Kimbo Slice in a fight. The point is, he can't fight against decent fighters. I remember watching Aleksander Emelianenko knock out James Thomson like it was nothing. What happened to Kimbo's amazing power and strength? Emelianenko doesn't strike me to have the knockout power that Kimbo has been hyped to have. I hate it how everyone who watched that CBS garbage now considers themselves knowledgeable on what's going on in MMA.

Justin Kessler
Huntington Beach, Calif.

I get a lot of those messages, Justin, and I don't like them either. But I take them as the rants of passionate fans who are trying to stick up for their favorites. The one thing about the Internet is that people feel free to say things they'd never think of saying to one in person. Kimbo certainly has a lot to prove and I have to question his power, given that he landed a lot of flush punches and Thompson, a man who as you said is not known for a good chin, took them. But remember that the man has only had three MMA fights. He's still a neophyte in the business. As I've said many times previously, he shouldn't be fighting in main events based on skill yet.

FIGHTS IN UK

As a fan of MMA from the U.K., it has taken many years to get UFC fights televised over here. With new fight organizations starting to take shape, are there any plans to have their PPV/fight nights televised over here? Some of my favorite fighters are now with Affliction, where I will not be able to see them fight.

James Morgan
Cardiff, Wales

I'm planning a column on Affliction later this week, James, and I'll try to find out if they have plans to televise in the U.K. But by and large, I think the answer is going to be no in the short term. I think most of the new U.S.-based MMA promotions are going to focus on building themselves in the U.S. before expanding internationally.

HURTING FABER

After his win over Jens Pulver at WEC 34, Urijah Faber is at the peak of his popularity. Do you think Faber is hurting his earning potential by staying at 145 and in the WEC? I know that Zuffa owns both the UFC and the WEC, but I feel his earning potential is severely limited by not fighting in the UFC. Shouldn't he take the risk of fighting at 155? He is already popular. Fighting in the UFC would guarantee Faber at least a semi-main event slot. Do you agree?

Jordan Spees
San Diego

I think Zuffa's plan for Faber is to, at least for the time being, stay in the WEC and build toward a fight with bantamweight champion Miguel Torres and, possibly, one with Kid Yamamoto. But if he fights either, or both of those, I could see him going to the UFC. Faber is one of the world's best fighters and the UFC would promote him heavily. He's eager to face Tyson Griffin, the only man to have beaten him, once again, so that could be a fight to watch for in the future. But I think Faber to the UFC is down the road, given the fights that are there to be made and Zuffa's desire to build the UFC.

TECHNIQUE, NOT STRENGTH

Matt Hughes is a true warrior, and although maybe some technique came to him a little late, he is a great athlete. I hope the Matt Hughes of today can use technique, not from the Miletich camp, but from somewhere where his athleticism can be tempered with wisdom. Matt is an icon of the UFC. At his young age, he should be able to win fights via technique and without using all of that incredible physicality of his.

Mark Kaufman
Chestnut Hill, Mass.

I believe Hughes will fight once more, against arch-rival Matt Serra. And I think we'll see as close as there is to the Hughes of old, one who uses as much of his massive strength as he can to try to physically pound Serra.

VERA RIPPED OFF

Brandon Vera was just ripped off by referee Dan Miragliotta in his fight with Fabricio Werdum at UFC on Saturday because there were 15 seconds left in the round and Vera was not getting hit with any devastating power punches. It was a bad position and if it was in the middle of the round, I could understand a bit more. Why would he stop the fight there when Fabricio hadn't done any real damage and there was such little time in the round? He ruined the EliteXC card with his early stoppage and then he ruined the Vera fight the same way. I really don't like him as a referee. I understand protecting thefighters but Vera wasn't the least bit rocked in this fight. He got up with his entire composure and it was a disgrace that it was stopped so prematurely. Vera needed this fight and Miragliotta stole it.

P.J. Windle
Wall, N.J.

P.J., Miragliotta did not steal the fight. Vera needs only to look in the mirror. I thought Miragliotta could have let it go on a bit longer, but that's no slam dunk. Half of the referees would stop it and the other half will let it go. A fighter knows whenever he's in that position, the referee could stop it. Vera needed to give Miragliotta a reason not to stop it. He said he told Miragliotta he was OK. Even if he did, it was a stretch to believe that the referee could be sure of hearing him given the excessive crowd noise. If it were me, I'd have let it go because I didn't think a lot of the blows were landing, but I can understand Miragliotta's rationale for halting it when he did.

DON'T RETIRE

How could you write an article saying Matt Hughes should retire because he's lost three of his last four fights? Do you not realize that two of those three losses have come at the hands of the man ranked No. 2 in your pound-for-pound poll. His third loss is to someone ranked as a top 10 welterweight or should I say smallmiddleweight? You sports writers all tend to be the same. Were you even a college-level athlete? For you to call for Matt Hughes retirement is beyond crazy. So do you think Chuck Liddell should have retired when he lost to Rampage Jackson and Keith Jardine? I don't think so, so that's why it stunned me that you even want Matt Hughes to retire.

Matthew Townsend
Washington, D.C.

Hughes has fought more than 50 fights and has had innumerable gym battles while with Pat Miletich's camp. Those kinds of battles take a toll on one's body. I wrote what I did with the utmost respect for Hughes and his accomplishments. I just think he's lost the explosiveness that made him special a few years back.