Thug Life : Is it right for Bisping and Sonnen to be tagged as coaches?

Ahhh, Mr. Dave Meltzer.   Every time I have a difficult time searching for something to write about in this blog, The senior writer from The Wrestling Observer always gives me something new, over the top, or just plain nuts to write about.
I nonchalantly  sometimes pass by his articles to see what he's got brewing when it comes to the world of Mixed Martial Arts.  This week, I seen a report from him declaring the UFC was preparing to make an announcement in regards to the next season of their flagship show "The Ultimate Fighter", set to commence in September. He goes onto say the coaches have already been chosen, and those are Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen.

While this might be a great matchup on paper for ratings, with Bisping and his comic relief and Sonnen spewing his nonsensical garbage,   talking for the sake of talking.  In reality, in terms of  PR and an image standpoint, it is a horrible business decision.

Why?  Because Dana White since his takeover of the UFC has had a long, uphill battle to climb.  From day one, he's had to tangle with Government Officials from local, State and Provincial Athletic Commissions (depending on which country he's had to do his sweet talking in) and the general public, who fail to give his roster or MMA athletes in general any respect,  referring to the sport as a form of "human dogfighting" and the competitors themselves as "Thugs".

The reality show is an opportunity for people to observe what the life of a mixed martial artist is.  However "glorified" it might be, the reality is that it is a tough lifestyle that isn't for everyone.  The competitors in every season work as hard as they can, albeit however experienced (Ultimate Fighter 4 : The Comeback) or novice (Amir Sadollah had NO fights under his belt when he won Ultimate Fighter 7) they might be.  The coaches, in contrast, are on the show not only to mentor, but to essentially represent the brand of the UFC to all the "haters" and "naysayers" and show that they are indeed athletes, not "Thugs".

If this Meltzer article were to hold true to form,  White is essentially allowing every non-MMA activist and casual observer to have their day : You're going to put on your flagship show that brings you fans every week an English "Thug" who has shown a complete disregard for the rules (like grabbing the fence and kneeing a downed opponent, against Jorge Rivera) as well as a complete lack of respect (spitting in the Rivera's cornermans face and getting in his opponent's face to "apologize" due to comments Rivera made on Youtube) against a man who not only just obnoxiously rambles on,  But currently has been more famous for not only cheating (A failed drug test following his fight against Anderson Silva), but White Collar Crime as well (Sonnen is currently awaiting sentencing for his role in a Real Estate fraud scheme) as the leaders of possibly another promising crop of young prospects.

Since the story broke,  White has refuted the article, saying that given Sonnen's legal troubles and his licensing issues with the NSAC (an article on MMAJunkie where NSAC head Keith Kizer criticized Sonnen re-affirmed this) were going to make it difficult for the former #1 middleweight contender to be one of the next coaches on the Reality show.

Let's hope it stays that way.

-In Other news,  Strikeforce Challengers ratings came in from Friday night.  Ratings peaked at 214,000 with the card broadcast live on Showtime.  Also, Ratings for Bellator 39 were up slightly from the week before, at 174,000 tuning in to watch the World title fight between kingpin Eddie Alvarez and Pat Curran.  Let's hope with Bellator 40 this week, they keep the momentum going (although with Diaz and Daley this weekend as well, that's unlikely).
-2 former lightweights, Joe Stevenson and Tyson Griffin, are making the drop to featherweight to further their UFC careers, as reported by MMAJunkie. Stevenson will take on Javier Vasquez (not the former Expos pitcher, but the guy that armbarred Jens Pulver out of WEC) at UFC on Versus 4 in June, while Griffin will face former #1 featherweight contender Manny Gamburyan on the same card.
-ESPN.com/Sherdog was the first to break the news in regards to fights at UFC 131 and 132. It appears TUF coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos will face each other at UFC 131 in Vancouver (like we didn't know that already), while 132 will be headlined with a re-match featuring bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz against "The California Kid" Urijah Faber (again, like we didn't know).  What is interesting though is the fight that was also announced for 132 : It seems Chris Leben will finally get his wish to face Brazilian Wanderlei Silva on the same card.
As a longtime fan of "The Ax Murderer", let me say this : Be afraid, Chris.  Be very afraid.

Questions? Comments? Get back to me.  e-mail me at mmarmaggedon@gmail.com

Until next time, Fight fans.