Ok, Ive been pretty quiet on this whole Ryan Ford Armgate thing, but his recent press release is really pushing it, IMO. Few things dont sit right: 1. His key argument for making this decision was to feed his family, but its his responsibility as a professional to disclose these injuries before a fight. Missing one fight isnt nearly as bad as being outed by the commission for fraud and gross negligence which may lead to a substantial fine(more than his purse) and lengthy suspension(long time without income). This also greatly embarrasses both the ECC and WSOF, who sold tickets for two guys ready and able to fight at full capacity. Ford says sorry, but what about the center full of hometown fans who paid to watch their boy get finished in the first round? 2. All that professional support he mentioned costs money. Once again, probably more financially sound to pull out of the fight and save that money, especially when a broken arm clearly deflates your chances of winning against a former UFC Title challenger and monster on the mat. 3. Ford keeps referring to the injury as a broken arm. That may be the technical diagnosis but we all know what we think of when we hear broken arm. Definitely not an arm capable of doing knuckle push-ups at the weigh-ins and getting cleared by the full medical requirements that cleared me to be fit to fight. Not only is that a seriously backhanded compliment to the ECC, but it also makes this broken arm sound like bs. 4. If its not an excuse for the loss, why make it so public immediately after the fight? Why send out press releases regarding the injury with multiple explanations? Why continue to call it a broken arm when its most likely something MUCH less severe? Also, if its not an excuse, why suggest you deserve a rematch BECAUSE of your injury? Personally, I just dont buy it. If Ford wants to call himself a professional athlete, thats fine, but that entails he act professionally. Stunts like these, no matter how well-intentioned or not, give MMA a bad name and make our governing bodies look bush league, at best. He should be apologizing to the sport, especially when some lonely nutbag writes a front page article about how our barbaric spectacle lets ex-con violent offenders fight on live TV with broken bones. Ugh. -Alex
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 22:13:24 +0000
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