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I'm making this thread to discuss why fighters always start off as fighters but when they reach the pinnacle and become champion, they switch to businessmen. It's simple and the reason is because it's the smart thing to do and everyone of us would do the exact same thing.
When you're in combat sports or any individual sport, you dream of being the best in the world. You make all the sacrifices possible to achieve your goal and a very small percentage actually reach the top at some point in their lives. Now once you get there, you then have to establish yourself as the best, because becoming champion and being champion are 2 different things. Established champions are the elite of all combat athletes in that they have reached the pinnacle and fought off hungry lions in the process to reign supreme. Once you achieve that status, I feel a champion's decision to fight is no longer based on being or remaining the best fighter in the world. Rather it's about making the most money possible and ending their career on top. People criticize Anderson, GSP, and Jon Jones for ducking fights but the reality of it is, their decision to not accept fights has nothing to do with ducking the challenger. It's all about the new challenge which is what fight will make them the most money? What is a champions motivation after achieving the pinnacle and becoming and reining the best in the world? Money has no ceiling and it's a challenge that no one will pass up given the opportunity. Does anyone here think if Silva was not champion and he had to fight Weidman for the no. 1 contender spot, that the fight wouldn't happen? Another example is GSP not agreeing to fight Silva. He knows the risk far outweighs the reward. If his motivation was to be the best in the world, he would of challenged Silva the night be beat Condit. But he clearly didn't do it because he knows that even though he stood to have a big payday on fight night, if he lost, he would not only lose his "best P4P" discussion, but also lose a lot more income on future fights. Instead he chose another big money fight with Diaz which he thinks he can win. If GSP and Silva were fighting under a different set of circumstances like a Pride Grand Prix tournament, that fight would of happened as both fighters would welcome the challenge to determine who's the best in the world. In my opinion, the UFC matchmakers need to recognize "Super Fights" early on and put them together. An awesome fight would be JDS vs. Glover and have them bang it out because they both have the potential to be champions someday. I'm sure there's better examples but you get my drift. Point is, GSP, JJ, Silva are only taking big money fights they think they can win so get over it.
When you're in combat sports or any individual sport, you dream of being the best in the world. You make all the sacrifices possible to achieve your goal and a very small percentage actually reach the top at some point in their lives. Now once you get there, you then have to establish yourself as the best, because becoming champion and being champion are 2 different things. Established champions are the elite of all combat athletes in that they have reached the pinnacle and fought off hungry lions in the process to reign supreme. Once you achieve that status, I feel a champion's decision to fight is no longer based on being or remaining the best fighter in the world. Rather it's about making the most money possible and ending their career on top. People criticize Anderson, GSP, and Jon Jones for ducking fights but the reality of it is, their decision to not accept fights has nothing to do with ducking the challenger. It's all about the new challenge which is what fight will make them the most money? What is a champions motivation after achieving the pinnacle and becoming and reining the best in the world? Money has no ceiling and it's a challenge that no one will pass up given the opportunity. Does anyone here think if Silva was not champion and he had to fight Weidman for the no. 1 contender spot, that the fight wouldn't happen? Another example is GSP not agreeing to fight Silva. He knows the risk far outweighs the reward. If his motivation was to be the best in the world, he would of challenged Silva the night be beat Condit. But he clearly didn't do it because he knows that even though he stood to have a big payday on fight night, if he lost, he would not only lose his "best P4P" discussion, but also lose a lot more income on future fights. Instead he chose another big money fight with Diaz which he thinks he can win. If GSP and Silva were fighting under a different set of circumstances like a Pride Grand Prix tournament, that fight would of happened as both fighters would welcome the challenge to determine who's the best in the world. In my opinion, the UFC matchmakers need to recognize "Super Fights" early on and put them together. An awesome fight would be JDS vs. Glover and have them bang it out because they both have the potential to be champions someday. I'm sure there's better examples but you get my drift. Point is, GSP, JJ, Silva are only taking big money fights they think they can win so get over it.
