I was at a local MaxFightsDM event Friday night** when one of my guests, a first time MMA-goer, asked me if a lot of fighters had criminal records. I wish I could have told her it wasn't the case.
I believe that many, probably even most, mma-practitioners have never seen the inside of a squad card. Unfortunately, in the past 12 months it seems as if all the time fighters spend in the cage has made a number of them feel equally at home behind bars.
It started with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson playing bumper cars in California. Not to be outdone, Josh "The Dentist" Neer rang in the New Year by racing the police through my hometown.
Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised when fighters nicknamed "War Machine" or "Rumble" get arrested, but it's disappointing when police end up having to go after someone with a moniker as innocuous as "The Snowman." I sincerely hope that one of my favorite fighters, Kevin "The Fire" Burns, does not one day get nabbed for arson. (Fortunately, having met Kevin, I can tell you it's highly unlikely.)
The rash of battles with the law isn't limited to those currently in the big leagues either. It extends from those in the earliest days of the UFC to the newcomers. Just last night a fighter in North Dakota was arrested after making his professional MMA debut.
This is not good for a sport trying to shed its reputation as "a bunch of thugs." For the sake of everyone in the industry, fighters need to clean up their acts. At a minimum, they need to stop getting arrested for assaulting reporters. That cannot be good for media relations.
Fortunately, the year has not brought all bad news. Earlier this year UFC fighter Antoni Hardonk broke up a mugging. Still, we've got a long way to go to gain acceptance with the mainstream. The L.A. Times covered the Rampage saga with gusto, but sadly didn't even mention the crime fighting efforts of Hardonk in its own backyard.
**(PureFight has video; look for the move(s) of the night -- vicious double slams -- at the :32 and :45 marks)
