Lost in the noise of reaction to Sean Salmon’s MMAJunkie.com essay last week -- one in which the fighter claimed he deliberately “put [an] arm back in” the grip of Allan Weickert to escape without injury in a June 6 bout -- is the man who may be more affected by the admission than anyone: Weickert himself.
Weickert spoke to Sherdog/ESPN.com Monday afternoon about a victory that will forever be attached to an asterisk.
Sherdog: What was your reaction to Salmon’s essay?
Weickert: Mixed. I didn’t know how to take it. How he said he threw the fight -- come on, man. If you give up, you give up. What do you mean, throwing the fight? Reword it a little bit. And about pulling his arm out then pulling it back in, no, [he] didn’t do that. He wanted out. He didn’t want to fight me any longer. I was prepared, he wasn’t. He knew that. He knew it was going to get worse later on in the fight.
Sherdog: That’s really where most people take serious issue with Salmon’s statement: that he got out of your armbar attempt, then “put it back in” so he could end the fight. Did you see that?
Weickert: I had the armbar in, but I knew I didn’t have it. My legs were wide open. I didn’t have my knees pinched. He repositioned his body. It sunk it in a little bit deeper. But my legs were still wide. I started hitting him with some strikes and then my corner said, “Just go for it.” So I started arching. I was getting ready to let go and reposition and just get to my feet and go from there. But I went for it and he tapped. I was getting ready to let go and I saw his hand come up and I was like, “You have to be kidding me.”
Sherdog: To be clear: the idea that he purposely positioned his arm for you to grab again -- that didn’t happen?
Weickert: I didn’t see that at all. I had the arm the whole time. His body movement may have moved it. From what I was doing, he had to move that way or else he would’ve ended up falling over. I think he wanted out.
Sherdog: As an athlete, do you think a fighter quitting because he mentally wants out, not because he’s physically injured, is a valid way of winning or losing?
Weickert: To me, no. I know a couple of the fighters I’ve trained with and they’ve done that. But I compete, and you have to beat me. If I’m not prepared, I’m still going to go give it my all, my best, every time I do something. You’ve either got to beat me or knock me out. I understand what he’s saying, but he didn’t have to say what he had to say.
Sherdog: He wanted out, and some people equate it with “throwing” a fight. Do you see it that way? Do you think he “allowed” you to win, or do you think giving up psychologically just happens in this sport?
Weickert: I think it’s something that happens in the sport. I wouldn’t consider throwing it because he didn’t get gain anything else by giving up. Throwing would be betting on yourself to lose. He lost his win purse and his belt. I just wish he would have worded it a bit differently and then we both could have moved on.
Sherdog: Does it taint the win for you?
Weickert: It feels like it means nothing now. It means nothing.
Sherdog: What do you think should happen to him?
Weickert: It doesn’t matter to me. It stinks that he said what he said. I’d hate to see him never fight again. I hope he’s smart about it and does what he’s gotta do.
Sherdog: And if you could use one word to describe Salmon?
Weickert: I think that would be “coward.”
Addendum: MMAJunkie.com columnist Dann Stupp authored an editorial for the Springfield News Sun offering an alternative perspective on the controversy; September 11, the date Salmon will be replaced by Weickert during a Ring of Combat card in New Jersey, is Salmon’s birthday.