The Doggy Bag: Love and Hate

Injury matters

Josh Thomson's late injury withdrawal from his rematch with Gilbert Melendez reminds me of a question and idea I've had for a while. Why don't promotions -- especially ones with resources and deep rosters of fighters -- keep a couple of backup fighters on the shelf before an event to fill any last-minute openings? Have you ever heard of such a practice?

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On an average 10-fight card, there is probably three to five weight classes represented. If you have three welterweight bouts on a card, having one welterweight on retainer to replace anybody who drops out seems like a no-brainer…You could even have one fighter double up to be on call against two weight classes with, say, a middleweight who's prepared to drop down to a catch-weight against a welterweight if necessary. Everybody has great ideas to spend other people's money, and promoters aren't known for their generosity. But we all know how easily MMA fighters get injured in training, so it would make sense to be prepared.
-- Frank Fuhrig

Greg Savage, radio host: This is a subject that has been raised from time to time, and although it may seem like a quick fix to the problem of injured fighters dropping off cards at the last minute, there are a number of issues that come to my mind as to why it would not work in many situations.

First, put yourself in the opponent’s shoes. You have trained for a specific match-up, for a particular fighter and now you may have to face a completely different type of fighter. Also, while it may not be something that gets discussed a lot in media coverage, there is a lot of work that goes into choosing opponents in many cases. All that work goes out the window with a last minute replacement.

Second, think of the replacement fighter. Here is an athlete who has to put in a training camp without really knowing who he will be fighting or even if he will get a chance to compete. The promoter will have to pay another person, and while this might not be a hindrance to big promoters -- like Zuffa, Affliction or Strikeforce -- it would financially handicap many mid-level and smaller promoters.

I just do not see this as a sound means of addressing injuries that force promoters to scramble. We will hopefully see a replacement for Josh Thomson in the next day or two, but Gilbert Melendez and his camp will assuredly have some say in the choice. That is inherently fairer than plugging in a predetermined alternate.

This is just one of the many things promoters have to deal with, and the successful ones always seem to have the ability to make sure the show goes on.