The Doggy Bag: Weighing In

In this edition of Talk Back, Sherdog forum users react to the death of Charles “Mask” Lewis, Rashad Evans versus Lyoto Machida and Ken Shamrock’s alleged positive test for banned anabolics.

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RIP “Mask”

Regardless of your personal opinion of him, if you're a fan of MMA, he deserves your respect. A constant proponent of the sport, his company and himself have helped MMA in a number of ways. From generous fighter sponsorship deals, to promoting up and coming fighters, to establishing what a clothing/apparel company could do in this sport; he helped move the sport forward. It’s always a shame to see someone reach the destination they set out for themselves only to be taken away untimely. RIP Mask!
-- Hesk000

I was never a fan of Mask's antics or his clothing lines aesthetic. But I could appreciate who he was and what he did for all of us. Mask singularly probably did not change the inevitable course that the sport has taken, but as the sport grows more homogenized and in my opinion sterile, he is definitely a symbolic reminder of the kind of people that created the sport. A do it yourselfer, rough around the edges individual that took a wild chance on what he loved and had an open enough mind to realize that this sport is awesome when a lot of people just generalized it as a barbaric blood sport to be reviled.
-- Blayt7hh

It’s sad when any positive person meets their end. It should remind us all that you have to make the most of whatever time you have. Mask sure did plenty with his time here. He helped the sport tremendously and made himself into a very wealthy guy. I mean, these guys started in a crappy apartment in San Bernardino (in 97) with a few thousand bucks and an idea. They built it into the biggest [clothing] brand in MMA. Along the way they helped many young fighters get a shot. Mask will be missed!
-- DaGenius

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Shamrock Busted

The first thing I checked for when I saw the positive test was the athletic commission, and sure enough, California. I don't know whether or not their testing methods are stricter in California then anywhere else in the United States, but they sure seem to find a lot of “users.” As always, reserving judgment on Ken until the appeals are over, but it's looking fairly grim. Hang 'em up Ken.
-- Liam Whelan

Hang em up man. You are going to tarnish your name, [and] there is a lot of new fans everyday [that] are going to know him as the Steroid freak and not the hall of famer. I think it has to be more of an addiction then anything else. Why would he need help beating a guy that can't even throw a straight punch? Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Wait out the suspension, fight Tank [Abbott] and retire with a little bit of dignity left.
-- JCA1623

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Evans vs. Machida

This is the first championship bout in a long time where there's absolutely nothing wrong with the match-up. Both deserve to be where they're at. It's of course even more interesting since we hardly ever get two fighters without a loss fighting for a strap. I think both have something they want to prove. It will be interesting to see what strategy [Evans trainer] Greg Jackson uses against Machida. If he can't come up with something, Machida might be in for a Chuck Liddell type reign.
-- Hydroburger

The fight where we see technical brilliance overcome raw power.
-- JordanLUFC

This is not a "dream match" and it absolutely will not live up to the hype.
-- DXfiler

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