Strikeforce Nashville: Who Loses After The Brawl?

Everyone is talking about the brawl between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and, well everyone from Jake Shields camp, at the end of Strikeforce: Nashville.

Rumors are flying about whether this spells the end of MMA on CBS, the downfall of the sport of mixed martial arts, or the end of Jason Miller’s MMA career.

Let’s take a look at these three main questions a little more closely.

The End of MMA on CBS

Don’t kid yourself on this one.

While MMA on CBS might be in trouble after Saturday’s event, it isn’t because of the brawl at the end of the night. Strikeforce put on three championship bouts that all went five rounds; they were heavy on wrestling and short on action for a mainstream crowd.

Let’s be blunt. The event felt long and boring, and it was barely over two hours.

Three twenty-five minute rounds was a bad idea. If Anderson Silva taught us anything at UFC 112, it’s that a five-round title fight is not always a good thing.

Now, Strikeforce has taught us that three of them in one night can potentially be a very bad thing, but instead of focusing on the lackluster bouts, everyone is talking about the brawl. Even though a lot of people think this spells trouble, it’s just not true.

At the start of the fight, CBS clipped away. That could have been the end of it. They could have waited for the dust to settle, interviewed Jake outside of the cage, and blamed the quick cut on technical difficulties.

They didn’t. Not only did they quickly return to the fight still in progress, they replayed it after the commercial break.

CBS is looking for a hook to sell MMA to a network audience, and this brawl became the latest trial. The cut to commercial gave the audience time to call their friends and tell them to switch to CBS for a crazy fight.

The replay gave those new viewers something to see.  Only time will tell whether people tuned in or tuned out. This fight will not be the end of MMA on CBS, though it might just be the fall guy after the ratings are reviewed.

The Downfall of the Sport of Mixed Martial Arts

Again, I say no way.

It’s true that MMA has some negative stereotypes to combat. A brawl like this certainly doesn’t help in that struggle, but fights break out at most sporting events at one time or another. MMA is not setting a standard for bad behavior with this glitch.

The term Bench-clearing brawl is so universally known that is has it’s own Wikipedia entry and is included in the title of a book on the best baseball fights of all time. The truth is, many people like a good scrap at a hockey game or seeing all the members of a baseball team rush out of the dugout to throw down with the other side.

Even those morally or otherwise opposed to the behavior are fascinated by it, or it wouldn’t be so talked about.

Sports brawls let us see a side of the human experience many people will never know first hand: a real, unsanctioned fight bred out of anger instead of sport.

This fight is no different than any other sport altercation, except that MMA still has to constantly defend its image. Opponents of the sport will use this as an argument against the sport, but it's unlikely to have much impact.

The End of Jason Miller’s MMA Career

This one annoys me.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller might have been inappropriate stepping into the cage to interrupt Jake Shield’s in his moment of glory, but this isn't new territory. It’s almost become a staple of the UFC to have a challenger strut into the octagon after someone has won in the main event.

Miller did what many have done before him. He didn’t start the physical altercation or even say anything defamatory enough to provoke one, but the blame for the entire debacle seems to be falling on him, at least for now.

Miller already posted an apology on his website, and I hope that (and the gangster style beating he took in the cage) will be the end of his punishment.

I’m not a huge fan of his, but I can clearly see the difference between talking a little smack and ganging up on and beating a guy who is being held down on the ground. If anyone is in the wrong, it is Shields’ camp for escalating the incident.

According to Kevin Iole from Yahoo Sports, the Tennessee State Athletic Commission plans to investigate . No surprise there. Hopefully a look back over the event will shift blame where it belongs.  

Either way, I still maintain the unscheduled brawl at the end of the night was the most interesting thing to happen during Strikeforce: Nashville, whether you approve of it or not. Here’s hoping the blast radius is small.