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<\/a><\/p>\nIf the rumors are true and Alexander Hernandez was going to fight injured what will his punishment be?<\/p>\n
First, let\u2019s start with the obvious: we don\u2019t know anything right now. There are a lot of rumors about what was going on before the planned Alexander Hernandez-Michael Johnson fight; the betting lines shifted, and then the UFC pulled the fight. That is the extent of the hard facts on the ground.<\/p>\n
But, for the sake of your question, let\u2019s assume the rumor that Hernandez suffered an injury and was going to fight anyway is true. This is where things get tricky. Because it\u2019s not illegal to fight while injured. To some degree, all fighters do so, though the extent of those injuries varies. But if you\u2019ve been a fan of this sport for any amount of time, you know that there are countless stories about fighters entering bouts while compromised, and trusting they were good enough to win, regardless. Because that is the nature of the sport.<\/p>\n
The reality is, fighters need to fight to get paid, and very, very few of them are making enough money where they can skip out on a fight and it won\u2019t negatively impact them financially. And it may not even be a financial burden. T.J. Dillashaw fought Aljamain Sterling with an injury that functionally prohibited him from having any real chance to win, but had he withdrawn from the bout, he probably wouldn\u2019t get a title shot, so he stepped in anyway. Or Alex Pereira was the main event and didn\u2019t want to withdraw because he thought he could beat Magomed Ankalaev anyway. It\u2019s an extremely common thing to happen.<\/p>\n
So, if he was injured, Hernandez trying to fight anyway is not really a punishable offense. Heck, Michael Bisping used to lie about having one working eyeball to fights, this happens. Where it becomes a problem is who placed the bets on the bout that shifted the line so significantly. If it was Hernandez\u2019s best friend or teammate? Obviously, that\u2019s a huge problem. If it was just somebody who figured out he was hurt and passed that information along, not really Hernandez\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n
And while this is completely speculative, my gut assumption is it\u2019s the latter. Like Isaac Dulgarian, Hernandez has ties to Factory X, and given the heat that came down on Dulgarian after his alleged fight-fixing incident, it would take either the stupidest or the most brazen man alive to try and pull something like this. I know guys who get punched in the head for a living usually aren\u2019t geniuses, but it\u2019s hard for me to believe anyone would be that stupid.<\/p>\n
However, it is fun to think about Alexander Hernandez sitting down with his crew like that scene with Dougie and Jem talking about doing this Fenway job.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe smart and boot it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re not going? Why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause we\u2019ve got a ton of f*cking heat on us, for one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll put a move on them. We\u2019ve done it a hundred times before.\u201d<\/p>\n
*Immediately places $100,000 on Michael Johnson*<\/p>\n
Alexander Volkanovski\u2019s last ride?<\/p>\n
Would the retirement of Volk be the best for him regarding of the outcome of his fight?<\/p>\n He wins, and he retires at the top in front of his home crowd.<\/p>\n He loses, and he retires in front of his home crowd and avoids a likely tough run that would somewhat taint his legacy.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been on the record for quite some time that I think this weekend has a good chance of being the final time Volkanovski makes the walk to the octagon. As the fight has gotten closer, my opinion on that has changed, by not my opinion on if he should retire \u2014 he absolutely should.<\/p>\n Volkanovski has accomplished basically everything that he can accomplish in this sport. He\u2019s a no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer whenever he does retire, he\u2019s widely loved, and he\u2019s one of the very best fighters of his generation, on top of having made a pretty good chunk of change. What more is there?<\/p>\n The answer is, of course, more. He can add more title wins to his resum\u00e9, more paychecks, and if he\u2019s really lucky, a second belt. But at what cost? And what\u2019s the likelihood of success?<\/p>\n Father Time takes no prisoners in this sport. Volk has done an admirable job of fending him off, but he showed his face with the Ilia Topuria loss, and if Volk keeps this up, he\u2019s coming again. Maybe not with Diego Lopes this weekend, but soon. And the thing about Father Time is he\u2019s not gentle. Every fighter is already trading long-term health for financial gain, but the older you get, the more rolls of the dice you take, the riskier it gets. Volk hasn\u2019t been in a bunch of massive wars in his career, but the last few years have been rougher. There\u2019s no need to keep going.<\/p>\n If Volkanovski wins on Saturday, there are few better endings you could hope for than to leave a sport on top, with a win in your home country. That\u2019s the dream! And while Volk may harbor some dreams about fighting Topuria for the lightweight title, that\u2019s more of a fantasy than something real. So it may not be the big, flashy ending that he thinks about at night, but I would strongly encourage Volkanovski to lay down the gloves on Saturday and move forward to the next phase of his life, which will be equally as fulfilling and lucrative, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n I really enjoyed this card. It was highly entertaining for the most part. Lost in the craziness was the fun fact that we had an epic Battle of the Nicknames in Jean \u201cLord\u201d Silva fighting Arnold \u201cAlmighty\u201d Allen, thus making it a \u201cLord Almighty\u201d fight.<\/p>\n Which two fighters\u2019 nicknames could combine to be better than \u201cLord Almighty\u201d?<\/p>\n I can\u2019t believe I didn\u2019t notice this before the fight. I\u2019m so upset.<\/p>\n Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n