Jackson to Jones: Check on Machida, get some fans

Even with the cameras rolling, corners in MMA have thus far been able to work without much thought of the media – the occasional “Kill this f—— a——” is to be expected on a PPV. However, viewing the UFC online, while a tremendous immersive experience, provides entree to moments that hitherto have been known only to those in the corner.

Working a corner is an extraordinarily intense experience; the language employed to get a man to fight better is more colorful than an M&M factory. Niceties disappear, and in their place is frequently the most indecorous language that humans are capable of; In the heat of the moment, corners will shout sexist or racist or bigoted curses like it is their job.

Saturday night at UFC 140 there was a minor example. It will not be the last.

Jon Jones took a shellacking in the first round, and then came back in the second and put challenger Lyoto Machida to sleep. As Machida was recovering in his corner, coach Greg Jackson can distinctly be heard telling Jones to “go check on Lyoto … get some fans.”

The remark is probably a little cynical, or may be a joke between them. It is also characteristically brilliant coaching by the master strategist Jackson. No fight fan need make much note of it.

But professionals do.

There are cameras everywhere. Every person in every gym has a twitter account, and every human’s judgement is falible. For confirmation, consider what happened to Miguel Torres. The whole world is now watching MMA, at every moment, and professionals need to understand that that is the world we make a living in, and need to act accordingly.

Ironically, a sport led by the notoriusly unPC Dana White is going to have to become a little more PC, even in it’s deepest moments.