Wiman: Saying ‘Never leave it in the hands of the judges’ is ignorant
Judges would be out of work if the UFC had its way. It’s painted on the walls of the UFC…
Judges would be out of work if the UFC had its way. It’s painted on the walls of the UFC training center and constantly repeated by UFC president Dana White.
“Never leave it in the hands of the judges.”
Veteran lightweight Matt Wiman thinks that’s dumb.
“It’s a very ignorant statement, and it’s a very played-out statement,” Wiman on Monday told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “It kind of bugs me. I’m not one to get too worked up, but when you get two guys that are so evenly matched and at such a high level, sometimes time runs out.”
“It’s not that either fighter isn’t giving their all and going as hard as they can for a finish. It just doesn’t come. That’s part of the fight game; you’re not always going to see finishes. It’s just so ignorant to think if you try your hardest, you can get a finish every time.”
“You can do what you can do, and fight your hardest. If it comes, and if it doesn’t … try to at least being doing more damage to your opponent or be in a better position, so if time does run out, you’ve won those little battles.”
A case in point is Wiman’s rematch Saturday with Mac Danzig at UFC on Versus 6. Wiman ultimately got the decision, both fighters walked away with an extra $65,000 each for Fight of the Night honors, and the fans were treated to a tremendous fight.
“I had the attitude that I didn’t care what the judges had to say because that’s not what’s important to me,” Wiman said. “It help me financially and it does feel a little bit better. But at the end of the fight … I just kind of sat in the corner because I was just like, ‘You know what? I’m not going to parade around for my victory. If they give it to me, great, if not, I’m still going to be happy about the way I performed.’
“I took a lot of damage. Not permanent damage, but the training camps were hard on me. The fights were hard on me. I don’t know if I can look past rest and regrouping right now. My focus is on getting my head back on my shoulders.”