Everybody who’s doing what they love to do for a living, you need to read this blog. God sent me a message on Thursday and really taught me a lesson.
It went like this. My buddy owns a business in the oil fields here is Alberta, called Absolute Environmental, and he asked me if I knew anyone who could give him a hand with a “small job.” At first I thought of my two cousins, who are in their early 20s, but they weren’t available. I couldn’t think of anyone else, and since it was my day off from the gym, I said I’d come to help him.
Well, to make a long story short, it was not a small job. It was a huge job. It was one of the longest and hardest days of work I’ve ever done in my life. It was a couple hours away from home, and I was wading through mud for hours all day. I have to say it was it was a horrible, horrible job.
Honestly, if I had to do that job all day every day, I don’t know what I’d do. Well, I’d quit, that’s what I would do.
It was just such a good reminder of how much I love my job. And let it be reminder to anyone out there who likes their job but may occasionally have things to complain about. You really have to count your blessings, focus on the positives and realize the negatives may not be that bad in comparison.
Now, on to MMA.
The big news was the ongoing saga of trying to find a main event for Rashad Evans. It was really good for Tito Ortiz to step up and a great decision for him. A couple weeks ago we talked about how he was on the verge of being cut and maybe should be retiring. And here we are now and he’s fighting in the main event — and if he wins, he has the potential to be considered one of the top title contenders. Talk about a drastic change of circumstances.
When I read that he initially turned down the fight, I was surprised because it was such a good opportunity for him. He said he had other things going on in his life and his time would come. Thing is, as a fighter making as much money as he does per fight, I would think he should be able to put them on the back burner.
I have other things going on in my life too. But I know if I just fought a week ago and came out fine and someone said we’ll give you half a million dollars to fight again, I know I could put just about everything on hold. As it turned out I think he made the right decision.
And then there was the whole Machida stuff. Of course there’s two sides to every story. I agree that if you haven’t been training for a fight, three weeks is not enough time to prepare for a bout of this magnitude. On the other hand, Dana White’s side of the story is they just wanted more money.
I can understand Machida’s position — if he’s locked into a contract and he’s only making, say, $40,000 (don’t know the exact figure), I can understand him wanting more money. At the same time, he does have a contract. Both sides are totally understandable.
Regardless, we’re not going to see Lyoto fight Rashad anytime soon. But I’m sure Rashad’s happy — from his standpoint, Tito’s a much better fight for him than Machida would be.
Meanwhile, Nate Marquardt’s test came back and he’s within the limits so his suspension has been lifted. So now we’ll be able to see him fight somewhere, it’s just unfortunate it won’t be in the UFC.
I’ve been entertained reading the Twitter war between him and B.J. Penn. It’s no surprise B.J. just likes to get in your face. I’m a fan of Penn but he can really get under your skin. I can understand the people who have fought him getting so mad, he just has a way of getting to you.
The announcement of two fights this week somewhat surprised me. First, Matt Mitrione vs. Cheick Kongo. I think that’s a big step up for Mitrione. He’s looked better and better each fight, but I’m not sure he’s ready for that one.
And then on the flip side there’s Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon. Guillard was a guy we were talking about being close to a title shot. I’m not sure what a fight with Lauzon does for him. No disrespect, but that’s a bit of a step down I think to fight a guy who is 2-2 since the start of 2010.
Lastly, I want to congratulate Jordan Mein for signing with Strikeforce. He’s finally signed with a major promotion. I’d say it’s long overdue. I’m looking forward to watching him fight. Unfortunately the 170-pound division is a little thin over there, so I’m not sure who he’ll be fighting. But he’s a great kid from Alberta, really exciting and great to see another Canadian in one of the bigger shows