Black On Black: UFC 114 (Rampage vs. Rashad)

By KTW
– Senior Editor

Has the Rampage/Rashad trash talking gone too far?

As with most mma events, Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have been trading pre-fight trash-talk. Like most fans, I love it! There is almost an art and beauty to this method of hyping a fight and trying to get under each other’s skin that is beautiful to watch and listen to. But recent comments by Evans make me wonder if he may have taken things a step too far.

Rashad was given a chance to backtrack his recent comments by mma reporter Ariel Helwani, however, Evans stated that he didn’t regret anything he said.

During the pre-fight press conference for UFC 114, Evans haphazardly referred to Rampage Jackson as an “Uncle Tom.”  This is a term that can be viewed as very demeaning and degrading to anyone of African-American descent.  It signifies a delineation from your race or culture in order to assimilate and accommodate another race or culture.  Calling Rampage an uncle tom is almost like calling Ron Artest (one of the NBA’s bad boys) a similar name.

For any fan that has seen Rampage over the years and knows of his background, you’ll immediately believe that Rashad’s comments were misplaced at best, and don’t nearly fit Rampage’s persona.

What else did Rashad Evans say?

Rashad is only kidding himself as he states, “this fight isn’t personal for me.” The things he’s said publicly regarding his opponent have been non-productive and irresponsible, especially if we’re talking about a representation and forward-movement of a particular group.

Some things are better said behind the scene.  I was quite surprised to hear Evans giving Rampage lessons on how to represent black folk.  For one, Rampage doesn’t have any bearing on an entire race of people.  Rampage is Rampage before he’s black American.  His culture is black urban.  His persona is urban.  And amongst it all, he’s an individual.

King Mo has also expressed his dislike for Rampage.

What’s interesting about both King Mo and Rashad Evans, is that they once both liked Rampage and looked up to him in his pre-UFC days.   They have admitted to this on occasions.

In this YouTube video from last year, which was a 4 part impromptu and comedic verbal sparring session, Rampage admits that he’s always rooted for King Mo.

And King Mo talks about how cool it was to meet Rampage during Rampage’s earlier years of fighting.  King Mo has also shown that he, like Rashad, once followed Rampage’s career, when he was one of the few blacks fighting in Japan for Pride.

King Mo Lawal has made some offbeat comments towards Rampage recently.  He is quoted as saying, “All that ‘black-on-black crime’ stuff, acting like a dog, who do you think that’s for? It’s not for [black American fans], and you know it.”

I disagree at what he’s hinting at.  As stated previously, Rampage is responsible for himself and not an entire race of people.  Do some of Rampage’s acts and clowning around play negatively in the minds of some?  Definitely.  I just don’t find it suitable for King Mo to convey such a lack of respect against Rampage, someone’s who’s been on an island when it comes to his earlier years of mma.

It should be noted that Rampage hasn’t been a saint in all of this back and forth schoolyard bickering and signifying.  In a recent radio interview with ESPN Radio, Rampage decided to call Evans “gay.”  This comment came from Rampage’s frustrations with allowing Evans to get under his skin a bit.

Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal is the same guy who comes out to performed ring entrances  wearing a king’s crowd as he’s surrounded by hip-hop dancing Asian women.  So I wonder how Mo can make such disparaging comments to a fellow brethren in the public eye.  There are many people who have expressed disdain for Mo’s acts with his ring entrances.

Does it all sound like jealousy coming from Evans and King Mo?

I wonder what impact it had on Rashad Evans when he got booed unmercifully after that very first Rampage/Rashad encounter, after Jackson fought and beat Keith Jardine (a training partner of Evans).  Rashad was the champ at the timeand, as far as he knew, most of the fans liked him.   But when he stepped in that cage after the Jardine/Rampage fight, he saw and heard that Rampage was still the man, even though Evans had the belt – and was undefeated.

But Rashad considers Rampage’s acts buffoonery and playing to the stereotypes of non-blacks.  These are quite harmful and lasting words, especially considering the media coverage of this fight.

Race is not an issue in this matchup!

This fight is simply about two men who want to be the best in their weight division.  Only one guy can win.  The fact that it’s two blacks should be irrelevant.  But I’d be ignorant not to point out the viewpoint of others.  It’s certainly not a negative if someone wants to look at this as a black on black fight as well, all things considered.  One benefit is that it makes this fight a supreme marketing tool with hopes of ushering in a plethora of black viewers, many of whom have continued to hold firm to a sole interest in boxing.

Boxing is a sport that will always be firmly entrenched into cultures all around the world.  The sport of boxing is a major sport and has longevity on its side.

I applaud the mma community for feeling the same way regarding this matchup, as evidenced by all of the comments seen on varying message boards and mma forums.   For them at least, it’s nothing more and nothing less than an elite level matchup of two guys in the  prime of their career.

I truly believe that when we look back on the happenings of UFC 114 (Rampage vs. Rashad), no one will look at this matchup as a historical reference.  However, the implications of this event could prove a pivotal point in the UFC’s continued march toward the mainstream.  And for me, it holds some sentimental value seeing that this is the first time in UFC history where two black Americans are the headline event.

And whether Dana White will publicly admit it, there’s no doubting the lasting effect that this fight could have on many fans, particularly those that are of the same race as the headliners.

The winner will get a title shot to face light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua[#6].

In major sports organizations such as the MLB, NBA, and the NFL, there are efforts and organizations that are set up to offer camps and appearances within these underrepresented communities.   I rarely see martial arts training centers in these areas.  Nonetheless, the sport is still gaining in popularity, and I suspect that trend will continue for many years to come.  Organizations such as the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, and Bellator have made tremendous strides in their respective endeavors.

Many black Americans will naturally gravitate towards those who share similar cultural experiences.  And over the history of the UFC, we’ve seen black fighters make their mark on the sport.  However, there hasn’t been this ushering in of black fans to even the casual level for mixed martial arts.

So why does the sport of mma lag far behind in viewing amongst black Americans?

I personally know that there’s a blatant disregard for mma in some segments of the black American population.  In the majority of the predominately black neighborhoods of Chicago for example, you’d be hard pressed to find any bar or restaurant that airs any form of UFC or mma events.    However, in parts of many other neighborhoods, you’d find two or three bars on the same street airing UFC ppv events.

Of course, when most mma fans look at this match-up, they only see two very good mma fighters, and not necessarily the race of the two. Dana White has kept the focus on these two fighters, and not all the trash-talking and fan hype that surrounds the event.  At the pre-fight press conference, White commented on the supposed ‘racial tensions’, stating that he didn’t think Rashad’s comments went too far.

Whether you agree with that or not, White has been steadfast in maintaining and solidifying a support for the sport as well as the fighter and those fighters that we have an affinity toward.

There will be a slew of new fans tuning into UFC 114.  And many blacks won’t even recognize Rampage as a mma fighter when the same one sees the A-Team movie.  There will be some who say, ‘yeah, I heard he’s a fighter.’  But that’ll be all they’ll be able to say. And if they can’t recognize Rampage, they certainly won’t know much about Rashad Evans.

I personally think that Rashad Evans and King Mo are perpetuating these notions they have of Rampage’s persona to a point that should be left out of public media.  Can you imagine if Michael Jordan said similar things about Dennis Rodman in the same context.  Some things are better kept behind closed doors.  From a historical reference, Joe Frazier complained that when he was repeatedly called an uncle tom by Muhammed Ali, it had a lasting effect on him that wasn’t all positive.  Ali has since expressed his discomfort for ever spewing such hateful and culturally insensitive remarks, whether it was hyping the fight or not.

I have to call out Rashad and King Mo for their attempts to make Rampage into this villainous person ‘playing to the prejudices of white MMA fans,’  with all his comedic and raw urban language.

~Where To Watch UFC 114 Locally~

Rampage has had some unforgettable moments as an athlete.  As a fan of sports, this isn’t news about any athlete.  King Mo provides just as much comic relief as anyone.  However, I do like his interviews and his professional way of analyzing mma in general.  He takes his own time and effort and money to create his ring entrances.   Many mma fans have frowned upon this.  There are many interviews on YouTube where King Mo himself has been less than stellar with all the same things that he may be accusing Rampage of.  Look, we all know that only certain portions of YouTube clips get the most attention, and for someone like Rampage, when he’s clowning around, the hits to that video are sky high.  It’s simply what some fans want to see.  People are responsible for their own likes and dislikes.

For one thing, blacks aren’t ignorant, so I don’t agree that the wrong message is being sent by the words spoken ‘It’s going to be some black on black crime.’ Politically, this isn’t correct.  But at the same time, Dana White, President of the UFC, seems to drop the f-bomb after every other word. White is a smart commissioner, and he tends to let trends flow; whatever the outcome, he’ll deal with it from that point.

As far as some people making this  a battle of color or race, this is a sporting event. It’s not about race, not about gender and not about world hunger. It’s a fight and that is all. Stop trying to create something out of nothing.  These fighters once admired each other on some level. And there is an outside chance that they will soften the dislike they have for each other, and realize that there’s a bigger issue at stake, other than their squabbles.

Black UFC champions:

• Maurice Smith (1997) – UFC’s second heavyweight belt holder
• Kevin Jackson (1997) – middleweight tournament winner
• Kevin Randleman (1999) – heavyweight title
• Carlos Newton [Canada] (2001) – welterweight title
• Quinton Jackson (2007) – light heavyweight title
• Rashad Evans (2008) – light heavyweight title
• Anderson Silva [Brazil] (2006 to present) – middleweight title

~Where To Watch UFC 114 Locally~

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