Written by: AJ Hoffman (@ajhoffmanjr)
The following piece is purely the opinion of the writer.
As most of you probably know by now, the trend of fighters not making weight continued. This time it was extremely unfortunate for several reasons. The first being that the fighters who missed weight were on the televised card. Another being that the two that missed, DJ Linderman and Eric Davila, are out of town fighters which makes it hard to say that their punishment will just be not to let them fight for Legacy anymore.
Fighters missing weight is nothing new. The controversy in this instance comes from the aftermath. Eric Davila, scheduled to fight former welterweight champion Mike Bronzoulis at 170 lbs., came in a whopping 14 lbs. over the agreed weight. DJ Linderman came in 10 lbs. over the agreed upon 185 lbs. for his fight against UFC veteran Gerald Harris.
So now you are left with two guys in Harris and Bronzoulis, who have done the right thing and made their weight, and two guys in Linderman and Davila, who have not. If the world were perfect, there would be a way to let Bronzoulis and Harris fight, and kick Linderman and Davila to the curb. But they are in different weight classes. So find a replacement opponent for both. Not really possible on 1 day notice. So what is the right answer?
Legacy decided to pair Davila with Harris. This left Linderman and Bronzoulis without opponents. Neither is happy about it, although Linderman can blame no one but himself. He attempted to make a cut he had never made before on too short of a notice. But now you have essentially rewarded Davila for being 15 lbs. overweight by giving him co-main event status against an even more high profile opponent.
I understand that Mick and Legacy have a responsibility to try and fill the card out, and make it the best possible card for their television partner, HDNet. This was a tough call for all involved.
Was this the right choice? Should part of Davila’s purse go to Bronzoulis? What would have been the correct resolution?
Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below.
Pay The Greek his show money & the winner’s purse. I’m cool with letting Davila fight Harris. Take a percentage of Davila’s purse though. 10%.
Pay the Greek his show and win money. Fine Davila 100 a lb or 20% of his purse (which ever is greater). Secondly release both guys from their contract due to non performance and never have either of them fight again for Legacy. That would make a statement.
Banning a guy is too harsh … especially if Davila puts on a show. Shit happens. Just make sure Mike is payed up. Davila vs. Harris is a good match-up too. We got the fights so only guy that needs and has a right to complain is the Greek. Pay the man!
I have to completely disagree with you Jordan. The reason is that if you do not set a tone or culture within the organization, then it will continue to happen. You set the tone of what the consequences will be if you don’t make weight and I guarantee you that fighters and their managers will communicate in advance when there is a problem. There is no good reason to show up 10 or 15 lbs over unless you have zero respect for your opponent, the promoter, the sport, yourself as a professional, and the fans.
yeah but davila was boring as hell..but i guess thats cos of harris’ style
it is a crappy situation for everyone. i think taking 50% of Davila’s purse and giving it to Mike would be the fairest option at this point. Mick had to save the card by making the Harris fight happen, so i understand that. but Davila should not get rewarded. . I talked to Mick at length yesterday about it. and there is no real fair option, but this would be fair enough, imo. I dont think either of them will ever fight for Legacy again though
I respectfully disagree Jordan…15 lbs overweight when you had 2 months to prep for a fight is not “shit happening” that is being unprofessional and disrespectful. If you tried to cut the weight there is absolutely no reason he should have been anything beyond 10 lbs out which is really pushing the envelope as it is…This is not even close to the first time that Davilla has missed weight either.
I agree with Melancon, get Mike some of Fat Head’s purse. Mike is missing much more here though, he’s missing an opportunity to put on a dominate performance on HD Net. This will delay his move to the next level. So, screw you Davila! What a complete dickhead. I know things happen with weight, but this wasn’t short notice and davila has a history of missing weight. Unfortunately, Mike was a victim of circumstance here, and it just plain sucks. I just have a huge problem with how davila handled this. I’ve seen davila fight before, and I fully expect his fat ass to get shut down/knocked out tonight. I’ve never rooted against a fighter before, but this will be my first time. I’ve seen big head on twitter begging for fights with legacy, strikeforce, ufc… the guy is a joke. He runs a freaking gym and pulls this crap, and then has the nerve to act like a dickhead. F Him.
I love what Mick is doing, and he is the freaking man. He got put in a tough spot here, where inevitably he is going to piss off some people. I think if we can find a way to better monitor these out of towners on weight then we need to do it. I also think Legacy is continually bringing in better talent (like Gerald Harris) who handle themselves professionally. All that said, I feel horrible for Mike.
I personally agree with Colin here. Missing by 3 pounds is “shit happening”. 15 lbs. is a slap in the face. To Mike, to Mick, to the sport. I agree with you Brian, I doubt that either guy will get another crack at Legacy.
Mike is the only guy getting a raw deal in this whole fiasco. He made weight and showed up to fight. He doesn’t get to fight. He should get his show, and/or Big Head’s Purse up to 50% or 100 bucks a lb. Linderman dug his own grave. I’ve read that he cut 50 lbs to get down to what he did and blah blah blah.. truth is, if he wanted to fight he should have cut 60. Not making weight is absolutely unacceptable. IMO even 1-2 lbs. I can say this because I cut 24 lbs in 9 days to make weight even after asking for a catch, and still made it. And I’m half his size. Harris is getting called out by Linderman fans, but he did what is right. He is fighting a guy his own size, not a 245 lb dude that just cut down unsuccessfully. Good on Gerald Harris. Davila gets the ‘Walks through shit, smells like roses’ award of the whole thing. He shouldn’t be allowed to fight again for Legacy, period. Maybe give Linderman a second chance at a higher weight.
Sucks for Mick cuz he flew them both out on his dime and it was a waste of money. That being said, put ME on that main card. I’m not with Bellator anymore. Austin-Houston is a cheap flight, I have tons of H-town fans and I come to FIGHT. I’m also much better than I have ever been on my feet. I have been asking to fight for Legacy since I moved to Houston and found out what it was, with no success. May or July. LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN!!(shameless self promotion, I will continue to ask until I sign a contract
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Adam, you can make that drive from Austin! I would love to see you back in Houston against some top competition.
Pay Mike a show purse, and 50% of Davila’s purse should be stripped… and unless his fight is FOTN he should be banned from legacy. Houston is on the move and Legacy is on the rise no reason to tain the cards of our largest ProMMA show in Houston with unprofessionalism.
Colin hit the nail on the head. Being 15 pounds over is inexcusable. Davilla is now being rewarded for his laziness and Mike is missing out on an opportunity to advance his career. I hope Davilla will be banned from fighting in future Legacy fights.
Agree with most all. MIssing weight by that much is just not giving a shit. Pay Mike B, and get him a good fight on next televised card. Ohhh and bring Schindler in !!!!
Pay Bronzoulis his show money and 20% of Davila’s purse. That’s a fair deal. Take the money from the ones that screwed up. Legacy shouldn’t have to pay show and win purse, it’s not their fault.
And why isn’t Shindler already signed with Legacy? Why fly people from all over that can’t even make weight and nobody knows when there is a top unsigned fighter already in the area? He’s one of the top in his weight class. Seems like a no brainer.
What got me the most was how disrespectful Davila’s camp was towards Mike when he tried to speak with him. F-ing shameful.
Davila should not have taken the fight if he did not think he could cut that much weight. It was not short notice, so I agree with the other people that there is no excuse. I also think it shows that he is not professional or serious about his fighting. For those guys who hope to make it to the UFC, there is nothing that pisses Dana off more than not making weight — look back at the last couple of months. Miss weight — especially that bad — you will be cut. I would hope that Davila does not get another chance to fight for Legacy. Mick does a great job putting on events, and I think it is a slap in the face to him as well. He did what he had to do for the event, and it was a great night of fights.