I know that most of you guys hate Luke, but I thought that this was a thoughtful and introspective take on the state of the "MMA media" and that softball interview on ESPN yesterday.
Cliffs:
MMA journalism
- Stopped calling himself a "journalist" recently because he realizes that it's a totally dishonest description of what he does.
- Says the fact that he ever called himself one is a "personal failing" and apologizes for having done so.
- Most MMA "interviews" including press scrums are fake.
- Luke has cut back on doing interviews because it's almost impossible to do a tough interview without losing access.
- To get continued access to MMA figures (even minor ones) you have to play a game where you never really harshly criticize them in public to the point of dishonesty about what's going on in the sport.
- Has had fighters refuse to do interviews with him over extremely mild criticism: i.e. saying that a fighter had "bad cardio" after a fight where he gassed out.
- The sport isn't big or relevant enough for proper journalism.
- There's no mandated media outside of promotional pressers, so the fighters have every right to shut out people that they don't like.
- Says that in order to be an honest actor in the MMA media sphere, you have to make a decision about whether you want to do interviews or real commentary on the sport.
- To do the latter effectively, you're going to have to speak in a manner that will lose you access to most fighters/manager/trainers etc.
- This was one of the reasons why he bailed on The MMA Hour.
- Has refocused his radio show to doing interviews with actual sports journalists instead of fighters/managers.
- Thinks that it's much easier to have honest conversations with boxing people. This is one of the reasons that he's ventured into boxing coverage.
- As a media figure, he's done playing the game trying to appease people. Doesn't care if people in the industry hate what he says.
- The MMA Journalists Association is a joke organization.
- Doesn't address wide scale structural problems in MMA media.
- Is not in a position to actually do anything for its members.
McGregor ESPN interview
- Not much of substance besides the news about the Gaethje fight and his hand issue.
- Apology was just PR.
- If McGregor wants to change perceptions, he should stop acting like an idiot in public.
- McGregor is good for the sport when his head is on straight.
- Says it was ridiculous that the topic of the New York Times story about the rape investigation was not broached.
- Acknowledges that this is a legal landmine for McGregor and that he can't go into detail about this stuff even if he is innocent, but says that's McGregor's issue to deal with.
- The interviewer had a responsibility to his audience ask McGregor about a story that ran in one of the biggest newspapers on the planet.
- Acknowledges that this likely would have been the last interview that Ariel ever did with McGregor if this question would have been asked.
- However, maintains that it is the responsibility of a real journalist to raise the issue of McGregor's escalating pattern of anti-social behavior.
- The interview was essentially just PR for McGregor.
- Says that the same level of scrutiny that Greg Hardy gets about his past should be applied to everybody.
- i.e. Khabib should be getting tough questions about his association with Kadyrov.
Closes the video by apologizing again for most of his coverage of the sport up until this point. Will try to do better. Welcomes criticism from fans.
