Stereotypes are unfair by definition. It's ridiculously ignorant to think one can infer some form of knowledge of a person based only on a limited set of information like someone's age.
Both Mike Pyle and Rory MacDonald, who square off against one another on the main card of tonight's (Aug. 6, 2011) UFC 133: "Evans vs. Ortiz" pay-per-view, are in the midst of battling not just each other, but the discrimination of their respective ages.
In fact, they're both guilty of engaging in as much in the build-up to their fight.
Pyle kicked things off by explaining there's simply no way he's letting "a kid who still gets ID'd stand in my way of getting a welterweight title shot." His argument is that MacDonald, and other "kids" just like him, get entirely too much praise based on potential instead of actual achievement.
This was the case with John Hathaway, who Pyle says felt his "man strength" and eventually got his "ass whooped" because he was young and unprepared for it. Before long he was swept up in the "Quicksand" and sent to the back of the 170-pound pack.
It's the inexperience that comes with Rory's young age Pyle will be attempting to draw on. Keyword -- attempting.
MacDonald may be a young buck but he's not deaf and he heard these strong words of disgust spewing from his opponents mouth. And his response wasn't all that surprising.
As is often the case, calling a man out for being young typically results in said young man explaining why he's not so young at all. "Ares" did this by explaining his rate of growth is much higher than normal due to the elite training partners he surrounds himself with, namely Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre.
Simply put, when you're rolling with the best in the world, you become one of the best in the world, no matter what your age is.
The Canadian wunderkind also hopes to advance himself as a martial artist at the expense of Pyle, claiming his considerable experience for himself if he is able to defeat him.
That's easier said than done, of course, as the previously mentioned Hathaway -- who was just as heavily hyped as MacDonald -- found out just last year.
Pyle, at the age of 35 and a winner of three in a row, has never felt a greater sense of urgency to make a final push at greatness before he calls it quits. And his pride is entirely too strong to let himself become a stepping stone for a 22-year-old prospect.
There is much to gain and just as much to lose. And a nasty stereotype to disprove.
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