Another day, another foot-in-mouth.
Daniel Cormier (who happens to be black) recently stated that he wanted to kick some Roy Nelson ass as a favor for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White (who happens to be white), who has had a tumultuous relationship with the outspoken -- and seemingly out-of-shape -- Heavyweight contender.
In addition to looking unlike most mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, which he attributes to not abusing performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) like most in the sport tend to do (according to him), Nelson has been branded as a "huge pain in the ass."
Cormier took note, and when "Big Country" learned about the motivation for his most recent malicious intent, he and his crew viewed it as an "Uncle Tom"-type move.
"Having a lot of black friends, they would say that is more of an Uncle Tom move. That's what my friends were saying and I was like, 'Wow.' It is what it is -- do what you got to do for the boss. But, they called me up and they said, 'Jump,' and I said, 'How high!' And then they said, 'UFC 161' and I said, 'Okay.'"
"Uncle Tom," of course, is a racial reference that dates back to Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." For those unfamiliar with the reference, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as:
"... a black who is overeager to win the approval of whites (as by obsequious behavior or uncritical acceptance of white values and goals)."
Whether White was white, black or fluorescent maroon, it's safe to assume that Cormier would still be eager to kick Nelson's butt. The Heavyweight tandem have heat (more here), which reached a boiling point when Nelson suggested that Cormier turned down the opportunity to fight him this weekend at UFC 161, which takes place at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
While Stipe Miocic stepped up, Cormier countered, saying he was not cleared to return to action because of a medical suspension that was dished out after his unanimous decision win over Frank Mir at UFC on Fox 7.
Nelson isn't buying it:
"From my understanding, UFC called me and said, 'Hey, you're going to fight Daniel.' I said, 'Okay.' And then then a day later they said, 'No you're not fighting Daniel, you're fighting someone else.' I said, 'Okay.' Then, the next thing I know, it was something about his medical clearance or whatever. I would a hope a billion-dollar company would know know who is cleared and who is not before they make those phone calls. If not, there's a lot of idiots running it, and they need some smart guys running it. I would assume [he turned down the fight] because it makes the most logical sense, but, I'm no genius, just smart."
Some would beg to differ, like White, and now maybe a few others, especially under the current contractual circumstances.
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