Gerald Harris on Feud w/ King Mo

[The Guru]

http://news.theopenmat.com/2011/07/gerald-harris-gives-the-truth-behind-his-twitter-war-with-king-mo-thoughts-on-ufc-132/

 

In a world where the advances of technology and social media permit particular fans of MMA to spout reckless, abusive and disrespectful comments toward the fighters that work so hard to entertain them, Gerald Harris has taken the game straight to said parties in his attempt to achieve some measure of retribution against the ?trolls? of the MMA community.

 

Speaking to hosts Mike, Amy and Brian of the MMA Beatdown show on the MMA DieHards Radio Network, Harris went into great depth discussing how the ever-increasing influence of Facebook and Twitter as social tools connects him to his fans and how the ease of exposure has come with its fair share of pros and cons. In addition, the former UFC competitor offered his thoughts on his former employer?s most recent showing at UFC 132, as well as what he believes lies in the future of some of the event?s individual performers.

 

Harris? appearance on the show followed a much-publicized war of words between the middleweight and former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed ?King Mo? Lawal, in which the two appeared to air their beef before the MMA internet community.  Clarifying the situation, Harris moved to resolve any queries pertaining to the feud with a full explanation on MMA Beatdown.

 

?First of all, the whole thing wasn?t real,? admitted Harris. ?All the beef between me and Mo, all the interviews we did, were fake. In fact, we were actually on the phone to each other at times as we were going back and forth on Twitter saying, ?Hey look what I wrote about you.?  That?s how funny the whole thing was to us.

 

?This is how it works, if I call Mo and he doesn?t answer, I know that he?s at the gym or he?s on a plane, so I know I?ve got a good hour and 30 minutes to just tear him up. I?ll do stuff like send pictures of crack-heads wearing crowns and other silly stuff, things that we do for our own entertainment. In this case, I was talking mess about him and I said that I can?t stand King Mo and my next fight is in negotiations for August, and that sparked the whole craziness of it. That?s where things got bad, fans jumped in, other fighters jumped in, it got ugly. So we rolled with it, just took it and ran.  The whole thing was hilarious.?

 

Despite the humorous nature of the event, Harris began to detail a much more sinister motivation behind his actions, one that touched on the dark side of being a household name and internationally known figure.

 

?We called it off because it stopped being fun,? revealed Harris. ?Since then, I?ve talked to a lot of fans on Twitter and basically said to them just because you watch MMA, just because you go to all the fights, even if you?ve been in the gym your entire life, you do not necessarily have a right to an opinion. Everybody has one, they say whatever they want to us because we?re public figures and I?ve had a few hate mails, racist e-mails, which doesn?t really bother me.  In fact, I even reply with comedy just because it throws them off.

 

?But it gets bad, especially after a fight. You want a good example?  Go to a fighter?s Facebook page after a fight and see what?s posted on their wall.  You know, cuss word this, you should have done that, they?ll say anything to you just because you?re a public figure and your supposed to take it. ? I think a lot of grown men, MMA fans, act like b*tches, like gossiping punks all the time. They?re very quick to post in a forum, write an article and turn into a diva. We knew that some of those suckers would fall for it (the fake feud). Those idiots ? I?ve heard them called trolls ? they live off of these types of things and we taught them a lesson. Every time I tweeted they were posting in a forum, and it?s like dude, get a life.?

 

What particularly appeared to aggrieve Harris is the lack of insight the casual fan has when they make a judgement about a fighter. Rarely is one able to see the fighter beyond their fight and as a result, they fail to acknowledge and respect the work ethic fighters exhibit behind closed doors.

 

?I?ve had people say, ?Listen, you should have done this?? and that?s fine,? Harris said.  ?I?m not really going to be listening to you.  But just because you watch ?House? or ?E.R.? ? any hospital drama, doesn?t mean you?re in a position to give me any medical advice. I used to do it myself, I wish I was in the NFL and could catch that pass, I wish I was in the NBA a score that free throw.  I wish I could be in that position.  But after becoming a professional athlete yourself, you realize all the hard work that goes behind it. They don?t see the thousands of kicks and punches you throw in practice, they just see the 10 minutes you spend in the cage and try to judge you by that.?

 

The topic of respect turned to the recent UFC 132.  With one of the show?s highlights being the return of Tito Ortiz to winning ways inside the Octagon, Harris stressed the importance of recognizing what a  veteran such as ?The Huntington Beach Bad Boy? brings when they step into the cage.

 

?Well, me and like 12 other people thought that would happen,? said Harris. ?I?ve fought a veteran, not as talented as Tito, but he had over 45 fights and had never been knocked out. People are telling me I?m going to walk right through him, but the guy is obviously going to present a challenge. Same thing with Tito, I consider Ryan Bader a friend ? we?ve hung out together, we?ve trained together ? but I think he might have overlooked Tito. Its one of those fights where he was he saying he was the younger, stronger and better version of Tito, to the point where the media were also saying it, and he probably believed it.

 

?When you?re fighting a veteran, you cannot underestimate him, because there?s nothing you can surprise him with, unless you?re Jon Jones and pull out all that crazy stuff. I think Bader was thrown off, not just by the punch, but by Tito bringing his A-game. Tito punched hard, he looked in great shape and I knew it was possible that Tito could win. This is what pisses me off about MMA and combat sports, you?re either overrated or underrated. Remember when Mo beat Mousasi, Mousasi was underrated. When Fedor lost, he was being constantly overrated. Fans can be so fickle in any sport. With Tito, people were calling for him to be cut, then all of a sudden he wins and those same fans are calling for him to get a title shot.

 

?MMA is one of the few sports that at the moment doesn?t have ride-or-die fans. It not like supporting the Lakers, the Cowboys, or another team. But in 10 years? time, I think that?s where we?re going to be. Fans will support guys like Rampage regardless of their records. Same with training camps, I?m a fan of anyone that comes out of Greg Jackson?s gym and I believe that in 10 years we?re going to see camp versus camp support, instead of just person versus person. There are so many camps out there and we don?t have the chance to cross-train like we used to, so that?s where I see it going.?

 

Another fighter at UFC 132 who showed signs of potentially reaching the end of his career in the UFC and MMA was Wanderlei Silva. Being quickly knocked out by Chris Leben having just come off of a lengthy spell on the sidelines rehabbing a knee injury, Harris offered a fellow fighter?s take on the future of ?The Axe Murderer.?

 

?In contact sport, it?s a momentum issue,? explained Harris. ?Watching Wanderlei get knocked out, you know that?s not the way it used to be. I?m not sure if he could have taken that punch 10 years ago, you know, its Chris Leben. When Chris Leben hits you, you die. But he?s up there, he?s 35 or 36 and isn?t necessarily the same 25-year-old that was tearing people apart 10 years ago. He needs to maintain the same work ethic he had 10 years ago in a way like Randy Couture has been able to do. He could fight again, but my worry is that it would turn into a situation like Chuck Liddell?s where he kept getting knocked out.

 

?That?s what I like about the UFC, when one of their fighters looks like their health is in danger, Dana White tells them they need to hang it up. He?s not throwing guys out there just to sell pay-per-views.?

 

Regarding his own future as a professional MMA fighter, Harris last fought in May, defeating Anthony Ruiz at Tachi Palace Fights 9. In the process, however,  the former TUF 7 contestant broke his hand, forcing him onto the injury list for the time being.

 

?I will definitely be fighting some time in September, for sure,? he assured.  ?I?m not pushing my physical therapy, though. I don?t want to break it again and have to start over.  This is a long process, a three- or four-month process. After I get back to whooping ass, maybe a couple more wins, you might be able to see me on pay-per-view again and we?ll go from there.

 

?You know what, I?d love to fight on Facebook one day.  I?m not looking too far ahead ? I?ve got a lot of work to do ? but I want to fight on there one day, for sure.?