Everybody needs a thrill. We all got a space to fill. | Managing Editor, Combat @USATODAYSports | San Diego State '05
Los Angeles (via Gonzales, CA)
Joined September 2009
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Simon Samano retweeted
It’s not just MMA. …It’s the world that’s rotting there was a time when people hid behind fake accounts to say the stupid things they were too ashamed to say publicly. …Now the masks are off. The side of people they used to keep hidden behind closed doors is out now .We live in a world where people are so desperate for a viral moment that they don’t care whether the attention is good or bad. Respect, decency, and basic humanity are being sacrificed for clicks and views… the saddest thing is People are starting to think this is normal.
Simon Samano retweeted
I mean this seriously:
If he genuinely believes tonight's results are not a direct response to his presidency and his administration, he must step down.
That means he cannot process basic information properly or make the simplest correlations. He's unfit for office.
Simon Samano retweeted
Trump is such a pathetic bitch. He'll go to his grave shirking responsibility for anything. He literally told the nation to vote like he was on the ballot despite having historically high negatives and, I don't know, halfway ruining the country. All-time weakling.
Simon Samano retweeted
She was falling 27,000 feet in a minute in an iced-up jet. In about 35 seconds she declared a mayday, gave her tail number, descent rate, overspeed and a 60-degree bank. That's the job. Then she died with eight other people, and you're grading her tone. Fuck you.
A pilot should not:
🔘become hysterical
🔘speak too quickly to be intelligible
🔘say, "We're going to crash into the ground!"
🔘scream like a little girl
🔘hyperventilate
🔘scream like a little girl again
A pilot needs a certain disposition. This is not it. That's the reality.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Having a front row seat to your own demise is an emotionally distressing experience and pilots have been known to scream in such situations.
Western Airlines Flight 2605 being one such example.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=FKLE_n…
Simon Samano retweeted
El-Sayed: "How expensive is having kids? ... The party that wants to tell me that they're pronatalist, their solution is: let's cut taxes for the billionaires, and let's go to wars we have no business fighting... do not be surprised when people don't have kids."
Simon Samano retweeted
I’ve always been shocked how it’s not a serious conflict of interest. How can you have 2 fighters best interest at heart when they’re fighting each other. Making the call to someone telling them the matchup is great for them and that there gonna be a future world champ and then hanging up and making the same call to the other fighter meanwhile getting paid off both is wild to me
Simon Samano retweeted
In 2017, Jason House said it was “just too tough for me” to watch his first client vs client UFC fight. On tomorrow's UFC card, Iridium has three client-vs-client fights.
So from client-vs-client fights to taking a percentage of discretionary POTN bonuses, how are the fighters' best interests being looked out for?
By 2022, House said Iridium represented approximately 115 UFC fighters, a number that’s seemingly only grown since, representing approximately ~20% of the current UFC roster.
I’m not suggesting anything improper about the fights themselves, but genuinely curious how fighters are comfortable looking across the cage and seeing their own management team representing the person trying to beat them?
How do you promise two opponents you’re fully behind them and fighting for their best interests when their interests directly conflict?
A manager’s job isn’t just securing fights. It’s negotiating compensation, matchmaking, and career opportunities, both inside and outside of the cage. Every decision to accept an opponent, push for more money, or advocate for the next booking requires putting the individual fighter’s interests first.
But perhaps the craziest part is what House said on the JAXXON Podcast.
When Rampage Jackson asked whether Iridium takes a percentage of UFC fight-night bonuses, House confirmed it does:
“If I’m gonna come home with half my money when you lose, then when you win, I should be able to eat as well.”
Taking a commission on negotiated purses is one thing. But what exactly earns a manager a percentage of a discretionary performance bonus awarded for what a fighter physically accomplishes inside the cage?
Lawyers face strict conflict of interest rules. NFL and NBA agents operate under union certification and conflict rules. Even boxing has federal protections governing promoter-manager relationships. MMA has no comparable industry-wide framework.
And how aggressively can an agency representing over a hundred UFC fighters negotiate against the promotion it depends on to keep those fighters booked? The UFC doesn’t need to coordinate anything for those competing incentives to potentially work in its favor.
None of this proves wrongdoing. But transparency about commissions doesn’t resolve conflicts of interest.
One card. Three fights. Both sides under one agency.
Just a smaller picture example, but genuinely curious who is independently advocating for each fighter?
There are 4 fights this weekend at #UFCVegas123 where 7 of the 8 fighters involved are all Iridium Sports Agency clients.
Now, I’m no business savant or financial guru, but it seems to me that’s a bit of a strange situation for the athletes. Exactly whose interests are being looked after here?
Simon Samano retweeted
This isn’t a video game … you did that!!!
…next time we’ll work on getting you some entrance music.
Simon Samano retweeted
We did this with @Sting in 1991 in WCW (vs Ravishing Rick Rude), and the industry has repeated it with great success in numerous circumstances.
My most sincere compliments to the @NFL's creative team.
Nicely done!
PS - Have you checked out The Roundtable? Over 1,000,000 verified views just on @YouTube and growing STRONG. You didn't think I'd have your attention for the moment and not promote this magnificent discussion?
Anyway. I digress.
I love football.
Even though it's pre-determined.
Simon Samano retweeted
I try to ignore Trump at this point but I gotta say this is like 10 days in a row he has said some gay shit. Like, gay gay. Like he legit might be gay. Idk why else he would be doing this. It's just 24/7 commenting on men's asses or dongs and everyone pretends like it's normal.
Simon Samano retweeted
Remember when teams didn't want to sign Colin Kaepernick because they didn't want the distraction?
Andy Reid just took five straight minutes of questions for a practice squad kicker who missed more than 25% of his FGs the last time he was in the league.
#Chiefs HC Andy Reid faced five straight minutes of questions about Justin Tucker today, including what message his signing sends to female fans of the team.
"He's done his suspension. Took care of his business there. I'll leave it at that."
Full back-and-forth exchange below:
Simon Samano retweeted
Shouldn’t ICE be shoving them to the ground, waving guns in their faces, cuffing them, and deporting them to El Salvador?
Simon Samano retweeted
"We're talking tens — maybe hundreds — of millions of dollars, spent litigating an issue that literally doesn't exist anymore and may decide the course of several races. It's wild sh*t." —@samstein
Simon Samano retweeted
Fred Warner is leading with his the crown of his helmet because his facemask was pushed down
Simon Samano retweeted
Truly disgusting what the Republican Party and parts of our media have normalized on this country. Just open naked racism and bigotry and mockery of minorities. Can you imagine a Muhammad or Abdullah in the schoolground getting bullied by kids who heard the president do it first?