What a crazy world we live in huh? We have a guy who while he did act in rage, it was the kind of rage that in most sensible countries would be considered justified getting sentenced to jail time for absurd charges and on the other side of the spectrum we have a motor-mouth Irishman whose heart is probably in the right place that is running for an office that he likely can't even spell.
This is the big news in MMA this week because the only other thing that people are talking about is a Brady and Edwards feud that I believe is completely manufactured. In a shell, Brady is upset with Edwards because of "mean things" that Leon and his corner allegedly said to him at their weigh-in and presser in London and I believe it is manufactured because neither of them said anything about this until after the fight was over. Also, nobody else heard it said... Kind of suspicious about being completely fabricated is it not?
Whatever, I don't think anyone is going to be interested in a rematch from that no matter the fake hype they try to drum up.
Instead, we are looking at two very strange situations with most likely, ex MMA fighters having things change dramatically in their lives.
Let's start with Conor.
Conor McGregor recently made a stop at the White House to meet with President Trump and I don't want to get into the political aspects of this meeting because I honestly don't care. Hate on or love Trump all you want, I want no part of it.
Conor has been kind of pals with Trump for a while now though and a lot of this has to do with the relationship that Dana White and Trump have with one another, so it really isn't that big of a surprise that Conor would have a meeting with him. What is surprising is that during this meeting and the rather light-hearted press-conference that McGregor stated that he intends to run for the presidency of Ireland.
Conor has been upset with how his country is going for a while now and he has mostly left this to his rather poorly spelled Tweets until now. He said it in person and now has said it on social media, which many people would suggest is more official than doing it in person these days.
The thing is, this guy could actually win and I don't necessarily think that this is a bad thing. Sure, there is the problem of him not really understanding politics but I think that we can all kind of look at the world leaders in most countries and say to ourselves that we don't actually WANT people that are extremely well-versed in politics anymore. The lifelong politicians haven't really done anything good for their populations in a while that I can remember, and the entire system appears to be rigged - just like a lot of UFC outings. So I say "go for it Conor" and if he wins I would imagine it will at least be really entertaining.
On the other side of things we have one of my favorite heavyweights of all time receiving same rather "double-edged" news from a judge in California.
Cain Velasquez has been in custody for the past 3 years or so for a litany of "crimes" when he engaged in a high-speed car chase, brandished a firearm, and attempted to kill a man that is accused of repeatedly molesting Cain's 4-year old son.
I don't have any children, but I do have people in my life that I am related to that I care about greatly and would do anything in my power to avenge any wrong done to them. I think that most reasonable people can relate to this and the rage that this man must have felt when he discovered that someone had been fiddling with his very young child.
Even in crazy California where laws just seem to not matter I think that most people can relate to this rage and how it would overpower every person's sensibilities in the heat of the moment.
In the end Cain pleaded no contest and was given one of the lightest sentences that is possible given the wide array of charges brought against him. Apparently the judge in the case had tears in his eyes constantly when handing out the sentence indicating that he too understood that this sentence should not happen, but according to the laws that he is charged with enforcing, his hands were tied.
The good news is that Cain has already served a lot of this time and that time will be deducted from his sentence. It is assumed that given his high profile status and the fact that he is actually a good guy with no criminal record, that he will be released early for "good behavior." There are also calls for Trump to pardon Velasquez but I am not really sure if that is a power that Trump actually has. Could be. Like I said, I don't care for politics.
Velasquez has widespread support for his plight and the charges against the man who allegedly molested his son are still out there and I'll say this: If that guy gets sentenced to prison for any length of time that it may as well be a death sentence. Prisoners, from what I understand, have a code of ethics believe it or not and rapists and pedophiles are "handled" by the prisoners themselves. In a case as high profile as this one, he will be taken care of very quickly if he ends up on the other side of some prison bars.
From what I have read and seen, Cain has exhibited zero remorse for his actions and this did not count against him in court. I think the court actually wants to free him, but is obligated not to. Cain can be one of the few people in that prison that rests easy at night knowing that what he did was in protection of his young son, and I would be very surprised if he isn't released very early on in his sentence.