For many fighters, getting to the UFC is a dream that carries with it the eventual goals of fame and fortune. Sign that first contract to step into the Octagon, and from there on the proof of their potential will come from their performances. Win and win big and a fighter will become a star on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts.
Actually making that happen, as absurd as it feels to say, is a lot more difficult than just winning fights. That’s a lesson lightweight James Vick has been learning the hard way, during his near half decade with the promotion.
A competitor on season 15 of the Ultimate Fighter, Vick has been something of a divisive figure among fans. Mostly due to his relationship with coach and notorious creep Lloyd Irvin. But that hardly seems like the kind of association that would hold him back with the UFC. Especially in light of his 9-1 record with the promotion; a record dotted with exciting submission and knockout wins.
Nevertheless, while he’s slowly clawed his way into an ‘official’ rankings slot, the now #11 lightweight in the division sounds like he’s still having a lot of trouble getting the recognition he feels he deserves. He vented his frustrations with UFC matchmaking and promoting in a recent interview with Submission Radio.
“OK, just without saying his name, and I know you’re thinking of probably the right person, you know how the other day he posted something about a main event?” Vick said, in response to a social media post from #14 ranked lightweight Paul Felder about a potential fight between the two men.
“If we’re thinking about the same person, I’m not gonna say his name yet, but I was never offered a main event. Let’s be clear about that. I have never been offered a main event. I was told that I’d be on the main card. That’s what I was told, that I’d be on the fuckin’ main card. That’s not a fucking main event and it’s not even a fucking pay-per-view. So once again, this plays right into what you’re saying with my relationship with the UFC. I don’t understand it, I don’t fucking get it.
“And when I was on the phone yesterday negotiating with the Sean Shelby, that was brought up. I said, ‘Why the fuck am I 9-1 in the UFC, I’ve never been on a main card of a pay-per-view?’ I’ve never been on a countdown show? I’ve never… I’ve been flown out to one event. last year I got flown out to international fight week and that’s it. I said, ‘I’ve never been…’ I said, ‘This is fucking ridiculous, man.’ And his answer was, ‘That’s not my department’. Well, maybe you should talk to that department, you know what I’m saying? I don’t understand it either. I mean, it really is kind of annoying. It kind of makes you, almost makes me want to fight my last two fights out and play the field, you know what I’m saying? It’s like, do I go where I’m celebrated or where I’m tolerated? Like, this shit’s a joke.”
“Regardless, I still have two fights left on my contract. So I have to fight it out regardless. I mean, dude, I’m like everyone else. I don’t want to leave the UFC. I want to be a fuckin’ UFC world champion. The problem is this fight gets me no closer to becoming a world champion, in my opinion. So of course I want to be a world champion, you know? I feel like this fight doesn’t really get me any closer. So I’m not happy about it. I’m fucking 31 years old, I’m not 21 anymore, how many of these fucking guys do I… If I get a top 10 opponent and I lose, that’s my fucking fault. I’ll go win a few more fights and come back. But right now I want another chance. There’s several of these guys who’ve gotten multiple chances.”
As for those “guys who’ve gotten multiple chances” Vick had a few choice words for Kevin Lee, Justin Gaethje, and Eddie Alvarez.
“I would whoop his ass,” Vick said of a potential fight with Lee. “He obviously can get me down a couple of times, but my ground game ain’t shit. I ain’t gonna lay on my back and just take a beating like Barboza did, I’m gonna get the fuck up.”
Speaking on Gaethje, Vick made his complaints with rankings clear. “It’s sad that the dude’s 1-2 in the UFC and he’s still gonna be ranked above me when I’m 9-1 in the UFC. And a lot of people want to say, ‘Well, he’s lost to top guys.’ Well he came in, the only guy you beat was on a three-fight losing streak when you came in. And now the guy is not even in the top 10 in featherweight. The one guy you beat was on a three-fight losing streak and the other two guys you lost to, dude.”
And in the case of Eddie Alvarez, Vick just doesn’t sound like he thinks the ‘Underground King’ would take the fight. “Put me on the same card as him, and if his opponent gets hurt I’ll gladly step in. Or I’d just gladly fight him to begin with, but I know that’s never gonna happen anytime soon.”
In the meantime, Vick sounds like he’s currently in “contract negotiations” with the UFC over his potential next bout, after making it clear that he “wasn’t happy about” getting an opponent ranked lower than him, and having a lower contract than other fighters being offered the same fight. So until those hurdles are cleared, it may be some time before fans see the ‘Texecutioner’ back in the Octagon.
culturesink 