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Sunday, Sep 08, 2013

Opinion: Bryan Caraway Needs To Take A Step Back

Bryan Caraway

By Jesse Heitz

Current UFC Bantamweight fighter, Bryan Caraway, is at it again. He’s not engaging in some simple rabblerousing or trash-talking against his own upcoming opponents or in-cage rivals. Nope, this time he’s taking aim at UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey, his quasi coaching opponent on the new season of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Caraway stated,

“I don’t have any ill thoughts or bad intentions toward Ronda. I don’t hate her and I want her to know that. She’s a talented, world-class athlete. I think she’s a stud fighter. I just don’t agree with the way she approaches things and conducts herself. I don’t feel like she’s a role model and I think there’s a lot better ways to go about it. Her, Miesha and I are just completely different types of people.”

This comes after his rather aggressive tweet from the Strikeforce days when he said,

“if [Rousey] wants to challenge a man I’ll knock her teeth dwn (sic) her throat the (sic) break her arm!”

I can’t really explain his open hostility toward Rousey. Certainly, she has done things that are worthy of criticism, but I think it’s beyond clear that attempting to pick a fight with Rousey is bizarre at best. However, challenging a woman to a fight is one thing, albeit something that a vast majority of males would find revolting, but essentially bragging about knocking out her teeth and breaking her arm is unusual and despicable to say the least.

One could chalk up Caraway’s testosterone-fueled remarks to simply getting drawn into the heat of the moment. After all, his longtime girlfriend is Rousey’s current nemesis, Miesha Tate. Unfortunately, just this past spring, Caraway was accused of elbowing Cat Zingano in the head at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale weigh-ins. Zingano discussed the event in question with Bloody Elbow, stating,

“Brian smiled back in my face then elbowed me in the head at weigh-ins. I was pissed. I considered him in that same respect. I am a fighter all the same, but that was dirty and cheap to do to anyone, let alone a girl.”

I don’t know if Caraway has simply been sucked too deep into his girlfriend’s professional rivalries, or if the problem is much more simple, that he’s a bully and has issues towards women. I can’t positively say one way or the other as I don’t know the man, but I’d bet on the latter.

Either way, he’s developed a track record of threatening and even assaulting female fighters. Granted the recent targets of his ire are female fighters, they’re still women nonetheless. Call me an old chauvinist is you must, but Caraway’s actions just don’t sit well with me. There are plenty of male fighters in his own division Caraway could threaten and elbow in the head, why not try his luck with them?

posted by FCF Staff @ 9:00 am
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