As we heard on the radio show tonight, Cook is leaving BBing for UFC fighting.
This makes me wonder- If his pro card was indeed a gift (as many have asserted it was), does this clearly show that giving pro cards to marketable guys who have "earned it", although they don't have the most impressive physique onstage, is a TERRIBLE IDEA?
Cook had looks, a Weider contract, and was crowned a pro when he might not have earned it. And what happened? He didn't succeed at all as a pro, and moved on. This means a pro card that COULD have gone to a guy with potential to make a mark as a pro, did not.
Rewarding loyalty and basing pro card decisions on marketing potential - bad idea?