Two days before his Spike TV-televised main-card bout at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale, semifinalist Junie Browning received a far-from-glowing evaluation from his coach on the show, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
Browning, who was nearly kicked off the show for multiple offenses (including drunken rampages and throwing a glass at a fellow cast member), earned a spot on Saturday's televised main card despite his controversial behavior.
Today, Mir called the decision unfortunate and said it encourages a would-be cast member to act like "a moron and idiot" once he makes it onto the cast.
"Honestly, I think Junie Browning was a huge disappointment," Mir said during a media conference call.
Browning, Mir's first lightweight pick, showed promise during his preliminary TKO victory over Jose Aguilar. However, a bad attitude and propensity to pick fights (often when fueled by alcohol) alienated him from his fellow cast members and even his own teammates.
"If I had complete control, I would have kicked Junie off the first week after I saw his behavior and edited out him so no one got to see him at all," Mir said. "I think he does give a bad name and face to everyone (associated with MMA)."
Mir quickly wrote off the team member and distanced himself from Browning.
He has no regrets about that decision.
"I think the only mistake I really made was maybe not trying to force him off the team harder," Mir said. "I think he kind of brought down everyone else. Then again, I think I tried to talk to him, but I guess I'm just not a babysitter. I'm not one to sit there and hold someone's hand and beg them to be a fighter.
"Hopefully Junie finds that in the future -- he can find his babysitter and somebody that will console him and give him the special love that he needs."
UFC President Dana White was forced to talk to Browning about his behavior on multiple occasions. The final discussion came prior to the lightweight semifinals and Browning's fight with Efrain Escudero. While sitting on a patio and discussing the match-ups, Browning got into a simple argument with fellow cast member Shane Primm. Browning shockingly hurled a glass at Primm and then attempted to sucker-punch him while he was still sitting down.
Everyone, Browning included, assumed it was his ticket off the show and out of the competition. White returned to the house and took Browning to the basement to discuss the situation. White surmised that Browning was actually hoping to get kicked off the show to avoid the potential embarrassment of losing on national TV. Browning essentially agreed, so White was reluctant to give him his walking papers since that's essentially what he wanted anyway.
Instead, White allowed Browning's teammates to vote on the matter. They ultimately decided to allow Browning to fight -- in hopes that he would lose.
Mir, though, said the cameras didn't capture the whole situation. In fact, he was there for White and Browning's conversation even though the episode made it appear it was a one-on-one conversation between White and Browning.
"I was down there with Junie the whole time for the entire conversation, and when I was asked my opinion, I told Junie flat out, 'I think you should be kicked off the show, and I think your behavior is unacceptable and that you don't represent martial arts at all. Everything you've ever done is ridiculous,'" Mir said. "And none of that was ever shown."
Although the cast ultimately voted to keep Browning on the show, Mir had a dissenting vote.
"I didn't agree with it," he said. "I thought it worked out in the end fine (with the loss). I understand why Dana White did what he did. It looked better that Efrain got to smash his ass and show that [Browning] quit in the fight, but there was a chance that if [Browning] would have won ... it would have looked bad. But at the same time, I didn't think he should have even got the opportunity to fight Efrain. I think it's a privilege that we all go through hardships and we all strive to be on the platform that we are on now, and for him to have that kind of behavior consistently over and over again and to be able to be allowed to compete and do what we all do -- I mean, if you're a pro football player and you were to shove someone in practice, you don't get to play on Sunday. That's just the way it is.
"I think it sends a bad message."
Mir was especially troubled by Browning's behavior since it wouldn't fly in other environment. He also said it sends a bad message to viewers and MMA fans.
"Someone like Junie's behavior would never be allowed in anybody's gym," he said. "I don't think anybody ... could tell me that if Junie had done that in their gym that their coach would allow him to be there for more than a day without getting kicked out. For people to see that, I just didn't want people to get the wrong impression. That's what I was afraid of by allowing Junie to stay. Like I said, it worked out in the end because he got beat up. But he also had airtime, he's popular, and people get to see his behavior."
Just a day after the controversial episode aired and the finalists determined, the UFC released the full fight for the event, which takes place at The Palms Las Vegas. As in seasons' past, eliminated cast members filled out the undercard. The main card features Escudero vs. Phillipe Nover (lightweight final), Ryan Bader vs. Vinny Magalhaes (light-heavyweight finale) and two non-"TUF" fights with Anthony Johnson vs. Kevin Burns and Jason MacDonald vs. Wilson Gouveia. The fifth spot on the nationally televised card surprisingly went to Browning, who takes on Dave Kaplan.
"As far as him being on the main card, it does reward his behavior," Mir said. "I think in the future, it shows people who get on the show that as long as they act like a moron and idiot that they get to have time. And that face time equals money, so maybe they don't have to put that much effort into fighting.
"I hear more people talk about Junie Browning than they do talk about Phillipe Nover and Efrain, which I think is an insult to those two fighters. They are the better martial artists. They're better fighters."
In an interview with MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) last week, though, Browning, said UFC officials simply know he can provide an exciting fight for the viewers.
"I think once [the UFC] realized I came out here (to Las Vegas) to train, and that I changed stuff up -- that I'm not necessarily exactly the way I was on the show," said Browning, who's been training at Xtreme Couture. "I think they are sort of taking a gamble on me again. They know I'm going to put on an exciting fight, regardless. I'm sure a lot of those other guys, their fights aren't going to be very exciting. They need someone to put on an exciting fight that night."
