http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1tIRM160Tc&feature=g-hist
When I saw him fight Michael Bisping, I chalked up the ass whooping to ring rust, perhaps a loss of nerve. By the third round he looked like he'd had one too many, staggering around the octagon getting beaten on the feet. Then came news of the drama that unfolded backstage, how he'd wanted to come out with a paper bag over his head, having it out with the Center Director for the UFC. Throw in his untimely departure from the UFC, his nude adventure, being woken in a church and now this lovely interview with Ariel Helwani and it makes you wonder, what the hell is he on?!
This is the same dude that beat Sakurai, Gracie-killer, with a submission. A brilliant dude with the jiu jitsu, he seemed to be climbing up the ranks, going from local promotions to Strikeforce, Dream and eventually, I'm sure with help from his Bully Beatdown fans, onto the UFC. If you watch his old videos, interviews, yeah, he's "eccentric", though it comes from an intelligent place. You could see the glint of wit, which was absent in this last interview. It seemed like he was trying to the Andy Kaufman/ Sasha Baron Cohen shtick, remaining in character while being interviewed by Helwani. Helwani, to his credit, tried to keep it professional and perhaps was a bit too pushy in trying to get the real Mayhem to come out, he was clearly not in the right place to make a rational decision. That kind of understanding comes from dealing with drug addicts and mentally unstable, however, and so I would chalk that up to reporter naivete, homeboy was just not looking to open up about his current troubles. He's a warrior, though, it's my hope he finds the strength to cope with whatever he's struggling with and get on with his career, too many stars ascend high only plummet into obscurity.
