Video Tribute: MMA’s Eight Greatest Public Service Announcements
4. Jake Shields rambles about veganism
Of all the videos on my list, this one has the least amount of views. Why? Because who wants to hear Jake Shields prattle on and on about the benefits of not eating dead animals?
Juxtaposed with the usual vegan propaganda stock film of animals being slaughtered, Shields talks on and on in one incredibly unbroken sentence, moving from topic to topic (if you can finish that line then you are a Trekker). The main basis of the commercial is showing the brutality of killing animals to eat for meat with footage that is probably 30 years old now, but that won’t stop those crazy vegetable eating lunatics from telling you not to devour tasty things like bacon. Mmmm…bacon.
Oh, and don’t watch this on a full stomach. Or an empty stomach. You know what, just make a friend watch it for you and watch his reactions. That will be much more fun. If he asks you if it’s “Two Girls, One Cup”, you can tell him no, then ask him which was worse when he is done.
3. Forrest Griffin explains how you can get into street fights legally
Typically, a PSA will warn you about getting into street fights. Not one done by Forrest Griffin.
In this “PSA”, Griffin speaks with Marc Saggese, a top criminal defense attorney in Las Vegas, to find out the legal implications of punching someone in the face on the street in self-defense. Not so that you can get into fights of course. [*cough*] Just in case you were curious about the circumstances of doing it and when it was ok. Talk about mixed messages! Speaking of which…
2. Bas Rutten sends mixed messages
During the IFL days when MMA was on network television, “El Guapo” Bas Rutten did the little public service announcement you see above, which is basically “Don’t try this at home.” The only problem is, they do it while showing highlight reel moments of great strikes and knockouts and not people being hurt, carried away in stretchers, or other things that would make kids realize the dangers of fighting. Nope, we just see Ben Rothwell kicking peoples heads off in a way that makes me want to go find the closest homeless person and pretend I am Crocop and they are Dos Caras jr.
To compound the awkwardness, Rutten tells viewers at home not to try it unless you are with a trained professional “at an L.A. Boxing Gym”. Because only L.A. Boxing can teach you how to do those awesome moves that hurt people but that you should never try at home. This could have been a stronger PSA if not for…well, basically all of it. And that is why the IFL is no more.
1. Brock Lesnar demands you wear a seat belt
(Lesnar’s seatbelt PSA has since been taken down, so here’s a video of a ridiculous scent spray commercial he did back in the day.)
It’s sad that only 15 seconds exist from this PSA, as it is the most intense of all of them. Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who was in the WWE at the time this video was done, does not joke around when it comes to car safety. “First you’re gonna’ get your face smashed like a pancake! Then your arms are gonna’ end up where your legs used to be!” If you think about it, this could have just been a promo for one of his wrestling matches, or even one of his UFC fights against Frank Mir, but no. It’s for seat belts. In other words, don’t screw with Brock Lesnar, and always buckle up or he will scoop your eyeballs out and spread them on toast.
So there you have it, your top eight PSA’s with MMA fighters. No fighters have done anything horribly offensive yet that they have been forced to make a PSA, but I suspect some time in the near future we will get our first glimpse of one (Quinton Jackson, I am looking at you). For your reward of reading to the end, enjoy an Ultimate Warrior rant on why you should not smoke.
At least, I think he’s talking about not smoking. It’s hard to tell with him sometimes. Don’t smoke kids, just eat handfuls of cigarettes! They do a body good!
Matthew Kaplowitz is the editor of TheFightNerd.com and a featured columnist for MMA Worldwide and TapouT Magazines.
