Oh Tom Atencio

Even the most novice MMA fan knows that the guy being choked is Dana White, head honcho and foul-mouthed leader of the UFC.

The guy doing the choking is Tom Atencio, founder and chief big shot with Affliction, the clothing company turned MMA promoter.

Goofy mugging for the camera aside, these two guys don't really like each other all that much.

In late June, Atencio will step into the ring and fight Randy Hedderick on the undercard of the Ultimate Chaos Pay-Per-View being headlined by former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley taking on Bob "The Beast" Sapp.

Since the fight announcement, Atencio has talked about stepping into the cage against White, someone he says often talks like a tough guy, but doesn't back it up through action, citing the hyped boxing exhibition between White and Tito Ortiz that never materialized as evidence.

Here's the thing, Tom:

The whole "prove how tough you are" angle stopped working in Elementary School and while your stepping into the ring also serves to promote your organization that enjoys six month breaks between shows, there is absolutely no benefit of doing such a thing for Dana White and the UFC.

They don't need the added promotion and coverage.

They don't have to remind everyone about their existence.

This isn't the Old West where if you sully the name of another man you meet in the street, count out ten paces and see who is the faster draw.

I'm pretty sure that Dana White sleeps real easy despite the fact that Tom Atencio more or less thinks he's all talk and no action.

While I commend Atencio for getting into the cage, it should be about wanting to test himself and his skills, not proving how tough he is or to "one-up" Dana White.

Instead of trying to goad the UFC President into a fight, why not focus on your training so that you don't get your ass handed to you six weeks from now?

Or, why not put a little time and effort into your promotion, novel ideas as that may be? You've got all those big money backers in Trump and De La Hoya, so why do we need to wait six months between shows?

The answer, of course, is that Affliction doesn't have anywhere near the support and interest that the UFC does and needs events like this fight to help promote the organization.

So Atencio will go on challenging Dana White, we'll go on covering most every word he says and in the end, nothing will come of it.

But if this fight ever were to happen, my money would be on Dana.

Good luck T-Shirt Guy...