Another news item that broke over the weekend, but was overshadowed by more serious events, developed when Morning Kumite host Tonkasaw chickened out of his MMA fight with fellow YouTuber Andy Warski.
Mister Metokur does the postmortem [NSFW language]:
From the transcript:
This was a pay-per-view event that people within the fighting community pay attention to. Tonka has built his Morning Kumite show on respecting the fighting game, understanding the rules and respecting the history, and he just spit in the face of Tim Lloyd, Tara LaRosa, every person attending this and his opponent Andy Warski. He spent the last three months slandering Andy, calling him a pedophile, calling him a retard, saying that he was an idiot that his show was shit that his fame had passed; that he was never going to draw an audience or pull in another nickel, running his mouth constantly, only for the moment of truth to arrive, and he’s nowhere in sight. And that is the prime example of what an internet tough guy is.
In contrast, Andy Warski emerged as the true champion by flying in from another country to appear in the ring for his fans. Tonka apologists took to Twitter claiming that Andy didn’t win since there was no fight. People who say that don’t know their Sun Tzu. Winning without having to fight is the best kind of winning.
There’s another lesson here for anyone in the entertainment business: Always deliver on promises to your audience.
I just got an announcement from a particular newsletter.
This ought to be fun.
It's to be hoped 🙂
Thanks for the heads up.
This announcement goes nicely with some hardcopy goodness that I received over the weekend.
Bookending is a good thing.
I love it when a plan comes together.
I don't know either of these people, so I don't have a dog in this fight. That being said, if you issue/accept a challenge and don't show up, yeah you're a weasel.
Warski made his name by inviting alt-righters and SJWs to debate on his show. He hosted the Sargon-Spencer debate that became the #1 stream on YouTube.
In what looks to be a fit of petty jealousy, Tonka sowed discord between Andy and his old co-host J.F., essentially becoming the Yoko Ono of internet bloodsports. He then spread faked screenshots libeling Andy as a pedophile without doing proper diligence.
Tonka's online persona was based on his claims of being an indie wrestler and MMA fighter. His stock response to people who called him on his BS was to challenge them to an IRL fight. Andy was the first one to take him up on it.
Pro fighter Tara LaRosa happened to be on stream when Tonka issued the challenge. She set up a legit fight for them on a card with 34 other fighters for Jan. 19 in Knoxville, TN. Valor, the fight promoter, billed it as a YouTuber grudge match and sold thousands of dollars in tickets and PPV pre-orders.
Andy, mostly known as a dopey burnout type–he accidentally flew to Nashville instead of Knoxville–entered into three months of intensive training and got in the best shape of his life. Both men signed a contract stipulating that they undergo physicals and submit state-required blood work to the TN Athletic Commission by the Friday before the fight. Both got an extension to Monday. Andy turned in all his medical paperwork on time. Tonka missed the blood work deadline and signed the labs with a different name than he used on his contract. With only a few days until the fight, Valor was forced to cancel the match. Andy made a triumphal entry anyway. Tonka continued using blame shifting and DARVO tactics to deflect responsibility. He's since deleted his whole episode archive.
I would not be unlikely to see a discrete obituary announcing an unidentified suicide in connection with a bridge or tall building within the next three to four weeks.
Sadly, you may be more right than you know. Evidence of contract, tax, and charity fraud has recently come to light. Not only might Tonka be sued by Valor, he might be looking at some hard federal prison time.
What a fuckboy
I don't understand this behaviour. If you make a promise you keep it. If there are extenuating circumstances, they'dd better be good.
This post reminds me to be prudent when I make promises.
xavier