This week’s Twitter Mailbag is all over the map, with topics ranging from Eddie Alvarez’s legal battle with Bellator, to issues of ticket sales and beauty standards in women’s MMA, to – of course – the demise of Strikeforce and the legacy it leaves behind.

Don’t worry, we’ll also find time to examine whether any sport that features this much face-punching can really be called “safe” by any reasonable human being.

If you’ve got a question of your own, I’m the guy on Twitter who goes by @@BenFowlkesMMA. If I don’t answer right away, don’t take it personally.

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@benfowlkesmma #tmb What in your opinion would be a “steak dinner” Bellator contract for Eddie Alvarez? — Michael Peterson (@MikeCPeterson) January 8, 2013

Thanks to Thursday’s story by our own Steven Marrocco, we know what the UFC’s fine-dining offer to Eddie Alvarez looked like. In addition to the $250,000 signing bonus and the starting figure of $70,000 to show and another $70,000 to win in his first fight, it included a stated intent to book him in an immediate UFC title fight, a cut of future pay-per-view revenue if and when he does fight on one, plus one guaranteed fight on a UFC on FOX event and three appearances as a commentator at UFC-branded events. Throw in some complimentary garlic bread, and you’ve got a pretty sweet offer.

But Bellator offered Alvarez all the same perks, plus a few extra bonuses for appearances on other Bellator-related Spike TV shows, so why does Alvarez think the UFC’s offering him lobster while Bellator’s handing him a Happy Meal?

For one thing, being offered a percentage of a Bellator PPV is kind of like being offered a cut of someone’s future lottery winnings. For another, Spike TV is certainly an improvement from MTV2, but it’s still not the same as being on a major network such as FOX. It’s a sly bit of contractual maneuvering on Bellator’s part, taking advantage of some of the vague promises in the UFC contract and “matching” them with identical vague promises of its own. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney insists that his company is not required to match hypothetical projections of what Alvarez could make in the UFC, but rather only what he is guaranteed. Legally, that might be true (or, depending on what a judge decides, it might not), but you could also see why Alvarez feels like one offer is not equal to the other. You can also see why this will probably get messy in court.

@benfowlkesmma With Strikeforce’s last show on Saturday, what do you think was their defining moment? #tmb — Brandon condra (@condrab) January 9, 2013

I’ll have a more in-depth look at Strikeforce’s history and legacy on Friday, but one thing I learned in talking to several former employees and associates these past two weeks is that there really is no defining moment. Instead, there are a bunch of them, and a lot depends on what you think Strikeforce’s legacy will be. For instance, when Strikeforce purchased ProElite’s assets, which included fighter contracts and a TV deal, that was the moment that it became more than just an ambitious regional fight promotion. When it announced its heavyweight grand prix, that’s when it took a big risk in the hopes of making something major happen. When it sold to Zuffa, that’s when it effectively died, even if it took almost two years for the heart to finally stop beating.

As far as memorable moments in the cage, it had a bunch. I’ll never forget seeing Fabricio Werdum submit Fedor Emelianenko, or seeing “Mayhem” Miller get jumped on live network TV. Nick Diaz’s battering of Frank Shamrock and his frantic one-round war with Paul Daley right after the Zuffa purchase were both great moments in his career. Plus, there are all the fighters Strikeforce launched to success, such as Daniel Cormier and Cung Le and Gilbert Melendez and Ronda Rousey. (p.s. – What are the odds the UFC would even be trying women’s MMA now if not for the success that Strikeforce had with it?) If you try to look for just one moment in there that says it all, you’re bound to miss more than you capture.

@benfowlkesmma If you could do another job in MMA, what would it be and why? — Maggie Hendricks (@maggiehendricks) January 9, 2013

Full-time cornerman. It’s not that I think I’d have much technical advice to offer – I wouldn’t. But I would really like a job where I only work in 60-second increments and can get away with anything from calmly telling someone to breathe to frantically yelling at them in Portuguese. It also seems like a great way to get your hands on some free T-shirts.

@benfowlkesmma Some cities get ridiculed for booing slow fights, but Vegas gets a free pass to boo true gentlemen. Which one is worse? #TMB — Raptors4life (@luvtheraps) January 5, 2013

You can’t really blame the city of Las Vegas for the reprehensible treatment of Junior dos Santos. Vegas is a tourist destination, which is one of the things that makes it such an attractive city to hold fights in (that and, you know, gambling). Fans at a UFC event in Vegas typically come from all over – California, England, Narnia, you name it. That’s why there are really only two things you can count on with a Vegas crowd: 1) They’ll show up late since they have to walk through the tantalizing world of the casino just to get to the arena, and 2) They will drink a lot. Seriously, when you walk up to MGM Grand Garden Arena holding a delicious cocktail, all the ushers ask is that you transfer it into a plastic cup before you go in. That doesn’t fly in Anaheim.

@benfowlkesmma Hey Ben, have you seen Vitor Belfort’s comments to ESPN about TRT, and what do you make of what the “Young Dinosaur” said? — Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) January 9, 2013

I did see Vitor Belfort’s awkwardly evasive response to ESPN writer Brett Okamoto’s questions about testosterone-replacement therapy, and I was not terribly surprised, to tell you the truth. For one thing, Belfort giving a weird answer to a simple question is nothing new. This is the man who referred to himself as “a young dinosaur,” let’s not forget. He’s also the guy who looked totally jacked when he went up in weight for his last fight – a fight on a card on which, we were told afterward, someone was granted a therapeutic-use exemption for testosterone. The testosterone-shooter in question was never named, but would it surprise anyone if it were Belfort?

Then there are his comments to Okamoto, who asked him directly if he had ever applied for or used TRT. Here’s Belfort’s response to that straightforward query:

“If a question is private, I have the choice to answer or not. If I make it public, it’s not private anymore. If I want to say something private I will say it, but I keep to myself and I respect the laws of the sport. Whatever the organization, whatever the law – they know what to do. This is too controversial, why am I going to say something that doesn’t accomplish anything? If it’s legal, they know what to do. If it’s legal, there’s nothing to say about it. It’s legal.”

Now, I know better than to try to climb inside Belfort’s head and make sense of his reasoning, but if the answer to the TRT question was no, wouldn’t that have been a lot easier? It’s like if a Presidential candidate is asked whether he ever smoked marijuana and he replies with a meandering answer about how that issue is private and, in some cases, legal. You think anyone’s coming away from that going, “Yeah, he’s clean?”

If testosterone usage is as legitimate as some in the MMA community would have us believe, why do so few people want to be associated with it? You’d think that, if it were really nothing to be ashamed of, they’d come right out and talk about it.

@benfowlkesmma What UFC division benefits most from Strikeforce closing shop? — Josh C (@J05HC) January 9, 2013

Besides the UFC’s newly minted women’s 135-pound division, which seems to be totally reliant on Strikeforce for talent so far, I’d have to say it’s the heavyweights. Look at the former Strikeforce big men who are already in the UFC. You’ve got Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Shane Del Rosario. You’ve also got Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett waiting in the wings. It’s no coincidence that, shortly after Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce, the UFC has what is probably the best, most competitive heavyweight division in its history.

@benfowlkesmma do you see TUF turning out any differently with more experienced fighters? Will it have any effect on ratings? #TMB — Joshua Arambula (@mataleonmma) January 9, 2013

Regardless of experience level, the fighters always seem more or less interchangeable on “The Ultimate Fighter.” Here’s the guy with the weird hair. There’s the guy who’s actually good. Here’s the one who is funny or smart or just annoying. And of course we have to throw in one or two with extreme emotional problems. The biggest boost for ratings is, and probably always will be, the coaches. They’re the ones people tune in for because they’re the ones people already know. The whole point of the rest of the show is to help you get to know the new fighters, only a few of whom will likely end up mattering in the end.

@benfowlkesmma I reckon the sport will never make it to the real mainstream if they don’t do more to tackle the PED, fair comment? — Christopher Cheung (@christopher_kit) January 9, 2013

I wouldn’t say that. When I’m watching the NFL playoffs on FOX and I hear Joe Buck talking up a UFC title fight, that seems pretty mainstream to me. What I think is more likely to happen as a result of performance-enhancing drug use in MMA is something like what we saw this week with the results from the latest ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Even with guys such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens eligible – players who, on paper, seem like guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famers – not a single player was voted in this year. That’s because baseball is now looking back on its “steroid era,” and it’s a little disgusted with itself. Could that be how we feel one day when we look back on the TRT era in MMA? Maybe. Although first we’d have to move out of that era and into another one, which we have yet to do.

@benfowlkesmma UFC 157 tix reportedly selling quite slowly.What’s Zuffa’s nightmare scenario for the event/the fight’s outcome? — Jack Hain (@cHainGangNJ) January 9, 2013

It seems like a lot of people are way more concerned than usual with ticket sales for this event, maybe because they’re a little too eager to draw broad conclusions about the viability of women’s MMA. This is one event. It’s the first UFC event headlined by two female fighters, but I don’t think you can predict the future for the entire division just by calling Ticketmaster two months before the fight happens. Even if tickets don’t sell especially well, and even if the pay-per-view is a dud, what will that really tell us about women’s MMA in the UFC? It’s such a small sample size. Plus, I don’t know about you, but with the injury bug that’s been going around (and around and around) in the UFC, I can think of other reasons why people might hold off on buying tickets this early other than an overwhelming distaste for women’s MMA. As long as there are some butts in seats and a good, decisive fight in the main event, the UFC isn’t going to freak out over one show.

@benfowlkesmma Ed Herman said he believes Shields was on PEDs during the fight, should Shields just come out and say he hangs out the Diazs — Nick Gordon (@ngordon18) January 9, 2013

Based on what I was told by both Jake Shields and his management recently, they would like to discuss the positive drug test at UFC 150 but are forbidden from doing so because of a nondisclosure agreement with the state athletic commission in Colorado, where the fight took place. Also based on what I heard from Shields and his management, it doesn’t sound like a late night Xbox session with the Diaz brothers was to blame. Shields said the positive test was the result of “an honest mistake” and a “misunderstanding,” but also insisted he wasn’t “shooting steroids in [his] ass or anything.” If the commission believed otherwise, it’s unlikely he would have gotten off with a six-month suspension.

@benfowlkesmma do you think the appearance of women fighters will have a big impact on the caliber of fight they get? — Ryan Bafaloukos (@RyanBafo) January 9, 2013

I’d love to sit here and tell you that the way a female fighter looks has no bearing on the trajectory of her career, but I’d be one lying white man if I did that. All we have to do is look at the brief history of women’s MMA to know that looks matter. A pretty woman who can fight is almost certainly going to make more money and see better offers than a plain woman who can fight just as well. That seems unfair and kind of gross, but it also doesn’t seem like it’s going to change any time soon. I mean, look around the Internet. Carla Esparza goes out and beats Bec Hyatt in a title fight for the Invicta 4 main event, but the big story on the UG afterward is not the fight itself, but rather a photo of female fighter Felice Herrig with her face in Hyatt’s hind parts. Kind of seems like not only do female fighters know what the deal is, some are more eager to exploit it than others.

If you want to feel a little bit better about it, remind yourself that looks play a role for male fighters as well. It might not come down to the simple calculus of hot or not, but come on, Chuck Liddell is a 43-year-old man with a Mohawk. You think these guys who dye their hair and wax their chests aren’t selling you image along with ability?

@benfowlkesmma If Pat Healy wins Friday night, where does that put him in the UFC title picture? Hopefully close. — Zach Able (@JustAble88) January 9, 2013

There’s an interesting question that, I admit, I hadn’t given much thought to until now. Pat Healy is riding a five-fight win streak in Strikeforce (which, by the way, holds its final event on Saturday night, not Friday). He’s also been screwed out of one fight after another thanks to the somewhat suspicious run of injuries to would-be participants in Strikeforce’s last offering. Healy, meanwhile, has hung in there and remained, as the kids say, down for whatever. Isn’t that exactly the kind of dude the UFC says it wants? I think so, but I also don’t think a win over Kurt Holobaugh launches Healy into a title shot in what is arguably the UFC’s most crowded division. The good news is, as long as he wins, I don’t see the UFC can justify not bringing Healy on and giving him a chance to prove himself. What he does with that chance is up to him.

@benfowlkesmma Big Ben. What’s your take on Dana saying that MMA is the safest sport in the world? I think Roger Federer might disagree. — Matt Brown (@MattBrownMMA) January 10, 2013

You know Matt, when I saw that Dana White had gone to the New Media Expo and claimed that MMA, when done under proper medical supervision, was “the safest sport in the world,” I wanted to believe he meant it the way people mean it when they wear a T-shirt that says “World’s Greatest Dad.” Obviously MMA – a sport in which people attempt to knock each other unconscious or wrench one another’s joints in directions they were specifically not designed to go – is not safer than, say, golf or tennis or swimming. Hell, it’s not even safer than jiu-jitsu, which includes the same enthusiastic joint-bending but at least cuts way back on the brain-jostling. I have to think White knows this and was simply exaggerating to make a point, a practice known to CME Podcast listeners as “just saying stuff.”

But as for his specific claim that fighting in the UFC is safer than playing in the NFL, there he might have a point, even if it’s not quite as rock solid as he makes it seem. It’s true that NFL players who suffer concussions (or, as we’ve seen, potentially debilitating knee injuries) are rushed back into the fray sooner than they should be. Then again, as we’ve also seen in the UFC, a fighter can sustain what appears to be a concussive blow in Round 1 and still be there absorbing punches to the head in Round 5. That’s not so different from a concussed football player returning to the game in the second quarter after being knocked senseless in the first.

Also, the point White made about the three-month suspension for anyone who gets knocked out or “hurt whatsoever” in a UFC bout? Maybe someone should tell him about DaMarques Johnson, who was knocked out in a UFC fight on Aug. 4 and then fought in another UFC fight on Sept. 29.

Is MMA safer than football? Probably. Is it safer than boxing? Definitely. Is it the safest sport in the world? Not even close. It’s hand-to-hand combat. It involves people punching and kicking and elbowing kneeing each other. Concussions and broken bones and injured joints and facial lacerations are so common that we hardly even notice them anymore. If you really think a sport like that is safer than hitting a little plastic ball all over someone’s really expensive lawn, I have to assume you’ve never tried either.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie.com and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.com.