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2012
October
Aloha
State BJJ Championship
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7/9/12
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March
2012 News Part 2
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Tim
Boetsch Believes He’ll Eventually Fight Anderson Silva for
Belt
After
stopping Yushin Okami for his third straight win as a middleweight,
Tim Boetsch thinks he’ll have to score one more victory
before getting a crack at UFC champion Anderson Silva.
Of
course, first Silva has to defend his title against Chael Sonnen
at UFC 147 on June 29. Sonnen nearly beat him in their first
encounter, but Boetsch doesn’t like the challenger’s
chances in the rematch.
“I
think he’s going to have Chael’s number this time,”
Boetsch told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown”
show. “I think he’s not going to make the same mistakes
twice … especially after seeing Chael’s performance
against [Michael] Bisping. I was surprised to see him get beat
up that bad by Bisping. I think Chael’s probably going to
end up getting knocked out by Anderson.”
Boetsch
added that Sonnen did surprise him with his performance in the
first fight, though, and even drew up a kind of blueprint for
beating the Brazilian. In fact, Boetsch thinks he could use a
similar strategy against Silva if he ever fights him.
“Chael
showed a strong wrestler does well against him,” Boetsch
said. “The only thing that Chael failed to do was damage
Anderson throughout the fight, and that’s kind of my specialty.
I will deliver a high amount of damage from start to finish,
and that would make a huge difference in the outcome of the fight.”
Another
difference Boetsch sees between himself and Silva’s other
opponents is that he’s not scared of the champion.
“A
lot of fighters out there are,” Boetsch said. “They
think of him as an invincible superhero. If you’re thinking
that way about your opponent, you’ve already lost. I think
that’s what happens to a lot of guys. They lose that fight
before they even get in the cage with him.”
That’s
not the case with Sonnen. He was less than two minutes from a
likely decision over Silva in August 2010 before succumbing to
a triangle-armbar submission. If he employs a similar game plan
in the rematch, Sonnen might be able to pull off the upset. Boetsch
won’t be rooting for him, though.
“I
want Anderson to hold onto that belt until I get there,”
Boetsch said. “He is obviously a legend in the sport already.
That being said, everybody has to lose eventually and I want
to be the guy to take that belt from him. That’s been a
dream of mine for a long time.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
How
UFC can play the testosterone card against Rampage
By Zach
Arnold
The
public relations war that Rampage Jackson has played out against
the UFC for more money & ‘respect’ has been an
utter disaster. Rampage did the infamous Fighters Only interview
and that media outlet will not release the audio/video evidence
of said interview, thus resulting in Dana & Rampage throwing
them under the bus by claiming that Rampage says the interview
(Gary Alexander) made up what was said in the interview. Of course,
in his attempt to refute what he said was allegedly made up in
that Fighters Only interview, Rampage essentially backed up the
seven major claims that were made (during his interview with
Bas Rutten for Inside MMA).
UFC’s
demeanor in their response to Rampage’s damaging tantrums
has been very un-Zuffa-like in terms of being patient as opposed
to being overly aggressive. Given Rampage’s outcry for wanting
a release from the UFC, he went on Twitter and said that he wanted
to fight Mauricio Shogun instead of a ‘wrestler who wants
to dry hump him.’ Last night on Fuel TV, UFC countered Rampage’s
PR attack by claiming that Rampage will have his last UFC fight
‘this Summer’ against Shogun. Hey, Rampage wanted to
fight Shogun, so the fans will think, “the UFC’s giving
Rampage what he wants.”
However,
as the inimitable Smoogy points out, the UFC is playing Rampage
like a fiddle:
Did
Dana say that Rampage agreed to the fight? Like I said yesterday,
if Rampage won’t accept a renewal, UFC will make sure he
is the underdog in the last fight on his deal.
This
is entirely about money. Rampage doesn’t want to leave UFC
and UFC has rode every PPV draw they ever had until the wheels
fell off. Rampage has an extravagant lifestyle to maintain and
kids to support. He won’t be gracefully riding off into
the sunset.
I
am let down that so few understand what this Rampage stuff is
about. Dana just delivered a public ultimatum, not an official
bout. There is no date and Rampage hasn’t made terms for
his release. His contract is up, so all Dana did was designate
Shogun to send him off.
‘Dear
Rampage, want to publicly negotiate with me? Now everyone expects
you to man up and fight Shogun. Go yourself.’ – Dana
White
I
would now make the argument that announced a fight Rampage hasn’t
agreed to is poor form, but I don’t want to off as supporting
him. Rampage is the epitome of high maintenance. In this instance
he bungled a public appeal badly and now UFC has him in a corner.
By
announcing the unsigned Rampage/Shogun fight without comment
from Rampage, MMA blogs will be helping UFC put him in a corner.
Not that Rampage has many options left to respond with. If he
says he hasn’t agreed to the fight, the fans will bang on
him, not the UFC. If you’re still scoffing about the subtext
of public negotiation, where have you been? (Frankie) Edgar just
did it. (Anthony) Pettis is doing it right now.
Rampage
has three options here. 1) Roll the dice and fight Shogun on
UFC’s terms. 2) Renew contract on UFC’s reduced terms.
3) Never fight again.
So,
the current company line by UFC is that Rampage will face Shogun
‘this Summer.’ Given that there’s a major Brazilian
show coming up this Summer with Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen,
it’s not a stretch to think that the UFC would have Rampage
fight Shogun on home turf.
If
the fight happens in Brazil, guess who’s the ‘regulator’
for the show when it comes to UFC in Brazil? The UFC. Marc Ratner
and Dr. Jeff Davidson oversee matters. The drug testing. Fighter
safety and guys who using TRT (testosterone). We know the UFC
isn’t going to say ‘no’ to Sonnen using testosterone
while fighting in Brazil.
But
what if UFC decided to box Rampage into a corner by telling him
he can’t use testosterone?
It’s
a dirty question to ask because it would make the UFC look bad
over the issue of testosterone usage by fighters. However, Rampage
has already made the UFC look bad on that front by doing his
public interviews with Fighters Only and Inside MMA. The New
York Daily News ran a Victor Conte op-ed on the subject.
So,
it’s not like the UFC can run away from the testosterone
issue. The issue is not a winner for them. But you know who else
the issue is not a winner for? The fighters who use it! Rampage
is going around saying that he can fight for another 10 years
because he’s using testosterone. That’s not the point
of Testosterone Replacement Therapy usage. The point of TRT usage
is to get back to normal levels for your age and level of activity
at said age. Rampage is 33 years old. He may be an old 33 in
terms of ‘fighting age’ but he’s still only 33.
So,
if Rampage decides he wants to play hard ball with the UFC over
fighting Shogun in an area where UFC is the ‘regulator’
of the show, all the UFC has to do is reject his request for
testosterone usage and say, no, you can’t fight in Brazil
while using it. Would it put UFC in a pickle due to the fact
that Rampage fought at the UFC Japan show while claiming to be
using testosterone? Sure. But I wouldn’t expect UFC to go
public on any sort of rejection of Rampage’s testosterone
usage. If they want to play hardball with Rampage behind the
scenes, they have an easy way to flip the testosterone card on
him.
And
what if they played that card and he started complaining on Twitter
about not fighting Shogun because he can’t use testosterone?
It would absolutely backfire on him even further and completely
erode any sort of public support in his currently negotiation
war with Zuffa. Plus, if Rampage refused to fight Shogun, it
would give the organization a way to ice him out on his current
contract and keep him on the sidelines.
Lorenzo
Fertitta yesterday told Kevin Iole that he still sees Rampage
having some value as a draw. But let’s not kid ourselves
— Rampage has no leverage here in his negotiations with
the UFC. The only card I see that Rampage could play against
the UFC in order to get money is the martyrdom card. What do
I mean by that? Creating fear. The only sort of leverage Rampage
could create, in my opinion, is if he decided to reveal everything
he knew about medical & drug issues involving himself and
potentially other fighters. In other words, a scorched Earth
tactic.
“Pay
me my hush money and I’ll shut up for good” about UFC
doctors, testosterone usage, so on and so forth.
Given
Rampage’s erratic behavior during his PR campaign on Twitter
and during his two major interviews (Fighters Only and Inside
MMA), he has proven to be volatile enough to where he may just
say, ’screw it, I’m not holding back.’
If
he played the martyrdom card, it would definitely be a last-ditch
tactic based on the calculation that everything else failed during
negotiations. Is Rampage the kind of person who could proverbially
shoot himself in the foot in this manner? He’s always been
fast and loose when it comes to talking controversial subjects,
but I didn’t imagine him going on a crusade for testosterone
usage a month ago, did you? All bets are off now.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Roger
Gracie Drops to Middleweight, Signs With Team Black House
By Ariel
Helwani - Video Reporter and Writer
The
next time Roger Gracie fights, it will be in a new weight class,
with new management by his side.
According
to manager Ed Soares, Gracie has signed with Team Black House
and has decided to move down to 185 pounds. Soares did not know
when the Strikeforce fighter would make his middleweight debut.
Gracie
joins the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and the Nogueira
brothers in Team Black House, which is run by Soares and Jorge
Guimaraes.
Tatame.com
first reported the possibility of Gracie moving to 185 and signing
with Black House last month.
The
six-foot-four inch Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist hasn't been
seen since losing his first pro MMA bout to Muhammed Lawal via
knockout in September. The loss dropped Gracie's record to 4-1.
Prior to the loss, Gracie defeated Kevin Randleman and Trevor
Prangley in Strikeforce.
Should
his move to 185 pounds prove to be a successful one, Gracie could
help breathe new life into an otherwise shallow Strikeforce middleweight
division.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
The
Death and Rebirth of Dan Hardy – Part 2
by Damon
Martin
The
past two years have been nothing if not forgettable for Dan Hardy.
After
starting his UFC career in rousing fashion with four straight
wins, 2010 and 2011 brought him four consecutive losses, leaving
him on the brink of walking away from the sport of MMA altogether.
Hardy
got into MMA for one reason and one reason only: He loved fighting.
But
those losses and subsequent problems in training led to him losing
that passion for the first time in his 29 years, and he wasn’t
sure where to turn to find his love of fighting again.
A
lot of that changed for Hardy after his loss to Chris Lytle in
August 2010 when UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta took to his Twitter
account and proclaimed that the British slugger was going nowhere
except back into the Octagon.
“Will
not cut Dan Hardy,” wrote Fertitta. “I like guys that
war.”
That
message from Fertitta gave Hardy something to fight for again,
because someone believed in him and it wasn’t about the
paycheck and it wasn’t about the money they were going to
earn off of “The Outlaw.” Someone was a genuine enthusiast
and cared about his career, and Hardy knew he couldn’t let
Fertitta down.
“When
I read that tweet after the fight, I didn’t really know
what to do with myself,” Hardy admitted on MMAWeekly Radio.
“Cause four in a row, I had never been down three losses
in a row, so the fourth was a real big hit.
“I
kind of felt like I was drifting a little bit after that, but
reading that tweet it really changed things for me because now
I’m not fighting to get myself back on track because I know
how much the UFC got and Lorenzo got for keeping me around. Because
there are some fans out there that demand if you lose three fights
then you’re out.”
Finding
a Mentor
It
wasn’t an overnight change for Hardy, however, because he
still had a lot of problems he had to solve before he could get
back in the cage and compete for the UFC again.
Hardy
had relocated to Las Vegas part-time in 2011 and worked alongside
UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson, but eventually the Brit knew there
was something still missing from his daily routine. So Hardy
picked up and moved lock, stock, and barrel to Las Vegas to live
and train full time.
He
then started work at a new training camp and found a new mentor
along the way.
“I’ve
always been a huge fan of Frank (Mir),” said Hardy. “My
first real encounter with Frank is when he fought Ian Freeman
in London, and I know he came out with a loss in that fight,
but he showed so much heart in that fight. At the time Ian Freeman
was a beast, he was one of the best fighters in Europe, and I
trained with him. I knew how good Ian Freeman was. So my respect
for Frank shot up massively after that fight.
“Now
I’m around him all the time. He’s just such a genuine,
honest guy. He really cares about helping people, and that’s
something that’s very rare in this sport. There are a lot
of people, a lot of pretenders, a lot of people who say things
and mean something else. Frank’s as genuine as they come.”
Hardy
has been working alongside Mir and his trio of coaches including
Jimmy Gifford, Shawn Yarbrough, and Ricky Lundell, as well as
traveling to famed jiu-jitsu instructor Robert Drysdale’s
gym in Las Vegas.
As
corny as it sounds, Hardy is having fun training again. It’s
no longer a chore to walk into the gym and force himself through
another work out. He’s enjoying every minute of it, and
can’t wait to get back in there and do it again.
“I
was in the gym this morning and I was hitting pads and I feel
like I’m being studious again. I feel like I’m learning
again. I’m exploring my potential as far as a striker goes,
and then sparring. I’m already excited, I can’t wait
to get back in the gym and get working. That’s not something
I’ve felt for a long time,” Hardy expressed.
The
Need to Win
Despite
being an eight fight veteran of the UFC, Hardy feels like a newborn
about to step foot in the Octagon for the first time when he
returns at UFC 146 in May to face Duane “Bang” Ludwig.
“I
feel like I’m in that stage where I just joined the UFC
again, and I’ve kind of made it, and I can show people what
I’m capable of,” Hardy said. “That slipped a little
bit in the last few fights, and like I said, I stopped enjoying
myself. You’re going to see improvements in this next fight,
without a doubt. People are going to be like how has this guy
improved this much between August and now? I really feel like
people are going to see a massive difference.”
Now
just being happy doesn’t erase the fact that Hardy has lost
four fights in a row, and his fight with Ludwig has to be viewed
as do or die as far as his UFC career goes.
Hardy
doesn’t brush off that notion, but he embraces the knowledge
that any fight in the UFC can be your last. Losing one fight
or losing five, the UFC can always decide to make a change and
so he can’t approach the fight with impending doom hanging
overhead.
Hardy
just wants to go out and fight his fight, and if he’s having
fun, the result will turn out the way it’s supposed to.
“The
thing I’ve realized about fighting in the UFC is it’s
always a need to win basis. Even if you’re on a roll and
you’ve won five fights in a row, you need to win the next
fight because there’s so many things that come with a loss
at this level that every fight’s a need to win,” said
Hardy.
So
often fighters say things like “it’s UFC or bust”
or “there is no bigger place to fight than the UFC”
and often times they are correct. For the new and improved Dan
Hardy, he loves being a UFC fighter and he hopes to be a UFC
fighter for many years to come, but being a fighter doesn’t
define Dan Hardy.
“I’m
fortunate enough. I know there’s a lot of fighters out there
that fight because they don’t have as many options as me,
but there’s so many other things I want to do with my life.
That’s really taken a lot of pressure off me thinking that
way. If this fight doesn’t go my way, there are so many
other things I can go on and do after. It’s not like I’m
stuck in this line of work. There’s a lot of things I want
to do and a lot of things I want to experience,” Hardy explained.
“My
mindset right now is I’m going to give this everything I’ve
got and I’m just going to enjoy myself while I’m doing
it. That’s kind of taken a lot of pressure off of me. This
was never meant to be a job. This is me chasing that dream of
being a professional fighter I wanted to be when I was six years
old running around as a ninja turtle.”
Rebirth
With
a renewed vigor and love of the sport, Hardy is attacking his
training camp like he did in his early days in England. He’s
the first to the gym and the last to leave, and he’s loving
every second of it.
Hardy
now realizes what it means to go from love to hate and back to
love again, because that’s been his torrid affair with MMA
over these past few years. Is that to say he’ll never fall
down again?
Of
course not, Hardy is aware of the pitfalls and still may drop
down a well, but he’s found a way to climb out at least
once before, and he can do it again.
“I’m
in a very fortunate place. A lot of people are in jobs that they
hate. A lot of friends of mine don’t enjoy jobs that they’re
doing. I’m fortunate enough to be in a situation where I
can have control of my own life. If I need to take a day off
then I can do it. I don’t have to answer to anybody. I’m
very privileged in this situation, and sometimes you forget that
when you have to deal with all the other things the sport has
to throw at you,” said Hardy.
“I’m
excited to show people what I can do now. I’m excited to
show that I have been working. All those guys that tweet ‘oh
you’ve got to work on your ground game, you’ve got
to work on your wrestling,’ these guys don’t know what
I’m doing every day. This is my opportunity to prove that
I’m a whole new fighter.”
The
end game for Dan Hardy isn’t UFC 146 in May. It’s not
make or break, do or die, based on one fight with Duane Ludwig.
This
is a new beginning for a kid who didn’t want to grow up
to be President, or a firefighter or a policeman. Dan Hardy wanted
to grow up to be a fighter and that’s exactly what he’s
doing now.
He’s
growing up.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
With
TUF Brazil, top-flight Jiu-Jitsu reaches prime time television
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
Today
Globo TV, Brazil’s most popular television network, released
the names of the 32 participants on the inaugural season of the
South American country’s version of The Ultimate Fighter
reality show. And the Jiu-Jitsu of all four corners of the nation
will be represented in the two weight classes to feature, the
featherweight (under 66 kg, under 145 lbs) and middleweight (under
84 kg, under 185 lbs).
As
standouts, beasts from Brazil’s northeast Godofredo Pepey
and Renée Forte of Ceará state and Rony Jason and
Anistávio Gasparzinho of the city of Natal join the more
famous Rodrigo Damm and Jiu-Jitsu world champions Sérgio
Moraes and Delson Pé de Chumbo. The show is currently
being shot, but we will only find out what is happening once
the show airs, during prime time on Sundays.
Jiu-Jitsu
black belt Godofredo Pepey enters the house as a featherweight
currently undefeated in MMA, with ten wins.
The
Ceará native, a regular medaler at Jiu-Jitsu tournaments,
shared his expertise with GRACIEMAG.com, teaching a position
that translates equally well to MMA, submission grappling or
the gentle art. He reveals how to go for a calf crunch or take
the back when passing guard.
TUF
BRAZIL LINEUP
Middleweight:
Serginho
Moraes
Cezar “Mutante”
Leonardo “Macarrão” Mafra
Daniel Sarafin
Gustavo “Labareda” Sampaio
Richardson “Monstrão” Moreira
Fabio “Bolinho”
Renee Forte
João Paulo Tuba
Francisco “Massaranduba”
Thiago Rela
Charles Maicon
Gilberto Galvão “Giba”
Thiago “Bodão” Perpétuo
Samuel Trindade
Delson Heleno “Pé de Chumbo”
Featherweight:
Alexandre
“Sangue” Ramos
Rony “Jason”
Godofredo “Pepey”
Marcos Vinicius “Vina”
Anistávio “Gasparzinho”
Johnny “Cabeça” Gonçalves
Hugo “Wolverine” Viana
Fernando Duarte Guerra
Rodrigo Damm
John Teixeira
Rafael Bueno
Wagner “Galeto” Campos
Pedrinho Nobre
Fabrício de Assis Costa da Silva “Guerreiro”
Dileno Lopes
Giovanni “Soldado”
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Jake
Ellenberger Wants Condit But Open to Fight with Martin Kampmann
by Damon
Martin
If
Carlos Condit’s ultimate decision is to sit and wait for
the return of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre later
this year, then that leaves a couple of top contenders awaiting
match-ups of their own.
At
the top of that list sits Jake Ellenberger, who is currently
riding a six fight win streak, most recently defeating Diego
Sanchez at UFC on Fuel TV 1 in February.
Ellenberger’s
wish list starts with a rematch against Condit, who defeated
him in his UFC debut, when he stepped in on a month’s notice
to face the former WEC champion.
Speaking
to Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight, Ellenberger thinks now is the
best time for him to face Condit, and he believes he’s earned
it.
“I’m
ready for him. I’ve won six in a row, it’d be a great
time for a rematch against Condit,” Ellenberger told the
show. “It keeps me up at night, makes me want to work harder
and motivates me to work harder and come back stronger. You saw
what I did with a two-week notice. If I had eight or ten weeks
to prepare.”
Despite
Ellenberger’s best laid plans, all signs are currently pointing
towards Condit sitting and waiting for St-Pierre to return later
this year.
St-Pierre
is currently undergoing rehab on his knee, and released a video
on Monday to update his condition. Most believe that St-Pierre
may be able to return ahead of his last reported scheduled, which
had him back in the Octagon in late October/early November.
If
Condit is not an option for Ellenberger’s next fight, another
option could be fellow welterweight contender Martin Kampmann.
Kampmann
pulled off a late fight submission in his bout against Thiago
Alves at UFC on FX 2 from Australia earlier this month.
“Sure,
why not. I feel like I can beat anyone at 170 pounds in the world
and I’ll continue to prove that,” said Ellenberger.
It’s
a wait and see situation for Ellenberger right now, but a No.
1 contender’s bout with Kampmann with a potential title
shot on the line seems like a likely scenario for the Nebraska
native.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
2012
NCAA NATIONAL WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS PREDICTIONS WITH BEN ASKREN
By Luke
Thomas - Senior Editor
While
everyone may be filling out their last-minute March Madness basketball
brackets, it would be more than an oversight to not mention today
also kicks off the beginning of the 2012 NCAA Division I National
Wrestling Championships. The sport of wrestling has given so
much to mixed martial arts, so why not return the favor with
a little bit of coverage? Besides, tomorrow's MMA champions are
today's wrestling standouts. Do yourself a favor and scout them
before they become big sensations.
To
help us make predictions for the field: Bellator welterweight
champion Ben Askren. Who better to break down this year's tournament
than a man who is not only one of MMA's champions, but also won
the tournament in 2006 and 2007?
For a full primer on this year's tourney (including brackets,
betting odds and how to watch), SB Nation has you covered. For
now, let's get right to Mr. Askren's predictions:
Preparation
Most
teams go two days early. It's kind of weird for me because it's
the first time that I haven't been involved in years. I'm just
going as a fan this year which should be fun. They get there
two days early, get their practices in, get their weight down
and get ready to rumble.
The
Field This Year
There
are a lot of number ones that stand out and haven't really been
touched this year. I would venture to say, I haven't looked up
stats, but I would venture to say that there is more undefeated
wrestlers in the tournament this year than any in recent past.
The
Top Teams
Who
to watch: Oklahoma State, Penn State University, University of
Minnesota
I
would say [Penn State]. I would like to see Minnesota win it.
I cheer for them, I like those guys but Penn State I would say
would be the definite favorite.
125lbs
Who
to watch: Matt McDonough, Iowa University; Zachary Sanders, University
of Minnesota
[Matt]
McDonough is the clear leader. He's won it before, was a close
second to Anthony Robles last year. I would like to see Alan
Waters come through and pull it out from my alma mater of Mizzou.
The problem is he lost to Zach Sanders of Minnesota twice and
Zach Sanders has lost to Matt McDonough twice so I'm just not
sure that it's gonna happen but that's what I'm cheering for.
Dark
horse at 125lbs
It
does happen every once in a while, but the majority of the time,
a lot of these guys wrestle each other so I would say no. Maybe
[Ryan] Mango, I don't know, I forgot where he's seeded but he
might be the dark horse because he dropped from 133. He's definitely
got the tricks in the bag but I don't know if he can put it all
together or not.
133lbs
Who
to watch: Jordan Oliver, Oklahoma State; Tony Ramos, Iowa University;
Logan Stieber, Ohio State University
Ramos
beat him on a one hour weigh-in. Oliver cuts a lot of weight,
everyone knows that. If he does, if Ramos does face Oliver which
is a big question mark because he'd have to end up beating Logan
Stieber, Oliver will have the whole day to recover and he'll
be ready to go. Oliver looked dominant in his win over Stiever
so I would be shocked to see anyone beat Jordan Oliver so I would
say he's a big favorite.
Can
Jordan Oliver wrestle internationally?
Definitely..
I'm kind of disappointed to see him not do any summer wrestling
these past two years. I thought he would have kind of mixed it
up with some of the guys. I think he would do pretty well but
I haven't seen him in the summers the last couple of years so
I don't know where to put him at right now with all those other
guys.
141lbs
Who
to watch: Kellen Russell, University of Michigan; Montel Marion,
Iowa University; Michael Mangrum, Oregon State University
You
know what? Russell, he wrestled a lot of people close last year
but I definitely watched the Big 12 tournament and he looked
better this year than last year that's for sure. I think that
could have been a criticism of him last year but he looked really
solid at the tournament.
141
pounds is a good weight for me because we had two former Arrowhead
Warhawks in the tournament at 141 pounds. That's my high school.
Nick Hucke's got Kellen Russell first round and then Jake Sueflohn,
I think he's a 10 seed or something so I would actually say,
I would venture to say that 141 pounds is one of the more open
brackets in the tournament. A lot of these guys have beaten each
other before, even all the way down to Hunter Stieber at number
5, he's the one who's been coming up this year and a lot of these
guys went back and forth. I would say this is definitely one
of the more open weights in the tournament. I think anyone, even
down to [Borislav] Novachkov at 6, I think even he could pull
it off.
149lbs
Who
to watch: Frank Molinaro, Penn State University; Jamal Parks,
Oklahoma State University
He's
definitely the clear cut favorite but like you said, the favorite
doesn't always win. I think Jamal Parks at number two could give
him a run for his money and then Cole Von Ohlen at number three,
he was coached by one of my old college coaches and he's tough
as nails on top and that's where Molinaro struggles, in the bottom
position so that could be someone who could give him a good run
for his money.
157lbs
Who
to watch: Kyle Dake, Cornell University
Not
that [Kyle Dake] can't get beat, but I'd say it's highly unlikely
that he gets beat.
I
want to say [the rest of the field] are a step down below Dake.
[Derek] St. John has some bright spots, [Jason] Welch has had
some bright spots, but I don't think any of them got anything
for Dake. He's just really strong everywhere.
Dake
won the title at 141lbs as a freshman and 149 as a sophomore.
Could he move to 165lbs next year?
I
think it'd be very unwise of him to do that.
165lbs
Who
to watch: David Taylor, Penn State University
165
is just a really tough weight class. Well, ok, sorry, it's not
a tough weight class this year. This year it's actually an easy
weight class. David Taylor is dominating everyone and none of
the other guys are standouts by any means. I don't think you've
even got a handful of All-Americans in the bunch behind him.
[Robert]
Kokesh, never an All-American. [Michael] Evans, never an All-American.
[Bezkod] Abdurakhmonov, never an All-American, [Andrew] Sorensen,
never an All-American. So, all these guys they're not that good,
right? But then next year you got Andrew Howe - a champ and finalist
coming back - and you got Tyler Caldwell, NCAA finalist coming
in from red shirt. So, 165 between Taylor, Howe and Caldwell
will probably be the toughest weight next year.
174lbs
Who
to watch: Ed Ruth, Penn State University; Nick Amuchastegui,
Stanford University; Chris Perry, Oklahoma State
[Ed
Ruth] has been as dominant as Taylor this year, but this is more
where I think the seeding committee messed up. [Nick] Amuchestegui
is undefeated and Amuchastegui beat Ed Ruth and placed higher
than Ruth in the NCAA tournament last year. There's no reason
Amuchastegui shouldn't have been number one. And that would've
put Ruth and [Chris] Perry at 2 and 3 and Chris Perry's beaten
Ed Ruth many times through their youth and high school and early
in college stuff, so I would be shocked if Perry beat him again,
but it wouldn't be too much a stretch of the imagination.
Like
I said, Amuchastegui, he kind of put the hammer on Ruth last
year - obviously Ruth's a year older, a year wiser - so we'll
see what happens.
184lbs
Who
to watch: Quentin Wright, Penn State University; Steve Bosack,
Cornell University; Robert Hamlin, Lehigh University
I
say along with 141lbs this is the real toss-up weight. I would
say everyone [seeded] 1 through 7 has a decent chance. Obviously
6 is Quentin Wright, he's a returning national champ. At number
2 is Robert Hamlin, he won it last year. 7 is [Josh] Ihnen, he
beat Quentin Wright. Bosack was third last year, so you got a
lot of really tough guys here. That's a tough one to pick. I
don't know how it's going to shake out.
One
guy that's hot right now is Kevin Steinhaus. Like I said, it's
a tough one to pick.
197lbs
Who
to watch: Cam Simaz, Cornell University
People
gave [Simaz] too much of a hard time. He didn't fall apart [at
last year's national tournament]. [Ed] Kilgore was just that
good. Kilgore's a stud. He's an Olympic red shirt, he's coming
back next year. But this is one of those weights also where it's
kinda Simaz at top and I think everyone else below him. I think
after number 1 any of those guys can go in any order. I would
be shocked if anyone beats Cam Simaz.
Askren's
thoughts on Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt, who has expressed interest
in MMA:
Yeah,
Honeycutt, I don't think he's got the mat wrestling to go with
Simaz. Simaz can wrestle everywhere: top, bottom, neutral. He's
got the whole package. Honeycutt's got some holes in his game,
so I would be surprised by that result if Honeycutt makes out
with a win.
That
being said, Honeycutt's going to be an outstanding mixed martial
arts prospect.
285lbs
Who
to watch: Ryan Flores, American University; Zach Rey (defending
national champion), Lehigh University
Flores
beat Rey twice this year, so obviously he's got the upper hand
there. And then Tony Nelson coming through on the bottom. He's
tough also, so he's only got two losses. He can come through
there. Number 9 is a guy I coached last year, Levi Cooper. He
pulled some huge upsets at the tournament last year. He actually
beat Zach Rey earlier this year, so maybe he can pull some more
upsets and sneak in there as a dark horse.
Askren
on what differentiates wrestling at 285lbs vs. the other weight
classes:
285
is different that everywhere. It's just a different kind of match.
There's not as much going. There's obviously not as much athleticism.
The thing I tell guys is 'get as big as you can' because the
bigger you get, the more athletes that are in other sports. I
wrestled 174lbs, so I say once you get above 174lbs all the great
athletes are playing football, basketball and baseball. I think
that's what you see in the heavyweight weight classes. You do
have some great wrestlers, but most of the really outstanding
athletes are playing other sports.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Tavares
replaces injured Hallman, takes on Ferguson at UFC on FOX 3
By Guilherme
Cruz
Thiago
Tavares’ return to the octagon has a date. TATAME learned
that the lightweight, who’s coming of two big wins in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil, against Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout, will
replace injured Dennis Hallman against TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson,
at UFC on FOX 3, which takes place at New Jersey, on May 5
th.
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
146 Update: Featherweights Mike Thomas Brown, Daniel Pineda Collide
on May 26
By Mike
Whitman
Youth
will meet experience at UFC 146, as promotion officials announced
Wednesday that featherweights Mike Thomas Brown and Daniel Pineda
will square off in an undercard attraction at the May 26 event.
Featuring
an all-heavyweight main card, UFC 146 will be headlined by Junior
dos Santos’ first defense of his heavyweight championship
againstAlistair Overeem at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las
Vegas. Additionally, former champions Frank Mir andCain Velasquez
will collide to determine the next top contender in the division.
A
former World Extreme Cagefighting titlist, Brown, 36, earned
his firstUFC victory in his most recent Octagon appearance, outpointingNam
Phanat UFC 133 this past August. The victory came on the heels
of back-to-back losses for the American Top Team representative,
as Brown dropped hard-fought decisions to Rani Yahyaand Diego
Nunesin January 2011. Known as one the division’s most powerful
competitors, Brown holds notable career wins over Jeff Curran,Yves
Edwards, Leonard Garcia and Urijah Faber.
Pineda,
26, was a two-division champion in the Texas-based Legacy Fighting
Championship before receiving the call to join the UFC’s
featherweight ranks. The Texan has not lost since May 2010, when
he was submitted with a kneebar by Chas Skellyat Bellator 19.
Since that time, Pineda has won seven consecutive fights, including
his most recent outing at UFC on FX 2, in which he submitted
Mackens Semerzier with a triangle armbar.
Source
Sherdog
|
Frankie
Edgar Believes the Featherweight Questions Disrespect His Past
Opponents
by Damon
Martin
While
Frankie Edgar now knows that he will be facing Benson Henderson
later this year for the chance to recapture the UFC lightweight
title, his mood wasn’t always so jovial.
Just
moments after losing his belt to Henderson at UFC 144 in Japan,
UFC commentator Joe Rogan immediately asked him about a potential
drop to 145 pounds.
A
little while later, at the UFC 144 post-fight press conference,
reporters in turn hounded Edgar about a potential move down to
the featherweight division.
With
a 14-2-1 record overall, all while competing in the lightweight
division, in that moment Edgar wasn’t mad that the questions
about him dropping to featherweight kept coming in, but he just
didn’t understand why.
“At
the time I was just so upset I just lost my title and everything,
I don’t think I was even thinking about what anybody was
really asking,” Edgar said on MMAWeekly Radio.
“In
hindsight, I guess you could say I don’t know if you’d
call it disrespectful, people have got a job to do, and (dropping
to 145) is something that Dana was kind of hinting to, so I think
the media was just following suit a little bit.”
Over
the past several years, Edgar has picked up wins over names like
B.J. Penn twice, Gray Maynard, Sean Sherk, and Jim Miller, who
most believe are still the best of the best in the lightweight
division. Not to mention he just lost a very close decision to
Benson Henderson, in a fight many scored him winning.
So
when it came down to questions about his move to featherweight,
Edgar didn’t take offense, but he actually felt like it
was a slap in the face to some of his past opponents.
“I’ve
been so dominant at this weight class, I beat some very good
guys, and I don’t feel it’s disrespectful towards me,
I feel it’s disrespectful towards them,” Edgar stated.
“It is what it is.”
Will
Edgar ever decide to move down to featherweight?
The
possibility will always be there, but with his rematch with Benson
Henderson looming overhead for later this year, Frankie Edgar
is looking to be the best lightweight in the world and featherweight
is in his rear view mirror for now.
Earning
another chance to get his belt back, that’s all Edgar wanted,
and if he had to endure some talk about dropping down to 145
pounds to get there, it was all worth it.
“I’m
just super fortunate to have the team that I have and the management
that I have,” Edgar said. “And the support from the
fans and everyone else to really have my back and get me this
shot.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Blazing
a Trail in the Middle East
By Jason
Leavy
DUBAI,
United Arab Emirates -- The Middle East is not the first place
one expects to stumble across a UFC fighter and self-confessed
“white-trash jiu-jitsu”specialist, but Tim Credeur’s
recent visit to the United Arab Emirates was yet another example
of MMA’s growing global appeal.
Credeur
was in the country to promote the documentary “Fightville”--
which also features his protégé, UFC featherweight
contenderDustin Poirier
-- at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, but he also made time to conduct
a free seminar at Contender MMA in Dubai. The packed gym and
queues for autographs afterwards added weight to the belief that
the Middle East is fast becoming the latest part of the globe
to catch MMA fever.
The
spectacular growth of the sport over the past decade has clearly
been spearheaded by the marketing juggernaut that is the Ultimate
Fighting Championship. While no one can deny UFC President Dana
White his rightful place in any future pantheon, tribute also
needs to be paid to those unsung heroes at the grass-roots level
who, through a combination of passion, vision and indomitable
spirit, are taking MMA global. There is no better example of
this breed than Tam Khan, the head coach at Contender MMA; he
is single handedly pioneering the growth of MMA in this developing
and frequently misunderstood part of the world.
In
many respects, Khan is a living embodiment of MMA’s increasingly
universal appeal. A Brit of Afghan descent, he rejected the more
traditional career route in law or medicine and has instead poured
his heart and soul into his quest to blaze a trail for the sport.
The
story of his route into MMA will be familiar to many, as it is
one played out all around the world, regardless of creed or color.
Khan
was born in London but moved to the nearby county of Essex as
a youngster. His family lived in an area with few ethnic minorities,
and his mother, concerned he would be bullied, encouraged him
to get involved in karate and amateur boxing for self-defense.
He was also a promising soccer player and amateur body builder.
However, a seminal moment came when he read a magazine article
about the Gracie brothers and found himself transfixed. He and
some friends ordered videos of the brothers in action and spent
hours attempting to perform similar moves. Then, in 2000, Khan
began studying under Daniel Burzotta, a renowned judo player
who had travelled from the United Kingdom to Los Angeles to train
in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with the Gracies.
“It
was proper old-school training,” Khan says. “We were
in a small church hall on judo mats -- no heating, no music.
It was just five or six of us, and I was about 105 kilograms
at the time but was getting constantly tapped out by a guy who
was around 65 kilograms. It was driving me crazy, but I just
fell in love with it and was soon training as often as I could.”
After
entering some amateur competitions, Khan dove into the professional
arena in 2005 at a time when MMA was starting to explode in the
UK; he won his first fight by technical knockout. However, the
defining moment in his MMA life ended up coming outside the cage,
during a 2008 vacation to Dubai. The Middle East is oftentimes
perceived as a permanent warzone home only to Islamic fundamentalists,
but, in reality, this is a wildly inaccurate stereotype that
ignores the diversity and complexity of the region. The UAE takes
those prejudiced views and shatters them.
Though
it has only been in existence for 40 years, the country has,
in the views of many, become a shining beacon of hope in the
region, thanks to its blend of liberal Islamic values and Western-style
entrepreneurialism. The capital, Abu Dhabi, has already played
host to an Ultimate Fighting Championship event --UFC 112 --
after a company operated by the royal family invested in Zuffa
LLC, parent company of the UFC.
Dubai,
the second city of the UAE, is regarded as the Las Vegas of the
Middle East. It is home to the world’s largest tower, the
Burj Khalifa, the world’s largest shopping mall, Dubai Mall,
and home to some of the most luxurious hotels on the planet.
While New York is held up as the world’s ultimate melting
pot, Dubai can put in a serious challenge for that title, with
more than 150 nationalities working and living side-by-side in
a harmonious, virtually crime-free environment.
“When
I came to Dubai in 2008, the place was booming, yet they hadn’t
even heard of MMA; I couldn’t believe it,” Khan says.
“When I got back to the UK, I was back to a boring job;
it was gloomy, raining and just generally depressing, so I decided
to take a leap of faith. I decided I was going to move to Dubai
to try and get MMA established, so I booked my ticket and never
looked back.”
Khan
started taking classes in an established traditional martial
arts school, but, before long, he was struggling to keep up with
the demand. A Royce Gracieseminar he staged in late 2008 could
have sold out twice over and made him realize his belief in the
potential was accurate. His rapidly growing private client base,
including members of the royal family, was another key indicator.
Soon, Khan began working with two local investors, and, in October
2010, the first stage of his dream was realized as Contender
MMA opened its doors to the public in spectacular fashion, hosting
a Wanderlei Silva seminar.
“I
wanted everyone to feel welcome and not intimidated,” Khan
says, pointing to the name of the gym, “and the reality
is that, while not everyone can be a champion, everyone can be
a contender.”
In
the months since, Contender MMA has established itself as the
home of mixed martial arts in the Middle East. Its fraternity
of coaches, fighters and students is indicative of Dubai’s
diversity, with a boxing coach from Cameroon, wrestlers from
Russia, students from places such as the United States, Lebanon
and India, and even drop-ins from U.S. servicemen on leave from
stints in Iraq and Afghanistan. Celebrities who have been through
the doors include Jean Claude Van Damme, and classes have also
expanded to include everything from strength and conditioning
to Capoeira.
“What
Contender proves is that MMA is a uniting force: we welcome anyone
here, regardless of nationality, religion or politics,”
Khan says. “I love America, as it’s not only the home
of MMA, [but] it’s also a country that historically has
opened its arms to people from around the world on the condition
they respect the country’s values and traditions. In the
same way, the only thing I insist on at Contender is that everyone
displays a level of mutual respect. I don’t care how talented
you are, if you don’t display that respect, you’ve
got no place here.”
In
terms of his fighters, Khan has high hopes for Malik Omarov,
from the Russian republic of Dagestan. Omarov, who is 24, has
a strong background in Thai boxing and has impressed visitors
like UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva with his striking
skills. Khan also takes pride in how Ari Basti, an Australian
of Iranian origin, is developing at semi-pro level.
However,
one of the major challenges facing Khan is finding matches for
his fighters, given the lack of promotions in the region and
the headaches of travelling abroad to compete. As such, it is
hardly surprising that one of his future goals is to establish
a promotional arm and to start running small shows to help regional
fighters develop and grow awareness for the Contender brand.
In
terms of his own influences, Khan singles out a number of individuals.
His original mentor, Dan Burzotta, figures prominently, as does
Dan’s brother, Alex, owner of the British promotion Ultimate
Warrior Challenge; he serves as Khan’s manager. Khan regards
Gracie as a “father figure”and remains eternally grateful
for the UFC hall of famer’s support and guidance during
his Dubai adventure. Khan credits White for MMA’s global
growth and aims to someday work with the UFC boss.
“I
really admire Dana White and the job he’s done in transforming
MMA,” he says. “I just love his whole ethos and the
way he does things: no [bulls---]. I just hope that one day we
get the chance to help out when [the] UFC comes back here, as
I’d love to get a local fighter on the card.”
Of
course, the past few years have not been entirely smooth sailing.
In particular, there has been the difficult process of education,
both in terms of making the wider public aware of what MMA actually
is and in terms of making new students realize they are not going
to be UFC stars within months. Khan’s parting shot indicates
how MMA has become a sort of global brotherhood.
“Our
doors are open to all, whether it’s fighters interested
in setting up camp here like they do in Brazil and Thailand,
or whether it’s just people passing through who want to
enjoy a training session,” he says. “We’re all
in this together.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Testosterone
capitulation: The UFC, Rampage, & Fighters Only
By Zach
Arnold
“I
think slavery is done.”
When
it comes to illustrating absurdity amongst two UFC fighters who
currently finds themselves in a pickle (for legal or PR reasons),
you could not currently find a more contrasting example than
that of one Nick Diaz & Rampage Jackson. Diaz, who got suspended
after failing a Nevada drug test for marijuana, has kept his
mouth shut on the matter and has let big boy hired guns do the
talking. His attorney, Ross Goodman, is about as good as you
can get in Las Vegas when it comes to going after a pol like
Keith Kizer. Team Diaz channeling the spirit of Jonathan Tweedale
is also a fascinating development.
In
other words, Team Diaz is actually using their head & their
brains to try to get out of their bad situation. The same cannot
be said for Rampage Jackson, a man who continues to dig himself
into a deeper hole over his interview a few weeks ago with Fighters
Only magazine.
Last
week, Dana White claimed at a New York City presser that Rampage
talked to Lorenzo Fertitta and allegedly told Lorenzo that the
interviewer in question (Gary Alexander) made things up regarding
allegations about Rampage using testosterone and his doctor’s
supposed relationship with the UFC.
Up
until Monday, Rampage had not issued any sort of denial about
the claims made in the Fighters Only magazine. On Monday night,
Rampage made his first indication of a muddled non-denial denial
about what was claimed in the Fighters Only magazine interview.
In
order to give you a clear illustration of what was initially
claimed in the Fighters Only interview, we’ve decided to
break down the supposed claims here. Once we establish what those
supposed claims were, then we will compare what Rampage allegedly
said during the interview with his public statements made to
Inside MMA last night.
These
are the seven major claims that Gary Alexander wrote that Rampage
Jackson had allegedly told him during their interview for Fighters
Only Magazine (published February 29th).
1.
In the magazine interview, Rampage supposedly said that he was
told by his doctor that his knee was in such bad shape that he
should not fight on the UFC Japan card.
So
when I hurt my knee this time it was fucked but it was really
a blessing in disguise. I really wanted to fight for the Japanese
fans and so I went to see the doctor and he told me not to fight.
I was like ‘whoa.’ I bust out crying, because I had
missed Japan and… you know, I don’t like to tell people
that I cry but I am a human being, I cried. I woke up at like
three o’clock in the morning and I cried. I couldn’t
train and I didn’t know if it would be a career-ending injury.
What
Rampage said to Inside MMA: “One, I did use TRT, because
my doctor prescribed it to me. He tested my levels. My levels
were low and he said it would let me heal up my knee.
“Two,
I never backed off those statements, not once. I didn’t
even have to give that information. I chose to give it because
a lot of people out here are cheating with steroids and all different
stuff.”
So,
Rampage continues to back his assertion of testosterone usage.
He also said he got a prescription for it but does not go out
of his way to say that an endocrinologist gave him the prescription
(which would requires months worth of testing) as opposed to
the Fighters Only interview claim that he got the prescription
from an ‘age management doctor.’ Furthermore, Rampage
backs his claim that his knee was hurt and that he got the testosterone
in order to ‘heal up’ in time to fight. He does not
back off of the interview claim about his doctor initially not
wanting him to fight on the UFC Japan card.
“In
my opinion, (UFC president) Dana (White) has a way of controlling
the media (to have them) seeing the way he sees things. That’s
why they got rid of all the other media at the UFC when they
first started taking over, so they could only have their type
of media.
“I
never backed down from saying that. I don’t even know why
he would say I backed down from saying that.”
So,
here’s Rampage basically, in a muddled sense, saying that
he didn’t back down from what he said during the interview
and that what Dana said at the NYC presser wasn’t true?
As you read the quotes from the Inside MMA interview, Rampage
says that the interviewer (Gary Alexander) misheard him on some
statements due to a problem understanding accents… and yet
he’s saying that Dana’s manipulating the media here
over what he did or didn’t say during that interview.
This
makes both Rampage and the UFC look terrible. Let’s continue.
2.
Rampage allegedly said that his doctor ‘works for the UFC’
and that his doctor keeps the UFC in the loop in regards to his
medical status.
a
lot of fights when I am injured I don’t tell anybody but
the UFC knew this time because my doctor works for the UFC. Its
good that the UFC knew because they look after you, they take
care of you even if its just in training. Pride didn’t do
that.
I
told my doctor not to tell the UFC but he told them anyway. I
don’t like the UFC to know sometimes because I think sometimes
got big mouths and then sometimes my opponent knows.
What
Rampage told Inside MMA: “I think what happened was, I did
an interview with this one guy and he recorded it. I thought
he was going to put it up just like you’re doing.
But
no, he took some of it and typed it, and the guy who typed it
was a British guy. He didn’t understand my English. He didn’t
understand my accent. He just typed some stuff that he thought
I said, which is wrong.
“I
think they tried to say that I had like a UFC doctor give it
to me or something like that, which is wrong. I had my personal
doctor. He gets paid by the UFC. He’s my personal doctor
but I don’t have to pay him; he just sends the bill to UFC,
basically is what I said.
“So
that’s why I said the UFC knew I was hurt. I don’t
know if the UFC knew what I was doing. But the UFC paid (for)
me to see him.
He
sent me to another doctor. The doctor that he sent me to, I pay
him. The UFC don’t pay the doctor who did the TRT; I pay
that TRT. But the doctor who takes care of me, the UFC pays him.”
This
is both a terrible and a clever answer at the same time. What
Rampage is saying is that, no, UFC didn’t directly pay for
me to go see an ‘age management doctor’ to get the
testosterone… but, yes, they pay for my personal doctor
and know what’s going on with me medically.
While
it’s one of those parsing-of-the-word type answers, it also
puts UFC in a box. He’s basically not backing off the claim
that UFC knew he was supposedly hurt bad with a knee injury for
his fight and that his personal doctor allegedly told him he
shouldn’t be fighting.
Take
note of the ambiguity about whether or not the UFC knew he was
using testosterone for his fight in Japan. This is a bad answer
and I’ll tell you why. In order to use Testosterone Replacement
Therapy, you need to get a Therapeutic Use Exemption with an
Athletic Commission. If you don’t get a TUE for testosterone
usage, chances are something is going to pop up on a failed drug
test due to the T/E ratio being too out of balance.
So,
who was overseeing regulation of UFC Japan? The UFC was. They
were the acting Athletic Commission. So, who from the UFC would
monitor the use of a TUE or monitor the testosterone levels?
Or were they monitored at all? If there was drug testing at the
show and Rampage didn’t alert UFC medical staff ahead of
time about his testosterone usage, I would suspect that something
should show up on the drug test.
This
raises yet another thorny issue for the UFC, which is allowing
guys to use TRT while fighting in foreign countries on shows
regulated by the UFC. Remember the debacle involving Nate Marquardt?
He fought in Germany against Yushin Okami. Josh Gross tried to
ask Dr. Jeff Davidson about the topic and supposedly Dr. Davidson
would not publicly comment on the matter.
For
Rampage to be publicly putting UFC in a box like he has on this
medical issue and to do so in such a public manner, I can’t
imagine what the organization is thinking right now.
3.
Rampage allegedly said that his doctor had a change of heart
and pointed him towards an ‘age management’ doctor,
which led to getting a prescription for Testosterone.
I
almost pulled out but then I went to see the doctor and he told
me to talk to an age-management doctor. So I went and talked
to them and they tested me and said my testosterone was low;
they prescribed me testosterone, to bring my testosterone levels
back up to levels where I can be like… so that I am the
same as young people, like when I was 25, and it would help build
my knee up. I hurt my knee like a month ago and I only did three
shots of testosterone but it put a lot of weight on me, a lot
of muscle on me but it healed me knee up good enough to where
I could fight.
Rampage
tried to get around his ‘doctor works for UFC’ comment
by saying that the UFC pays for his doctor but that the doctor
doesn’t work for them… despite the claim that this
doctor (who has yet to be named publicly) tells UFC about what’s
going on with Rampage’s medical condition?
How’s
that any different than the way UFC treats independently contracted
doctors like Dr. Jeff Davidson, the ER doctor who oversees a
lot of the fighters at weigh-ins and for things like staph infections
(e.g. Matt Hamill)? Just because you claim that all you do is
’send the bill’ to the UFC to pay for the doctor doesn’t
absolve the earlier claim by Rampage that his doctor keeps UFC
in the loop about his medical condition. It’s not a hands-off
deal here based on the interview claims and what Rampage has
publicly said here.
“The
thing is, the UFC knew I was injured and they knew I still fought
for them. I feel like, honestly, I think if I didn’t fight
on that card in Japan, I don’t think the appeal would have
been as big. I’m sorry; I’m not trying to toot my own
horn or nothing like that. But they only had me and Mark Hunt.”
So,
here in this Inside MMA quote, Rampage backs up what was claimed
in the Fighters Only interview by saying the UFC knew he was
in bad shape all along and probably shouldn’t have fought
on the card.
4.
Rampage supposedly told Gary Alexander that his new-found testosterone
usage was the contributing factor in him missing weight for his
fight against Ryan Bader.
I
gained a lot of weight but I gained a lot of water as well, I
never knew about testosterone putting weight on you like that.
I had to cut weight [for the fight] and I cut 22 pounds out of
the 30 I needed to cut, I just couldn’t make the rest. I
couldn’t make the rest.
He
doesn’t deny using testosterone at all publicly. A well-known
side effect is weight gain. As he supposedly stated during his
Fighters Only interview, he gained muscle at a fast rate and
also suffered from water retention.
During
the Inside MMA interview, Rampage claimed that his doctor told
him that his testosterone levels were ‘very, very low.’
He threw out the figure of 420 ng. The doctor said that he should
be in the 600 to 800 ng range. Rampage said that he asked his
doctor why he didn’t go up to 800 ng and he claims the doctor
told him, “I don’t want to get you into trouble.”
5.
Rampage allegedly stated that he was told that using testosterone
is different than using a steroid.
Well
to be honest with you I first learned about testosterone…
I don’t know about health and drugs and stuff because I
don’t really deal with it. I was never really big into it.
So I was like ‘testosterone? No I’m not going to do
that, that’s like steroids’ but then the doctor is
like ‘no, steroids is stuff mixed with testosterone or other
stuff, you can get steroids that do all types of things. Steroids
for your cardio, for your muscles. Testosterone is all natural,
its what your body produces.’
What
Rampage told Inside MMA: “Some people are even abusing TRT
and I choose not to. I don’t want to be a cheater. …
I don’t consider it cheating. If I have hair remission,
I’m going to use hair transplants if I want to. If I lose
some of my teeth, I’m going to put new teeth back in my
mouth. If I’m an athlete, and my doctor says, ‘Well,
your testosterone is low and you’re going to be at a disadvantage
with the other fights,’ then I’m going to bring my
levels of my testosterone back up. Plus, it can re-heal you,
so I thought it was a no-brainer.
“I
saw a big difference right away. It was very beneficial to me
in my training. I felt like a 25-year-old again. … I think
it’s a great thing if fighters don’t abuse it. I think
it’s easy to abuse. That’s where they get the (phrase)
‘drug abuse’ from — you can abuse any drug.”
As
Dr. David Black famously said years ago on 60 Minutes, ‘testosterone
is the base chemical of steroids.’
The
point of TRT is to get your levels to where you are feeling like
you normally should be… for your AGE number. Meaning, if
you’re 33 years old and your body feels like you are 80,
the point is to use TRT to feel like you are 33. The point isn’t
to feel like you’re 25, as Rampage claims. Besides, he’s
33 years old and he’s proclaiming that he feels like he’s
25. That’s only a difference of about 8 years.
Furthermore,
comparing the usage of testosterone by an MMA fighter to someone
getting hair plugs or teeth implants is logically insane. MMA
is the hurt game. The amount of aggression and strength you have
can determine how much more physical trauma you can inflect upon
an opponent.
As
Victor Conte recently noted, your T levels generally go down
1% each year after the age of 30. Furthermore, Victor stated
that only 2% of the general male populace has a legitimate problem
with low testosterone.
We
know what the three main causes of low testosterone levels are
amongst MMA fighters – 1) previous PED usage, 2) bad weight
cutting, 3) concussions & brain damage leading to decreased
testosterone levels.
6.
Rampage supposedly stated to Gary Alexander that UFC told him
that ‘a lot of fighters’ are ‘probably’ using
testosterone.
So
I spoke to the UFC and they were like ‘yeah, a lot of fighters
are probably doing it but not telling anyone.’ Me, I keep
it real, I am not doing anything wrong. Its legal and I am not
abusing it and I am not going over certain levels. From what
I learned about it, when I got tested my levels my levels were
really low and the doctor was telling me that athletes can burn
testosterone.
Rampage
has not publicly backed off of this interview claim.
7.
Rampage allegedly told Gary Alexander that with his new-found
discovery of testosterone, he didn’t plan on retiring any
time sooner because the testosterone usage supposedly helps him
recover from injuries during training.
In
Japan I saw the change and so I decided I am not retiring no
time soon, whether I fight for the UFC or not, I am gonna heal
my knee up and get back on top. I feel young again. I’m
happy I did the testosterone, I wish I had known about it sooner.
I
guarantee nine out of ten people would have pulled out with the
injuries that I had. People were thinking that I wasn’t
taking this fight seriously, that’s why I was getting so
mad.
He
has not denied any aspect of this interview claim publicly and
did not do so on Monday night’s interview with Inside MMA.
****
All
of this is damning for the parties involved (Rampage, UFC, and
Fighters Only) for one reason or another. I’m not suggesting
legal impropriety but what I am suggesting is that this is a
public relations fiasco to the nth degree.
The
UFC
Think
about what’s been happening for the organization lately.
They’re coming off two great events (UFC Japan & UFC
Australia) with major crowds and super atmospheres. Their top
vocal nemesis in New York, Bob Reilly, is heading out the exit
from politics. Only Sheldon Silver stands in their way politically
in terms of getting MMA legislation passed.
And
what are they are now faced to deal with for a third week in
a row? Rampage’s testosterone claims. Can you imagine the
New York DA’s office & the office of the state Attorney
General grilling Dr. Davidson, Dana, Lorenzo, and Marc Ratner
for hours upon hours about testosterone usage and other medical
issues in MMA? It would be an utter disaster and a black eye
on the sport. UFC opened themselves up to this potential situation
by filing a lawsuit against New York to try to get legislation
for MMA through judicial fiat.
Rampage’s
comments are all over the world now. The New York Daily News
ran a piece by Victor Conte on this subject a day after UFC had
a presser in New York City.
This
is a serious public relations issue for the UFC and they know
it, too. The way they’ve handled it so far, however, has
been haphazard & confusing. The company never issued a statement
directly rebutting any of the interview claims when the interview
was released on the 29th. When Dan Herbertson presented Dana
White with Rampage’s quotes about testosterone usage, Dana
got pissed at Dan for what he thought was a game of ‘gotcha’
and then basically said that there are fighters who use PEDs,
damage their endocrine systems, and should be given a chance
to have a career in the UFC while using TRT instead of being
punished for making a mistake.
“If
you take a guy who’s talented enough to be in the UFC, right?
he’s talented enough to be in the UFC yet for some stupid
reason this guy’s using or abusing [Performance Enhancing
Drugs]. What it does is the long terms effect of this… when
guys get off it, they stop producing testosterone. It [expletive]
with guys mentally, physically, emotionally, it does so much
damage to a professional athlete… there’s no way in
hell we want guys coming in doing this stuff. The problem is,
it happens. It’s happening now and what we want to try to
do is stop this before it gets, you know, to a point where, you
know… young guys get damaged and could have, you know, gone
on and had great careers in the UFC.”
For
over a week, it’s been rumored that the UFC office would
issue a statement on the matter. Dave Meltzer claimed that Lorenzo
would address the issue. As we saw with the Chael Sonnen saga
in California, a key component of that fiasco was that Sonnen’s
doctor, Dr. Mark Czarnecki, is a GP and not an endocrinologist.
As
Victor Conte claimed during his interview with Steve Cofield
& Kevin Iole last week, in order to get your levels properly
checked by an endocrinologist it takes months, not weeks or days.
Rampage supposedly stated in the Fighters Only interview that
he was hurt, wasn’t going to be able to fight, and then
got led from his doctor to an ‘age management doctor’
for testosterone. Rampage has not raised the claim that the doctor
who prescribed him the TRT was an endocrinologist. So, this is
going to be a hard avenue for UFC to attack given what Rampage
allegedly said in the Fighters Only interview and now said last
night on Inside MMA.
Zuffa
eats people for lunch in court if someone defames them or does
something they interpret as damaging their brand. Why haven’t
they sued Fighters Only or Rampage for the claims that have been
published & publicly attributed (to Rampage)? This company
humbled Ken Shamrock into legal submission. They went after Randy
Couture with a vengeance. If Fighters Only fabricated what they
said Rampage claimed during the interview, don’t you think
that Zuffa would have filed a lawsuit against them by now? The
same deal with Rampage. Given all of his statements, some incredibly
troublesome & damaging, you would think that Zuffa would
be going after him guns a blazing if he was lying to make them
look really bad, yes?
For
a company that is known for their overly-aggressive PR tactics
when it comes to combating critics, they have been remarkably
muted (by their standards) and damage is being done here.
Rampage
Jackson
If
UFC held a casting call to go find someone in Hollywood to play
the role of an aging, veteran fighter who was once a household
name but now is using testosterone in order to keep his career
going and blaming his employer for all the injustices he has
suffered… I don’t think UFC could ever find someone
who comes across the way Rampage does.
It
is constantly a ‘victim’ card with him no matter what.
Interesting that he admitted to Inside MMA that there’s
an on-going battle over a new contract and how much he’s
worth to UFC. As I said a few days ago, it’s time for UFC
to call his bluff. Release him. Let him find out that his chances
of making substantial money in MMA outside of Zuffa are gone.
Let him go back to Hollywood and see if he can make a run at
being a movie star again.
I
just know that what we’re witnessing here with Rampage is
one sad ending.
Fighters
Only
Of
all the players who has taken a beating over this story, Fighters
Only has actually responded the worst out of the three parties.
They
continue to remain silent when it comes to releasing the audio
or video recording of Gary Alexander’s interview with Rampage.
They refuse to stand up for themselves here. Dana last week claimed
that Rampage threw them under the bus to Lorenzo by stating that
the interviewer ‘made up’ things. Rampage, while not
explicitly back-tracking from the interview claims (and even
going so far as to say Dana manipulates the media & that
he wasn’t back-tracking), proceeded to say to Inside MMA
that the interviewer must have misheard or misinterpreted some
of his comments because of the different accents they have.
From
a legal perspective, Fighters Only better have the audio &
video recording of the interview. We’ve been demanding that
they release the goods… and for one reason or another, they
have refused to do so. They’ve stayed silent. When you are
a magazine, especially a print publication, and you publish something
as explosive as the claims Rampage supposedly made to you during
an interview, you better damn well be ready to have the unedited
audio & video ready to release to public or else you are
asking for a lawsuit.
Could
you imagine during, say, the PRIDE scandal if I had made claims
that weren’t true? PRIDE could have sued my ass into bankruptcy.
They could have threatened me through various financial channels.
It didn’t happen. When you cover a story that contains explosive
allegations and controversial claims, you better be 100% on guard
and ready to defend your name & your reputation when the
heat is on.
Dana
threw Fighters Only under the bus last week. Rampage tried throwing
Gary Alexander under the bus last night while still not rejecting
the major claims that were made in that Fighters Only interview.
Stand
up for yourself and your reputation.
Why
remain silent and forever have your credibility publicly damaged?
Your image is on the line here. You were willing to publish the
explosive story on the 29th but you’re not willing to stand
up for yourselves weeks later when it’s time to defend the
credibility of the remarks made during said interview that you
attached your name to on the byline?
Tragic.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
MMA
ROUNDTABLE: WHAT'S NEXT FOR MELENDEZ AND ALDO, RAMPAGE-SHOGUN
II AND MORE
By Mike
Chiappetta - Senior Writer
It's
been a long time since we sidled up to the old MMA roundtable
and threw down on some of the biggest questions of the day, so
I invited my colleague Luke Thomas to his first showdown to see
what he's got.
Wednesday's topics include how to keep Gilbert Melendez happy
in Strikeforce, what to make of Nick Diaz's suspension appeal,
and how going on a Rampage can lead to fun and profit.
1. Who will be Gilbert Melendez's next opponent in Strikeforce?
Mike
Chiappetta: There's been all kinds of speculation about who Melendez
would face ever since he beat Jorge Masvidal in December. I think
I unintentionally helped to jumpstart the possibility of Zuffa
sending a UFC fighter to Strikeforce to fight him the day after
the Masvidal fight when I proposed he face BJ Penn, and those
kinds of rumors have persisted. Cesar Gracie recently fanned
the flames by saying that Melendez would fight on May 19, and
he hoped to face Penn or Anthony Pettis.
But
recently, a well-placed source informed me that a different name
was a possibility: Gray Maynard.
He
hasn't fought since his knockout at the hands of Frankie Edgar
last October, and given that he had two cracks at the UFC belt
in 2011, he's not likely to get another title bout anytime soon.
He also doesn't have a huge salary that would make the move to
Strikeforce cost prohibitive. And because Maynard gave Edgar
a run twice, it would also be a fight that could provide a frame
of reference for just how good Melendez is. I like it, and I
think it's going to happen.
Luke
Thomas: I really hope Mike's inside information comes true. Gray
Maynard would be an excellent choice for the Strikeforce organization,
its fans and the two fighters involved. It's especially the right
kind of challenge for the underserved Melendez.
No matter what happens, neither Josh Thomson nor KJ Noons are
suitable contenders and the champion couldn't possibly be less
interested in either fight. Who can blame him? He so outclasses
both that the fights are basically matters of procedure. Keeping
Melendez in Strikeforce is neither fair to the champion nor his
challengers. It'd be much more equitable to the rest of the Strikeforce
lightweight roster to move Melendez to the UFC and let the division
sort itself out with it's existing talent.
If Maynard's not up for it or not available, but we still could
move talent let's consider other top UFC lightweights. They'd
have to be those who likely wouldn't contend for titles, but
could be stiff tests for Melendez as well as provide a dose of
excitement for Strikeforce. What about Joe Lauzon or Sam Stout?
Couldn't we move Dennis Siver or Gleison Tibau? Lightweight is
one of those divisions that's young enough and talent-rich enough
where it can be carefully poached without truly doing damage
to it. And as long as Melendez is isolated, the case for doing
as much gets stronger by the day.
2.
Since Frankie Edgar is staying at lightweight, what does UFC
do next with Jose Aldo?
Thomas:
Aldo is a truly frustrating fighter for the UFC. He's got all
the tools to be a major star and is young enough that with the
right promotion could be a lasting figure for the promotion.
I honestly believe if Aldo spoke English fluently and could more
readily participate in media pushes, he'd be a significantly
bigger star. Yes, Anderson Silva has never truly spoken English,
but it took him years to turn into a star and he was able to
fight and beat known commodities that helped turn him into an
attraction.
That
is what the UFC must do with Aldo. Either entice lightweights
to drop to featherweight or have Aldo move to lightweight. Hatsu
Hioki and Dustin Poirier are supreme talents and worthy of everyone's
respect, but Aldo will only be marking time (promotionally speaking)
by fighting them. A much better option is to have him fight and
beat known entities. That's how stars are born in MMA. Names
on the way out are fed to names on the way up. Aldo's talent
wouldn't exactly be squandered facing the current line of contenders
at featherweight, but it's hardly best use of his time.
Chiappetta:
First off, I disagree with moving him to lightweight. Why are
we always so quick to tell fighters what weight their bodies
should handle? It's no small thing. Anyway, dominant champions
are historically big draws, and as Aldo continues to solidify
his hold on the featherweight division, he'll become one, too.
There's no need to push him up a weight class in order to make
that happen.
So
what now? Well, there's nothing wrong with Luke's first idea
of having a lightweight move down to face him, as long as that
fighter is a) a credible opponent and b) inclined to make that
cut. Anthony Pettis has said he'd consider such an offer, but
a rematch with Ben Henderson down the line seems like a more
viable option for him, and a bigger money draw for the UFC. So
I think UFC will stay within the division and Aldo will draw
Hioki next. If I was a UFC decision-maker, I'd think long and
hard about showcasing that fight on FOX.
3.
Is Rampage vs. Shogun II the right call by the UFC?
Chiappetta:
No. I stick by my column from Monday, that the UFC should have
released Jackson. But in some ways, this is a decision I think
can be looked at from different perspectives as a fan, and as
a business decision.
As
a fan, the Jackson-Rua rematch is an interesting fight, and I'll
be intrigued to watch it, even though it's almost as if Jackson
is being rewarded for his threats to leave the promotion. From
a business perspective though, if I was a UFC decision-maker,
I wouldn't offer him a fight that would allow him to go out on
a high note, thereby increasing his value to prospective employers.
The fact they did that makes me believe they think the relationship
will be patched up ... again.
Thomas: Most certainly. I disagree with my colleague on this
one.
Rampage
has claimed the UFC has told him his appeal has waned. He even
noted their argument was that rappers don't show up to watch
him fight anymore. I have no idea if any of that is true (although
it's hilarious), but if the UFC believes Rampage's star power
has faded somewhat, then they're correct. It has. But it's not
so faded that it's negligible.
There's
a key consideration to understand that makes keeping Rampage
around for one more fight borderline essential: the old guard
of MMA is about to depart en masse. Consider that within the
next two years (or less) the following fighters could be gone
from the ranks of the UFC: Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn, Matt Hughes,
Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, both
Nogueira brothers, Roy Nelson and Rich Franklin. On the bubble
(up to three years) are fighters like Chris Leben, Rashad Evans
and Josh Koscheck. There may well be others. All of these fighters
have either expressed sincere interest in retirement, will be
deep into their thirties (or forties) in the stated time span
or be both.
Stated plainly, UFC needs all of the star power they can get.
The UFC brand itself is hugely important, but this is a star-driven
sport. Perhaps the relationship with Rampage is too fractured
to be repaired, but Rampage as either a headliner or co-main
event makes sense as long as it's a viable option. Let's not
throw the baby out with the bath water.
4.
How likely is Nick Diaz's appeal defense of reducing or eliminating
his suspension?
Thomas:
Impossible to tell. Diaz is not working through a normal court
of law procedure. He is not entitled to a traditional appeals
system nor is an appointed, practicing judge presiding over his
challenge. In short, whatever the commission wishes to do is
what they'll do. They're both jury and judge here and that makes
forecasting his chances of success rather difficult.
That
said, his case is air tight in my opinion. I don't know if his
lawyer lifted the blueprint for this challenge from a post written
by Jonathan Tweedale over at BloodyElbow.com, but either way
Tweedale was first. He's also a member of the athletic commission
in Vancouver and an attorney. And what he found was a clear misapplication
of the stated guidelines of the Nevada State Athletic Commission
(NSAC). Urine tests do not tell us when a fighter used, just
that he used. Since NSAC follows WADA's guidelines on marijuana
(it's not banned out of competition), then they must have testing
measures in place that allow us to follow that rule. For Diaz,
everything hinges on how the NSAC will try to define 'out of
competition' and whether they'll directly follow WADA's guidelines
there as they do with other banned substances protocol.
I'll
just say this: there's bellyaching among the MMA community about
Diaz trying to backdoor his marijuana use into legalized territory.
I could not possibly disagree more. This isn't about Diaz at
all. This is about making sure the athletic commissions we trust
to regulate this sport are using and applying guidelines they
are bound by correctly. It's not about Diaz. It's about every
fighter who competes in Nevada and arguably any other state.
Mike
Chiappetta: Diaz might have a legitimate defense here. There
is precedent. In 2008, Belgian cyclist Tom Boonen tested positive
for cocaine but was not suspended by WADA because his test came
out of competition. Diaz's legal team will have to prove that
his use was out-of-competition. That will be tricky because despite
the fact that they claim WADA has excluded marijuana metabolites
as a positive result, it has been accepted as a positive result
in the past. The drugs were in his system and there's really
no dispute he took them, it now all hinges on when he took them.
As
Luke mentioned, this isn't a court, so the process isn't structured
or easy to predict. Because of that, neither is the outcome.
Some state commissions have shown a willingness to reduce penalties
when faced with a strong defense argument, but NSAC hasn't historically
been one of them. Given that it's his second offense, I still
think Diaz will be faced with a 6-9 month suspension. But the
good news is the fact that since he is appealing this result,
he must be planning to fight again.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Should
Judges Be Held Accountable for Bad Decisions?
by Damon
Martin
Judging
in MMA has come under fire on numerous occasions from fighters,
fans, managers and of course promoters.
UFC
President Dana White has taken judging in MMA to task on more
than one occasion, and on several occasions have paid out win
bonuses based on their personal belief that a fighter got the
short straw on the decision.
Such
was the case at UFC 144 when Takeya Mizugaki lost a controversial
decision to Chris Cariaso that most everyone outside of the judges
sitting cage side believed he won. The UFC in turn paid Mizugaki
his win money because they believed that he deserved the victory
despite the loss being handed to him by the judges.
“I
was just surprised. I thought I definitely won that fight so
till this day I don’t know how judges’ scoring ended
up in that way,” Mizugaki told MMAWeekly.com from Japan.
“There
was no big turn around in that fight like, for example, a knock
down, but I believe, for anyone with the firm understanding of
MMA it was just obvious who won that fight. Yet all three judges
scored the other way so maybe there is a problem with in terms
how the commission elect judges? I believe the commission could
have chosen judges with more understanding about the sport of
MMA.”
The
judges in Japan were actually selected by the UFC because that
particular country doesn’t have an athletic commission,
but regardless of the selection process, judging has often been
considered uneven and lackluster for more than just the event
last month in Japan.
Mizugaki’s
manager, Shu Hirata, points out one of the less obvious problems
with judging in MMA. The promoters like the UFC often times pay
out win bonuses because they believe fighters have been wronged
by decisions, and that’s extra money out of pocket because
they are now paying both fighters their full purse.
“Not
only this time but in the many other occasions Zuffa has paid
a win bonus to a loser of the fight because they thought judges
made a mistake,” Hirata told MMAWeekly.com. “This means,
Zuffa has been financially penalized every time judges made wrong
decisions because they have been paying extra win bonuses.
“Fighter
takes a ” L” on his / her record. Therefore, a fighter
is penalized as well.”
Hirata,
who manages several top fighters in the UFC, Strikeforce and
Bellator, believes that the judges in MMA should be held accountable
the same way the fighters are when they now have a permanent
loss on their record, regardless of the bonuses paid by the promotion.
He
believes that judges should live by the same set of rules as
fighters who are penalized by bad decisions, and in this particular
case he absolutely believes Mizugaki’s win was stolen from
him.
“Judges
are never ever penalized for their mistakes. All they have to
say is, “I believe in my judging. But judges are human too
and that means no one is perfect. People do make mistakes it’s
not even natural for judges to be always 100% right. They are
not gods after all, right?” said Hirata.
“If
we consider “Octagon control”, “takedowns”
and also, if we implement the theory of “If more than 50%
of the round was spent on the mat then the fighter who controlled
the ground war generally wins the round”, then yes I would
have to say Takeya was robbed.”
Over
the years, Hirata had to deal with some very questionable situations
with judging in Japan when there was no commission and the promotions
simply ran things however they saw fit. He admits the UFC running
things made it a lot smoother, but they can’t tell judges
how to score.
The
judges simply need to be educated better, or Hirata says something
needs to change.
“I
think Zuffa’s decision of running MMA show in Japan under
the commission rules is totally great. This was never done here
in Japan and everything was executed very smoothly. In fact I
didn’t have to deal with any “unknown people”
or “not so pleasant individual” in the backstage and
dressing rooms, which is very revolutionary in the Japanese MMA
standard. I would have to say that UFC 144 show was the “healthiest”
MMA event I’ve ever experienced in Japan. And I believe
people from UK commission were running the show and they all
did excellent job,” said Hirata.
“But
for judging, maybe we can try something new? I mean, this is
not the first time many fans, promoters, and fighters didn’t
agree with the judges right? Well, then maybe the way to fix
this is to try something new. Why not bring in one judge from
Europe one judge from State and one judge from Asia? Or simply
take votes from fans and people in the industry to decide best
judges and use top ten ranked judges when UFC does the show at
the country where there is no athletic commission? And if this
works then that means Zuffa has set the precedent and maybe that
can be presented to the athletic commission back in the States?”
Hirata’s
hope is that judging debacles like this one can be avoided because
when the scores go the wrong way, it seems to affect everyone
except the judges in question.
“I
am sure UFC will continue to expand, and in the future, they
will do more shows at the countries where there is no such an
organization or even a concept called athletic commission. Therefore,
I sincerely hope Zuffa would use these situations as an advantage
to take initiative in setting and creating better rules and regulations.
As a sport of MMA evolves everything around the sport should
evolve too,” Hirata explained.
Mizugaki
admits he was very happy the UFC did what they did for him, and
also the fact that Dana White stood up for the decision when
speaking after the fights as well.
“I
am just so grateful of UFC’s reaction in regards to this
matter. They made all decision quickly, so it was just fantastic,”
said Mizugaki.
“At
the post fight press conference, Dana even stated that “things
needs to be righted” and I would like to believe in his
word and just concentrate on becoming UFC champion.
As
for Takeya Mizugaki now, he goes home with a win bonus, but still
has a loss on his record, and a year or two years from now when
someone looks at his record will they remember that the defeat
to Chris Cariaso came under questionable ruling from the judges?
The
likely answer is no and that’s ultimately what Mizugaki
gets punished with regardless of payouts, bonuses or fans who
believe he should have got the call right now.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
What
we’ve learned from the UFC reality show
The
15th season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show is under
way in the United States, for the first time airing on US network
television channel FOX. Leading the two teams are current bantamweight
champ Dominick Cruz and former featherweight champion of the
WEC Urijah Faber. And Brazil is getting ready for the premiere
of its own domestic version of the show, with Vitor Belfort and
Wanderlei Silva at the helm as coaches.
The
show is responsible for catapulting the promotion into the mainstream,
and ever since the first installment, back in 2005, 21 champions
have come through its ranks. And there are plenty of lessons
to reap from so many editions, some of which are remarked on
below:
Forrest
Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar
One
of the bloodiest fights ever, an MMA classic. To many, it was
the fight that definitively introduced the sport to the broader
audience. Never give up—that’s was the guiding principle
Griffin and Bonnar showed in the octagon. The result: Griffin
was awarded the win, then going on to be crowned light heavyweight
champion, and Bonnar was awarded a contract despite the loss,
and he remains on the UFC roster to this day, not to mention
working as a commentator on event broadcasts.
Personality
The
inaugural TUF season yielded some names that are still a part
of the organization to this day. There was plenty of conflict
in the house, with fighters sticking to their guns in the way
they thought and behaved. Who doesn’t remember, for example,
the spats between Josh Koscheck and Chris Leben? Both fell into
the public’s good graces and ended up in the event.
Believe
Rashad
Evans may not have been a favorite to win TUF 2, especially for
his apparent size disadvantage when compared to his heavyweight
counterparts. However, Rashad believed in himself, went down
the line, leaving opponents in his wake all the way to the final,
against Brad Imes. From there on he annihilated all opposition
until capturing the light heavyweight belt. Evans’s only
loss in 18 professional fights came at the hands of Lyoto Machida,
to whom he lost his title. But Evans still believes, and once
again he will get his shot at the top, this time against Jon
Jones, who many believe to be unbeatable.
Attention
grabbing
Be
yourself. The following examples are quite controversial, but
there’s no denying that it was thus, along with their skill
as fighters, they took their place in the spotlight. Michael
Bisping and Nate Diaz took the route of controversy and hence
remain some of the main characters in the UFC lineup. Bisping
won TUF 3, while Diaz won the fifth season of the show. The audience
relishes their appearances, despite often criticizing their posture.
(Watch
the video of the crew at TUF academy hard at work, taken by Carlos
Ozório)
Looks
can be deceiving
This
one fits a certain star of TUF 10 like a glove. However many
convincing wins attached to the name Roy Nelson, who was previously
the champion of the IFL, but who would put their money on the
chubby fighter? Nelson was a contradiction to what the winning
formula should be: besides his waist line, he was a slouch in
training. Still, he won the TUF title after beating the true
athlete Brendan Schaub. So don’t judge a book by its cover.
Be
a role model
In
the 8th season, Rodrigo Minotauro, one of the coaches, graduated
from being an idol just in Brazil and Japan and finally conquered
the American audience. His popularity even exceeded hometown
boy Frank Mir, the American coaching the opposing team. The Brazilian
showed that being a famous fighter doesn’t mean you have
to lose your humility. He won everyone over, while Mir was left
playing the part of the villain.
Winning
isn’t everything
TUF
8 champion Efrain Escudero couldn’t keep it up in the UFC.
Following the TUF Finale, he lost four back-to-back fights and
was fired. He returned at UFC 141, but was again defeated. In
other words, making it to the UFC is one step. Staying in the
promotion is something entirely different. Keep your focus.
Become
more knowledgeable
Just
before making his debut as a coach on TUF 13, Junior Cigano spoke
of what he considered to be his greatest challenge: to communicate
in English with the American public. So he hit the books, did
a swell job and became a superstar. The same went for his technique,
as soon thereafter he was crowned heavyweight champion. Mind
and body work as one, in continuous development. Always pursue
knowledge in all fiends, and evolve as a whole.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Nogueira
talks injury, challenging Franklin: “I already know what
game plan to use against him”
By Guilherme
Cruz
Rogerio
“Minotouro” Nogueira had to cancel his fight against
Alexander Gustafsson scheduled for April 14 due to a knee injury.
On the previous days to his surgery, the light heavyweight fighter
talked to TATAME and revealed what caused his injury.
“It
was a leg-lock that caught me but it’s been a while now.
I was training my Grappling and Wrestling and it got worse”,
Rogerio tells, sad about the fact he had to drop it. “It’s
like I’m getting my knee cleaned, they’ll take off
part of my meniscus and check out my knee-cap. The doctor said
it should be a silly procedure, but it’s gotta be done now
otherwise it’ll get worse”.
What
kind of surgery are you doing?
It’s
like I’m getting my knee cleaned, they’ll take off
part of my meniscus and check out my knee-cap. The doctor said
it should be a silly procedure, but it’s gotta be done now
otherwise it’ll get worse and I don’t wanna make it
worse.
How
did it happen?
It
was a leg-lock that caught me but it’s been a while now.
I was training my Grappling and Wrestling and it got worse.
How
long will it take before you come back to training?
The
doctor said my knee should be alright within a month. I’ll
be training 100 percent. God bless me, I’ll be fighting
in June.
On
your Twitter account you mentioned your wish to fight Rich Franklin.
Why?
Because
we had a bout scheduled against him, I was supposed to fight
him in the past and I already know what game plan to use against
him. He’s a guy who likes to stand-up. It’ll be good.
One left-handed fighting another left-handed is something good
to see.
He’s
been off for a while because he did a shoulder surgery. Do you
believe a win against him would bring you closer to the top of
the ranking, especially after your big victory against Tito Ortiz?
It
would be an excellent fight. I need a good fight. I need to keep
the performance I had against Tito Ortiz. I owe it to people.
Source:
Tatame
|
Miro
Mijatovic: Fedor, Mirko, and PRIDE yakuza’s loaded pistols
By Zach
Arnold
Transcript
of Dan Herbertson interview with Miro Mijatovic for Spike TV’s
MMA Uncensored Live
“As
we took Mirko from K-1 into PRIDE, PRIDE for the first time made
it onto normal [broadcast] TV on Fuji TV. The reason was PRIDE
had been building up a good level of success in terms of having
a very good live event and a very good showing of fans, a lot
of hardcore fans but they hadn’t been able to make the jump
from a hardcore fan base into national television. By bringing
Mirko, who back in March 2003 (Saitama Super Arena) knocked out
Bob Sapp and became the biggest property in the fight industry,
Mirko was able to drag DSE or PRIDE onto national TV which is
actually what happened. That’s why, you know, and you had
the fights with Herring & Vovchanchyn and at that stage whe
you got to the finals in November w/ Mirko/Nogueira, PRIDE had
become a very significant competitor to the natural power base
of K-1.
“So,
as we were approaching New Year’s Eve which is the #1 ratings
on Japanese television, also traditionally the big night for
fight events as well… K-1 had traditionally been doing the
Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye event which was a mixture of K-1 fights &
Mixed Martial Arts fights on New Year’s Eve with TBS (Tokyo
Broadcasting System). PRIDE and Fuji TV were undecided in November
as to whether they were going to do an event on New Year’s
Eve and go head-to-head with K-1.
“I
suppose the big cause of all the problems or one of the big causes
was that Nippon TV, which is a much bigger TV station than TBS,
decided that they wanted to get into the fight game in a big
way and that meant challenging TBS & K-1’s dominance
in the sport. Now, they didn’t have a way to get in there
because PRIDE was exclusive to Fuji. K-1 was very close to Fuji
and TBS although because of the relationship with PRIDE and Fuji
TV, you know, growing K-1 had become much less important to Fuji
TV and in the beginning of November (2003), Nippon TV approached
(Seiya) Kawamata who eventually did a deal with and myself to
do an event on New Year’s Eve. Now, that was all based around
ensuring that Mirko Cro Cop was headlining the event. I’d
spoken to Mirko leading up to the November fight and immediately
afterwards and I said, ‘Look, it’s in our interests
to have three strong promotions and the more strong promotions
there are, the better it is for the fighters. Obviously, your
fight money goes up.’ Mirko agreed to fight because it was
quite traditional for him to fight a pro-wrestler on New Year’s
Eve. It wasn’t that tough a fight, he was going to get good
money. Nippon TV offered Kawamata a contract for three years,
600 million yen for the first event on that night and off we
went.
“So,
we announced the first fight in the beginning of November which
was Mirko versus (Yoshihiro) Takayama and we started to put an
event together. We had less than 60 days to put an event on.
We had zero fighters contracted. We had nothing except a contract
to go out and do the fight. So, off we went and ran around and
collected fighters.
“So,
in the middle of November, Fuji TV and PRIDE decided that they
were going to do an event as well on New Year’s Eve. That’s
when the fun and games started. Fun and games being obviously
they realized that with a fledgling promotion like Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye
was, if they could destroy our main event which was Takayama
and Cro Cop, the show would probably start to fall apart. So,
towards the end of November, Mirko started to receive visits
from a guy called Ken Imai (former right-hand man of K-1 Godfather
Kazuyoshi Ishii), who worked closely with (Nobuyuki) Sakakibara
and finally Mirko was paid $300,000 to fake a back injury and
pull out of the event, which he eventually did in the middle
of December. That was a pretty aggressive move as far as I concerned,
since they had interfered with my relations with Mirko. I obviously
knew a lot about what all the fighters were getting paid all
over PRIDE and I knew that Fedor was fighting for around $10,000
a fight and was being totally ripped off by his manager at the
time Pokogin (Russian Top Team) and also PRIDE as well. So, I
shot off to Saint Petersburg and sat down with Vadim Finkelchtein,
Apy Echteld, Fedor and his brother and after the course of two
days we did a deal and I signed Fedor on a one-year contract
for four fights at almost 20 times the money he was getting paid
at the time. So, it wasn’t a difficult deal for Fedor to
accept. When I came back to Japan and announced that Fedor was
fighting on Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye, PRIDE reacted furiously. Sakakibara
hit the airwaves and said he was going to sue me, he was going
to sue Fedor, he was going to do this, do that, and the other.
What he actually did was not go for legal actions because he
had no legal rights to sue anybody. What he did was he started
sending yakuza around so I started to get visits to my office
from various yakuza dudes, you know, calls late into the night
to arrange meetings to talk to these guys and things escalated
from there.
“As
the time got closer and closer, the threats started to get ratcheted
up and eventually from around about the 20th of December, death
threats started to happen. Kawamata was threatened when he came
back to Japan for a press conference. They grabbed him, according
to him, threatened to kill him. He, of course, reacted to that
by jumping on the next plane out of the country again and …
the threats started to come to me. In the next 10 days leading
up from the 20th of December through the actual event itself,
things got very, very hot. People, guys were turning up into
my house, you know, 2 AM, 3 AM, big groups, three or four guys.
I don’t know who they were but they certainly weren’t
friends of mine, you know, and I took other measures. I moved
my family away from where we were living and started to stay
myself into hotels and other places as the event got closer and
closer. The pressure kept on escalating right up to the actual
night of the event in Kobe on the 31st. At that stage, you know…
threats are threats and the fight industry’s full of guys
who think they’re alpha males. People make a lot of threats
in the heat of the moment. It’s just part of the game but
when those guys have guns and have a history of carrying out
threats, things are a little bit more nervous. What happened
was we put on the event on the 31st… despite all the interruptions
from PRIDE and some local yakuza groups in Kobe, the event went
off fine. Fine means we had 40,000 people attend the event so
we were actually the best-attended event on that specific night.
We beat PRIDE and K-1 in terms of the paid attendance. Unfortunately,
due to the absolute mess of not being able to announce fights
in the lead up to the actual event itself… for example,
whether Fedor was fighting or not, no one knew until the 31st
because the promoter Kawamata had said, ‘he’s not going
to fight’ due to the pressure he got from the yakuza. I
was saying ‘he’s fighting’ and so you had mixed
messages out to the audience. The result was and it wasn’t
only that fight, all the other fighters we tried to put on we
couldn’t make announces so the ratings results was horrible.
We ended up with 4% ratings, the lowest ratings on the night,
and the event just crumbled afterwards.
“New
Year’s Eve, on New Year’s Eve the event goes on. New
Year’s day, Kawamata again disappears. No one’s there.
Fighters want to get paid. We had some cash at the time that
Kawamata hadn’t grabbed and we were able to pay the Russian
fighters and a few others. I dealt with a lot of people who remained
unpaid. I was trying to handle arrangements as fighters were
leaving the two days afterwards and then on the 3rd of January
(2004), much to my great surprise, Sakakibara, Ishizaka, and
four yakuza guys turn up to the hotel where I was staying, the
Okura hotel in Kobe, and I was… how can you put it, shepherded
into a meeting room and we had some pretty difficult discussions…
discussions were pretty simple. I was told I had to sign over
my rights to Fedor or I wasn’t going to leave Kobe alive.
So, we had… a pretty difficult afternoon of discussions
and negotiations. I was fairly confident they weren’t going
to shoot me in the Okura hotel, that’s a bit difficult to
deal with getting a body out of, especially a body of my size,
out of the walls so I felt I had a bit of room to push back on
and eventually I was able to… because they knew where I
lived, they knew were my family as in Tokyo, I was able to then
have the discussions moved to Tokyo which was on the 4th and
the 5th and we sat in, you know, the same group of guys, we sat
down and continued those discussions and eventually I agreed
to sign my rights to Fedor across to PRIDE for zero value.
“I’ve
seen guns before and these weren’t toy guns. They were loaded
pistols and they… when they talked, number one first they
show you that they’re armed, they’re dressed in suits
but they showed you that they’re holstered and they’re
armed. Eventually when I’m pushing back on what they were
asking to do, one of the guys pulled out his gun, put it on the
table… and we continued to talk and when I continued to
push back, he picked the gun up and aimed it to my head and said,
‘You know what’s going to happen if you don’t
sign?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, look, we’re in a hotel,
it’s going to be pretty messy, so I understand that if you
guys want me dead I’ll be dead and I’m sure you’re
not going to shoot me here in the meeting room in the hotel.
So, let’s continue talking.’ As long as I recognized
the fact that there was a credible threat, the guys realized
that they didn’t need to go any further than that at that
stage. It was a very credible threat.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Quinton
‘Rampage’ Jackson Says He’s One More and Done
with the UFC
by Damon
Martin
Is
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s time with the UFC
coming to a close?
After
a series of messages on his Twitter account, it certainly appears
that way. The former UFC light heavyweight champion, who has
dropped his last two bouts in a row, says that after one more
trip to the Octagon he’s exiting the UFC.
And
just to clarify, he’s leaving the UFC, not retiring from
fighting altogether.
“I
will fight whoever they put in front of me, I always have, but
it will be my last fight in the UFC,” Jackson wrote. “I
have other things on my mind.
“I
didn’t say I would be done fighting, I just said I’m
not fighting for the UFC (u fight cheap). Said I have other things
on my mind (big head).”
From
the sound of Jackson’s messages, he’s obviously unhappy
with the UFC for both their pay structure as well as advice they
are giving him on his career.
He
responded to another fan question when quizzed about why he was
leaving the UFC, and Jackson stated, “Why should I stay?
I don’t need them or anybody else negative dealing with
my career.”
This
isn’t the first time Rampage has lashed out after a loss
in the UFC. Following his defeat to Jon Jones in September 2011,
Jackson stated he was considering a career in boxing.
UFC
president Dana White threw cold water on the situation after
Jackson’s initial statement because he was still under contract
with them at the time.
“He’s
under contract. He’s not boxing until… I mean, if he
wants to box when his contract is up, that’s up to him,”
White stated.
Jackson’s
current contract situation is unknown, but if he does have only
one fight left on his deal, his time with the UFC may indeed
be coming to a close.
Regardless,
Jackson will be in the UFC for at least one more fight and will
then make a decision on where his fighting future will take him.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
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