Oh wow, there's a reference thread? You've saved me a lot of time.
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MMA-GAF |OT5| Father Time Is Undefeated
- Thread starter polyh3dron
- Start date
Oh wow, there's a reference thread? You've saved me a lot of time.
Same here, I've just been randomly entering coli threads looking for appropriate icons
MMA: Edson Barboza, Jose Aldo when he's in the mood.
Kickboxing: Gokhan Saki, Melvin Manhoef, Robin van Roosmalen.
Recently Ruthless Robbie decided that it's OK to kick people in MMA, so he's become the most explosive left leg cemetery guy around.
polyh3dron
Banned
lol @ blastmaster kris
looks like the black birthday party kid
looks like the black birthday party kid
Not as kick heavy as cro cop but Junior dos Santos is a joy to watch. You really get the feeling that sooner or later he's gonna fuck somebody up for good.
Armenian tough guy trainer just needs to bust out "Do you know who I am BRO?"
polyh3dron
Banned
drm iOS 7 is beautiful, u trippin.
Maklershed
Member
Dana White confirms Overeem vs Mir is a loser leaves town fight.
Al Iaquinta scheduled to fight Njokuani - that's a good match up right there.
Al Iaquinta scheduled to fight Njokuani - that's a good match up right there.
As an iPod user, I'm not a fan.
That should motivate 'em at the very least.
polyh3dron
Banned
Mir is gonna think he's in a Station Casino in downtown Vegas by the time that fight is done.
Jest Chillin
Member
And nothing of value will be lost.
thats pretty raw
mir has been with the company forever, a 2x HW champion, and half of the main event of the highest ppv buy event in their company's history.
reem on the other hand is an overrated overpaid can who is around pat barry level but getting paid 300k a fight
i like mir in a broadcasting role as well. he did some good work over in WEC.
He's going to think he's fighting in a casino on an indian reservation, and after this fight he'll be right.
BigJonsson
Member
If Mir loses I'm sure the UFC will just give him a job
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
At the UFC 165 media day scrum at the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto, Dana White was asked point blank if Mir-Overeem was do or die for both me. His answer was unflinching.
"Yeah, definitely," he said. "Definitely."
Implications aside, there's nothing explicit there.
Overeem's definitely getting cut on a loss though, as his brand would be permanently destroyed to both MMA followers and casuals alike. Half of the "MMA fans" considered him an overblown can crusher to begin with, the other half have surely lost faith in him. And it's going to be a hard sell for even casuals to say "yeah, fuckin' Overeem's a beast bro. He fucked up Brock!!11!" to convince themselves that he's worth their attention. An Overeem win however would still need to be followed up by a comeback trail of sorts: the Gonzagas, the Veras, the Del Rosarios, etc, before even being considered for a top ten opponent in the near future. Unless of course the UFC just want to save their money and use whatever name Overeem's got left to put over a guy like Miocic before dropping the axe.
Mir should probably retire win or lose. With a win he goes out as the "UFC Hero" in what is a "UFC vs. PRIDE/Strikeforce/Dream" match in all but name. But regardless of the outcome it's obvious that his drive to succeed has dwindled, the HW division has passed him by in level of talent, and he doesn't have the years left to go back to the drawing board and start again. But he's a legend of the UFC now and at the very least deserves the respect that goes with that. Hopefully there's a place for him in the company when he hangs up his gloves.
Ninja Scooter
Member
yeah right Dana. Mir ain't going anywhere.
Jest Chillin
Member
They'll put him anywhere that isn't a PR job.
BigJonsson
Member
Heh, I walked by that hotel tonight....had no idea UFC was doing media stuff there earlier in the day......I wonder if that is where the fighters are staying....
Good move, Francisco's not durable enough to withstand the Overeem blitz and he's still enough of a name to get the hype train going again. The real problem is that as Overeem keeps shrinking due to the nefarious Dr. Molina, he'll be just another 240lbs HW by the time he's in title contention instead of the 280lbs monster that manhandled Brock.
polyh3dron
Banned
baaaaahahahahhaa
did he really say this? link pls
and yeah that evil dr. molina guy fucked up Alistair's testosterone big time. everything was all good until he administered that anti-inflammatory spiked with testosterone. fuck that guy.
Maklershed
Member
He's been my favorite 'expert' announcer so far. Although I must admit Brian Stann did a great job. Knowledgeable without being annoying and a good voice.
Sr Executive Vice Director of Bread Loaf Haircuts
I'm fuckin simpin hard bro!
Speaking of simps, I was disappointed to see Roxanne massaging that douchebag on TUF. And then he's basically like "You're gonna do this whenever I want a massage" and she was like "ok".
Dastardly Jerks
Banned
To be fair, she offered.
BUT C'UN GURL. YOU'RE A SAMURAI.
BUT C'UN GURL. YOU'RE A SAMURAI.
Jest Chillin
Member
Has Dana let Frank on the air in a commentating or broadcast guest spot since being fired from the WEC position? I can't recall it if it's happened.
Maklershed
Member
Nope, not that I know of.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
CEO & Chairman of the UFC's new line of headphones: Beatdowns by Brock Lesnar.
Maklershed
Member
As impressive as this looks, its guys like this that fought in the first few UFC events and thought they'd be studs because they know kung fu and other specialized defense systems - guys like Keith Hackney. They soon found out (thanks to Royce Gracie) that serious defense arts are no match for sports combat art in non-lethal situations.
Also, those people are just standing there letting flying armbars be done to them. In live situations when someone isn't offering themselves as practice dummies, this stuff can't usually be done.
/nofunallowed.jpg
Maklershed
Member
The Dominator to be stripped of his title if he's not ready by early 2014.
Last defense - October 2011
Last defense - October 2011
He said it during the scrum, sarcastically. I think we can read between the lines though, friends.
http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/9/19/4750112/dana-white-ufc-165-pre-fight-scrum-video
Media and Ariel asked Dana about Jim Ross. Seems to like him, but took the passive "I hadn't thought about it, we'll see." angle.
Longest reigning Bantamweight champion in history, playboy.
Great numbers. I can't see them pulling that ever again unless its with Pacquiao. Garcia sure as hell ain't.
Jest Chillin
Member
Angel's got more vitriol in his trash talk than Sonnen. I think people would tune in just to see Angel go through the stages of denial.
lol Bubba Jenkins' whirl just got shocked. -1500 on the Bellator undercard, gassed and got TKO'ed.
http://client00.chat.mibbit.com/?channel=#MMA-GAF
http://client00.chat.mibbit.com/?channel=#MMA-GAF
polyh3dron
Banned
Oh poor bubba.. Will be watching Bellator soon.
dream
Member
sorry been mad busy
-century. The gist of the subject is the competitive disadvantage that clean athletes face today in sports that involve a high degree of athleticism, and the potential of long-term health issues that may result from long-term usage of certain performance enhancing drugs.
In any sport where speed, explosiveness, aggressiveness, stamina, power and even cosmetic looks are involved, you are going to find performance enhancing agents. Exactly how prevalent they are in MMA is subject to debate. Those who want to justify usage will claim everyone is doing it, and the playing field is already even. They will say it's only the dumb or very unlucky ones that get caught.
Other fighters vehemently deny usage, say users are cheaters, but most concede it's a very significant problem. Camps at times base game plans around the belief certain fighters are using substances, trying to avoid strengths from that perceived usage, and attack weaknesses based on those beliefs.
Testing is a hit-and-miss game. The UFC insists on testing at all its events, in most cases by the local commissions. When UFC runs in places like Japan or the United Kingdom, where there is no commission, they will test themselves, and historically those shows seem to result in more positives than commission testing. Some commissions only test a few fighters. Others test every fighter on the show.
In other organizations, testing is not necessarily there for every show. Few other promotions insist on testing if the local commission doesn't require it on its own.
But even though UFC has consistently pushed for more testing, it has been often criticized for not implementing stringent testing of its own, as most major sports organizations these days do. Dana White has always argued that UFC, along with boxing, is tested by the government, an outside independent agency. He claims that's superior to testing by the sports themselves, because of the credibility of the organization itself having no hand in the results or the punishment, except in those cases when UFC does its own testing.
But few believe that tests that, except on rare occasions, are only done at fight time, when fighters know and expect them, represent much more than an IQ test.
And White hasn't been publicly supportive of fighters, like St-Pierre in this instance, who is demanding of himself a far more stringent testing program.
"I think it makes them both look stupid," White said on Thursday in his Google+ Hangout chat when the subject of the St-Pierre/Hendricks steroid testing back-and-forth volleying was brought up. "These guys are going to get tested by the athletic commission. This is something that Georges St-Pierre wants to prove to everybody, because for years people have been saying (he's doping). When he fought B.J. Penn, B.J. talked smack about him. Other people have talked stuff. The kid, not only is he another guy that's been with us since day one, he's never tested positive for anything even remotely close to anything bad. He's never tested positive for anything.
"He's always been a straight shooter and always professional, yet people keep talking smack about him. I just think it's crazy for him to even do this. I just think it makes everything cloudy, man. There's a system in place by the government for combat sports, and it's just a pain in the ass for them. They can do whatever they want. They want to do it. They don't want to do it. I could care less."
Testing that is limited to urine tests taken the weekend of the fight leaves an incredible amount of leeway to use PEDs in the off-season, or during the hardest part of training camps. Commissions do have the right to test licensees at any time. For financial reasons, such testing is rarely done, although unannounced training camp testing of fighters in major main events in Nevada does happen these days on occasion.
Still, there are issues. Some fighters claim that all drug testing does is give the rich fighters the edge, because they can afford the best drugs and most expensive programs for beating the tests. While there is a blood test for Human Growth Hormone, it almost never catches anyone and most in sports believe the drug can be used pretty much with impunity. In MMA, athletic commissions don't test for HGH, even though it is a banned substance.
There are also all kinds of issues with testing for testosterone. Victor Conte, who designed programs for notable athletes including Barry Bonds and Marion Jones to beat drug testing, has been an outspoken critic of the current system.
Conte, now a supporter to VADA, which he regularly promotes, is critical of using the testosterone to epitestosterone ratio to determine whether athletes are using testosterone. VADA is a newcomer in the drug testing battles, and in July announced that Dr. Donald Catlin, had joined on as its Scientific Adviser. Catlin is the biggest name in the U.S. when it comes to sports drug testing, which is a significant industry given the amount of money spent by various different sports and athletic commissions.
Conte and Catlin are strong proponents of CIR (Carbon Isotope Ratio) testing, which VADA uses, and can tell the difference between natural and artificial testosterone. The problem is, such tests run from $700 to $1,000, four to five times what the current T:E tests cost. This makes them cost prohibitive for most commissions.
But CIR testing has become more popular over the past year. A number of sports organizations, including both the Nevada commission and World Wrestling Entertainment, use CIR testing as a secondary test if the T:E test shows borderline or high levels. Still, like when any new test comes in, those who advise athletes to beat the tests, are constantly studying the tests with the idea of devising ways to beat it.
The public, after decades, is largely burned out on the story, even if they are quick to turn on athletes who test positive.
In fighting, the problem becomes that everyone with a top level physique, like St-Pierre, is put under suspicion, and even more so when they excel in their sport. The problem is, if someone is genetically gifted when it comes to physique, the nature of fight training and eating healthy is going to give one a very impressive physique. Others, without that genetic disposition, like Tim Sylvia and Josh Barnett, have failed steroid tests without having bodies that remotely look like one would imagine a fine-tuned athlete would look like.
St-Pierre evidently realizes the response muscular fighters give when questioned, that they have never failed a drug test only works as being foolproof evidence to those naive.
Nick Diaz is hardly the first person to accuse St-Pierre of doping, which explains St-Pierre going to significant expense before this fight to clear his name. His aggressiveness in this manner can be applauded. But no matter how many tests he passes, the fact he's wealthy, has a great physique, his success, and the limitations of testing will not change the minds of those who believe him to be using HGH or other hard-to-detect substances. Recent revelations involving high-level athletes who beat tests for years, like Lance Armstrong, only underscore St-Pierre's dilemma of public and professional opinion if he is what he claims he is.
Just the fact St-Pierre is going through this testing at this point without Hendricks seems to indicate it's more about clearing his own name than him worrying about whether his opponent is cheating. Perhaps it will remove some of the suspicion based on all the comments by Diaz. But those who believed Diaz, for the most part, still will, even if St-Pierre goes through this program with flying colors.
Representatives for both fighters came together with Michael Mersch, the Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and Assistant General Counsel of the UFC, and Keith Kizer, the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, last month, for a meeting to agree on drug testing protocol.
It turned into a situation where Hendricks' side felt there were too many red flags with St-Pierre's side wanting both fighters to agree to VADA testing. St-Pierre's representative, Rodolphe Beauliue, asked numerous questions about an enhanced testing program that the commission would set up itself in conjunction with the WADA (World Anti-Doping Association) lab in Salt Lake City, trying to specify what would be tested for, in particular bringing up EPO and HGH. Beauliue was also asking for more details about when, how and how much, that Kizer thought shouldnt be answered given the unannounced nature of the proposed testing.
"I am happy to answer any questions (and have - see my answers to your latest questions...)," Kizer wrote in an e-mail to Beauliue on Aug. 16. "However, the commission does not allow any licensee to dictate or craft the testing. Not only is this inappropriate, it is not something the commission would even consider."
The program brought up to both fighters would be one where each would get three to ten unannounced tests, both blood and urine. They would have to inform the commission where they would be at all times between now and fight time, and have someone with a cell phone with them at all times for immediate contact. Testers would fly in to where each fighter is training, with no warning. The fighter would have one hour to meet with the tester and provide whatever samples were requested.
After Kizer answered an e-mail by Beauliue about procedure, Beauliue, on Aug. 17, wrote that if Hendricks doesn't want VADA testing and prefers the system Kizer proposed, St-Pierre would submit to both sets of tests. But after that point, Beauliue, nor anyone from St-Pierre's camp, had anymore communication with the commission or with Hendricks' camp, leaving Kizer to believe the issue is now dead, and Hendricks' camp going under the same assumption.
A few weeks later, it was reported that Hendricks hadn't agreed to the VADA testing that St-Pierre was already getting. Hendricks' side, feeling thrown under the bus, complained that when they had the conference call, they had agreed to the athletic commission testing, and it was St-Pierre's side that never agreed to the deal.
According to Dr. Margaret Goodman of VADA, St-Pierre had enrolled in the program and paid $16,000, which would have been the cost for both he and Hendricks to have a full battery of tests for the last 12 weeks before the fight. As things stand right now, VADA will be refunding to St-Pierre half of that money, since Hendricks is adamant he will not be enrolling in the VADA program.
"GSP is currently enrolled in VADA and continues to be subject to unannounced random testing through November 16, 2013 (the day of the welterweight title fight with Hendricks in Las Vegas)," said Goodman via e-mail.
Our panels are the most stringent available, Goodman said. An entity can state they follow the WADA prohibited list, but that doesnt mean you test for all those substances. VADA always includes EPO and CIR/IRMS (stringent test to detect synthetic testosterone). CIR/IRMS is typically done when the T/E is elevated. We do one on every collection. In that way, it is much more difficult for an athlete to escape steroid detection.
She claimed their EPO testing would have caught Lance Armstrong, and that they test for HGH and follow blood counts, but do not test for marijuana, believing it not to be a performance enhancing drug.
Firas Zahabi, St-Pierre's longtime trainer, suggested on Twitter this past week that fighters do both programs.
Ted Ehrhardt, Hendricks' representative at the commission conference, said at this point there was no good in his side's mind that can come out of testing. He said that Hendricks is clean and open to testing, and Hendricks has been under no suspicion from anyone. He said St-Pierre failing would cancel the fight that Hendricks and his Team Takedown organization have been working to get for years.
"I don't know," he said regarding a potential new deal being put together for enhanced drug testing. "Like we've always said, none of this does anything for us. GSP fails a drug test, that kills us. We don't get a title fight. We have nothing to gain from drug testing."
"The brief version is, he (St-Pierre) announced he wanted to do drug testing and Johny said, `Yeah great, I'm all for it,'" said Ehrhardt. "He's got nothing to hide. He doesn't care. GSP said he wanted testing by VADA. I'd never heard of it. I though VADA stood for Nevada. After doing some research and talking to some people, you've heard other fighters badmouth them like (Matt) Mitrione, I told Johny that they don't even submit their results to the Nevada commission. Before he does anything, we have to ask the UFC for their permission. We're not going to do anything to p*** the UFC off.
"So we wrote them, which led to the conference call, with me, the commission, the UFC and GSP's reps on the call. It was very obvious the UFC and the commission both felt if we want to do it (enhanced drug testing), we should do it through WADA (a misnomer, what he was actually referring to was an enhanced drug testing program set up by Kizer and Dr. Daniel Eichner, the Director of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory, a WADA accredited lab in Salt Lake City. WADA is not a testing organization but an international agency for coordinating the effort against doping in sport and accredits anti-doping labs). They're more stringent. They (the commission) use it. Everything's positive."
At that point, Ehrhardt said Zahabi stated that they wanted VADA because they were sponsoring the testing and it would be free.
Kizer confirmed things went that way.
"Firas said, we can get it for free, why pay $20,000 when we can do it for free," Kizer said.
Kizer said that St-Pierre's rep on the conference call, Rodolphe Beauliue, later informed the commission and Hendricks' reps that VADA was sponsoring a portion of the bill but that St-Pierre was personally paying for most of it.
But that was another red flag for the Hendricks camp, after seeing GSP on VADA's web site listed as one of the athletes using its program.
"We don't know GSP or VADA and I don't want to trust that both are on the up-and-up, and the commission and UFC both said WADA," said Ehrhardt.
St-Pierre being on the web site is because VADA is trying to establish itself as a drug testing organization, claiming to be the most thorough, because of uses of CIR testing on every sample. Theyve made a big push in boxing and MMA, where the promotions themselves dont drug test (except when UFC goes overseas), where the PED issues are significant, and current commission testing is generally too limited. St-Pierre is a major sports star who has enrolled in their program. Ben Askren and Roy Nelson, both of who have complained about PED use in MMA, have also enrolled in the program and are on the VADA web site.
We have all our policies and procedures readily available for review," said Goodman. "Any fighter undergoing stringent unannounced PED testing has rights, and if they don't know all the policies and rules--especially as it relates to collections, how are they able to determine if they were treated fairly should there be abnormal results? This is especially true if they are volunteering. Collections are so much more than sending someone to draw blood and have the right pee in a cup."
Ehrhardt also claimed that on a Canadian television show, they were filming St-Pierre when VADA showed up for the first random drug test, which he admitted may have been a coincidence, but it concerned him.
"VADA is trying to get as much recognition as possible," he said. "It felt really suspicious. They showed up and filmed them coming to drug test him. To me, it was another red flag. It may all be legit. I don't know. Some guy said it's free, then another guy says it's discounted, and then we hear it's not discounted."
Like my attorney says, if it smells fishy and tastes fishy, it's probably fish."
Hendricks appeared on Inside MMA on Friday, for what Ehrhardt said would be the last time the challenger would discuss the subject. The title challenger noted that nobody has ever accused him of being on performance enhancing drugs. He said he didn't have the chiseled physique and said if he was on such drugs, he'd probably be a heavyweight. He noted being tested throughout his pro career, and long before that, dating back to his days as a two-time NCAA champion wrestler at Oklahoma State.
He spoke of the WADA testing, again a misnomer for the program Kizer brought up at the meeting, as superior to the VADA testing, and that both the UFC and athletic commission recognized that testing and don't recognize VADA testing. He claimed that even if there was a failure in VADA testing, it won't necessarily count.
Kizer said that wasn't the case, and that they will support whatever enhanced testing the athletes want to do. He said a failure of a VADA test would be handled the same way a failure of a test ordered by his commission would be handled.
Last year, when a VADA test found boxer Lamont Peterson to be using artificial testosterone from his CIR test, the commission nixed the fight. Kizer noted in that case, they got the result less than two weeks before the scheduled bout with Amir Khan, resulting in the entire show being scrapped.
Kizer noted what a disaster it was because fans had already made reservations from England to come in for the weekend and the promotion had spent its money to promote the show. But the commission would have been crucified by the media if Peterson was allowed to fight after failing his test.
New York was heavily criticized for allowing Erik Morales to fight Danny Garcia this past October, after Morales had failed two tests, a week apart, for Clenbuterol, a banned performance enhancing agent. Morales was then suspended from competing in the U.S. for two years after the fight took place.
UFC has a deep lineup for its scheduled 20th anniversary show, with Chael Sonnen vs. Rashad Evans, Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem, Rory MacDonald vs. Robbie Lawler and Josh Koscheck vs. Tyron Woodley already announced for the undercard. Even the worst case scenario of St-Pierre not being able to fight wouldn't threaten the card going on, although it would be an enormous blow.
"Ted (Ehrhardt) said, `We're happy to do it, but we're not paying for it,"' said Kizer as the last thing he's heard from the Hendricks side. "He said, `We know we're clean, but we want it from a legit third party,' and that's how it ended."
But the door isn't completely shut.
"I don't know how long WADA (the Nevada commission program) needs," Ehrhardt said. "If GSP gets with Kizer and figures how to get WADA testing going, we're all for it. But VADA, absolutely not. Every time I turn around, something's different."
dream
Member
After Tito Ortiz had been pushed as Bully Rays key back-up and Rampage Jackson had been put in the Main Event Mafia, they were both blown off TV with Hulk Hogan saying Bellator had pulled them. Well, if I was Bellator, Id have pulled them the week before that stupid hammer angle that turned their PPV event into a clown show. One would think that when it came to Ortiz and Jackson that Bellator and TNA would have worked out all creative before starting, because God knows if I had a PPV with two guys that I wanted to sell as a real fight, Id hardly leave the creative in the hands of pro wrestling people who havent been able to get people to buy their own PPVs. When you look back to the first segment of Rampage Jackson vs. Kurt Angle and how well it got over and got people talking, and how simple it is to go from there, and instead, what happened after, its quite the indictment. I do know there was a plan for Bound for Glory involving Jackson, and may have been regarding Ortiz. Jackson at one point was to wrestle in a match at BFG, but it looks like thats out. The real story is that Bellator did pull them because both guys are now into their training camps and didnt want to fly out to where TNA taped every other week. One would think things like that could have been all planned out ahead of time to where TNA would have been able to do some sort of a storyline blow-off with them, and a pull-apart type of deal or if theyre afraid of them not being able to bring it physically, have them do promos where they threatened to get at each other and have them pulled with the idea that them being in the same building at the same time that the threat of violence was too high and the Bellator PPV main event couldnt be risked, but have it logically come to that conclusion. Jackson did appear on the Bellator TV show the next night, but that was in Temecula, a short drive from where he lives. The Hogan segment on the show gave the impression they wouldnt be back on Impact until after their 11/2 PPV show, and that is the way things look right now, unless Bellator wants them on Impact for promotional reasons the week of the fight, which they should, as long as no goofy angles are involved. Bjorn Rebney told me that they make one more appearance to plug the PPV. No word yet on if one or both would be brought back after the Bellator PPV when they arent in serious training.
B.J. Penn is returning to coach season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter against Frankie Edgar. Hes also signed a new multi-fight contract. The season will start airing in April on FS 1 (it was announced just last week as January, but now were told its been moved to April). The two will fight at featherweight in July, after the season ends. Penn, who turns 35 in December, lost twice to Edgar at lightweight. The first was arguable although I felt Edgar won it. The second was a clear-cut decision win by Edgar, who was too fast, and showed both better boxing and wrestling. Penn is walking around at 165, which is the right around the average walk-around weight for most featherweights. Most of the bantamweights these days walk around close to 160. It was ridiculous in this day and age for Penn to fight at welterweight. It was interesting because Dana White had been talking like he wanted Penn to retire, and now hes pushing him in the spotlight. Part of the issue is UFC doesnt have enough second tier stars and Penn has a big name. Plus, while the featherweight division is actually very strong with a number of top contenders with Edgar, Chad Mendes, Ricardo Lamas and Cub Swanson at the top tier, the only featherweight fights that has ever drawn a good PPV number is Jose Aldo vs. Edgar (330,000 buys last year, but that was with Rashad Evans and a then-blemishless Alistair Overeem as support). If Penn can beat Edgar, which is a huge if, him challenging may catch on. The companys original plan before Penn contracted Dana White was to have Edgar vs. Urijah Faber as coaches,. There was a problem because Edgar didnt want to cut to 135 to fight, and Faber wasnt thrilled to move back to 145. White said he didnt want to do a 140 pound catch weight fight. He said that while trying to put this together, that Penn said he wanted to come out of retirement to face Benson Henderson of all people. White asked him why he wanted to fight Henderson. He said that he thought if he beat Henderson, hed be able to get a fight with Edgar. Edgar beat him twice by decision and Penn said he was really frustrated he ever lost to a guy like Edgar. While it never came out at the time, the second Edgar fight, the one, Edgar clearly won (the first one was very close, I thought Edgar won but it wasnt conclusive), Penn had a nasal problem coming into the fight which resulted in him tiring early and really getting handled at the end. Thats not to say Edgar wasnt going to beat him, since Edgar was faster and better conditioned. White said why not just face Edgar first. Penn then agreed to meet Edgar at 145. Penn has never fought before at 145, although his walk around eight of 165 is these days the same, if not a few pounds lighter, than most of the guys who fight at 145 walk around at.
The 12/14 FOX main event will be Anthony Pettis defending the lightweight title against Josh Thomson. The show will be in Sacramento, about two hours from Thomsons home in San Jose. TJ Grant said that hes simply not recovering from his concussion fast enough to where hed be ready by that date. Thomson has only fought once in UFC since Strikeforce was shut down, an impressive finish of Nate Diaz. But even with all that depth at lightweight, there werent many alternatives. There was Benson Henderson, but Henderson was submitted in the first round by Pettis last time out so they want him to get a few wins before a shot. Aldo vs. Pettis wasnt a possibility because Aldo broke his foot and wont be ready until early next year. I heard people suggest Penn, but even though Penn will draw far higher TV ratings, hes only won one of his last six fights and theres no way he can come out of retirement and get a title fight with that record. I know some people will laugh because of Chael Sonnens shot at Jon Jones, but that was also part of building up Ultimate Fighter and Sonnens record was far better before that fight than Penn. Perhaps the only other viable contender was Rafael dos Anjos, coming off his win over Donald Cerrone on 8/28. The other viable contender, Gilbert Melendez, faces Diego Sanchez on 10/19 in Houston.
Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown, Chad Mendes vs. Nik Lentz, Scott Jorgenson vs. Ian McCall and Joe Lauzon vs. Mac Danzig are also on that card. I would think Mendes vs. Lentz would probably be on FOX, Condit vs. Brown as a definite, and Lauzon vs. Danzig is a possible opener since Lauzon is a good action fighter and they like to open FOX with his kind of fights. If not, theyll be on the FS 1 prelims main event. White has talked of doing Michael McDonald vs. Faber on that show, since Faber should be on a Sacramento show as the big draw, and McDonald is from Modesto, which isnt too far away. If Faber is on the card, then the TV fights would figure to be the title match, Condit vs. Brown, Faber vs. McDonald and Mendes vs. Lentz. Its during football season and with the big promotion, should do well, but I dont see huge numbers.
The way it was explained to us, Wanderlei Silva is making outrageous financial demands for a match with Chael Sonnen, after cutting that video that has had more than 1 million views. However, UFC is attempting to put that fight together for next year, whether Sonnen wins or loses against Rashad Evans. The attempt will be to make it Sonnens next fight, but thats not a done deal and may not be close at this point.
Regarding the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter on 9/4, it ended up having 300,000 more viewers watching on delay after the first three days, or a 32% increase. If you include DVR viewership, it would have been the second most watched show in the short history of FS 1. Still, for advertisers, live viewership is preferable because of the belief that a large percentage of those watching on delay are skipping through the commercials. But from a marketing standpoint of getting the coachs feud over those delayed viewers are still watching the show. As far as total audience, its still below any opener except the Nelson-Carwin season but you do have to judge numbers based on the station. The same UFC show that does 1.3 million viewers on FX does 800,000 on FS 1 and whether its football or anything on FS 1, its going to do significantly lower than the same game on a more established channel at this point.
In the ESPN Magazine poll of fighters, 96% said that they believed a transgender fighter like Fallon Fox should not be allowed to fight in the UFCs womens division. 76% said they were in favor of a union. Roughly the same percentage said they felt that White should not be able to force fighters to take superfights. Well, I dont think anyone except a fan who doesnt get it would think White should be able to force people to fight outside their weight class and he cant. If a champion doesnt want a fight outside their weight class, thats their prerogative. Whites job is to offer them enough money that they want to, or the fight doesnt happen. White shouldnt be able to force anyone to fight anyone, but if fighters turn down fights too often within their weight class, he also then should have the right not to book them. And champions who refuse to face the No. 1 contender in their weight class should be stripped of the title, but you still cant force them into the ring and fight someone they dont want to fight against their will.
Jon Fitch returns on the 10/26 WSOF show in Coral Gables, FL, facing Marcelo Alfaya (15-6, 1 no contest), from the local American Top Team. Fitch was the promotions biggest signee as a consensus top-ten welterweight, but lost his debut in 41 seconds to Josh Burkman.
Cris Cyborg Justino will headline the 9/20 AXS Fights show from Las Vegas for Lion Fights. Cyborg will be fighting under Muay Thai rules against Jennifer Columb of France, who is 10-0 with ten knockouts.
Kron Gracie, the son of Rickson, who has won world championships in Jiu Jitsu at the purple and brown belt level, said he was moving to MMA. During his Jiu Jitsu career at the lower belt level, he scored 51 straight submissions, and most recently in a grappling only match submitted Shinya Aoki, one of the best submission guys in MMA.
B.J. Penn is returning to coach season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter against Frankie Edgar. Hes also signed a new multi-fight contract. The season will start airing in April on FS 1 (it was announced just last week as January, but now were told its been moved to April). The two will fight at featherweight in July, after the season ends. Penn, who turns 35 in December, lost twice to Edgar at lightweight. The first was arguable although I felt Edgar won it. The second was a clear-cut decision win by Edgar, who was too fast, and showed both better boxing and wrestling. Penn is walking around at 165, which is the right around the average walk-around weight for most featherweights. Most of the bantamweights these days walk around close to 160. It was ridiculous in this day and age for Penn to fight at welterweight. It was interesting because Dana White had been talking like he wanted Penn to retire, and now hes pushing him in the spotlight. Part of the issue is UFC doesnt have enough second tier stars and Penn has a big name. Plus, while the featherweight division is actually very strong with a number of top contenders with Edgar, Chad Mendes, Ricardo Lamas and Cub Swanson at the top tier, the only featherweight fights that has ever drawn a good PPV number is Jose Aldo vs. Edgar (330,000 buys last year, but that was with Rashad Evans and a then-blemishless Alistair Overeem as support). If Penn can beat Edgar, which is a huge if, him challenging may catch on. The companys original plan before Penn contracted Dana White was to have Edgar vs. Urijah Faber as coaches,. There was a problem because Edgar didnt want to cut to 135 to fight, and Faber wasnt thrilled to move back to 145. White said he didnt want to do a 140 pound catch weight fight. He said that while trying to put this together, that Penn said he wanted to come out of retirement to face Benson Henderson of all people. White asked him why he wanted to fight Henderson. He said that he thought if he beat Henderson, hed be able to get a fight with Edgar. Edgar beat him twice by decision and Penn said he was really frustrated he ever lost to a guy like Edgar. While it never came out at the time, the second Edgar fight, the one, Edgar clearly won (the first one was very close, I thought Edgar won but it wasnt conclusive), Penn had a nasal problem coming into the fight which resulted in him tiring early and really getting handled at the end. Thats not to say Edgar wasnt going to beat him, since Edgar was faster and better conditioned. White said why not just face Edgar first. Penn then agreed to meet Edgar at 145. Penn has never fought before at 145, although his walk around eight of 165 is these days the same, if not a few pounds lighter, than most of the guys who fight at 145 walk around at.
The 12/14 FOX main event will be Anthony Pettis defending the lightweight title against Josh Thomson. The show will be in Sacramento, about two hours from Thomsons home in San Jose. TJ Grant said that hes simply not recovering from his concussion fast enough to where hed be ready by that date. Thomson has only fought once in UFC since Strikeforce was shut down, an impressive finish of Nate Diaz. But even with all that depth at lightweight, there werent many alternatives. There was Benson Henderson, but Henderson was submitted in the first round by Pettis last time out so they want him to get a few wins before a shot. Aldo vs. Pettis wasnt a possibility because Aldo broke his foot and wont be ready until early next year. I heard people suggest Penn, but even though Penn will draw far higher TV ratings, hes only won one of his last six fights and theres no way he can come out of retirement and get a title fight with that record. I know some people will laugh because of Chael Sonnens shot at Jon Jones, but that was also part of building up Ultimate Fighter and Sonnens record was far better before that fight than Penn. Perhaps the only other viable contender was Rafael dos Anjos, coming off his win over Donald Cerrone on 8/28. The other viable contender, Gilbert Melendez, faces Diego Sanchez on 10/19 in Houston.
Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown, Chad Mendes vs. Nik Lentz, Scott Jorgenson vs. Ian McCall and Joe Lauzon vs. Mac Danzig are also on that card. I would think Mendes vs. Lentz would probably be on FOX, Condit vs. Brown as a definite, and Lauzon vs. Danzig is a possible opener since Lauzon is a good action fighter and they like to open FOX with his kind of fights. If not, theyll be on the FS 1 prelims main event. White has talked of doing Michael McDonald vs. Faber on that show, since Faber should be on a Sacramento show as the big draw, and McDonald is from Modesto, which isnt too far away. If Faber is on the card, then the TV fights would figure to be the title match, Condit vs. Brown, Faber vs. McDonald and Mendes vs. Lentz. Its during football season and with the big promotion, should do well, but I dont see huge numbers.
The way it was explained to us, Wanderlei Silva is making outrageous financial demands for a match with Chael Sonnen, after cutting that video that has had more than 1 million views. However, UFC is attempting to put that fight together for next year, whether Sonnen wins or loses against Rashad Evans. The attempt will be to make it Sonnens next fight, but thats not a done deal and may not be close at this point.
Regarding the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter on 9/4, it ended up having 300,000 more viewers watching on delay after the first three days, or a 32% increase. If you include DVR viewership, it would have been the second most watched show in the short history of FS 1. Still, for advertisers, live viewership is preferable because of the belief that a large percentage of those watching on delay are skipping through the commercials. But from a marketing standpoint of getting the coachs feud over those delayed viewers are still watching the show. As far as total audience, its still below any opener except the Nelson-Carwin season but you do have to judge numbers based on the station. The same UFC show that does 1.3 million viewers on FX does 800,000 on FS 1 and whether its football or anything on FS 1, its going to do significantly lower than the same game on a more established channel at this point.
In the ESPN Magazine poll of fighters, 96% said that they believed a transgender fighter like Fallon Fox should not be allowed to fight in the UFCs womens division. 76% said they were in favor of a union. Roughly the same percentage said they felt that White should not be able to force fighters to take superfights. Well, I dont think anyone except a fan who doesnt get it would think White should be able to force people to fight outside their weight class and he cant. If a champion doesnt want a fight outside their weight class, thats their prerogative. Whites job is to offer them enough money that they want to, or the fight doesnt happen. White shouldnt be able to force anyone to fight anyone, but if fighters turn down fights too often within their weight class, he also then should have the right not to book them. And champions who refuse to face the No. 1 contender in their weight class should be stripped of the title, but you still cant force them into the ring and fight someone they dont want to fight against their will.
Jon Fitch returns on the 10/26 WSOF show in Coral Gables, FL, facing Marcelo Alfaya (15-6, 1 no contest), from the local American Top Team. Fitch was the promotions biggest signee as a consensus top-ten welterweight, but lost his debut in 41 seconds to Josh Burkman.
Cris Cyborg Justino will headline the 9/20 AXS Fights show from Las Vegas for Lion Fights. Cyborg will be fighting under Muay Thai rules against Jennifer Columb of France, who is 10-0 with ten knockouts.
Kron Gracie, the son of Rickson, who has won world championships in Jiu Jitsu at the purple and brown belt level, said he was moving to MMA. During his Jiu Jitsu career at the lower belt level, he scored 51 straight submissions, and most recently in a grappling only match submitted Shinya Aoki, one of the best submission guys in MMA.
You might want to get that checked out, cant be good for you