In the months since Georges St-Pierre’s lopsided victory over Nick Diaz, UFC President Dana White has been largely non-committal regarding the UFC welterweight champion’s next fight.
Two viable options exist for St-Pierre. One, a superfight against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, is seemingly White’s preference, while the other, a title defense against top contender Johny Hendricks, is the more likely choice of the two. Nonetheless, White had yet to speak to St-Pierre and plot out his future, until the pair finally talked this past weekend prior to UFC 160.
“His guy called me and Lorenzo [Friday], and then he and I talked [Saturday] right before I walked into the fights,” White revealed during UFC 160’s post-fight scrum.
“He wants to fight Johny Hendricks.”
News of St-Pierre’s decision isn’t exactly surprising. The 31-year-old has resisted the idea of fighting the larger Silva for years. Although this time around, St-Pierre’s logic is a little different.
“He 100-percent, absolutely, positively knows that (Chris) Weidman is going to beat Anderson Silva,” White declared.
“No doubt in his mind that [a superfight] won’t happen. The fight with [Silva] won’t happen because Weidman is going to win. There’s no ‘what if’ for [St-Pierre]. He absolutely, positively knows [Weidman] is going to win that fight.”
So there you have it. St-Pierre won’t fight Silva, not because of size discrepancies or fear of diminishing his legacy, but because Silva’s simply going to lose anyway, so why bother? And with that, ladies and gentlemen, let’s get to the fights.
8 MUST-READ STORIES
Velasquez defends. UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez easily dispatched Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the pair’s rematch at UFC 160, successfully defending his title for the first time. (Video.) Although the stoppage was not without controversy, as evidenced by the reaction from the pros.
JDS rolls, trilogy up next. Former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos floored Mark Hunt with a spectacular third-round spinning back kick to emerge victorious from UFC 160’s ‘Fight of the Night’ co-main event. (Video.) Dos Santos’ win sets up a rubber match between he and Velasquez, which is expected to take place sometime this year.
Griffin retires. TUF 1 winner and former UFC lightweight heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin announced his retirement from mixed martial arts following the conclusion of UFC 160. Griffin, along with rival-turned-friend Stephan Bonnar, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July.
Grant victorious, set for title shot. Upstart contender T.J. Grant continued his surprising run to the top of the lightweight ladder, knocking out Gray Maynard with a first-round barrage at UFC 160. (Video.) Next up for Grant: lightweight champ Benson Henderson, a match-up which could headline UFC on FOX Sports 1.
White talks Penn, GSP-Silva. UFC President Dana White implored for B.J. Penn to retire during UFC 160’s post-fight scrum, before revealing that Georges St-Pierre ardently believes a superfight between he and Anderson Silva won’t happen because Chris Weidman will ‘absolutely, positively’ defeat Silva.
Teixeira wants Hendo-Evans winner. Rising light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira made short work of James Te Huna, choking out the New Zealander with a first-round guillotine choke at UFC 160. (Video.) Afterward, Teixeira’s manager requested his client fight the winner of Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson.
Fox wins. Despite fading late, transgender fighter Fallon Fox easily defeated Allanna Jones, finishing the contest with a third-round modified north/south choke at CFA 11. For complete results of the event, click here.
Madadi arrested. According to reports out of Sweden, popular UFC lightweight Reza Madadi was arrested on Friday. Madadi is “suspected of grand theft by Swedish authorities following the burglary of a high-end store in Stockholm.”
MEDIA STEW
As always, there are plenty of worse ways to spend your Monday morning than listening to Dana White’s post-fight scrum.
Wet willies and nipple tweaks, that’s what ‘Bigfoot’ Silva does. (Junior’s face when he notices Dana watching the shenanigans is gold. Like two brothers and their dad.)
Fallon Fox fought this past weekend. Here’s the video in case you missed it. Let’s leave it at that.
This is barely connected to the fights, but my love of Wu-Tang wouldn’t allow me to not post it. Check out the first teaser for RZA’s upcoming martial arts film Formless, which is expected to feature not only UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, but also kickboxing legend Buakaw.
(HT: LiverKick)
The guys over at MiddleEasy asked this weekend’s featured fighters for their thoughts on TRT. And yes, Mark Hunt gave the most Mark Hunt answer imaginable.
In unrelated news, Bob Sapp fought Aleksander Emelianenko in Russia over the weekend. You probably already know what happened.
STILL CHAMP
Instead of 25 minutes of ground and pound and out positioning… we got 81 seconds of ass whopping. Awesome fight. #UFC160
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) May 26, 2013
Easy work for the big homie
— John Moraga (@chicanojohn) May 26, 2013
F!!!! Congrats to @cainmma true champ. Only time ill roll against him. Hold your head @bigfootsilva we love u here brother! #ATTNation @ufc
— Tyron T-Wood Woodley (@TWooodley) May 26, 2013
STOPPAGE TALK
#Velasquez is gonna keep that @ufc belt for a while I reckon. Would’ve liked to have seen #bigfoot get a lil more time to recoup tho.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) May 26, 2013
Good stoppage 11 unanswered strikes! @cainmma
— Jamie Varner (@jamievarner) May 26, 2013
What a bad stoppage it’s a title fight c’mon
— Michael Johnson (@FollowTheMenace) May 26, 2013
Nothing wrong with the stoppage. Can’t take damage like that without improving position or defending yourself. That said- I wanted more.
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) May 26, 2013
Come on yamazaki..you gotta let em fight
— Mike Brown (@mikebrownmma) May 26, 2013
Man this Mario Yamazaki cannot be a referee ….Esse Mario Yamazaki ñ dar chances !
— Raphael Assuncao (@RaphaAssuncao) May 26, 2013
Would big foot be asleep after another 2 or 3 punches? Maybe so, but I think in a title fight, the ref stopped it kinda early.
— Vinny Magalhaes (@VinnyMMA) May 26, 2013
Man championship fight u gotta be sure, Mario. #UFC160
— Jason Highwalker(@KCBanditMMA) May 26, 2013
CIGANO!
Spinning head kick is the new jab#UFC160
— Joseph Benavidez (@JoeJitsu) May 26, 2013
Loving the spinning kicks lately lol congrats to @vitorbelfortand @junior_cigano
— Uriah Hall (@UriahHallMMA) May 26, 2013
If @junior_cigano punched me as hard as he just punched mark hunt I would poop my pants #truestory
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) May 26, 2013
Wowzers! I was somehow scared for my own life watching the end of the co-main… #UFC160 #thismaniscrazy #iwishaninjawould@ufc
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) May 26, 2013
5$ to anyone that can teach me a front flip axe kick. At this rate… It will work
— David Rickels (@TheCaveman316) May 26, 2013
thanks for the support apologies about the result junior was to slick for me,got a broken toe first round,and had… fb.me/1yP2KFc25
— mark richard hunt (@markhunt1974) May 26, 2013
— Junior dos Santos(@junior_cigano) May 26, 2013
PRIDE OF NOVA SCOTIA
Wowser!!! TJ Grant it is…#UFC160
— Benson Henderson (@BensonHenderson) May 26, 2013
Feeling giddy…love knowing who’s next…RT @shaunalshatti: So, TJ Grant up next on the docket. How you feelin’ champ? @bensonhenderson
— Benson Henderson (@BensonHenderson) May 26, 2013
TJ Grant is an absolute beast at 155 #UFC
— Tom Kong Watson (@TomKongWatson) May 26, 2013
I watched a speed run of someone playing Mike Tyson’s punch out, while blindfolded… and it reminds me of this fight. #UFC160
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) May 26, 2013
Wow TJ Grant, so impressive, guy just finds away. Seems like a great guy too
— Brian Stann (@BrianStann) May 26, 2013
Thanks for all the support to everyone. Great team, great camp, and great coaches. No excuse. Need to get back in the gym and octagon ASAP!
— Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) May 26, 2013
Joe silva had these as his original OTN bonuses. But the champ has spoken and thanks so much Mike Tyson! twitter.com/TJ_Grant/statu…
— TJ Grant (@TJ_Grant) May 26, 2013
COWBOY’S WILD WEEKEND
The last pound was tuff.Thanks @miketyson for the help!! #tookofmyear twitter.com/Cowboycerrone/…
— Cowboy Cerrone (@Cowboycerrone) May 24, 2013
Noons was kicking until Cowboy kicked him back… now he’s all “let’s settle this like men with our fists… uh, standing” #ufc160
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) May 26, 2013
I’ll take mine bloody.
— Scott jorgensen (@Scottjorgensen) May 26, 2013
Sometimes you get cool scars to show people! instagram.com/p/ZwsJQcufZU/
— Cowboy Cerrone (@Cowboycerrone) May 26, 2013
A PLEASANT SENDOFF
@cripplerufc @ufc thanks man your always good people in my book. If you spritz my bead ill just get a better nights sleep
— Forrest Griffin (@ForrestGriffin) May 26, 2013
BACK AND FORTH
Its on @jonnybones cant wait to get in that cage with YOU!!!
— Alexander Gustafsson (@AlexTheMauler) May 24, 2013
Fighting me is not good for your image@alexthemauler FYI
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 24, 2013
@jonnybones I saw it in ur eyes ur a afraid! twitter.com/AlexTheMauler/…
— Alexander Gustafsson (@AlexTheMauler) May 25, 2013
ALSO
Someone ask DC when his diet starts #Wolftickets
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) May 24, 2013
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced over the weekend (Friday, May 24, 2013 – Sunday, May 26, 2013):
- N/A
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes to us from NickPT, who examines: MMA Injuries: Forrest Griffin’s Retirement
Dana White announced Forrest Griffin’s retirement at the UFC 160 post-fight press conference. In a post fight interview with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Forrest revealed some specifics about the knee injury, and mentioned that he was not at 100% even before the knee injury.
Griffin has a history of recurring shoulder problems. In 2010, he pulled out of his scheduled bout at UFC 114 fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueria due to shoulder surgery to fix a nagging injury. In fact, Griffin told Helwani that he has had surgery on the shoulder three times. He was again dealing with a shoulder problem while training for his December 2012 UFC 155 bout with Phil Davis that had him operating at “75, 70, 60 percent maybe.” He then injured his knee, and had surgery for “patella reconstruction, ACL, MCL and meniscus.” Here is a post-operative picture of the knee.
This was obviously a devastating knee injury. Forrest mentioned a patella reconstruction, and I’m not sure what he meant by that. It could be a repair of a patella fracture, or repair of a patella tendon tear. In March, Forrest Tweeted that his doctor told him he would be “able to go” in about seven months. At this point, it really doesn’t matter. The knee and shoulder injuries, combined with the wear and tear of 16 years of training, have unceremoniously escorted Mr. Griffin from the Octagon.
On a personal note, I owe tremendous gratitude to Forrest Griffin. His classic fight with Stephan Bonnar in 2005 was a watershed moment for me as an MMA fan. As Kid Nate noted, Forrest was “The man who was one half of the fight that made the UFC a household word.”
Thank you, Mr. Griffin.
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.