Another MMA weekend comes and goes, leaving behind it a trail of news, videos and tidbits for us to digest. Like always, we’re here to catch you up on everything you may have missed, so without wasting anymore time, let’s jump into some Monday morning headlines.
8 MUST-READ STORIES
Newell still undefeated. It’s getting harder to ignore him. One-handed lightweight Nick Newell blitzed through TUF 13 alum Keon Caldwell, earning a stoppage victory just 2:07 into his WSOF debut. Said Newell (10-0) afterward: “I leave my heart and soul in the cage. I don’t want to work a normal job, I want to be a fighter.”
St-Pierre paying VADA testing. To defend himself against steroid accusations, Georges St-Pierre asked Johny Hendricks to submit to VADA drug testing prior to UFC 167. And it’s all going on St-Pierre’s dime.
Spong, Huckaba, Moraes victorious. Tyrone Spong won a brutal decision over Angel DeAnda, Dave Huckaba upset WSOF President Ray Sefo via third-round TKO, and Marlon Moraes turned Brandon Hempleman into a bloody mess over the course of three rounds at WSOF 4. For more, check out complete results and gifs from the event.
Rousey fires back. Ronda Rousey took to Twitter early Saturday morning, posting a seething response at critics of her two-year retirement plan.
Miller arrested. A professional fighter sharing the same name and birthday as Jason “Mayhem” Miller was arrested early Sunday morning in Orange County, CA, and is being held on a $50,000 bail. MMAFighting.com will continue to update the situation as details become available.
Pettis, Munoz talk upcoming fights. Ahead of their respective bouts, Anthony Pettis told MMA Fight Corner that UFC champions are becoming point fighters, while Mark Munoz said flatly to Rick Lee: “The fact of the matter is [Michael Bisping] has pillows for fists. He hasn’t knocked anybody out and he says he’s gonna knock me out? It’s going to be like a pillow fight when I fight him. He’s going to have pillows and I’m going to have hammers.”
Machine jokes about rape, apologizes. Bellator welterweight War Machine joked about raping pornstar girlfriend Christy Mack on Twitter, then followed it up with the poorly thought out declaration: “Real men rape. (Their GF’s and wives, not strangers, don’t get your panties in a bunch).” Machine later apologized for his remarks, while Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney issued the following statement: “I remain hopeful that Jon will learn from his mistake, redeem himself and become a better man for it and I would like to give him that chance.”
Polley misses weight … badly. This story is just ridiculous. Lew Polley’s WSOF debut against Hans Stringer never came to fruition on Saturday. Why? Well, because Polley missed the light heavyweight limit by 32 POUNDS. And yes, Polley was promptly cut.
MEDIA STEW
I can’t help it; I love these. Check out Esther Lin’s latest edition of her superb Focus series.
In case you missed it: Nick Newell vs. Keon Caldwell from Saturday night. Regardless of your feelings on Newell, it’s hard not to be impressed by what this guy is doing.
Joe Lauzon is about to kill it this week with his video blog game. Here’s an appetizer before we get to the main course on Tuesday.
I don’t really know what to say here. TUF 2 finalist Luke Cummo posted this video on YouTube, and there’s plenty more where this came from.
(HT: MMA Mania)
“I think that I’ve earned the right to come back when I get this knee figured out and fight for the title. The truth is, if anybody wants to fight me, I’d think it would be now. I mean, I’m coming back from a long layoff — now’s the chance to get it in on me if you want to fight me.” — Dominick Cruz, stating his case before detailing his two-year road to recovery. For anybody wondering what Cruz has been through, this is a fantastic interview.
One more rewind from the weekend: Tyrone Spong vs. Angel DeAnda. People criticizing Spong should try to keep this in context and forget about WSOF propping him up as a headliner. This was his second pro MMA fight. He was fighting an opponent with a pretty decent record. Spong may ultimately become something special, but it’ll take time.
Speaking of Spong, check out the aftermath of that damage on Angel DeAnda (via Facebook). One of these things is not like the other.
10-0
Dropping some #Bows…. What a great fight & a great opponent! #WSOF #WSOF4 #MMA #Elbow… http://t.co/GGSfntcudg
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) August 11, 2013
@NotoriousNewell @MMAWorldSeries it was n honor to fight you.Maybe we will meet again.good fight
— Keon Caldwell (@CaldwellKeon) August 11, 2013
This young kid has inspired thousands if not millions of kids nicknewell fought a great fight tonight.… http://t.co/urJaLVeKGJ
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) August 11, 2013
Congrats @NotoriousNewell just saw your pretty face on sports center. #bigtime #remeberuslittlepeople
— Ramsey Nijem (@RamseyNijem) August 11, 2013
#ESPN Sportscenter makes Nick @NotoriousNewell win last night at #WSOF4 one of their #Top10Plays http://t.co/LsbnpuY7Y9
— MMA World Series (@MMAWorldSeries) August 11, 2013
I can’t wait to not have abs anymore pic.twitter.com/0Fjkj1ILxq
— Nick Newell (@NotoriousNewell) August 11, 2013
MORE DAMAGE
Arent my eyes pretty? #wsof4. #ouch. http://t.co/cKLLi5N15l
— Brandon Hempleman (@BHempleman) August 11, 2013
Broke my damn leg @MMAWorldSeries @HITSupplements @AMRAPUSA @VIRUSintl thank god it was just my fibula. Dude kicked hard as hell.
— Brandon Hempleman (@BHempleman) August 11, 2013
Post fight thigh. #wsof #hotrod #Ihatecrutches http://t.co/8HqrGk9Nse
— Brandon Hempleman (@BHempleman) August 12, 2013
FIRST THIS
She rocks my Championship belt better than me! My fam @UFC Champ @RondaRousey joins me in FAST & FURIOUS 7! #BringIt pic.twitter.com/Y5BOokomPf
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 9, 2013
THEN THIS
To everyone giving me shit for”hypothetically retiring”someday-ill retire when I feel like my mark has been made and Im ready to make babies
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 10, 2013
My best guess was 2-3 years but thats a guess,who knows,the day Im not overjoyed2go2the gym is the day I quit.Could be tomorrow or in 7years
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 10, 2013
But ill tell you what,every1 giving me shit4entertaining the idea is expediting it.Im a fighter&always will be,only ill know when its enough
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 10, 2013
So fuck all you hating twitter bitches, have a great time spending the rest of your day seething over my options and choices
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 10, 2013
And for everyone that has my back and has been supportive through all this. Thank you so much,I can’t explain how much I appreciate you all.
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 10, 2013
MAYHEM’S LAST TWEET
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WHERE DID I GET ALL THIS MONEY?
— Mayhem Miller (@mayhemmiller) August 11, 2013
HARD WORK
@Ovary_act true story. I will get the title shot, @danawhite looked me in the face told me that.It keeps me focused & happy thru hard rehab
— Alpha Cat Zingano (@CatZingano) August 9, 2013
A FEW THOUGHTS
I’m pretty sure that we’re not here as a species to pay bills, hate each other and ruin the planet…
— Akira Corassani (@AkiraCorassani) August 9, 2013
Are they still making The Power Rangers? I want to be a guest and fight the bad guys. Is that impossible? #dream #powerrangers
— Roxanne Modafferi (@Roxyfighter) August 10, 2013
I’m not 1/2 the athlete as guys I compete w/ in the UFC,maybe I should be on ROIDS or get artificial robot limbs so it can be “fair”
— Cole Miller (@colemillerATT) August 9, 2013
SAME OL’, SAME OL’
Just raped @ChristyMack She tried to make me wait until “after errands” As if! =p
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 10, 2013
Real men rape. ( Their GF’s and wives, not strangers, don’t get your panties in a bunch.) — War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 10, 2013
Apparently you idiots didn’t read my tweet prior to the one y’all are crying about, it puts it in the right context. Sensitive ass bitches.
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 10, 2013
Context is the word…y’all motherfuckers just love to take what I say out of CONTEXT and then attempt to demonize me with it. #DIESLOW
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 10, 2013
I tweeted something earlier that was stupid, insensitive and wrong. Rape is never something to joke about ever. I sincerely apologize.
— War Machine (@WarMachine170) August 11, 2013
THE OLD FOLKS
@patmiletich watch out old man. Your skin is thinner and bones more brittle. #oldtimer
— Matt Hughes (@matthughes9x) August 10, 2013
@patmiletich I would bet that when you hit that nursing home you will bully them and get the tapioca pudding you want.
— Matt Hughes (@matthughes9x) August 10, 2013
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced over the weekend (Friday, August 9, 2013 – Sunday, August 11, 2013):
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes to us from NickPT, who warns: WSOF 4: Don’t Let Nick Newell’s Arm Fool You
In the main card of last night’s WSOF 4 Nick Newell squared off against Keon Caldwell. This was Newell’s first bout with WSOF, and for me, it was the featured bout on this card. Nick has a congenital deformity of his arm that essentially left him with no forearm and no hand. In this post, I will explain why I don’t see this as a disability, but more of an impairment for Nick. For the purpose of this article, I define disability as a physical handicap that puts one at a disadvantage. I define impairment as the state of being physically diminished.
Nick once observed that “People will always look at me as being the guy with one hand.” His left arm does have an elbow, but it appears to have limited flexion and extension movement. The fact that he does have an elbow seems to be important to his ability to execute submissions. Andrew Calandrelli, who has trained with Nick, once stated “He actually has created new ways to use (the arm) to his advantage and create submissions.”
In December 2011 at XFC 15, Newell defeated Denis Hernandez via heel hook in the first round. The series of pictures below were taken from the video of that fight, which you can see in its entirety here.
This first picture clearly shows the position in which the left elbow is fixed.
In the picture below, Nick uses the “hook” formed by the flexed elbow to secure Hernandez’ right leg, ultimately executing a take down.
Once he had Hernandez down, Nick was able to use the flexed position of the elbow effectively to isolate the right leg (first picture below) and secure the heel hook submission (second picture).
In a March 2010 bout at Triumph Fighter 1, Newell defeated Steve Butler via rear-naked choke. (Click here for the fight video.) He demonstrated the ability to utilize the hooked position of the left elbow to secure his right arm, which was wrapped around Butler’s neck for the choke. Newell once again demonstrated effective use of the left elbow last night when he secured the choke submission on Keon Caldwell. The circled area in the picture below shows the left elbow.
Since Newell seems to be adept at using what he has available in his left arm, I think he is more physically diminished than physically disabled. He fared well last night against a presumably higher caliber fighter than those in his previous fights. During the fight, there were some Tweets about how Newell is neither a human interest story, nor an inspiration- he’s just a fighter. While I understand the sentiment, I disagree that he is not an inspiration. Watching people overcome obstacles and succeed at a high level is inspiring to me. I see this on a daily basis in my work as a physical therapist.
As Nick once stated, “My goal is to prove that people with disabilities can go out and win. It’s more of a message I’d like to send, that if you have a goal, go out and do it.”
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.