We made it. There’s still time left, so I don’t want to jinx anything by getting into specifics. But I can’t be the only one simultaneously shocked and relieved about this weekend’s mammoth card that shall not be named remaining, for all intents and purposes, the exact same card that was announced four months ago.
Sure, some members of the wagon were lost to dysentery (or something like that) during our journey to the pacific northwest. But for the most part, we actually made it. Great job, guys. High fives all around. Now let’s get to some headlines before we start pushing our luck.
6 MUST-READ STORIES
Weekend MMA results. Catch up on a busy week in mixed martial arts with complete results for Bellator 82, RFA 5, BAMMA 11, SFL 11, and The Ultimate Fighter 15.
White feuds with Twitter followers over FOX skit. After appearing as a homeless character on a comedy sketch during FOX’s NFL pregame show, UFC President Dana White defended his actions by referring to numerous individuals on Twitter as “puss” and complaining about over-sensitivity in the United States making him ill.
GSP rejects $50 million rumor. After being confronted with rumors that he may ask for a $50 million payday to fight Anderson Silva, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre responded on Canadian radio by simply stating, “I have not been informed of this. It is not true.”
Hendricks: GSP is ducking me. In response to St-Pierre’s coaches recently dubbing Nick Diaz the true No. 1 welterweight contender, an angry Johny Hendricks told MMA Junkie that St-Pierre was “trying to keep money from my kids” by ducking him for an easier fight against Diaz.
DARE defying Thailand’s ban on MMA. When Thailand announced a nationwide ban on mixed martial arts in early 2012, the country’s lone MMA promotion, DARE Championship, was left for dead. Eight months later, however, business is booming.
Bisping: I’m unofficial Strikeforce champ. Appearing on Spike TV’s MMA Uncensored Live, Michael Bisping dismissed Luke Rockhold’s chances to claim gold in the UFC by quipping, “Let me put it like this: I’ve sparred with Luke Rockhold recently, and let’s just say I’m the unofficial Strikeforce champion.”
MEDIA STEW
Pros picking Ben Henderson: 2. Pros picking Nate Diaz: 7. Pros on the fence: 6. Way to take a stand, guys. (Part two of this video here.)
What did Stuart Tyrie do last week? Oh, nothing much, just get split open with an ax at Shock n Awe 12. (For the lazy, jump to 11:20. Plus check this gnarly photo of the aftermath.)
Props to Ben Marshall for the find.
Ariel Helwani, Chuck Mindenhall, Mike Straka, and our Luke Thomas returned for the sixth episode of The MMA Beat, where the crew riffed on all things Georges St-Pierre and UFC on FOX 5.
“If I could be a superhero, I’d be Superman. Because he’s better than all the other superheros.” Yep, that’s B.J. Penn. Also, Aaron Simpson with the worst possible answer here.
With just one loss over his last 26 fights, Polish beast Mamed Khalidov is one of the top free agents middleweights left in MMA. He looked to extend that streak against TUF 3 winner Kendall Grove this weekend at KSW 21.
So, that’s UFC President Dana White in full bum garb on national television. Check out the 1:45 mark of this video to see what had everybody so up in arms.
DEFENSIVE DANA
@ufcwozny ur a puss
— Dana White (@danawhite) December 2, 2012
@ufcwozny it’s a skit for a comedian. Pussies in this country cry about everything!!! Get a sense of humor
— Dana White (@danawhite) December 2, 2012
@jaynort people are such pussies these days it makes me SICK!!!
— Dana White (@danawhite) December 2, 2012
@papaiceman the pussies in this country who cry about everything everyone does makes me fucking ill.
— Dana White (@danawhite) December 2, 2012
ROCKHOLD RESPONDS TO BISPING
@bisping that’s an interesting take, I’ll see you in the UFC soon my friend.
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) November 30, 2012
@bigfish042 I don’t talk about sparring but pretty much on point all and all
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) December 1, 2012
@dominatemoore @therealpunkhahahaha classic
— Luke Rockhold (@LukeRockhold) December 2, 2012
OF COURSE
TAPPED JONES IN PRACTICE TODAY…
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) December 2, 2012
Not JON Jones. My friend STEVE Jones. Don’t start rumors, not cool.
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) December 2, 2012
SAD NEWS
Kazushi Sakuraba’s gym “Laughter 7” just closed today.His financial struggle made this situation.Omori maybe too high price to build a gym.
— Go Yamamoto (@shiroobi) December 1, 2012
NOT THE ANSWER HE EXPECTED
Hey @forrestgriffin I’ll meet u in the middle, how about a pink shirt,& flexibility like Jean Claude Van Dame #ufc155 twitter.com/PhilMrWonderfu…
— Phil Davis (@PhilMrWonderful) November 30, 2012
WOULD PAY TO SEE
I would! RT @datdude512: @danhendo IF U HAD THE CHANCE TO FIGHT THE PRIDE VERSION OF U WHO WOULD U THINK WOULD WIN???? twitter.com/DatDude512/sta…
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) December 2, 2012
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced over the weekend (Friday, November 30, 2012 – Sunday, December 2, 2012):
- UFC on FX 7: Thiago Perpetuo (9-1-1) out with injury, Caio Magalhaes (5-1) in against Michael Kuiper (12-1)
- UFC on FUEL 7: Matt Riddle (7-3, 1 NC) vs. Che Mills (15-5, 1 NC)
- Strikeforce Champions: Jorge Gurgel (14-8) vs. Adriano Martins (23-6)
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes from devin.wilbourn, who writes: The debate rages on… Silva, GSP, Jones, and the illustrious super fight
So as we near an answer to whether this fight will happen now, later, or ever, I thought it worth while to take a look at the biggest arguments to date for why this fight shouldn’t happen. As I see it, these are the most used:
1. St. Pierre is too small
2. Jones vs Silva is a fairer fight
3. It’s not fair to St. Pierre to have to move up to catchweight since he’s not asking for this fight
4. There are too many fights left in their respective divisions
5. Superfights are bad for the sport
St. Pierre is too small
I find this argument to be very interesting in light of Frankie Edgars run at lightweight. If you look at the height and reach difference between Edgar and Henderson they are very close to what St. Pierre’s would be to Silva’s. Then look at the weight difference of Edgar and Maynard who is said to walk around close to 200lbs whereas Frankie is said to walk around at 155. GSP is said to walk around between 180 and 185 and Anderson between 210 and 220 which is almost an identical weight difference. Even frame size which is an extremely important factor to look at here, both Henderson and Maynard looked huge compared to Edgar, definitely no bigger than Silva was to GSP. So if Edgar, (who is a fantastic fighter but I doubt very many people would place him in the same conversation as GSP), was able to find such success against considerably larger opponents (and not just for one fight, but consistently as a champion), I find it difficult to believe that either the weight or size difference between Silva and GSP is going have as profound an impact as everyone is saying. This is particularly true if Silva makes the cut to a 175-180 catch weight. Bottom line, there will definitely be a size advantage for Silva, but to say GSP is too small is insulting to GSP as a fighter, and ignores a lot of variables that effect the outcome of a fight.
More after the jump.
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.