KRAKÓW, Poland Friday couldn’t come fast enough. Joanne Calderwood would conquer one daunting hurdle that had been dominating every waking minute of her UFC Fight Night Kraków week. She would finally step onto that damn scale. Then …
KRAKÓW, Poland Friday couldn’t come fast enough. Joanne Calderwood would conquer one daunting hurdle that had been dominating every waking minute of her UFC Fight Night Kraków week. She would finally step onto that damn scale. Then she could really sink her teeth into something really good to eat.
> Watch Fight Night Krakow Exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS “I’m so hungry!” she admitted sheepishly the day before, her lovely Scottish lilt barely above a whisper. “Do I look like it?”
KRAKÓW, Poland There’s something about a gym mat and a swarm of squealing youngsters donning jiu-jitsu gi’s that will turn a grown man into a little boy again – in any language.
> WATCH: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop – The Se…
KRAKÓW, Poland There’s something about a gym mat and a swarm of squealing youngsters donning jiu-jitsu gi’s that will turn a grown man into a little boy again – in any language.
> WATCH: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop – The Sequel On his second day in Kraków, Poland in advance of UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2, guest fighter and UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin found himself rolling on the gym floor at the Hajime School of Jiu-Jitsu on the outskirts of the city. He was absolutely covered by laughing 7-year-old Polish boys mimicking the takedown moves … Read the Full Article Here
Mixed martial arts has a number of champions across the sport. Those within the Ultimate Fighting Championship are usually recognized as the cream of the crop. However, that does not mean that other men and women do not deserve recognition. Will Brooks…
Mixed martial arts has a number of champions across the sport. Those within the Ultimate Fighting Championship are usually recognized as the cream of the crop. However, that does not mean that other men and women do not deserve recognition. Will Brooks is one of those fighters, and right now, he may be one of the most underrated champions in MMA.
With a 15-1 professional record, it’s interesting that Brooks still flies under the radar with many mixed martial arts fans. His breakthrough moment came at Bellator 120 when he became the interim lightweight champion. This win didn’t come without controversy, as many felt that Michael Chandler defeated Brooks in the bout—so much so that judge Rob Hinds defended his decision to award the fifth round to Brooks in an interview with MMA Mania’s Michael Stets.
“Looking at the full five minutes, what Chandler did the last minute and 15, or whatever it is, wasn’t more effective than the effectiveness that Will Brooks [displayed] through that entire round up until then,” Hinds said in the interview. “That’s why I saw Round 5 going Will Brooks’ way.”
Brooks didn’t need the judges the second time around, as he would finish Chandler at Bellator 131. Still, that performance has not been enough to make Brooks a major star in the sport. He expects that to change with more dominant defenses of the lightweight title.
“[I plan on] making sure people understand this is not something that just happened,” Brooks was quoted as saying in a Sherdog.com report by TristenCritchfield. “This is a long story; I’m going to be around for a very long time, and I’m always going to get better.”
Brooks has continued to look better with every outing since joining Bellator in 2013. Now, as the champion, he will defend his title against former WEC competitor Dave Jansen at Bellator 136. Jansen has not been impressed with Brooks and his rise to fame in MMA.
“It’s very evident to me that he’s dishonest with himself, dishonest with others. He comes off as a bit of a phony,” Jansen said in a separate piece by Critchfield. “I feel Will Brooks’ fear, and that’s genuine, and that’s coming across in the interviews I have seen.”
Whether or not Brooks is afraid of the challenger will remain to be seen on Friday night.
This is a promising time for Brooks to put on a spectacular performance during his defense against Jansen. Over in the UFC, Anthony Pettis has been unseated as the lightweight champion by Rafael dos Anjos. Pettis was expected to become a superstar worthy of the nickname “Showtime,” but losing the belt puts a major snag in those plans.
Even though Brooks fights for Bellator, with proper placement, he could become the face of the lightweight division. Viacom, Bellator’s parent company, has the ability and funds to promote its stars, but the company has yet to find a champion with the desire to promote himself or herself just as much. Brooks seems like the man to fit that mold.
“This is just the beginning for me,” Brooks told Critchfield. “People are going to see not just what I do in mixed martial arts, but what I do outside of mixed martial arts.”
“The Time Is Now” has become a mantra used by the UFC to describe their efforts to grow in 2015. However, Brooks can use the same saying as he enters his title fight at Bellator 136 to pave his way toward becoming a star in the sport.
World Series of Fighting 20 has lost yet another competitor during fight week.
Three days after Melvin Guillard was pulled from the card, headliner Ronny Markes dropped out of the main event Thursday, the day of weigh-ins, WSOF executive vic…
Three days after Melvin Guillard was pulled from the card, headliner Ronny Markes dropped out of the main event Thursday, the day of weigh-ins, WSOF executive vice president Ali Abdel Aziz told MMAFighting.com. Markes is in the hospital, Abdel Aziz said. It was immediately unclear what was ailing him.
David Branch will remain on the card and face Jesse McElligott in the main event. Branch-Markes was supposed to be part of WSOF’s light heavyweight title tournament, but Abdel Aziz is not sure if that will stay in place with Markes being out.
WSOF 20 is scheduled for Friday night at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn., and will air live on NBC Sports Network.
Guillard was yanked from his WSOF 20 co-main event with Ozzy Dugulubgov on Monday after the UFC veteran did not provide the adequate medical documentation in time to fight. Dugulubgov will now meet Luis Montoya and a bout between Nick Newell and Joe Condon was upgraded to the main event.
McElligott (5-1) will make his WSOF debut on the card. The 24-year-old Massachusetts resident was supposed to meet Steve Skrzat at the event originally. He’s on a two-fight winning streak.
Branch (15-3) is actually the World Series of Fighting middleweight champion, but he is moving up in an effort to win two belts.
WSOF 19 on March 28 was also struck with the illness bug. Matt Hamill had to pull out of the co-main event against Thiago Silva after he ended up in the hospital the day of the fight. Teddy Holder filled in and ended up pulling off a huge upset by knocking Silva out in the first round.
McElligott will try to pull off an even bigger stunner Friday night.
Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar were not friends before their historic fight at the Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale. They actually barely even spoke to each other on the first season of the UFC’s reality show.
“Why get close to the guy?” Griffi…
Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar were not friends before their historic fight at the Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale. They actually barely even spoke to each other on the first season of the UFC’s reality show.
“Why get close to the guy?” Griffin told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “He’s on the other team. You know some time you’re gonna end up fighting him.”
Of course, that did end up happening. April 9 marks the 10-year anniversary of the classic battle between the two men that changed the course of MMA history. Without Griffin and Bonnar tearing down the house at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, there might not have been an Ultimate Fighter season two. And without that, there might not be a UFC today.
Griffin and Bonnar waxed nostalgic on The MMA Hour, mostly about their relationship, which was actually forged at first inside the Octagon and then in the emergency room afterward.
He was like two [beds] over, so I was just walked over and was like, ‘Hey man what’s up? What you got?’ I was like, ‘Dude you messed my nose up,'” Griffin said.
The two have been friends ever since, so much so that Bonnar named his son Griffin in honor of his partner in combat.
Griffin won that night 10 years ago by unanimous decision. But there were really no losers. Both men earned UFC contracts, because the fight was that good. It still goes down as one of the greatest in UFC history.
“Honestly I knew it was close, so I knew it was kind of a toss up,” Bonnar said. “I knew there was a chance I could get the nod. When he got the nod, I can’t even say I was that disappointed.
“I was genuinely happy for him. He fought a great fight. I said that right afterwards.”
Before UFC president Dana White announced both men would earn contracts, Bonnar was already thinking about life after fighting. At that point, there were very few fighters in the UFC and Bonnar felt like this was his only shot to make it.
“[I thought], now what am I gonna do with my life?” Bonnar said. “This was a good experience. I had fun, but time to move on. I was kind of thinking about what I was gonna do next outside of fighting. It kind of caught me by surprise.”
The two went on to have very solid careers and both men were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in part because of that magical night. Griffin, 35, won the light heavyweight title in 2008. Bonnar, 38, compiled a solid 8-7 record in the UFC over seven years. Both are retired now, but Bonnar fell to Tito Ortiz in Bellator last November. It’s doubtful he’ll return unless something very interesting comes along, he said.
The back-and-forth fight will forever be part of their legacies. It was wild and violent, yet still holds up as a fantastic fight today a decade later. Griffin came out hot, but admittedly tired badly in the second round only to be saved by a stoppage to check out a bloody cut.
“I absolutely gassed,” Griffin said. “I was done in that second round. I felt great in that first round. I felt sharp, I felt quick.
“The stoppage for blood was the best thing that happened to me. I was so gassed.”
The two fought again a year later and the bout could not produce the fireworks the first did. Griffin and Bonnar both have regrets about that one, even taking it in the first place. They were asked on short notice. Griffin said he had to cancel a USO tour and Bonnar needed elbow surgery.
It got worse 10 days out of the fight. Bonnar got cut in training and needed 12 stitches. He was flown out to Las Vegas by the UFC and doctors told him he couldn’t compete. A few days later, though, Bonnar was drinking at a Cubs game with his father and White called him — the UFC really needed the rematch to go down at UFC 62.
“Then I was like, ‘Eh, what the hell?” Bonnar said. “[The cut] was another concern in the fight. Oh I don’t want him to bust this cut open. I better not be too aggressive.”
Even if the second bout didn’t live up to the lofty expectations the two will always have the TUF 1 Finale. And the ER afterward.
“Hanging out in the emergency room, I really remember that,” Bonnar said. “I had never tried Viagra before and Forrest gave me some.”
Griffin laughed.
“That was a long time ago,” he said, “before I met my wife.”
UFC middleweight Luke Rockhold believes Anderson Silva and every fighter in the organisation should receive a four-year suspension if they are found guilty of doping.
Silva failed drug tests before and after his win over Nick Diaz, but fighters su…
UFC middleweight Luke Rockhold believes Anderson Silva and every fighter in the organisation should receive a four-year suspension if they are found guilty of doping.
Silva failed drug tests before and after his win over Nick Diaz, but fighters such as Anthony Pettis have suggested the Brazilian wouldn’t knowingly do wrong. Rockhold doesn’t share the same opinion, as Damon Martin of Fox Sports reported:
I don’t understand it. A cheater is a cheater to me and he should pay the penalties, it should be no different. Everybody looks at it different because he [Silva] doesn’t have the physique that shows off like Vitor [Belfort] and a lot of other guys have a lot more size to them. I think people just didn’t want to believe because they looked up to him for so long. A cheater’s a cheater in my book.
Rockhold wants the UFC’s new measures—which specify a four-year suspension—to make a difference. He suggests the seriousness of the sport makes rigorous anti-doping measures essential, per Martin:
I’m 100-percent behind it. I’m on board for four years. A lot of people say they should never come back. If you cheat in this sport, you should feel it. Take away a huge f—–g portion of their career because this is fighting.
We’re not playing ball sports here. You’re coming in here with a deadly weapon. We’re not shooting basketballs. We’re out there fighting and trying to hurt each other. One year, two years, I think four years is great.
In March, Pettis admitted he “just can’t see” Silva consciously cheating, per Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting. Silva didn’t fail a drug test during his rise to prominence between 2006 and 2012, and Pettis suggests only casual observers believe he willingly broke the rules, Al-Shatti reported:
The casual fans (are doing that), you know? Like, ‘oh, he’s been cheating his whole career.’ They have no idea, watching him in the UFC when it was just his first fight, they don’t know what it takes to get where he’s at. So people are so quick and easy to judge, and nobody knows what’s going on.
That last point is perhaps the most important for Rockhold, who believes the UFC cannot ease into introducing its new policy.
“I’m excited to see what they’re planning on doing,” Rockhold said, according to Martin. “They are talking about extending penalties and suspensions, but they started right off the bat with a one-year suspension of Hector Lombard, which is no different than what they did before.”
Rockhold remains skeptical. UFC featherweight Conor McGregor previously reinforced his concerns when suggesting doping is “Brazilian culture” in the lead-up to his title fight with Jose Aldo, Matt Erickson and Rick Lee of MMAJunkie reported.
UFC women’s bantamweight champions Ronda Rousey is among those who believes more testing will positively impact the sport, per Fox Sports:
Many fans will certainly applaud Rockhold‘s comments. Any unfair advantage in MMA must be banished, but it’s likely the sport faces a long and arduous journey against drugs. As we’ve seen with the dismantling of Lance Armstrong’s cycling career, a legendary name cannot be forgiven because of successes.
Silva is still preparing his defense, but if the UFC’s new rules come to pass and he is destined to be seriously punished, he could be used as an example to all up-and-coming stars.
UFC middleweight Luke