Author: admin

Matt Mitrione is not sure there is a serious problem with performance-enhancing drugs in MMA. But if there is, he has an idea where it comes from: poor training practices.

“There might be a problem with PEDs, but I think it’s because the sport hasn’t evolved enough to realize that kicking each other’s ass or kicking your own ass every single day, day in and day out, with limited recovery is ridiculous,” Mitrione told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Mitrione, the UFC heavyweight, thinks that fighters end up wanting things like steroids and HGH just for quicker recovery times after hard workouts. More reps presumably mean a better performance in the cage. He believes that would be remedied if fighters were just smarter about their training and not attempting to go 100 percent every single second in the gym.

“I think that strength and conditioning is a major trouble with MMA,” Mitrione said. “I think everybody works so hard on the mats. You don’t go on the mat and half ass it. You don’t do that, because if you do you’re gonna get hurt because that guy you’re going against is gonna try to bust his ass no matter what’s happening because he’s getting ready for something.

“Then you go and do strength and conditioning and you’re lifting, you’re doing the ropes and all this other madness and this and this and this and your body is getting worn down and you’re never getting a chance to recover.”

Mitrione (9-3) believes he trains better and smarter than most, because he listens to his body and takes rest days or goes to the pool and swims rather than banging around in sparring at his Blackzilians gym.

“I’ve been approached by all these derelicts and fools that say, ‘I’ll make you puke in one round,'” Mitrione said. “Go to hell, guy. I don’t need anybody running me into the ground so much that I puke. That’s not the answer. All that does is just ruin your neurological system and everything else.”

The 36-year-old, who is on a three-fight winning streak made up of first-round knockouts, has a unique perspective when it comes to this. He was a football star at Purdue University and played in the NFL. MMA training, Mitrione said, has not quite reached the level of how good the athletes are yet, which is also why you might see so many injuries.

“I don’t think that training has caught up to the mentality of bigger, stronger, faster,” Mitrione said. “I think that everybody tries to run themselves through walls just because they think they’re supposed to instead of listening to their body more.”

As for performance-enhancing drugs, Mitrione said he isn’t sure if it’s a bigger issue in football or MMA. He said that MMA is certainly getting an “ugly black eye” from all the positive tests lately, including legend Anderson Silva, but he isn’t sure if it’s just mixed martial arts that has a problem.

“I think that there’s an issue with performance-enhancing drugs on any level, whether that is professional chess or professional sports,” Mitrione said. “Doesn’t matter. So I think that there’s always going to be a line that’s gonna be drawn and there’s always going to be somebody to figure out some way to step over that line and not get caught or to take as much of a chance as possible.”

T.J. Waldburger took to social media to explain why he had to pull out of his UFC fight Saturday.

The welterweight wrote on Sqor that before weigh-ins he passed out and hit his face on the corner of a mirror inside an elevator. The doctor on site and UFC official Burt Watson agreed he should not compete at UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Mir on Sunday in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Waldburger, though, said it was one of his easiest weight cuts of his career and his fainting was just a “freak” thing. He said he trained harder and felt better than ever. Waldburger also added that a CT Scan taken after hitting his head came back fine.

“So I’ll be ready ASAP,” Waldburger wrote.

Waldburger (16-9) was supposed to face Wendell Oliveira on the card, which will air Sunday on FOX Sports 1. The 26-year-old Texas native has dropped two straight, the last a TKO loss to Mike Pyle at UFC 170 almost one exactly one year ago today.

Oliveira (24-8) is coming off a loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio last September, but before that won seven in a row in Brazilian MMA promotions.

Both men will receive their show money for the event.

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) is trying to raise awareness about what it feels like is a growing problem in mixed martial arts: bad weight cuts.

In a memo obtained from executive director Andy Foster by MMAFighting.com, the CSAC said severe weight cuts and dehydration can cause “life-threatening problems,” like decreased kidney function and increased risk of brain injury.

Fighters missing weight and suffering after cutting a large amount of weight is a hot topic in MMA right now. On Saturday alone, UFC fighter T.J. Waldburger fainted during his weight cut and was not able to make it to the scale for weigh-ins. His bout against Wendell Oliveira at UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Mir in Porto Alegre, Brazil was canceled.

At UFC 183 last month, both Kelvin Gastelum and John Lineker both missed weight by significant amounts, prompting UFC president Dana White to tell them they must compete from now on at a higher weight class. Gastelum missed the welterweight maximum of 170 by nine pounds after falling ill the day of weigh-ins and having to be rushed to the hospital.

This is not a new problem in combat sports, but it seems to be more evident now than ever. The CSAC memo advises fighters not to use “excessive heat methods” or “excessive intense bouts of exercise” to drop pounds. Saunas and steam rooms are a staple of fighters cutting weight and those, according to the CSAC, are hazardous to health.

According to the CSAC, a recent study found that 39 percent of MMA fighters were entering the cage in a dehydrated state.

“Heat illness and death in athletes have already happened in the sports of wrestling and MMA,” the memo states. “It’s been shown that excessive weight loss, rapid weight loss, and repeated cycling of weight gain/loss causes decreased performance, hormonal imbalance, decreased nutrition, and increased injury risk.”

The memo states that among the side effects of dehydration and improper weight loss are decreased muscle strength and endurance; decreased heart and cardiovascular function; reduced energy utilization, nutrient exchange and acidosis; heat illness; decreased kidney function; electrolyte problems; mood swings and mental changes; eye trouble; and increased risk of brain injury.

The CSAC advises fighters “commit to year-round proper dieting and training for proper weight control and body composition” as well as “not competing in a weight class outside your appropriate weight class.”

UFC 184 will be held under the sanctioning and regulation of the CSAC on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles. Invicta FC 11 will also take place in LA one day earlier.

Ronda Rousey has already let fans in on most of her many motivations. She mentioned another one Thursday night.

In an interview on “Conan,” Rousey said she is still affected by the fact that she only won the bronze medal for judo in the 2008 Summer Olympics and not the gold. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion said she uses that going into fights.

“I’m excited like it’s the Olympic games,” Rousey told Conan O’Brien about her UFC bouts. “I’ve been to two Olympics already, so every time I walk out there I feel like it’s another chance at another Olympics. I’m actually really glad that I ended up getting the bronze instead of the gold, because it always feels a little unfulfilled. And every time I’m going out there, it’s another chance to get a gold again. There’s no other feeling like it in the world.”

Rousey (10-0) defends her title against Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in her hometown of Los Angeles. She has rounded into one of the most dominant champions in the UFC and is arguably the biggest star in the organization regardless of gender. Not too many other UFC champs get the nighttime talk show treatment before their bouts.

On “Conan,” Rousey also had to address the common mainstream media questions about her love life. O’Brien asked her if men are intimidated by her.

“Maybe,” Rousey said. “But I really wouldn’t want to waste any time on a guy that is easily intimidated by me. There’s more intimidating things in life than me. If that stopped you already, then you’re just saving my time.

“There’s a lot of guys out there that look for a girl that’s less to make him feel like he’s more. And I want to find a guy that wants to be on my level and not someone who wants to make them feel more secure about themself.”

Rousey, 28, also said her worst injuries have been papercuts and she told the story about headbutting Miesha Tate before their title fight in Strikeforce back in 2012 when O’Brien showed a clip of the intense Rousey-Zingano staredown from November.

“Rowdy” said Tate put her forehead on Rousey’s and Rousey pushed back with her own head, leaving a red mark on Tate. Rousey said Tate asked for the athletic commission to issue Rousey a fine, but that didn’t happen.

“Whatever,” Rousey said. “I broke her arm the next day, it’s OK.”

Ronda Rousey has been a dominant champion since coming to the UFC two years ago. She has finished all four of her opponents in the organization in relatively easy fashion and left UFC president Dana White basically wondering who to put in there with her next.

White joked on FOX Sports 1 after UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch on Saturday night that if Rousey destroys Cat Zingano at UFC 184, “she’s gonna have to start fighting men.”

Obviously, that will not happen, but there is a scarcity of potential challengers for Rousey. Holly Holm, though, is one of them. The former women’s boxing champion will make her UFC debut against Raquel Pennington in the co-main event of UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles. And she believes that a Rousey loss would be a positive thing for women’s MMA.

“I think it would benefit greatly,” Holm told MMAFighting.com in a recent interview. “I think when you see one person do well or kind of bring down the No. 1, then everybody thinks, well if she can do that, I can, too.”

It’s unclear what having a champion like Rousey who bullies every contender has done for the UFC. Obviously, Rousey has become a huge individual star, crossing over into Hollywood and more. She’s one of the biggest names in the sport — maybe even the biggest.

But ultimately, is it good for women’s MMA to have someone so much better than the rest? Holm isn’t sure. The Albuquerque, N.M., native thinks Rousey losing could be a boon to the rest of the women’s bantamweight division.

“I think it kind of brings that person down to a normal level,” Holm said. “Look at Anderson Silva. He almost seemed impossible to stop. When it happened, it was like, ‘Well, he is beatable.’ It’s hard to beat him. He’s seriously one of the greatest of all time. But it’s possible.”

The middleweight division has certainly gotten better since Chris Weidman knocked off Silva at UFC 162 in July 2013. Perhaps that would be the case for the women’s bantamweight division if Rousey loses, too. If anything, just someone who could give “Rowdy” a fight would be more than welcome.

“Ronda has run through everybody in the division,” Holm said. “So I think it’s kind of hard when people get in there and stare across the ring and think, Wow, can I really beat her? And you really have to believe you can or else you’re not going to be able to do it. She’s going to be hard to beat. There’s no bones about it. But you also can’t put her on a pedestal so high that you don’t believe you can do well also.”

Holm, 33, is also undefeated in MMA with a 7-0 record. She won titles in boxing in three different weight classes. It might be too late in the game to call her a top prospect, but she’s someone with serious promise. It’s no coincidence that her bout with Pennington was moved into the co-main event slot when the planned main event of Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort was canceled and Rousey-Zingano took over as headliner.

The UFC is grooming Holm to be a future contender. Holm is not ignorant to that fact.

“I understand why it’s been on the fast track and I’m fine with it,” Holm said. “I like feeling a little bit of that. As much as I hate it, I like feeling a little bit of that pressure, because I feel like sometimes it makes me feel like I just need to rise to the occasion. Fighting is never easy, it’s never pretty, it’s never perfect. So I feel like if I would be so protective and just take these perfectly comfortable bay steps in a career, it’s like well am I realty challenging myself? Do I really believe in myself? I feel like if people are pushing me, then they believe in me and that gives me strength.”

Holm, who has finished all but one of her opponents by knockout, is 100 percent focused on Pennington. The bout was supposed to happen at UFC 181 on Dec. 6, but Holm had a herniated disc in her neck that kept her out. After treatment and rehab, she is better now and ready for Feb. 28 at Staples Center.

Of course, what she really wants is to beat Rousey, the woman fighting in the bout right after her. But she knows beating Pennington is an essential step in that process.

“That’s my hope and that’s my plan,” Holm said of becoming the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. “The goal is to get the belt, obviously. If you don’t have that goal, then get out of the game.”

GLENDALE, Calif. — Ronda Rousey has goals different from the rest of us. Let’s just say, she sets the bar high.

The UFC women’s bantamweight champion said Wednesday at a UFC 184 media day at her Glendale Fighting Club gym that she’ll know it’s time to retire when she believes she’s the greatest MMA fighter of all time — man or woman.

“Definitely it’s a goal of mine,” Rousey said. “Whether I achieve that or not, whether or not people perceive it one way or another has nothing to do with the accomplishment. I’ll know when I reach the point, like ‘OK, I’m the most dominant and the greatest of all time.’ I know that I’m there and I’ll be ready to hang up my gloves and move on. But whether or not anyone else sees it that way doesn’t matter. Because I’ll see it that way.”

Basically, the undefeated Rousey (10-0) doesn’t care about perception. She doesn’t pay attention to what other people might think of her. Her decisions will be based solely on how she feels herself.

“Rowdy” can already make a claim to being the greatest women’s MMA fighter ever, though she has only been a pro for four years. Rousey, 28, has finished all of her opponents, all but one (Miesha Tate) in the first round. Her last two foes, Sara McMann and Alexis Davis, succumbed in a combined 82 seconds. Rousey, a former Olympic bronze medalist in judo, will meet Cat Zingano with the belt on the line at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles.

Edmond Tarverdyan, Rousey’s coach, believes she has already achieved the title of most dominant MMA fighter in the world.

“Her finishes show it,” he said. “The way she gets in there, everything shows it. Absolutely. Dominant the word is like, do you the finish fights? Has she finished everything? You ask yourself the question and there is the answer.”

Indeed, Rousey rules over her division unlike any athlete in the UFC right now. But still, she is only considered the most dominant “female” fighter, not the most dominant regardless of gender. UFC president Dana White joked last week that Rousey might have to start fighting men if she runs through Zingano the way she has routed everyone else.

Rousey believes she has more work to do in order to achieve the distinction of best ever without the caveat of “woman” in front of it. If she gets there — when she does, in her estimation — Rousey will know to call it a career. But it’ll only be when she feels she is, not when she’s called the greatest by the masses.

“I’m still working on it,” Rousey said. “I’m trying to be as dominant as possible and maybe one day that asterisk will disappear. But I can only control what’s put in front of me to control, not how people perceive my accomplishments.”