Author: Alex Neely

Alistair Overeem: MMA, Kickboxing Legacy Stifled by Steroids

This past Saturday, Alistair Overeem suffered his second loss in a row at the feet and hands of Travis Browne on UFC on Fox Sports 1 at TD Garden in Boston.
The fight, which ended at 4:08 of the first frame, and pre-fight were hauntingly similar to his…

This past Saturday, Alistair Overeem suffered his second loss in a row at the feet and hands of Travis Browne on UFC on Fox Sports 1 at TD Garden in Boston.

The fight, which ended at 4:08 of the first frame, and pre-fight were hauntingly similar to his last loss against Antonio “Big Foot” Silva.

Overeem weighed in on Friday not flaunting his once pronounced superhero physique, but hunched by the weight of deflated pectorals, which hung like popped steroid balloons. He walked to the cage, less with the fierceness of an impending fight, but more with the bravado of entering a “Knockout of the Night” award ceremony.

The former K-1 kickboxing champion spent the better part of the fight dominating his opponent with punches, kicks and knees. And just when the audience was confident of the outcome, Overeem took a deep breath, dropped his hands, and got hit with a vicious knockout blow.

The opponent celebrated above him, like a float in a nightmare parade, while Overeem slumped into the canvas like a muscular bean bag chair.

And yet afterwards, little is heard about the opponent, perhaps slight murmurs of their determination and courage.

But their efforts are drowned out by the blitzkrieg of Overeem questions. Are his loses due to low testosterone, endurance or ego? Will or should the UFC cut the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion? What is Overeem’s legacy?

For MMA fans and journalists, Overeem is MMA’s version of Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa. “The Reem,” a former light heayweight prospect, seemingly overnight transformed into a heayweight, a comic book drawing, a chiseled mass of muscle.

Few speculated about the results, but Overeem promised it was due to a steady diet of weight lifting, protein and horse meat, in a 2010 interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. And shockingly that answer seemed to suffice.

Dream heavyweight champion. K-1 Grand-Prix heavyweight champion. Strikeforce heavyweight champion. The community became so entranced by his accomplishments, so mystified by his wins, that we did not stop to think if we should.

We were far too busy watching his mini-documentaries, creating Overeem highlight reels, watching his countless appearances on foreign television, and proclaiming Overeem as not only one of the greatest heavyweights but fighters of all time.

And then in 2011, UFC signed Overeem.

“The Demolition Man” dismantled former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the first round at UFC 141. And in return, the MMA community predicted the Dutchman would eventually wear UFC gold.

But then, Overeem failed a pre-fight drug test for a potential title bout against now former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. Overeem had a 14-1 testosterone-to-epitestotesrone (T/E), well over the allowed ratio rate of 6-to-1, according to ESPN.com.

Immediately, fans and journalists, ones who only revered the man’s efforts, now stood on internet platforms claiming to have “known all along” about Overeem’s steroid use. The community denounced his efforts, accomplishments and championship belts, saying they were all built on a false foundation. 

Overeem served a suspension and arrived back on the scene a physical shell of his former self, a melted mountain of muscle. MMAFighting.com released a report of extreme low levels of testosterone. And after these two knockout losses, that once superhero physique seems more super than hero.

Where he once walked through the community as a feared physical specimen, he now stumbles lonely and confused, searching for a past he may never find.

And if nothing changes, Alistair Overeem will be forever be remembered as a man who was morally and physically slayed by his own baton. Or steroid needle.

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Chael Sonnen: Move to Middleweight Will Spark Title Fight

Chael Sonnen announced a return to the middleweight division and a new five-fight contract on UFC Tonight.
“There are two guys I want to get matched up with. The first is Vitor Belfort because he’s awesome and he’s on an incredible roll….

Chael Sonnen announced a return to the middleweight division and a new five-fight contract on UFC Tonight.

“There are two guys I want to get matched up with. The first is Vitor Belfort because he’s awesome and he’s on an incredible roll. Second, is Wanderlei [Silva], who I have now found out is going back to middleweight,” said Sonnen. “The landscape has completely changed. I have a new contract, and I’m returning to the weight class.”

Yet, one can’t help but think how coincidental the move is for Sonnen. I can’t imagine a simple weight cut by Silva or win streak by Belfort would constitute a complete change to the “landscape.” It couldn’t be Chris Weidman‘s defeat of Anderson Silva for the middleweight title, could it?

And then, there it is; the image of Sonnen, slithering like a title-driven snake through divisions, hissing more trash talk, eyes expectantly awaiting the flash of cameras.

First, Sonnen will compete for the second straight time in the light heavyweight division when he squares off against Mauricio Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Boston on Aug. 17.

And win or lose, Sonnen will remind all he was fighting in a heavier division, where he went “toe-to-toe” with the champion Jon Jones, because no one else had the guts. Then maybe he will fight Wanderlei Silva; a match seemingly tailor-made for Sonnen. Or maybe he won’t. Maybe he won’t fight anyone, and begin to salivate with Weidman insults, New York jokes and Matt Serra impressions.

In those moments of humor, fans will begin to forget about Sonnen‘s last fight – a TKO loss to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 148. They will forget the two title fight losses to former middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Discussions will permeate through the mixed martial arts community about Sonnen and Weidman‘s wrestling, UFC announcer Joe Rogan will call the fight an “interesting clash of two remarkable wrestlers,” and UFC President Dana White will start to tell reporters it is the fight fans want to see.

The fight will be made as the headline of a pay-per view, forums will explode with predictions, and journalists will revel in interviewing the Oregon native, who will deem the bout the “worst East Coast/West Coast rivalry since Tupac and Notorious B.I.G.”

And yet come fight night, I will be sitting in front of my television, forgetting every word of this article, engrossed in the story line of Weidman versus Sonnen, ordering another UFC pay-per view.

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MMA’s Best Brawls of All Time

The process of creating a mixed martial arts countdown is like writing a recognition speech; you will inevitably leave someone out and anger others. But after watching Leslie Smith and Jennifer Maia put on one of the finest brawls in MMA history this p…

The process of creating a mixed martial arts countdown is like writing a recognition speech; you will inevitably leave someone out and anger others. But after watching Leslie Smith and Jennifer Maia put on one of the finest brawls in MMA history this past Saturday at Invicta 6, one feels compelled to recall the best brawls of all time.

Webster’s Dictionary simply defines “brawl” as “a rough or noisy fight or quarrel.” However, fans who have witnessed countless brawls know these fights are anything but simple. They are a primal explosion of hypnotizing violence, an hysterical hurricane of testosterone which permeates an adrenaline rush throughout a stadium or through a television. And what they lack in precise technical showmanship, they make up for with an indelible display of pure heart and courage.

Every fight fan has their favorite, so let’s see which ones made the countdown.

 

Begin Slideshow

Cyborg Santos Fights for More Than a Win at Invicta FC

Eight years ago, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos appeared among a cloud of vapor and dust between two 18-wheelers in the parking lot of an industrial building somewhere near the Brazilian border. Nude to the world, she walked to the nearest mixed martial art…

Eight years ago, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos appeared among a cloud of vapor and dust between two 18-wheelers in the parking lot of an industrial building somewhere near the Brazilian border. Nude to the world, she walked to the nearest mixed martial arts gym, Chute Box Academy, and declared “I need your clothes, your gloves and your Octagon.”

And while she was greeted with laughs, she left with them all, and has kept them within her grasp since her first professional win in 2005.

However, despite her record of 11-1 (9 knockouts) and her intensity, which rejects all adjectives, the mixed martial arts community seems to revile her presence. Now in their defense, Santos did test positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid, after her vicious TKO win over Hiroko Yamanaka in 2011.

But, for just a moment, consider the countless other fighters who have tested positive for banned substances: Josh Barnett, Tim Sylvia, Nate Marquardt, Vitor Belfort, Stephan Bonnar, Royce Gracie, Phil Baroni, Sean Sherk, Antonio Silva, Chris Leben, Ken Shamrock, Chael Sonnen, Thiago Silva, Muhammad Lawal and Alistair Overeem. The list includes former champions of UFC, Pride and Strikeforce, as well as three UFC Hall of Famers (Bonnar, Gracie, Shamrock).

Yet none of these men are vilified in the same undignified light as Santos. In fact, after reading the list once again, one can easily spot several of UFC’s most popular current fighters…i.e. Belfort, Silva, Sonnen and Overeem.

So why can’t the general MMA population forgive Santos? Several individuals have presented varying reasons, but none have introduced the most obvious yet most contentious theory, which rests simply on one word: aesthetics.

Now before a cavalcade of feminists form on the technological horizon brandishing pitchforks and torches, allow me to explain.

Women’s MMA existed years before 2007. However, it was not until February 10 of that same year that neophyte fans of the sport would be introduced to WMMA with a battle between Gina Carano and Julie Kedzie at EliteXC: Destiny.

Directly following the bout, the crowd responded to the violence, but as the years progressed fans began to pledge their allegiance solely to Carano. Sure, the former kickboxer continued to win in impressive fashion, but her looks didn’t hurt either.

Magazine covers. Modeling gigs. Movie scripts. Even former Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and former Strikeforce announcer Mauro Ranallo were not shy about declaring her beauty. Additionally, women lauded her efforts as inspirational and attached the moniker of role model to her name.

And then it happened. She lost. Actually, Carano did not just lose, she was bludgeoned by none other than Cyborg. Even the nickname, polar opposite of Carano’s aura, sent chills down the spine of fans. And when fight night arrived, all who watched and attended understood why. In less than two rounds, Cyborg nearly stripped layers of beauty away from Carano’s face with a vicious onslaught of punches, knees and elbows.

Over the next two fights, Cyborg eviscerated Marloes Coenen and Jan Finney. The declarations of beauty had been replaced with adjectives such as “vicious,” frightening” and “scary.” The modeling gigs were replaced with short YouTube videos displaying Cyborg’s strength.

And the Carano fans waited. They admittedly waited for a Carano comeback or another beauty to end the reign of this tyrannical “monster.”

Then there, on the horizon, like a fair maiden of violence, Ronda Rousey emerged onto the scene. She was brash, talented, but most of all beautiful. The Olympian’s spotlight grew exponentially in only a few fights, leaving fans to beg for a super fight between her and Cyborg. It was the perfect script for these fans: beauty vs. brawn, skill vs. violence, good vs. bad.

And then it didn’t happen. Commence abbreviated history: steroid bust; weight disparity; trash talk; contract issues; UFC introduces women; Rousey announced as UFC bantamweight champion; more weight issues; contract negotiations; and Cyborg signs with Invicta FC.

The final piece, Cyborg’s new Invicta contract, immediately did two things: suspend a possible super fight and diminish the aura of Santos. According to several fans, she is out of sight, out of mind. And according to most, who despise Cyborg for her steroid bust, it is for the best.

So, now Cyborg sits, in veritable obscurity of the public eye at Invicta, days away from one of the best women’s fights on paper, and once again she holds the banner of “bad guy.” Her opponent, Marloes Coenen, a former Strikeforce champion, has won over the fans with her attempt at redemption, and because “hot chicks are just better people.”

Unfortunately, staring over the landscape of MMA, there only appears to be one possible way to win over the community: defeat Coenen. Establish a super fight with Rousey. Present issues for the UFC champ in the first three minutes, yet ultimately succumb to an armbar in the final minute of the first round.

Then, and only then, will these ignorant fans, who describe Santos as a “dude” or “beast,” recognize, if only for a technological minute, her true talent.

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Is the UFC Ready for Anderson Silva, GSP to Lose?

In the community of mixed martial arts, below the pristine houses of casual viewers and apartment buildings of diehard fans, lies a culture of computer creatures.Each one is YouTube-clip hungry and blood thirsty. They slovenly type their bilious critic…

In the community of mixed martial arts, below the pristine houses of casual viewers and apartment buildings of diehard fans, lies a culture of computer creatures.

Each one is YouTube-clip hungry and blood thirsty. They slovenly type their bilious criticisms of no fight being violent enough, no UFC decision being smart enough and no champion being good enough. They lurk in the bowels of MMA‘s underbelly waiting to proclaim the next unknown prospect, like a hipster signing their allegiance to a no-name band.

Sure, champions such as Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva have fought a gamut of contenders, but this fighter, this unrecognizable face to the masses, this prospect, will surely present issues these titleholders have never seen before in their career.

And, yet, “Rush” and “The Spider” still hold their belts.

However, what if the hi-tech hecklers were right? What if their was such a prospect? What if there were two—one, a middleweight named Chris Weidman, and the other, a welterweight who goes by Johnny Hendricks? What if they both had the undeniable ability to dethrone the two greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the world during the same year, what then? How would the UFC handle it?

One could imagine a riot at the UFC headquarters. One where the UFC brass are immediately whisked away in a limousine through the streets of Las Vegas into the sun-soaked desert, where after miles of driving they exit the vehicle into a bunker. It is there, inside of the steel walls, that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva would repeatedly slam his face into the floor, while UFC President Dana White could avoid questions about immediate rematches, the eventual drop in pay-per-view numbers and the penultimate death of promised super fights.

Perhaps there is a viable business plan. At least I hope so.

Remember B.J. Penn? When he was lightweight champion, Penn was able to transform the division from a veritably unknown commodity to overwhelmingly popularity. However, when he lost back-to-back fights against Frankie Edgar, the response was immediate. PPV numbers plummeted so quickly for the division’s title fights, one can only witness the now lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, on cable.

So if this is the year when MMA witnesses a loss by Silva and St-Pierre, and subsequently possible super-fights, I hope the computer creatures are finally happy, if only for a moment. Because, despite their potential joy, the UFC will have lost two of their finest heroes.

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Matt Serra, UFC’s Greatest Underdog

The day was April 7, 2007. The event: UFC 69. The place: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.The card was headlined by defending UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, and the Ultimate Fighter 4 winner, Matt Serra.Las Vegas had liste…

The day was April 7, 2007. The event: UFC 69. The place: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The card was headlined by defending UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, and the Ultimate Fighter 4 winner, Matt Serra.

Las Vegas had listed the champion as an 11-to-1 favorite over the New York native, a staggering disparity for a title fight. Yet, no one seemed to argue.

The Canadian, a physical Adonis, had mowed down top 10 welterweights with relative ease to earn a rematch with Matt Hughes, a fighter GSP lost to in 2004. The fight was far different from their first, as St. Pierre defeated Hughes by technical knockout to win the welterweight championship.

However, Serra, a self-proclaimed “five-foot, six-inch meatball,” had amassed a record of .500 since joining the promotion in 2001. In a last-ditch effort, Serra joined the Ultimate Fighter: Comeback, which collected fighters who had yet to earn a title shot, a proverbial land of lost toys. With a win against Chris Lytle in the finale, Serra was given the exciting, yet daunting opportunity to fight GSP for the welterweight crown.

So when fight night arrived, who could blame the journalists and fans for a lack of enthusiasm? It was, after all, a fight between a sophisticated thoroughbred and a dark horse.

Serra, who had claimed he would shock the world, entered the cage with the calm demeanor of a man who was sauntering through a dream. GSP, on the other hand, moved like a machine programmed to kill.

“It’s time!” Bruce Buffer, in announcing the fighters, seemed to sever the air with a sharp “Pierre!”

The fight was on. GSP and Serra touched gloves and imparted proper spacing to feel out one another. Sure nothing happened in the first minute, but all seemed to believe it was a matter of time.

And then something did happen.

Serra clipped GSP.

On wobbly legs, the champion attempted to evade Serra’s attack, but the cage only has so much space. GSP was hit again. Then again. And then GSP was on the ground. Serra stood over him raining down punches. The crowd was on their feet. Could the 15,269 in attendance, and millions viewing around the world, really be seeing what they were seeing?

Yes!

GSP tapped. And Serra celebrated with a patented one-handed cartwheel. Before he even landed, his team was piling into the octagon. The celebration wasn’t just for a title; it was about overcoming the impossible. The crowd and journalists knew that. It was easy to spot on their agape mouths and silent faces. All of them had just witnessed history.

And, now, after three years of inactivity, Serra announced his retirement, barring a potential fight at Madison Square Garden.

Now whenever a fighter retires, journalists and fans always ask “what is his/her legacy?” Well, in truth, most fighters will never earn a legacy. Most will retire as quietly as they fought, never to be heard from again. But, in some rare cases, a fighter will leave behind a mark, a story, a moment that no one in the MMA community will forget.

So, despite the fact Serra’s UFC career ended with a 7-7 record, and despite the fact he didn’t successfully defend his title, he will always be part of UFC history, as the fighter who pulled off the greatest upset. Because while we cheer the unstoppable athlete, we always relate with the underdog.

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