The blueprint for this top ten is the Genki Sudo walkout in which he did the robot with a KFC bucket on his head. The goal is to follow this model to create interesting and innovative ideas for a fighter to connect with the fans and garner their s…
The blueprint for this top ten is the Genki Sudo walkout in which he did the robot with a KFC bucket on his head. The goal is to follow this model to create interesting and innovative ideas for a fighter to connect with the fans and garner their support.
Having the fans behind a fighter helps the combatant in many ways: the judges are influenced by the cheers, referees might be less likely to deduct points from a popular fighter and referees might make decisions to restart a fight for lack of action in favour of the crowd favourite. One’s longevity with an organization is always enhanced by having loyal supporters.
The typical hype songs such as: “Eye of the Tiger”, “Thunderstruck”, “Gonna Fly Now” etc. are amazing but have been done. This collection presented to you strives to be more original and be of the ironic, fresh, anti-machismo mold. The goal is to counter the traditional entrance in order to entertain. I hope you enjoy.
Frankie Edgar is a very tough guy. He has produced amazing moments that are epic sport classics. The inept UFC commentator, Mike Goldberg, often claims that Edgar is the toughest fighter to ever come from the Garden State.
This is more t…
Frankie Edgar is a very tough guy. He has produced amazing moments that are epic sport classics. The inept UFC commentator, Mike Goldberg, often claims that Edgar is the toughest fighter to ever come from the Garden State.
This is more than hyperbolic as he has really only displayed his mettle thrice. Edgar showed indomitable grit in the Edgar-Henderson bout, in Edgar-Maynard 2 and Edgar-Maynard 3. While his performances truly were legendary in these three instances, there are others who have distinguished themselves over a longer time period.
As a general rule, I disregard anything Mike Goldberg says. Naturally, he is wrong and seeing where he was wrong is intriguing. Which New Jersey fighters truly deserve that title of the “toughest” fighter to ever come from New Jersey?
Here is a suggested list of five tougher fighters submitted for your consideration. Or does “The Answer” deserve to be on the list? Please inform me where improvements can be made and add your insights.
Tito Ortiz was the light heavyweight champion of the UFC and defended his title five times. An impressive and laudable accomplishment; it remains the record for the division. To the early generation of UFC fans, he is a legend and was one of the leadin…
Tito Ortiz was the light heavyweight champion of the UFC and defended his title five times. An impressive and laudable accomplishment; it remains the record for the division. To the early generation of UFC fans, he is a legend and was one of the leading stars in MMA.
Tito Ortiz is scheduled to fight at UFC 148 on July 7th, 2012 in his final UFC bout. This is a good thing. He was loved for his talent and fighting style, never for trying too hard to get the spotlight.Tito has epitomized classlessness and the exact type of behaviour that the sport is trying to elude. His retirement fight in July against Forrest Griffin will benefit the sport. It will be a testament to skill and hard work triumphing over cheap publicity tricks and selfish searches for easy fame. A career that saw wins over Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort is tainted by a needless drive to be recognized for tawdry stunts.
Dana White has recently given Chael Sonnen an incredible compliment and placed him in a laudable category. White, the polarizing genius president of the UFC, claims: “I have never seen anyone who can talk like this guy since Muhammad Ali” (1…
Dana White has recently given Chael Sonnen an incredible compliment and placed him in a laudable category. White, the polarizing genius president of the UFC, claims: “I have never seen anyone who can talk like this guy since Muhammad Ali” (1).
In order to be the considered a great talker and spoken of in the same breath as the iconic Ali, there are prerequisites that need to be met. A great talker needs to speak the truth, possess upstanding character, back up their talking and behave ethically. Granted, Chael is amusing, but let us examine this claim further to see if this bold comparison carries any validity.
Accomplishments:
Anyone can talk. Some compete. Very few become champions. However, the internet can now separate truth from fiction. In appreciating one’s accolades it is important to know the facts behind one’s boasting. If they are lies, then the talks value is obviously cheapened.
Chael claims to have won a silver medal at the 2001 World Championships. Chael prior to his fight with Anderson Silva: “I’ve got two national championship plaques on my wall that [say] I can take him down. I’ve got a silver medal from the world championships in 2001 that says he can’t stop me from taking him down. If he’s got an answer to it, God bless him” (2).
Compare this to Ali. Ali won a gold medal in boxing at the Rome Summer Olympics in 1960. He was a three time champion of the world, attempting 19 title defenses. Now while Sonnen’s achievement is impressive, it is also fictitious. The silver medalist at the 2001 World Championships was Chael’s teammate, Matt Lindland (3).
Finishing second at the World University games in a relatively obscure sport seems to not be worthy of comparison to Ali, who in addition to being a Hall of Famer and an all-time pound-for-pound great, was also the undisputed heavyweight king for nearly two decades. Not only are Chael’s claims of achievements inferior to what Ali accomplished, Sonnen’s boasts are lies. The axiom: “I hear what you do and not what you say” appears to be appropriate for comparing the two and examining their accomplishments. The Oregon native did in fact win a silver medal at the 2000 World University Games, which is a much less prestigious award.
Character:
When one speaks, often people respect their words based on their character more than the wisdom being expounded. A fat trainer garners less respect than one with a shredded stomach. When both of these men talk, their pasts follow them. Ali and Sonnen were both convicted of felonies. Ali for draft evasion, Sonnen for money laundering and mortgage fraud (4).
The boxing legend did so on moral principles, because he had no interest in killing random strangers with whom he held no rancour. Ali lost three and a half years of his prime and potential earnings in the multi-millions. Sonnen swindled people of their money in order to profit his mother and himself. Ali, who could have accepted a noncombat position, refused to enter the army on any condition. Sonnen agreed to work with prosecutors to help convict others in order to reduce his own sentence. Ali eventually won his case on appeal and had his conviction overturned, while Chael is serving two years probation.
The Big Stage:
Talking the talk and walking the walk means to deliver on what you promise. Anyone can boast, but being able to accomplish what you predict is the real achievement. Ali’s biggest fights were his two against Liston, his three against Frazier and his epic “Rumble in the Jungle” against Foreman. He won six of the seven and five of the six were via KO. Chael Sonnen has lost both of his two major title fights. He lost to Paulo Filho for the WEC title and to Anderson Silva for the UFC belt.
It makes no sense to compare someone who has never won a major championship to one who is universally recognized as a top-10 great by virtually everybody. Sonnen is 4-2 in the UFC—submitting in both losses—and has only one win from a stoppage. In fact, Chael tapped out to a triangle/arm bar after equating getting a black belt in Jiu Jitsu from the Nogueira brothers to a toy found in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. This further defines Sonnen as one who exudes disrespect as opposed to deserving respect for his deeds.
Competition:
In order to be a true winner, one must legitimately prove themselves as the winner. This is done by following the agreed upon rules. One way of dishonouring oneself is through drug testing. Ali never failed a drug test. Sonnen has. Chael, while knowingly taking testosterone injections, lied on a pre-fight form by stating he had not taken any banned substances (5). His usage and lack of disclosure resulted in a fine and suspension from the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC).
Classiness:
Making humorous comments that display wit and cleverness are to be commended. However, it is a sport and it is another person’s reputation that suffers from these attempts to be comical. Both parties failed here at times. Ali crossed the line with comments made about Frazier. The MMA star recently said: “You tell Anderson Silva I’m coming over and I’m kicking down his backdoor and patting his little lady on the ass, and I’m telling her to make me a steak, medium-rare, just how I like it.” To me that crosses the line of humour and is clearly offensive.
The talented contender potentially sunk to even worse levels of putrid disrespect when he allegedly commented on Lance Armstrong (6). The voice, listed as Chael’s, states that Lance’s cheating gave him cancer and now he is playing victim and profiting from his steroid use. Chael has denied that it is his voice on the recording. The link is available below. On the Jim Rome show Sonnen stated that listeners would agree that it is not his voice. What do you think?
In conclusion, to compliment one for lying, losing and cheating seems nonsensical and unwarranted. Any comparisons to the one who literally “shook the world” and consistently proved they were “the greatest” is absolutely unfounded and should be discredited immediately. Yes, Chael Sonnen is an excellent fighter and a legitimate threat to beat one of the greatest fighters and athletes of all time in Anderson Silva, but it does not excuse him for being a documented swindler, liar and cheat.
The Future Is Bright This is arguably the greatest time of the year for sports. Baseball is back on, NFL camps are scheduled to open shortly (normally), the NBA and NHL are down to their two best. MMA is now in a position to be co…
The Future Is Bright
This is arguably the greatest time of the year for sports. Baseball is back on, NFL camps are scheduled to open shortly (normally), the NBA and NHL are down to their two best. MMA is now in a position to be contributing to the drama as well. UFC 131 is in Vancouver this Saturday and The Score Fighting Series is broadcasting a well conceived card.
Lethbridge, Alberta’s Jordan Mein will be fighting on The Score Fighting Series this Friday at 7:30 (EST). The event is being held at The Hershey Center in Mississauga, Ontario. The 21 year old, with a 21-7 record, has been dubbed the “Future of Canadian MMA” by many pundits. His test on Friday will demonstrate how worthy he is of that title.
Naturally, the face of Canadian MMA today is Georges St- Pierre. Jordan may never achieve all that the future UFC Hall of Famer has, but he has proven that his journey to reach that goal just may well be worth watching.
Jordan not only oozes talent, he is equally as charismatic. Sincere humility, infectious enthusiasm, and an affable disposition aligned with striking, wrestling, and submission skills make this a potential blue chip stock to be excited about. He is the first generation of MMA fighters. People schooled in the sport of MMA and not gravitating towards it with a strong base in one discipline.
When asked if people do not recognize his intelligence and articulate nature because he is an MMA fighter he joked with the confidence to use self-deprecating humour, ” I am not that intelligent nor articulate. I’m just straight MMA. ” While Jordan has impressed people with his well-rounded skills that have earned him this unofficial title, he has backed up the hype.
His past two fights were against former UFC fighters: Joe Riggs and Josh Burkman. Riggs once contested Matt Hughes for the UFC welterweight title and defeated G.S.P.’s next title challenger Nick Diaz: Mein vanquished him in the second round via TKO. He then won a convincing, unanimous decision over Burkman.
Mein’s take on the Burkman fight was an example of what a humble and respectful person he is:”It taught me that I could get rocked and comeback. I learned that I can overcome adversity as I got rocked several times and was hurt a lot.”
Being the future of anything can often create the opposite effect. It inherently creates pressure and often paradoxically manifests failure. Jordan on the pressure: ” Pressure is what one needs in life. High pressure fights and competing at the highest level is what I want. The pressure is awesome because I know I can achieve the expectations.”
Those that know of Jordan already, know of his father: Lee Mein. Lee is a stalwart in Western Canadian MMA. The iconic figure recently won on his 44th birthday and bolstered his record to 5-9. His real contributions have been to developing talent in Alberta and Western Canada. C.M.C. (Canadian Martial Arts Center) is where he grooms fighters and like many dads worked hard on his son.
According to Jordan, the plan was absolutely always for him to become an MMA fighter. ” We started with Karate, Karate tournaments, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu and Jiu Jitsu tournaments. It then progressed to Sport Jiu Jitsu which was basically MMA. Everything was geared towards doing MMA.”
It has been well documented that fighters such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley, and Oscar De La Hoya have had problems dealing with the father/coach relationship. Jordan happily says, ” I want my father to get his percentage from his manager fee. He deserves it. Absolutely, he is still the key person driving my development.”
People have asked for this young man to represent a nation. They expect titles and great fame. In considering the path G.S.P. has forged, emulated Canada’s current king might be near impossible. Jordan’s hopes for himself: ” When I put my head on my pillow I hope to see myself being a great entertainer and filling seats. I want to give the people exciting shows.”
Jordan’s fight will air live on The Score in Canada and be broadcast on http://www.thescore.com/. The card begins at 7:30 (E.S.T.) The show will also feature former Pride star Rameau Sokoudjou (11-8) vs. Roy Boughton (5-1), host a battle between UFC veterans Joe Doerksen (46-15) and Luigi Fioravanti (22-9), and features, in separate matches, up-and-coming Canadians Antonio Carvalho (12-4) and Adrian Wooley (7-1). Check it out.
