Author: Anthony Gannon

MMA: Why the UFC Needs Eddie Alvarez

It’s no secret that the UFC has a lock on most of the top talent in mixed martial arts. With past acquisitions of the WEC, Pride, and Strikeforce, they hold a near monopoly over the top level of the sport.   But there are a handful of fighter…

It’s no secret that the UFC has a lock on most of the top talent in mixed martial arts. With past acquisitions of the WEC, Pride, and Strikeforce, they hold a near monopoly over the top level of the sport.  

But there are a handful of fighters out there who have managed to earn both money and reputation competing in other, smaller organizations. These fighters have inspired feisty debate over the years regarding their placement in the rankings due to the fact that, as talented as they are, they haven’t exactly been facing the highest level of competition.  

Former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is just such a fighter. 

A professional mixed martial artist for nearly a decade, Alvarez cut his teeth on the local east coast circuit before graduating to the more prestigious promotions of Bodog, Dream, and Bellator. He’s impressed fans by compiling a record of 23 wins with only three losses—with 13 of those wins coming by knockout and three by submission.  

He’s long been a top-10 ranked lightweight, having defeated the likes of Joachim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Roger Huerta, Pat Curran and, most recently, Shinya Aoki.  

Eddie lost his Bellator title to the young buzz saw Michael Chandler late last year, but Chandler is a phenomenal talent, and that loss should not diminish the star of Alvarez.  

At 28, he’s just coming into his athletic prime. He’s exciting and well-rounded, with heavy hands and a lot of charisma. And the UFC needs him. 

Make no mistake, the UFC lightweight division is perhaps the deepest division in the entire sport. There’s no shortage of contenders, and in the UFC Alvarez would be just another guy in line. But that’s what keeps a division so interesting. Fresh contenders provide more competition, which ups everybody’s game. That’s why the lightweight division is also perhaps the most exciting division in the entire sport. 

They don’t need Alvarez to survive, of course. It’s a different type of need. They need him, as well as any top talent they can get their hands on, to thrive well into the future.

It’s about vision.

Steve Jobs didn’t dominate the tech world with complacent assumptions that his product line was good enough. He did it by playing chess, not checkers.  

Alvarez just completed his Bellator contract. As is commonplace with MMA contracts, Bellator will have an exclusive bargaining time frame to try and hammer out a new deal. If an agreement cannot be reached, Alvarez can then seek employment elsewhere, and Bellator has the right to match any offer he may receive.  

Don’t be surprised if Bellator doesn’t let Alvarez go without a fight. They just lost middleweight champion Hector Lombard to the UFC, and while they’ll survive an Alvarez departure as well, promotions do not thrive by losing all their established stars.  

In the end, however, it’s difficult to match the procurement power of the UFC.  

Alvarez will likely end up fighting in the Octagon by fall, and we’ll have yet another contender to keep the lightweight division fresh well into the future.

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If You Were Jon Jones You’d Be Cocky Too

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones rubs people the wrong way. He reminds us of that annoying, supercilious know-it-all we all have in our lives. But is that really Jon Jones? Is Jon Jones that guy? Or is he just an awkward 24-year-old trying to d…

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones rubs people the wrong way.

He reminds us of that annoying, supercilious know-it-all we all have in our lives.

But is that really Jon Jones? Is Jon Jones that guy? Or is he just an awkward 24-year-old trying to deal with fame and fortune?

Let’s take a look.

Jones stormed the UFC in August of 2008. After only four months as a professional fighter, he accumulated a 6-0 record, all by stoppage, on the local scene in the Northeast. Before long, he got the call to fight in the big leagues.

Aside from a couple of Ultimate Fighter alumni, can you think of a fighter who earned a UFC call-up that quickly? If so, please feel free to brag in the comments section.

After Jones’ UFC debut, a decision win over Andre Gusmao, he was touted as an athletically gifted fighter, but not much more than that.

In his second UFC appearance, Jones was put up against Stephan Bonnar. The general consensus was that Bonnar would be too much for the youngster.

As usual, the general consensus was wrong.

Using superior wrestling and unorthodox striking, Jones ran through Bonnar at UFC 94 to win an impressive unanimous decision. 

After the Bonnar fight, Jones became a certified public health hazard. He had found his mojo, and it consisted of taking opponents down and obliterating them.

He did this to respected veterans Jake O’Brien, Matt Hamill, Brandon Vera, and Vladimir Matyushenko in succession, although he would suffer his first loss in the Hamill fight—a disqualification due to illegal elbows.

But even in defeat, Jones further proved how devastating he had become by pretty much ending Matt Hamill’s career.

That little mid-level run of dominance precipitated what would become Jones’ reign of terror at the upper echelon of the light-heavyweight division.

That reign consisted of a run that spanned the length of 2011 and consisted of four straight dominant victories over Top-10 competitors: Ryan Bader, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, and Lyoto Machida. Jones picked up the championship belt, three fight night bonuses, and fame and fortune along the way.

Not bad for a 23-year-old. 

In the middle of all that success was a camp crisis that resulted in the Rashad Evans feud, the raising of three daughters, and a short stint as a superhero—chasing down and restraining a burglar in Paterson, New Jersey mere hours before fighting Shogun for the title.

After capturing the title, Jones would go on to defend it twice, and solidify his place as not just a freak-of-athletic-nature fighter, but a dominant champion.

The 205 pound division had been in a state of flux since the legendary run of Chuck Liddell in 2005-06, with five different champions, only two of whom kept the belt long enough to earn a single title defense: Rampage Jackson against Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida against Shogun Rua.

So here’s this newcomer to the sport, a guy with only a few years of experience, and he not only accomplishes more than the previous five champions, but beats three of them with relative ease.

One of the five former champions, Forrest Griffin, described his desire to not face Jon Jones. Griffin said that it would be wise to either run away, or poison Jones to get a victory.

Approaching Saturday night and UFC 145, Jones will face off against former friend and teammate, Rashad Evans, and Rashad is pretty much the last of the Fab 5 in the light-heavyweight division.

If Jones defeats Rashad, as the odds-makers and pundits agree he will, then we’ll be left with only prospects as potential challengers.

Alexander Gustaffson, Phil Davis, King Mo, and that one guy who’s out there right now. That guy no one knows, but whose Clubber Lang-hungry, working his tail off in the gym.

These are our only remaining hopes to keep the 205 pound division from becoming like the 170 and 185 pound divisions: long-term champions whose challengers are seen as little more than blips on the screen.

So, is this the real Jon Jones? Is Jon Jones that guy? Or is he just a somewhat awkward 24-year-old trying to deal with immense fame and fortune?

Yes, that is Jon Jones. Yes, he is that guy. And yes, he is a somewhat awkward 24-year-old dealing with things far out of his range of maturity.

But, wouldn’t you be too?

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UFC Threatens Legal Action Against Cage Potato for Satirical Caption

If you’ve never visited CagePotato.com, do check it out. It’s an entertaining, very funny MMA website.   Their writers take stories from around the MMA world and apply a satirical, comical element to them. It’s a refreshing …

If you’ve never visited CagePotato.com, do check it out. It’s an entertaining, very funny MMA website.  

Their writers take stories from around the MMA world and apply a satirical, comical element to them. It’s a refreshing alternative from traditional reporting.  

Satire also has a very rich tradition in society.  

It’s based on the assumption that a reasonable person will be able to recognize that what is being said isn’t necessarily “true,” but simply a statement intended to elicit a reaction, be it humor, or something more lofty, like a social or political statement.  

Apparently, Dana White isn’t a fan, and he’s gotten his lawyers involved.  

The issue stems from a caption (since taken down) of a Cage Potato story that read, “Not only am I paying Bones to wear UFC logos on his walkout gear next weekend, I also placed a $500,000 bet that he’d beat Rashad. Oh sh*t, I guess I shouldn’t have said that out loud.”  

Suffice it to say Dana White was less than amused.  

A reasonable person, however, should be able to read that caption and immediately deduce that it’s just a joke. In that case, the UFC really has no legal leg to stand on, but that doesn’t mean White cannot make life miserable for the Break Media-owned website.  

Cage Potato issued a quick retraction, and one of their writers, Jason Moles, sent a tweet to Dana White with the link to the retraction, and asked if they were cool.  

Dana’s response, “not even close.” 

Cage Potato managing editor, Ben Goldstein spoke to USA Today about the issue, “This is just so silly that I want to print this retraction and get this behind us.” 

Based on White’s tweet, and his already foul feelings for the site, this isn’t an issue that will likely be squashed.  

But Goldstein wants to make it clear that he has no intentions of bowing down to White should the UFC boss wish to take further action.

“I have no problem swallowing my ego and apologizing for a joke,” he said. “But if it turns out they want to set their lawyers on us on a regular basis because of satirical captions we write on our website, then we’ll fight back.

“We’ll get our own lawyers involved and defend ourselves…We’re not going to change the way we do business.”  

As the most powerful man in the sport, White has long been a target for ridicule, humor and satire. That pretty much comes with the territory. So what makes this particular episode so special? Well, White has a long running hatred for Cage Potato.  

Dana’s anger likely stems from another event that took place in October 2010.  

UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste was featured in Playboy. Cage Potato went ahead and published the photos on their site.  

Goldstein got an impromptu phone call from a livid Dana White, who according to Goldstein, said, “I’m going to (expletive) you up worse than you’ve ever been (expletive) before.”  

Cage Potato has since been banned from all Zuffa events, and with this latest incident, it’s a safe bet that the ban will stick forever.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ben Askren and the Peril of Twitter

It seems that nowadays, not a week goes by that some fighter isn’t sticking their foot in their mouth in 140 characters or less.   If it isn’t King Mo calling a member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission a “racist b*tch&rdquo…

It seems that nowadays, not a week goes by that some fighter isn’t sticking their foot in their mouth in 140 characters or less.  

If it isn’t King Mo calling a member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission a “racist b*tch” via Twitter (comments have since been deleted), then it’s Ben Askren calling Dana White a liar.  

Askren, who apparently lacks career ambition beyond Bellator, had this to tweet: “The USOC random tests Olympic athletes in all sports. Dana saying testing his fighters would be impossible is a bold faced lie.” 

Add that to the fact that Askren’s fighting style isn’t exactly the most electrifying, and the sum equals a career of marginalization.  

What would make Askren knowingly insult the boss of the largest MMA promotion in the world, a boss who is well known to take things personally and carry a grudge?  

He is either very happy at Bellator and wishes to stay…forever. Or, more likely, he just doesn’t seem to understand that things said in cyber-world have consequences in the real world.  

Of course, it wasn’t long before Dana White replied, “when ambien can’t sleep it takes Ben Askren.” 

Ouch. 

Having Dana White say he’s beyond boring has got to sting Ben, especially after being booed in his last fight for putting on a less-than-spirited performance.

But Ben had to know something like that was coming, right? Maybe not. 

There’s a general negligence when it comes to social media, as if there’s some protective force field shielding us from our words. Many people literally feel as if they can say whatever they wish on Twitter and Facebook and there will be no repercussions.  

Look at all the instances of teachers getting fired for making stupid comments about their students. Whether or not some of them are true is beside the point; it’s simply unwise.  

I’ve personally cringed for friends of mine who advertised on Facebook that they were in need of a wedding date. It’s actually painful to read. But to them, it felt safe and not at all pathetic.

A guy wouldn’t get on the loud speaker at work and announce that he can’t find a date, and then resort to making a shameless spectacle out of himself, would he? Of course not. But on Facebook, behind that computer screen, there’s a falsely presumed safety.  

Fighters are encouraged to use Twitter. In fact, the UFC offers $5,000 bonuses to whoever can attain the most followers. It’s a flawed policy that breeds stupidity.  

A few months ago, rape jokes were all the rage. Forrest Griffin was forced to apologize and make a donation to a rape crisis center for his remark (per MMAWeekly.com). Miguel Torres was fired for his, and then rehired after convincing his boss he was sincerely remorseful (per ESPN).

Rashad Evans—well, he got off scot-free for his rape joke, as reported by USA TODAY. Rashad pulls in good pay-per-view numbers. That’s always the exception.  

Ben Askren isn’t even a UFC fighter yet. Heck, he’s not even a Zuffa fighter, and he’s already gotten on Dana White’s bad side. He not only called White a liar, but tweeted about drug testing. Right now, that probably ranks in White’s top-three most unpleasant thoughts—right up there with life in prison and his wife having an affair with Don Frye.

Ben is a young, super-gifted fighter. He’s got a lot of great fighting years ahead of him, and he’s capable of having a brilliant career. He just needs to learn—as do many others—that speech has consequences, and Twitter isn’t an email thread among buddies.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ben Askren and the Peril of Twitter

It seems that nowadays, not a week goes by that some fighter isn’t sticking their foot in their mouth in 140 characters or less.   If it isn’t King Mo calling a member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission a “racist b*tch,&rdqu…

It seems that nowadays, not a week goes by that some fighter isn’t sticking their foot in their mouth in 140 characters or less.  

If it isn’t King Mo calling a member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission a “racist b*tch,” then it’s Ben Askren calling Dana White a liar.  

Askren, who apparently lacks career ambition beyond Bellator, had this to tweet, “The USOC random tests Olympic athletes in all sports. Dana saying testing his fighters would be impossible is a bold faced lie.” 

Add that to the fact that Askren’s fighting style isn’t exactly the most electrifying, and the sum equals a career of marginalization.  

What would make Askren knowingly insult the boss of the largest MMA promotion in the world, a boss who is well known to take things personally and carry a grudge?  

He is either very happy at Bellator and wishes to stay…forever. Or more likely, he just doesn’t seem to understand that things said in cyber-world have consequences in the real world.  

Of course it wasn’t long before Dana White replied, “When Ambien gets tired it takes Ben Askren.” 

Ouch. 

Having Dana White say he’s beyond boring has got to sting Ben, especially after being booed in his last fight for putting on a less-than-spirited performance.

But Ben had to know something like that was coming, right? Maybe not. 

There’s a general negligence when it comes to social media, as if there’s some protective force field shielding us from our words. Many people literally feel as they can say whatever they wish on Twitter and Facebook and there will be no repercussions.  

Look at all the instances of teachers getting fired for making stupid comments about their students. Whether or not some of them are true is beside the point; it’s simply unwise.  

I’ve personally cringed for friends of mine who advertised on Facebook that they were in need of a wedding date. It’s actually painful to read. But to them, it felt safe, and not at all pathetic. A guy wouldn’t get on the loud speaker at work and announce that he can’t find a date so he’s resorting to making a shameless spectacle out of himself, would he? Of course not. But on Facebook, behind that computer screen, there’s a falsely-presumed safety.  

Fighters are encouraged to use Twitter. In fact, the UFC offers $5000 bonuses to whoever can attain the most followers. It’s a flawed policy that breeds stupidity.  

A few months ago, rape jokes were all the rage. Forrest Griffin was forced to apologize and make a donation to a rape crisis center for his remark. Miguel Torres was fired for his, and then rehired after convincing his boss he was sincerely remorseful. Rashad Evans, well he got off scot-free for his rape joke. Rashad pulls in good pay-per-view numbers. That’s always the exception.  

Ben Askren isn’t even a UFC fighter yet. Heck, he’s not even a Zuffa fighter, and he’s already gotten on Dana White’s bad side—not only for calling him a liar, but for tweeting about drug testing, which for Dana White right now probably ranks in his top-three most unpleasant thoughts, right up there with life in prison and his wife having an affair with Don Frye.

Ben is a young, super-gifted fighter. He’s got a lot of great fighting years ahead of him, and he’s capable of having a brilliant career. He just needs to learn—as do many others—that speech has consequences, and Twitter isn’t an e-mail thread among buddies.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Breaking Down the UFC 146 Main Event Debacle

There has been much speculation as to who would replace Alistair Overeem in the main event at UFC 146 if he is denied a license to fight after testing positive for a severely elevated testosterone level.   Some of it has been logical. Some of it f…

There has been much speculation as to who would replace Alistair Overeem in the main event at UFC 146 if he is denied a license to fight after testing positive for a severely elevated testosterone level.  

Some of it has been logical. Some of it fantastical. Some of it downright wacky.

The first and most logical choice was Frank Mir. Mir has won three straight and broke Nogueira’s arm his last time out. That in itself puts him at the front of the line. However, Dana White quickly put the kibosh on that idea. Although file Mir away in your “Maybe” folder. Short on options, Dana has been known to change his mind.  

Cain Velasquez is simply not a viable option. He was knocked out in just over a minute at the UFC’s inaugural Fox show. An immediate rematch is a very tough sell.  

The UFC doesn’t want to break up the Mir/Velasquez fight because that will decide the next title challenger. The UFC plays chess, not checkers. But still, if any fight gets broken up to compensate for Overeem’s treachery this will be the one.

Some wild theories even arose that they might try to sign Fedor to fight Dos Santos. Assuming Dana White would even entertain that possibility, which he has no interest in, Fedor doesn’t deserve an immediate title shot. He dropped three straight in Strikeforce before departing to Mother Russia to beat up on overmatched opponents.

Mark Hunt’s name was even mentioned. I’ll just say that I’m thrilled Mark has had a career resurrection. He’s an exciting, very good fighter, and an affable fellow. But let’s keep our eye on the ball, people. This is a title fight; if at all possible it needs to mean something.  

Fabricio Werdum was brought up as well. And he did look great in his win over Roy Nelson. But let’s be honest, a Top 5 heavyweight beating up on Roy Nelson is nothing new. Werdum can be filed in the “Umm Possibly as a Last Resort” folder. 

Dan Henderson’s name even popped up. Hendo tweeted that he would take the fight, and we all know he would. The guy is a straight-up rogue, one of the toughest fighters the sport has ever seen. But he’s not fighting for the heavyweight title. Dan is a middleweight who fights at 205 because he dislikes cutting weight and he’s bad enough to thrive against the light-heavies.

I even read one comment that suggested Tim Sylvia. The amount of “fail” in that proposition cannot even be conceived by rational human beings.

Those are the names being dropped right now. But who else is there? The answer is simple: No one.  

The UFC, by opting to not announce a new opponent, is likely playing a waiting game to see if Overeem’s desperation plea to the Nevada State Athletic Commission seeking a testosterone replacement therapy exemption actually works. If it does, which would be a miracle, then the fight is on. If it doesn’t they’ll either make a move, or scrap the fight altogether.

My bet is that if Overeem is denied a license to fight by the NSAC, which seems pretty likely at this point, then Frank Mir will be promoted to the title shot. Cain Velasquez will be sent home with a very heartfelt “I’m Sorry,” and his show purse.

Evan Dunham vs Edson Barbosa will be promoted to kick off the main card, which is where that fight should have been from the start.  

Sure, it would ruin the UFC’s “All Heavyweight” main card format, but such are the breaks in this cumbersome life. 

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