Author: Ben Fowlkes

For Better or Worse, TUF Coaching Gig a Chance to Show Some Personality

Filed under: UFCThere’s a decent chance that Brock Lesnar may not survive his “Ultimate Fighter” coaching stint. Come on, six weeks in Vegas, away from the sanctuary of his Minnesota compound? With cameras in his face for the better part of every day? …

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There’s a decent chance that Brock Lesnar may not survive his “Ultimate Fighter” coaching stint. Come on, six weeks in Vegas, away from the sanctuary of his Minnesota compound? With cameras in his face for the better part of every day? All while hopeful young fighters pester him for something resembling guidance?

For the reclusive, misanthropic Lesnar we’ve come to know and be fascinated by, it sounds like a prison sentence. It sounds like the exact opposite of everything he claims to enjoy.

Instead of privacy, he gets constant attention. Instead of whitetail deer and a barber who knows just how he likes his crew-cut sculpted, he gets gas station slot machines and awkward gym time alongside his next opponent, Junior dos Santos.

If his head literally explodes on camera, I won’t be terribly surprised.

Fabricio Werdum: Last Time I Got Overeem’s Left Arm, This Time the Right

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse ExclusiveThere are two days in Fabricio Werdum’s life that stand out above all others in his mind, the Strikeforce heavyweight told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. One is the day his …

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There are two days in Fabricio Werdum‘s life that stand out above all others in his mind, the Strikeforce heavyweight told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. One is the day his daughter was born. The other? Well, you can probably guess.

June 26, 2010. That was the day Werdum submitted MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in the first round, handing the Russian his only true loss to date in MMA competition.

Since then, Werdum told Helwani, he’s watched the fight maybe 500 times, picking up on new details with each viewing. And since locking on the submission early in the fight worked so well against Emelianenko, he’s now focused on doing the same thing to Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem in the upcoming Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, and he doesn’t care if the Dutchman knows it or not.

Scott Coker on Strikeforce Tourney: ‘I Would Buy It on Pay-Per-View’

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse ExclusiveIf you think it’s easy to set up an eight-man tournament featuring some of MMA’s most high-profile heavyweight fighters, think again.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker explained to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on …

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If you think it’s easy to set up an eight-man tournament featuring some of MMA’s most high-profile heavyweight fighters, think again.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker explained to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that simply putting together the tournament was a trial in and of itself, but the labor was made easier by one thing: the fighters’ desire to get in the cage and mix it up.

“You’re dealing with eight managers, from eight different camps, wanting eight different things,” Coker told Helwani. “But in the end, everybody wanted to fight in the tournament, and they said, ‘Sign me up.’ From Fedor [Emelianenko] to Alistair [Overeem] to, you know, Andrei [Arlovski], they all wanted to be in the tournament, because in the old days, let’s say, in Pride, the tournament was very, very popular. I think this is kind of a throwback to that era.”

Falling Action: Best and Worst of Strikeforce: Challengers

Filed under: StrikeforceIn theory, Strikeforce: Challengers is the event where the prospects carve a name for themselves before moving on to the big show. You know that because the ham-fisted opening sequence tells you, in the most direct and stilted w…

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In theory, Strikeforce: Challengers is the event where the prospects carve a name for themselves before moving on to the big show. You know that because the ham-fisted opening sequence tells you, in the most direct and stilted way possible.

In reality, there are usually two types of fighters on Challengers: the prospects, and the guys the prospects are supposed to beat up.

Friday night’s main event showdown between up-and-comers Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine was a welcome departure from that. It was a showdown between two tough guys who had come up through the ranks in Strikeforce and were looking to make the jump to the next level.

Tyron Woodley: Nobody Wants to See Me Laying on Tarec Saffiedine

Filed under: StrikeforceIt’s hard for Tyron Woodley to stay patient. He’s tried, and is still trying, but waiting his turn isn’t the most natural of inclinations for the former Mizzou wrestler. That’ll happen when you grow up with 12 siblings. Either y…

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It’s hard for Tyron Woodley to stay patient. He’s tried, and is still trying, but waiting his turn isn’t the most natural of inclinations for the former Mizzou wrestler. That’ll happen when you grow up with 12 siblings. Either you learn to seize your moment, or you get ignored.

But as the undefeated Woodley zeroes in on tonight’s main event bout against Tarec Saffiedine at a Strikeforce: Challengers event in Nashville, Tenn., he has to remind himself that everything will come in due time – as long as he keeps winning.

“The fighter and the competitor in you comes out at a certain point,” Woodley said of his rise through the Strikeforce ranks. “It’s less about not rushing, and more about not comparing yourself to others. If you start looking at what other guys are doing, then you might get frustrated. So what I started doing is, I think that what God has in mind for my future and my plan is for me. Nobody else is going to have my route and what I’m supposed to do in mixed martial arts.”

Jon Jones Explains Why He’s Not a Fan of Thiago Silva’s Slaps

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveAs Jon Jones’ Twitter followers might have noticed on Saturday night, the UFC light heavyweight wasn’t a fan of Thiago Silva’s slapping maneuver against Brandon Vera late in their UFC 125 bout.

Jones called Silva’s …

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As Jon Jones‘ Twitter followers might have noticed on Saturday night, the UFC light heavyweight wasn’t a fan of Thiago Silva‘s slapping maneuver against Brandon Vera late in their UFC 125 bout.

Jones called Silva’s treatment of Vera “disrespectful,” and added “i’d love to give him a slap in the face.”

To many people on the internet, it looked like an instant rivalry. As Jones explained to MMA Fighting this week, it’s not that he has anything personal against Silva, but rather against blatant displays of disrespect between professionals.