Author: Ben Fowlkes

Gary Goodridge Finally Paid for 2009 New Year’s Eve Fight

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, JapanAfter a year of trying, MMA veteran Gary Goodridge has finally been paid for his bout with Gegard Mousasi at the New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! 2009 event in Tokyo. It took a public back-and-forth and several missed de…

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After a year of trying, MMA veteran Gary Goodridge has finally been paid for his bout with Gegard Mousasi at the New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! 2009 event in Tokyo. It took a public back-and-forth and several missed deadlines, but FEG paid the outstanding debt, minus deductions for applicable taxes, so now Goodridge is happy. Sort of.

“They gave me $9,000 short,” Goodride told MMA Fighting on Thursday.

“They came up with some kind of Japanese tax, I don’t know what they did. They sent me a breakdown of it, but it’s just tax. I’ve never paid these taxes before in my life. But they’re having problems, the company is having problems, so I’m glad to get paid, absolutely. Should I keep my mouth shut? No. But thank you very much, it took you a year and then you’re $9,000 short. I’m happy, but in the same breath, they cheated me.”

Twitter Mailbag: Sonnen’s Suspension, Strikeforce’s Tourney, and More

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceFrom the personal to the professional, you crazy Twitterheads hit the @BenFowlkesMMA mailbag with every possible question this time around, so I’ll do my best to answer as many as possible before the length of this article …

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From the personal to the professional, you crazy Twitterheads hit the @BenFowlkesMMA mailbag with every possible question this time around, so I’ll do my best to answer as many as possible before the length of this article becomes unruly and unmanageable.

That means there’s no time to waste. Who’s up first?

@Batching_It why do you think it’s a contract suspension/freeze for Chael instead of just general time off? Is there a precedence?

One word: appearances. Sonnen is a guy who, while under suspension for unauthorized use of testosterone in a title fight, pleaded guilty to federal money laundering charges. Somewhere in there he also found time to tweet a bunch of racist stuff, lie blatantly and unconvincingly about a bunch of other stuff he’d said, and generally act like an emotionally unstable teenager. After a stretch like that, Sonnen is one rehab stint away from turning into MMA’s version of Lindsay Lohan. The UFC had to do something, or at least appear to be doing something.

Strikeforce Heavyweight Tourney Is Gutsy, but Is It Smart?

Filed under: StrikeforceWhatever problems Strikeforce may be forced to confront in 2011, a lack of ambition certainly won’t be one of them. Not in the heavyweight division, anyway. Not after Tuesday’s big news.

As MMA Fighting’s own Mike Chiappetta re…

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Whatever problems Strikeforce may be forced to confront in 2011, a lack of ambition certainly won’t be one of them. Not in the heavyweight division, anyway. Not after Tuesday’s big news.

As MMA Fighting’s own Mike Chiappetta reported earlier Tuesday, Strikeforce is planning an eight-man, single-elimination heavyweight tournament set to begin in early 2011. If the current plan holds, it should feature everyone from Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum to recent acquisition Josh Barnett and champion Alistair Overeem.

Coming from an organization that has struggled at times to get any two notable heavyweights into the same cage at the same time, it’s hard not to wonder if Strikeforce can even pull off something as complicated and prolonged as a high-profile heavyweight tournament. Even if we assume that CEO Scott Coker and his crew can make it happen, does that necessarily make it a good idea?

Antonio McKee: Loss in UFC Debut Was a ‘Humbling Experience’

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsIt turns out that even for an 11-year MMA veteran like Antonio McKee, Octagon jitters are very real. If that surprises you to learn, just imagine how he feels.

It’s one thing for a young fighter with only a co…

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It turns out that even for an 11-year MMA veteran like Antonio McKee, Octagon jitters are very real. If that surprises you to learn, just imagine how he feels.

It’s one thing for a young fighter with only a couple years as a pro to struggle with nerves in his UFC debut. That’s to be expected. But for the 40-year-old McKee, who has fought in various MMA organizations all over North America in the past decade, it was a bit of a shock.

“It was funny because I’ve never really been nervous for my other fights,” McKee told MMA Fighting. “I was really nervous, not about my opponent, but just the crowd, the people. I didn’t want people to be disappointed in my performance. I was surprised that I got that nervous, but the UFC is intimidating. I didn’t realize it was that intimidating actually being in there.”

MMA Wrap-Up: Post-UFC 125 Edition

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With UFC 125 in the books, the MMA Wrap-Up returns to look at an amazing lightweight title fight and ask one simple question: how can something so exciting, so thrilling, and so important possibly end in a draw?

The answer we arrive at could change combat sports forever, or do nothing at all. Definitely one of those two things, though.

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With UFC 125 in the books, the MMA Wrap-Up returns to look at an amazing lightweight title fight and ask one simple question: how can something so exciting, so thrilling, and so important possibly end in a draw?

The answer we arrive at could change combat sports forever, or do nothing at all. Definitely one of those two things, though.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 125

Filed under: UFCBetween the free UFC 125 prelims and a power-packed pay-per-view card, MMA fans began 2011 with enough fighting action to choke a horse on Saturday night.

Plus, if you tuned in early to ION, as I did, you got to see the tail end of “T…

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Between the free UFC 125 prelims and a power-packed pay-per-view card, MMA fans began 2011 with enough fighting action to choke a horse on Saturday night.

Plus, if you tuned in early to ION, as I did, you got to see the tail end of “Timecop,” starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. If you haven’t seen it, take my word for it, it’s a great film to show if you want to give your audience a real sense of appreciation for whatever’s coming next.

But after a great event in Las Vegas full of both rising and falling stars, it’s time to get our Monday morning quarterback on and sort through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between from UFC 125. Won’t you join me below?