Author: Ben Fowlkes

Vitor Belfort Finally Healthy, Awaiting UFC 117 Winner

Filed under: UFCIf not for his decision to have shoulder surgery last spring, Vitor Belfort would have already had his crack at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Instead he chose to take care of a lingering injury, and now finds himself awaiting t…

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If not for his decision to have shoulder surgery last spring, Vitor Belfort would have already had his crack at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Instead he chose to take care of a lingering injury, and now finds himself awaiting the winner of Silva’s title fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, though he doesn’t sound like he regrets the decision one bit.

As the Las Vegas Sun reports, the surgery on Belfort’s labrum has allowed him to get off painkillers for “the first time in more than 18 months.” If you do the math on that, it means Belfort was fighting through injuries against both Matt Lindland and Rich Franklin. Good thing he ended both those fights early with first-round knockouts.

According to the 33 year-old Belfort, the decision to finally break down and have the surgery came not so much as a result of the pain, but rather a concern over career longevity.

Butterbean Says He’s ‘Just Being Honest’ About Pudzianowski’s Fighting Skills

Filed under: NewsIt’s tough to know what to make of Moosin. Earlier this week, the upstart MMA organization was eyeing a bout between “World’s Strongest Man” Mariusz Pudzianowski and former internet brawler Kimbo Slice for their fall event. Then the ve…

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It’s tough to know what to make of Moosin. Earlier this week, the upstart MMA organization was eyeing a bout between “World’s Strongest Man” Mariusz Pudzianowski and former internet brawler Kimbo Slice for their fall event. Then the very next day the company sent out a press release wherein the “face” of the company, Eric “Butterbean” Esch, harshly criticized the Polish strongman’s fighting abilities.

“I know he allegedly broke his foot in the fight against [Tim] Sylvia,” Butterbean is quoted as saying about Pudzianowski, “but he didn’t show anything before he quit.”

It only gets more out of hand from there, as Esch insists that Pudzianowski punches “like a girl,” and says he needs to prove himself before he gets another big fight with Moosin.

Fun stuff for a press release, but what gives? Is any of this for real, or are Moosin and Butterbean working an angle? To find out, I called up the Bean himself to try and get some straight answers.

Pat Miletich Describes Strikeforce Commentator Job as Fun, Terrifying

Filed under: StrikeforceThe praise for Pat Miletich’s work as a Strikeforce commentator is both effusive and widespread in the MMA world. Just listen to what Joe Rogan had to say about him in Ariel Helwani’s “Backstage” video earlier today, and you’ll …

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The praise for Pat Miletich‘s work as a Strikeforce commentator is both effusive and widespread in the MMA world. Just listen to what Joe Rogan had to say about him in Ariel Helwani’s “Backstage” video earlier today, and you’ll get a sense of that.

But what’s responsible for Miletich’s ability to turn complex technical knowledge into explanations even the most casual of fans can understand? According to him, it’s the result of many years of air travel.

“I remember over all the years before the sport was really popular, explaining it to people on airplanes everywhere,” Miletich told MMA Fighting. “People would ask, ‘Why do you have a black eye?’ Or, ‘What do you do for a living?’ I’d tell them and they’d say they never heard of it, so I got used to explaining it in layman’s terms.”

Falling Action: Best and Worst of the Weekend That Was

Filed under: DREAMThere may not have been a UFC or Strikeforce event this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t still plenty of people punching, kicking, and choking each other all around the world.

Some of them might have required you to…

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There may not have been a UFC or Strikeforce event this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t still plenty of people punching, kicking, and choking each other all around the world.

Some of them might have required you to set the DVR or wake up at odd hours, and others might not be available on video at all just yet, but the point is some stuff happened. In order to give that stuff its due respect, we now take a look back at the weekend’s action to examine who the big winners and losers are this Monday afternoon.

Anderson Silva Can Talk Some Trash Too, In His Own Way

Filed under: UFCWe almost expect an MMA fighter running for political office to have his pro fighting career used against him by his opponent. Just ask Matt Lindland, whose green screen campaign ads weren’t quite enough to win him a seat in the Oregon …

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We almost expect an MMA fighter running for political office to have his pro fighting career used against him by his opponent. Just ask Matt Lindland, whose green screen campaign ads weren’t quite enough to win him a seat in the Oregon Statehouse.

But now Chael Sonnen, who was the Republican nominee for Oregon’s House District 37 before withdrawing from the race, is having his brief political career used against him by UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva in advance of their meeting at UFC 117.

“Chael, as a fighter, is a good politician,” Silva says in a video on UFC.com. Silva then goes on to say there are “idiotic things coming out of his mouth,” before adding, “With him being a politician, he should really pay attention to what he’s saying.”

Brendan Schaub: I’m Going to Be a Problem for Anyone Out There

Filed under: UFCBrendan Schaub believes he sent a message to the UFC brass with his first-round trouncing of fellow heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 116. The gist of that message? It’s time to give him a big name opponent, because the “up-and-comer…

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Brendan Schaub believes he sent a message to the UFC brass with his first-round trouncing of fellow heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 116. The gist of that message? It’s time to give him a big name opponent, because the “up-and-comers” don’t stand much of a chance.

Since his lone defeat at the hands of Roy Nelson during the “Ultimate Fighter” season ten finale last December, Schaub has racked up consecutive knockout victories, dispatching Chase Gormley in March, then Tuchscherer earlier this month. What’s more, he put away both opponents in a hurry, spending a combined total of 1:54 in the cage in his last two outings.

Now, Schaub says, it’s time to step up to the next level.