Author: Ben Fowlkes

UFC 116: By the Odds

Filed under: UFCThere are lots of fun things you can bet on over the internet. Which celebrity will enter rehab next (John Stamos is a surprising favorite), who will be tabbed as Larry King’s replacement on CNN (you can get 7-2 odds on Ryan Seacrest), …

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There are lots of fun things you can bet on over the internet. Which celebrity will enter rehab next (John Stamos is a surprising favorite), who will be tabbed as Larry King’s replacement on CNN (you can get 7-2 odds on Ryan Seacrest), and which celebrity couple will divorce next (smart money’s on Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise).

But who needs celebrity tragedy when we have the human drama of MMA? Any fool can see that Lindsay Lohan has better odds of getting a DUI than Mary-Kate Olsen. It takes real insight to pick between two monsters like Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar.

With UFC 116 just a few hours away, let’s take a look at what online oddsmakers think of the action and see if we can’t spot a decent underdog pick or two.

War Machine Sentenced to a Year in Jail

After a tumultuous couple of years filled with nearly as many fights outside the cage as in it, the fighter known as War Machine is headed to jail.

According to an Associated Press report, which incorrectly identified the man formerly known as Jon Kop…

After a tumultuous couple of years filled with nearly as many fights outside the cage as in it, the fighter known as War Machine is headed to jail.

According to an Associated Press report, which incorrectly identified the man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver as an “Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor” in its opening paragraph (he was cut from the UFC in 2008 following some poorly timed remarks about the death of fellow fighter Evan Tanner), Mr. Machine pleaded guilty to a probation violation and to two felony counts of assault in San Diego on Thursday.

After narrowly avoiding incarceration for his past exploits, War Machine was sentenced to a year in jail and told to report a week after his scheduled bout with John Alessio at Tachi Palace Fights 5 on July 9, according to the report.

Dana White, Fedor Emelianenko, and MMA’s Revisionist History

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceIt must be nice to have a memory as pleasantly selective as Dana White’s. It’s always there when he needs it, and it never fails to leave him feeling like the smartest guy in the room.

Take the recent upset loss that knock…

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It must be nice to have a memory as pleasantly selective as Dana White‘s. It’s always there when he needs it, and it never fails to leave him feeling like the smartest guy in the room.

Take the recent upset loss that knocked Fedor Emelianenko from the top spot in the heavyweight division. To hear White tell it, he alone saw through the outsized fiction of Fedor, so it doesn’t surprise him to see the Russian fall.

“I’ve been saying that forever, but the media overhyped this mythological creature that they thought was the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world, which is just so…it’s so asinine and ridiculous,” he told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani in this video interview.

The Cut List: Who’s Facing Unemployment With Loss at UFC 116?

Filed under: UFCAmid all the hoopla surrounding the heavyweight title fight at UFC 116 this weekend, it’s easy to forget that while some fighters are competing for glory and lucrative paydays, others are just fighting for survival.

Hardly a UFC event …

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Amid all the hoopla surrounding the heavyweight title fight at UFC 116 this weekend, it’s easy to forget that while some fighters are competing for glory and lucrative paydays, others are just fighting for survival.

Hardly a UFC event goes by without at least one or two of the losers getting quietly cut from the roster a few days later. Their contracts may still have three fights left on them, but one bad performance (or just consecutive losing ones), and suddenly that piece of paper is good for little more than bird cage lining.

So who could be facing make-or-break moments at UFC 116, and who’s most likely to join the swollen ranks of America’s unemployed after this weekend? Let’s take a look after the jump.

Seth Petruzelli: I Hope My Legacy Isn’t Just That I Knocked Out Kimbo

Filed under: UFCSeth Petruzelli isn’t kidding himself. Despite the four-fight win streak he’s accumulated since his last run in the UFC ended in 2007, he knows that there’s one win in particular that is more responsible than the rest for his return to …

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Seth Petruzelli isn’t kidding himself. Despite the four-fight win streak he’s accumulated since his last run in the UFC ended in 2007, he knows that there’s one win in particular that is more responsible than the rest for his return to the Octagon at UFC 116 this Saturday.

And no, it isn’t his first-round TKO of 9-18 fighter Sean Sallee, or even his most recent victory via submission over 5-5 Ryan White.

“Obviously, the Kimbo [Slice] win helped tremendously,” Petruzelli (12-4) told MMA Fighting. “Without that, I think it would have taken a few more wins for me to get back in the UFC.”

UFC Asks Fans to Leave Their Vuvuzelas at Home for UFC 116

Filed under: UFCIf the last few weeks worth of World Cup games have taught you to hate the sound of the vuvuzela, you’re not alone. UFC president Dana White agrees completely, which is why the UFC has banned the headache-inducing horns from Saturday ni…

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If the last few weeks worth of World Cup games have taught you to hate the sound of the vuvuzela, you’re not alone. UFC president Dana White agrees completely, which is why the UFC has banned the headache-inducing horns from Saturday night’s UFC 116 event in Las Vegas.

“This decision was pretty simple for me,” White is quoted as saying in a press release sent out by the UFC today. “Vuvuzelas make the most horrific sound I’ve ever heard. I’d rather let Brock [Lesnar] punch me in the face than hear 15,000 people blow on those things. This is the biggest heavyweight fight we’ve ever done. We’ll make enough noise this weekend when Brock and Shane [Carwin] finally step inside the Octagon.”

And you thought you hated the vuvuzela.