Author: ben

Ben vs. ReX: UFC 123 Edition

("I’m actually preparing for my next movie role right now. It’s called ‘This Muhfucka Breff Stank: The Machida Story’." Props: twitter.com/danawhite)
With Bellator on hiatus, Friday mornings have gotten a little lonely around here. So I dec…

Quinton Rampage Jackson Lyoto Machida UFC 123
("I’m actually preparing for my next movie role right now. It’s called ‘This Muhfucka Breff Stank: The Machida Story’." Props: twitter.com/danawhite)

With Bellator on hiatus, Friday mornings have gotten a little lonely around here. So I decided to reach out to Doug "ReX13" Richardson and see if he felt like reviving a classic feature on CagePotato, and engaging in some spirited debate on a few UFC 123-related topics that we didn’t get to cover in last week’s podcast. Will this be the beginning of a new era, or the raping of an old legacy? Read on and decide for yourself. And don’t forget to come back tomorrow night for our liveblog of Rampage vs. Machida!

Between Rampage, Machida, Hughes, and Penn, who would most deserve a title shot after a win on Saturday?

BG: Matt Hughes by a country mile. Hughes has already built up three-straight wins in his division — which sets him apart from the other headliners on the card who are all coming off of losses — and a win in his rubber match against Penn might generate interest in the revival of another big-money rivalry from the past: Hughes vs. GSP. (Yes, Georges would need to get past Josh Koscheck at UFC 124, but who are we kidding here?)

No matter who holds the 170-pound strap at the end of next month, it’s clear that the UFC’s welterweight division is short on exciting title challengers, while the light-heavyweight division almost has too many of them. Once the Mauricio Rua vs. Rashad Evans title scrap finally goes down, the winner of Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader could legitimately be slotted in for a shot ahead of Jackson or Machida. Meanwhile, a Hall of Famer like Matt Hughes making another unlikely title run would be a lot more compelling than Jon Fitch or Jake Shields getting their dutiful turns at bat. In fact, Fitch and Shields should have to fight each other to establish the UFC’s Alpha Blanket before either of them get a whiff of championship gold.

RX: Wow, really? Country Breakfast was the first guy I eliminated. His last win over a guy under thirty years old was five years ago, and he hasn‘t shown any interest in actually fighting top 5 fighters at 170. Both Hughes and Penn are looking to win this fight so internet assholes like ourselves don’t start saying they’re washed-up bums.

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Exclusive: The Cyborgs Discuss Their New Gym, Home Life, Future Opponents + More

The Cyborg Family – Watch more Funny Videos
Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos — aka The Most Violent Couple on Earth — have been hard at work at their new Chute Boxe Team Cyborg g…

The Cyborg Family – Watch more Funny Videos

Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos — aka The Most Violent Couple on Earth — have been hard at work at their new Chute Boxe Team Cyborg gym, which they operate out of Cleber Luciano’s school in Huntington Beach. CagePotato West Coast correspondent Ruben Vera recently caught up with them to get an update on their lives inside and outside of the cage.

Neither fighter knows who their next opponent will be in Strikeforce, but they’re both training hard just in case an offer comes along. In a perfect world, Evangelista would get rematches with Gegard Mousasi and Melvin Manhoef. Cris doesn’t care who she fights because she doesn’t have anything personal against anybody — even Erin Toughill, who keeps calling her out. ("Even a bird can talk," Cris says.) Though she would be happy to go up in weight in fight Erin’s big ass, if it came to that.

As for their domestic life, Evangelista claims to do most of the cooking at home, and all of the cleaning. "Never clean!" Cris admits. In a fight between them, Cris would win because Evangelista would never hit a woman. On their iPods, Evangelista jams out to an audiobook of the Bible. Cris prefers "Waka Waka."

Waachiim Spiritwolf May Have the Greatest Tattoo in All of MMA

(Props: Strikeforce. For a larger version, go here.)
Junie Browning has a grenade tattooed on his hand because he could go off at any time. War Machine has an anarchy symbol on his hand because fuck a government. Waachiim Spiritwolf has a bear’s head…

Marius Zaromskis Waachiim Spiritwolf Bear Tattoo Strikeforce
(Props: Strikeforce. For a larger version, go here.)

Junie Browning has a grenade tattooed on his hand because he could go off at any time. War Machine has an anarchy symbol on his hand because fuck a government. Waachiim Spiritwolf has a bear’s head tattooed on his hand because he’s a Native American warrior with excellent taste in body art. Marius Zaromskis is a strong favorite in their meeting at Strikeforce Challengers tonight — but you should never count out a man whose power-hand embodies the soul of an angry grizzly. That’s all I’m saying.

CagePotato Flowchart #1: Should You Watch ‘Strikeforce: Challengers’ on Friday?

In all our excitement for Rampage vs. Machida, we haven’t really put much effort into covering the *other* event this weekend — Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Ribeiro, which goes down tomorrow night at the Jackson Convention Complex in …

In all our excitement for Rampage vs. Machida, we haven’t really put much effort into covering the *other* event this weekend — Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Ribeiro, which goes down tomorrow night at the Jackson Convention Complex in Jackson, Mississippi. The main card will be broadcast live on Showtime beginning at 11 p.m. ET. But should you actually take the time to watch it? Consult the flowchart below and find out. For the vision-impaired, there’s a larger version right here.

CagePotato.com MMA flowchart Strikeforce Challengers

Technique of the Week: Jonathan Ivey’s Beach-Ball Barrel Roll Against Ken Shamrock

(Props: jgreff2)
As you may recall, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock scored a rare victory over Jonathan Ivey last month at a USA MMA event in Lousiana. If you’d like to see the full 15-minute battle, the video is currently in our "Fight of the…

(Props: jgreff2)

As you may recall, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock scored a rare victory over Jonathan Ivey last month at a USA MMA event in Lousiana. If you’d like to see the full 15-minute battle, the video is currently in our "Fight of the Week" section over on the right. (Scroll down a bit. Yeah, there it is.) The above highlights package from Inside MMA saves you a lot of time by rounding up the important moments, like when Ivey knocks Shammy down, and later when he slaps his own titties and shouts at Ken to bring it on, like an enraged, diabetic Nick Diaz.

But the best moment comes right before the end of the fight when Ivey does a pair of somersaults for no apparent reason; we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was rolling for a kneebar, then dodged out of the way when he couldn’t catch it. Kenny Rice describes it both as a "Rerun impression" and "the dreidel defense." Oy vey, Ivey!

Bonus, after the jump: Jonathan Ivey gets beat up by "very internet savvy" UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle, at an LFC event in May.

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‘The Ultimate Fighter’ 12.10 Recap: Mad Dogs and Englishmen

(Kyle Watson, Michael Johnson, and John Danaher join host Stephan Bonnar to run down last night’s fights on the latest episode of "The Aftermath." Warning: Danaher drops a "retard" joke within the first 30 seconds of the interview. Anybody else getting a Lanny Poffo vibe from this guy?)

Michael Johnson is one of those dudes who can’t appreciate the sheer hilarity of being sprayed with water. When Sako (or was it Sevak? one of those guys) rigs the sink to blast the next person who uses it, MJ is on the losing end and freaks out. So immature, you guys! Michael is convinced that Alex Caceres is to blame, I guess because he saw Alex pull the same prank the day before. Their quarterfinal fight can’t come soon enough.

But first, Kyle Watson and Aaron Wilkinson will have to face off. GSP says Aaron is a better striker than Kyle, so Kyle needs to get the fight to the ground. Kyle’s plan is to take Aaron down from the clinch, rather than shooting in. Logically, Coach Koscheck advises "English" to keep the fight standing. After three fights in the house, Aaron’s right eye is looking rough. And it’s go-time already…

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(Kyle Watson, Michael Johnson, and John Danaher join host Stephan Bonnar to run down last night’s fights on the latest episode of "The Aftermath." Warning: Danaher drops a "retard" joke within the first 30 seconds of the interview. Anybody else getting a Lanny Poffo vibe from this guy?)

Michael Johnson is one of those dudes who can’t appreciate the sheer hilarity of being sprayed with water. When Sako (or was it Sevak? one of those guys) rigs the sink to blast the next person who uses it, MJ is on the losing end and freaks out. So immature, you guys! Michael is convinced that Alex Caceres is to blame, I guess because he saw Alex pull the same prank the day before. Their quarterfinal fight can’t come soon enough.

But first, Kyle Watson and Aaron Wilkinson will have to face off. GSP says Aaron is a better striker than Kyle, so Kyle needs to get the fight to the ground. Kyle’s plan is to take Aaron down from the clinch, rather than shooting in. Logically, Coach Koscheck advises "English" to keep the fight standing. After three fights in the house, Aaron’s right eye is looking rough. And it’s go-time already…

read more