Author: ben

Eight MMA Fighters Who Desperately Need a Stoppage Victory

By CagePotato contributor Dan “siksik6” Teague
#8: Gray Maynard When fans and fighters complain about wrestlers in MMA, they’re talking about Gray Maynard. He takes fighters down because that’s what he’s good at. In Maynard’s nine-figh…

By CagePotato contributor Dan “siksik6” Teague

#8: Gray Maynard
Gray Maynard
When fans and fighters complain about wrestlers in MMA, they’re talking about Gray Maynard. He takes fighters down because that’s what he’s good at. In Maynard’s nine-fight UFC career, he has just one stoppage, a KO of Joe Veres over three years ago. He’s earned his title shot not because of his performances, but rather because what the hell else do you do with a guy who’s undefeated and has won eight straight fights, including one over the current champ? Cole Miller said it best: Taking people down should be a means to an end. Gray needs to start having some refs pull him off of people if he’s ever going to have any drawing power.

#7: Ben Askren
Ben Askren Bellator champion ring girls
Ben Askren is just starting to make his way into mainstream MMA discussions. However, it’s not exactly a heralded arrival. The kid makes picking strawberries look like it belongs in the X Games. His last “stoppage” was a controversial sub over Ryan Thomas, who promptly and correctly displayed his best WTFIYP face. Before that it was a north-south choke over some guy you’ve never heard of in some organization you’ve never heard of back in August of ’09. For his last fight, in which he won the Bellator welterweight strap, he came about as close to finishing Lyman Good as I did. I was on the couch eating Mayfield Butter Pecan ice cream. It was delicious. As a title holder for an up-and-coming organization, Askren needs to show more of a killer instinct if he ever wants his fights to be broadcast by anyone other than Fox Sports South.

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UFC 122: The New Guys

(Alexandre Ferreira vs. Lew Polley, 2/29/08. Props: YouTube.com/IFL)
At this Saturday’s UFC 122 event in Germany, four men will begin their journeys from UFC preliminary card prospects to…whatever they end up becoming. For example, our first-eve…

(Alexandre Ferreira vs. Lew Polley, 2/29/08. Props: YouTube.com/IFL)

At this Saturday’s UFC 122 event in Germany, four men will begin their journeys from UFC preliminary card prospects to…whatever they end up becoming. For example, our first-ever "New Guys" column included a unknown kid by the name of Jon Jones. Our most recent "New Guys" column included a guy who got beat up by Rob Broughton then fired for steroid use. So, there’s a pretty wide swing here in terms of potential success. Let’s meet the latest batch of Octagon newbies…

ALEXANDRE "Cacareco" FERREIRA (LHW)
Experience: 18-6 record dating back to 1998, with 17 wins by first-round submission, including victories over Heath Herring, Bob Schrijber, Branden Lee Hinkle, and Fabio Maldonado. Has made appearances in Rings, the IFL, and Jungle Fight, among other promotions.
Will be facing: Vladimir Matyushenko (24-5, 5-3 UFC)
Lowdown: A stocky fireplug of a man, the 31-year-old "Cacareco" began fighting professionally while still in his teens. Ferreira comes from a decorated BJJ/luta livre background, and his grappling accomplishments include a 2nd-place finish in the 2003 ADCC Absolute Division tournament, where he placed ahead of Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Saulo Ribeiro, Marcio Cruz, and Jeff Monson.

This Q&A on UFC.com reveals that Alexandre’s favorite striking technique is the "takedown" (!) so don’t expect the guy to do much standing and banging. When asked which college he attended, Ferreira responded "Unfortunately I could not go to college; my college was my survival as a human." He hasn’t competed since a 70-second kimura victory over Walter Mazurkievicz last October. Ferreira was supposed to face Jamal Patterson at "Shine Fights: Mayorga vs. Thomas" in May, but that event famously imploded at the last minute.

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Exclusive: After First Post-UFC Victory, Ben Saunders Looks to Battle His Way Back to the Big Show

Ben Saunders Comes To Fight! First Win Post UFC – Watch more Funny Videos
Released by the UFC in August following back-to-back decision losses against Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman, TUF 6 welterweight vet Ben Saunders returned to action this Saturd…

Ben Saunders Comes To Fight! First Win Post UFC – Watch more Funny Videos

Released by the UFC in August following back-to-back decision losses against Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman, TUF 6 welterweight vet Ben Saunders returned to action this Saturday at World Extreme Fighting in Kissimmee, Florida, scoring a dominant first-round submission-via-strikes victory over Elijah Harshbarger. ‘Killa B’ was justifiably amped-up after the win, and spoke to our pal Remington Reed about the fight and his future goals. A couple highlights…

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Caption Contest: Win Two New T-Shirts From Six Deuce!

(Images courtesy of 62Gear.com. Click to see larger.)
Our dear friends at Six Deuce have come out with two eye-catching new t-shirt designs that we thought you should be aware of. On the left is the "Fall Seven," which pays tribute to a fam…

MMA t-shirts Six Deuce Fall SevenSix Deuce MMA t-shirts Thai Arena
(Images courtesy of 62Gear.com. Click to see larger.)

Our dear friends at Six Deuce have come out with two eye-catching new t-shirt designs that we thought you should be aware of. On the left is the "Fall Seven," which pays tribute to a famous Japanese proverb. On the right is the "Muay Thai Arena" shirt, which is basically just two guys fighting. You want ’em? Well, you came to the right place.

After the jump, you’ll find a photo of Alistair Overeem meeting a river horse at some sort of broke-ass Dutch petting zoo. Submit a clever caption to the pic in the comments section by this Wednesday at noon ET; we’ll pick our three favorites and post ’em later that day. First place gets both new Six Deuce shirts plus a pair of their satin MMA fight shorts. Second and third place get their choice of one of the new shirts shown above. Sound good? Now go earn it. And check out the rest of Six Deuce’s MMA clothing and equipment at 62Gear.com!

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Hot Potato: ‘Bully Beatdown’ Ring Girl Kathleen Tesori

   
Props to our buddies at TheCageDoctors for turning us on to Kathleen Tesori, a fitness competitor and spokesmodel from Salt Lake City who can currently be seen as a ring girl on MTV’s Bully Beatdown. Get to know Kathleen better o…

Kathleen Tesori fitness model Bully Beatdown MMA ring girl MTV photo gallery photos

Kathleen Tesori fitness model Bully Beatdown ring girl MTV photo gallery photos Kathleen Tesori fitness model Bully Beatdown ring girl MTV photo gallery photos ass Kathleen Tesori fitness model Bully Beatdown ring girl MTV photo gallery photos bikini Kathleen Tesori fitness model Bully Beatdown ring girl MTV photo gallery photos

Props to our buddies at TheCageDoctors for turning us on to Kathleen Tesori, a fitness competitor and spokesmodel from Salt Lake City who can currently be seen as a ring girl on MTV’s Bully Beatdown. Get to know Kathleen better on her website, and follow her updates on Twitter. And if you really want to be a pal, you can vote for her in the 2011 BodySpace Spokesmodel search.

After the jump: More hot photos, and a Muscle and Fitness video shoot that gives us a workout just watching it…

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The Josh Koscheck Apology You Didn’t Get to See on ‘TUF 12’…

Compared to TUF 12 good-guy Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck certainly comes off as an asshole bully with the maturity of a fourth-grader. But as with all reality shows, there’s some creative editing involved to make the villain look even worse than he (or she) really is. What we saw on Wednesday night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter was Koscheck physically assaulting Brad Tate, then making snarky comments instead of actually apologizing. It turns out that a lot of important footage landed on the cutting room floor.

In the video above, we see that Brad Tate wasn’t just taunting Kos — he was also mocking the accents of the yellow-team Armenians. The fact that Tate was attacking his guys was what really set Josh off. Koscheck actually does make a heartfelt one-on-one apology to Brad, which ends with their beef getting thoroughly squashed. Before that even happens, Kos advises his team not to start any more trouble with Tate: "When you see him tomorrow, don’t say one word. Kill ’em with kindness. Let me stand up for you guys. Let me look like the bad guy." It’s a moment that would have swayed sympathy toward Koscheck if it were included in the episode — unfortunately, it wouldn’t have fit into the show’s perfect Kos-as-heel narrative.

See More: TUF 12 • exclusives • Team GSP • Josh Koscheck

Compared to TUF 12 good-guy Georges St. Pierre, Josh Koscheck certainly comes off as an asshole bully with the maturity of a fourth-grader. But as with all reality shows, there’s some creative editing involved to make the villain look even worse than he (or she) really is. What we saw on Wednesday night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter was Koscheck physically assaulting Brad Tate, then making snarky comments instead of actually apologizing. It turns out that a lot of important footage landed on the cutting room floor.

In the video above, we see that Brad Tate wasn’t just taunting Kos — he was also mocking the accents of the yellow-team Armenians. The fact that Tate was attacking his guys was what really set Josh off. Koscheck actually does make a heartfelt one-on-one apology to Brad, which ends with their beef getting thoroughly squashed. Before that even happens, Kos advises his team not to start any more trouble with Tate: "When you see him tomorrow, don’t say one word. Kill ’em with kindness. Let me stand up for you guys. Let me look like the bad guy." It’s a moment that would have swayed sympathy toward Koscheck if it were included in the episode — unfortunately, it wouldn’t have fit into the show’s perfect Kos-as-heel narrative.