Author: ben

Photo of the Day: Vote for Harry, Or Else

(Puts your hands on your hips, suck in your gut, and squint like you’re Clint Eastwood. It’s not rocket science, Harry. / Photos courtesy of Zimbio. Thanks to rusty balls for the tip.)    
UFC president Dana White a…

Dana White Chuck Liddell Harry Reid Nevada
(Puts your hands on your hips, suck in your gut, and squint like you’re Clint Eastwood. It’s not rocket science, Harry. / Photos courtesy of Zimbio. Thanks to rusty balls for the tip.)
Dana White Chuck Liddell Senator Harry Reid Nevada Dana White Senator Harry Reid Nevada Dana White Senator Harry Reid Nevada early voting Dana White Senator Harry Reid Nevada

UFC president Dana White and former light-heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell played the role of enforcers yesterday during an early voting rally for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the University of Nevada. A supporter of the UFC and a Nevada senator since 1986, Reid is currently trying to score a fifth term amid opposition from Republican Sharon Angle, who recently complimented a Hispanic audience by telling them they looked Asian.

The unholy White/Liddell/Reid triumvirate reunited today at a rally headlined by Vice President Joe Biden. According to this Reno Gazette-Journal report, "The crowd broke into a roar after Reid, the former boxer, said ‘I can fight a little bit too.’"

Exclusive Interview: Phil Baroni, ‘Too Old for the Jersey Shore’

Phil Baroni Sits down with Cagepotato.com – Watch more Funny Videos
With his fight against Brad Tavares booked for 1/1/11, Phil Baroni has two options in front of him — victory, or possible banishment from the UFC. Our friend Ruben Vera…

Phil Baroni Sits down with Cagepotato.com – Watch more Funny Videos

With his fight against Brad Tavares booked for 1/1/11, Phil Baroni has two options in front of him — victory, or possible banishment from the UFC. Our friend Ruben Vera tracked down the New York Bad Ass at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, and grilled him on everything from his brawl-based gameplans to his cardio problems to his fondest MMA memories. Honestly, it’s one of the most revealing interviews with Baroni that we’ve ever seen. Some highlights…

On his gameplan for Tavares: "You know me. I’ve been doing this for ten years, there’s no surprises. I’m gonna do what I do best."

On his conditioning struggles: "It’s genetic, dude. I’ve been training cardio for the last ten years, hard. It’s genetic. You got a guy like Cain Velasquez who just don’t get tired. He can just train all day. Even a guy like Koscheck…I don’t think there’s anything I’m not doing that other guys are doing. I have a lot better punching power than those guys. And I think I’m faster, I have more fast-twitch. I know I can beat them both in a race. But in a longer duration, those guys can keep going, and that’s one of the things that separates us…It seems like a lot of the Mexican guys have real good cardio, throughout history and in the UFC. Diego Sanchez has great cardio, Cain Velasquez, a ton of guys. I don’t know what it is, man, but I do the best with what I got."

read more

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(The "Yes We Cain" limited edition t-shirt, just $20 at dethroneroyalty.com.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
-…

Cain Velasquez yes we cain t-shirt dethrone
(The "Yes We Cain" limited edition t-shirt, just $20 at dethroneroyalty.com.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– As of Today, Fedor Emelianenko Is a Russian Politician and He Plans to Enforce the People’s Rights (MiddleEasy)

– Cain Velasquez Gets Mobbed by Fans Who Are Not Impressed with Brock Lesnar (MMA Scraps)

– Jake Shields: If Kampmann Doesn’t Tap, I’ll Snap His Arm In Half (MMA Convert)

– Matt Hamill: Friendship Out the Door vs. Tito Ortiz at UFC 121 (MMA Fighting)

– Gabriel Gonzaga Discusses His UFC 121 Opponent and the Current Depth in the Heavyweight Division (LowKick)

– Sam Stout Ready To Welcome Paul Taylor To The Lightweight Division (Heavy.com/MMA)

– The Eight-Point Stance: UFC 120 (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Exclusive: Mike Pyle – ‘I Just Absolutely Handled The Kid’ (SBNation.com/MMA)

– Frank Shamrock is On A Mission to Legalize MMA in New York (FightMagazine)

– Arianny Celeste Promotes Playboy Appearance on TMZ (Versus MMA Beat)

Great, Now Cheick Kongo Hates Us Too…

(Cool! We’ve always wanted to meet Cheick! / Image courtesy of Facebook.com/Real.Cheick.Kongo)
Sometimes when you’re writing an MMA opinion blog, you forget that the fighters you occasionally talk shit about are real people, with real feelings, who w…

Cheick Kongo facebook
(Cool! We’ve always wanted to meet Cheick! / Image courtesy of Facebook.com/Real.Cheick.Kongo)

Sometimes when you’re writing an MMA opinion blog, you forget that the fighters you occasionally talk shit about are real people, with real feelings, who would really beat the crap out of you if they found out where you lived. Case in point: Cheick Kongo, who didn’t appreciate a certain article I recently posted about him. Cheick joins Dana White in the growing list of UFC-folks who won’t be inviting me to any parties in the near future.

So Cheick, if you’re reading this and you want some justice, please don’t resort to violence. Instead, come onto our radio show next week so you can defend yourself and explain why you aren’t a dirty fighter. If you’re available, contact us through our site or Facebook page, and we’ll set up a time that’s convenient. Hope to hear from you soon…

(BG)

The 9 Greatest Supporting Characters in ‘Ultimate Fighter’ History

Sure, we tune in for the fights at the end of each episode, the trash-talk between the coaches, and Dana White occasionally showing up to kick somebody’s ass out of the house. But over 12 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it’s the peripheral characters that are responsible for the show’s best moments. Take this season, for example — would it be nearly as interesting if Coach GSP didn’t bring in a special guest every week to shake up his team? With that in mind, here’s our tribute to the under-appreciated minor players that have kept TUF on its toes for the last six years…

#9: Willa Ford
Willa Ford model Ultimate Fighter UFC

In an effort to inject some eye candy into their new reality show, the UFC cast model/singer/actress Willa Ford as the host of The Ultimate Fighter‘s first season. (Her main duty was to introduce those weird elimination challenges that marked the show’s early days.) Willa was gone by season two, leaving us with fond memories of a time when TUF‘s non-stop sweaty dudeness was occasionally broken up by a pretty face.

#8: Jean-Charles Skarbowsky

Dude flies in from Paris, shows up to the TUF gym drunk, and gives GSP’s entire team the worst beating of their lives. What’s not to like?

read more

Sure, we tune in for the fights at the end of each episode, the trash-talk between the coaches, and Dana White occasionally showing up to kick somebody’s ass out of the house. But over 12 seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, it’s the peripheral characters that are responsible for the show’s best moments. Take this season, for example — would it be nearly as interesting if Coach GSP didn’t bring in a special guest every week to shake up his team? With that in mind, here’s our tribute to the under-appreciated minor players that have kept TUF on its toes for the last six years…

#9: Willa Ford
Willa Ford model Ultimate Fighter UFC

In an effort to inject some eye candy into their new reality show, the UFC cast model/singer/actress Willa Ford as the host of The Ultimate Fighter‘s first season. (Her main duty was to introduce those weird elimination challenges that marked the show’s early days.) Willa was gone by season two, leaving us with fond memories of a time when TUF‘s non-stop sweaty dudeness was occasionally broken up by a pretty face.

#8: Jean-Charles Skarbowsky

Dude flies in from Paris, shows up to the TUF gym drunk, and gives GSP’s entire team the worst beating of their lives. What’s not to like?

read more

Brutal Knockout of the Day: Dude Gets Ruined (Twice) in Muay Thai Match

(Props: barochoc)
While cruising YouTube for Muay Thai knockout videos last night — hey, it’s my life and I can waste it any way I want — I came across this gem, filmed in Thailand a couple years ago. When you keep up a pace like that,…

(Props: barochoc)

While cruising YouTube for Muay Thai knockout videos last night — hey, it’s my life and I can waste it any way I want — I came across this gem, filmed in Thailand a couple years ago. When you keep up a pace like that, it’s only a matter of time before one guy catches a bad one. Watch as Mr. Red Shorts lands one of the nastiest cobra punches ever recorded, then knocks Blue out again with a head kick as soon as the poor bastard gets to his feet. Two questions: 1) Did that referee graduate from the Yves Lavigne School of Letting Fighters Suffer Multiple Concussions? and 2) Who would be watching soccer at a time like this? Anyway, good morning everybody…