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Dana White re-tweeted this earlier this morning. I had to share it.Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
Dana White re-tweeted this earlier this morning. I had to share it.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
November 12 is just four days away. All of the hard work that Dana White and Company has put in, all the long hours they have worked is about to show them some of the reward they so richly deserve. History is upon us folks: The UFC makes its debut on n…
November 12 is just four days away. All of the hard work that Dana White and Company has put in, all the long hours they have worked is about to show them some of the reward they so richly deserve. History is upon us folks: The UFC makes its debut on network television as they present UFC 1 on FOX: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos.
The UFC Heavyweight Championship will be contested during prime-time hours on network television—how awesome is that? Kudos to White, the Fertittas and the FOX executives who put this historic event together. For all of the people who are complaining that only one fight is going to be shown on Saturday night, they need to be thankful for what they do have rather than focusing on what they don’t.
There will be nine other fights taking place on the undercard. So while I am trying to accentuate the positive, the reality is there are fighters who are competing for their UFC lives. Let’s take a look at who those fighters are.
Here is Part II of my interview with UFC & MMA Legend Frank Shamrock. To read Part I, click here.BL: Who were some of the younger fighters just making their bones in the sport when you were first leaving that caught your eye? FS: One guy I always t…
Here is Part II of my interview with UFC & MMA Legend Frank Shamrock. To read Part I, click here.
BL: Who were some of the younger fighters just making their bones in the sport when you were first leaving that caught your eye?
FS: One guy I always thought would be a superstar was Vitor Belfort. We were kind of coming around at the same time. I saw in him a new level of striking, his physical ability was off the charts. He was beating guys like Tank Abbott and Wanderlei Silva in devastating fashion.
BL: When you first retired, did you expect to be out as long as you were?
FS: No, I thought the sport would turn around in a couple of years. The sport was right on the edge. We were hired by the old UFC owners to go out and speak with the politicians. The resounding comment was “We love it, but it’s not a sport without rules and regulations.” We were told “As soon as you get that done, you guys will be good.”
Even when we got the rules implemented, the brand and the idea had already been tarnished in the eyes of the general public. The original marketing line of no rules didn’t go away for a long time and held us back. Once the media got a hold of it and we got a bad reputation, it took us a long time to change people’s minds. It took about five-and-a-half years to get things turned around.
BL: When did you first meet Dana White and the Fertitta brothers?
FS: I met Dana when he was Tito’s manager. When they bought the UFC, they flew me out and gave me their pitch. That was the first time I met Lorenzo and sat down with those guys.BL: Was there one main reason why you couldn’t come to terms with them and make your way back to the UFC?
FS: The main reason was they didn’t know anything about the sport—they weren’t martial artists. They were a new company who had bought a damaged brand, but didn’t really know anything about the sport. For me, it was less of a risk to keep doing what I was doing.
Another reason I stayed in Japan was because I was making three or four times the money that they were offering me. At the time, the sport wasn’t that big here, while it was huge over in Japan. I also didn’t believe they were going to make it in the short-term so I decided to go elsewhere.
BL: There is what seems to be some bad blood between you and Dana White. They have chosen to exclude you from their history, including your rightful place in the Top 100 UFC fights of all time. Do you think there will ever come a time where the two of you can sit down and work things out?
FS: I have no problem with any of those guys. I made a business decision a long time ago that didn’t involve them and they didn’t particularly like that. They have retaliated against me since then. I am ok with who I am and what I have done.
I don’t need to be in their Hall of Fame or Top 100. That’s their business; their company and they can do whatever they want. Everyone has an opinion about it, but it doesn’t keep me up at night.
When the sport becomes a real sport and by that I mean a sport with a ranking body, a commission and a union, they have all the elements necessary to protect the public, the athlete and the promotion. It has yet to get to that point; it’s still a one-man show.BL: What was the organization that you decided to join rather than the UFC?
FS: At the time it was K-1, which was a kickboxing organization looking to promote MMA events. They paid me very well to be their man. The UFC was trying to build their brand and, because I wasn’t on their team, they decided to exclude me.
I didn’t take too kindly to being excluded because in all honesty it wasn’t really fair and as you know the rest is history.
BL: Are there any fighters that you regret never having the opportunity to fight?
FS: One guy that I could never seem to make it happen with was Kazushi Sakuraba. Everyone else I had at least one opportunity to face, but he was the one guy I was never able to pin down and come to terms with.
BL: How close did you come to having a rematch with Tito Ortiz?
FS: I had a shot at it when he was a free agent. I sat down with him and broke some bread. We kind of came to what I thought was a preliminary understanding, but I didn’t have the money that we both needed in order to make it come together.
Tito did well for himself; he picked a persona and ran with it. It was all a persona with him. I respected him tremendously, he’s a hell of a nice guy and I respect him immensely. He fought everyone in the world and is one of the main reasons the fighters of today make the money they do.
BL: Can you name one or two fighters of today who you believe are ahead of the crowd?FS: I really like Jon Jones and I think his future is pretty unlimited. I look at a fighter and see who the complete MMA package is. By that I mean they can do it all, punch, kick, wrestle, knee, etc. I think GSP has sort of established himself as the real deal because he is good in all of the areas.
I think Nick Diaz is up there. He has the ability to do everything. It’s just ridiculous how good he is. The world class athletes I like to call version III or generation III who are good at everything and great at one certain aspect. Anderson Silva is good at everything, but great at striking.
We are moving into the next generation where a guy will be great at everything and will continue to get better and better every time out. GSP is that guy and, if Nick Diaz improves his wrestling, he could be in that category. They will always have that one aspect where they are just a little bit better that will get them past their opponents.
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I finally decided to bring this column back after a somewhat long hiatus simply because the way Mark Munoz performed was enough to warrant the extra attention. Admittedly, I was skeptical of Munoz coming into this matchup. After seeing both Kendall Gro…
I finally decided to bring this column back after a somewhat long hiatus simply because the way Mark Munoz performed was enough to warrant the extra attention.
Admittedly, I was skeptical of Munoz coming into this matchup. After seeing both Kendall Grove and Demian Maia tag and hurt “The Filipino Wrecking Machine,” I thought it was inevitable that Leben would land one of his powerful left hooks and put Munoz to sleep.
Alas, that moment never seemed to come as Munoz applied constant pressure to “The Crippler” and implemented a solid game plan of devastating ground-and-pound designed to batter and tire the season 1 contestant of The Ultimate Fighter.
Leben was sucking wind from the early stages of the fight and instead of questioning his conditioning, you simply have go give credit where credit is due. Munoz unleashed a barrage of strikes on Leben each and every time the fight hit the floor. One of his punishing right hands opened up a cut just over the eye of Leben which eventually forced the fight to be called.
Meanwhile, Munoz came in thoroughly prepared for everything that Leben could possibly have in store for him. Being that this was scheduled to be the first five-round, non-title fight in UFC history, Munoz looked as though he could have fought 10 rounds.
He knew this was the biggest fight of his life, set on the biggest stage and he was more than prepared to take advantage of the opportunity the organization had afforded him. If that isn’t the mark of a man ready to take the next step and challenge the truly elite fighters of his weight class, I don’t know what is.
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva simply owned Leben on the feet when the two met back in 2006. “The Spider” connected on such a high volume percentage of his strikes, it was damn near criminal. That was the very first time Leben had been stopped, last night was the first time Leben had been rag dolled.
While it may have taken Munoz a bit longer to achieve the desired effect, the premise was pretty much the same. A battered and beaten Leben and an extremely formidable challenger for the UFC Middleweight Championship were the results of last night’s fight.
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UFC No. 1 heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos has waited a long time for his shot at the title. He thought he had secured a bout after defeating Roy Nelson at UFC 117 in title eliminator matchup. After Cain Velasquez defeated Brock Lesnar for the t…
UFC No. 1 heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos has waited a long time for his shot at the title. He thought he had secured a bout after defeating Roy Nelson at UFC 117 in title eliminator matchup. After Cain Velasquez defeated Brock Lesnar for the title at UFC 121, all that was left was for the UFC to announce a date and location for Dos Santos and Velasquez to go toe-to-toe for the UFC heavyweight title.
Unfortunately for Dos Santos, Velasquez suffered a torn rotator cuff in the fight with Lesnar. His doctors told him to take six weeks off and see if the shoulder could heal on its own. Velasquez stayed idle and was examined after taking the necessary time off, but was told by his doctors that the injury was more severe than first thought and would require surgery.
He has been sidelined since. When he makes his way into the cage next Saturday night against Dos Santos on what is sure to be one of the more historic nights in UFC history, there will have been almost 13 months between fights for the Mexican superstar, who proudly boasts his heritage on his chest in the form of a Brown Pride tattoo.
Yesterday both champion and challenger were on the line for a press conference that was not only promoting their fight, but the fact that it will air live during prime time on the FOX Network. The contest will be the first venture between the UFC and FOX Sports. The two companies recently reached an agreement on a seven-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $90 million per year.
Fox has been very proactive in promoting the fight as they have shown commercials during their NFL coverage on Sunday afternoons and had Velasquez on for a brief interview to discuss the matchup as well as the fact that he and Dos Santos have been given the honor of representing the UFC during their initial run on FOX. This past Sunday, FOX aired a UFC Primetime special which allowed fans to get an intimate knowledge of both fighters an hour before their 4 p.m. ET NFL coverage began.
The deal also will see the movement of The Ultimate Fighter reality show from the Spike TV network to FX and there will also be fights shown the FOX-owned Fuel channel. Production will still be controlled by the UFC although UFC president Dana White said that FOX has been very helpful and is already the best business partner they have ever had.
Yesterday Dos Santos came across very shy yet very confident and heaped a ton of praise on his opponent. He is excited for the opportunity and realizes that Velasquez is the top guy in the heavyweight division right now, but Dos Santos will be looking to change that come November 12. Below are some of the comments and thoughts that Dos Santos shared with the media yesterday.
Dos Santos could have sat out and waited for Velasquez to return from injury, but chose to coach opposite Brock Lesnar on The Ultimate Fighter with the agreement that the two would meet at UFC 131 in a No. 1 contender’s match. Lesnar unfortunately had to pull out, but was replaced by Shane Carwin. Dos Santos showed just how much the title shot meant to him by dominating the much bigger Carwin for three rounds en route to a unanimous-decision victory.
“Yes I have waited a long time. I began preparing for this a long time ago and just started back up again recently,” said Dos Santos.
It was tough to wait, but I am such a good place in my life. The UFC has given me such a great opportunity in fighting a great champion like Cain Velasquez on the UFC’s debut on Fox. This is a really exciting time and I want to show my best.
It’s also an opportunity to fight on Globo Television. They are really the eyes of Brazil and to be on Globo means to be a part of the growth of the sport which has grown so much. The UFC has two great champions in Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo who hail from Brazil and the partnership will help Brazilian fighters and I am very happy to be a part of it.
Everything really happened really fast for me and I have always given 100 percent and I kept working really hard. I truly believe that if you are a good person, apply yourself and believe in God then good things will happen to you. I started training jiu-jitsu less than six years ago and I am about to fight for the heavyweight title. I just kept applying myself.
Dos Santos was asked about his time as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter and the extra media attention he received because of it. Has it affected the way he trains and what does he do to make sure none of the extra work interferes with his training camps?
“Nothing has changed, I am very focused and all of these opportunities have all made my life better,” explained Dos Santos.
At the end of the day every man needs luck and I am a lucky guy. When Cain was first injured I was frustrated, but look at all of the good things that have come my way as a result of that. I got the opportunity to be on TUF, to work on my game, to fight with Carwin and now I get my opportunity against Cain on FOX.
The historic storyline behind this fight has not been lost on “Cigano” in the least bit. He has repeated time and time again how honored he is to not only fight Velasquez for the UFC title, but to do it on the first UFC on FOX show as well. It is something that he will take with him long after he has left the sport of mixed martial arts.
“It’s very gratifying to be part of all of this, especially fighting against the best heavyweight in the world,” Dos Santos stated. “He is undefeated, but come November 12 I want to be the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. I am very thankful for the opportunity.”
When both fighters were asked to discuss their upbringing, each man had an interesting story to tell. They may have grown up under different circumstances, but both fighters refused to forget where they came from and use their humble childhood as motivation to provide a better life for their families today.
“I believe we reap what we sow, it’s true I came from a very humble family and a very difficult childhood,” offered Dos Santos.
Going through that had made me the man that I am today am I very grateful that I know the value of everything that I have achieved.
My life and the lives of my family has changed for the better and I want to thank God everyday for all of that. I want to continue to change and to become the heavyweight champion will keep me on that path to better my life and the lives of my family.
The questions began to switch gears towards the training camps both men were going through. Velasquez is a key member of the American Kickboxing Academy and has been for some time. Dos Santos works with many of the same people who helped get him to where he is today.
“I’ve been going through some very tough training the last three months preparing for a five-round fight. I have been working with Doria and the Nogueira brothers and have been counting on many others including several local fighters,” Dos Santos proudly explained.
I feel fantastic and despite the great opportunity I don’t feel any added pressure. I feel good, I am very confident in my abilities and feel I will come out the winner.
I know Cain has been out for awhile, but I won’t let that effect how I train. I have been training two sparring sessions a week for six rounds each. My strength and conditioning training has been very rigorous. I don’t believe this fight will go all five rounds as Cain and I are both aggressive fighters. We are both professionals and I’m sure when he steps inside that Octagon he will be ready.
I don’t want to fight an injured Cain Velasquez. I want to fight him at his best when he is 100 percent. He is the champion for a reason and I am expecting him to be at his absolute best come next Saturday night. Just as he can expect me to come in at my best.
Bryan Levick is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand. You can find him on Twitter @BryanLevick
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MMA legend Frank Shamrock has just about seen and done it all in the sport of mixed martial arts. He has beaten a “who’s who” of the sport’s top fighters and developed himself into a brand, rather than just a fighter.He is a true pioneer and goes…
MMA legend Frank Shamrock has just about seen and done it all in the sport of mixed martial arts. He has beaten a “who’s who” of the sport’s top fighters and developed himself into a brand, rather than just a fighter.
He is a true pioneer and goes back to a time when there were no rules, no multimillion dollar television contracts and there was a constant threat of the sport going dark.
Shamrock would leave the sport back in 2000 because no one was offering the opportunities that are presented to fighters today. Shamrock had a family to think of and at the time there was more money to be made outside of the sport than there was inside of it.
Thankfully, Shamrock made his way back to the cage in 2003 and not only created opportunities for himself to make money, but for other fighters as well.
Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Frank about just how far the sport has come. With UFC on Fox 1 fast approaching, I felt it was important to dig into the darker days of MMA. With the sport getting bigger and bigger everyday, why not get the opinion of someone who has had so much impact on mixed martial arts as a whole?
For that, there is no better man than Frank Shamrock.
Bryan Levick: What are some of your very first memories of the UFC back in the beginning? If you can tell the readers about the differences in how the sport was covered, governed and how the fighters were treated.
Frank Shamrock: Back then we really didn’t have any commissions to oversee the sport like we do today. There was a doctor who would handle your physical and go over all of your medicals. Fighters took care of their own stuff for the most part. We didn’t have locker rooms like the fighters do today, there were eight guys bunched into one room, and because of the tournament style you never knew who you were fighting.
BL: What was the media like back then? I would imagine you didn’t have the elaborate press conferences that are held today.
FS: There were a few regulars at each event. You had Joe Doyle of Full Contact Fighter, there were only about three or four steady guys, most of them were from the internet. Dave Meltzer was always around as was Eddie Goldman. Most of the media that came were first-timers who were usually there to report the bad side of the sport.
A lot of the mainstream media were clueless about the sport—it was definitely a weird time. We had to be cautious because we knew they were looking to report on the negative aspects of the sport. It was easy to pick the guys out, it was a lot of Wild West shit going on that’s for sure!
BL: Was there any type of drug testing done for illegal drugs, steroids, etc.?
FS: I don’t think so, I really don’t remember any testing being done and that can be attributed to the lack of any true commissions regulating the sport. This was well before the unified rules went into effect. When I first came along there was also only two weight classes, so you can imagine things were pretty crazy back then. The only reason they even came up with those weight classes was because the politicians were coming down so hard on them.
BL: Was there a lot of recreational drug use or heavy drinking in the early days of the sport? Was it done out in the open, was it hidden or was their an attitude of don’t look, don’t tell?
FS: I didn’t see any drug use myself, by the time I arrived in the UFC we had commissions looking after us. New Jersey in particular was very strict. I may not have seen any drug use, but you pretty much kept to yourself.
Regardless of what was going on, these guys were still fighters and they still had to take care of themselves. We were pretty serious about the sport and didn’t want to risk getting injured.
BL: Can you tell me a story that happened years ago that if it were to occur today would really shine a negative light on the sport?
FS: I remember when Harold Howard was leaving the Octagon and heading back through the small entrance area that led the fighters to the back. He had just won his fight to get into the semi-finals and he was hit by a rotating light right on the temple. He fell and was completely unconscious. He literally dropped like a sack of potatoes!
His team picked him up and got him on the examination table in the back and woke him up. Fifteen minutes later he was back in the Octagon fighting. I was a young man and I remember thinking to myself, this is freaking crazy! The doctor didn’t see it happen so he couldn’t be at fault, but with the amount of television coverage there is now, things like that would never happen.
BL: What were your initial expectations when you first arrived in the UFC? You had made a name for yourself over in Japan, especially in your fights against Bas Rutten. Could you see the potential for the sport and the organization?
FS: As soon as I saw it, I realized it had great potential. I always thought it would be one of the greatest sports in the world because it was so compelling. I thought the possibilities were endless. It was unfortunate because when I came around it was one of the slowest times for the sport.
I saw a ship sinking right before my very eyes, but I also knew and believed that it would be reborn and eventually take off again. It was crazy, incredibly dangerous and challenging, those were the reasons I stayed involved.
BL: When did you first retire? Was it after your fight with Tito Ortiz at UFC 22 in September of 1999? What was the main reason you decided to leave the sport?
FS: I left the UFC after the fight with Ortiz. Tito was the last super tough guy as I had already handled all of the other guys quite handily. I saw the sport was about to go dark for awhile. I tried my best to promote it and do whatever I could to help, but it was inevitable that there was going to be a period where MMA would go through some really lean years before it could make a serious comeback.
I didn’t want to keep fighting and risking injury to my body when the pay wasn’t where I needed it to be. I made a strategic decision to give it up after I fought Tito. I always planned on coming back when the sport was able to right itself and had a brighter future.
BL: When you first began training you were one of the first guys to concentrate on different disciplines. Who were some of your very first trainers?
FS: My first coach was my brother Ken. He taught me submission wrestling, the catch-as-catch-can style that he was famous for. Then I trained in Japan with Funaki and Suzuki. Then I learned jiu-jitsu and sambo with Oleg Taktarov and Gokor Chivichyan.
After that my main coach was Maurice Smith. All of my previous trainers were basically grapplers, while Smith was the first real striking coach I had. He was one of the best athletes involved with the sport at the time and was breaking into cardiovascular training and how to implement that into my fights.
I then met Javier Mendez from American Kickboxing Academy, and he incorporated the boxing aspect of the sport into everything I had brought with me. We kind of hit it off immediately and worked well together.
Part II of my interview with Frank Shamrock will be posted early next week. Shamrock discusses Dana White and their supposed beef as well as who he believes are some of the best fighters in the sport today.
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