This is the UFC on FOX 16 undercard blog for the UFC on FOX 16 event at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday night.There will be eight fights on the UFC on FOX 16 undercard. Gian Villante vs. Tom Lawlor, Jim Miller vs. Danny castillo, Ke…
This is the UFC on FOX 16 undercard blog for the UFC on FOX 16 event at the United Center in Chicago on Saturday night.
Zak Cummings vs. Dominique Steele Round 1: Steele making his debut, and he circles Cummins. Cummins moves in first, and clobbers Steele with a right hand! He goes flailing to the fence, and Cummins is coming on strong, pursuing him and slamming him with punches. Bang! It’s over. Just like that, Cummins’ with a quick TKO of Steele. He didn’t waste any time.
UFC on FOX 16 official results: Zak Cummins def. Dominique Steele via TKO (strikes) at :43 of R1
The last time T.J. Dillashaw fought Renan Barao it was all about how fast Barao would dispose of Team Alpha Male’s cutest wonder. The skew was simple: Barao hadn’t lost in nine freaking years, a span of some 33 fights. Dana White was calling him the most gooseflesh inducing, most thoroughly dominant pound-for-pound greatest hand-to-hand combat dynamo that ever stormed this here planet of mortals.
In retrospect, White was coming on a bit strong.
Dillashaw clubbed Barao early, picked him apart through the clearing of cobwebs, and finished him in the fifth round. By the time the rematch was booked, Dillashaw had ballooned into a 5-foot-6 colossus, who many media (and fans) believed would flatten Barao a second time with relative ease. He didn’t get the chance. A weight cut gone south did Barao in ahead of UFC 177, and there was a bathroom incident. Barao was forced out, and Joe Soto was upgraded from the prelims. Dillashaw gamely destroyed Soto with movement, agility and superior genes.
That’s basically all that’s happened since the first Dillashaw-Barao encounter.
Yes, the UFC was pissed off enough at Barao to make him fight Mitch Gagnon in December (or maybe they were pissed at Gagnon, this point was never made clear), but that fight was just to pass some time. Barao looked pretty good, finishing Gagnon in the third round. Now he’s lost once in 35 fights which, because of what happened with Dillashaw, is being treated like the most ordinary of achievements.
And now we get the rematch. Finally. There’s a strange curiosity attached to Saturday night’s main event at UFC on FOX 16. It’s almost like a poker hand we collectively folded, yet insist on seeing the river card just to find out if the flush was there. We like to kick ourselves or applaud our own instincts, and there’s really no in between. That’s Barao-Dillashaw II.
Still, what a different world it is since Dillashaw smacked down the Brazilian in May 2014.
For instance, back then Dillashaw’s coach Duane Ludwig was working his last official fight as Team Alpha Male’s head coach. Things were already a little bit contentious, as “Bang” was moving to Colorado and there were cool words being mumbled by people like Urijah Faber, but it was a feel good story for both coach and fighter when he upset the 9-to-1 favorite Barao. There were tears.
These days Ludwig is spouting off that Dillashaw is the only TAM fighter who has what it takes to be a UFC champion. Pay attention, because that’s how you slap a whole lot of faces all at once. Should Dillashaw defend his title against Barao, well…the TAM-Ludwig divide will only get bigger, and Dillashaw will be standing there most conspicuously right in-between.
More importantly, though, is that Barao — just 14 months ago believed to be infallible — is being discarded like yesterday’s news. The story-line that he hadn’t lost in 33 fights isn’t that old, but now people are sort of thumbing through the casualty list on his Wikipedia page saying, “Who? William Porfirio? Dande Dande? Who the [expletive] are these guys?” In other words, the hunch is that we fell asleep to the sound of the promotional wind chimes back at UFC 173, when Barao’s only flaw was an alleged resemblance to Nosferatu.
Still, Barao beat Dillashaw’s teammate Faber. Twice. He beat Michael McDonald, when McDonald was the frosh-like prospect of the division. He beat Eddie Wineland with some spinning stuff that at the time seemed preternatural. He collected the heads of Chris Cariaso, Scott Jorgensen, Antony Leone and Brad Pickett, put them on posts. There was more to Barao than was displayed at UFC 173 when he got blasted by that early right hand, right?
See, that’s the narrative going into this fight. Neither Dillashaw’s win over Barao or Barao’s decade-long winning streak before can be considered flukes, but still…which do you believe? Dillashaw dominated Barao, but (if you listen to Barao’s camp) the bulk of the fight took place while he was flyin’ down the dream chutes, trying desperately to regather his bearings after getting rocked early. It could be that Barao took it the fight lightly to begin with. After all, Dana was rolling out a filthy red carpet for him to walk on.
It could be that Dillashaw just has Barao’s number. He is a studious fighter who can recognize and exploit tendencies, after all, who fights in time to the “Flight of the Bumblebee.”
Yet if UFC 173 was Dillashaw’s coming out party, and that was the fight where he showed the world what he’s made of, Saturday night is for Barao to show us that we are a most gullible flock. Dillashaw comes in as a 2-to-1 favorite, 14 months after he was installed as a 7-to-1 underdog against Barao. Twenty-two minutes and change reshaped everything we know about the top of the bantamweight division.
For Dillashaw Saturday night is to back something up. For Barao, it’s to reverse something back. The latter is the bigger burden. Yet if Barao does it, the skew for the trilogy in simple: Barao has lost just once in ten freaking years, a span of some 36 fights…what a monster! If he doesn’t, he’ll be sent packing from the P4P conversation that he once dominated, fairly or unfairly, carrying an even bigger grain of salt with him as he goes.
The last time T.J. Dillashaw fought Renan Barao it was all about how fast Barao would dispose of Team Alpha Male’s cutest wonder. The skew was simple: Barao hadn’t lost in nine freaking years, a span of some 33 fights. Dana White was calling him the most gooseflesh inducing, most thoroughly dominant pound-for-pound greatest hand-to-hand combat dynamo that ever stormed this here planet of mortals.
In retrospect, White was coming on a bit strong.
Dillashaw clubbed Barao early, picked him apart through the clearing of cobwebs, and finished him in the fifth round. By the time the rematch was booked, Dillashaw had ballooned into a 5-foot-6 colossus, who many media (and fans) believed would flatten Barao a second time with relative ease. He didn’t get the chance. A weight cut gone south did Barao in ahead of UFC 177, and there was a bathroom incident. Barao was forced out, and Joe Soto was upgraded from the prelims. Dillashaw gamely destroyed Soto with movement, agility and superior genes.
That’s basically all that’s happened since the first Dillashaw-Barao encounter.
Yes, the UFC was pissed off enough at Barao to make him fight Mitch Gagnon in December (or maybe they were pissed at Gagnon, this point was never made clear), but that fight was just to pass some time. Barao looked pretty good, finishing Gagnon in the third round. Now he’s lost once in 35 fights which, because of what happened with Dillashaw, is being treated like the most ordinary of achievements.
And now we get the rematch. Finally. There’s a strange curiosity attached to Saturday night’s main event at UFC on FOX 16. It’s almost like a poker hand we collectively folded, yet insist on seeing the river card just to find out if the flush was there. We like to kick ourselves or applaud our own instincts, and there’s really no in between. That’s Barao-Dillashaw II.
Still, what a different world it is since Dillashaw smacked down the Brazilian in May 2014.
For instance, back then Dillashaw’s coach Duane Ludwig was working his last official fight as Team Alpha Male’s head coach. Things were already a little bit contentious, as “Bang” was moving to Colorado and there were cool words being mumbled by people like Urijah Faber, but it was a feel good story for both coach and fighter when he upset the 9-to-1 favorite Barao. There were tears.
These days Ludwig is spouting off that Dillashaw is the only TAM fighter who has what it takes to be a UFC champion. Pay attention, because that’s how you slap a whole lot of faces all at once. Should Dillashaw defend his title against Barao, well…the TAM-Ludwig divide will only get bigger, and Dillashaw will be standing there most conspicuously right in-between.
More importantly, though, is that Barao — just 14 months ago believed to be infallible — is being discarded like yesterday’s news. The story-line that he hadn’t lost in 33 fights isn’t that old, but now people are sort of thumbing through the casualty list on his Wikipedia page saying, “Who? William Porfirio? Dande Dande? Who the [expletive] are these guys?” In other words, the hunch is that we fell asleep to the sound of the promotional wind chimes back at UFC 173, when Barao’s only flaw was an alleged resemblance to Nosferatu.
Still, Barao beat Dillashaw’s teammate Faber. Twice. He beat Michael McDonald, when McDonald was the frosh-like prospect of the division. He beat Eddie Wineland with some spinning stuff that at the time seemed preternatural. He collected the heads of Chris Cariaso, Scott Jorgensen, Antony Leone and Brad Pickett, put them on posts. There was more to Barao than was displayed at UFC 173 when he got blasted by that early right hand, right?
See, that’s the narrative going into this fight. Neither Dillashaw’s win over Barao or Barao’s decade-long winning streak before can be considered flukes, but still…which do you believe? Dillashaw dominated Barao, but (if you listen to Barao’s camp) the bulk of the fight took place while he was flyin’ down the dream chutes, trying desperately to regather his bearings after getting rocked early. It could be that Barao took it the fight lightly to begin with. After all, Dana was rolling out a filthy red carpet for him to walk on.
It could be that Dillashaw just has Barao’s number. He is a studious fighter who can recognize and exploit tendencies, after all, who fights in time to the “Flight of the Bumblebee.”
Yet if UFC 173 was Dillashaw’s coming out party, and that was the fight where he showed the world what he’s made of, Saturday night is for Barao to show us that we are a most gullible flock. Dillashaw comes in as a 2-to-1 favorite, 14 months after he was installed as a 7-to-1 underdog against Barao. Twenty-two minutes and change reshaped everything we know about the top of the bantamweight division.
For Dillashaw Saturday night is to back something up. For Barao, it’s to reverse something back. The latter is the bigger burden. Yet if Barao does it, the skew for the trilogy in simple: Barao has lost just once in ten freaking years, a span of some 36 fights…what a monster! If he doesn’t, he’ll be sent packing from the P4P conversation that he once dominated, fairly or unfairly, carrying an even bigger grain of salt with him as he goes.
One of the fascinating side effects of running a successful promotion like the UFC is that even the foundational figures begin to share in the celebrity. At some point, the UFC became a traveling band of loveable cartoon characters popping up at different ports all over the globe.
Back when he was still babysitting the stars of the UFC, Burt Watson was hounded fairly regularly for photos everywhere he went. “Big” John McCarthy and “Bigger” Dan Miragliotta, same thing. When she’s not checking her texts or lost in a drift of philosophical thought, Arianny Celeste is a frequent target of selfies and otheries. Bruce Buffer, Marc Ratner, Goldie and Rogan, Reed Harris, Kea the Bodyguard, Joe Silva, Sean Shelby — all of them are recurring characters in the show. Real connoisseurs can even spot a Donna Marcolini.
Then there is cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran, the mustachioed fellow who made sure fighter’s faces didn’t fall apart between rounds and after a fight. Duran has been a staple in the UFC for the last 14 years, going back to UFC 33. He’s forever been a part of the circus. His swift and non-intrusive ability to treat facial trauma between rounds is a thankless art form. Whenever an eye is puffing up out of proportion from punches and kicks, he’s been quick with the enswell. He squeegees streams of blood and slathers adrenaline and petroleum jelly on gaping areas in the small recesses of a fight as deftly and as dutifully as a battlefield medic. He is a sublime hand at on-the-fly fighter safely. And his vests, which rightfully carry a ravaged post-apocalyptic feel for the type of job he is performing, have become part of his identity. He is a sweet man, but for those who’ve never met him, those vests, in conjunction with his swabs, are his only identity.
“Stitch” got canned on Tuesday for answering questions in an interview about, of all things, those vests. As you may have heard, the UFC-Reebok partnership began at UFC 189, which means all visible parties involved in the fight are required to wear Reebok gear. Of all the critics who spoke out about how the deal affects their livelihoods, Duran’s input was apparently the least welcome. In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Duran said he was losing money. His vest was a billboard to supplement his income. He said he might have to segue more into boxing, where individual corners hire cutmen for an event, rather than the promotion itself.
It took only a minute to do away with 14 years of service. Duran, who for those 14 years, mastered the use of a single minute. And it’s a bad look for the UFC to severe ties with a professional like “Stitch” Duran just because he had the audacity to answer a question truthfully. Who knew that the Reebok kit came with a muzzle? Nobody told “Stitch.” The Reebok motto of “Be More Human” is coming to mean “Be More Quiet.”
The real problem here is that the UFC can be so petty. You don’t want to play limbo with Zuffa.
It’s true that a great many fighters have complained about the Reebok tier-system and how they are getting screwed out of sponsorship dollars (and that they feel like a common compound cult when wearing the new threads), all of which has to peeve the UFC. But a peripheral figure like Duran saying he is affected too is enough to fire him?
What is this? Nineteenth-century Prussia?
Duran’s complaints were not an indictment on the company. Duran’s complaints are a very real symptom of how the Reebok deal extends beyond the fighters. Like Burt Watson, “Stitch” didn’t come across as just some peon with no value to the operation. As far as anybody can tell — and what many fighters attest to — he just did his job. He’s a legend for being a low-maintenance human being who just steadily does what he is supposed to do. Your cauliflower ear is about to explode? “Stitch” can help.
Yet he became expendable for saying that cutmen should have been consulted/considered during the Reebok transition? The UFC didn’t even sugarcoat it by waiting a couple of weeks so that people could forget that Duran had even voiced his opinion. It fired him right away so that there could be no mistake as to why. He spoke out of line. Let that be (another) warning shot not to air your grievances publicly, I guess. But man…dude was only trying to point out he was taking a hit. Fourteen years should come with that sort of leeway. A conversation might have been in order, if his “outspokenness” was a problem. Instead, just the ax.
It’s a shame, too. If you punch in “cutman” on Wikipedia, there’s a picture of “Stitch.” He’s the cutman. He has the TapouT emblem on the back of his vest. TapouT, which was ran by the late Charles “Mask” Lewis — also part of the traveling circus back in the day — whom the UFC commemorates in the Octagon and has inducted into its Hall of Fame for his contributions in MMA.
Lewis’s brand would be forbidden today, and “Stitch” — associative of this — is no longer a part of the UFC’s traveling band of characters. Ironic? Yeah, well, hell…these things never make enough sense. In any case, happy trails, “Stitch!” And remember: Contributions such as yours can’t be measured by ordinary rulers.
★★★
Reebok fight kit:Dana White at the Reebok launch
One of the fascinating side effects of running a successful promotion like the UFC is that even the foundational figures begin to share in the celebrity. At some point, the UFC became a traveling band of loveable cartoon characters popping up at different ports all over the globe.
Back when he was still babysitting the stars of the UFC, Burt Watson was hounded fairly regularly for photos everywhere he went. “Big” John McCarthy and “Bigger” Dan Miragliotta, same thing. When she’s not checking her texts or lost in a drift of philosophical thought, Arianny Celeste is a frequent target of selfies and otheries. Bruce Buffer, Marc Ratner, Goldie and Rogan, Reed Harris, Kea the Bodyguard, Joe Silva, Sean Shelby — all of them are recurring characters in the show. Real connoisseurs can even spot a Donna Marcolini.
Then there is cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran, the mustachioed fellow who made sure fighter’s faces didn’t fall apart between rounds and after a fight. Duran has been a staple in the UFC for the last 14 years, going back to UFC 33. He’s forever been a part of the circus. His swift and non-intrusive ability to treat facial trauma between rounds is a thankless art form. Whenever an eye is puffing up out of proportion from punches and kicks, he’s been quick with the enswell. He squeegees streams of blood and slathers adrenaline and petroleum jelly on gaping areas in the small recesses of a fight as deftly and as dutifully as a battlefield medic. He is a sublime hand at on-the-fly fighter safely. And his vests, which rightfully carry a ravaged post-apocalyptic feel for the type of job he is performing, have become part of his identity. He is a sweet man, but for those who’ve never met him, those vests, in conjunction with his swabs, are his only identity.
“Stitch” got canned on Tuesday for answering questions in an interview about, of all things, those vests. As you may have heard, the UFC-Reebok partnership began at UFC 189, which means all visible parties involved in the fight are required to wear Reebok gear. Of all the critics who spoke out about how the deal affects their livelihoods, Duran’s input was apparently the least welcome. In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Duran said he was losing money. His vest was a billboard to supplement his income. He said he might have to segue more into boxing, where individual corners hire cutmen for an event, rather than the promotion itself.
It took only a minute to do away with 14 years of service. Duran, who for those 14 years, mastered the use of a single minute. And it’s a bad look for the UFC to severe ties with a professional like “Stitch” Duran just because he had the audacity to answer a question truthfully. Who knew that the Reebok kit came with a muzzle? Nobody told “Stitch.” The Reebok motto of “Be More Human” is coming to mean “Be More Quiet.”
The real problem here is that the UFC can be so petty. You don’t want to play limbo with Zuffa.
It’s true that a great many fighters have complained about the Reebok tier-system and how they are getting screwed out of sponsorship dollars (and that they feel like a common compound cult when wearing the new threads), all of which has to peeve the UFC. But a peripheral figure like Duran saying he is affected too is enough to fire him?
What is this? Nineteenth-century Prussia?
Duran’s complaints were not an indictment on the company. Duran’s complaints are a very real symptom of how the Reebok deal extends beyond the fighters. Like Burt Watson, “Stitch” didn’t come across as just some peon with no value to the operation. As far as anybody can tell — and what many fighters attest to — he just did his job. He’s a legend for being a low-maintenance human being who just steadily does what he is supposed to do. Your cauliflower ear is about to explode? “Stitch” can help.
Yet he became expendable for saying that cutmen should have been consulted/considered during the Reebok transition? The UFC didn’t even sugarcoat it by waiting a couple of weeks so that people could forget that Duran had even voiced his opinion. It fired him right away so that there could be no mistake as to why. He spoke out of line. Let that be (another) warning shot not to air your grievances publicly, I guess. But man…dude was only trying to point out he was taking a hit. Fourteen years should come with that sort of leeway. A conversation might have been in order, if his “outspokenness” was a problem. Instead, just the ax.
It’s a shame, too. If you punch in “cutman” on Wikipedia, there’s a picture of “Stitch.” He’s the cutman. He has the TapouT emblem on the back of his vest. TapouT, which was ran by the late Charles “Mask” Lewis — also part of the traveling circus back in the day — whom the UFC commemorates in the Octagon and has inducted into its Hall of Fame for his contributions in MMA.
Lewis’s brand would be forbidden today, and “Stitch” — associative of this — is no longer a part of the UFC’s traveling band of characters. Ironic? Yeah, well, hell…these things never make enough sense. In any case, happy trails, “Stitch!” And remember: Contributions such as yours can’t be measured by ordinary rulers.
Back in the day, Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville used to leave a ticket to every home game for Elvis Presley, in hopes that “The King” might stop by if he just so happened to find himself in the vicinity of the Astrodome on a given Sunday. This was considered quirky because, by the late-1980s, Elvis was conspicuously dead.
Ronda Rousey, on the other hand, is alive and well and training out in Glendale, California for a fight coming up in less than two weeks. Is she a baseball fan? Who knows, but there’s a player out in Des Moines, Iowa who began leaving a ticket with her name on it at will call, just in case Ronda might be in the mood for some AAA action from the Chicago Cubs farm club.
His name is Anthony Giansanti, a 26-year old utility player for the Iowa Cubs. You might have seen the SportsCenter tweet that delivered him from relative obscurity into a ballplayer with an ambitious crush. Five days ago Giansanti — who has the physique of a chiseled light heavyweight — had the idea to leave Rousey a ticket for a game against the Memphis Redbirds. He began leaving her a ticket for each game in the home stand, extending into the series against Round Rock.
And he began to tweet about it, a comical brushstroke that began to attract attention.
How did this come up?
“The funny thing about Ronda is, we’ve had a lot of conversations about her in the clubhouse, and I’m a pretty tough looking guy in the clubhouse,” Giansanti told MMA Fighting. “And I’ve always been asked if I think I can beat up Ronda Rousey. And I’m like, I wouldn’t want to beat her up — I want to take her out on a date.”
So Giansanti, in the spirit of perpetuating an inside joke that manifest in the clubhouse, took a course of action.
“I left her a ticket one day, just hoping the guys would look at the pass list and get a good laugh out of it,” he says. “They said, you should tweet that…it’s funny. So I did, and the first one got some love and then I tweeted it again. Then that made it like an on-running joke. Never ever thought it would escalate to this. It was harmless fun, and it caught fire.”
Sports Illustrated was the first to put in on Facebook. Then, through the social media grapevine, ESPN’s SportsCenter feed tweeted it out, with a message for him to “keep dreaming big.”
Giansanti, who grew up in New London, Connecticut, and went to school in Uncasville, where Mohegan Sun is located, only recently got into mixed martial arts. He loved it immediately.
“My best friend is a huge UFC fan,” he says. “We lived together in spring training, and he really got me hooked on it. It’s all been very recent, my love for the UFC and fighting.”
Now he’s inviting one of the game’s most transcendent figures to come watch him play baseball.
Giansanti says he’s not sure if Rousey is aware that there’s a free ticket waiting for her at the box office on game night. He’s never met her, nor seen her in person. He’s not sure if she knows he exists, or even that here is such a thing as the Iowa Cubs. He only knows that his attempt to get a rise out of his teammates, along with a little celebrity crush on Rousey, has gone from zero to one hundred in something like six seconds.
“It amazes me how quickly stuff can spread,” he says. “Holy cow.”
Though it’s unlikely to happen before her August 1 bantamweight title defense against Bethe Correia at UFC 190 out in Rio de Janeiro, what would happen if Rousey actually took him up on the offer? What if she showed up to Principal Park and claimed the ticket that he set aside for her? What if he looked up to the designated seat as he stood in the on-deck circle, and saw Rousey — the UFC’s biggest star — taking in the action?
“That’s never really been part of the plan,” Giansanti says. “The part of the plan was to get a few laughs. I don’t know. I think that would be cool, but I don’t expect her to or anything. But it would be cool. It would be a good ending to the story. I guess if she came I’d have to ask her out on a date, right? I’ve come this far.”
MMA Video:Ronda Rousey media day scrum for UFC 190
Back in the day, Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville used to leave a ticket to every home game for Elvis Presley, in hopes that “The King” might stop by if he just so happened to find himself in the vicinity of the Astrodome on a given Sunday. This was considered quirky because, by the late-1980s, Elvis was conspicuously dead.
Ronda Rousey, on the other hand, is alive and well and training out in Glendale, California for a fight coming up in less than two weeks. Is she a baseball fan? Who knows, but there’s a player out in Des Moines, Iowa who began leaving a ticket with her name on it at will call, just in case Ronda might be in the mood for some AAA action from the Chicago Cubs farm club.
His name is Anthony Giansanti, a 26-year old utility player for the Iowa Cubs. You might have seen the SportsCenter tweet that delivered him from relative obscurity into a ballplayer with an ambitious crush. Five days ago Giansanti — who has the physique of a chiseled light heavyweight — had the idea to leave Rousey a ticket for a game against the Memphis Redbirds. He began leaving her a ticket for each game in the home stand, extending into the series against Round Rock.
And he began to tweet about it, a comical brushstroke that began to attract attention.
How did this come up?
“The funny thing about Ronda is, we’ve had a lot of conversations about her in the clubhouse, and I’m a pretty tough looking guy in the clubhouse,” Giansanti told MMA Fighting. “And I’ve always been asked if I think I can beat up Ronda Rousey. And I’m like, I wouldn’t want to beat her up — I want to take her out on a date.”
So Giansanti, in the spirit of perpetuating an inside joke that manifest in the clubhouse, took a course of action.
“I left her a ticket one day, just hoping the guys would look at the pass list and get a good laugh out of it,” he says. “They said, you should tweet that…it’s funny. So I did, and the first one got some love and then I tweeted it again. Then that made it like an on-running joke. Never ever thought it would escalate to this. It was harmless fun, and it caught fire.”
Sports Illustrated was the first to put in on Facebook. Then, through the social media grapevine, ESPN’s SportsCenter feed tweeted it out, with a message for him to “keep dreaming big.”
Giansanti, who grew up in New London, Connecticut, and went to school in Uncasville, where Mohegan Sun is located, only recently got into mixed martial arts. He loved it immediately.
“My best friend is a huge UFC fan,” he says. “We lived together in spring training, and he really got me hooked on it. It’s all been very recent, my love for the UFC and fighting.”
Now he’s inviting one of the game’s most transcendent figures to come watch him play baseball.
Giansanti says he’s not sure if Rousey is aware that there’s a free ticket waiting for her at the box office on game night. He’s never met her, nor seen her in person. He’s not sure if she knows he exists, or even that here is such a thing as the Iowa Cubs. He only knows that his attempt to get a rise out of his teammates, along with a little celebrity crush on Rousey, has gone from zero to one hundred in something like six seconds.
“It amazes me how quickly stuff can spread,” he says. “Holy cow.”
Though it’s unlikely to happen before her August 1 bantamweight title defense against Bethe Correia at UFC 190 out in Rio de Janeiro, what would happen if Rousey actually took him up on the offer? What if she showed up to Principal Park and claimed the ticket that he set aside for her? What if he looked up to the designated seat as he stood in the on-deck circle, and saw Rousey — the UFC’s biggest star — taking in the action?
“That’s never really been part of the plan,” Giansanti says. “The part of the plan was to get a few laughs. I don’t know. I think that would be cool, but I don’t expect her to or anything. But it would be cool. It would be a good ending to the story. I guess if she came I’d have to ask her out on a date, right? I’ve come this far.”
MMA Video:Ronda Rousey media day scrum for UFC 190
As Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald put on one of the greatest, bloodiest fights in 2015 at UFC 189, one spectator was looking right past the gruesomeness of the encounter to fixate on the X’s and O’s. That was former welterweight champion and No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks, who was cageside in Las Vegas taking in the action.
Lawler persevered in the end, finishing MacDonald in the fifth round via TKO. Both men were ripped asunder, with MacDonald’s foot and nose broken, and Lawler’s lip busted and gashed open.
So what was going through Hendricks’ mind as he watched the thing transpire?
“You know, realistically, seeing what they’re doing to each other,” he said during an appearance on The MMA Hour on Monday. “Just what’s working, what’s not working. We saw from Rory MacDonald that the straight punches were working. Then we saw Robbie in the second round come back with his straight punches, and that was what realistically started the bloody mess. Then we saw Rory MacDonald was able to land that head kick.
“It didn’t seem like the one-twos…they were there, but they were just sort of keeping them at bay. Then you saw the head kick. Maybe Rory MacDonald should have tried for a takedown instead of trying to finish him on the feet,? Get some takedowns, maybe try and finish him on top. I don’t know. When you’re in that situation you’ve just got to trust your body.”
Hendricks admits he had a bit of tunnel vision as he watched Lawler go through what he did to get his arm raised.
“It’s all hindsight now,” he said. “You look at that fight and you think, yeah, [Lawler] did a good job, but again, I want my belt back. Whenever I look at that fight that’s all I can think about.”
Of course, now the UFC has a slam-dunk of a trilogy between Hendricks and Lawler, should it opt to go that way. Lawler and Hendricks met twice in 2014, with the first fight going to Hendricks, and the second to Lawler. Their first encounter at UFC 171 was considered the Fight of the Year in many people’s eyes. Both of them went to the judge’s scorecards.
Hendricks said that’s why he’s not bothered by the violence he witnessed at UFC 189.
“I’ve been in two fights with [Lawler], and it’s turned out well, you know what I mean?” he said. “If he wants to get into that kind of battle, there are other ways around that. I know that. I’ve been in there with him. So, to sit there and think that it’s going to be a bloody war, you never know until the moment comes. Does that make sense? But when the moment comes, you either rise up to it or you fold.”
The only hitch is whether or not the UFC wants to book the 31-year old Hendricks into a trilogy fight once Lawler heals up. Or, if the UFC might opt for a different course of action, such as booking Tyron Woodley or Carlos Condit against Lawler.
“I haven’t talked to anybody yet, I don’t know what’s going on,” Hendricks said. “I have not a clue. I figure it makes perfect sense. Robbie’s going to get some time to relax, let his body heal, and then let’s do it. But other than that, I don’t know why. All I can do is keep training with what I need to do, but hopefully I get that call soon and they tell me it’s going to happen.”
While vying for a title shot before, Hendricks last fought Matt Brown at UFC 185 four months ago in Dallas. When asked if he’d be willing to wait for Lawler, he said he would, and that it’s actually perfect for him.
“Because, realistically, look at my last couple of years,” he said. “I fight in March, it’s either the 14th, 15th or the 16th. And I always fight in either late-November or early-December. So realistically it’s playing perfect for my timeline. So there’s things I can get better on. Yeah, my weight went well. There’s just some things, I’m making tweaks. And now that I know in my eyes that it’s going to be Robbie Lawler, we’re already training for that. That’s what sort of makes me happy is I’m going to train for him. Yeah, he’s got to take some time to recover. In my mind we’re going to fight in late-November or early-December, which is fine with me. That just gives me more time to get my weight under control and get my skills a little bit more prepared for the fight.
Lawler was the consensus comeback fighter of the year in 2014, having overcome the initial Hendricks loss to defeat Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown en-route to the rematch. He then capped the year with a decision over Hendricks to take the belt.
It was a surprising run for a guy who less than three years ago was on a 1-3 slump, with losses to Lorenz Larkin, Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
Hendricks said he’s not overly surprised with what Lawler’s been able to accomplish.
“No because realistically when you look at somebody who has power, stuff like that can come true,” he said. “If you look at it, if Rory MacDonald makes it through the fifth round, it’s a different story. If you look at that, yeah, realistically, I thought that’s how my card should have went whenever I was fighting him. I was up three to one going into the fifth round, he had to knock me out, that’s the only way he was going to win. It didn’t go my way. So, you take it with a grain of salt and you make yourself better. And you make sure the next time it doesn’t happen.
Asked what he thought about No. 3 ranked Woodley, who has been openly campaigning for a title shot, Hendricks said he understood.
“You know what, I’ve talked to him. I’m actually…I like him a lot, he’s a really good guy,” he said. “I get where he’s coming from, I’m in the same boat. I’m in the exact same boat. I’m sitting here saying hey, I want my title. I want to fight for that title again. And he’s wanting to get to it. So I get where he’s coming from.
“It’s just that I want the title, and that’s the only play that makes sense, is me and Robbie III. Realistically, that’s all that makes sense. Then, because right now we’re 1-1, boom, win or lose, then we can move on and start venturing out there and leading different chapters.”
As Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald put on one of the greatest, bloodiest fights in 2015 at UFC 189, one spectator was looking right past the gruesomeness of the encounter to fixate on the X’s and O’s. That was former welterweight champion and No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks, who was cageside in Las Vegas taking in the action.
Lawler persevered in the end, finishing MacDonald in the fifth round via TKO. Both men were ripped asunder, with MacDonald’s foot and nose broken, and Lawler’s lip busted and gashed open.
So what was going through Hendricks’ mind as he watched the thing transpire?
“You know, realistically, seeing what they’re doing to each other,” he said during an appearance on The MMA Hour on Monday. “Just what’s working, what’s not working. We saw from Rory MacDonald that the straight punches were working. Then we saw Robbie in the second round come back with his straight punches, and that was what realistically started the bloody mess. Then we saw Rory MacDonald was able to land that head kick.
“It didn’t seem like the one-twos…they were there, but they were just sort of keeping them at bay. Then you saw the head kick. Maybe Rory MacDonald should have tried for a takedown instead of trying to finish him on the feet,? Get some takedowns, maybe try and finish him on top. I don’t know. When you’re in that situation you’ve just got to trust your body.”
Hendricks admits he had a bit of tunnel vision as he watched Lawler go through what he did to get his arm raised.
“It’s all hindsight now,” he said. “You look at that fight and you think, yeah, [Lawler] did a good job, but again, I want my belt back. Whenever I look at that fight that’s all I can think about.”
Of course, now the UFC has a slam-dunk of a trilogy between Hendricks and Lawler, should it opt to go that way. Lawler and Hendricks met twice in 2014, with the first fight going to Hendricks, and the second to Lawler. Their first encounter at UFC 171 was considered the Fight of the Year in many people’s eyes. Both of them went to the judge’s scorecards.
Hendricks said that’s why he’s not bothered by the violence he witnessed at UFC 189.
“I’ve been in two fights with [Lawler], and it’s turned out well, you know what I mean?” he said. “If he wants to get into that kind of battle, there are other ways around that. I know that. I’ve been in there with him. So, to sit there and think that it’s going to be a bloody war, you never know until the moment comes. Does that make sense? But when the moment comes, you either rise up to it or you fold.”
The only hitch is whether or not the UFC wants to book the 31-year old Hendricks into a trilogy fight once Lawler heals up. Or, if the UFC might opt for a different course of action, such as booking Tyron Woodley or Carlos Condit against Lawler.
“I haven’t talked to anybody yet, I don’t know what’s going on,” Hendricks said. “I have not a clue. I figure it makes perfect sense. Robbie’s going to get some time to relax, let his body heal, and then let’s do it. But other than that, I don’t know why. All I can do is keep training with what I need to do, but hopefully I get that call soon and they tell me it’s going to happen.”
While vying for a title shot before, Hendricks last fought Matt Brown at UFC 185 four months ago in Dallas. When asked if he’d be willing to wait for Lawler, he said he would, and that it’s actually perfect for him.
“Because, realistically, look at my last couple of years,” he said. “I fight in March, it’s either the 14th, 15th or the 16th. And I always fight in either late-November or early-December. So realistically it’s playing perfect for my timeline. So there’s things I can get better on. Yeah, my weight went well. There’s just some things, I’m making tweaks. And now that I know in my eyes that it’s going to be Robbie Lawler, we’re already training for that. That’s what sort of makes me happy is I’m going to train for him. Yeah, he’s got to take some time to recover. In my mind we’re going to fight in late-November or early-December, which is fine with me. That just gives me more time to get my weight under control and get my skills a little bit more prepared for the fight.
Lawler was the consensus comeback fighter of the year in 2014, having overcome the initial Hendricks loss to defeat Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown en-route to the rematch. He then capped the year with a decision over Hendricks to take the belt.
It was a surprising run for a guy who less than three years ago was on a 1-3 slump, with losses to Lorenz Larkin, Tim Kennedy and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
Hendricks said he’s not overly surprised with what Lawler’s been able to accomplish.
“No because realistically when you look at somebody who has power, stuff like that can come true,” he said. “If you look at it, if Rory MacDonald makes it through the fifth round, it’s a different story. If you look at that, yeah, realistically, I thought that’s how my card should have went whenever I was fighting him. I was up three to one going into the fifth round, he had to knock me out, that’s the only way he was going to win. It didn’t go my way. So, you take it with a grain of salt and you make yourself better. And you make sure the next time it doesn’t happen.
Asked what he thought about No. 3 ranked Woodley, who has been openly campaigning for a title shot, Hendricks said he understood.
“You know what, I’ve talked to him. I’m actually…I like him a lot, he’s a really good guy,” he said. “I get where he’s coming from, I’m in the same boat. I’m in the exact same boat. I’m sitting here saying hey, I want my title. I want to fight for that title again. And he’s wanting to get to it. So I get where he’s coming from.
“It’s just that I want the title, and that’s the only play that makes sense, is me and Robbie III. Realistically, that’s all that makes sense. Then, because right now we’re 1-1, boom, win or lose, then we can move on and start venturing out there and leading different chapters.”
UNCASVILLE, Conn. –The last time Bellator visited the Mohegan Sun back in February, a few of the sport’s legends were in attendance. Among them was Fedor Emelianenko, whom Bellator president Scott Coker brought out as a brand ambassador. At the time, Emelianenko was happily retired.
Five months later, Bellator visited the same venue, this time without Fedor. And this time, Fedor isn’t so retired.
Considered the greatest heavyweight of all time by many, Emelianenko announced this week that he was returning to fighting, three years after retiring from the sport. Though the news stirred up a lot of headlines, it didn’t shock too many people — including the man who never got his shot at “The Last Emperor,” Randy Couture, who was actually on hand for Bellator 140 Saturday night.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Couture told MMA Fighting. “He was on a bad streak, and I don’t think he gets a lot of support from the people that represent him. I’m surprised it’s take this long, frankly. But, who knows? He’s 38 years old, certainly not outside the realm of possibility for him to make another strong run at it.”
As a free agent, Emelianenko will fetch interest from every promotion that has deep enough pockets to sign him. In the past, the UFC was unable to work out a deal with Emelianenko in large part due to his relationship with M-1 Global, who wanted to co-sponsor an event. That was back when Emelianenko was riding a 28-fight unbeaten streak.
Since that time Emelianenko has lost three times — consecutively, from June 2010 to June 2011 — before winning three in a row heading into retirement. His last fight on record was against Pedro Rizzo in June 2012.
His remains currently unknown, but speculation as to whom he might face is already well underway. One name that keeps getting kicked up is the 52-year old Couture’s. Back in 2007, when Couture was the UFC’s heavyweight and Emelianenko was the king of Pride, the fight would have been one of the biggest events ever put together. Yet it never materialized. Their paths never crossed.
Couture retired from MMA after a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in Toronto four years ago. So what happens if he was approached to fight Fedor all these years later?
“You never say never — you never say ‘no, I’m not going to do that,'” he said. “But I’m very, very happy being retired doing all the other stuff I’m doing. If the stars align and the right situation came up…you know, Fedor’s not a cheap ticket. So I don’t know who’s going to pay that price right now. Especially considering how things ended for him, so I’m not sure it will be Viacom or Bellator, which seems like the most logical place. I know there’s new organizations coming out in Japan in the new year, and he’s built a huge name there. Maybe they have the pockets for it. I know the UFC would like to get it done, and more than likely I’m out if that’s the case.”
UNCASVILLE, Conn. –The last time Bellator visited the Mohegan Sun back in February, a few of the sport’s legends were in attendance. Among them was Fedor Emelianenko, whom Bellator president Scott Coker brought out as a brand ambassador. At the time, Emelianenko was happily retired.
Five months later, Bellator visited the same venue, this time without Fedor. And this time, Fedor isn’t so retired.
Considered the greatest heavyweight of all time by many, Emelianenko announced this week that he was returning to fighting, three years after retiring from the sport. Though the news stirred up a lot of headlines, it didn’t shock too many people — including the man who never got his shot at “The Last Emperor,” Randy Couture, who was actually on hand for Bellator 140 Saturday night.
“I wasn’t surprised,” Couture told MMA Fighting. “He was on a bad streak, and I don’t think he gets a lot of support from the people that represent him. I’m surprised it’s take this long, frankly. But, who knows? He’s 38 years old, certainly not outside the realm of possibility for him to make another strong run at it.”
As a free agent, Emelianenko will fetch interest from every promotion that has deep enough pockets to sign him. In the past, the UFC was unable to work out a deal with Emelianenko in large part due to his relationship with M-1 Global, who wanted to co-sponsor an event. That was back when Emelianenko was riding a 28-fight unbeaten streak.
Since that time Emelianenko has lost three times — consecutively, from June 2010 to June 2011 — before winning three in a row heading into retirement. His last fight on record was against Pedro Rizzo in June 2012.
His remains currently unknown, but speculation as to whom he might face is already well underway. One name that keeps getting kicked up is the 52-year old Couture’s. Back in 2007, when Couture was the UFC’s heavyweight and Emelianenko was the king of Pride, the fight would have been one of the biggest events ever put together. Yet it never materialized. Their paths never crossed.
Couture retired from MMA after a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in Toronto four years ago. So what happens if he was approached to fight Fedor all these years later?
“You never say never — you never say ‘no, I’m not going to do that,'” he said. “But I’m very, very happy being retired doing all the other stuff I’m doing. If the stars align and the right situation came up…you know, Fedor’s not a cheap ticket. So I don’t know who’s going to pay that price right now. Especially considering how things ended for him, so I’m not sure it will be Viacom or Bellator, which seems like the most logical place. I know there’s new organizations coming out in Japan in the new year, and he’s built a huge name there. Maybe they have the pockets for it. I know the UFC would like to get it done, and more than likely I’m out if that’s the case.”
