Team Canada’s Chad Laprise joins us in our weekly Thursday morning Q&A, where he’ll break down all the action that took place inside the TUF house, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask Chad please let us know in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. Rec’d comments will get first priority. Now with that said, let’s get things started.
David St. Martin: First of all, congrats on the win.
Chad Laprise: Thanks man, yea it’s been about two months since the fight so it’s awesome to actually get to see it. When I fight? I only remember about half of it. There’s so much that happens that you don’t even think about.
St. Martin: Cool, we’ll circle back the fight in a minute. Chris mentioned that he sort of kept his distance from you in the house, assuming you two would fight eventually.
Laprise: Yea he and I never really talked. For the first few weeks in the house, I actually didn’t really speak with many of the Australians, especially the welterweights. I knew I was going to be fighting one of them and figured Chris and I would meet down the road. That’s the matchup my coaches wanted and hoping that we would keep control there was a good chance.
St. Martin: What was up with some of the Tristar guys being upset about Jon Chaimberg working with the Aussies? It seemed like Patrick Cote was pretty pissed.
Laprise: Yea he’s actually my strength and condition coach. Nordine Taleb and I both work with him. I didn’t have an issue with it at all. I know some of the guy were definitely mad, but Jon and I are great friends. He also coaches Kyle Noke so he brought him in. No problem. He’s just doing his job. I knew he wouldn’t be telling the Australians anything about me. He’s a professional.
St. Martin: Yea I was a bit confused. It’s not like a striking coach that could give something away. It’s like nutrition in the sense that it improves everyone’s game, more so than maybe certain striking or BJJ techniques.
Laprise: Yea, it was actually nice to see him. I’d run into him at the gym every two days and we’d just catch up. I know there’s some bad blood between John and other people.
St. Martin: I’m reluctant to bring it up, but just why the hell do you think they felt the need to show you man-scaping? I’m hoping it has some practical application.
Laprise: Yea it was kind of weird. I don’t know why they decided to show me cutting my hair and shaving my legs. It’s just something that I always do. Just part of my pre-fight routine.
St. Martin: I thought maybe because you’re more of a striker, shaving your legs would make you a little slicker avoiding takedowns.
Laprise: Not really. It’s just what I do. I shave my whole body, shave my head. It’s fight time.
St. Martin: How was the cut? You said last week you were a true lightweight so I’m sure that made managing your weight much easier.
Laprise: Yea I’m not jacked up at all. I’m a huge lightweight, bigger than most guys. I walk around at about 185 pounds so fighting at welterweight was definitely not as big of an issue. I just gave up some size. Chris was definitely bigger than me but I knew I’d have a speed advantage on him.
St. Martin: Once the fight got rolling it seemed like Chris had no real answer for the jab and rear kicks.
Laprise: That was our gameplan, start to finish. I figured he was going to shoot on me more. I know he trains out of Robert Drysdale’s in Vegas. He’s a purple belt in jiu jitsu. Our plan was just to stick and move. It’s hard to take me down when I’m not in front of you and constantly angling.
St. Martin: With about a minute left in the first you nailed Chris with a combo of about 6-7 clean punches. How did he not go down?
Laprise:Chris Indich, I give it up to that guy. You could see his face. I hit that guy with everything but the kitchen sink. I just couldn’t put him down. Part of it was my fault. There were a few times I had him hurt and didn’t capitalize. I made some mistakes but Chris is super tough. I was disappointed not to get the stoppage, but I was also worried about getting through to the next round without getting hurt. I pretty much hit him with whatever I wanted. Now knowing that his plan was to stand with me, I could have let loose a little more.
St. Martin: After the first, I actually LOL’d when you asked, ‘Did I win that round?’
Laprise: In my head, I thought I won the round, but just wanted to check with my coaches that I was up 1-0. Just to know I didn’t need to change anything up. Keep doing what I was doing. His plans can also change or get desperate. Chris was throwing some haymakers and could have easily knocked me out if one landed.
St. Martin: How about Noke telling Chris to get ready for a third round?
Laprise: Yea Noke said afterwards that it was a ‘close fight.’ Without sounding arrogant, I felt like I was in 100 percent control of the fight from bell to bell. Now watching it, I definitely won every minute of that fight. I even spoke with Chris later in the house and he said he had wanted a third round. Not to sound cocky, I don’t like to talk smack or anything, but I don’t think a third would have been too good for him. His face was pretty busted up already. He’s a tough guy but he didn’t need to take any more damage.
St. Martin: So we’ve got Nordine Taleb vs. Team Australia’s Tyler Manawaroa next week. Anything you can tell us about the fight?
Laprise: Another sick fight. Nordine is a killer. A great striker and one of our better middleweights. Tyler is 10-0. I think he’s probably their best guy. It’s going to be fireworks. Nordine and Tyler have kind of been going back and forth with each other in the house and they both want this fight.
St. Martin: Now we go to the mailbag.
Do you feel the TUF experience will have been worth it even if you don’t get a UFC contract?
Laprise: Yea I mean prior to the show there was no where to go but up. Just the publicity has been great. Great training and being on the UFC’s radar is never a bad thing.
Did the coaches let you keep your own style? Or did they try to change but improve you guys.
Laprise: Not at all. From day one, our coaches set out to help each of us individually. We all got there using certain skills. We really worked to improve what we’re good at and to defend what we’re not.
Do you feel you improved training with your team on TUF? Or do you get better training back home?
Laprise: It’s definitely different. Back home, I have a bunch of different coaches. I’m blessed to have a great camp here in London, Ontario and in Montreal with Tristar. I would say I get a little bit better training back home. On the show, we only had two training sessions a day and you’re really just working on being ready to fight. Back home I have more time to focus on skill building.
Do you have a question for Chad Laprise? Ask it in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. The Ultimate Fighter: Nations airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Portions of this interview have been edited for concision.
Team Canada’s Chad Laprise joins us in our weekly Thursday morning Q&A, where he’ll break down all the action that took place inside the TUF house, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask Chad please let us know in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. Rec’d comments will get first priority. Now with that said, let’s get things started.
David St. Martin: First of all, congrats on the win.
Chad Laprise: Thanks man, yea it’s been about two months since the fight so it’s awesome to actually get to see it. When I fight? I only remember about half of it. There’s so much that happens that you don’t even think about.
St. Martin: Cool, we’ll circle back the fight in a minute. Chris mentioned that he sort of kept his distance from you in the house, assuming you two would fight eventually.
Laprise: Yea he and I never really talked. For the first few weeks in the house, I actually didn’t really speak with many of the Australians, especially the welterweights. I knew I was going to be fighting one of them and figured Chris and I would meet down the road. That’s the matchup my coaches wanted and hoping that we would keep control there was a good chance.
St. Martin: What was up with some of the Tristar guys being upset about Jon Chaimberg working with the Aussies? It seemed like Patrick Cote was pretty pissed.
Laprise: Yea he’s actually my strength and condition coach. Nordine Taleb and I both work with him. I didn’t have an issue with it at all. I know some of the guy were definitely mad, but Jon and I are great friends. He also coaches Kyle Noke so he brought him in. No problem. He’s just doing his job. I knew he wouldn’t be telling the Australians anything about me. He’s a professional.
St. Martin: Yea I was a bit confused. It’s not like a striking coach that could give something away. It’s like nutrition in the sense that it improves everyone’s game, more so than maybe certain striking or BJJ techniques.
Laprise: Yea, it was actually nice to see him. I’d run into him at the gym every two days and we’d just catch up. I know there’s some bad blood between John and other people.
St. Martin: I’m reluctant to bring it up, but just why the hell do you think they felt the need to show you man-scaping? I’m hoping it has some practical application.
Laprise: Yea it was kind of weird. I don’t know why they decided to show me cutting my hair and shaving my legs. It’s just something that I always do. Just part of my pre-fight routine.
St. Martin: I thought maybe because you’re more of a striker, shaving your legs would make you a little slicker avoiding takedowns.
Laprise: Not really. It’s just what I do. I shave my whole body, shave my head. It’s fight time.
St. Martin: How was the cut? You said last week you were a true lightweight so I’m sure that made managing your weight much easier.
Laprise: Yea I’m not jacked up at all. I’m a huge lightweight, bigger than most guys. I walk around at about 185 pounds so fighting at welterweight was definitely not as big of an issue. I just gave up some size. Chris was definitely bigger than me but I knew I’d have a speed advantage on him.
St. Martin: Once the fight got rolling it seemed like Chris had no real answer for the jab and rear kicks.
Laprise: That was our gameplan, start to finish. I figured he was going to shoot on me more. I know he trains out of Robert Drysdale’s in Vegas. He’s a purple belt in jiu jitsu. Our plan was just to stick and move. It’s hard to take me down when I’m not in front of you and constantly angling.
St. Martin: With about a minute left in the first you nailed Chris with a combo of about 6-7 clean punches. How did he not go down?
Laprise:Chris Indich, I give it up to that guy. You could see his face. I hit that guy with everything but the kitchen sink. I just couldn’t put him down. Part of it was my fault. There were a few times I had him hurt and didn’t capitalize. I made some mistakes but Chris is super tough. I was disappointed not to get the stoppage, but I was also worried about getting through to the next round without getting hurt. I pretty much hit him with whatever I wanted. Now knowing that his plan was to stand with me, I could have let loose a little more.
St. Martin: After the first, I actually LOL’d when you asked, ‘Did I win that round?’
Laprise: In my head, I thought I won the round, but just wanted to check with my coaches that I was up 1-0. Just to know I didn’t need to change anything up. Keep doing what I was doing. His plans can also change or get desperate. Chris was throwing some haymakers and could have easily knocked me out if one landed.
St. Martin: How about Noke telling Chris to get ready for a third round?
Laprise: Yea Noke said afterwards that it was a ‘close fight.’ Without sounding arrogant, I felt like I was in 100 percent control of the fight from bell to bell. Now watching it, I definitely won every minute of that fight. I even spoke with Chris later in the house and he said he had wanted a third round. Not to sound cocky, I don’t like to talk smack or anything, but I don’t think a third would have been too good for him. His face was pretty busted up already. He’s a tough guy but he didn’t need to take any more damage.
St. Martin: So we’ve got Nordine Taleb vs. Team Australia’s Tyler Manawaroa next week. Anything you can tell us about the fight?
Laprise: Another sick fight. Nordine is a killer. A great striker and one of our better middleweights. Tyler is 10-0. I think he’s probably their best guy. It’s going to be fireworks. Nordine and Tyler have kind of been going back and forth with each other in the house and they both want this fight.
St. Martin: Now we go to the mailbag.
Do you feel the TUF experience will have been worth it even if you don’t get a UFC contract?
Laprise: Yea I mean prior to the show there was no where to go but up. Just the publicity has been great. Great training and being on the UFC’s radar is never a bad thing.
Did the coaches let you keep your own style? Or did they try to change but improve you guys.
Laprise: Not at all. From day one, our coaches set out to help each of us individually. We all got there using certain skills. We really worked to improve what we’re good at and to defend what we’re not.
Do you feel you improved training with your team on TUF? Or do you get better training back home?
Laprise: It’s definitely different. Back home, I have a bunch of different coaches. I’m blessed to have a great camp here in London, Ontario and in Montreal with Tristar. I would say I get a little bit better training back home. On the show, we only had two training sessions a day and you’re really just working on being ready to fight. Back home I have more time to focus on skill building.
Do you have a question for Chad Laprise? Ask it in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. The Ultimate Fighter: Nations airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Portions of this interview have been edited for concision.
As reported by Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, Pena suffered a torn ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus and hamstring while grappling with a male training partner. White, who seems to be placing blame squarely on the gym, is having Pena flown from her home in Spokane, Washington to Los Angeles to meet with surgeons. She’s expected to undergo surgery next week, beginning a lengthy rehabilitation shortly thereafter. Pena confirmed the injury via Twitter Wednesday evening.
Jose Aldo is one win away from having 14 straight victories while fighting inside the UFC/WEC octagons. He’s the reigning UFC 145lb champ, got nine knockouts to his credit throughout that time, has defeated three former champions and a future TUF winner, and a slew of elite featherweights as well. The man’s bonafides are as solid as they come.
With all of that said, should Aldo beat Ricardo Lamas on Saturday (or whichever day the Super Bowl decides the card should be held), his leap up lightweight to challenge the injured champion Anthony Pettis will be seemingly unobstructed. UFC president Dana White has endorsed it several times, and is ready for the super fight to happen. So are legions of fans. Hardcore fans who will finagle some cash from their friends to purchase the pay-per-view at a viewing party. While the fight is super attractive, it is only because of the sum of their parts, not the two fighters separately.
As reported by Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, Pena suffered a torn ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus and hamstring while grappling with a male training partner. White, who seems to be placing blame squarely on the gym, is having Pena flown from her home in Spokane, Washington to Los Angeles to meet with surgeons. She’s expected to undergo surgery next week, beginning a lengthy rehabilitation shortly thereafter. Pena confirmed the injury via Twitter Wednesday evening.
Jose Aldo is one win away from having 14 straight victories while fighting inside the UFC/WEC octagons. He’s the reigning UFC 145lb champ, got nine knockouts to his credit throughout that time, has defeated three former champions and a future TUF winner, and a slew of elite featherweights as well. The man’s bonafides are as solid as they come.
With all of that said, should Aldo beat Ricardo Lamas on Saturday (or whichever day the Super Bowl decides the card should be held), his leap up lightweight to challenge the injured champion Anthony Pettis will be seemingly unobstructed. UFC president Dana White has endorsed it several times, and is ready for the super fight to happen. So are legions of fans. Hardcore fans who will finagle some cash from their friends to purchase the pay-per-view at a viewing party. While the fight is super attractive, it is only because of the sum of their parts, not the two fighters separately.
Tom Wright, Director of UFC Operations in Canada, says former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre may return as early as this year, but that the company is prepared to move on without him.
“I’m a huge Georges St-Pierre fan,” say…
Tom Wright, Director of UFC Operations in Canada, says former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre may return as early as this year, but that the company is prepared to move on without him.
“I’m a huge Georges St-Pierre fan,” says Wright. “I think all Canadians are. We’re really looking forward to see him back. I think he will come back. He may even come back in 2014, who knows? But one of the reasons we’re having this press conference and talking about the different things that we’re doing is because we will continue to move on.”
Setting the stage for today’s press conference laying out the UFC’s 2014 Canadian schedule, Wright believes a continued growth no longer solely depends on the Quebecker superstar.
“There’s a lot of exciting things that we’re doing to make sure the sport continues to grow, that our athletes continue to develop and while we’d love to see Georges back, and at some point we will, we’ll move on.”
Judging by some recent comments made by UFC president Dana White, it’s safe to assume St-Pierre is still very much a part of the company’s plans in the Great White North.
“Who has said more good things about Georges St-Pierre than me? I talk better about him than his parents do, probably,” White told AXS TV Friday. “I have nothing but good things to say about Georges St-Pierre. This time we disagree. We’re butting heads a little bit but it happens sometimes. This is a business where it’s not always going to go smooth.
“He’s always been a standup guy for the sport, the company, Canada, everything.”
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Thanks, Pat. UFC heavyweightPat Barryis leaving MMA, possibly returning to his striking background. “Not saying I will never do MMA again, but right now I just want to hit people.”
Signal to noise. Luke Thomas lays out the best and worst of UFC on FOX 10. He also has an epic rant about a general lack of grappling knowledge plaguing MMA fandom.
Dominick Cruz was set to make his long-awaited return from injury (it would have been 28 months!) at this show and succumbed to… you guessed it, another injury. As a result, he was stripped of his title and Renan Barao was made the official bantamweight champion (about damn time!) and Urijah Faber was called upon to take Cruz’s spot in the title showdown. While I do feel badly for Cruz, this is the best thing for the viewers and him (not the injury). The fans get to see a fighter who has been red-hot go for the belt as opposed to one who last fought even before the Dallas Mavericks received their championship rings (oh yeah… they did win the title) and Cruz will be able to make his comeback against a more logical opponent. Who really believes he would have been ready for Barao?
Other prominent fights include Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title against Ricardo Lamas in the co-main event and Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem clash in a battle to determine which heavyweight has lost all relevancy. Oh yes… and John Linekar and Ali Bagautinov clash in what should have large implications in who receives the next flyweight title shot.
UFC president Dana White says he’s ‘thrilled’ with the Association of Ringside Physicians for endorsing the elimination of testosterone replacement therapy in mixed martial arts.
“The doctors came out and said they want to ban it? Well, that’s the answer,” White told The Associated Press (AP) on Monday. “It’s legal in the sport. The commissions let you do it. You get an exemption, and you have to be monitored and all the stuff that’s going on, but if they’re going to do away with it? There you go. It’s a problem solved.”
The ARP, an ‘an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the health and safety of the boxer and mixed martial arts athlete,’ released a position statement on Monday claiming the approval of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for combat athletes are ‘rarely justified’ and may endanger them, especially the opponents of fighters using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
The incidence of hypogonadism requiring the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in professional athletes is extraordinarily rare. Accordingly, the use of an anabolic steroid such as testosterone in a professional boxer or mixed martial artist is rarely justified. Steroid use of any type, including unmerited testosterone, significantly increases the safety and health risk to combat sports athletes and their opponents. TRT in a combat sports athlete may also create an unfair advantage contradictory to the integrity of sport. Consequently, the Association of Ringside Physicians supports the general elimination of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy.
At the center of the debate is 36-year-old UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort. Tentatively scheduled to face middleweight champion Chris Weidman this summer in Las Vegas, Belfort would need approval of a TUE by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to continue his TRT. Having tested positive in 2006 for 4-hydroxytestosterone while competing in Nevada, the governing body would need to review its policy of not allowing a TUE if an individual’s needs derive from past non-sanctioned use. According to the AP, White went so far as to say he hopes the NSAC doesn’t grant Belfort his exemption.
“He drives me crazy, and me and Vitor were not on good terms a few months ago,” White said. “Just because this whole TRT thing, I think, is unfair, and I said we’re going to test the living (daylights) out of him (during training). And we have, and he has complied, and he has been within the limits he’s supposed to have.”
Two belts.Johny Hendricks say he wants the middleweight strap once he’s done cleaning out 170. “I want to win [the 170-pound belt], defend it, do whatever the UFC wants me to do…hopefully I can get it, defend it a couple of times and say, ‘hey, can I move up to 185?'”
It’s Tuesday, so make sure to check out The MMA Hour featuring Johny Hendricks, manager Alex Davis, Ricardo Almeida and Benson Henderson’ long-time coach John Crouch.
MEDIA STEW
Chael Sonnen has more fun things to say about Wanderlei Silva.
I’m totally baffled at the arguments that Henderson won the fight. People are describing this criteria that seems to be based on numbers and a revisionist idea of what constitutes “trying to finish a fight”, then tripping over their own logic when they try to actually break the fight down. KJ Gould, in his article, claimed that the 1st should have gone to Henderson because his standing arm triangle attempt was a more aggressive attempt to finish than Josh taking Ben down, getting a body triangle, and working from his back for the better part of three minutes. Since when is the most aggressive attempt to finish the be all/end all of who wins a round? How about who actually, you know, won the round? This is MMA; it’s about weighing the totality of what took place vs. the question of “did one thing that happened matter enough to win Fighter X the round?” In that case, the arm triangle? Come on. That’s just getting bogged down by the weight of your own BS if you ask me. Silly. Anyway, check this out, if you please.
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.
UFC president Dana White says he’s ‘thrilled’ with the Association of Ringside Physicians for endorsing the elimination of testosterone replacement therapy in mixed martial arts.
“The doctors came out and said they want to ban it? Well, that’s the answer,” White told The Associated Press (AP) on Monday. “It’s legal in the sport. The commissions let you do it. You get an exemption, and you have to be monitored and all the stuff that’s going on, but if they’re going to do away with it? There you go. It’s a problem solved.”
The ARP, an ‘an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the health and safety of the boxer and mixed martial arts athlete,’ released a position statement on Monday claiming the approval of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for combat athletes are ‘rarely justified’ and may endanger them, especially the opponents of fighters using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
The incidence of hypogonadism requiring the use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in professional athletes is extraordinarily rare. Accordingly, the use of an anabolic steroid such as testosterone in a professional boxer or mixed martial artist is rarely justified. Steroid use of any type, including unmerited testosterone, significantly increases the safety and health risk to combat sports athletes and their opponents. TRT in a combat sports athlete may also create an unfair advantage contradictory to the integrity of sport. Consequently, the Association of Ringside Physicians supports the general elimination of therapeutic use exemptions (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy.
At the center of the debate is 36-year-old UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort. Tentatively scheduled to face middleweight champion Chris Weidman this summer in Las Vegas, Belfort would need approval of a TUE by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to continue his TRT. Having tested positive in 2006 for 4-hydroxytestosterone while competing in Nevada, the governing body would need to review its policy of not allowing a TUE if an individual’s needs derive from past non-sanctioned use. According to the AP, White went so far as to say he hopes the NSAC doesn’t grant Belfort his exemption.
“He drives me crazy, and me and Vitor were not on good terms a few months ago,” White said. “Just because this whole TRT thing, I think, is unfair, and I said we’re going to test the living (daylights) out of him (during training). And we have, and he has complied, and he has been within the limits he’s supposed to have.”
Two belts.Johny Hendricks say he wants the middleweight strap once he’s done cleaning out 170. “I want to win [the 170-pound belt], defend it, do whatever the UFC wants me to do…hopefully I can get it, defend it a couple of times and say, ‘hey, can I move up to 185?'”
It’s Tuesday, so make sure to check out The MMA Hour featuring Johny Hendricks, manager Alex Davis, Ricardo Almeida and Benson Henderson’ long-time coach John Crouch.
MEDIA STEW
Chael Sonnen has more fun things to say about Wanderlei Silva.
I’m totally baffled at the arguments that Henderson won the fight. People are describing this criteria that seems to be based on numbers and a revisionist idea of what constitutes “trying to finish a fight”, then tripping over their own logic when they try to actually break the fight down. KJ Gould, in his article, claimed that the 1st should have gone to Henderson because his standing arm triangle attempt was a more aggressive attempt to finish than Josh taking Ben down, getting a body triangle, and working from his back for the better part of three minutes. Since when is the most aggressive attempt to finish the be all/end all of who wins a round? How about who actually, you know, won the round? This is MMA; it’s about weighing the totality of what took place vs. the question of “did one thing that happened matter enough to win Fighter X the round?” In that case, the arm triangle? Come on. That’s just getting bogged down by the weight of your own BS if you ask me. Silly. Anyway, check this out, if you please.
If you had a chance to read Shaun Al-Shatti’s ‘Pro React’ piece for Saturday’s UFC on FOX 10 you could gather that much of the MMA community didn’t care for the judges’ decision rendered in the main event. Count now one among them, Nate Diaz. As Ben Henderson scored a controversial split decision over Josh Thomson, their common opponent was left to sit and wonder where his place in the lightweight division may be as a result. It took nearly 24 hours for Diaz to comment, but boy did he. Sunday night, Diaz took to Twitter to settle the collective hash of Henderson, Thomson and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Diaz, who last won ‘Knockout of the Night’ honors over Gray Maynard at the TUF 18 Finale in November, is still waiting on his next opponent. Although undefeated Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov was reported to be an option, UFC president Dana White claimed Diaz wasn’t interested. According to Diaz’ manager, the problem was more of a contractual issue. Back in December, Pettis claimed he wanted Diaz this summer in his return bout from a torn PCL, claiming he was tired of hearing Diaz talk. Calling out Pettis has certainly worked for Diaz in the past, why stop now?
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Aftermath. Dave Doyle tries to make sense of a shifting UFC lightweight division.
Superbowl Saturday. In the event the big game is moved to Saturday, UFC 169will shift to Sunday. Plan accordingly.
‘Grinder.’ Dana White didn’t sound too impressed with Ben Henderson’s win Saturday night. “When Ben Henderson has the title, or he’s trying to get back to the title, that’s a Ben Henderson fight. I mean, we’ve seen that fight a million times.”
“The Gathering is a subconscious summoning effect which happens in order to force Immortals together, and then force them to participate in the Game. It is not known whether the Gathering is a byproduct of the Quickening, the Power of the Immortals, an outside influence controlling the Game, or any combination thereof.”
I get a feeling that even though the fights were far from bad, the card didn’t exactly go how the UFC had hoped. Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson fought to a split decision that realistically could have gone either way (though I had it scored for Thomson). But… seeing as how one judge inexplicably scored the fight 49-46 for Henderson, we’re going to hear about how bad judges suck once again. I will admit that the fight was very close and I wouldn’t exactly declare it a robbery… but the last thing MMA fans need is another decision to debate over the internet. Trolls are going to have a heyday with this.
Now that Thomson has lost we don’t know who the #1 contender is at lightweight anymore. Maybe that is why Gilbert Melendez decided to skip out on the Khabib Nurmagomedov fight as it now seems like he is the most logical candidate to be named #1. Maybe TJ Grant will regain the position if he can come back from his concussion soon enough. Or is one victory enough following two losses for Nate Diaz to jump back in line. Personally, I hope not. Henderson has lost twice to Pettis and no one sees him gaining that position anytime soon. This could (and likely will) take some time to sort out.
Found something you’d like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s column.
If you had a chance to read Shaun Al-Shatti’s ‘Pro React’ piece for Saturday’s UFC on FOX 10 you could gather that much of the MMA community didn’t care for the judges’ decision rendered in the main event. Count now one among them, Nate Diaz. As Ben Henderson scored a controversial split decision over Josh Thomson, their common opponent was left to sit and wonder where his place in the lightweight division may be as a result. It took nearly 24 hours for Diaz to comment, but boy did he. Sunday night, Diaz took to Twitter to settle the collective hash of Henderson, Thomson and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Diaz, who last won ‘Knockout of the Night’ honors over Gray Maynard at the TUF 18 Finale in November, is still waiting on his next opponent. Although undefeated Dagestani Khabib Nurmagomedov was reported to be an option, UFC president Dana White claimed Diaz wasn’t interested. According to Diaz’ manager, the problem was more of a contractual issue. Back in December, Pettis claimed he wanted Diaz this summer in his return bout from a torn PCL, claiming he was tired of hearing Diaz talk. Calling out Pettis has certainly worked for Diaz in the past, why stop now?
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Aftermath. Dave Doyle tries to make sense of a shifting UFC lightweight division.
Superbowl Saturday. In the event the big game is moved to Saturday, UFC 169will shift to Sunday. Plan accordingly.
‘Grinder.’ Dana White didn’t sound too impressed with Ben Henderson’s win Saturday night. “When Ben Henderson has the title, or he’s trying to get back to the title, that’s a Ben Henderson fight. I mean, we’ve seen that fight a million times.”
“The Gathering is a subconscious summoning effect which happens in order to force Immortals together, and then force them to participate in the Game. It is not known whether the Gathering is a byproduct of the Quickening, the Power of the Immortals, an outside influence controlling the Game, or any combination thereof.”
I get a feeling that even though the fights were far from bad, the card didn’t exactly go how the UFC had hoped. Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson fought to a split decision that realistically could have gone either way (though I had it scored for Thomson). But… seeing as how one judge inexplicably scored the fight 49-46 for Henderson, we’re going to hear about how bad judges suck once again. I will admit that the fight was very close and I wouldn’t exactly declare it a robbery… but the last thing MMA fans need is another decision to debate over the internet. Trolls are going to have a heyday with this.
Now that Thomson has lost we don’t know who the #1 contender is at lightweight anymore. Maybe that is why Gilbert Melendez decided to skip out on the Khabib Nurmagomedov fight as it now seems like he is the most logical candidate to be named #1. Maybe TJ Grant will regain the position if he can come back from his concussion soon enough. Or is one victory enough following two losses for Nate Diaz to jump back in line. Personally, I hope not. Henderson has lost twice to Pettis and no one sees him gaining that position anytime soon. This could (and likely will) take some time to sort out.
Team Canada’s Chad Laprise joins us in our weekly Thursday morning Q&A, where he’ll break down all the action that took place inside the TUF house, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask Chad please let us know in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. Rec’d comments will get first priority. Now with that said, let’s get things started.
David St. Martin: So another solid episode with good action. We see sort of an attitude shift right after the first fight where some of the Aussies drop their guard a bit towards you guys. It reminded me of that scene in Bloodsport where Frank beats Jackson in the arcade game. ‘You kicked my ass, so we’re cool now.’
Chad Laprise: “Yea it was hard to say. There was definitely some more mutual respect after the first fight. Obviously, we’re all martial artists and I give complete credit to anyone who steps in there and fights.”
St. Martin: It looked like Nordine Taleb wanted to call a meeting to remind everyone to keep their heads in the game.
Laprise: “I think I missed that one, actually. It was between training sessions. He just wanted to say that we’re all here to compete and not to make friends. He just didn’t want people giving out information. Like with fight picks or strengths and weaknesses.”
St. Martin: So you got the sense some guys were fishing for details? Maybe one of the middleweights asks about a welterweight?
Laprise: “Yea, for sure. 100 percent. Coming into the show, we had no idea who the Australians were. We’re just going off the footage our coaches have seen of them. I had no idea about guys’ strengths or what their weaknesses were. The same for the other team. We had no idea who was going to be on the show. I think you saw some guys slip up and let some information out.”
St. Martin: Because the coaches are sort of 9-5, they can just go back to wherever they’re staying and watch YouTube, right? Is that frowned upon? Or was it just pretty blatant.
Laprise: “Yea, our coaches were awesome. Right after they found out who was going to be on the show they started working on matchups. They had a breakdown of every guy. Records, all the stats. When it was time to fight they would go back and watch more film on the guy and work out a strategy.”
St. Martin: It seems like Patrick Côté had more of an itinerary, bringing in a nutritionist and then Shaolin Ribeiro.
Laprise: “Cote and that staff did such a great job. They were there for us 100 percent.”
St. Martin: Heading into the fight with Elias Theodorou, the Aussies were quickly cultivating a dislike for him, even calling him ‘Buzz Lightyear,’ which was excellent.
Laprise: “Yea he’s definitely one of our loudest guys. Maybe he just rubbed some guys the wrong way. Super nice guy. He just talks. A big personality.”
St. Martin: Elias sort of trolled the Aussies telling them he was 12-0 as a kickboxer, then just bum rushes Zein Saliba right from the start. Clinching, while still dry, with a BJJ black belt. Surprising.
Laprise: “Yea Elias and I have trained together and both competed in Bellator once. That’s his best asset. The guy comes in phenomenal shape and doesn’t have a real weakness. He just wet-blanketed Zein. Most people can’t handle that pace.”
St. Martin: He said he’d only been hit three times in his career? Then he’s just straight dirty boxing in the clinch.
Laprise: “Yea, I’m sure with us knowing about Zein’s black belt they thought that Elias would try to keep it standing. It worked out well for him.”
St. Martin: The Aussie coaches sounded pretty pissed. Never good to hear stuff like, ‘Come on!’ coming out of corners. Noke and Izzy weren’t happy.
Laprise: “I agree 100%. Cote just needed to tell Elias to keep doing what he was doing. This is also a tournament, so you don’t want to take damage. He went in there and didn’t even get hit. You feel for Zein because his coaches weren’t really there for him to help him out.”
St. Martin: So at this point we’ve got two guys in house down and out. It’s brutal because obviously most of the house can still win the show, at least eligibility-wise.
Laprise: “That was my biggest fear, being the first guy in the house to lose. You’re there for 40 plus days just hoping someone gets hurt to get a second shot. Meanwhile, you have to sit there watching everyone else live out their dream. The two guys didn’t get too down, but it must have been pretty mentally tough.”
St. Martin: Then we got the big reveal. Tried the psych out, didn’t work. You’re fighting Chris Indich next week. Sounds like the classic striker vs. grappler matchup. What can you tell us without getting into trouble?
Laprise: “He’s bigger than me. He a true 170, while I’m actually a lightweight. I’m going to try to use my speed and skills. So tune in and see what happens!”
Do you have a question for Chad Laprise? Ask it in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. The Ultimate Fighter: Nations airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Portions of this interview have been edited for concision.
Team Canada’s Chad Laprise joins us in our weekly Thursday morning Q&A, where he’ll break down all the action that took place inside the TUF house, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.
If you have any questions you’d like to ask Chad please let us know in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. Rec’d comments will get first priority. Now with that said, let’s get things started.
David St. Martin: So another solid episode with good action. We see sort of an attitude shift right after the first fight where some of the Aussies drop their guard a bit towards you guys. It reminded me of that scene in Bloodsport where Frank beats Jackson in the arcade game. ‘You kicked my ass, so we’re cool now.’
Chad Laprise: “Yea it was hard to say. There was definitely some more mutual respect after the first fight. Obviously, we’re all martial artists and I give complete credit to anyone who steps in there and fights.”
St. Martin: It looked like Nordine Taleb wanted to call a meeting to remind everyone to keep their heads in the game.
Laprise: “I think I missed that one, actually. It was between training sessions. He just wanted to say that we’re all here to compete and not to make friends. He just didn’t want people giving out information. Like with fight picks or strengths and weaknesses.”
St. Martin: So you got the sense some guys were fishing for details? Maybe one of the middleweights asks about a welterweight?
Laprise: “Yea, for sure. 100 percent. Coming into the show, we had no idea who the Australians were. We’re just going off the footage our coaches have seen of them. I had no idea about guys’ strengths or what their weaknesses were. The same for the other team. We had no idea who was going to be on the show. I think you saw some guys slip up and let some information out.”
St. Martin: Because the coaches are sort of 9-5, they can just go back to wherever they’re staying and watch YouTube, right? Is that frowned upon? Or was it just pretty blatant.
Laprise: “Yea, our coaches were awesome. Right after they found out who was going to be on the show they started working on matchups. They had a breakdown of every guy. Records, all the stats. When it was time to fight they would go back and watch more film on the guy and work out a strategy.”
St. Martin: It seems like Patrick Côté had more of an itinerary, bringing in a nutritionist and then Shaolin Ribeiro.
Laprise: “Cote and that staff did such a great job. They were there for us 100 percent.”
St. Martin: Heading into the fight with Elias Theodorou, the Aussies were quickly cultivating a dislike for him, even calling him ‘Buzz Lightyear,’ which was excellent.
Laprise: “Yea he’s definitely one of our loudest guys. Maybe he just rubbed some guys the wrong way. Super nice guy. He just talks. A big personality.”
St. Martin: Elias sort of trolled the Aussies telling them he was 12-0 as a kickboxer, then just bum rushes Zein Saliba right from the start. Clinching, while still dry, with a BJJ black belt. Surprising.
Laprise: “Yea Elias and I have trained together and both competed in Bellator once. That’s his best asset. The guy comes in phenomenal shape and doesn’t have a real weakness. He just wet-blanketed Zein. Most people can’t handle that pace.”
St. Martin: He said he’d only been hit three times in his career? Then he’s just straight dirty boxing in the clinch.
Laprise: “Yea, I’m sure with us knowing about Zein’s black belt they thought that Elias would try to keep it standing. It worked out well for him.”
St. Martin: The Aussie coaches sounded pretty pissed. Never good to hear stuff like, ‘Come on!’ coming out of corners. Noke and Izzy weren’t happy.
Laprise: “I agree 100%. Cote just needed to tell Elias to keep doing what he was doing. This is also a tournament, so you don’t want to take damage. He went in there and didn’t even get hit. You feel for Zein because his coaches weren’t really there for him to help him out.”
St. Martin: So at this point we’ve got two guys in house down and out. It’s brutal because obviously most of the house can still win the show, at least eligibility-wise.
Laprise: “That was my biggest fear, being the first guy in the house to lose. You’re there for 40 plus days just hoping someone gets hurt to get a second shot. Meanwhile, you have to sit there watching everyone else live out their dream. The two guys didn’t get too down, but it must have been pretty mentally tough.”
St. Martin: Then we got the big reveal. Tried the psych out, didn’t work. You’re fighting Chris Indich next week. Sounds like the classic striker vs. grappler matchup. What can you tell us without getting into trouble?
Laprise: “He’s bigger than me. He a true 170, while I’m actually a lightweight. I’m going to try to use my speed and skills. So tune in and see what happens!”
Do you have a question for Chad Laprise? Ask it in the comments below and he’ll answer you next week. The Ultimate Fighter: Nations airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Portions of this interview have been edited for concision.
