Speaking through a translator, former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko revealed to WHOA! TV this weekend as to one of the reasons we never saw him grace the Octagon. Although UFC president Dana White once called his miss…
Speaking through a translator, former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko revealed to WHOA! TV this weekend as to one of the reasons we never saw him grace the Octagon. Although UFC president Dana White once called his mission to sign the MMA legend an “obsession,” Emelianenko now claims he’s precisely the reason it never happened.
“In my opinion, everything was in Dana White’s hands,’ says Emelianenko. “Because at that moment, I just felt like ‘this guy, he just hates us.’ Like, personally to [me]. There were insults coming from Dana White all the time. There were many very loud things said, but for real nothing happened. It was [all talk].”
As insults go, White slammed Emelianenko in 2009 saying the Russian refused to face top competition and that having him ranked among MMA’s pound-for-pound best was ‘f***ing insanity.’ Emelianenko’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein, was also a frequent target of White’s, whom he unceremoniously dubbed, ‘Vadummy.’ Although White years later hinted at plans to lure both former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Emelianenko out of retirement to finally meet, it never came to be.
The Velasquez Era. Cain Velasquez says it took losing his title to Junior dos Santos to push him towards becoming the champion he is today. “When I first got it, it kind of felt surreal,” he said. “It felt like a dream, almost. But when I lost it, that’s what made it real. I felt so bad. I don’t want to go back to those feelings.”
Brazilian Tiger. Guilherme Cruz tracks down Ricardo Arona to see why the former PRIDE standout has all but disappeared from the MMA scene. “UFC is the goal of every fighter, and that’s my goal,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll need one or two more fights to get there, but I’m not worried. UFC is the goal, and I will be ready to get there.”
Faking it. Chael Sonnen says he, above all, despises when fighters aren’t being genuine. “For better or worse do not be fake, and do not come across as fake. I just had a run in with a guy who used to be a fighter named Wanderlei Silva. He films this run-in, he brings the camera. He tells the camera to start recording 20 seconds before he ever gets to me. [It was] a direct insult to his own audience.”
Fitch says no. With Rousimar Palhares looking for a new organization, Jon Fitchwent on record stating he wouldn’t be willing to compete with him in any way. “I personally wouldn’t accept a fight with [Palhares] because of those. One time maybe, but not twice. I would never even compete against him honestly. If he’s got that long of a history of holding onto them too long, his career should probably be done because no one should take a fight with him or a grappling match with him for that matter.”
MEDIA STEW
Highlights from this weekend’s Legacy 24 and CFA 12.
Jack Slack explains how Ricco Verhoeven upset Gokhan Saki at Glory 11.
Jack Brown Interview #93 – Renzo Gracie – October, 2013
This is number ninety-three in my series of interviews with MMA fighters and personalities, and for this particular interview, I’m honored to feature the legendary MMA and BJJ pioneer, Renzo Gracie. Gracie is a veteran of Pride, Rings, the IFL, and the UFC. He is also a renowned BJJ coach for four former or current UFC champions. Gracie, in his own inimitable way, took some time to speak to me about his career as an MMA fighter and coach, his timeline for his next fight, the upcoming World Jiu-Jitsu Expo, and life in general. Please enjoy the conversation below.
Jack Brown: We know that as a Gracie, you were born into the martial arts. What are some of your very earliest memories of learning Jiu-jitsu as a child?
Renzo Gracie: It’s amazing, but I don’t have a recollection of not learning Jiu-jitsu. I think even when I was a baby in my father’s lap, he was playing fighting with me. I think now about how every time that he would play with me or take me to a park, we were always playing fighting. He always showed me moves and put me on his back and made me put the hooks on. Now I realize that he was doing the same thing that I did with my son growing up, teaching him how to fight.
In lieu of a drawn out negotiation to re-sign his welterweight champion, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney tells ESPN he’s willing to waive all matching rights to Ben Askren if the UFC will give him an immediate title shot.
“If you want to say the best fighters in the world fight in your organization and one becomes available and you have the unfettered right to talk to him, pick up the phone and call him. And if you claim our matching rights are so prohibitive — the exact same matching rights that you have in your agreement — then give him a title fight out of the box, which is not unreasonable given that he’s ranked in the top six in the world, and I’ll just walk away from our matching rights.”
Askren, who dispelled recent retirement rumors, has made it clear he’s not ready to walk away from MMA without a chance at UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. “I’m not making these deals here,” says Askren. “That said, I like the deal that Bjorn is trying to give me.”
“Bjorn is saying if they give me a title shot, no matching rights. He’s not saying if they give me a contract there’s no matching rights. If the UFC says, hey, no title shot, then all this is for nothing. I’d have to go back to the drawing board and talk to Bellator. See what their offer will be. See what’s going on. And at that point see what’s best for me.”
Not typically one to be goaded into power struggles, UFC president Dana White is more comfortable dolling out ultimatums than weighing them. Does UFC take the bait? Or do Dana and Co. wait to see how things shake out when St-Pierre faces Johny Hendricks for the welterweight title at UFC 167?
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Palhares cut. At least for now, the UFC is moving on without Rouismar Palhares. The talented Brazilian’s lingering submission of Mike Pierce Wednesday night forced the UFC’s hand.
Toquinho responds. Palhares’ manager Alex Davis says his fighter is ‘very sad’ about his release, but that he still doesn’t quite understand it. “He’s perplexed. He doesn’t really grasp it. He doesn’t really understand that he’s doing something overly wrong. He doesn’t get it.”
Fortunes changed for five. Palhares sufficiently covered, Dave Meltzer says the big winners following UFC Fight Night 29 weren’t even on the card.
Sparring with Don Frye. Santino DeFranco regales us about the time Seth Baczynskitried out for Frye’s IFL team, the Tucson Scorpions. “After the round ended Don asked Seth, “What size gloves are those, 10’s?” Seth replied, “16 ounces.” “Don’t lie to me, boy. Those are tiny. Steve, get me some smaller gloves!” Don called out. “Kid’s trying to take my head off or something.”
MEDIA STEW
Dana cuts Palhares.
The latest ‘King of the Ring’ with Tyrone Spong. You might catch a shot of me at Glory New York.
Spike TV founder Albie Hecht tells how the UFC and Spike came together. It’s worth a watch for the K-1 talk alone. “Somehow I insulted his geisha … so the meeting did not go very well.”
TWEETS
Welp…
I never meant to hurt anyone, as a jiu-jitsu fighter I always seek for the submission, but I would never be evil to any athlete.
The 6th episode of TUF 18 aired this Wednesday night. The Ultimate Fighter is one of my favorite shows and I look forward to the new episodes each week. Jessamyn Duke and Raquel Pennington squared off, there were no conflicts between the coaches (boo,) and Julianna tried to play dress up with a couple of living dolls.
There wasn’t much this week to poke fun at. There was very little inside the house drama and we had a fight that went all 3 rounds. We did see that dude Anthony, he was a little bit tipsy trying to flirt with the girls. Yes, the same girls that a couple of weeks ago he said he found annoying. Oh what alcohol will do. Gots a feeling when he gets more air time, I ain’t gonna like him.
Buzzed Anthony kept making noise one night by throwing stuff against the wall and jumping in random beds. I would have a really hard time not flipping out if I had a fight coming up like Raquel did. At least the women got him back the next morning by jumping on his bed and then dumping him out of it.
10 Things I Wrote Down
1) What constitutes a muay thai specialist? If you trained in it ? Ever? The show stated that Duke was a muay thai specialist. How so? Am I being sexist for asking? It seems like the standard would be even more different for women fighters. Like Michelle Waterson or Gina Carano – muay thai.
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.
In lieu of a drawn out negotiation to re-sign his welterweight champion, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney tells ESPN he’s willing to waive all matching rights to Ben Askren if the UFC will give him an immediate title shot.
“If you want to say the best fighters in the world fight in your organization and one becomes available and you have the unfettered right to talk to him, pick up the phone and call him. And if you claim our matching rights are so prohibitive — the exact same matching rights that you have in your agreement — then give him a title fight out of the box, which is not unreasonable given that he’s ranked in the top six in the world, and I’ll just walk away from our matching rights.”
Askren, who dispelled recent retirement rumors, has made it clear he’s not ready to walk away from MMA without a chance at UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. “I’m not making these deals here,” says Askren. “That said, I like the deal that Bjorn is trying to give me.”
“Bjorn is saying if they give me a title shot, no matching rights. He’s not saying if they give me a contract there’s no matching rights. If the UFC says, hey, no title shot, then all this is for nothing. I’d have to go back to the drawing board and talk to Bellator. See what their offer will be. See what’s going on. And at that point see what’s best for me.”
Not typically one to be goaded into power struggles, UFC president Dana White is more comfortable dolling out ultimatums than weighing them. Does UFC take the bait? Or do Dana and Co. wait to see how things shake out when St-Pierre faces Johny Hendricks for the welterweight title at UFC 167?
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Palhares cut. At least for now, the UFC is moving on without Rouismar Palhares. The talented Brazilian’s lingering submission of Mike Pierce Wednesday night forced the UFC’s hand.
Toquinho responds. Palhares’ manager Alex Davis says his fighter is ‘very sad’ about his release, but that he still doesn’t quite understand it. “He’s perplexed. He doesn’t really grasp it. He doesn’t really understand that he’s doing something overly wrong. He doesn’t get it.”
Fortunes changed for five. Palhares sufficiently covered, Dave Meltzer says the big winners following UFC Fight Night 29 weren’t even on the card.
Sparring with Don Frye. Santino DeFranco regales us about the time Seth Baczynskitried out for Frye’s IFL team, the Tucson Scorpions. “After the round ended Don asked Seth, “What size gloves are those, 10’s?” Seth replied, “16 ounces.” “Don’t lie to me, boy. Those are tiny. Steve, get me some smaller gloves!” Don called out. “Kid’s trying to take my head off or something.”
MEDIA STEW
Dana cuts Palhares.
The latest ‘King of the Ring’ with Tyrone Spong. You might catch a shot of me at Glory New York.
Spike TV founder Albie Hecht tells how the UFC and Spike came together. It’s worth a watch for the K-1 talk alone. “Somehow I insulted his geisha … so the meeting did not go very well.”
TWEETS
Welp…
I never meant to hurt anyone, as a jiu-jitsu fighter I always seek for the submission, but I would never be evil to any athlete.
The 6th episode of TUF 18 aired this Wednesday night. The Ultimate Fighter is one of my favorite shows and I look forward to the new episodes each week. Jessamyn Duke and Raquel Pennington squared off, there were no conflicts between the coaches (boo,) and Julianna tried to play dress up with a couple of living dolls.
There wasn’t much this week to poke fun at. There was very little inside the house drama and we had a fight that went all 3 rounds. We did see that dude Anthony, he was a little bit tipsy trying to flirt with the girls. Yes, the same girls that a couple of weeks ago he said he found annoying. Oh what alcohol will do. Gots a feeling when he gets more air time, I ain’t gonna like him.
Buzzed Anthony kept making noise one night by throwing stuff against the wall and jumping in random beds. I would have a really hard time not flipping out if I had a fight coming up like Raquel did. At least the women got him back the next morning by jumping on his bed and then dumping him out of it.
10 Things I Wrote Down
1) What constitutes a muay thai specialist? If you trained in it ? Ever? The show stated that Duke was a muay thai specialist. How so? Am I being sexist for asking? It seems like the standard would be even more different for women fighters. Like Michelle Waterson or Gina Carano – muay thai.
Speaking with Canadian outlet La Presse, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says he feels let down by the UFC for not being more supportive of his cause to broaden pre-fight drug testing.
(Translation via Google transl…
Speaking with Canadian outlet La Presse, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says he feels let down by the UFC for not being more supportive of his cause to broaden pre-fight drug testing.
(Translation via Google translate)
“The only thing is that I do not know if they are willing to support me. I thought they were ready to support me, but I was disappointed, very disappointed with this turn of events.
“There are things I can not say. I do not want to get back to the UFC because it is my employer. However, I do not take journalists for idiots. They are able to read between the lines. They are able to see what happens. “
St-Pierre, set to defend his title to Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November, requested the pair submit to anti-doping testing leading up to the bout. Unsatisfied by the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s standards of testing, St-Pierre invited Hendricks to join him for more rigorous screenings by independent organizations, picking up the tab himself. Ambiguously accused of PED use by former opponentsB.J. Penn and Nick Diaz, St-Pierre has aggressively tried to dispel those claims by leading the charge for more strenuous screening methods.
“It bothers me a little fight against guys who use performance-enhancing drugs, because it is not fair. It’s a nasty difference in training, argues Georges St-Pierre. There are those who say: “Doping, it does not bother me.” Me, it bothers me. But I’ll do it anyway, the fight. Without accusing anyone, if there are some who do not want to do the tests, I’ll do the fighting. It will not be the first time. But it’s just that I’m getting a little tired. “
Georges St-Pierre faces Johny Hendricks for the welterweight championship at UFC 167 on Nov. 16, 2013 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tommy Toe Hold tackles Fabricio Werdum recent comments on The Reem.
Luke’s latest live chat.
BT Sport’s exclusive Dana White interview.
Decent scrap from ARROWS. Actually wouldn’t mind seeing more fights end this way.
Last night’s full TUF fight between Duke vs. Pennington.
TWEETS
As always, make sure to check out Shaun’s excellent ‘Pro’s React’ covering last night’s action. A few late night tweets from Damian Maia missed the cutoff.
I want to thank all for the support msgs, and even the criticism. Was an honor to headline a @ufc show at home and I did my best.
Ahead of his forthcoming appearance on Russia’s Legend MMA: Emelianenko vs CroCop 2 where he’ll face Alexander Yakovlev and following the announcement of his first opponent under his BAMMA contract, I spoke to the man commonly known as Semtex. Top of the agenda were his thoughts and potential issues given the calibre of opponent he will be facing when BAMMA put on their 14th event.
“He’s a tough opponent, but I don’t expect easy challenges. It’s in my nature to test myself, my training and my faith.”
His famous ‘faith of a mustard seed’ mantra seems deeply ingrained in his consciousness and the brutal striker, whose last four wins have ended in stoppages notably a flying knee at Cage Contender 16, has no time for doubters questioning his pedigree or whether he will secure the win.
“I’m confident I will destroy him, so he will see what it’s like to be locked in a cage with the finishing machine.”
The action all takes place on December 14th when BAMMA close out another successful year for them at the LG Arena in England
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz remains adamant his client, Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, will remain the No. 1 female fighter until UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey can prove otherwise.
“They…
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz remains adamant his client, Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, will remain the No. 1 female fighter until UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey can prove otherwise.
“They pushed this fight of her and Ronda at 135 so much. The last time I saw Ronda call out Cris Cyborg, Ronda was actually at 145. So she cut down to 135 to stay avoid Cris,” Ortiz told Fighters Only.
“Now the ball is in their court – if they want the fight to happen, they will let the fight happen. If not I guess Ronda is the number two pound-for-pound woman always and Cris will be number one.”
“Nobody is going to beat {Cyborg} ever. She is going to do an Anderson Silva and go undefeated for a long, long time.”
Ortiz, partnered with Cyborg’s other management at Primetime 360, pressured the UFC to grant her release in February after failing to accommodate her requests to meet Rousey at a catchweight. Cyborg’s team claimed cutting below 140lbs would endanger her, while Dana White and Zuffa affirmed she had no place in the UFC’s ranks if not at bantamweight. Even with UFC offering to hire nutritionist Mike Dolce on her behalf, Cyborg and Co. decided to move on.
Now, Ortiz is left to ponder the what-ifs and snipe at Rousey from afar. Himself a two-time Ultimate Fighter coach, Ortiz sees Rousey cracking under the pressure of the cameras.
“I think her head is getting to her. I watched a couple episodes and she seems like a little brat, likes she’s too good for everybody else. That’s the attitude you don’t want, especially as a coach. People see me on The Ultimate Fighter season three, season eleven, I never thought I was better than anybody else,” he said.
“Is the popularity getting to Ronda’s head a little too much? She hasn’t had any huge fights, she hasn’t fought any huge names yet. I guess its one of those things that, in time, she needs to be tested. She’s being protected by the UFC and if she keeps being protected she will always be known as second-best.
“I haven’t seen any great stand-up skills. I have seen her closing the gap and taking a girl down and arm-barring her. I don’t think she even knows any moves other than an armbar.”
Rousey defends her bantamweight title in a rematch to former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate at UFC 168 on Dec. 28.
Ready and waiting. With Dana confirming he’s one win away from a rematch with Jon Jones, Alexander Gustafsson won’t move on from his lost opportunity until he’s booked his next fight. “The only thing that makes sense for me is Jon Jones. That’s the fight I want, and that’s the fight I have in my head still. And it will be in my head until I am given another opponent, and I will put all my focus on that one. But I don’t have any preference.”
Jones-Teixeira moved. It sounds like Jon Jones won’t be defending his title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 169 in February. “Jones-Teixeira is not happening on Super Bowl (weekend),” Dana White said on Monday. “Our people f–ked up and put that out when they shouldn’t have put that out, because that was never, ever even a done deal. Our P.R. team jumped the gun on that one.”
Mir on retirement. If he happens to drop his fourth straight fight, Frank Mir sounds like he’d be done fighting if the UFC were done with him. “Obviously I have no real desire to fight for another organization, so if I were to be let go that would be a huge step in the form of retirement,” he said.
One on one. Steph Daniels chats with UFC welterweight T.J. Waldburger on fighting in his home town and his lengthy injury layoff. “I think with my UFC experience, fighting in the octagon has become just like fighting at the gym. Every day you go in there and you fight and you react and adapt to situations, and that’s how I feel in the octagon now; it’s just an everyday thing.”
It’s no secret that the UK is yearning for a champion it can call it’s own. British fighters have steadily improved over the years in the Octagon, but there still doesn’t seem to be a fighter that can be deemed ‘world class’. Dan Hardy famously battled Georges St Pierre for the welterweight strap but looked scarily outmatched as the Canadian had his way with him for 25 minutes. Other guys like Michael Bisping, Paul Daley and Brad Pickett look like contenders but so far, they have all fallen when they have stepped on to another level.
MMA is as popular as it has ever been in the UK, with British promotion BAMMA frequently selling out arenas and doing good numbers on TV despite having few recognisable names on their roster. Popular fighters on the local scene such as Jimi Manuwa, Tom Watson and Phil Harris have debuted for the UFC over the last couple of years, and Watson in particular brings with him a strong following. Also in thanks to BT Sport’s commitment to the UFC, MMA is more accessible than ever to the British public and it’s easy to notice an increase in popularity for the sport in the British Isles.
With news that former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion B.J. Penn will be moving to 145lbs to face former champ Frankie Edgar next April, Penn’s camp has officially brought in nutrition coach Mike Dolce to make the drop. Dolce, who has helped the likes of Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Quinton Jackson hit the scales on the mark, confirmed the news via a statement:
“BJ Penn is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time,” Dolce said. “He is a legend – a two-division world champion as a 170-pound welterweight and a 155-pound lightweight that has been fighting professionally before most athletes even knew what MMA or the UFC was. It is a great honor to join BJ on his journey back into the Octagon and, in my opinion, to make history as the first ever three-division world champion in our sport.”
“First thing’s first,” Dolce said. “We have a very tough Frankie Edgar standing in our way and in speaking to BJ, that is exactly the way he wants it! I will be flying out to Hilo, Hawaii this week to begin growing my relationship with BJ and offer my skills to his camp.”
Penn has struggled with weight issues in the past, competing as heavy as 191lbs in an openweight loss to Lyoto Machida back in 2005 under the K1 banner. While hugely successful at 170lbs, Penn is regarded among the top lightweight’s in the sport’s history, scoring signature wins over Jens Pulver, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. After two consecutive losses to Edgar in 2010, Penn returned to welterweight, but scored just a single win in his next four bouts.
With a move back to the UFC lower weight divisions, Penn’s returning to his roots in more ways than one. He’s already enlisted the help of Nova Uniao founder and sixth degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Andre Pederneiras, the man who molded Penn into the the first non-Brazilian World Jiu-Jitsu black belt champion. Following an Ultimate Fighter coaching stint opposite Edgar, the pair will have their trilogy bout early in 2014.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Not the same old Reem. According to fellow heavyweight Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeemjust hasn’t been himselfsince testing positive for elevated testosterone levels and subsequent suspension. “He lacks a little bit in gas because of his steroids. He changes a lot if you take his juice off. Everybody saw what happened. Overeem is one fighter with his juice, but he changes completely without the juice. They took his powers.”
Barrier of entry. UFC featherweight Cole Miller says it’s become extremely difficult to get sponsorship money due to the UFC’s policies towards small businesses. “I’ve got fellow fighters that are fighting on local shows that are making the same money, or more, than I am.”
Munoz on Machida. Mark Munoz tells Dave Doyle how he went from training alongside Lyoto Machida one day to scrambling to prepare to fight him the next. “I have to find different training partners who can emulate Lyoto, because not too many people can emulate Lyoto. So I’m like ‘Hey, can you turn your head like this and do a karate kick?’ There’s not many people who can do that. It just sucks, it really does.”
Chael talks star power. Chael Sonnen tells our Shaun Al-Shatti that he agrees with people who say he’s gotten where he is with his mouth, but that it takes more than that to be a star in today’s UFC. “You take a guy like Conor McGregor, it’s overnight. You take a guy like Brock Lesnar, he just walks into the spot. But the one constant the stars have is they win their fights.”
Toquinho reborn. Following back-to-back losses to Alan Belcher and Hector Lombard, Rousimar Palharesleaves middleweight and Brazilian Top Team for greener pastures at 170lbs. “I feel better than I expected at 170. I did a 20-minute fight in the gym one day after I cut down to 170 and did great. I’ve changed everything in my diet. I can eat everything but carbohydrates and sugar. It was tough, man. I loved to eat meat, french fries, chocolate and ice cream, but that’s okay.”
MEDIA STEW
UFC Free Fight: Shields vs. Akiyama.
This weekend’s new Tommy Toe Hold Show.
GLORY’s Rico Verhoeven gets some striking tips from Anderson Silva.
As fans, we judge fights from a variety of perspectives: Technical, social, promotional, historical, and others. How much has a fighter’s striking improved? Which combatant is favored? Who talked the most trash? Sometimes, though, we don’t care about any of that. Sometimes we have connections to a contest that run deeper than the superficial. Sometimes a fight just moves you, and you don’t care about anything else. It is those perspectives, the emotional ones, that can be the most powerful ways to experience a fight.
In recent memory, Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson’s epic title clash fits the bill. The invincible champion tested by an indomitable challenger, momentum swinging to and fro like a pendulum. By all means, that was a fantastic fight. But for now, lets travel back a few years and examine other bouts that provoked emotional reactions. These are my picks.
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.
With news that former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion B.J. Penn will be moving to 145lbs to face former champ Frankie Edgar next April, Penn’s camp has officially brought in nutrition coach Mike Dolce to make the drop. Dolce, who has helped the likes of Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort and Quinton Jackson hit the scales on the mark, confirmed the news via a statement:
“BJ Penn is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time,” Dolce said. “He is a legend – a two-division world champion as a 170-pound welterweight and a 155-pound lightweight that has been fighting professionally before most athletes even knew what MMA or the UFC was. It is a great honor to join BJ on his journey back into the Octagon and, in my opinion, to make history as the first ever three-division world champion in our sport.”
“First thing’s first,” Dolce said. “We have a very tough Frankie Edgar standing in our way and in speaking to BJ, that is exactly the way he wants it! I will be flying out to Hilo, Hawaii this week to begin growing my relationship with BJ and offer my skills to his camp.”
Penn has struggled with weight issues in the past, competing as heavy as 191lbs in an openweight loss to Lyoto Machida back in 2005 under the K1 banner. While hugely successful at 170lbs, Penn is regarded among the top lightweight’s in the sport’s history, scoring signature wins over Jens Pulver, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez. After two consecutive losses to Edgar in 2010, Penn returned to welterweight, but scored just a single win in his next four bouts.
With a move back to the UFC lower weight divisions, Penn’s returning to his roots in more ways than one. He’s already enlisted the help of Nova Uniao founder and sixth degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Andre Pederneiras, the man who molded Penn into the the first non-Brazilian World Jiu-Jitsu black belt champion. Following an Ultimate Fighter coaching stint opposite Edgar, the pair will have their trilogy bout early in 2014.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Not the same old Reem. According to fellow heavyweight Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeemjust hasn’t been himselfsince testing positive for elevated testosterone levels and subsequent suspension. “He lacks a little bit in gas because of his steroids. He changes a lot if you take his juice off. Everybody saw what happened. Overeem is one fighter with his juice, but he changes completely without the juice. They took his powers.”
Barrier of entry. UFC featherweight Cole Miller says it’s become extremely difficult to get sponsorship money due to the UFC’s policies towards small businesses. “I’ve got fellow fighters that are fighting on local shows that are making the same money, or more, than I am.”
Munoz on Machida. Mark Munoz tells Dave Doyle how he went from training alongside Lyoto Machida one day to scrambling to prepare to fight him the next. “I have to find different training partners who can emulate Lyoto, because not too many people can emulate Lyoto. So I’m like ‘Hey, can you turn your head like this and do a karate kick?’ There’s not many people who can do that. It just sucks, it really does.”
Chael talks star power. Chael Sonnen tells our Shaun Al-Shatti that he agrees with people who say he’s gotten where he is with his mouth, but that it takes more than that to be a star in today’s UFC. “You take a guy like Conor McGregor, it’s overnight. You take a guy like Brock Lesnar, he just walks into the spot. But the one constant the stars have is they win their fights.”
Toquinho reborn. Following back-to-back losses to Alan Belcher and Hector Lombard, Rousimar Palharesleaves middleweight and Brazilian Top Team for greener pastures at 170lbs. “I feel better than I expected at 170. I did a 20-minute fight in the gym one day after I cut down to 170 and did great. I’ve changed everything in my diet. I can eat everything but carbohydrates and sugar. It was tough, man. I loved to eat meat, french fries, chocolate and ice cream, but that’s okay.”
MEDIA STEW
UFC Free Fight: Shields vs. Akiyama.
This weekend’s new Tommy Toe Hold Show.
GLORY’s Rico Verhoeven gets some striking tips from Anderson Silva.
As fans, we judge fights from a variety of perspectives: Technical, social, promotional, historical, and others. How much has a fighter’s striking improved? Which combatant is favored? Who talked the most trash? Sometimes, though, we don’t care about any of that. Sometimes we have connections to a contest that run deeper than the superficial. Sometimes a fight just moves you, and you don’t care about anything else. It is those perspectives, the emotional ones, that can be the most powerful ways to experience a fight.
In recent memory, Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson’s epic title clash fits the bill. The invincible champion tested by an indomitable challenger, momentum swinging to and fro like a pendulum. By all means, that was a fantastic fight. But for now, lets travel back a few years and examine other bouts that provoked emotional reactions. These are my picks.
Speaking at the UFC on Fox 9press conference promoting his first title defense, UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis was asked who in his Roufusport camp we could be seeing join the UFC ranks sooner than later. After mentioning his younger brother Sergio, Pettis started gushing over U.S. Olympian and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren.
“One guy that is on the main stage already is Ben Askren,” said Pettis. “He’s stuck between Bellator and UFC, thinking about retiring. One of the best guys I’ve ever trained with. His level of wrestling and how much better he’s got his striking is ridiculous. One guy I don’t want to see retire. I don’t want to see him get lost between organizations.”
Thursday night, Askren not only dispelled the retirement rumors, but called out UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Unless St-Pierre plans on looking for work elsewhere, Askren’s signing with the UFC may just be a matter of time.
Askren recently finished out his contract with Bellator in July, scoring a TKO victory over Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 97. Although Bellator waived the right to an exclusive negotiating period to allow Askren to test the waters of free agency, the promotion still has the right to match any offer he may receive. Askren would need to allow for that exclusive matching period to end before truly becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Remembering EliteXC. Five years removed from the promotion’s infamous final show, Chuck Mindenhall’s piece on the strange, last days of the promotion is an absolute must-read. “It was like the circus was in town, and they were going to check out ‘the show.’ They aren’t there to see the other MMA fighters and they weren’t MMA fans. They were Kimbo Slice fans.”
Munoz on Hall. As a training partner and coach, Mark Munoz gives some insight into the troublesUriah Hall has had since his dominating stint on The Ultimate Fighter. “When he steps into the Octagon, he’s not the same person that I see in practice.”
MEDIA STEW
UFC on FOX 9: Pettis vs. Thomson Press Conference.
Ronda’s mom stops by TUF.
Rico Verhoeven’s Glory 11 interview. I sat behind his girlfriend at Glory 9 in New York and man can she scream.
UFC Tonight: Sonnen responds to Silva taunts with bonus arm wrestling.
A random, off the cuff question from my MMA Sentinel partner in crime, Steph Daniels, ‘Is Jon Jones the UFC’s third biggest Pay-Per-View draw?’ led me down a surprising rabbit hole. When I consulted my magical spreadsheet that I used to chart the UFC’s Pay-Per-View trends over the past 6 years, I discovered something surprising.
There are only four fighters in the UFC who have drawn over 500,000 buys on average over the past two years or so. There are perhaps another three who regularly draw over 400,000. Overall, there are only 8 fighters who average over 300,000 buys. This is a significant drop from the high point of 2009. Is the UFC failing to create new draws?
First of all, there’s an important caveat to all of this. I only count headliners. The strength of the undercard is ignored completely. In some instances this can skew things a little, a very strong co-main event can account for an extra 50,000 – 100,000 buys or more, but properly accounting for that in an objective manner is impossible, so I avoid that pitfall by only counting headliners. The UFC doesn’t release PPV buy numbers, so for the most part these are estimates from industry insiders and analysts such as Dave Meltzer.
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Speaking at the UFC on Fox 9press conference promoting his first title defense, UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis was asked who in his Roufusport camp we could be seeing join the UFC ranks sooner than later. After mentioning his younger brother Sergio, Pettis started gushing over U.S. Olympian and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren.
“One guy that is on the main stage already is Ben Askren,” said Pettis. “He’s stuck between Bellator and UFC, thinking about retiring. One of the best guys I’ve ever trained with. His level of wrestling and how much better he’s got his striking is ridiculous. One guy I don’t want to see retire. I don’t want to see him get lost between organizations.”
Thursday night, Askren not only dispelled the retirement rumors, but called out UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Unless St-Pierre plans on looking for work elsewhere, Askren’s signing with the UFC may just be a matter of time.
Askren recently finished out his contract with Bellator in July, scoring a TKO victory over Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 97. Although Bellator waived the right to an exclusive negotiating period to allow Askren to test the waters of free agency, the promotion still has the right to match any offer he may receive. Askren would need to allow for that exclusive matching period to end before truly becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Remembering EliteXC. Five years removed from the promotion’s infamous final show, Chuck Mindenhall’s piece on the strange, last days of the promotion is an absolute must-read. “It was like the circus was in town, and they were going to check out ‘the show.’ They aren’t there to see the other MMA fighters and they weren’t MMA fans. They were Kimbo Slice fans.”
Munoz on Hall. As a training partner and coach, Mark Munoz gives some insight into the troublesUriah Hall has had since his dominating stint on The Ultimate Fighter. “When he steps into the Octagon, he’s not the same person that I see in practice.”
MEDIA STEW
UFC on FOX 9: Pettis vs. Thomson Press Conference.
Ronda’s mom stops by TUF.
Rico Verhoeven’s Glory 11 interview. I sat behind his girlfriend at Glory 9 in New York and man can she scream.
UFC Tonight: Sonnen responds to Silva taunts with bonus arm wrestling.
A random, off the cuff question from my MMA Sentinel partner in crime, Steph Daniels, ‘Is Jon Jones the UFC’s third biggest Pay-Per-View draw?’ led me down a surprising rabbit hole. When I consulted my magical spreadsheet that I used to chart the UFC’s Pay-Per-View trends over the past 6 years, I discovered something surprising.
There are only four fighters in the UFC who have drawn over 500,000 buys on average over the past two years or so. There are perhaps another three who regularly draw over 400,000. Overall, there are only 8 fighters who average over 300,000 buys. This is a significant drop from the high point of 2009. Is the UFC failing to create new draws?
First of all, there’s an important caveat to all of this. I only count headliners. The strength of the undercard is ignored completely. In some instances this can skew things a little, a very strong co-main event can account for an extra 50,000 – 100,000 buys or more, but properly accounting for that in an objective manner is impossible, so I avoid that pitfall by only counting headliners. The UFC doesn’t release PPV buy numbers, so for the most part these are estimates from industry insiders and analysts such as Dave Meltzer.
