Author: elisekapala

All TUF Boys to UFC Men?

Every avid mma or UFC fan looks forward to the decorated reality show we have all come to know and love. It is of course none other than The Ultimate Fighter. This combines the qualities.

Every avid mma or UFC fan looks forward to the decorated reality show we have all come to know and love. It is of course none other than The Ultimate Fighter. This combines the qualities of fighting and mma, with the reality style drama many Americans crave in media. The premise of the show is multiple fights between fighters in a tournament like style. The ultimate goal is to win the tournament, receive the honor of “The Ultimate Fighter”, and consequently receive a six figure sum contract from Dana White to fight in the top promotional company of mma. The goal is to have a single fighter come out of the tournament as the victor; a single ultimate winner.

However, I find it interesting that the longer the seasons progress, the more fighters from the show are given the opportunity to also fight in the UFC. Clearly every fighter that is in the UFC has not come from the reality show. The fighters in the UFC were up and coming mma fighters signed by Dana White and the presidents of the promotion. So technically any of the fighters from the show that didn’t win are simply just up and coming mma competitors that could potentially be signed by the UFC like any other fighter in the promotion. However, the premise of the reality show is for one man to stand out and to be the fighter signed by the UFC.

As I stated earlier, the more seasons that are being filmed of TUF, the majority of the fighters that just make it onto the show are being signed as well by the UFC. UFC 150, which will be airing August 12, 2012, features the very promising fighter Justin Lawrence as his debut in the Featherweight division. He was an excellent contender on TUF 15, and was the first overall pick. I, personally, was rooting for him to win. Unfortunately, not everyone can win a competition, and it wasn’t his moment to shine. Regardless of the fact, he was signed to the UFC. Cristiano Marcello will be appearing at UFC 153, as well as cast member Sam Sicilia. Andy Ogle is scheduled to fight at UFC on Fuel TV 5, and Daron Cruickshank is slated to fight at UFC 151, just to name a few fighters from the show.

The show has slowly been turning from the tournament style fighting we have all grown to love, into literally an almost everyone gets to win show. There is less zest from the show because more than likely you know as a viewer that half of the fighters are going to be signed with the UFC regardless of whether they are the victor or not. I feel like the show will eventually lose a majority of viewers, because it is not a competition anymore and more of a group of soon to be UFC fighters living in a house together, while America gets the privilege to watch their lives over the segmented time frame.

Written By: Elise Kapala

Faber’s broken rib: Excuse or justified loss?

Faber fans were completely devastated at UFC 149 last weekend. Fans were wildly anticipating an amazing rubber match between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. After Cruz was injured, fans were then hoping Faber would dominate.

Faber fans were completely devastated at UFC 149 last weekend. Fans were wildly anticipating an amazing rubber match between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. After Cruz was injured, fans were then hoping Faber would dominate Barao for the Interim Bantamweight Belt, so they could finally see who was the better of the two fighters who have had a bitter feud since WEC days. However, this may not happen for a while. Once again.

I personally was hoping Faber would beat Barao by unanimous decision. However, the outcome was the exact opposite. Now Faber must work his way through champion contendership fights, to get a change at the Bantamweight champion, be it Cruz, Barao, or a new fighter. After reviewing the fight, and reading comments, I discovered Urijah Faber had actually broken his rib in the first round. It is important to realize first of all Urijah was an excellent loser. He really was. This was his exact tweet:

“Congrats 2 @RenanBaraoUFC. He’s a tough dude. Broke my rib in the 1st with a great knee. Thank u 4 all the support.”

Clearly, if Faber had broken his rib in the first round, he would have to fight through 25 minutes with a broken rib. Seeing as he barely landed any punches, this could be why. He must have been in immense pain, but as a warrior tried to push through it throughout the fight. We don’t know if this broken rib is what caused Faber to lose the fight, but if so it is a consequence of fighting that must be accepted before entering the ring. Cruz and Faber fans can only hope that Cruz will keep his belt, and one day soon Cruz and Faber can finally determine the better fighter and settle their feud.

By: Elise Kapala

Chael Sonnen’s coach calls a knee to the face

Any Chael Sonnen fan who watched UFC 148 last Saturday was an extremely disappointed mma spectator. Not only did the fighter lose the fight by a second round TKO, but there were other questionable antics.

Any Chael Sonnen fan who watched UFC 148 last Saturday was an extremely disappointed mma spectator. Not only did the fighter lose the fight by a second round TKO, but there were other questionable antics that took place by the Middleweight champion, Anderson Silva. Not only did Silva get called numerous times for pulling and holding onto Sonnen’s shorts, but before the fight began he had to be wiped down because he was reportedly greasing himself with Vaseline from his own face onto his chest and body. This does not sound like the sportsmanship and characteristics a true champion should possess. As if these accusations weren’t bad enough, there was a notably questionable knee done by Silva that ended the fight early in the second round.

In the UFC, it is illegal to knee a grounded opponent or an opponent with a knee on the ground. Sonnen had both knees on the ground; now comes Silva with a knee to what very much appears to be his face. Because this knee blow produced a TKO from Silva, it is very important to determine whether it was a knee to the face or to the body. If the knee is determined to have landed on Sonnen’s face, the fight could be changed to a no contest. Apparently, Dana White and other executives reviewed the fight and have determined it was in fact a knee to the body. In which case the ruling stands and Silva gets to keep his belt.

However, there is one man who immensely disagrees with the decision. Chael Sonnen’s coach, Scott McQuarry. He believes it was unfair and that there should be a rematch immediately between the two fighters. Sonnen has stated that what’s fair is fair and regardless of whether the knee was legal or not, he believes Silva still won. That is very respectable of him, considering the fact that he is accepting defeat regardless of whether or not it was legal according to the rules of the UFC. McQuarry has apparently already addressed this issue to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He wishes to appeal the fight, and receive an automatic rematch for Sonnen. If this appeal does not work, then Sonnen is placed at the very bottom of the Middleweight contender list, and must once again work his way up to the top to even get a shot at Silva. Regardless of the outcome, one thing is for sure. In any sport or in life for that matter, it may not always before but you have to lose sometimes. You can’t always win. Make sure not to disrespect someone or their interests before a fight, because you will look moronic if you lose.

By: Elise Kapala

It’s a draw for both Arianny Celeste and Praveen Chandra

In the world we live in today, any domestic dispute between a man and a woman is usually settled quite simply; the man takes the hit or the charges are dropped. Regardless of whether the.

In the world we live in today, any domestic dispute between a man and a woman is usually settled quite simply; the man takes the hit or the charges are dropped. Regardless of whether the woman starts it, she will take the stereotypical stance of the damsel in distress that was abused. In the case of UFC’s favorite ring girl, the latter outcome was the final conclusion.

The entire world of mma was shocked when a domestic violence case was surrounding UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste. She truly is a fan favorite, and scrutiny was placed on her boyfriend, Praveen Chandra. She even made an appearance the same night of the incident at UFC 146. Not only is she upholding her professional status, but also showing the world she is not affected by the results of the dispute. On May 26th, Celeste reported that her boyfriend of seven months had choked her and grabbed her arm. Pictures and reports taken at the scene validate these claims. However, Chandra told the LA police that Celeste had initially kicked him in the nose inside the limousine before entering the hotel. She then allegedly threw two vases at him once getting inside the hotel once the argument escalated. Injuries on Chandra also matched the descriptions he claimed took place. Both participants were taken into custody. However, they were released and Celeste made a showing at the UFC event a little late.

It is clear that in any domestic abuse case, the general public will almost always side with the female. Clearly in this case there should be fault given to both sides. But how come it is always socially acceptable for a female to hit a male, but it is unacceptable for a male to hit a female? I think all abuse is abuse period. I don’t think it should be slated by gender but simply the fact that domestic assault is taking place. That being said, both parties were clearly victims in this case. Regardless of who started the domestic abuse, the second person never should have retaliated unless in the case of pure self defense. Both Celeste and Chandra were dropped of all charges. The LA police department cited there was insufficient evidence to prove otherwise. Hopefully, for the sake of her career and public appeal, Celeste has learned from her mistakes. She has been given a second opportunity with a clean record, and needs to utilize this freedom. Even if she was convicted of domestic battery, her fans and the UFC would more than likely feel sorry for her misfortune or root for her “defending” herself. Either way Celeste’s reputation has not been smeared, so once again the female’s character is intact and unharmed.

By: Elise Kapala

Hatsu Hioki Turns Down Title Shot vs. Jose Aldo

Honestly, if you are in a business like professional fighting, you know you are going to get a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. You have to accept the challenges given to you,.

Honestly, if you are in a business like professional fighting, you know you are going to get a lot of bumps and bruises along the way. You have to accept the challenges given to you, and try to overcome the hardships to reign as the best. This is not the way Hatsu Hioki apparently sees his professional career. He is the top-ranked Japanese fighter in the world, a well-traveled athlete, and was 2-0 in the octagon. In the featherweight division of the UFC, Jose Aldo is undoubtedly one of the greatest mma fighters in the world. He is a tough contender, so it is understandable for any man to be distressed to even stand by him, let alone fight with him in the octagon. Unless of course that is your professional career.

So goes the story for Hioki who turned down a title shot with Aldo in April. Apparently, he truly felt like he was not ready to fight the champion. He believed he needed more octagon time, and more experience in the cage to put on the best performance for Aldo. Honestly though, all that would happen, best case scenario, would be Hioki would fight one or two top contenders in the featherweight division, beat them, and then once again have a chance to fight Aldo. It was an extremely poor decision on his part.

So he instead accepted a fight with Ricardo Lamas for UFC on FX 4. So on June 22 what happened? He lost. The idea of himself not being good enough to fight the champion now played into his mental game of fighting period. If you tell yourself you cannot win, you start to believe that you actually cannot win. I believe this was Hioki’s main downfall for his loss to Lamas. Maybe he truly wasn’t ready for a shot at the title, but as a professional athlete he never should have declined the offer. We can all remember in 2003 when Pete Spratt declined a title fight against then welterweight champion Matt Hughes. Now the title of refusing a title shot has been given to Hioki. If you are going to be in a business like professional mma fighting, you must always believe in yourself. This immensely improves your physical and mental game. Learn the lesson from Hioki: Always take a title shot when offered.

By: Elise Kapala

And “Cigano” discards Overeem

In mma and any professional sport in the world today, there lies a monumental controversy of performance enhancing drugs. Testosterone and Epitestosterone are such examples of this debate. The UFC allows the use of this.

In mma and any professional sport in the world today, there lies a monumental controversy of performance enhancing drugs. Testosterone and Epitestosterone are such examples of this debate. The UFC allows the use of this drug to a certain extent. But, as many athletes do, mma fighters sometimes step over the boundaries and push the limits of this replacement therapy. However, when an athlete does abuse this privilege, they must suffer the consequences.

This exact scenario happened with Alistair Overeem. Overeem was slated to fight the heavyweight champion in UFC 146. However, due to a random drug testing, it was discovered that “The Demolition Man” registered as having more than double of the legal limit of Testosterone and Epitestosterone. Overeem received a drug suspension from the UFC, and must reapply for his license by the end of December.

Some competitors are not as enthusiastic about Overeem coming back to the octagon. The champion believes Overeem does not even deserve a title fight. Junior Dos Santos was quoted:

“I am champion and never have used anything and I am proud to say that. It is unfair to use substances, with or without authorization it makes a difference. A fighter who can do this kind of treatment is not himself in the Octagon. They are using tricks to improve your performance. We want to see who the real champion is, not a champion of a lie.”

I believe Dos Santos is correct in his judgment. All Overeem on Testosterone proves is just that: how good Overeem performs while on Testosterone. It does not measure how good of a fighter Overeem is and his ability to fight, but merely his ability to fight with the assistance of these drugs. I believe the UFC and the Nevada State Athletic Commission should out rule the use of any enhancement drugs. Period. In order for a fighter to be champion, they need to fight like a champion. Using performance enhancing drugs does not prove you are the best of the best; it proves the drugs you are taking are the best of the best.

By: Elise Kapala