Author: Gabe Zaldivar

MMA Referee Jumps in to Rip Fighter off Opponent with Amazing Takedown

This video should serve as a reminder that sometimes, the baddest man in the cage isn’t one of the two fighters but the referee tasked with managing all of the captivating action. 
Bob’s Blitz spotted this video featuring Ahmad Aswad and&nbsp…

This video should serve as a reminder that sometimes, the baddest man in the cage isn’t one of the two fighters but the referee tasked with managing all of the captivating action. 

Bob’s Blitz spotted this video featuring Ahmad Aswad and Nathias Frederick making their appearance on FIGHT UK MMA – Last Man Standing. 

But this video isn’t about the fighters, their budding careers or what appears to be a swift knockout blow from Frederick. It’s about the third party who was in the cage with the two MMA fighters: referee Leon Roberts. 

With 40 seconds left in the fight, Frederick drops a devastating left just a moment after connecting with a right. Aswad goes down, and his opponent follows to guarantee this bout has reached its very quick end. 

Next Impulse Sports’ Kiley Kmiec spotted this video, breaking down the part that comes at about six minutes, 25 seconds into the above video: “At that moment referee Leon Roberts took it upon himself to make sure it didn’t continue. Just watch and enjoy the great form displayed by the referee who is not to be trifled with.”

some_textKmiec isn’t the only one impressed with the form, because one announcer chimes in with praise: “Leon Roberts with the slickest back take I have ever seen from an official.”

His colleague counters with, “Anybody who says refs don’t train, watch that.”

The two then take a second to let the remaining moments breathe, making sure of the result before adding any analysis. One announcer notes that Frederick already had the win, intimating the fighter could have been penalized for continuing to pound away. 

We couldn’t track down any word from either fighter, but the embrace shared prior to the announcement of Frederick’s victory surely illustrates there was no ill will from either party. 

Frederick, it would surely seem, was just caught up in the moment and proceeded to land blow after blow well after it was necessary. 

Thankfully, there is a fail-safe in the form of one hulking official with the moves to guarantee a modicum of safety amid a knockout. 

Roberts may not have his name by the decision in the fight, but he certainly delivered the most memorable submission of the bout. 

 

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Team Fighting Championship Is 5-on-5 MMA Insanity You Have to See

For those who find normal MMA dull, here is some five-on-five action that should get that heart pumping. Also, see a doctor, because your need for more action is a little disconcerting.
Middle Easy’s Zeus spotted this video, thanks to a tip from Twitte…

For those who find normal MMA dull, here is some five-on-five action that should get that heart pumping. Also, see a doctor, because your need for more action is a little disconcerting.

Middle Easy’s Zeus spotted this video, thanks to a tip from Twitter user Phuket Top Team, featuring a cavalcade of awesome.

The YouTube description from Team Fighting Championship has a bit more detail on the advent of team-building exercises that now feature fists to faces:

This is a 4 minutes video of the Fight 1 of the TFC Event 1 LPH (Poznan, Poland) vs Wisemen (Gothenburg, Sweden). The 15 minutes video is already available on our site www.teamsfight.com for registered users.

They go on to say that they will continue to upload more snippets to YouTube in the coming weeks, so consider this an aperitif to get you hungry for more melee action.

We all love MMA, but we simply have to ask when considering a sports spin-off that seems aimed at ADD fans who just found the usual fisticuffs boring: Were you not entertained? Well, I guess you weren’t, because this confined MMA riot is now a thing.

Most of you may have the same reaction to the video as comedian and MMA color commentator Joe Rogan, who had some NSFW thoughts on the video via Twitter, stating simply, “Team fighting? That’s [expletive] nuts.”

Indeed, it is nuts, especially considering what YouTube commenters spotted, which was the discrepancy in the team’s sizes.

As you see in the video, the fight begins with a clash of kicks and punches and devolves into fighters trying to stave off attacks from their backs. However, we never quite get to see any grappling, because as one fighter submits, it opens up the ability for the other team to double-, triple- and quadruple-team an opponent.

It’s like an avalanche of aggression toppling over the opposing side, and it’s swift.

If this fight was any indication, bouts might take all of a few minutes to conclude, giving MMA fans a brawl with a ton to see and limited time to savor the images.

Essentially, it’s what you all might order on a wish list in 2014.

Of course, there is stuff that needs to be worked out here and there, and this is just a slice of a much larger presentation.

However, we were at the very least intrigued to see more. If you feel the same, we might just have the next iteration of MMA. This seems to take place in Poland, but it is definitely something American fans might enjoy as well. 

With that, we have the worst position to be in sport: the last man standing during a Team Fighting Championship fight.

 

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Batman, Robin and Spider-Man Fight in Video with General WTF Appeal

That DC/Marvel crossover seems to be going well. 
Uproxx’s Brandon Stroud spotted this video and did the only sensible thing you do when discovering a true masterpiece: post it for all to see. However, we weren’t able to lock down any details abou…

That DC/Marvel crossover seems to be going well. 

Uproxx’s Brandon Stroud spotted this video and did the only sensible thing you do when discovering a true masterpiece: post it for all to see. However, we weren’t able to lock down any details about the fight. 

Deadspin’s Tom Ley ran into the same issue we did: We have this great video that is exactly what we need as a holiday hangover wanes, but it doesn’t come fully loaded with answers. 

Mixed Martial Arts’ message board does have a breakdown of the fight, including a more detailed version of The Riddler‘s part in all this.  

But we have to give the Most Ardent Internetting Award to Fox Sports’ Marc Raimondi who informs, “Apparently, this was part of an eight-man MMA tournament in Southampton, England that crowned the UK’s title of “Hardest Man” back in October.”

That link takes you to the competition’s website, which proclaims, “Reputations must be earned!” Apparently, they are earned right after visiting the costume shop. 

Here is a trailer for the event:

Now I’ve always been a Batman guy, so it concerns me how this unidentified fighter was more Bruce Wayne than Caped Crusader. 

When it comes to Robin, things are as we would expect. Whether it be the animated version, Chris O’Donnell or Burt Ward, we will gladly take any of the men who have played Alfred over the years instead. 

There is no character in comic book lore more useless save Samuel “Screech” Powers or Aquaman. And that sentiment continues in this video, as Robin nearly relegates himself to slapping his opponent. The only thing less effective would have been if he cowered in the corner, resorting to an arsenal of colorful but very harsh language. 

The best thing about this video is the high replay value. Watch it again, but this time with the realization that there is actual commentating going on in the background: “Spider-Man very confident. Robin has been taken out in the first round with a very good knee.” 

In the end, we think this Spider-Man character has a real future in the “beating up random guys in costume” business. 

I’d also like to take a moment to step back and appreciate the referee who is dressed like mall security for some reason. He looks like he just happened upon a fight between a bunch of rabble-rousers and is trying to stop it. 

Robin is ousted, Batman loses and The Riddler jumps out of nowhere near the end. However, we think this idea of mere mortals dressing up and fighting for our benefit is a swell idea. 

We will take more servings of whatever this is, and we will take it now. 

 

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Brittany Smith: Pictures of UFC Fighter Chael Sonnen’s Wife

Chael Sonnen’s career in the ring has been as brash and tumultuous as his words and opinions outside the sport. This year has had a far more peaceful tone for the fighter heading into UFC 167. He is coming off of a big win and is entering the initial t…

Chael Sonnen‘s career in the ring has been as brash and tumultuous as his words and opinions outside the sport. This year has had a far more peaceful tone for the fighter heading into UFC 167. He is coming off of a big win and is entering the initial throes of marriage to his lovely wife, Brittany Smith. 

The last year has featured a rather wonderful collection of moments peppered in for the UFC star. He has a book entitled The Voice of Reason: A V.I.P. Pass to Enlightenment that came out last year, and he took down Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in August’s UFC Fight Night. 

Sure, there have been the unbelievably unfortunate and imbecilic comments along the way, such as those thoughts uttered that Fox Sports eventually apologized for. (These sorts of things happen with a guy who runs his mouth as much as Sonnen.)

Still, the happiest moment must have been this past summer when Sonnen married his girlfriend, Smith. 

Cage Potato chronicled the relationship and marriage with some images as well as word that Sonnen sort of sprung the entire ceremony on his mother. 

While we can’t confirm the veracity of the comments at the Reddit posting, there are some who state Sonnen only told his mother about the big news as they were about to board a plane. 

We can only believe such a wild story because of the fighter featured in it. Thankfully, Smith made sure to chronicle a portion of the proceedings as well as some happy moments in her Twitter feed.

 

There is also the AXE video below that features Sonnen‘s explanation of how he met his beautiful wife. 

Sonnen understands persistence goes a long way. Though, we wouldn’t recommend using the same phone tactic he endorses, because something tells me this was the rare time such a brash move would work. 

Now the 36-year-old is set to carve another chapter in his career at UFC 167 on Nov. 16. If his wife is in the audience, he won’t have to worry about chasing her through two stories to grab a date. 

That’s a good thing, because their first encounter sounds exhausting. 

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Alistair Overeem: UFC Did Brock Lesnar No Favors in Overeem Heavyweight Bout

Welcome back heavyweight division. Oh, how we missed you. The UFC spotlight is shining the brightest on the heavies as the stirring signing of Alistair Overeem is finalized. One person that should be grimacing at the news is Brock Lesnar.T…

Welcome back heavyweight division. Oh, how we missed you. The UFC spotlight is shining the brightest on the heavies as the stirring signing of Alistair Overeem is finalized. One person that should be grimacing at the news is Brock Lesnar.

The LA Times reported Tuesday Alistair was not only coming into the UFC fold, he would be fighting Brock Lesnar in his first match on December 30th.

This holiday gift is great for fighting fans, but horrible for Lesnar. The looming big man could hardly ask for a worse fight to return from injury to.

Lesnar has been out of the octagon since October with a second bout of the intestinal ailment, diverticulitis. Lesnar will have been out over a year when he steps in the ring with one of the toughest bad-asses in the business. 

Lesnar proved that he has some things to work on when he lost to a much more well-rounded Cain Velasquez in his last bout. Overeem will be far more seasoned, and itching to make a statement as he enters the UFC.

Overeem puts titles above all other things. The man just loves to hold a belt above the competition. He won the Strikeforce heavyweight championship and is the current K-1 kickboxing champion.  

There is just one reason Overeem concluded his other ventures to enter the UFC, he has conquered the rest. Now he wants to put a feather in his belt-collecting hat. This could be like the Grand Slam of mixed martial arts if he collects a heavyweight title in UFC’s confines. 

He was a little too comfortable with not getting a title shot out of the gate. He was absolutely pleasant with who he had to face before a title would be mentioned. This is what he had to say to reporters:

Brock is a big name, a dangerous guy, and this is a dream matchup. Brock’s a big guy, an exciting wrestler with his takedowns.

I want to see this fight myself. Overall, I’m a different fighter. A striker, athletic, big. These are going to be two big trucks going at it on a collision course.

Overeem’s trainer was confident in his fighter’s chances of skirting disaster against Lesnar, then moving onto a title fight. Here is what Martijn de Jong had to say:

Alistair fights anybody on any day. We were not disappointed at all that we didn’t get a title fight right away. When the time is right, he will get that title shot and he will take that belt. You can call him the belt collector.

The rally shouldn’t be any worry from the Overeem camp. Lesnar can train until the cows come home, he will still need a warmup match to fight the likes of Overeem. You wouldn’t see a top-flight boxer miss a year from injury, only to return to fight the best in the sport. 

Lesnar is in danger of rushing too soon against too good of an opponent. The UFC were giddy to try out their new toy, and now they may break one of the more popular ones because of it. 

I am simply ecstatic to see this throw-down at UFC 141. The five-round match will be one for the ages. I just wish we were getting a much more tested Lesnar in the octagon. This one may be over far quicker than we would like.

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