(I’m sorry, Kryszszytoff, but I’m not going to promise a name to my child when I can neither spell nor pronounce it.)
Let’s be real, when we brought back the comment of the week last Friday, you were all pretty much fighting for the right to play second fiddle to Seth’s “less a writer, more a philosophizer” comment describing the benefits of loving oneself as a coping mechanism. Unfortunately for Seth, as soon as one of us signs our CagePotato contract, we are immediately excluded from winning any prizes of any kind, be it a simple comment contest or an MMA Journalist of the Year award, which is clearly why not one of us have ever been so much as nominated in the category.
But we had to pick a winner eventually, so head after the jump to see which one of you will be receiving a gold medal for coming in second place…
(I’m sorry, Kryszszytoff, but I’m not going to promise a name to my child when I can neither spell nor pronounce it.)
Let’s be real, when we brought back the comment of the week last Friday, you were all pretty much fighting for the right to play second fiddle to Seth’s “less a writer, more a philosophizer” comment describing the benefits of loving oneself as a coping mechanism. Unfortunately for Seth, as soon as one of us signs our CagePotato contract, we are immediately excluded from winning any prizes of any kind, be it a simple comment contest or an MMA Journalist of the Year award, which is clearly why not one of us have ever been so much as nominated in the category.
But we had to pick a winner eventually, so head after the jump to see which one of you will be receiving a gold medal for coming in second place…
With 31 percent of the vote, Busted Hyman has earned him/herself a CP shirt and all the glory that comes with it. Busted, please please e-mail [email protected] with your real name, address, and shirt size, and we’ll get you hooked up ASAP. As for the rest of you, better luck next week!
Well, at least it wasn’t an injury that nearly cost us another fight this time.
Just a few hours ago, MMAJunkie learned that lightweight slugger Jeremy Stephens had been arrested in Minneapolis on an outstanding felony charge and was being held without bail by the Hennepin County Police Department. Although there are no details available as to the specific charges, apparently Stephens was being sought after for an outstanding warrant in another state which was also not named.
But before everyone starts having a panic attack over the fact that two fights from tonight’s card have now suffered last minute cancellations, rest assured that according to both Dana White and Ariel Helwani, Stephens will in fact be fighting against Yves Edwards tonight.
Well, at least it wasn’t an injury that nearly cost us another fight this time.
Just a few hours ago, MMAJunkie learned that lightweight slugger Jeremy Stephens had been arrested in Minneapolis on an outstanding felony charge and was being held without bail by the Hennepin County Police Department. Although there are no details available as to the specific charges, apparently Stephens was being sought after for an outstanding warrant in another state which was also not named.
But before everyone starts having a panic attack over the fact that two fights from tonight’s card have now suffered last minute cancellations, rest assured that according to both Dana White and Ariel Helwani, Stephens will in fact be fighting against Yves Edwards tonight:
Via Ariel’s Twitter: I asked DW if JS has been released yet, his response was: “he is fighting tonight,” After confirming it the 1st time. Sounds pretty official.
Via Dana’s Twitter: Don’t listen to the media! Nobody ever told them Jeremy isn’t fighting. He is fighting!!
Interesting that a fighter who was arrested earlier this morning is still being given the chance to fight, but we’ll leave the (over)analyzing to you guys. Is this some bullshit, or does Stephens deserve the chance to fight tonight?
But it is always darkest before the dawn, Potato Nation. So sayeth Two-Face.
Because through all of the depressing doom and gloom reporting we brought you guys this week, you kept your heads up. You stood tall and proud. Hell, you even had the intestinal fortitude to mock others’ misfortune like we taught you to. So with our faith restored, we are proud to bring back the Comment of the Week today so at least one of you can be rewarded for your ruthless, blackened souls.
Listed after the jump are the comments that gave us some much needed laughs this week, along with a poll for you to vote on your favorite. The winner will receive one of our classic “We Pull No Punches” shirts, but make sure to submit your designs for our next t-shirt contest, as we plan on giving a bunch away in the near future.
And the nominees are…
(Oh Michael, I just miss the days of one UFC event a month is all.)
But it is always darkest before the dawn, Potato Nation. So sayeth Two-Face.
Because through all of the depressing doom and gloom reporting we brought you guys this week, you kept your heads up. You stood tall and proud. Hell, you even had the intestinal fortitude to mock others’ misfortune like we taught you to. So with our faith restored, we are proud to bring back the Comment of the Week today so at least one of you can be rewarded for your ruthless, blackened souls.
Listed after the jump are the comments that gave us some much needed laughs this week, along with a poll for you to vote on your favorite. The winner will receive one of our classic “We Pull No Punches” shirts, but make sure to submit your designs for our next t-shirt contest, as we plan on giving a bunch away in the near future.
“if his plan is to have a kid and name it after each one of his losses then his wife is in for one busted taco”
–Clemmie, for reminding us all what darker times CagePotato has been through and making us feel a lot better by comparison:
“Have some faith in CP, gist, they know what they’re doing. They have already been fucked worse than they have ever been fucked before. It can only get better from there.”
“This sport hasn’t been the same since $kala left.”
-And finally, none other than Seth Falvo, for reminding us all of the common bond we share as Internet commenters/writers, which is coincidentally the easiest way to get over the influx of depressing news:
“Everyone else is debating flyweights, oversaturation, Old Dad, New Dad, New Old Dad, Fuel TV…and I’m just sitting here masturbating.”
Vote on your favorite below, and we will announce the lucky SOB on Monday.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
In his past three fights, longtime MMA veteran Dennis Hallman has made some startling (not to mention amateur) choices to say the least. After losing a bet to his friend that resulted in one of the most horrifying wardrobe malfunctions of all time against Brian Ebersole at UFC 133, Dennis showed up two and a half pounds overweight for his fight against John Makdessi at UFC 140 and was subsequently fined 20% of his purse. Luckily for him, he was able to pick up a win. Unfortunately for him, he apparently took nothing away from the close call, and showed up seven pounds overweight at yesterday’s weigh-ins. His scheduled opponent, Thiago Tavares, basically treated the situation with an “Are you serious, bro?” but was able to strike a deal with Hallman that if he could get down to only 3 pounds over the limit, the fight would be on.
Hallman was allegedly able to do so, but Tavares then asked him to cut an additional pound, at which point Hallman asked to be removed from the card and became the most recent UFC fighter to join the unemployment line.
(The ballsiest fighter to ever step foot in the octagon. *rimshot*)
In his past three fights, longtime MMA veteran Dennis Hallman has made some startling (not to mention amateur) choices to say the least. After losing a bet to his friend that resulted in one of the most horrifying wardrobe malfunctions of all time against Brian Ebersole at UFC 133, Dennis showed up two and a half pounds overweight for his fight against John Makdessi at UFC 140 and was subsequently fined 20% of his purse. Luckily for him, he was able to pick up a win. Unfortunately for him, he apparently took nothing away from the close call, and showed up seven pounds overweight at yesterday’s weigh-ins. His scheduled opponent, Thiago Tavares, basically treated the situation with an “Are you serious, bro?” but was able to strike a deal with Hallman that if he could get down to only 3 pounds over the limit, the fight would be on.
Hallman was allegedly able to do so, but Tavares then asked him to cut an additional pound, at which point Hallman asked to be removed from the card and became the most recent UFC fighter to join the unemployment line. And let’s not even get into the fact that we were so confident that he would beat Tavares that we put him in one of our surefire parlays, which is now TOTALLY RUINED. Being a sixteen year veteran of the sport, it became obvious that something was apparently not right in the Hallman household, and he relayed this message to both Dana White and MMAFighting earlier today:
They are cutting me. Dana [White] gave me my show and win pay to help me deal with the mountain in front of me. Now I have to go make weight a couple times on the regional circuit. I’ll be back to the UFC though, I always am.
I’m having some personal issues at home. I’m not fit to fight. I told Dana [White] what my issues were. He understands family matters, and he was cool with me not fighting.
Interesting that Hallman received both his show and win money whereas Tavares only received his show money, but the fact that it’s basically severance pay for the time being makes it far more understandable.
Hallman also told MMAFighting that he was apparently only two pounds over the weight at the day of the weigh-ins, but passed out and received intravenous fluids which brought him back up to seven pounds over.
Fresh off a win over Makdessi and holding a professional record of 51-14, Hallman first debuted in the UFC way back at UFC 29, where he would score his second victory over Matt Hughes via first round submission, becoming the only fighter to ever do so. Hallman also holds notable UFC wins over Bellator muay Thai machine Ben Saunders and Karo Parisyan.
We would like to wish Dennis all the best in his future, and sincerely hope that he is able to overcome whatever personal issues he is currently facing.
We’ve added a video of Hallman’s first victory over Hughes, which went down at EC 21 in Wisconsin in 1998, below.
For the pastseveralUFCevents, CagePotato reader/contributor Dan “Get Off Me” George has been holding down the Gambling Addiction Enabler’s with the poise and classiness of a 16th century Bolognese swordsman. Unfortunately for you, he only likes to bet on the big time PPV events, so you’re stuck with me for the time being. Fortunately for you, I write a lot less than he does and love to get reckless with my hard earned cash, so let’s do this! Listed below are the odds for UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot, courtesy of BestFightOdds, followed by my advice which simply put has never been wrong not once ever.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Yves Edwards (+175) vs. Jeremy Stephens (-225)
Danny Castillo (+130) vs. Michael Johnson (-160)
Dennis Hallman (+190) vs. Thiago Tavares (-250)
Shane Roller (+150) vs. Jacob Volkmann (-180)
Diego Nunes (-180) vs. Bart Palaszewski (+150)
Phil Harris (+230) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (-290)
Marcus LeVesseur (-105) vs. Carlo Prater (-125)
Mike Pierce (-170) vs. Aaron Simpson (+150)
Thoughts…
For the pastseveralUFCevents, CagePotato reader/contributor Dan “Get Off Me” George has been holding down the Gambling Addiction Enabler’s with the poise and classiness of a 16th century Bolognese swordsman. Unfortunately for you, he only likes to bet on the big time PPV events, so you’re stuck with me for the time being. Fortunately for you, I write a lot less than he does and love to get reckless with my hard earned cash, so let’s do this! Listed below are the odds for UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot, courtesy of BestFightOdds, followed by my advice which simply put has never been wrong not once ever.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Yves Edwards (+175) vs. Jeremy Stephens (-225)
Danny Castillo (+130) vs. Michael Johnson (-160)
Dennis Hallman (+190) vs. Thiago Tavares (-250)
Shane Roller (+150) vs. Jacob Volkmann (-180)
Diego Nunes (-180) vs. Bart Palaszewski (+150)
Phil Harris (+230) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (-290)
Marcus LeVesseur (-105) vs. Carlo Prater (-125)
Mike Pierce (-170) vs. Aaron Simpson (+150)
Thoughts…
As I previously mentioned, I am going to be short and sweet for this week’s enabler. That means no prop bets and no fight-by-fight analysis, just a straight look at who I think is being under/overvalued and a suggested parlay.
The Good Dogs: Your best chances at upsets in my opinion are heavily based around the grappling-oriented gameplans of several fighters on the card. Hallman vs. Tavares, Volkmann vs. Roller, and Castillo vs. Johnson will be determined by the abilities of Volkmann, Hallman, and Castillo to get the fight to the ground and grapple out a decision. In all three cases, you are looking at only a slight to moderate underdog hovering in the +150 to +200 range. Of these three matches, the person who stands the best chance of implementing this gameplan is Dennis Hallman, who holds a notable size advantage over most every lightweight out there including Tavares. Although he has looked great lately and has a solid Jiu-Jitsu base, I think Hallman should be able stay heavy on top of Tavares and avoid getting submitted long enough to score a close decision victory.
While we all know that Shane Roller is undoubtedly more well rounded than Jacob Volkmann, we also know that it takes a hell of a wrestler to deal with the grappling prowess of the Minnesotan. Roller, while being a talented grappler in his own right, does not lead me to believe that he can defend Volkmann’s takedowns when a wrestler like Danny Castillo couldn’t. Volkmann has shown that he can be submitted by an opponent with an offensive guard, but the key to a Roller victory here is going to be keeping the fight standing. Roller showed in the Thiago Tavares fight that he does pack some power, so if you think he’ll be able to fend off Volkmann’s takedowns for long enough to land a haymaker, I’d suggest a wager on him as well. Personally, I just don’t think that will be the case. Castillo vs. Johnson is in the same vein. Johnson will be looking to keep things on the feet, but Castillo is a stellar grappler who is strong on top and will probably be looking to exploit Johnson’s somewhat weak submission defense. If he is able to get Johnson to the mat in the first round, expect him to dictate the action for the rest of the fight.
There is one other option: Bart Palaszewski vs. Diego Nunes.
This fight is a little easier to gauge: Both men are primarily strikers, both are coming off losses, and both are 1-2 in their past 3. The difference in their striking lies in pure aggressiveness; Nunes is known for using his kicks to keep his opponents at bay and has shown little killer instinct in the past couple of years, whereas “Bartimus” loves to drag things into a good old fashioned brawl and let the fists fly. Bart should also hold an advantage in the grappling game, so expect to see him utilize some clinch work and dirty boxing to eek out a decision over Nunes if things get hairy on the feet.
Come to think of it, that was pretty much a fight-by-fight analysis. MOVING ON.
Stay the Hell Away From: The main event. Antonio Silva is not listed as a big enough dog to risk a bet on and Browne has notched impressive victories over Stefan Struve and Chad Griggs in between weak performances against Cheick Kongo and Rob Broughton. Browne should easily take this, but you don’t want to risk your parlay on whether or not he’ll have an off night.
Official CagePotato Parlay: Pierce – Stephens – Dodson – Ellenberger
Official CagePotato Parlay #2: Pierce – Hallman – Dodson
Travis Browne, Antonio Silva, Jay Hieron, and all of the players in tomorrow night’s UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot card are set to hit the scales tonight from the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event will be broadcast live starting at 5 p.m. EST, and wouldn’t you know it, we happen to have TOTALLY EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE of the weigh-ins right here!
OK, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but we will be covering all the action, so make sure to swing by at 5 p.m. today for the staredowns and 8 p.m. tomorrow for all our liveblog coverage of UFC on FX 5.
Travis Browne, Antonio Silva, Jay Hieron, and all of the players in tomorrow night’s UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot card are set to hit the scales tonight from the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event will be broadcast live starting at 5 p.m. EST, and wouldn’t you know it, we happen to have TOTALLY EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE of the weigh-ins right here!
OK, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but we will be covering all the action, so make sure to swing by at 5 p.m. today for the staredowns and 8 p.m. tomorrow for all our liveblog coverage of UFC on FX 5.
MAIN CARD (FX 8 p.m.)
-Travis Browne (246) vs. Antonio Silva(266)
-Jake Ellenberger (170) vs. Jay Hieron (170)
-John Dodson (126) vs. Jussier Formiga (126)
-Josh Neer (171) vs. Justin Edwards (170)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook/FUEL 5 p.m.)
-Yves Edwards (156) vs. Jeremy Stephens (156)
-Danny Castillo (156) vs. Michael Johnson (156)
-Dennis Hallman ( ) vs. Thiago Tavares ( )**
-Shane Roller (156) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
-Diego Nunes (146) vs. Bart Palaszewski (147*)
-Phil Harris (125) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (125)
-Marcus LeVesseur (156) vs. Carlo Prater (156)
-Mike Pierce (171) vs. Aaron Simpson (171)
*Palaszewski has an hour to lose the pound.
**Apparently Hallman was seven pounds over and struck a deal with Tavares that if he could get down to three pounds over the fight would be on. He failed to do so and the fight was cancelled but Tavares will be getting his show money. Well, there goes that bet, and likely Hallman’s UFC career given the fact that he missed weight for his last fight as well and exposed his balls on TV before that.
