It seems that we’ve had to deal with the issue of child abuse more and more over the past few weeks here at CagePotato. You may recall the woman in St. Louis who videotaped her infant daughter’s decaweight debut and provided such insightful ringside commentary as “Ball up some fists!” as one instance of this. But today, Potato Nation, we’ve come across the classiest child abuse video of them all. We’re talking a top of the line, Armani-suited business moguls shrouded in darkness and purchasing sex slaves that were kidnapped at the airport level of class on display here. This is the Rolls-Royce of child abuse videos, if you will. In fact, the level of class in this child abuse video is so high, that it might not be considered child abuse at all.
It’s disorienting, we know, because typically, when treated to a video of a 6 year old and a 7 year old throwing down in a cage, your first reaction would probably be that of outrage. Toss in the fact that it took place in Armenia, at a bar surrounded by drunken patrons huffing cigars and cheering them on, your anger would likely jump up a few notches. But then you take a look at the awesome production value (yes, those are *actual* flames in the beginning), the adorable weigh-ins/staredown, and the scaled down ring, and you almost forget that you’re about to watch two kids beat the piss out of each other for entertainment. Or that a promotion exists out there that will allow this to happen.
So goes the story of ArmFC, an upstart and soon to be shut down promotion that recently forayed into the art of child fighting. And although the promotion insists that we are actually watching a “demonstration of the fight” on the Youtube page in which they posted this video, the fact that the first four words of the video’s description are “death 6 years fighter” leads us to believe that those running this promotion have a tenuous grasp on the English language in general. So by “demonstration”, they likely mean “we didn’t allow them to dip their gloves in candle wax and broken glass beforehand this time.”
It seems that we’ve had to deal with the issue of child abuse more and more over the past few weeks here at CagePotato. You may recall the woman in St. Louis who videotaped her infant daughter’s decaweight debut and provided such insightful ringside commentary as “Ball up some fists!” as one instance of this. But today, Potato Nation, we’ve come across the classiest child abuse video of them all. We’re talking a top of the line, Armani-suited business moguls shrouded in darkness and purchasing sex slaves that were kidnapped at the airport level of class on display here. This is the Rolls-Royce of child abuse videos, if you will. In fact, the level of class in this child abuse video is so high, that it might not be considered child abuse at all.
It’s disorienting, we know, because typically, when treated to a video of a 6 year old and a 7 year old throwing down in a cage, your first reaction would probably be that of outrage. Toss in the fact that it took place in Armenia, at a bar surrounded by drunken patrons huffing cigars and cheering them on, your anger would likely jump up a few notches. But then you take a look at the awesome production value (yes, those are *actual* flames in the beginning), the adorable weigh-ins/staredown, and the scaled down ring, and you almost forget that you’re about to watch two kids beat the piss out of each other for entertainment. Or that a promotion exists out there that will allow this to happen.
So goes the story of ArmFC, an upstart and soon to be shut down promotion that recently forayed into the art of child fighting. And although the promotion insists that we are actually watching a “demonstration of the fight” on the Youtube page in which they posted this video, the fact that the first four words of the video’s description are “death 6 years fighter” leads us to believe that those running this promotion have a tenuous grasp on the English language in general. So by “demonstration”, they likely mean “we didn’t allow them to dip their gloves in candle wax and broken glass beforehand this time.”
(The fight doesn’t start until about halfway through the video, but you NEED to watch all of this.)
Pairing Minas Avagyan against Hayk Tashchyan, the scrap is both a quick and technical affair. I hate to say it, but I was actually rather entertained by the fight itself, leading me to the moral conundrum I placed before you in this article’s second paragraph.
On one hand, this seems incredibly unsafe and abusive. I mean, the kids aren’t even wearing helmets for Christ’s sake. Hitting some pads in a Tapout commercial is one thing, but allowing two softheaded pre-adolescents to swing for the fences with reckless abandon seems a bit irresponsible to say the least. On the other hand, did you even see that guillotine? Effin’ A Cotton, was that sweet. And that Tito Ortiz gravedigger tribute/cage climb? Let’s just say that if I ever have kids, they will learn to do both of those things before they enter preschool, where intimidation and pizzazz is the name of the game.
What I’m saying is, I don’t know whether to be outraged or enthralled, so help me decide, Potato Nation. For once I might just listen to you.
(You mean to tell me that the guy lying face down in a pool of his own blood WAS ALIVE THE ENTIRE TIME?! No. F’ing. Way.)
Not too long ago, it was announced that former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Jens Pulver had signed with Singapore-based upstart promotion OneFC, and were scheduled to compete on the August 31st scheduled ‘Pride of a Nation’ card against opponents that had yet to be named. Given the pair’s name power, not to mention their hard runs of luck as of late, it was assumed by most that they would likely be featured in a pair of squash matches to help build up their name (also, confidence) within the promotion. It now appears that we have severely underestimated the fellas at OneFC. Or overestimated, we’re not sure.
In either case, Arlovski has been booked to take on fellow UFC castaway and dangerous striker Soa Palelei, who is coming off a 12 second…we guess you’d call it beating, of Bob “Bitch Tits” Sapp at CFC 21 in May. And although just a few years ago, a guy like Palelei would never even be mentioned in the same breath as “The Pit Bull”, we may very likely see him listed as the favorite heading into this matchup as it stands today. Palelei packs a wallop of a punch and Arlvoski’s off switch is easier to find than a dwarf among midgets, so expect “The Hulk” to let his fists go early and often in this one and Arlovski to crumble violently to the mat shortly thereafter. Let’s just hope that Arlovski has finally undergone that Tango and Cash jaw replacement surgery he always wanted, or he is going to get royally FUBAR’d in this one.
(You mean to tell me that the guy lying face down in a pool of his own blood WAS ALIVE THE ENTIRE TIME?! No. F’ing. Way.)
Not too long ago, it was announced that former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Jens Pulver had signed with Singapore-based upstart promotion OneFC, and were scheduled to compete on the August 31st scheduled ‘Pride of a Nation’ card against opponents that had yet to be named. Given the pair’s name power, not to mention their hard runs of luck as of late, it was assumed by most that they would likely be featured in a pair of squash matches to help build up their name (also, confidence) within the promotion. It now appears that we have severely underestimated the fellas at OneFC. Or overestimated, we’re not sure.
In either case, Arlovski has been booked to take on fellow UFC castaway and dangerous striker Soa Palelei, who is coming off a 12 second…we guess you’d call it beating, of Bob “Bitch Tits” Sapp at CFC 21 in May. And although just a few years ago, a guy like Palelei would never even be mentioned in the same breath as “The Pit Bull”, we may very likely see him listed as the favorite heading into this matchup as it stands today. Palelei packs a wallop of a punch and Arlvoski’s off switch is easier to find than a dwarf among midgets, so expect “The Hulk” to let his fists go early and often in this one and Arlovski to crumble violently to the mat shortly thereafter. Let’s just hope that Arlovski has finally undergone that Tango and Cash jaw replacement surgery he always wanted, or else he is going to get royally FUBAR’d in this one.
Since dropping three straight in Strikeforce (two by way of KO), Arlovski has actually put together a two-fight win streak over 7-3 journeyman Ray Lopez and most recently 247-49 (!!!!) journeyman Travis Fulton, whom Arlovski scored a vicious head kick finish over in the very last second of their otherwise snoozer of a scrap at the abysmal ProElite 2: Big Guns event last year. Palelei has not lost since succumbing to a first round submission via strikes at the hands Daniel Cormier at an XMMA event back in 2010. Though we can’t confirm this, we imagine Cormier likely broke at least one of his hands during that performance as well. Seriously, it’s like those things are comprised of equal parts boron and tinsel.
Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver appears to have booked himself into the exact opposite conundrum, as he is scheduled to square off with undefeated submission specialist Eric Kelly at the same event. Pulver has been able to slightly turn things around as of late, collecting five wins in his past seven contests, but prior to that, he suffered five straight losses, including three straight by way of submission, to round out his WEC career. Pulver most recently picked up a win over 3-4 Jesse Thorton in a flyweight contest in April.
Pulver’s submission game (or lack thereof) will truly be put to the test against a guy like Kelly, who has scored all but one of his professional wins by way of submission. Kelly is 2-0 under the OneFC banner, and last scored a UD win over Bae Young Kwon at OneFC 4: Destiny of Warriors last month. If you recall, this was the same event that saw Roger Huerta nearly decapitated by a soccer kick that instantaneously gave thousands of PRIDE fanboys a full on nerdgasm upon witnessing. For those of you who fell into this demographic (raises hand), don’t worry: It’s not gay if someone almost dies.
Pulver has been flirting with retirement for what feels like ages, but do you think he can pull off what will easily be his biggest win in years come August 18th?
(On the count of three, I want everyone who is not pulling a fast one to raise their hand.)
If there are two things that we would be willing to bet the house on in light of recent events, it’s that half of the scheduled fights for the next few months will be cancelled due to injury, and the few participants who remain standing after the smoke clears will only be doing so as a result of testosterone replacement therapy. So goes the story for TUF 1 winner and former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, the most recent UFC behemoth fighter who both filed for and was successful in receiving a therapeutic use exemption for TRT over the past couple months.
(On the count of three, I want everyone who is not pulling a fast one to raise their hand.)
If there are two things that we would be willing to bet the house on in light of recent events, it’s that half of the scheduled fights for the next few months will be cancelled due to injury, and the few participants who remain standing after the smoke clears will only be doing so as a result of testosterone replacement therapy. So goes the story for TUF 1 winner and former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, the most recent UFC behemoth fighter who both filed for and was successful in receiving a therapeutic use exemption for TRT over the past couple months.
The news that Griffin received a TUE from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his UFC 148 fight with the now-retired Tito Ortiz was reported by Pro MMA Radio Host Larry Pepe via his Twitter earlier today. Kind of makes you imagine how gassed Griffin would have really been in that third round had he not recently hopped on this bandwagon, but we digress.
We could get into the whole moral debate over this issue, but it would truly be retreading old ground at this point. The truth is, there ain’t much that FoGriff could do to justify his sudden need for testosterone, other than the fact that he’s not 22 anymore. Everyone from Randy Couture to Dana White have stated that TRT is basically a crock of shit excuse for aging athletes to feel younger again, but it’s legal, so whaddayagonnado?! Start juicing up filling out that paperwork now, Stephan, because you’re going to need it if you ever get that rematch.
Express your outrage or support for FoGriff’s plight in the comments section. And happy Friday the 13th, Potato Nation. I leave you with this:
(Fair warning: You DEFINITELY won’t see the compiler’s choice of music coming.)
(A replay of the Munoz/Weidman ending in all its gory glory for those of you who missed it.)
Right before he kinda sorta announced his pending retirement from the sport during the UFC on FOUEL TV post-fight show, Stephan Bonnar made the audacious claim that referee Josh Rosenthal should be fined and/or suspended for his late stoppage during the Mark Munoz/Chris Weidman fight. After Weidman landed some 12 or 13 unanswered shots on a helpless Munoz, I briefly thought that we were witnessing the first death in the promotion’s history, and my immediate reaction was almost that of agreement. Almost.
Because, although it is hard to deny that Rosenthal dropped the ball Wednesday night, the stoppage was likely considered even worse because it was a revered official like Rosenthal who made it. This wasn’t Steve Mazzagati calling an eye poke a TKO or Kim Winslow letting Jan Finney return from the dead only to be killed once more. This was Josh freakin’ Rosenthal, a man who had not only made our top five referees list a couple years ago, but had easily climbed up it a few spots in the time since. This was a man who had, as GritandMettle’s Darren Jensen put it, “reffed Shogun vs Hendo perfectly” — the same goes for his excellent job in the first round of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin’s UFC 116 heavyweight title fight. What we’re saying is, this isn’t an everyday occurrence for the guy. Hell, can anyone even remember an instance in recent memory that Rosenthal has even come close to screwing up (Faber/Mizugaki maybe)?
In retrospect, Bonnar’s assessment was a little harsh, but Rosenthal was still willing to admit that he shit the bed, so to speak, when he appeared on SiriusXM’s “Tapout Radio Show”.
Check out a few snippets from the interview after the jump.
(A replay of the Munoz/Weidman ending in all its gory glory for those of you who missed it.)
Right before he kinda sorta announced his pending retirement from the sport during the UFC on FOUEL TV post-fight show, Stephan Bonnar made the audacious claim that referee Josh Rosenthal should be fined and/or suspended for his late stoppage during the Mark Munoz/Chris Weidman fight. After Weidman landed some 12 or 13 unanswered shots on a helpless Munoz, I briefly thought that we were witnessing the first death in the promotion’s history, and my immediate reaction was almost that of agreement. Almost.
Because, although it is hard to deny that Rosenthal dropped the ball Wednesday night, the stoppage was likely considered even worse because it was a revered official like Rosenthal who made it. This wasn’t Steve Mazzagati calling an eye poke a TKO or Kim Winslow letting Jan Finney return from the dead only to be killed once more. This was Josh freakin’ Rosenthal, a man who had not only made our top five referees list a couple years ago, but had easily climbed up it a few spots in the time since. This was a man who had, as GritandMettle’s Darren Jensen put it, “reffed Shogun vs Hendo perfectly” — the same goes for his excellent job in the first round of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin’s UFC 116 heavyweight title fight. What we’re saying is, this isn’t an everyday occurrence for the guy. Hell, can anyone even remember an instance in recent memory that Rosenthal has even come close to screwing up (Faber/Mizugaki maybe)?
In retrospect, Bonnar’s assessment was a little harsh, but Rosenthal was still willing to admit that he shit the bed, so to speak, when he appeared on SiriusXM’s “Tapout Radio Show”:
I came home and I watched it, and I was kind of like you know, if I was sitting here, watching this on the couch, I probably would have been talking smack about myself. I always say accountability is a huge part of the sport, and you are accountable for your actions.
As for the stoppage in question, Rosenthal understands that it was a bit on the late side, but is just trying to make sure it never happens again:
I feel like I was just a little slow on the trigger. I don’t want to see guys take unnecessary punishment. It’s a rough sport. Everyone knows what they sign in for, but it’s a millisecond-basis game. You’re making choices right there on the spot, and in the heat of the moment, I felt like I was seeing some stuff. In hindsight, I have to step my game up and make sure I’m on point for the next guys.
So what do you guys and gals think? Should Rosenthal be punished for failing to save Munoz when he was clearly out? Or does his one misstep pale in comparison to the blunders made by far lesser referees?
Recently, however, it appears that Bisping has had enough, and has turned the tables on the bullies that simply wont let him be, threatening to kick not only Stann’s ass, but calling out Hector Lombard (sort of), then Anderson Silva, and now Chris Weidman as well. Apparently fed up with all of the “respect” Weidman was receiving for “finishing” a fight against a “top” contender, Bisping took to Twitter to vent his frustrations:
Weidman looked great last night. But no1 contender? If that’s the case I want to fight him and prove I’m the number 1 contender. Let’s do it.
Now, we understand that Bisping may very well think that he’s the number one contender, despite the fact that his last win against a top or even upper-tier middleweight dates back to, you know, never, but this is getting a little redundant at this point, is it not?
Recently, however, it appears that Bisping has had enough, and has turned the tables on the bullies that simply wont let him be, threatening to kick not only Stann’s ass, but calling out Hector Lombard (sort of), then Anderson Silva, and now Chris Weidman as well. Apparently fed up with all of the “respect” Weidman was receiving for “finishing” a fight against a “top” contender, Bisping took to Twitter to vent his frustrations:
Weidman looked great last night. But no1 contender? If that’s the case I want to fight him and prove I’m the number 1 contender. Let’s do it.
Now, we understand that Bisping may very well think that he’s the number one contender, despite the fact that his last win against a top or even upper-tier middleweight dates back to, you know, never, but this is getting a little redundant at this point, is it not? Bisping has called out everyone within eyeshot of a title over the past few weeks, and we think we’ve finally gotten to the root of “The Count’s” problems — multiple personality disorder. For each embittered d-bag that lies within his soul, he calls out one fighter, and it appears that even he is beginning to lose track of his preposterous claims. Why else would Bisping be seen giving Silva mad drunken props backstage at UFC 148 just moments before telling Ariel Helwani that he thought Silva’s knee was illegal and that he could do way better against him than Chael Sonnen, a.k.a the last man he lost to?
To be fair, Bisping also did state that he thought Andy was “amazing,” so perhaps we’re being a little harsh on the Brit, as we are apt to do. But that still doesn’t explain why Bisping had to essentially kick Mark Munoz while he was down in a recent interview with FightersOnly:
And now Chris Weidman is calling me out. Well, he’s on a roll but I don’t think a win over a fat Mark Munoz makes you a contender. Especially when Munoz has bounced into the Octagon like he’s at a Take That concert and with a haircut that looks like Belcher’s tattooist has switched careers. Did that distract him? It distracted me. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. What was it supposed to be, do you know? Everyone’s talking about Weidman today but I tell you what, we were on the same card in January and I had to switch his fight with Maia off. I was trying to warm up backstage and the fight was putting me to sleep. I wanted to get hyped up and it was like watching paint dry. He looked good last night – or did Munoz look awful?
Jesus Christ, Michael. First off, Weidman did not call you out. He called out Anderson Silva. YOU just called HIM out. And as for his fight with Demian Maia, perhaps you have forgotten that Weidman took the fight on just eleven days notice. It appears we can throw a little early onset dementia into the mix of potential mental diseases Bisping is suffering from as well.
All we’re saying is, if Bisping wants to fight Belcher, Boetsch, or Stann, because they actually did call him out, then he should stick with one of those fights and just shut the hell up. You’d have to be crazy to think he deserves a shot at Anderson, but if he wants to take on Weidman to prove that he does (granted you feel that Weidman is the true #1 contender), then he should simply stick to that theory and shut the hell up. His solution to all of this, of course, is to fight all of these bums in one night:
Yeah it seems like I am the man of the moment right now doesn’t it? That’s fine by me, I’m a professional fighter and I’ve not been busy enough lately to be honest so, I will happily fight all three of them – Stann, Weidman and Belcher can all have it. I’ve got no problem fighting and beating all three of them, either on three consecutive cards or all on one night if they want. Listen, Belcher’s getting on my nerves. He keeps saying he has got the style to beat me – what style? No man with a tattoo like that can talk to anyone about style! He’s been calling me out for a while now so I’d say to him, when you beat someone other than a pure jiu jitsu guy then call me. Brian Stann I respect, fine, I think we are on collision course and we can have that fight. I’ll win.
They all seem like nice guys, good luck to them – except Belcher, he’s been getting on my nerves so lets not include him [in the good luck wishes] – but I will happily fight them all, no problem. I want to be the champion and I think I am one more win away from a title shot. And any of these guys can be my first defences.
So wait, none of these guys have earned a shot against Silva, but once you become champion (lolz), then they can fight for the title?
(What?! You mean no more of this?! This isn’t happening. THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!!!)
For those of you who didn’t have the patience, the cable package, or the right list of websites to steal last night’s UFC on FUEL event from, we are sorry to inform you that you missed out on one hell of a show. James Te Huna and Joey Beltran set the UFC record for most significant strikes landed within a three round light heavyweight affair at 206, unfortunately giving us cancer in the process. Te Huna also set a record for most significant strikes landed in one round by a light heavyweight with 71 in the first. In the main event, Chris Weidman made Mark Munoz look like Houston Alexander on the mat*, holding him to zero significant strikes en route to a beautiful standing elbow KO in the second round ala Steve Bosse vs, you guessed it, Houston Alexander. Apparently under the belief that Weidman had covered his gloves in smelling salts, referee Josh Rosenthal allowed the New Yorker to land about a dozen or more unnecessary shots to a clearly unconscious and exponentially bleeding Munoz, causing this writer to scream at his television in honest to God horror for the first time in recent memory. As is usually the case with a free card, last night contained its fair share of ups and downs.
But perhaps the most disorienting moment of the night (aside from the few seconds I thought we had seen the last of Mark Munoz) came during the post-fight show, which featured Jay Glazer, Chael Sonnen, and CagePotato contributor/future UFC HOFer Stephan Bonnar. When the three finally calmed down and Sonnen had finished stroking Weidman’s ego with the fervor of a Taiwanese transsexual prostitute, Ariel Helwani was able to snag a short interview with UFC bossman Dana White. After White announced the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter: Billy no-mates vs. Banana Benders, Helwani proceeded to ask about the futures of the fighters that sat just a few feet behind him.
White declared that “He hadn’t even talked to Chael yet” and that “Only [Chael] knows what he wants to do,” but the real bombshell was dropped when White was asked about Bonnar. After skewering, then roasting Bonnar’s dreams of coaching the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Forrest Griffin over an open flame, White claimed that the last time he and “The American Psycho” spoke, Bonnar was considering retirement.
What followed was a heartfelt, if not mildly confusing speech by Bonnar that more or less confirmed this.
(What?! You mean no more of this?! This isn’t happening. THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!!!)
For those of you who didn’t have the patience, the cable package, or the right list of websites to steal last night’s UFC on FUEL event from, we are sorry to inform you that you missed out on one hell of a show. James Te Huna and Joey Beltran set the UFC record for most significant strikes landed within a three round light heavyweight affair at 206, unfortunately giving us cancer in the process. Te Huna also set a record for most significant strikes landed in one round by a light heavyweight with 71 in the first. In the main event, Chris Weidman made Mark Munoz look like Houston Alexander on the mat*, holding him to zero significant strikes en route to a beautiful standing elbow KO in the second round ala Steve Bosse vs, you guessed it, Houston Alexander. Apparently under the belief that Weidman had covered his gloves in smelling salts, referee Josh Rosenthal allowed the New Yorker to land about a dozen or more unnecessary shots to a clearly unconscious and exponentially bleeding Munoz, causing this writer to scream at his television in honest to God horror for the first time in recent memory. As is usually the case with a free card, last night contained its fair share of ups and downs.
But perhaps the most disorienting moment of the night (aside from the few seconds I thought we had seen the last of Mark Munoz) came during the post-fight show, which featured Jay Glazer, Chael Sonnen, and CagePotato contributor/future UFC HOFer Stephan Bonnar. When the three finally calmed down and Sonnen had finished stroking Weidman’s ego with the fervor of a Taiwanese transsexual prostitute, Ariel Helwani was able to snag a short interview with UFC bossman Dana White. After White announced the coaches for The Ultimate Fighter: Billy no-mates vs. Banana Benders, Helwani proceeded to ask about the futures of the fighters that sat just a few feet behind him.
White declared that “He hadn’t even talked to Chael yet” and that “Only [Chael] knows what he wants to do,” but the real bombshell was dropped when White was asked about Bonnar. After skewering, then roasting Bonnar’s dreams of coaching the next season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Forrest Griffin over an open flame, White claimed that the last time he and “The American Psycho” spoke, Bonnar was considering retirement.
What followed was a heartfelt, if not mildly confusing speech by Bonnar that more or less confirmed this.
“Put it this way, I have no interest in fighting the next big thing before the world realizes the talent of the guy,” Bonnar said, obviously referring to his fights against Jon Jones and Mark Coleman(see what I did there?):
I’ve been doing this eleven years, and I’ve been through the ringer. So I promised myself I’d put a nice streak together, and I said if I want my last fight, I’m gonna go back in there against someone with a lot of Twitter followers. The story of my career has been fighting a lot of the best guys right before they got on top, you know. So I said, ‘Hey, if I can’t get that big marquee fight then yeah, it’s God’s way of telling me to go do something else for a while.’
Sonnen immediately offered an empathetic shoulder rub, leading me to believe that Silva might have kneed Sonnen so hard that he literally unclogged about a decade’s worth of false machismo bullshit from his insides. Sharing our confusion, Glazer asked Bonnar to clarify.
Glazer: “Let’s clear this up. What are you saying here?”
Bonnar: “Hey who knows…um…”
Glazer: “It sounds like you’re saying you’re retiring.”
Bonnar: “Maybe they’ll still let me fight Forrest. Maybe there’s the chance that Rampage wants to fight again. That’s a fight I really wanted too. But, hey, if he doesn’t got a lot of Twitter followers, then maybe it’s God’s way of saying maybe do something else.”
I may not be a man of faith, but even I find it a little odd that Bonnar would coalesce an overseeing deity and a social networking device into the governing body upon which he bases his decision. Perhaps that’s why he has the nickname he has.
But on a serious note, and with all due respect to Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, who out there would rather see two mid-to-upper-tier heavyweights duke it out over the two guys who’s first fight helped make the UFC what it is? Both Stephan and Forrest have now hinted at retirement, and what better way would it be to end their careers than in the exact fashion they truly started them? It would not only be the barnburner to end all barnburners, making Hendo/Rua look like a sissy fight between two theater nerds in the process**, but would make for a far more entertaining season than any other I could imagine. It could even make for the first time in UFC History that both fighters announced it would be their last fight in the months leading up to it. In a word, it would be legend.
And I for one, don’t give two shits that Stephan is 0-2 against FoGriff in his career. The first fight was razor-thin, and I honestly believe that, in this point in their respective careers, Bonnar has the best chance of beating Griffin now that he’s ever had. He’s put together three straight wins over decent competition, and has shown that he still has a few tricks up his sleeve when the odds are stacked against him. Forget a fight with that drama queen Rampage; his heart simply ain’t in it anymore, and Bonnar deserves better. THIS is the fight we should be clamoring for. Can you even imagine how epic the pranks alone would be, being that these two are both good friends and on their way out of the building? Screw mariachi bands and fire extinguishers, we’d be looking at full on tribal warfare.
Do what you gotta do, Potato Nation, be it a Twitter campaign, an occupy movement, or perhaps something that will actually work, to turn this hope of Bonnar’s into a reality. We owe him that much.
*Obvious exaggeration is obvious.
**This is clearly a joke as well. One that borders on blasphemy, but still. Take it sleazy.
