Author: Jeremy Botter

Miesha Tate Doesn’t Understand What Being Naked Actually Means, Shoots on Rousey

Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate. It’s the rivalry that keeps on giving, the first real women’s MMA feud with any kind of mainstream appeal.It’s also something I figured was over once Rousey thoroughly demolished Tate a few months back, shredding her arm, …

Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate. It’s the rivalry that keeps on giving, the first real women’s MMA feud with any kind of mainstream appeal.

It’s also something I figured was over once Rousey thoroughly demolished Tate a few months back, shredding her arm, taking her title and banishing most of her dignity in the process.

But I guess that isn’t the case, because Tate is still taking potshots at the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion. Witness this little outburst from last night:

 

 

Someone needs to clue Miesha in on what “artistically nude” actually means, because the athletes featured in ESPN’s “Body” issue—that’s the photo shoot that has Tate up in arms, by the way—does not portray “artistically nude” photographs. It features near-nudes. There’s a big difference, you know, because you aren’t actually seeing Rousey’s business. 

“Artistically nude” is what you find in those coffee-table books featuring artsy black and white shots with actual nude people in them. And by nude, I mean nude—not photos with hands and other objects strategically placed to cover up the goods. 

 

 

Again, she’s not actually naked. Was she naked shooting the photos? Sure. Well, mostly. Are you actually seeing her naked? No. 

This all seems like deja vu to me. Rousey came from nowhere and earned a quick title shot against Tate by using her mouth and talking her way into the fight. Tate responded by complaining about Rousey’s rise being attributed to her mouth and not her fighting skills. Rousey then dismantled Tate using those considerable fighting skills.

Nowadays, Rousey is becoming one of the most famous MMA fighters on the planet, and Tate is still spending her time complaining about Rousey’s success. And that’s fine, if that’s the route she wants to take.

It just seems a little bit like sour grapes to me.   

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Shane Carwin Wants Roy Nelson to Know That He Isn’t Joking Around

Last week’s news that UFC heavyweights Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin had been selected as opposing coaches for the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter surprised many fans around the world.It’s not that Nelson and Carwin are terrible choices as coach…

Last week’s news that UFC heavyweights Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin had been selected as opposing coaches for the next installment of The Ultimate Fighter surprised many fans around the world.

It’s not that Nelson and Carwin are terrible choices as coaches, because they aren’t. Carwin isn’t the most bombastic personality on the UFC roster, choosing instead to allow his sledgehammer-like fists to do his talking for him. But Nelson makes up for whatever Carwin lacks in oratorial entertainment value.

The surprise, at least from my perspective, was due to Nelson’s not-so-great relationship with Dana White. Those of you who have followed Nelson’s career since he came to the UFC know that White isn’t “Big Country’s” biggest fan, and that’s putting it mildly. The UFC president doesn’t like the way Nelson looks, and he’s not too keen on Nelson’s joking nature, either.

Carwin seems to fall into the same boat as White. The former UFC interim heavyweight champion took to his personal website to issue a shot at Nelson’s clowning ways: 

I am going to be representing for the REAL Country folk. The people that know life is about providing for your family through hard work… I know Roy likes to be the UFC’s Jester but he better know this is not a joke for me.

He can keep striving for being average, I am pushing myself and those around me to find the American Dream. The dream that comes from lots of hard work and sacrifice, no gimmicks necessary.

Carwin’s comments should come as no surprise, at least to those of you who follow the plus-sized men on Twitter. The pair have engaged in a war of words—or tweets, to be more accurate—for quite some time now.

It’s clear that Carwin has little regard for Nelson’s proclivity for being the UFC’s “court jester,” as Carwin so accurately termed it.

But here’s the million-dollar question: Will the personal rivalry between the two make for entertaining television? In seasons past, there have been plenty of ready-made personality conflicts between coaches that just didn’t create intriguing, must-watch TV.

Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos were a perfect example. Lesnar, likely due to all of the horrific medical issues he’d just gone through, left the WWE-style Lesnar at home. He and Dos Santos were friendly for the most part, and it led to a disappointing season of the show.

On the flip side, we saw the same type of personality traits in Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans, with Jackson constantly cracking jokes and Evans taking his coaching job as seriously as anyone who has ever done it. That pairing led to the biggest non-title fight PPV in UFC history, so clearly there is something to it.

Will the ultra-serious Carwin and the joking, fun-loving Nelson create an interesting personality conflict? It remains to be seen. But given the brief preview of their rivalry we’ve been given via Twitter, I believe things will work out nicely in the end. 

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UFC Rules: New MMA Judging Changes a Positive Step

Judging is a problem in mixed martial arts. In fact, it’s one of the biggest problems the sport faces, right alongside the usage of performance-enhancing drugs and fights that are canceled due to injuries.You know it, and I know it. And luckily for us,…

Judging is a problem in mixed martial arts. In fact, it’s one of the biggest problems the sport faces, right alongside the usage of performance-enhancing drugs and fights that are canceled due to injuries.

You know it, and I know it. And luckily for us, it seems that the Association of Boxing Commissioners—the fine fellas who mostly determine the rules for the sport on a nationwide basis—seem to realize the problem as well. And they’re doing something about it.

The ABC is in the midst of their annual meetings in Clearwater, Fla., right now, and they’ve instituted a few changes to the rules that govern the sport.

Here’s a listing of the changes:

  • Effective defense is no longer a criteria for scoring. This means that defending takedowns or blocking submissions and strikes don’t count for anything. Under the new rules, the only advantage that defense brings to the table is that it keeps you from being finished by offense. The only way you can actually score points is through offense.
  • Striking and grappling have been given equal weight. In the past, striking was always listed first as a scoring opportunity, thereby giving it more importance. That’s not the case anymore. Striking and grappling are, from this point forward, to be viewed as equal offensive measures.
  • Heavier strikes will be given more weight than number of strikes landed. They’re now classifying damage as “effective damage,” which means strikes that do more damaged will be weighed more heavily than an overall strike count. Of course, this is still a visual thing, as judges don’t have access to in-fight statistics.
  • Grappling moves that are scored heavily: Takedowns, reversals, submissions, transitions, activity and threatening moves from the fighter on the bottom and attempted submissions that lead to the threatened fighter being tired. In theory, this will put more weight on guys who play a great guard game and constantly threaten submissions off their back. Witness the Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson fight for example. Torres consistently threatened with submissions, and used plenty of sweeps and reversals from the bottom, but Johnson was awarded the fight because he was on top. This, to me, is one of the more significant rule changes.
  • Effective aggression is now defined. Aggression in the cage is now defined as a fighter moving forward and using legal techniques. Attacking with submissions or strikes on the ground is included.
  • Control is also defined. “Octagon control” means that a fighter is dictating the pace and position of the fight in the cage.

One unfortunate note: The current 10-9 system remains in place. That’s all fine and good, except for the fact that judges are still discouraged from using 10-8 or even 10-7 round scoring, even when it’s more than warranted. I’d still like to see this changed, or at least see licensed judges feel free to assign those scores when they are needed.

These rule adjustments are a good step, but there is still plenty of ground to cover before we have an ideal system in place. The biggest step lies in more education for judges, and that’s something that only the commission can fix. 

I’m going to open this up for discussion. What viable rule changes or additions would you like to see in mixed martial arts? And by viable, I mean realistic, coherent changes. Don’t tell me you want soccer kicks, knees to the head on the ground and the banishment of time limits or all rules. Those aren’t viable options.

Let me know what you think in the comments below, or hit me up on Twitter. I’ll use the best suggestions in a story later in the week. 

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MMA Video Interview: Former UFC Star Anthony Johnson Talks Weighty Issues

Anthony Johnson’s recent career has been riddled with weight problems.More specifically, Johnson’s inability to make weight—at both 170 and 185 pounds—led to his dismissal from the UFC. After another recent missed weigh-in, Johnson finally …

Anthony Johnson’s recent career has been riddled with weight problems.

More specifically, Johnson’s inability to make weight—at both 170 and 185 pounds—led to his dismissal from the UFC. After another recent missed weigh-in, Johnson finally made the decision to move up to light heavyweight.

Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter caught up with Johnson during UFC 148 fight week in Las Vegas to discuss his weight issues, whether or not he thinks his extreme weight cuts may have damaged his body, his future in the sport and much more.

Check out the interview above.

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Rashad Evans Says He’s ’50/50′ on Move to UFC’s Middleweight Division

I’ve been vocal in the past about the idea of Rashad Evans making a move to middleweight. I support the idea.
And it’s not even that I don’t believe Evans can compete at light heavyweight, because I do. I think he still beats pretty much everyone in th…

I’ve been vocal in the past about the idea of Rashad Evans making a move to middleweight. I support the idea.

And it’s not even that I don’t believe Evans can compete at light heavyweight, because I do. I think he still beats pretty much everyone in the division not named Jon Jones. I simply like the idea of seeing what Evans can do when he’s not giving up drastic size to guys like Jones, Alex Gustafsson and other huge light heavyweights.

Evans has flirted with the idea in the past, but these days, he appears to be giving it more serious consideration, according to Franklin McNeil of ESPN.

I’ve been thinking about going down to middleweight lately. I haven’t totally made up my mind. It’s something I’m going to think about a little more in the coming months and see where my body’s at, but I’m definitely giving it serious consideration. The odds of me moving down to 185 are 50-50 or better.

I’d like to go right into a title fight, but realistically there are other contenders at 185, and to skip over everybody wouldn’t be fair. So, it would make sense for me to establish myself in the weight class and have a fight or two, whatever the case may be.

Folks worrying about Evans’ ability to make 185 pounds should remember that Rashad wrestled at 174 pounds in college. It’s been a while since he’s been that small, but his body can certainly make the weight.

I agree that Evans shouldn’t be thrown right into a title fight. But hey, why not a fight with someone like Alan Belcher or Vitor Belfort, or even, Rich Franklin?

There are plenty of top middleweights circling the periphery of title contention in the UFC; matching Evans up with one of them shouldn’t be a tough task at all.

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Strikeforce Rockhold vs. Kennedy Results: Live Notebook and Observations

I’m trying out something new tonight.This isn’t a live blog. I won’t be doing play-by-play. If that’s what you’re looking for, then Matt Roth has your hookup right here.What I’m doing here is a random collection of ongoing thoughts, observations and no…

I’m trying out something new tonight.

This isn’t a live blog. I won’t be doing play-by-play. If that’s what you’re looking for, then Matt Roth has your hookup right here.

What I’m doing here is a random collection of ongoing thoughts, observations and notes. I’ll discuss the fights as they unfold and point out curious or interesting things I see.

Join me, won’t you?

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