Author: Jeremy Botter

Brian Ebersole Wouldn’t Mind Beating Up a Diaz Brother After UFC on FX 4

Here’s a personal story about Brian Ebersole:During UFC pay-per-view fight weeks, I host live fighter chats for the Houston Chronicle, my hometown newspaper. I’ve done chats with everyone from Chael Sonnen to Ronda Rousey, and the routine is almost alw…

Here’s a personal story about Brian Ebersole:

During UFC pay-per-view fight weeks, I host live fighter chats for the Houston Chronicle, my hometown newspaper. I’ve done chats with everyone from Chael Sonnen to Ronda Rousey, and the routine is almost always the same. The fighter shows up to the UFC’s media center. I take questions from the readers, ask the fighter for their answer and then type it up for the readers to see.

When I hosted a chat with Ebersole during UFC 140 in Toronto, however, things were a little different. Ebersole came into the media room and sat next to me. He asked me for a demo of the live chat software.

I ran him through all of the administration specifics, and then he told me he would take over from there. He took my computer and ran the entire live chat, all by himself, with zero help from me, and answered questions from the readers for 30 minutes.

I tell you this story to emphasize that Ebersole is a really smart cat. He’s one of the more astute and thoughtful fighters I’ve ever dealt with.

So it should come as no surprise that Ebersole is already preparing for his next fight after this Friday’s bout with T.J. Waldburger by calling out the ultra-popular Diaz brothers:

I wouldn’t mind beating up a Diaz, maybe Nate. Jim Miller’s a talented dude. I want to start up there. I don’t care if they’re coming off a win or coming off a loss, I just want to prove that I belong in that top ten, top 15.

When asked by Ariel Helwani, host of The MMA Hour, why he wanted to fight a Diaz brother, Ebersole responded:

They’ve kind of got punk attitudes.

I know what you’re thinking. Ebersole is a welterweight, right?

Ebersole fought at lightweight in 2008 and 2009, and he’s currently entertaining a move back to 155. He told Helwani that he wanted to go 4-0 as a welterweight in the UFC and then make the move down. Ebersole also said he wanted to face someone that can help him prove he belongs with the top 10 or 15 lightweights in the division.

Ebersole would be an interesting addition to the lightweight division, and a bout with Diaz would be quite enjoyable. Diaz currently has more pressing items on his plate, with a title shot coming up later in 2012 or early 2013.

But I can’t help but hope that we’ll eventually see this bout materialize, if only because Ebersole had the intestinal fortitude to actually call out a Diaz brother in public.

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Steven Seagal Continues Being an Idiot, Says Jon Jones Can’t Punch or Kick Well

I loved Steven Seagal when I was a kid. I think we all did, at least if you grew up during the days when he was one of the baddest action movie stars in the planet. Let’s be honest: Above the Law and Under Siege were awesome. But the Steven S…

I loved Steven Seagal when I was a kid. I think we all did, at least if you grew up during the days when he was one of the baddest action movie stars in the planet. Let’s be honest: Above the Law and Under Siege were awesome. 

But the Steven Seagal of 2012 is not awesome. He’s kind of a buffoon, actually.

We’ve all heard the stories of Seagal allegedly showing Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida new moves to try out in the Octagon. Silva and Machida play along, but it’s almost like they’re treating Seagal as their kindly, senile grandfather. They’re humoring him.

But Seagal’s “success” as a mixed martial arts “coach” has apparently given him free reign to discuss other fighters in the sport. He appeared on The MMA Hour yesterday and decided it was a good idea to give his thoughts on Jon Jones:

I respect every fighter that goes out to the Octagon. I don’t think (Jones’) punches or kicks landed well (vs. Lyoto Machida). Do I think he punches or kicks well? No, not at all, and that’s just my opinion. He’s a very big guy, he’s like a heavyweight. He’s 6’4″, very athletic and very strong. Is he a better fighter than Lyoto? No. Not even close. But that doesn’t mean he can’t win.

Jones isn’t even close to being a better fighter than Machida? Come on. That’s one of the dumber things I’ve ever heard anyone say about a fighter. The evidence—which Seagal is willfully ignoring—was on full display when Jones wrecked Machida last December.

Jon Jones is a better fighter than Lyoto Machida, and to say otherwise is asinine. But what else should we expect from Steven Seagal at this point?

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Alistair Overeem Still Deserves His Shot at UFC Heavyweight Gold

All has been quiet on the Alistair Overeem front as of late. Perhaps that’s a good thing, though.The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion has been mostly quiet since the Nevada State Athletic Commission dropped the smallest possible banhammer on him…

All has been quiet on the Alistair Overeem front as of late. Perhaps that’s a good thing, though.

The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion has been mostly quiet since the Nevada State Athletic Commission dropped the smallest possible banhammer on him, suspending him until December before begging him to consider fighting in their lovely and humble state once again.

Overeem broke his silence on Twitter yesterday with this doozy: 

Overeem’s suspension ends on December 27th. If UFC tradition sticks around for more one year, we’ll see a possible year-end Las Vegas card on December 29th. If that’s the case, Overeem would be eligible to apply for a license and would be available to appear on the card.

Overeem also noted that he’s coming back to get the belt. The timing works out almost perfectly for Overeem to face the winner of the fall bout between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.

But should Alistair be allowed to come back from a suspension for elevated testosterone and jump immediately back into the title picture? Part of me says no, but it’s just a small part. The rest of me wants to see Overeem face Dos Santos or Velasquez.

The truth is, Overeem’s earned a title shot just much as, if not more than, anyone else in the heavyweight division. If he’d failed his drug test for the Brock Lesnar fight—where he secured his title shot in the first place—then I’d kick him to the sidelines and make him win another fight. 

But Overeem beat Lesnar, fair and square. Whatever happened in the months between that fight and his test failure should have no bearing on his standing as the top heavyweight contender. 

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UFC 148: Will There Ever Be a UFC Champ as Dominant as Anderson Silva?

We often forget just how good Anderson Silva actually is.I know I do. I used to make a habit of picking against Silva. Every time “The Spider” had a new opponent, I tried to make a case for why THIS was the guy who was going to finally end the Silva my…

We often forget just how good Anderson Silva actually is.

I know I do. I used to make a habit of picking against Silva. Every time “The Spider” had a new opponent, I tried to make a case for why THIS was the guy who was going to finally end the Silva myth once and for all. My memory isn’t what it used to be, but I can remember picking against Silva when he faced Dan Henderson, Demian Maia and Vitor Belfort. Boy, was I wrong.

Silva is the greatest champion in UFC history, and there really isn’t another belt-holder even approaching his level of excellence. There is another current champion who might someday reach and exceed the levels marked off by Silva, but we’ll get into that in a few moments. 

First, some Silva stats:

  • Most title fight wins (10)
  • Most consecutive UFC title defenses (9)
  • Most consecutive wins (14)
  • Highest significant strike accuracy (68.5 percent)
  • Knockdowns landed (15)

An interesting takeaway from the stats: Silva has more knockdowns landed than even Chuck Liddell, the feared power-puncher who made a career of knocking people out. And when it comes to striking accuracy, only Cain Velasquez has approached Silva’s lofty numbers—and in far fewer bouts, too, which makes Silva’s percentage all the more impressive.

Yes, Silva is the greatest and most dominant champion in UFC history. Will anyone surpass him? 

I think so, and you know who I’m going to mention: Jon Jones, the current light heavyweight champion. 

Jones is in the early stages of what appears to be a long-lasting and utterly dominant title reign. He’s dispatching great opponents with ease and with grace—much like Silva has done for the majority of his UFC title defenses—and he’s doing it all while barely taking damage. And he’s constantly evolving and improving his game, which means each consecutive opponent has more to worry about than the previous one did. That’s the hallmark of a great champion.

Will Jones surpass Silva in the dominance department? Yes, he will. He’s young and has a long career ahead of him, leaving him plenty of time to become the greatest fighter the sport has ever seen. But that shouldn’t take away from what Anderson Silva has accomplished.

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Dana White: Tito Ortiz Tried to Damage the UFC More Than Anyone

During the Fan Expo the week of UFC 148 in Las Vegas, Tito Ortiz will be inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame. Ortiz is a deserving candidate, no matter how you may personally feel about the UFC’s version of Cooperstown.There’s no question that induct…

During the Fan Expo the week of UFC 148 in Las Vegas, Tito Ortiz will be inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame. 

Ortiz is a deserving candidate, no matter how you may personally feel about the UFC’s version of Cooperstown.

There’s no question that induction into the Hall requires a little bit more than a stellar mixed martial arts career. He goes into his UFC 148 bout against Forrest Griffin with a 16-10-1 record. That ledger doesn’t place him among the best in the history of the sport, at least not from a fighting perspective. 

But his record also doesn’t tell the whole story. When Zuffa first purchased the UFC from Semaphore Entertainment Group, Ortiz was a reliable rock for the new owners. He headlined three of the first four Zuffa pay-per-view events, and his bitter rivalries with Ken Shamrock and Chuck Liddell helped usher the UFC to new heights.

In short, he was a very beneficial asset to Zuffa during a time when they had no one else to rely on.

But UFC president Dana White says Ortiz also did more to hurt the UFC than anyone else on the roster: 

Tito’s never been about the company of the UFC. Tito’s been about his own brand, Punishment, and Tito Ortiz. I think he’s a guy who pound-for-pound—at the time we were hurting—tried to do more damage to [the UFC] than anyone in the history of this company.

White has a point. Ortiz has always been about Ortiz and little else, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s a smart and capable businessman who saw the significance in building his own brand and his own clothing company. Those business smarts enabled him to become a very rich man, but they also placed him on White’s bad side for a long period of time.

But I’m not sure Ortiz ever willingly tried to damage the UFC. Then, as he does now, Ortiz was out for himself, trying to create a better life. There’s nothing wrong with that.

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UFC 147: Will It Have the Lowest UFC PPV Buyrate Since UFC 55?

The UFC puts on a lot of interesting events.On a personal level, I’d say that I genuinely look forward to roughly 85 percent of all television or pay-per-view fight cards. There are plenty of times when fans will scoff at upcoming cards before they eve…

The UFC puts on a lot of interesting events.

On a personal level, I’d say that I genuinely look forward to roughly 85 percent of all television or pay-per-view fight cards. There are plenty of times when fans will scoff at upcoming cards before they ever happen, and those maligned cards—often featuring unknown fighters—almost always deliver above expectations.

Almost all of that can be attributed to the UFC’s grand duo of matchmakers, Joe Silva and Sean Shelby. Their knowledge and understanding of the technical aspects of the fight game is nearly without equal. Both men are adept at making something out of nothing. That’s a strong skill to have in this era of repeated fighter injuries.

Silva and Shelby have earned my trust over the years. And I’m not saying that Saturday’s UFC 147 fight card won’t be awesome, because there’s every chance it will be. It’s chock-full of Brazilian talent trying to make a name for themselves, and that usually equals an awesome time. We might be in for a night of incredible finishes and fantastic fights.

But it’s difficult to see that right now, isn’t it? 

I consider myself to be an avid fight fan. I watch a ton of fights, from the UFC on to the tiniest Brazilian fight cards I can find streaming on the Internet. And I admit that even with all that fight-watching, I still don’t recognize the majority of the fighters taking part in bouts on UFC 147.

Wanderlei Silva. Rich Franklin. Mike Russow. Fabricio Werdum. I know these fighters. I recognize them. But I literally do not recognize a single name outside of those four. Some of that could have been rectified if I’d watched The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, but I elected to wait and watch the Fuel TV broadcast instead.

The UFC does the best they can with what they are given. When UFC 147 was first conceived, it was going to be the biggest event in the history of the promotion, taking place in a soccer stadium with the rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen in the main event.

But things happened—OK, a whole bunch of things happened, from injuries to politics—and this is what they’re stuck with. And no, they couldn’t simply switch the event to free television. The contracts Zuffa signs with pay-per-view providers prevents that from happening. It’s not a viable option, even though it seems like the best solution.

They’re not trying to sell you a bill of goods, either. Advertising for UFC 147 has been virtually non-existent, with the company rightly focusing on next month’s UFC 148 event instead. Zuffa realizes that fan interest in this one is low, and they’re using their resources to promote the bigger events coming up later in the summer.

The low end for UFC pay-per-views over the past few years seems to be roughly 224,000. Will UFC 147’s final number come in significantly lower than that average, or even fall below the 125,000 buys pulled in by UFC 55?

It’s tough to say, but there’s a chance. Silva vs. Franklin isn’t the kind of main event you’d expect to see on a UFC pay-per-view in 2012, but it’s the best they could come up with on short notice after Vitor Belfort broke his hand training for the fight. And the fact that most of the card is filled with completely unknown fighters won’t help matters.

In the end, UFC 147 could end up being one of the greatest, most action-packed fight cards in UFC history. But will anyone actually watch it? 

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