Author: John Heinis

Shane Carwin: ‘I’m All In’ for Rematch with ‘One-Dimensional’ Brock Lesnar

Retired former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin came within inches of unifying the heavyweight titles when he faced Brock Lesnar back in July 2010, and he’d be more than willing to put the gloves back on for a part two. 
In an intervi…

Retired former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin came within inches of unifying the heavyweight titles when he faced Brock Lesnar back in July 2010, and he’d be more than willing to put the gloves back on for a part two. 

In an interview with Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports, the 39-year-old stated he would agree to one last hurrah in the cage if it was against Lesnar again—even though he admits the scenario is pretty unlikely. 

I’m all in [for a Lesnar rematch]. All the pain would be worth that. … I basically almost died in that fight. In the second round, anybody could have tripped me and landed on me. … I should have let him up and kept punching him in the head. Lesson learned. Cain learned it. If I didn’t make it obvious what to do to that guy, the next guy did. … He’s not coming back. I don’t even know why he would have the desire. … The guys these days are too far ahead. You can’t be one-dimensional. This isn’t the early ’90s.

After recording three straight first-round knockouts inside the Octagon between May 2008 and March 2009, Carwin got a shot at the interim UFC interim heavyweight title against Frank Mir at UFC 111.

Another brutal stoppage later, Carwin was the interim champ in March 2010 and waited in the wings for Lesnar to return from his first bout with diverticulitis, an intestinal disease. 

After a year on the shelf, Lesnar returned to face Carwin at UFC 116. Despite eating a brutal onslaught of punches for the better part of the opening frame, the champ somehow managed to survive. 

The former NCAA Division I wrestling champion scored a quick takedown early in the second round and managed to lock up an arm triangle choke to secure a stunning come-from-behind submission victory. 

Lesnar then lost the title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in October 2010 and retired after a second battle with diverticulitis that culminated in a quick TKO loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in December 2011. 

After the loss to The Demolition Man, Lesnar said he’d never set foot in the Octagon again, though rumors are running rampant about a possible return, as the WWE heavyweight champion’s contract is up in the first quarter of 2015, per Raimondi.

Meanwhile, Carwin hasn’t competed since UFC 131 in June 2011, where he suffered a lopsided loss to Junior dos Santos in a brutal, bloody affair.

In the event that Lesnar does decide to make another run at the UFC heavyweight title, would a rematch with Carwin make sense?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

War Machine Letter from Suicide Attempt: ‘I’m a Good Person with a Huge Heart’

Former UFC and Bellator fighter War Machine tried to commit suicide in his jail cell last week, getting saved at the last minute by a corrections officer.
Since TMZ reported that story, they have since been able to obtain a copy of the Brazilian jiu-ji…

Former UFC and Bellator fighter War Machine tried to commit suicide in his jail cell last week, getting saved at the last minute by a corrections officer.

Since TMZ reported that story, they have since been able to obtain a copy of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt’s suicide letter from the incident. 

I die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly – Nietzsche. If you are reading this then it must be a rap. I refuse to live a parasitic life, relying on taxes and the generosity of friends for food and shelter, never being able to give back … To Christy, my one: I truly love you and planned on being with you forever … Finding what I found that night was devastating to me, more than you will ever know. Not just the unfaithfulness, but the way u cared for him and protected him … I’m a good person with a huge heart and everyone who knows me knows that, especially Christy. 

The three-page handwritten letter also has War Machine—also known by his birth name, Jon Koppenhaver—say his goodbyes to friends and family members before saying “I was never meant to live in this era anyway. Follow your dreams and think for yourselves.”

The Ultimate Fighter alumnus is currently in the Clark County Detention Center and is facing 32 different criminal charges related to an alleged brutal beating of porn-star ex-girlfriend Christy Mack and former reality TV star Corey Thomas, per KTNV. 

While Mack is still recovering from the injuries she sustained on August 9, War Machine has previously stated he was “ambushed” by Mack and Thomas on that fateful night and only acted in self defense, per TMZ. 

A preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for October 17 but was postponed when War Machine’s attorneys began trying to work out a plea deal with prosecutors, per Las Vegas Review-Journal.

War Machine hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts in a year, most recently getting choked unconscious by Ron Keslar at Bellator 104 last October. 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ronda Rousey Briefly Gets Involved in California-Based Pro Wrestling Show

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, a longtime pro wrestling fan, got coaxed into briefly getting physically involved at a local pro wrestling show in Reseda, Los Angeles, Friday night.
The “Rowdy” one channeled her inner Ric Flair when she…

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, a longtime pro wrestling fan, got coaxed into briefly getting physically involved at a local pro wrestling show in Reseda, Los Angeles, Friday night.

The “Rowdy” one channeled her inner Ric Flair when she decided to throw an impromptu knife-edge chop at one of the wrestlers, according to TMZ Sports: “The UFC women’s bantamweight champ attended a Pro Wrestling Guerilla event…and during one of the matches she was prompted by a wrestler named Tommaso Ciampa to chop his opponent’s chest…After some audience urging, Ronda reeled back and lit up the guy’s chest—the place went nuts.”

The report says that Rousey attended the event with Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke, her fellow Four Horsewomen—an homage to Flair’s infamous pro wrestling faction.

Middle Easy’s Layzie the Savage was fortunate enough to be in attendance at the event and took a picture with Rousey and her crew backstage.

The dominant UFC titleholder is currently a perfect 10-0 inside the cage, spending less than a minute-and-a-half in the Octagon in her past two victories. 

Rousey needed just one minute, six seconds to put away fellow ex-Olympian Sara McMann at UFC 170 in February and then took a measly 16 seconds to TKO Alexis Davis at UFC 175 in July. 

The 27-year-old is tentatively set to square off with top contender Cat Zingano at UFC 182 on January 3, per Sherdog. 

When winning fights inside the Octagon and starring on the silver screen are no longer exciting for Rousey, will she turn to the pro wrestling ring? 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Report: Fabricio Werdum Almost Died from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Mexico

Upcoming UFC heavyweight title challenger Fabricio Werdum and a significant portion of his fight camp nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a unforeseen set of circumstances in Mexico recently. 
As MMA Fighting reported, “Vai Cavalo” a…

Upcoming UFC heavyweight title challenger Fabricio Werdum and a significant portion of his fight camp nearly died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a unforeseen set of circumstances in Mexico recently. 

As MMA Fighting reported, “Vai Cavalo” and about a dozen of his teammates/coaches moved to Nevado de Toluca, Mexico to prepare for his UFC 180 championship bout with Cain Velasquez. 

On the very first day sleeping in the house, tragedy nearly struck. 

I was there with 12 other guys from my team, and they got us a gasoline generator to get power. They usually left the generator outside the house, but put this one inside the house … We were training inside the house, had dinner and went to bed. They didn’t tell us to turn that thing off before sleeping. I woke us in the middle of the night with a huge headache, nausea, and couldn’t get out of bed. Everyone was dizzy. My brother got out of his bed and managed to turn that thing off … We went to the hospital, everybody throwing up and with diarrhea. The doctor said that we would have died in two hours if nobody had turned that thing off.

As a result of the almost fatal stroke of bad luck, Werdum and his cohorts understandably moved to a new location in the Mexican town of Jiquipilco, 60 miles away from Nevado de Toluca. 

Werdum earned a crack at UFC gold after going 4-0 during his second stint in the Octagon dating back to February 2012. 

Since then, the Brazilian submission wizard has scored decisive wins over Roy Nelson, Mike Russow, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Travis Browne. 

According to the UFC’s official rankings, Werdum is the top ranked heavyweight mixed martial artist in the world. 

Meanwhile, Velasquez, who coached opposite Werdum on the Latin American version of The Ultimate Fighter, has been on a tear since losing the heavyweight strap to Junior dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1 in November 2011. 

While he has only fought two opponents since then, the former Arizona State Sun Devil absolutely rolled through Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and JDS in all four subsequent contests—recapturing the title at UFC 155. 

Velasquez has had few problems inside the cage outside of his flash KO to dos Santos, overwhelming his opponents with his wrestling and cardio. 

UFC 180 takes place at Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City on November 15, with Velasquez vs. Werdum headlining the pay-per-view event. 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Chael Sonnen Says ‘I’m Not Sorry’ for Performance-Enhancing Drug Test Failures

Retired three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is refusing to apologize for the two drug tests he failed this past summer that likely cut his MMA career short, saying he has nothing to be sorry for. 
In his new podcast titled “You’re We…

Retired three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is refusing to apologize for the two drug tests he failed this past summer that likely cut his MMA career short, saying he has nothing to be sorry for. 

In his new podcast titled “You’re Welcome,” Sonnen spoke in depth on his thought process before taking banned substances that made him fail two drug tests and subsequently get a two-year ban from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (transcription per MMA Fighting).

People were saying, ‘Why won’t he say he’s sorry?’ I’m not. I’m not going to apologize because I’m not sorry. I’m a consenting adult. I knew exactly what I was doing. This was a premeditated decision … I’m talking about, am I holding something in my possession and then a police officer sees me, am I allowed to have that? If the answer’s yes, then I’m in. That was my test. If I could get this legal, if there’s a legal medication, I’m taking it. I’m not cross-referencing it with the commission. 

Sonnen initially failed a random drug test for the anti-estrogenic drugs anastrozole and clomiphene in May, per ESPN, which removed him from a potential middleweight title eliminator bout with Vitor Belfort at UFC 175. 

Things went from bad to worse for The American Gangster after a second drug test revealed he tested positive for human growth hormone (HGH) and recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), per MMA Fighting.

The second drug test failure came just days after Sonnen had announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts. 

Sonnen competed against multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Andre Galvao at Metamoris 4 in August in a no-gi grappling match, losing the bout via a rear-naked choke after about eight minutes of action. 

Additionally, Sonnen called his first MMA event cageside with the help of WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross earlier this month. 

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Mike Goldberg Fired from NFL on Fox After Poor Performance, Twitter Meldown

UFC play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg had his first try at calling an NFL game on Sunday, and it has since been revealed this was a one-and-done effort.
Goldberg was lambasted by NFL fans for the performance, botching calls left and right, most no…

UFC play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg had his first try at calling an NFL game on Sunday, and it has since been revealed this was a one-and-done effort.

Goldberg was lambasted by NFL fans for the performance, botching calls left and right, most notably thinking that Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate was on the Minnesota Vikings, per NFL.com. 

The Lions won the game by a score of 17-3, and Tate had a fairly modest day on the field, catching seven balls for just 44 yards.

Employed by the UFC since 1997, Goldberg did not take the criticism on social media lightly and responded in a less-than-professional manner. Business Insider took screen caps of some of the nastiness on Twitter. 

Goldberg was originally slated to be back this Sunday to call the Vikings vs. the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills Twitter account has since stated that will not be the case. 

Neither the UFC nor Fox has officially confirmed the news, though Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk says that Fox will have a statement on the matter shortly. 

Furthermore, Goldberg has been uncharacteristically quiet on his Twitter page on Tuesday. 

While this is the first time Goldberg’s professional conduct has been called into question, it’s hardly the first time his sports knowledge has been criticized. 

As of this writing, Goldberg is set to commentate the action inside the Octagon again at UFC 179 on October 25, a pay-per-view event headlined by a featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. 

Should the UFC issue some form of punishment toward Goldberg for his indiscretions, or is losing his NFL commentating job enough punishment in itself?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com