This is the UFC on FX 2 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC event from the Allphones Arena in Sydney Australia. The six bouts to air on FUEL TV are Aaron Rosa vs. James Te Huna, Nick Penner vs. Anthony Per…
This is the UFC on FX 2 live blog for all the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC event from the Allphones Arena in Sydney Australia.
Round 1: Semerzier measuring distance with early jabs. Pineda comes over the top with a straight right hand that backs Semerzier against the fence. They reset. Semerzier with a knee off a clinch. Pineda takes it well. Pineda throwing nothing but power strikes early. Pineda drops Semerzier with a left hook. He moves straight into mount and locks on the top-side triangle. He’s also got the arm. The triangle/armbar is sunk and Semerzier is forced to tap. The UFC officially announces it as an armbar tapout.
Winner: Daniel Pineda via submission (armbar), Rd. 1 (2:05)
Jake Hecht vs. T.J. Waldburger
Round 1: Waldburger with a sharp leg kick and a left hook to open things up. Waldberger scores an early takedown and transitions immediately into an arm bar as Hecht was attempting a whizzer. It’s sunk and Hecht taps. A super-slick finish that will certainly make him a submission of the night favorite.
Winner: TJ Waldburger via submission, Rd. 1 (0:55)
Andrew Craig vs. Kyle Noke
Round 1: Noke opens with a series of kicks, then takes Craig down quickly. Noke takes his back but Craig fights off a choke. Noke on his back with a knee to the face. Noke drags him down again and has his back. He goes for a choke again. Craig isn’t in any trouble and Noke moves into his full guard. Noke with elbows from the top as we hit the midway point. Craig back to his feet and they reset. Noke with a series of kicks, but jumps into a left hook. Noke controlling the distance and landing the cleaner strikes as the round closes. It’s Noke’s, 10-9.
Round 2: Craig starting to close the range with his jab, and he’s the one moving Noke around. Noke tries a takedown with a single leg, but Craig defends and throws elbows that land. Noke trips to the ground and Craig ends up on top. Craig postures up with punches from the top. Craig gets stifled a bit and lets Noke up with :40 left. Noke appeared to slip down again and Craig capitalized with punches from the top, riding out the round in the position. It’s Craig’s round, 10-9.
Round 3: Noke has done good work with front kicks during the fight but something seems off with his footwork. Perhaps he has an injury he’s hiding but he’s off a bit. Noke goes low again but Craig defends with short elbows again. It’s anyone’s fight. Noke punches his way into a takedown try. They end up against the fence, and Noke finally drags him to the mat. Craig has no problem getting back to his feet though. Craig is the fresher of the two as we go to the final two minutes. Craig powers forward for a takedown. That might win him the fight. Craig with short punches as Noke tries to get to his feet. That slows Noke’s attempt. Craig with punches from the back as Noke tries to escape. This is going to be an upset, as Craig takes the round, 10-9.
Winner: Andrew Craig def. Kyle Noke via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Round 1: Miller with an early body lock. Siler punches his way out. Siler with heavy leg kicks. A straight right hand by Siler lands square. Siler looks comfortable with his standup, stepping into all of his offense, mixing things up. Miller snaps Siler’s head with a right hand but he eats it and fires back an aggressive combination. Siler buckles Miller with a left hook/uppercut combo. Miller backs up to shake out the cobwebs. Siler takes him down to finish a strong 10-9 round.
Round 2: Miller lands a hard right from the clinch but that angers Siler who comes forward with a flurry. Miller can’t return fire and backs up and out of range. He may be a bit surprised by what he’s seeing out of Siler. Miller worked hard for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Siler with a series of stiff jabs as he works Miller against the fence. Siler’s got some blood around the lip and Miller looks to work it attacking against the fence. A good flurry from Miller but Siler looks unphased. Siler targets the ribs with a solid body shot. Siler is just faster to the punch and he takes the second 10-9.
Round 3: Siler catches a kick and slams the right off its target. Miller with a stiff right that stops Siler in his tracks. A moment later he shoots back a combo. Miller backs him to the cage with a clinch but can’t use his size advantage as Siler turns off the cage and gets free. Siler with a right behind the ear. Miller wants a takedown looking to steal the round. Siler stays on his feet but takes some knees to his thighs. Miller finally scores a takedown with :45 left. He’s in half-guard but gets into full mount with :20 left. It’s a race against the clock. Miller looking for the heavy shots but can’t get the finishing blow. It’s MIller’s round 10-9.
Winner: Steven Siler via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
If Miesha Tate could pinpoint one weakness in Ronda Rousey’s game, it wouldn’t be her takedowns. It probably wouldn’t even be her striking. In fact, it wouldn’t be a physical element at all.
In Tate’s mind, Rousey’s weakness is…
If Miesha Tate could pinpoint one weakness in Ronda Rousey’s game, it wouldn’t be her takedowns. It probably wouldn’t even be her striking. In fact, it wouldn’t be a physical element at all.
In Tate’s mind, Rousey’s weakness is her hubris. Sure, her athletic resume is impressive and she’ll naturally be a tough opponent tomorrow night. But according to Tate, Rousey hasn’t earned her spot the traditional way, which is to say, the right way. She hasn’t paid her dues in the sport and even worse, isn’t grateful for her spot. If anything, she carries a sense of entitlement. According to Tate, Rousey knows her opponents may be skilled athletes, but they don’t have her athleticism or her skills and that’s enough to look past them.
In this interview with MMA Fighting, Tate pinpoints what she views as Rousey’s biggest downfall: she’s got “too big of a head” to take her opponents and the challenge of fighting in women’s MMA seriously.
Full audio and partial transcription below:
Luke Thomas: Alright, joining me right now to talk about her upcoming title fight, which of course is gonna be March 3rd at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. It’s gonna be Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey, the champion at 135 for Strikeforce, Miesha Tate. Miesha, how are you?
Miesha Tate: I’m doing excellent, how about yourself?
Luke Thomas: It was kind of interesting because your challenger, as talented as she is, kind of talked her way into challenging you. Let me ask you up front, it happens in boxing all the time, it happens in men’s MMA all the time, in your judgment, what is wrong with talking your way into a fight provided you’ve got some credentials?
Miesha Tate: Well, I think it takes away a little bit from the credibility of the sport itself in that, especially because I feel bad for Sarah Kaufman because she was promised this title fight. They even brought her into my last fight with Marloes and had her televised, interviewed, saying she was going to be taking on the winner of the two of us and she’d had two solid wins since her only defeat against the former champion who I defeated. She’s 14-1 and I know she’s paid her dues and I felt like she was next in line and I’ve said that time and time again.
However, it just goes to show if you push your marketability aspect and you run your mouth a little bit, that you can be next in line for a title shot in a weight class you’ve never even competed in so I don’t know if that explains how I feel about the situation a bit, but I do understand that there is an entertainment aspect and given that, I completely understand Strikeforce’s reasoning for wanting to make this fight happen now because it garners the most momentum for women’s MMA and the future of it. I think it’ll make my fight with the winner of Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis that much bigger after this fight’s happening because this fight’s gonna draw a lot of attention to a lot of people that maybe haven’t noticed MMA or particularly women’s MMA before.
This is really being talked about a lot. It’s being covered a lot. It’s really highly anticipated and I think it’s going to make for a really exciting, very entertaining fight and I think Strikeforce has the best intentions in mind when it comes to promoting the future of women’s MMA and so that’s why they put this fight together when they did.
Luke Thomas: I had just recently spoken to Scott Coker and he was actually pretty positive about the fight for a number of reasons, not least of which was that this was the first women’s fight since Carano vs. Cyborg that headlined a major Strikeforce card. They’ve certainly headlined some Challenger cards but not a major card like this. That’s a win for everybody, isn’t it? I know Rousey may not have got in the way you would have liked but it seems to me that everyone kind of wins here including you.
Miesha Tate: Exactly, and even though for that, I’m very grateful and as much as I have a dislike for Ronda, I do appreciate the attention that she’s drawn in really stirring the pot, creating controversy and I’m by no means her biggest fan but looking at this situation objectively, I think she’s doing overall good things for women’s MMA and I don’t think that she’s really earned her keep at all in our weight division but she’s next in line and I still do think that she will be a tough opponent, a tough match-up because she’s a highly skilled judo player and a talented athlete and I think her one pitfall though is she’s coming in with too big of a head. I think that she thinks she’s gonna steamroll through me and it’s not gonna be that big of a challenge and I can’t emphasize just how wrong she is.
Luke Thomas: Let’s talk about Rousey a little bit. There’s obviously judo tape on her and what tape exists in MMA. She’s kind of a little bit different: look at her fights, it’s not like she just goes for the armbar, it’s that she goes for that Russian, sort of two on one and sort of jumps into the armbar or she goes for the two on one rush-in and then she goes for the trip. You don’t see a lot of men or women doing that.
Miesha Tate: Well, I think there’s ways that with the wrestling experience that I do have that can nullify a lot of her judo. I don’t want to go specifically into the game plan, but I have come up with a great game plan with my boyfriend Bryan Caraway who’s been wrestling for a very long time and I’d also like to point out the difference between a lot of wrestling and judo is the gi so when you take the gi away, a lot her throws and everything else are a lot of the throws that you see in wrestling. It’s not just judo. Wrestlers do hip tosses, wrestlers do lateral drops, wrestlers do foot sweeps, wrestlers do trips and a lot of people have the misconception that that’s only judo. Judo gets all the credibility for any kind of throws but let me tell you what, freestyle is all about throws, Greco Roman is all about throws and I’ve been involved in wrestling since I was 15. I have world class submission wrestling skills.
I took a silver medal in the FILA 2008 world grappling championships against 49 other countries or something like that and I also was about 142 pounds at the time and I competed in the 158 pound division against other women and despite being the smaller opponent, I was still able to take a silver medal and so I feel like that all is being overlooked because everyone sees the Olympic bronze medalist. The world is similar in that we don’t have the Olympic for jiu-jitsu but that’s about as close as it gets. It was an international competition and was also the same year that she competed for the bronze medal and I also feel that submission wrestling is more applicable to MMA than judo is in that we still start on our feet, we get the takedown and we have to get to work from the ground just like you would in a fight. With all that considered, I don’t feel that I’m that much of an underdog and I don’t feel that it’s gonna be impossible by any means to deal with her judo.
Luke Thomas: Do you feel like wrestling, as someone who’s a really capable wrestler and obviously there are different types of wrestlers too, but it has more takedown opportunities? Certainly judo has sweeps, they have throws and they certainly have double leg takedowns but it’s much more of a posture based sport particularly with the gi. Wrestling is a lot more hunched over. You can do leg attacks, body locks, all kinds of different things. Do you believe wrestling is superior in that regard?
Miesha Tate: I think wrestling for MMA can be a lot more dynamic because you don’t have to be holding onto someone or be having an over/under hook in order to take them down. As a matter of fact, you can shoot from far away and blast through with a double leg and it’s a very powerful motion and not a whole lot of set-up necessarily needed. You can switch to single legs, you can go to body locks, you can do throws, you can do trips, you can do all of the above, and you can choose to stand up straight or you can choose to lower your elevation to go for the legs depending on the style of person you’re fighting.
Some people have better leg defense such as Sarah Kaufman. She is someone that’s tougher to take down when you try to do the double legs. She’s really good at pulling you up and whatnot. Other people who stand more tall such as Marloes Coenen are easier to attack the legs. It just depends and wrestling has that diversity so it’s also easier to set up with your punches than judo is as well because judo, it seems like Ronda has to get inside and she has to have that over/under to be able to utilize it.
Well, what if she can’t get to that position? What if someone’s just moving around too much and she can’t get there? How is she going to set that up? Is she just going to bulrush right in every time? What if she runs right into a push kick? She’s not setting it up real well. There’s a lot of holes in her game I’ve seen. I’ve had a similar game plan before in rushing in with someone I don’t want to stand with you know that I realized that my best advantage is to be on the ground and I just rushed in and I did the exact same thing she’s doing and I know her game plan, I know what she’s good at. I’ve done it before and it’s no secret and I think having the experience in fighting will enable me to be able to counteract that with my wrestling and implement my game plan.
Luke Thomas: Is it true or is it false that Ronda Rousey is a frontrunner and here’s what I mean. All her wins in MMA have come very early. What I’m asking is, if you take her to the second round, does she fold?
Miesha Tate: Well I hope so, but that’s something that there’s only one way to find out and I can guarantee you that this fight is not going to end in a minute unless it ends by my doing because I know my skill-set is much higher than she’s anticipating and a big part of my game plan is just going to be to frustrate the hell out of her.
I’m not gonna let her do what she wants to do. I’m not gonna let her be comfortable. I’m gonna force her to break out of her element. She thinks, “Oh, she can’t knock me out,” well she better keep her pretty little chin tucked because I do have knockout power. I’ve dropped guys in practice, I’ve dropped girls in practice and underestimating my striking is going to be a huge downfall for her as well as underestimating everything else which I know she’s doing because she’s coming in so confident. She thinks she has the edge on me in every aspect and I don’t feel that that’s the case.
I feel like with the striking, it’s called the game plan. Most of the people that I’ve fought have been stand-up fighters as well and when you close the distance, even if you are throwing punches, if you’re coming forward so fast, you stuff a lot ‘em which takes a lot of your power away but that’s your game plan. As soon as you get in close, that’s where you have the advantage. You don’t need to strike. That’s not what you’re trying to do. Striking to strike is different than striking to take someone down and you don’t get as much power when you’re striking to take someone down usually because you’re not on the full end of your punches. You’re starting there and you’re rushing forward so fast that your punches end up being short and you’re then eventually able to grab ahold of someone and take them to where your playing field is so her thinking I won’t be able to knock her out is a huge, huge mistake on her part and it’s gonna be different. If I choose to actually strike to strike, I don’t think she’s gonna like it.
There was always a great deal on the line between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate and I don’t just mean the bantamweight title. If that isn’t a fight for bragging rights, nothing is. But across the world just a day before, four fl…
There was always a great deal on the line between Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate and I don’t just mean the bantamweight title. If that isn’t a fight for bragging rights, nothing is. But across the world just a day before, four flyweights begin a tournament to crown a new champion in a new UFC division. Whatever you think of the women’s bantamweight or UFC flyweight divisions, both are at least offering the best they have to showcase over the next 48 hours. That means there’s blood to spill and treasure to collect. Let’s take a closer look and examine what’s on the line in Sydney, Australia tomorrow night and Columbus, Ohio on Saturday.
At stake: the proverbial ‘mix’. ‘The mix’ is not the worst place to be. After all, Alves and Kampmann are on the rebound. Both dropped several tough fights to respected competitors, but they also righted their own ships recently. Alves smashed Papy Abedi at UFC 138 while Kampmann decisioned Rick Story at UFC 139.
At the moment, the UFC welterweight division is in a bit of a logjam. A victory for either fighter is a legitimate accomplishment, but it’s hard to predict what it could mean in terms of the upper end of possibilities. What we can say with certainty, however, is that it returns both Kampmann and Alves to the short list of possible contenders who could earn title shots in 2012 or early 2013. They have to win Saturday and likely thereafter. But two in a row at welterweight and against the competition they’ve faced means quite a bit.
The bad news about welterweight is it’s a place where success can be hard to maintain. The good news is you also get a lot of opportunities to make some noise.
At stake: a spot in the finals. There’s no mystery here. The winners of both fights move onto the finals in this four-man flyweight tournament. Each fighter, though, is in a different stage of their career. McCall re-enters the big leagues, this time in the right weight class, but needs to justify his high ranking with a strong performance against the upper echelon of the division. Benavidez and Johnson dropping down to this weight also carries significant expectations. Urushitani, the long-time member of the flyweight class, needs to prove he still belongs among top-end flyweights despite being 35 years of age.
At stake: resume booster. McGee and Philippou are still prospects, but they’ve each strung together some decent wins in the UFC middleweight divsion. McGee has won three straight, most recently besting Dongi Yang at UFC Fight Night 25. Philippou has won two in a row including a very respectable KO of Jared Hamman at UFC 140. A win over either gentleman continues their streaks and adds a further touch of legitimacy to their burgeoning careers. And given how even this fight is in terms of competitiveness, it’s also an opportunity to give the MMA community a greater sense of the complexion of their games.
At stake: the whole 9 yards. That the Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title is up for grabs almost seems like a bonus at this point. These fighters have spent months hurling invective at one another, questioning the others ability, skill, background, placement in the division and existence, generally. The truth is that a tough but noble loss wouldn’t be the worst thing and obviously victory is preferred. What they desperately need to avoid, however, is convincing defeat. Nothing would sting worse and grant more ammunition to their foe than proof they were right about them all along. And even if a clear victory in the cage doesn’t prove it, the winner will say it does. That’s enough to make it stick.
At stake: Glibert’s gold. The Strikeforce lightweight division is thin. How thin? Thin enough where all a fighter may need for a title shot is two consecutive wins. Or just a recent win. Noons bested Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal (after losing two straight). Thomson, on the other hand, didn’t fight at all in 2011. He did manage to go 2-1 in 2010, beating both Gesias Cavalcante and Pat Healy, but that was quite some time ago. Yet, looking at the roster, not many other known names exist as potential contenders for Gilbert Melendez. Caros Fodor is surging up the ranks and Masvidal may get another shot, but it’s slim pickings. If Noons or Thomson have a strong showing this weekend, a title shot is by no means out of the question.
At stake: Marquardt vs. Woodley winner. No date is set, but Marquardt is slated to face Tyron Woodley for what is expected to be the Strikeforce welterweight title. With a depleted roster, a name like Daley – despite so far being 1-2 in his latest Strikeforce stint – has to be on the short list of potential contenders. Misaki might be further away, both literally and figuratively, but even he has to be in the running if he can get past the British striker on Saturday night.
At stake: Jacare’s scalp. Jacare is in a bad spot here. He’s admittedly not facing the toughest threat of his career, but anything short of a decision, relatively speedy victory makes Jacare’s future look dubious at best. Souza was originally slated to face Derek Brunson, but that match was scratched because of Brunson’s eye issues. Jacare’s best hope is to make a the night quick work. Marunde, on the other hand, can notch what would easily be the biggest win of his career.
At stake: physical health. As he proved against Antwain Britt, Sayers is capable of clobberin’ time. Smith is not new to that process either. Of all Strikeforce’s divisions, middleweight is arguably the thickest. Smith and Sayers aren’t near the top or even middle. That’s not to say they can’t get there (or for Smith, return there), but it’s not like a win here realistically pushes them close.
From the preliminary card(s):
— Caros Fodor is on a tear. He’s undefeated in Strikeforce and on a five-fight win streak. He faces the very durable, submission grappling savvy Pat Healy in what is a tough test for a rising prospect. If Fodor can pass this with flying colors, Gilbert Melendez may have a new contender on his hands.
— Sarah Kaufmann, who was passed over by Ronda Rousey for the title shot, faces Alexis Davis. This is a rematch of their 2007 bout, which Kaufman won by TKO with strikes. If Kaufman prevails here, she won’t be far from facing the winner of Saturday night’s main event.
2011 was not the kindest of years to British welterweight Paul Daley. At least not in Strikeforce. Of the five fights he took in those twelve months, he lost the two that took place within the Strikeforce cage. Yes, the other t…
2011 was not the kindest of years to British welterweight Paul Daley. At least not in Strikeforce. Of the five fights he took in those twelve months, he lost the two that took place within the Strikeforce cage. Yes, the other three wins in smaller shows were against respected competitors. But when it counted the most – and when the Strikeforce title was on the line against Nick Diaz – everything fell apart.
Talking to Daley now, he’s still smoldering. He still wants to compete and knows he can against the best, but this time he wants the bigger bouts to go his way. “I’ve had [title] opportunities and I just haven’t taken them. I’d like to work my way towards another opportunity at fighting for a belt,” a thoughtful Daley told Ariel Helwani today on The MMA Hour. “My main focus in 2012 is getting a belt here at Strikeforce.”
He’s not making demands, of course. These days, Daley understands the value of right timing, and perhaps most importantly, right place. Being part of a bigger show is not something to take for granted. “I’m just happy to be here with Strikeforce and still competing,” Daley humbly admitted. “Since Zuffa has taken over Strikeforce there’s a lot more organization to the whole promotion. I’m just happy to be part of it.”
That’s Daley today: a fighter alternating between gratitude for opportunity and an unfailing desire to prove he can best his contemporaries as the top welterweight around.
The road back starts this Saturday. Daley is set to face Japanese import Kazuo Misaki on the main card of Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Daley is cognizant of the challenges in front of him. He calls Misaki ‘a proper fighter’ and touts his knowledge of his opponent via the help he gave Melvin Manhoef before the Dutch striker’s bout with him in 2009.
(Editor’s note: The show begins around the five-minute mark.)
But while Daley acknowledges Misaki’s legitimacy, he’s more excited to just be fighting in Strikeforce. “I was just happy to fight. I was just happy to be fighting. I’m a fighter. I like to stay active,” Daley matter-of-factly noted. Beating Misaki is important for Daley – his career can’t go forward without it – but the real priority on Saturday is “a chance to get some more wins together and get another shot at the championship belt.”
Daley knows he’ll have to wait in line. He’s lost two in a row in Strikeforce and their welterweight roster has a new, important addition: the UFC-estranged Nate Marquardt. Daley sees him as an asset and potential opponent.
“I appreciate the level that Nate [Marquardt] has fought at and the interesting match-ups that he brings for Strikeforce,” Daley confesses. “The fact that I was supposed to fight him before and hopefully now it can materialize in Strikeforce it’s a motivating factor for me also.”
To hear Daley play matchmaker, he’s betting Strikeforce will likely pit Marquardt against the surging if uninspiring Tyron Woodley first to crown a champion. Given Marquardt’s name value and the lackluster action in Daley’s first bout with Woodley, it’s no mystery to the British striker he’ll have to wait his turn. “I can see why they’ll give Nate the title shot straight away and it’s something me and my team was discussing earlier on today,” Daley confessed. “A rematch with me and [Tyron] Woodley…wasn’t really an exciting fight the first time around. I can see why it’d be hard for the promoters to make something of that fight whereas Nate has a big name. It would be a real test for Tyron Woodley as well. See if he can escape with another victory.”
Daley’s angle, though, is no matter who wins between Woodley and Marquardt, he’s not going to be too far behind. “I figure after Nate beats Woodley, then I get the shot for the championship belt having defeated Misaki. It’s interesting.”
Whatever happens to Daley this Saturday or in 2012, he still cannot seem to escape the impact of his falling out with UFC President Dana White. After sucker punching Josh Koscheck after the final bell in their fight at UFC 113, Daley’s been out of the UFC and seemingly without any hope of return. It’s cast a shadow on his career and with the two additional loses in 2011, an issue that follows him wherever he goes.
Yet, it’s not something he wants to talk about. This time there’s reluctance and that may be to his benefit. Daley doesn’t want to get mired in what is an intractable situation when only words are involved. Once and for all, the British striker would prefer to let his fighting do the talking for him.
Round by round, fight by fight, Daley wants to prove his accomplishments can carry him where he wants to go. On Saturday, it’s a win over Misaki. In 2012, it’s the Strikeforce belt. Beyond that? It’s as far as his fighting can take him.
“I don’t really wanna harp on about [my situation with Dana White]. I just want to keep going forward, keep training hard, keep getting good wins, keep entertaining and just doing my thing. And I think that is enough to show I’m an asset to whatever organization I’m at.”
In the run-up to Strikeforce’s bantamweight title clash between champion Miehsa Tate and challenger Ronda Rousey, much of the focus of the fight has had nothing to do with actual fighting.
Did Rousey jump the line for a title s…
In the run-up to Strikeforce’s bantamweight title clash between champion Miehsa Tate and challenger Ronda Rousey, much of the focus of the fight has had nothing to do with actual fighting.
Did Rousey jump the line for a title shot? Has the marketing for this fight focused incessantly on looks? What’s the latest in the war of words between the two fighters? Questions like these and others dominate the news cycle. While these queries aren’t without some merit, there’s another story to be told: how each fighter plans to win this coming Saturday evening.
In this interview with MMA Fighting, Rousey discusses her unusual judo past, how it’s radically different from the prototypical wrestling/jiu-jitsu fighter background and why she believes Tate cannot properly prepare for it.
The judo bronze medalist also discusses her admiration for Gina Carano, drug testing efficacy in USADA, candor in the fight business and much more. Full audio and partial transcription below:
Luke Thomas: Okay, joining me right now to talk about her upcoming title fight at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey, which of course takes place March 3rd at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, former bronze judo medalist, Ronda Rousey. Ronda, how are you?
Ronda Rousey: it’s not former, the next Olympics hasn’t happened.
Luke Thomas: (laughs) I guess that’s true, current bronze medalist, how are you?
Ronda Rousey: I’m good, how you doing?
Luke Thomas: Speaking of the 2012 London games, how invested are you in judo? Are you gonna watch that as a spectator?
Ronda Rousey: Yeah, well I’m for sure going. It’ll be an amazing experience to go to the Olympics just for fun and just to watch and to enjoy the games and different sports, it’ll be great.
Luke Thomas: Are you being facetious?
Ronda Rousey: No.
Luke Thomas: I guess I’m just sort of curious as to your current level of enthusiasm for judo in that way. I know you sort of went to MMA because you got tired as a competitor of the daily grind.
Ronda Rousey: Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the sport. I love watching judo, I just don’t like the lifestyle required to be the best in the world at it.
Luke Thomas: Fair enough. Let me ask you about self promotion because you seem to be rather good at it. Did it come naturally? Is it something you’re working on? Is it a little combination of both? What is it?
Ronda Rousey: I guess it comes naturally in that I benefited from being raised in a certain environment where I come from a family of very educated and empowered and quick-witted women and ever since I’ve been 13 or so, most people I’ve hung out with are men in their mid 20s. I’ve lived in a lot of houses that were just me and my teammates between the banter of my teammates and arguing with my sisters, I developed my own brand of quick-witted shit-talking that has served me so well.
Luke Thomas: But this isn’t something like a Chael Sonnen act, is it? This seems to be something that is mostly natural, or am I overstating it?
Ronda Rousey: I just try to be as bluntly honest as possible. It’s not entirely genuine in that I do not have all that energy all day long, but I just kind of just an exaggerated version of myself I guess.
Luke Thomas: Let me ask you about being blunt. Do you think the fight game is full of too much posturing and people not being candid with one another?
Ronda Rousey: I think that the women’s side definitely does. The men have a good balance of fighters that are much more soft-spoken and are just there to compete and other fighters that are showmen but on the women’s side, you really don’t see any of that, any of the girls going out of their way to market themselves at the extent of some criticism. That’s why I really did a call-out on my last fight because I realized that no other woman had done a call-out on TV before so I was like, “You know what? If I’m the first one to do it, it’s bound to work and it did and I’m just trying to draw inspiration from a lot of the men’s fighters that have been using the exact same package that I have and I think if I was a man and I was doing the exact same things that I’m doing now, no one would really say “boo” about it but because I’m a woman and not a lot of the women have been outspoken before that it’s become something that a lot of people like to pay attention to.
Luke Thomas: Well tell me about Gina Carano, and I don’t mean to be superficial with the question but in the sense that she has been able to leverage both ability and looks to a pretty strong degree at this point. Is she blazing a path that you’d like to follow or are you looking for something different?
Ronda Rousey: She definitely is and if I didn’t see what Gina was already doing, I wouldn’t have become an MMA fighter because I wouldn’t think it would offer any sort of long-term career for me so she has her own path and she’s going about things her own way, but yeah, I see that she’s been successful and I think it would be dumb of me to not look at what she’s done and how she’s succeeded and kinda pick and choose from her strategy and make some of it my own.
Luke Thomas: Let’s talk about drug testing and the state athletic commissions versus WADA which you’ve also done a lot of testing throughout your judo career. Which one’s more rigorous, WADA or state athletic commissions?
Ronda Rousey: I would actually say that USADA is the worst one because I think that the United States drug tests are more stringent than the world drug testing and I think that the professional athletic commission is actually most lax of the three. For the Olympics, all I could take the Olympics was Advil.
Luke Thomas: Does that mean that there is more opportunity for a false positive because you can take more over the counter supplements in gross degrees in state athletic commission testing?
Ronda Rousey: Well in USADA, they told us that, “You are entirely responsible for everything that you take.” Even if you take a supplement and test positive for something that’s not on the label and you can prove that it came from that bottle and it was mistakenly done, they will hold you accountable so that’s why I only take children’s vitamins because I know that it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen if they happen to put something else in there. I’ve always just been overly cautious and for all these people that are testing positive for various kinds of steroids and saying, “Oh, I got it from some supplement,” it’s bullshit. It’s a blatant lie and I feel it’s insulting the intelligence of the fans.
Luke Thomas: Talk to me about newaza in judo. I think a lot of people have poor conception of what it actually entails both in terms of newaza training and newaza as a function of competition in judo. How does it work? How much training is involved in submissions in judo and how much of it matters in competition?
Ronda Rousey: Training in newaza in judo is not mandatory. You can get away with not knowing any ground and just knowing how to defend and stay standing. I just happen to come from a background where my mom, she tore her knees out when she was like 17 so all of her fights, she won on the ground and then when I was 16, I tore my knee out and I spent that entire year only doing ground work and when I moved away from home, I went to [Jimmy] Pedro’s. They’re known as mostly a very ground based judo school so the difference I think between a judo and jiu-jitsu ground game is in judo, you only have sometimes only three seconds, even less than that to make something work so it pushes the transition and the pace on the ground to be faster than any other grappling sport.
Luke Thomas: Is that the key to the game? It seems like once you get that rush in, the two on one and then the trip, it’s just a matter of seconds at that point. Do you think the jiu-jitsu guys don’t have the same sense of urgency in their submission application?
Ronda Rousey: Yeah, they don’t have any sense of urgency and they don’t have as much need to be able to transition between the stand-up and the ground as quickly as a judo player does because we don’t have an undisclosed amount of time to work on the ground and so I think that’s a big advantage. A lot of judo players like I said neglect learning any kind of ground game at all. It’s kind of like some judo players I think have an amazing ground game that transfers better to MMA than any style but some judo players are just completely useless on the ground. It’s kind of random.
Luke Thomas: There’s obviously a lot of overlap between amateur wrestling, folkstyle, freestyle, Greco Roman and judo but I guess my question to you would be, why does your judo beat Miesha Tate’s wrestling?
Ronda Rousey: I think it’s because I have a very unorthodox style of judo in that I kind of have a weird European-Japanese-Brazilian jiu-jitsu mix that is extremely hard to prepare for and I train with world champion and Olympic medalist wrestlers several times a week and there’s no way that she could have judo players of my caliber to train with. It’s just such an unorthodox style that I don’t think she can be nearly as prepared for me as I am for her.
Luke Thomas: You come in reaching for her arm, I’ve never seen you change elevation at least not yet in your career. More than just being a different style, I mean the particular application of it. Is she not going to be as strong as you, is she not going to be able to understand the angle at which you come to grab her, what do you mean?
Ronda Rousey: Well, yeah, like you were pointing out, for judo players, you don’t change levels when you come in for the takedowns, you telegraph a lot less. What was the rest of your question, just the advantage that judo players have in general?
Luke Thomas: I guess I’m just wondering, I talked to [Tate] and her sense was that her wrestling really had a lot of different tools to stop your judo and what you’re telling me is quite the opposite in a sense that she doesn’t even know what she’s getting into.
Ronda Rousey: There’s no way she can know because I’m not a normal judo player and she, I think it’s ridiculous to assume that you know how to defend a style that you’ve never fought against or had any experience training with.
Luke Thomas: Talk to me about what’s harder on the body over time, judo or MMA? I read a book called “Falling Hard” where a writer picked up judo as a hobby and really sort of followed it through and he talked about the devastating injuries. Which is harder on the body, judo or MMA?
Ronda Rousey: Judo is definitely much harder on the body. It’s much harder on your joints. It’s not so much cosmetic damage because you don’t see much blood, but more people have died from judo than doing MMA and most people get injuries like torn shoulders, separated collar bones, broken collar bones, broken legs, knees everything. I’ve seen way more injuries, broke necks, people break their necks doing judo because you’re pretty much doing gymnastics with somebody on your back. Imagine someone doing gymnastics with another person trying to stop you and throw you on your ass. It’s pretty much dangerous in that way and I think that judo is probably one of the more dangerous sports under boxing.
That chat is back. Join MMA Fighting today at 1 p.m. ET as we discuss and debate everything from UFC 144. Was the scoring in Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson fair to the former champion? What does Rampage Jackson really have lef…
That chat is back. Join MMA Fighting today at 1 p.m. ET as we discuss and debate everything from UFC 144. Was the scoring in Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson fair to the former champion? What does Rampage Jackson really have left? Does Dan Henderson vs. Ryan Bader make sense for the light heavyweight division? Overall, how would you grade the UFC 144 effort to revive the mixed martial arts scene in Japan?
