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UFC 140 Results: It’s Time for Dana White to Have "The Talk" With Tito Ortiz

There was a time when Dana White, the UFC president, would have relished telling Tito Ortiz that he was done.When their feud was at full blast, White would have loved nothing more than to tell Ortiz that he was not only washed up, but also prevent him …

There was a time when Dana White, the UFC president, would have relished telling Tito Ortiz that he was done.

When their feud was at full blast, White would have loved nothing more than to tell Ortiz that he was not only washed up, but also prevent him from fighting as well. Now things have changed and both he and Ortiz are on good terms.

Which is why it is ironic that now that both men have stopped detesting each other that Dana White needs to tell Ortiz that it’s time to retire.

Ortiz for all accounts did well against Nogueira when they fought in the cage. He was beaten in the first round, and it was by knockout, but he seemed to be able to hold his own for the first part of the round.

The problem is that it was against the younger Nogueira brother who is coming off two losses and has struggled in the UFC.

Ortiz was facing a faded fighter like himself and still got beaten in the first round. Who knows what would have happened to him if he had been facing a younger fighter who was in his prime?

An argument could be made that Ortiz still has something, as he was able to beat former Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader, but Bader was caught by Ortiz in the first minutes of their fight and then submitted. It’s starting to look like that was a fluke more than a resurgence of the once-great fighter.

And now Ortiz is sitting on a 1-4 record in his current UFC run and White is given the unenviable task of telling him that it is over.

There won’t be any more walkouts. There won’t be any more chances to prove himself. There won’t any more fights coming his way.

Tito Ortiz the fighter will vanish.

Some fans might rejoice, as they hated him, while others will sadly see their favorite MMA fighter walk off into the sunset.

But for all the money that Ortiz has made the UFC and for all the fans he has drawn, White owes him a talk and to tell a once-great fighter that his time is up, because if he doesn’t, Ortiz is going to keep competing.

That is because for all of the annoying quirks that Ortiz presents to some fans and fellow competitors, he is a fighter through and through and will keep stepping into the cage because he believes he can make a comeback and get one more run with the title.

It is a sad story that has unfortunately been seen too many times in boxing and has started happening in MMA. If Ortiz isn’t stopped, he will be the latest.

He did the best he could last night and he came up short. It happens, and in combat sports, it eventually happens to everyone. It doesn’t mean his life is over, just his chosen career.

Now it’s just up to his employer to tell him. Considering he started his early career with Dana White and the UFC, it seems only fitting that it is how his career ends.

It’s just up to White to let him know that.

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Dana White Firing Miguel Torres Because of His Tweet: Why It Smacks of Hypocrisy

Dana White recently released former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres in a shocking move less than 24 hours after Torres made a rape joke.The joke was offensive and though the punishment was harsh, it can be argued that it was fair.Personally, this w…

Dana White recently released former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres in a shocking move less than 24 hours after Torres made a rape joke.

The joke was offensive and though the punishment was harsh, it can be argued that it was fair.

Personally, this writer would have liked to see Torres fined and forced to give a public apology. A suspension might have even been merited.

But White chose to fire him, and that is still within the bounds of what should have been done. It’s the inconsistency of who is punished that seems to smack either of favoritism or a lack of critical thought.

This isn’t a recent problem, as both Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans have made comments that were in bad taste.

But Forrest Griffin explained his reasoning which made sense and even donated to a charity to help fix the situation. Rashad Evans hasn’t done anything to make fans believe he is truly sorry after his comments on the Penn State tragedy as of yet.

So why wasn’t Evans fired and Torres was?

Because White stated in an interview with Ariel Helwani that he understood why Evans said what he did because he was trying to get under Davis’ skin. Davis had wrestled as an amateur for Penn State so it is easy to see why Evans chose to attack his college.

It just doesn’t make sense why he would choose that topic.

And White’s reasons for defending Davis are absurd. Because a fighter wanted to sell a fight and talk trash, he was able to get away with making light of the alleged abuse of multiple children? That is the reason White is defending him?

And Evans in no way has to pay a fine. He hasn’t even apologized for the incident. To be honest, he doesn’t need to apologize to the fans, or even to the media. He needs to apologize to the victims of the Penn State proceedings.

But White has already shrugged those comments and that action off, even though it was said in the middle of a presser for a fight that will air on network TV.

Some might say that it is because Evans is such an important fighter in the UFC, unlike Torres, that White doesn’t want to cut him. It might be true, it might not be the case at all.

White was willing to fire Torres because he tweeted an insensitive joke, and that is understandable.

Evans willingly and knowingly said something that was offensive and was done to attack his opponent and is not only still with the company, but had no repercussions.

Dana White says he deals with smart people that do dumb things. He is smart himself. In fact he is so intelligent, it’s hard to believe that he didn’t think about the mixed message he sent.

So what did fans learn from this?

The next time a UFC fighter says something offensive, figure out what their standing in the company is, and that will tell you if they’re going to be cut.

It might not be the message White wanted to send, but fans received it loud and clear.

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MMA Outside the Cage Podcast Ep. 1: Machida vs. Jones

MMA Outside is something new that I’m trying and this is going to be the first episode. As far as podcasts go, this should be a little different.First, no episode will go over 10 minutes.Second, there will be no fight predictions or analysis …

MMA Outside is something new that I’m trying and this is going to be the first episode. As far as podcasts go, this should be a little different.

First, no episode will go over 10 minutes.

Second, there will be no fight predictions or analysis of fights that have already taken place. Instead, it will be about the people, stories, marketing and psychology that come outside of the cage before and after the fight.

Topics will range from why certain fighters do the things they do to the sexualization of women’s MMA, to even how the UFC’s choice of music in fight promos gets fans excited and energized.

Any suggestions for the podcast or the content within it can be posted in the comments below and are welcomed. This is something of an experiment and I’m learning as much from it as hopefully I will from however many listeners decide to tune in.

Hopefully, this will become a bi-monthly series that will continue to grow and find new topics to attack.

The first episode will be about the upcoming fight at UFC 140 between Lyoto Machida an Jon Jones.

The podcast tackles the question of nature versus nurture.

It will deal with Machida’s martial arts upbringing and Jones’ natural genetic abilities.

For an added bonus, it will also focus on their respective culture and how it colors their styles of fighting.

With that said, the player is embedded here in the page so feel free to give it a listen. There is no cursing and nothing vulgar in it so it’s safe for work and it will remain that way for the duration of the series no matter how long it goes or whatever subject it tackles.

Should there ever be a subject that might be considered as such, it will be mentioned in the article post so as to forewarn listeners.

If this works out, I’ll see you all in two weeks with a new episode on how the UFC uses marketing to blind casual fans to the growth of fighters like Stephan Bonnar and Chris Leben for profit and why it is so effective.

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UFC 140: How Machida Can Use Shotokan Karate to Prove Jon Jones Is Overrated

Most fans have already pegged the young light heavyweight champion Jon Jones as unbeatable. When Lyoto Machida steps into the cage against him at UFC 140, it will be as an underdog.It wasn’t that long ago that Machida’s straight-laced style of ka…

Most fans have already pegged the young light heavyweight champion Jon Jones as unbeatable. When Lyoto Machida steps into the cage against him at UFC 140, it will be as an underdog.

It wasn’t that long ago that Machida’s straight-laced style of karate was seen as a perfect iron wall of defense that couldn’t be penetrated. Now it’s Jones’ crazy style that seems to mix anything and everything together all at once.

Whereas Machida has spent his career trying to prove that Shotokan Karate is a dominant style of martial arts, many fans have now dismissed the possibility, eschewing it for Jones’ individualistic movements.

But what is Shotokan Karate?

It seems like many fans know Machida practices karate, but they don’t know anything about the style he practices.

Shotokan is about repetition. It isn’t about learning a bunch of fancy moves or coming up with new techniques, it’s about using the same moves over and over again until they are perfected.

Shotokan has two punches: a straight punch to the body and a straight punch to the head. There is no real variation in these punches, and if you watch some of Machida’s fights you will see he uses them a lot.

So. that means the blows should be easy to dodge. However, knowing what is coming and being able to avoid it are two different things. Those who train in Shotokan Karate throw those two punches over and over again to the point of exhaustion.

Even those who only practice on a recreational basis will still throw hundreds of punches by the end of a week, if not by one day. They will also throw hundreds of kicks to the body and the same moves in several key forms again and again.

While Jones learns different techniques and styles in his spare time and works on a game plan in training camp, Machida focuses on the same moves he has learned since he was three.

He is now 33.

That is three decades of practicing the same moves over until they come as easily as breathing.

It’s no secret to Shotokan Karate practitioners how Machida fights. In fact, any fan could probably guess what he is going to do if they looked up five of the different forms involved in the style.

Knowing what is coming is good, but being able to stop it is what makes a fighter great.

Jones’ unpredictability is his strong point. He does so many unorthodox things that it has thrown his opponents from their rhythm. However, Machida’s rhythm and timing have been with him for longer than Jones has been alive.

If Jones can keep Machida off that rhythm he will win, but if Machida can keep his rhythm, he can break through Jones’ impressive ability to throw fighters off-kilter.

And there is also a matter of footwork. Those that practice Shotokan Karate are taught to move their feett off the ground as little as possible and instead have them slide over the floor on which they work. Whether it is carpet, wood, marble, grass, or sand, they are taught to let their feet move gracefully over the floor while seemingly staying glued to the surface.

It has been in all of Machida’s fights and it eliminates most of the repositioning fighters have to deal with when they fight in the cage. It leaves him less vulnerable than some of Jones’ other victims, as Machida will never be far off from being able to bring out an offensive move even when on defense.

These two factors—the footwork, which gives the punches power and the fighter movement, and the punches, which blind opponents and snap quickly—will either be utterly beaten or be unleashed in full force on Saturday.

It could be enough to prove that Jones’ unorthodox, invented style of martial arts is no match for an age-old tradition. Instead of the flash and color of Jones, they have the simplicity and pacing of something learned through centuries and refined for decades.

So, though Machida might lose on Saturday, don’t be surprised if he uses the metronome of Shotokan Karate to get the victory.

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UFC 140 Fight Card: Breaking Down Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Most of the focus for UFC 140 has been put on Lyoto Machida and Jon Jones. The rest of the card is decent, but the fights lack the certain panache that the main event seems to have.In fact, many casual fans might even know that a co-main event is…

Most of the focus for UFC 140 has been put on Lyoto Machida and Jon Jones. The rest of the card is decent, but the fights lack the certain panache that the main event seems to have.

In fact, many casual fans might even know that a co-main event is taking place on the card. Part of this might have to do with the fact that it is a rematch between Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who Mir beat by knockout in the second round when they first fought at UFC 92.

It was later proven that Nogueira had just gotten over a staph infection right before the fight.

Most fans probably haven’t paid attention to that, though. Instead, they focused on the knockout loss and nothing else. This might be why the fight is getting so little attention.

But considering that both men might actually get a serious heavyweight fight if they win, it deserves some love.

Here are five points fans should look at when assessing this fight.

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How Lyoto Machida Can Jack Jon Jones’ Swagger and Swipe His Hype Train

The main event of UFC 140 is a battle between two men who are extremely contrasted in how they have grown up and the styles they represent, but also are the same in the fact that both are victims of hype.That isn’t to say either fighter is terrible, bu…

That isn’t to say either fighter is terrible, but that many fans have bestowed accolades and predictions on them that they have yet to earn. It’s part of how being a fight fan works, and whenever a young fighter looks dominant as Machida and Jones both have, it is bound to happen.

Later in the week an article will be written about how Machida can use Shotokan Karate to beat Jones’ unpredictable style, but this one has more to do with how Machida can use the hype surrounding Jones to not only rebuild his fan base, but restart the Machida era.

It seems strange that in the middle of 2009 Machida was being trumpeted as the future of the division while Jones beat Jake O’ Brian in relative obscurity. Now everything has changed in just two-and-a-half years.

Jones is hyped as the champion who will reign over the division, and Machida is the challenger who will easily be beaten.

But fans are fickle. Most seem to only remember up to a fighter’s last win or loss. Machida was seen as done until he knocked out Randy Couture, and was seen as unstoppable before Shogun Rua knocked him out.

If Machida can use his elusive style to defeat Jones, which is a better possibility then most believe, then fans just might return to the Machida bandwagon.

If most fans don’t give Machida much of a chance, it isn’t surprising. Jones almost seems to have gained a superhero status among fans, especially after stopping a robber the same day he beat Shogun Rua for the title.

But fans were quick to make Machida special too by connecting him to the moniker “The Karate Kid.” Unlike trains in reality, those in MMA can stop on a dime and can immediately transfer from one fighter to another in the blink of an eye. Fans have seen it throughout the years, and even if it looks like Jones is unstoppable it’s easy to look through MMA’s history and see that it might end Saturday.

Though Machida may have lost his undefeated record, he still has the nickname and a contingent of fans who believe in him.

And if he wins on Saturday he just might be able to get a bunch of Jones fans to join them.

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