International Fight Week was one of the biggest spectacles I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. From the media workouts to all of the fan events, the UFC was able to put together one of the most interactive events in sports history. Da…
International Fight Week was one of the biggest spectacles I have ever had the pleasure of being a part of. From the media workouts to all of the fan events, the UFC was able to put together one of the most interactive events in sports history.
Dana White addressed not just the week, but also what it meant for the promotion to have such a great response from fans and media, who have been busting their tails trying to keep up with Zuffa PR.
“We broke every UFC record there was as far as our business goes. Brazil shut down tonight. We did things for this fight, it will come out on Fuel,” White told Bleacher Report after the post-fight press conference.
White has always been extremely busy at live events. He has to balance running the production with shaking hands and greeting every fan that asks for a photograph. But UFC 148 was on a whole different level. In an unprecedented move, the UFC went above and beyond their normal strategy to track coverage of the event.
“Fuel followed me around all night tonight, but you should see the social media war room that we put together tonight. We were pinpointing and tracking what people were talking about all over the world. What parts of the world were hot and which weren’t. This was one of the biggest sporting events of the year.”
Oh, and that International Fight Week? Turns out it was a huge success.
“The economic impact for Las Vegas, we don’t have all the numbers yet, but it’s somewhere between $93 and $140 million on a week where this town would have been dead.”
Expect for this to become a yearly event. I’ll make sure to mentally prepare for it weeks in advance.
Ronda Rousey burst onto the MMA scene as the brash judoka with a propensity for snapping limbs with the most vicious arm bar since Rickson Gracie. Then someone decided to put a microphone in front of her and what happened next could only be called pure…
Ronda Rousey burst onto the MMA scene as the brash judoka with a propensity for snapping limbs with the most vicious arm bar since Rickson Gracie. Then someone decided to put a microphone in front of her and what happened next could only be called pure gold.
Here was this attractive female who had an ability to not only speak eloquently but also could verbally destroy her opponents. She saw a need in women’s MMA for a female to not approach pre-fight hype with politeness:
“Before I came along it seemed like a Miss America pageant to me. Like ‘oh yes, I want world peace and this girl is very nice and the other day we sat down and brushed each other’s hair. We were going to watch the Fifth Element but Ronda took the DVD so we were forced to watch not a good movie.’ It was just so boring,” Rousey told Bleacher Report today.
Naturally, fans started to draw the comparison to Chael Sonnen, who may be the best promo man in MMA. Both have an innate ability in front of the microphone and media that could make even the best MC jealous:
“So I looked at what all the guys were doing and what was working. Chael’s a good example. The way that he fights is not the most exciting ever so he found a way to supplement that. If I can be an exciting fighter and do all these other things then everything is going to take off.
“I think it’s a similar idea. Chael has more of this character that’s very opposite from who he is behind the camera. When you have the camera on him and you have the camera off him, it’s very very different,” Rousey said. “If there’s a camera on me or off me, it’s roughly the same just a lot less energy. I think he has an different personality he created for MMA.”
Though there are similarities on the microphone, don’t expect for Ronda to be rooting for Sonnen on Saturday night. As a fan of Anderson Silva, Rousey sees Sonnen’s trash talk as incredibly stupid when trying to get under the “Spider’s” skin.
“I think that Anderson Silva pissed off and healthy is going to destroy Chael…I think a lot of questions will be answered in this fight. I’m excited and so is everyone else.”
Unlike my colleagues Jeremy Botter and Jonathan Snowden, I’m not a veteran of the UFC travel circuit. I’m basically that wide-eyed kid that still can’t believe it’s Hanukkah morning when he wakes up and sees all the presents that Hanukkah Harry has lef…
Unlike my colleagues Jeremy Botter and Jonathan Snowden, I’m not a veteran of the UFC travel circuit. I’m basically that wide-eyed kid that still can’t believe it’s Hanukkah morning when he wakes up and sees all the presents that Hanukkah Harry has left under the Hanukkah bush.
Sure, I’ve been able to “fake it till I make it” but I still get excited whenever I get that email from the UFC Press staff saying, “Your Credential is Confirmed.”
After covering several events for Bleacher Report since I joined the staff in April, I figured that I had seen it all during fight week. I’ve sat around with various media in the Church Street Boxing Gym waiting for Nate Diaz to show up an hour and a half late. I figured that was as ridiculous as it could get but yesterday’s Open Workouts were on a whole different level.
The UFC has deemed the week prior to their 4th of July weekend show International Fight Week. It will be an annual festival of sorts to attract fans from all over the world for fun in the Las Vegas sun.
The pre-fight press conference and open workouts were held at XS at the Encore hotel. XS is a night club with a gigantic pool in the middle. Needless to say, a heavyset gentleman like myself was sweating by the time we took our seats.
The entire event was open to the public and the Brazilian fans showed up in droves to get a chance to support the “Campeão.”
There isn’t a word to describe the atmosphere as the fighters worked out besides insanity. While attempting to speak with the fighters, the fans were deafening. When Chael Sonnen hit the mat to get his workout in, the fans erupted with boos.
I thought it couldn’t get any louder. I was so wrong.
When Anderson finally hit the mats, he was followed by an entourage of training partners and friends, all clad in jiu jitsu gis.
The session began with Anderson and a partner doing a karate demo. Satisfied by his performance, he and Rafael Cavalcante took turns demonstrating muay thai techniques.
Then things took a turn from the wild to the surreal as Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo donned gloves to spar with with the “Spider.” By this point the Brazilian fans were hooting and hollering as two of the most famous athletes in their country squared off.
Think that’s as trippy as it could get? Not a chance.
Steven Seagal then decided to put on a small akido demo with Cavalcante. It ended with the star of “Under Siege” slapping the absolute hell out of the former Strikeforce champion several times in the face.
With the workouts done, Anderson was swarmed. Actually swarmed wouldn’t even describe the scene. Night club security was called in to to attempt to keep fans away from the champ. Attempt is the key word and they failed miserably.
With that, the workouts came to an end. And I was left with one of the most memorable experiences ever.
Cung Le was on Joe Silva’s radar years before he finally made the jump to the UFC. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion was dazzling fans with flashy kicks that left opponents either sleeping or broken.When he finally made his way to the UFC, h…
Cung Le was on Joe Silva’s radar years before he finally made the jump to the UFC. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion was dazzling fans with flashy kicks that left opponents either sleeping or broken.
When he finally made his way to the UFC, he was splitting his time between training and an incredibly busy movie schedule. That time away from the gym caused Le to lose a bit of a step which is what he believes was the reason for the loss to Wanderlei Silva.
Even after that loss, his heart is still in fighting.
“I never look ahead. I’m one of those guys, I’m in the moment. Every day I wake up is a blessing,” Le told Bleacher Report at the UFC 148 open workouts. “I have this day, and I’m going to live in this day. I can’t look toward tomorrow because tomorrow’s not promised.”
Ever the emotional fighter, Le wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s been competing in combat sports for most of his life and a win over Patrick Coté will be the biggest of his career.
“If I cry…Im going to try not to. That’s how big it would be.”
Though he’s a man with a fighter’s heart, he’s not just competing for the sake of competition. For him, a win isn’t just a win. He always goes out to impress fans with his San Shou style.
“I don’t need to impress, but I don’t know how to just win. I strike like lightning and I follow by thunder. May the storm hit hard. That’s me. Go big or go home, baby.”
Le closed with some words directed at his opponent Patrick Coté. The French-Canadian carries himself with a fighter’s swagger, confident that he will put Le away with his heavy hands. Le sees that confidence as his biggest advantage against Coté.
“I enjoy fighting. That’s why I’m doing it,” Le said. “But I’m not here just because I enjoy fighting. I’m here to win, and I expect to win this fight against Patrick Cote. He’s a very confident guy, almost cocky. And that’s good. But you get overconfident, you might end up with a shinbone to your head, or to your arm like Frank Shamrock. So watch out.”
There are many ways to describe Forrest Griffin. Former UFC light heavyweight champion. Three-time best-selling author. Family man. But when you strip away the cynicism and ‘aw shucks’ attitude, you’re left with a man who is incredibly smart and analyt…
There are many ways to describe Forrest Griffin. Former UFC light heavyweight champion. Three-time best-selling author. Family man. But when you strip away the cynicism and ‘aw shucks’ attitude, you’re left with a man who is incredibly smart and analytical.
After months away from the cage, he’s finally back to put an end to his rivalry with Tito Ortiz at UFC 148. At times there have been words. It’s a rivalry that has been built upon a mutual respect as both fighters have been able to pick up a win over one another.
“Obviously, he’s a great fighter. Sometimes I don’t think that people give him enough credit. You have back surgery and you fight who? Lil Nog when he’s at his best. Rashad Evans on three weeks notice when he looks like he couldn’t look better. He’s gonna fight this unknown guy named Machida,” Griffin told Bleacher Report.
While Tito’s career is coming to an end, Griffin isn’t ready to call it quits. He’s also not worried about his legacy at the moment. His reasoning makes a lot of sense when you look at it from his perspective.
“This f***ing genius who writes books, you should read them or you should just buy them. He said when you’re climbing the mountain, if you look down, you’re not moving forward. If you look back you’ve quit you’re forward progress. If you look up, it’s a daunting task. You’re not paying attention. You look right at your foot hold and your hand hold. I’m still in the middle of it. And when you’re in the middle of it and you feel like you’re ‘going through hell’ like Churchill, keep going.”
“It’s not time to look back. There will be a time when I physically cannot do this sport. I think Tito’s there and it’s gonna suck for me because I like doing it.”
Griffin also addressed the issues of fighter injuries. This summer has been one of the worst in UFC history with many top fighters withdrawing from fights due to various injuries. While I believed that it was the fault of the fighter’s insurance, Griffin has a different point of view.
“Here’s the thing man. You have all these guys at a high level and the thing about fighting is that you actually have to fight about twice a week to get good at it. I’ve always wondered why more guys didn’t get hurt. It’s like being a running back in the NFL.” He added, “You’re gonna get banged up. You’re gonna get hurt and now one thing I think we can’t have is like when people were really hard on Quinton.”
“I didn’t see the fight in Japan but he didn’t make weight and he didn’t’ fight well. He fought injured. Everybody has had to do that at some point,” Griffin said. “I don’t think you should punish a guy for losing when they were hurt. If I sit around and wait till I’m 100 percent healthy then I’m outta shape because I’m not training.”
Griffin has seen various ups and downs in his career. And one thing that’s always consistent is that fans will love him when he’s winning and abandon him on a loss. It’s actually a common theme in MMA where fans are the ultimate front-runners and will only ride with a fighter when he’s winning.
“I want people to like me. People just love to throw shit. It’s weird man. I’m a nice guy. I’m trying to be positive. I’ve got my own things, I’m kinda crazy but I’m not trying to hurt anybody. I’m trying to be good and I’m doing the best I can. Just like everybody else. I don’t appreciate and I don’t think it’s funny, the criticism, I hear the same shit.”
Finally, Griffin addressed his infamous fight with Anderson Silva. It’s a performance that he’ll never be able to live down and one that he will likely regret for the rest of his career.
“If I could take the Anderson fight back I’d fake a f***ing injury and never do it. But I never thought like that before. Before I was like ‘f**k it, I’ll do it anyway”, know what I mean? Then people are so harsh on you, they judge you so much. But you can’t let people dictate what you’re gonna do.”
Forrest Griffin meets Tito Ortiz for the third and final time this Saturday at UFC 148.
Patrick Cote has had a long road back to becoming a UFC fighter. A one time challenger for Anderson Silva’s middleweight title, he’s had a lot of time to reflect on what he needed to change in his training camp and life style if he ever wanted to get b…
Patrick Cote has had a long road back to becoming a UFC fighter. A one time challenger for Anderson Silva‘s middleweight title, he’s had a lot of time to reflect on what he needed to change in his training camp and life style if he ever wanted to get back into the Octagon.
After stringing together four wins outside of the organization, he got his opportunity to return when Rich Franklin was pulled from his match against Cung Le to replace Vitor Belfort at UFC 147. For Cote, after falling from the big show and seeing life away from the UFC, he was desperate for another shot.
“I went to the middle of nowhere in my last fight. Amazon forests very deep in Brazil. It was a good life experience and I’m telling you right now, I enjoy this more today because of that,” Cote told Bleacher Report. “I enjoy this and I don’t want to go back there. I want to stay in the UFC. You’re like a rock star when you’re here and you have to enjoy it and appreciate it.”
Perspective is the key word for Patrick. After 11 fights in the UFC and an overall record of 4-7 in the promotion, he recognized that he was doing a lot of things wrong in the gym.
“I’m not back for one fight. I’m back because I want to make another run at the title. I’ve been there before and I was doing maybe half of what I’m doing in training now. I’m doing right now what I should have been doing three or four years ago.” He added, “I feel good. I have my hands full. Cung is no joke and I’m still very very confident. I did my homework and I’m ready to go.”
Even though he was no longer under contract with Zuffa, he never thought about signing with another organization. For him, the end goal was always to return to the UFC.
“In my head I was still a UFC fighter. Even if I wasn’t fighting in the big show. A lot of people asked me to go to other organizations, pretty big organizations. In my head and my heart I was still in the UFC. As a fighter I was still working for the company.”
Finally, as a man who has faced Anderson Silva, and the first to take the champion out of the second round in the UFC, he spoke about the legend that is the Spider.
“Fighting Anderson Silva is very complicated. Not just physically but mentally it’s very very complicated. I think the first fight when he fought Sonnen he was surprised by the pace. He looks pretty pissed now and that’s not a good sign.”
Patrick Coté fights against Cung Le at UFC 148 on July 7th.
Ronda Rousey burst onto the