Author: Matthew Roth

Michael Bisping Talks Knee Surgery and Why Fighters Are Getting Injured

Michael Bisping appeared on Tuesday’s episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel to speak with hosts Kenny Florian and Todd Harris. Bisping addressed several key issues, including his injured knee and what he believes is the cause for the recent string of injuries…

Michael Bisping appeared on Tuesday’s episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel to speak with hosts Kenny Florian and Todd Harris. Bisping addressed several key issues, including his injured knee and what he believes is the cause for the recent string of injuries in the UFC. 

Bisping was scheduled to face Hector Lombard at UFC 149 in Calgary, but had to pull out of the fight because of a knee injury. When the news originally broke, there was no word on how long “the Count” would be sidelined. Luckily, Bisping cleared the air.  

“Listen, I’m gonna have surgery tomorrow…I have to have the surgery. I have two loose bodies floating around my knee and I also have a slightly torn meniscus,” said Bisping. “So while that sounds bad, I don’t have to have a reconstruction or major surgery as such, so tomorrow, I go under the knife, but I think within three to four weeks, I’ll be back full training.”  

Many believed that Bisping was pulled from the fight with Lombard as a precaution in case Anderson Silva was unable to keep his scheduled booking against Chael Sonnen at UFC 148. It seems like everyone, including Sonnen, was under the belief that Bisping would be announced as the challenger, as he sent Michael a private message via Twitter. 

The thing about direct messages on Twitter is that it’s personal and private, and I think that it would be improper of me to divulge that information. But…when have you known me to do the proper thing? “Alright man, here’s my guess. You’re not hurt and we are rematching. If I am right give me a clue in your next tweet. Include the word ‘lack’ in your next tweet.” And I’m sitting in the doctor’s chair and I’m like “What the hell is this guy talking about?”   

Bisping also told Harris and Florian what he believes is the reason for the recent string of injuries in the UFC. For Bisping, it all starts and ends in how the fighters train in the gym. It is Michael’s belief that training must simulate a fight, and therefore, you must train at full speed. If you don’t, you won’t ever get the proper looks when actually in the fight.

There’s a fine line. It’s a very difficult sport. It’s a very physical sport, obviously. For me, my mindset is that you have to train the way you fight. If you hold back in the training room and you only train 75 percent, when it comes to the fight and you fight at 100 percent, you’re not going to be used to that. It’s going to be a shock to the system and you’re going to tire out and you’re gonna gas. So you have to train the way you fight. That said, you also have to train smart. You have to be lucky enough to have a team of people around you that you can trust. You’ve got to have training partners you can trust. 

So there you have it. Michael Bisping won’t be fighting Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, and he believes the fighter injuries are because of hard training. Hopefully, missing the Lombard fight won’t drop him in the middleweight picture, as he’s one of the best in the sport. 

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UFC 148: Wanderlei Silva Hopes Anderson Silva Kicks Chael Sonnen’s Ass

Wanderlei Silva may still be holding a grudge against Chael Sonnen after sharing a van with him in 2010. During that van ride, Wanderlei had some choice words for Sonnen, who he felt had disrespected every Brazilian fighter in the UFC.It was assumed th…

Wanderlei Silva may still be holding a grudge against Chael Sonnen after sharing a van with him in 2010. During that van ride, Wanderlei had some choice words for Sonnen, who he felt had disrespected every Brazilian fighter in the UFC.

It was assumed that the beef between the two was squashed, as they never seemed to have crossed paths since. Apparently, that’s not the case.

Wanderlei Silva appeared on The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo on Wednesday afternoon and went on the offensive against Sonnen.  

He fights with his mouth. He’s not a top guy. He creates that style and looks for guys to give attention to him. But face to face, he’s like a kid. He’ll cry like a baby, man. I don’t know what kind of man can say something bad about you then say, “Hey Wanderlei, let’s shake hands.” F** you man. You talked some bad things. I’m old school. You’re talking some bulls*** about me, don’t shake my hand. This guy lost respect from me. Not one fighter respects him. I don’t like his style and I hope Anderson Silva kicks his ass. I think Anderson will be knock out Chael in the third round.

Based on career trajectory in the UFC, it is unlikely that these two will ever meet in the Octagon. Wanderlei has been incredibly inconsistent and appears to have been relegated to the “old-timers” circuit, fighting the likes of Cung Le and Rich Franklin. 

Sonnen, on the other hand, will be challenging for the UFC middleweight belt on July 7 at UFC 148 against Anderson Silva. He has faced the top fighters in the middleweight division in his tenure and continues to dominate opponents. 

There is a part of me that wishes that a fight between Wanderlei and Sonnen did happen. But those days are long passed. Silva is a shell of his former self, a veteran of many wars in the Pride ring. Those fights have caught up to him and he just cannot hang with the best of the division.

At this point in their respective careers, Sonnen is just too strong and powerful of a wrestler for Wanderlei to handle. He does not have the same wear and tear, and his chin is still granite-like.

Hopefully this rivalry remains in the press, if only for Silva’s sake. A fight with Sonnen would be a very poor career decision.  

Transcript provided by Adam Martin.

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B.J. Penn Claims Rory MacDonald Was Exactly ‘What I Needed’ for UFC Return

The long speculated return of B.J. Penn is finally official. After the UFC unsuccessfully tried to use Josh Koscheck to draw the “Prodigy” out of retirement, the young lion in the UFC’s welterweight division, Rory MacDonald, took a crack at it. Pe…

The long speculated return of B.J. Penn is finally official. 

After the UFC unsuccessfully tried to use Josh Koscheck to draw the “Prodigy” out of retirement, the young lion in the UFC’s welterweight division, Rory MacDonald, took a crack at it. Penn verbally agreed to fight MacDonald via his website, but it wasn’t made official until a day after UFC on FX 3. 

Penn was a guest on Tuesday’s UFC Tonight and was interviewed by hosts Kenny Florian and Todd Harris. Responding to Harris, Penn explained why he came back for a fight with MacDonald:

Rory’s a guy with a lot of hype around him and it’s a lot of good hype. That hype is justified. He’s been doing very well. I wanted to go up against him, Firas, the whole TriStar team. They got a real good thing going on up there and I want to take a crack at it.

Penn has the scars from his last fight with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94, where he said many incendiary things about the welterweight champion. While I’m certain that Penn is intrigued by the unique stylistic matchup that MacDonald presents, it’s very likely that he wants to prove he can beat Firas Zahabi’s young lion. 

Penn is a naturally competitive person. Knowing his personality, he didn’t want to retire from MMA on a loss to Nick Diaz. He’s young enough that he could still hypothetically make another run at a UFC belt and get a potential third fight with St. Pierre. 

Usually I’d expect the crowd to favor the Canadian fighter, but with Penn being such a fan favorite and coming out of retirement, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s showered with adulation.

The fight with MacDonald is tentatively scheduled for UFC 152 in Toronto this September. The main event is expected to be Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II. 

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Dana White Confirms Tito Ortiz Will Be Inducted into Hall of Fame Before UFC 148

Tito Ortiz has stated that he plans for his UFC 148 bout against Forrest Griffin to be his last in the promotion.After a long and storied career which saw him defend his light heavyweight title five times, there is nothing left for Ortiz to prove in th…

Tito Ortiz has stated that he plans for his UFC 148 bout against Forrest Griffin to be his last in the promotion.

After a long and storied career which saw him defend his light heavyweight title five times, there is nothing left for Ortiz to prove in the UFC cage. 

However, before he steps foot in the octagon on July 7th, he’ll be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as confirmed by UFC President Dana White after the UFC 150 press conference in Denver, Colorado. 

Ortiz will be the ninth person inducted into the hall of fame, which includes long-time rival Chuck Liddell.

Dana White told MMAWeekly.com, “He pound for pound was doing some of the most damage at a time when we were hurting…but it’s part of our history the way the storylines played out between me, Chuck and Tito. He’s definitely a part of the history of the sport.”

Fellow Bleacher Report writer Levi Nile took it upon himself to break down Tito’s greatest hits in the UFC. Besides capturing and defending the UFC light heavyweight title, Ortiz also had some phenomenal moments that included a rematch with Guy Mezger and coaching opposite of his arch nemesis Ken Shamrock on The Ultimate Fighter.   

White and Ortiz had a tumultuous relationship based around fighter pay. Ortiz was once the most marketable fighter in the sport and wanted to be compensated as such. White, as the promoter of the UFC, was always at odds with Ortiz about how much he was worth to the UFC. 

Though his career will come to a close with Ortiz on a bit of a skid, fans should remember him for his contributions to the sport. He was responsible for some of the biggest box office draws in history, and his second fight with Liddell was the first in UFC history to break one million pay-per-view buys. 

According to MMAWeekly.com, the plan is for Ortiz to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the UFC Fan Expo that week.

Hopefully, Ortiz will continue to train and work with younger fighters after he retires. He is a heck of a coach, and by all accounts one of the most fan-friendly fighters in the sport. 

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Dr. Benjamin Irresponsible in His Accusations of Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir

Last week, Stephanie Daniels of Bloody Elbow posted an interview with Dr. Benjamin.Dr. Benjamin is a spinal surgeon and a contributor to MMAJunkie.com, and he uses his medical expertise to speak about fighter health and injuries on the website. In…

Last week, Stephanie Daniels of Bloody Elbow posted an interview with Dr. Benjamin.

Dr. Benjamin is a spinal surgeon and a contributor to MMAJunkie.com, and he uses his medical expertise to speak about fighter health and injuries on the website. 

In the interview, he gave his opinion about Chael Sonnen and Frank Mir‘s usage of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). Following his UFC 146 bout against Junior Dos Santos, it came out that Mir had received a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for TRT. 

He concluded that the only reason a 33-year-old fighter (Mir) would need testosterone injections was he abused steroids in the past.

In his own words: “Let’s be honest here. How many people who never wrecked their bodies with past steroid use, naturally need TRT at 33? Less than one or two percent.”

Now, for a medical professional to be accusatory of anyone without having treated them is considered highly unethical by the American Medical Association. 

However, the good doctor goes even further in discussing Chael Sonnen.

Sonnen was recently granted a TUE by the NSAC for his bout on July 7 against Anderson Silva at UFC 147. Sonnen’s reason for needing TRT is a medical one, as he has been diagnosed with hypogonadism. 

Essentially, Sonnen’s body is unable to produced testosterone naturally, and he requires an injection to normalize his body. Chael had previously applied for a TUE in both Chicago and Houston and received approval by both the Illinois and Texas athletic commissions. 

Dr. Benjamin opined that Chael would never have been able to reach the levels of success he has, as a wrestler in college and as an MMA fighter, with such a condition. Again, in his own words:

Was Chael Sonnen a big-time collegiate wrestler? Yes, he was. I’m going to opine and say to you, there’s no way in the world you get to the level of collegiate wrestling that Chael Sonnen was at with hypogonadism. Let me explain to you why. Hypogonadism means that the testes did not produce enough testosterone for one to normally mature. He wasn’t on TRT as a teenager. He became this big, muscled-up monster and NCAA wrestler with hypogonadism? Hell no.

He goes even further when he flat out accuses Sonnen of abusing steroids in the past. 

“If he has hypogonadism, it’s from one thing, and one thing only, because he treated himself with steroids in the past, and wrecked his testes,” he said. “That’s it.” 

This isn’t the first time Dr. Benjamin has been inflammatory regarding MMA fighters either. His irresponsible stories have actually cost certain fighters a considerable amount of money. 

Former UFC welterweight champion and MMA legend Pat Miletich responded to Bleacher Report writer Jonathan Snowden on Twitter regarding Dr. Benjamin. Dr. Benjamin wrote an article about Pat’s neck injuries that had actual consequences. 

@mmaencyclopedia Funny @DrJCBenjamin wrote I shouldn’t fight after neck surgery. Thr was no surgery n cost me 4k 4 extra tests 2 fight.

— Pat Miletich (@patmiletich) June 11, 2012 

Dr. Benjamin is walking a fine line between professional and sensational. While I appreciate that he gives his medical opinion about certain aspects of the sport, accusing fighters of steroid abuse isn’t just reckless, it’s outright slander. 

I hope that he starts to be more responsible with his words and speaks based on facts rather than hearsay. His reputation is dependent on it. 

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Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley Controversy Has No Effect on MMA

You know what I hate? I hate that whenever there’s even the slightest bit of controversy at a boxing pay-per-view, MMA fans always stand up and shout, “Another great night for MMA!” Never mind the fact that most of those fans don’t actually follow boxi…

You know what I hate? I hate that whenever there’s even the slightest bit of controversy at a boxing pay-per-view, MMA fans always stand up and shout, “Another great night for MMA!” Never mind the fact that most of those fans don’t actually follow boxing and are only aware of the existence of maybe a handful of fighters. 

Those fans were out in droves last night after the controversial split decision was read for the Timothy Bradley/Manny Pacquiao fight. Every journalist covering the fight scored the fight for Manny. It wasn’t the best performance of his career, but there was absolutely no question that he was the better man on Saturday night. 

So when judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford scored the fight 115-113 for Bradley, something was truly amiss. Heck, most view Jerry Roth’s card of 115-113 for Pacquiao equally as unjustifiable. For everyone watching the fight, it was impossible. Sure, Bradley fought a hell of a fight and didn’t quit after rolling his ankle, but showing heart and toughness is not an aspect of scoring. 

Immediately after the scores were read, MMA fans and UFC personalities went to Twitter to either proclaim it the death of boxing or call it a huge win for the UFC.

Think about that for a second: A pay-per-view that is almost guaranteed to pull in over a million buys was the death of boxing. And though Zuffa had absolutely no shows going on that night, it was a huge win for the UFC. It’s completely asinine.

Here’s a little secret: Bad decisions happen in our sport too. They literally happen all the time. I know that whenever Leonard Garcia steps into the card, I expect a judge or two to award him a decision, despite him not earning or deserving it.

The crazy thing is, no one ever proclaims that a bad decision is the death of MMA.

Last night had nothing to do with MMA versus boxing. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that there’s almost little to no crossover, as most MMA fans are just as unlikely to watch Friday Night Fights as a boxing fan is to watch UFC on Fuel TV. 

There’s no way to fix boxing because there’s nothing to fix. It’s a commission issue.

Through his obvious anger, UFC President Dana White said it best:

While he’s likely going to regret being so critical of an athletic commission that he has to work so closely with, he’s not wrong. The way to fix combat sports needs to start with either training or cleaning house at the state level.

Boxing didn’t die last night, and in no way was it a win for MMA. When there’s controversy, everyone loses. So please, MMA fans, shut up. Either watch the sport or don’t, but don’t ignore the fact that your sport is just as dirty. It’s an insult to everyone’s intelligence. 

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