UFC 172 wasn’t terribly interesting on paper. “Who cares about Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira and a bunch of other mismatches?” we all asked. And we were right to. MMA had been in a slump. Good cards were sparse–islands in a sea terrible TUF finales, awful Fight Pass exclusives, and PPVs not worth the $60 price tag.
Last night changed all that (well, it did if you ignore UFC 173)
I know what you’re thinking. “Tone down the hyperbole a bit, Matt…and by a bit we mean several orders of magnitude.” Let me explain.
UFC 172 wasn’t terribly interesting on paper. “Who cares about Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira and a bunch of other mismatches?” we all asked. And we were right to. MMA had been in a slump. Good cards were sparse—islands in a sea terrible TUF finales, awful Fight Pass exclusives, and PPVs not worth the $60 price tag.
Last night changed all that (well, it did if you ignore UFC 173)
I know what you’re thinking. “Tone down the hyperbole a bit, Matt…and by a bit we mean several orders of magnitude.” Let me explain.
This clever taunt can be turned into a meaningful feud with the right promotion. Why not match up Correia with Shayna Baszler and market it as a grudge match? The women’s bantamweight division is shallow and pallid. There’s not much talent, and there’s even less buzz around anyone not named Ronda Rousey. Even though a potential Four Horsewoman vs. Bethe Correia feud still technically involves Rousey in some capacity, it’ll at least attempt to create some kind of narrative in the weight class other than “Ronda Rousey vs. Opponent. Buy it.”
Lightweight, too, had its fire rekindled. Jim Miller choked Yancy Medeiros unconscious in a wondrous display of grappling technique (and violence). But better than that was his post-fight call out of practically the entire lightweight division—Khabib Nurmagomedov, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, and more. Jim Miller’s aggressiveness is welcome in a division lacking its champion as well as perennial shit-starter Nate Diaz. Miller-Nurmagomedov or Miller-Cerrone are both great matches—ones that make MMA what it should be: Fights between the most talented fighters.
An honorable mention goes to Luke Rockhold‘s unreal domination of Tim Boetsch. While this was a sight to behold; it didn’t necessarily shake the division up. Middleweight was intriguing enough.
The most interesting development of all, however, was Anthony “Rumble” Johnson‘s resurgence. Johnson made Phil Davis (who’s built like a comic book superhero) not only look like a neophyte wrestler, but a neophyte wrestler who was about three weight classes lighter. In a division where Jon Jones rules over everyone with an iron elbow, a new, viable contender is not only welcomed but necessary. Before Johnson’s fight, the only meaningful light heavyweight fight on the horizon was Jon Jones-Alexander Gustafsson II. Now we have Anthony Johnson carving a bloody path through the light heavyweight top-10 to look forwards to.
MMA had been in a rut the last few months. Some recent fight cards have made fans never want to watch MMA again. This card wasn’t one of them. UFC 172 helped MMA not suck. There’s stuff to look forward to now. Let’s hope the trend continues.
Say it ain’t so, MMA fans. Don Frye, legendary bad-ass whose blood runs red, white, and blue with freedom, shaved his mustache. What crude and demonic device was capable of trimming concentrated manhood, we’ll never know. Seriously, his mustache was like bald eagles, American flags, fireworks, and guns condensed into facial hair. It was perfect! A more puzzling question is why Frye would be compelled to do something like this. At the time of writing, his twitter–which still presents an avatar bearing his wondrous stache–offers no explanation.
Now, here’s the picture of Don Frye sans mustache. We must warn you, it’s hard to take in; it isn’t for the faint of heart!
(A portrait of an American)
Say it ain’t so, MMA fans. Don Frye, legendary bad-ass whose blood runs red, white, and blue with freedom, shaved his mustache. What crude and demonic device was capable of trimming concentrated manhood, we’ll never know. Seriously, his mustache was like bald eagles, American flags, fireworks, and guns condensed into facial hair. It was perfect! A more puzzling question is why Frye would be compelled to do something like this. At the time of writing, his twitter–which still presents an avatar bearing his wondrous stache–offers no explanation.
Now, here’s the picture of Don Frye sans mustache. We must warn you, it’s hard to take in; it isn’t for the faint of heart!
The picture has been making its rounds on the Internet lately, specifically on r/MMA and The UG.
We just hope that he grows it back, lest the sport forever be stripped of one of its last truly magnificent wonders.
UFC on FOX 11 was one of the better cards in recent memory, but nobody outside of the MMA bubble cared.
It pulled in only 1.98 million viewers—the lowest ever for a UFC event on Fox and a 27% decline from UFC on FOX 10. The fight card lost out to every other major network in total viewers, and only beat CBS in the key 18-49 demo.
“Fighting is in our DNA,” Dana White likes to maintain. It’s a universal action that everyone understands. If a fight breaks out, everyone stops what they’re doing to watch it. Fighting is raw, visceral, but somehow pure and sacrosanct. It has been part of humanity since the first caveman shot a double leg.
Except it’s not. Those lines we all swore were so true when we started watching MMA, the ones we cited as reasons for MMA’s inevitable (and rightful) ascent to greatness, are all bullshit. When a rerun of Mike and Molly draws more viewers than free fights, one has to question whether MMA will ever achieve the mainstream popularity fans and pundits have been anticipating for years now—unless an overweight Chicago police officer (no, not Mike Russow) and his wife are even more in our DNA than fighting.
(Dana White’s “If you don’t like it, we don’t want you as a fan” strategy has worked. / Photo via Getty)
UFC on FOX 11 was one of the better cards in recent memory, but nobody outside of the MMA bubble cared.
Only 1.98 million viewers tuned in—the lowest ever for a UFC event on Fox and a 27% decline from UFC on FOX 10. FOX lost out to every other major network in total viewers, and only beat CBS in the key 18-49 demo.
“Fighting is in our DNA,” Dana White likes to maintain. It’s a universal action that everyone understands. If a fight breaks out, everyone stops what they’re doing to watch it. Fighting is raw and visceral, but is simultaneously pure and sacrosanct. It has been part of humanity since the first caveman shot a double leg.
Except it’s not. Those lines we all swore were so true when we started watching MMA, the ones we cited as reasons for MMA’s inevitable (and rightful) ascent to greatness, are all bullshit. When a rerun of Mike and Molly draws more viewers than free fights, one has to question whether MMA will ever achieve the mainstream popularity fans and pundits have been anticipating for years now—unless an overweight Chicago police officer (no, not Mike Russow) and his wife are even more in our DNA than fighting.
When the biggest star on the UFC’s roster (who, by extension, is MMA’s biggest star) is only capable of drawing a maximum of 450,000 PPV buys, we have to admit that the sport is on a decline. Chuck Liddell—not Johny Hendricks, not Anthony Pettis, not any other nascent champion or young up-and-comer—is still the go-to “tough guy” spokesperson for brands running ads on Spike TV and FS1. That should tell you everything you need to know.
And it doesn’t matter that media members and hardcore fans enjoyed the fights last night. What we think means nothing; we’re the minority. The people that don’t know who Travis Browne and Fabricio Werdum are, and therefore didn’t watch UFC on FOX 11, are the people whose eyeballs and PPV buys matter most. Those are the people the sport is failing to reach, and hasn’t captivated in years. When Dana White himself admits that the UFC is not mainstream despite being on FOX, then you know it’s not mainstream…and maybe it never will be.
Most of you will scoff at what I’m saying. Whenever I write articles with such sentiments, the typical comment reads “Well you and CagePotato just hate MMA because you’re assholes and hate the UFC because they took away your credentials.” If I hated MMA/the UFC, I wouldn’t write about them (and I believe I speak for the entire CagePotato editorial staff when I say that). I love MMA. And loving something means wanting it to succeed, which means pointing out what’s wrong with it so it can be better. I’m not writing this to knock the UFC, nor am I writing this to be sensationalistic. I’m writing this so that we may temper our expectations. MMA is not mainstream, and it never will be if things continue their current course. Perhaps we should make peace with that instead of retreating into denial.
Whenever bad numbers come in, we all like to find excuses for why it did so poorly. MMA being a niche sport is never the answer. It’s the weather that’s to blame, or college football, or the economy, or anything other than the truth. When several events in a row report bad numbers, we call it a rough patch. But this is no rough patch, this is the shape of things to come. MMA needs stars to rekindle the world’s interest, but those at the top are only content to provide three letters—U, F, and C.
(We probably could’ve used a better picture. / Photo via Getty)
Here’s the latest in headlines you’d never expect: Former UFC champ Rich Franklin is apparently in talks with ONE FC to become its vice president. Rich Franklin reported the news this morning on his Facebook page, saying the following:
I have been in talks with ONE FC about taking a job with them. They offered me a position as VP. I will be heading to ONE FC headquarters in the next few weeks to work out the details. I met with Dana and Lorenzo at the end of last year and they gave me their blessing. I will keep you posted.
As MMA Junkie reported, Franklin still has a fight on his UFC contract and stated that he wanted to fulfill his obligations. Taking a desk job with another MMA promotion almost definitely means that his fighting days are done.
(We probably could’ve used a better picture. / Photo via Getty)
Here’s the latest in headlines you’d never expect: Former UFC champ Rich Franklin is apparently in talks with ONE FC to become its vice president. Rich Franklin reported the news this morning on his Facebook page, saying the following:
I have been in talks with ONE FC about taking a job with them. They offered me a position as VP. I will be heading to ONE FC headquarters in the next few weeks to work out the details. I met with Dana and Lorenzo at the end of last year and they gave me their blessing. I will keep you posted.
As MMA Junkie reported, Franklin still has a fight on his UFC contract and stated that he wanted to fulfill his obligations. Taking a desk job with another MMA promotion almost definitely means that his fighting days are done, however.
Franklin isn’t the first old-time UFC fighter to score a cushy job. The UFC made Chuck Liddell vice president of parties and shitty battery commercials business development and Matt Hughes was made czar of fighter conduct [Editor’s note: LOL]. The move to the desk comes at a good time for Franklin. He hasn’t fought in two years and, while he was capable of beating guys like Wanderlei Silva and Chuck Liddell, he was beaten decisively by the likes of Cung Le and Forrest Griffin.
The biggest question about Franklin’s potential move to ONE FC, however, is how it will impact his juice bar business.
This week, we have a follow-up to that video in the form of a sparring match between two black belts from what appears to be the same school. That’s right, a sleuthing member of Reddit unearthed the dojo’s identity. Apparently, this Taekwondo McDojo is called the World Martial Arts Association and is headquartered in Brooklyn. If the words of an anonymous Redditor who claims to have once been a student can be believed, they charge $40 a class, and $600 per belt test. Here’s the full thread on Reddit, in case you’re interested in this sort of thing.
The funniest (or saddest) part, however, isn’t on Reddit or YouTube, but on the school’s own website…
This week, we have a follow-up to that video in the form of a sparring match between two black belts from what appears to be the same school. That’s right, a sleuthing member of Reddit unearthed the dojo’s identity. Apparently, this Taekwondo McDojo is called the World Martial Arts Association and is headquartered in Brooklyn. If the words of an anonymous Redditor who claims to have once been a student can be believed, they charge $40 a class, and $600 per belt test. Here’s the full thread on Reddit, in case you’re interested in this sort of thing.
The funniest (or saddest) part, however, isn’t on Reddit or YouTube, but on the school’s own website. It’s the obviously self-written bio for the school’s headmaster, which ends with the lines “He never hesitates to say that he brings his martial arts acumen to all these endeavors. He has been called by some a ‘Renaissance man.’” Wow. How’s that for pomposity?
And about the video? It pretty much speaks for itself. It’s atrocious non-fighting with some Street Fighter music passed off as legitimate martial arts. That kind of crap makes point-fighting look like some of MMA’s most physical brawls.
If you see any video that’s good (or bad) enough to make the cut, let us know! Send it to [email protected].
Bellator crowned a new welterweight champion at Bellator 117, and also determined who’d fight in the finals of the season 10 lightweight tournament. In case you missed the fisticuffs, here’s our recap:
This lightweight tournament semifinal started with some feeling out. A flying knee from Pitbull missed its mark, as did a spinning back kick from Campos. Midway through the round, Pitbull landed a sick hook to the liver followed up by a hook to the head–easily the best combo of the round at that point. Shortly after this, a brawl ensued against the cage. Campos landed some jabs, Freire landed a knee and a right hand. They reset, but then Campos pressured Freire again, landing quite a few shots. Campos’ success continued until the end of the first round; he started to get the better of every exchange while Pitbull looked slow and uninterested.
Campos’ luck ran out in the second round. Pitbull tagged him with a nasty right hand that floored him. Campos managed to rise to his feet only to be floored yet again. Pitbull mounted him and finished him with ground and pound when Campos rolled over onto his stomach and covered up. What a comeback.
Freire will be fighting the winner of Marcin Held vs. Derek Anderson in the lightweight tournament finals.
Bellator crowned a new welterweight champion at Bellator 117, and also determined who’d fight in the finals of the season 10 lightweight tournament. In case you missed the fisticuffs, here’s our recap:
This lightweight tournament semifinal started with some feeling out. A flying knee from Pitbull missed its mark, as did a spinning back kick from Campos. Midway through the round, Pitbull landed a sick hook to the liver followed up by a hook to the head–easily the best combo of the round at that point. Shortly after this, a brawl ensued against the cage. Campos landed some jabs, Freire landed a knee and a right hand. They reset, but then Campos pressured Freire again, landing quite a few shots. Campos’ success continued until the end of the first round; he started to get the better of every exchange while Pitbull looked slow and uninterested.
Campos’ luck ran out in the second round. Pitbull tagged him with a nasty right hand that floored him. Campos managed to rise to his feet only to be floored yet again. Pitbull mounted him and finished him with ground and pound when Campos rolled over onto his stomach and covered up. What a comeback.
Freire will be fighting the winner of Marcin Held vs. Derek Anderson in the lightweight tournament finals.
This was a non-tournament match with no implications–a “feature fight” as Bellator called it on their website. Most of the first round was simply a feeling out process. Gomez landed a right hand that stumbled Amoussou, and Amoussou landed a couple of knees, an uppercut, and some leg kicks. But Gomez’s cross was really the only meaningful strike in the round. Then there was some clinching, and the round ended.
Amoussou took control in the second round, throwing Gomez as soon as it started. Amoussou sat up in Gomez’s guard and dropped for a heel hook. The bold move failed, and Gomez escaped to his feet. An out of breath Amoussou pressed Gomez up against the cage. Gomez separated and landed a huge right hand. Amoussou managed to walk through it though. Some really, really sloppy brawling ensued (I mean Bellator heavyweight level) that neither guy really got the better of. Both fighters wound up clinched again. They separated with about a minute left in the second round.
To start off the third round, Amoussou clinched and went for a trip, which he missed. Gomez landed a few fast but weak uppercuts and hooks. Amoussou looked exhausted by this point; his hands hovered around his waist. Nevertheless, he still managed to intermittently keep Gomez stymied against the fence. The third round was a predictable pattern of clinch-separate-messy striking-clinch and so on until the end of the fight. Karl Amoussou was awarded with a decision win. If you are going to watch a DVR recording of the event, skip this fight.
Held dragged Anderson to the mat early and with little difficulty. He passed into side control but then Anderson managed to regain half guard. This didn’t matter though, since Held dropped down for a leg. The two played footsies for a few minutes. Anderson avoided Held’s onslaught and wound up on top in side control, landing short elbows and punches. Anderson attempted to stand up but Held snared his leg. He used the leg lock to sweep Anderson; he sat up in Anderson’s guard. Held attempted yet another leg lock with about 20 seconds to go but it came up short.
Held nailed Anderson with a stiff left hand that dropped him. He got a little wild after that and got tagged with a right hand. Anderson hit a nice body kick. Anderson started to find his range with the jab. Held, on the other hand, resorted to butt-scotting since he had zero takedowns. Held successfully pulled guard and moments later locked up a triangle and secured the tap.
Marcin Held will meet Patricky Freire in the Bellator season 10 lightweight finals.
Both fighters started tentative. Lima plodded forwards as Hawn shuffled around the edges of the cage. Lima landed a leg kick, Hawn countered with a right hand. Hawn half-assed a shot and ate a left hand. Lima continuously stalked Hawn, and eventually landed a MASSIVE leg kick that sent Hawn to the mat instantly. Hawn got back up and threw a 1-2 that Lima blocked. Lima hit another leg kick that crumpled Hawn. He turtled up as Lima landed loads of elbows and punches. Lima backed off as the round ended. Hawn was certainly in trouble.
Lima threw a leg kick to start round 2, but Hawn checked it as well as a follow-up leg kick. The third one, however, connected and floored Hawn, who was slow to get up. Hawn was sent to the canvas yet again with a leg kick. A TKO via leg kicks was imminent at this point. Hawn got knocked down from a leg kick again. The fight started to resemble a lion playing with its food. Another leg kick found its mark but Hawn somehow remained standing. Lima went high with a kick but Hawn saw it coming. Lima landed a millionth leg kick and Hawn fell yet again. Hawn’s corner got up on the apron and called for an end to the fight, and the referee obliged. This was the right call (see all the leg kicks for yourself–GIFs courtesy of Zombie Prophet). Douglas Lima is now the new Bellator welterweight champ!
Here are the card’s complete results (we’ll update the Houston Alexander and Ryan Jensen fights when the results are available):
Main Card
Douglas Lima def. Rick Hawn via TKO (corner stoppage) 3:19 of round 2
Marcin Held def. Derek Anderson via submission (triangle), 3:07 of round 2
Karl Amoussou def. David Gomez via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Patricky Freire def. Derek Campos via TKO (punches), 0:52 of round 2
Preliminary Card
Martin Brown def. Jared Downing via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Larue Burley def. Cliff Wright Jr. via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-27)
Joe Vedepo def. Ben Crowder via TKO (leg injury), 0:48 of round 1
Anthony Smith def. Victor Moreno via submission (triangle choke) via 0:59 of round 2
Julio Cesar Neves def. Josh Arocho via TKO (elbows), 2:37 of round 2
Jordan Parsons def. Tim Bazer via KO (punches), 0:04 of round 2
Unaired
Ryan Jensen vs. Mark Stoddard
Matt Uhde vs. Houston Alexander
