If you thought an interview putting hated rivals Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate shoulder-to-shoulder would have Chael Sonnen levels of excitement, you’d be wrong.
Despite the ferocity and abject hatred between the two fighters, Jon Anik‘s interview of the first-ever female Ultimate Fighter coaches didn’t produce anything memorable save for uncomfortable levels of awkwardness.
First of all, Rousey clearly didn’t want to be that close to Tate. She was also understandably upset about the fact that her two teammates Jessamyn Duke and Peggy Morgan just fought one another.
It only went downhill from there.
Once Anik asked Tate about Julianna Pena, Rousey essentially no-sold everything Tate said and stared vacantly into the distance. When Anik brought the mic back to the Olympian and asked her about Tate’s improvements as a fighter as well as her own improvements, Rousey answered with her usual candor but without her usual passion. She was honest but apathetic.
“The first time we fought it was less than a year since I’ve gone pro, and now I’m three years,” she said with a half-scowl on her face. It wasn’t Heidi Androl-death stare level but it was close. “I’m a more improved fighter since, I don’t think I’ve seen as good a performance from her since I won the title and she’s fought a few times since then.”
Read the conclusion of the interview featuring Jon Anik’s abysmal attempt at selling the UFC 168 PPV after the jump.
If you thought an interview putting hated rivals Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate shoulder-to-shoulder would have Chael Sonnen levels of excitement, you’d be wrong.
Despite the ferocity and abject hatred between the two fighters, Jon Anik‘s interview of the first-ever female Ultimate Fighter coaches didn’t produce anything memorable save for uncomfortable levels of awkwardness.
First of all, Rousey clearly didn’t want to be that close to Tate. She was also understandably upset about the fact that her two teammates Jessamyn Duke and Peggy Morgan just fought one another.
It only went downhill from there.
Once Anik asked Tate about Julianna Pena, Rousey essentially no-sold everything Tate said and stared vacantly into the distance. When Anik brought the mic back to the Olympian and asked her about Tate’s improvements as a fighter as well as her own improvements, Rousey answered with her usual candor but without her usual passion. She was honest but apathetic.
“The first time we fought it was less than a year since I’ve gone pro, and now I’m three years,” she said with a half-scowl on her face. It wasn’t Heidi Androl-death stare level but it was close. “I’m a more improved fighter since, I don’t think I’ve seen as good a performance from her since I won the title and she’s fought a few times since then.”
Rousey used a question about having advantages in the mind games department as a launching point to knock Tate. “I feel like I have so many advantages that it’s hard to say which one’s the biggest,” she said. When Anik turned around and asked Tate about the same topic, Rousey yawned.
To conclude the interview, Anik gave Rousey a chance to promote UFC 168. Her words, while true, had zero pep or enthusiasm to them; she was disinterested and it showed.
“Because women’s fighting is, I think, the most exciting in the UFC. This is the highest level of women’s fighting. And if you’re a fight fan you should see this.”
Anik wrapped up the interview by, strangely, promoting the rivalry as a friendship we weren’t going to see or look forward to (we were confused too).
“Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate…we look forward to not your friendship but getting in that Octagon…Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, ladies and gentleman! Not friends right now and certainly will be adversaries on December 28th.”
Overall the whole interview was the most awkward we’ve seen in a while. But that wasn’t the only inelegant interview of the night. Rousey attended another that took place on the FOX Sports 1 post-event show. She admitted that she never watched a TUF 18 episode and was visibly perturbed. You can tell that she’s fed up with press and just wants to break arms already. But that’s fine, because we’d like to get to brass tacks too.
In women’s MMA, as in men’s MMA, there are great matches and there are not-so-great matches. Claiming a men’s fight is sub-optimal doesn’t carry a negative stigma. Sure, some “YOU’RE NOT A FIGHTER, BRO” types will get upset, but generally it’s OK to call out the poor aspects of a contest — whether it pertains to the booking or the in-cage action — when two males are fighting.
We don’t hate women’s MMA. CagePotato is a proud sponsor of Invicta strawweight Rose Namajunas, and we’ll be sponsoring Angela “Overkill” Hill for her XFC debut later this month. However, just because we love WMMA doesn’t mean we’re not going to criticize a fight just because it’s between two women.
(Roxanne Modafferi, cruising to another bantamweight title-defense in the Ultimate Friendship Championship. / Photo via Getty)
In women’s MMA, as in men’s MMA, there are great matches and there are not-so-great matches. Claiming a men’s fight is sub-optimal doesn’t carry a negative stigma. Sure, some “YOU’RE NOT A FIGHTER, BRO” types will get upset, but generally it’s OK to call out the poor aspects of a contest — whether it pertains to the booking or the in-cage action — when two males are fighting.
We don’t hate women’s MMA. CagePotato is a proud sponsor of Invicta strawweight Rose Namajunas, and we’ll be sponsoring Angela “Overkill” Hill for her XFC debut later this month. However, just because we love WMMA doesn’t mean we’re not going to criticize a fight just because it’s between two women.
WMMA became popular because of the determination, dauntlessness, aggression, and outright ferocity of the contests throughout its history. Women often out-shined their XY-chromosomed counterparts whenever they were showcased on the MMA world stage. This is in large part due to the fact that, when WMMA was given airtime, we were generally seeing the best-of-the-best women fighting. As such, their performances were better — the kind that showed us what WMMA was all about and what made MMA fans fall in love with it.
There are still many female MMA fights that showcase these same traits — but not all. Some of the fights on last night’s TUF 18 Finale were just average, and there were moments from those fights that were certainly worthy of a few snarky tweets. Roxanne Modafferi is not a good striker, plain and simple, and Jessica Rakoczy’s terrible pro record can be partially explained by the massive holes in her ground game. As WMMA grows, it will fall prey to the same problems that men’s MMA has faced recently. Some fighters won’t be of the highest quality yet will still have a job in the world’s greatest MMA organization, if only to fill space in a frantic event schedule. Some fights will simply be lackluster.
Pointing these things out, as well as the apparently-controversial fact that not every fight between two women demonstrates “what women’s MMA is all about,” doesn’t mean you don’t like WMMA, because if you didn’t like it you wouldn’t care enough to watch. Supporting gender equality in sports means you should be able to criticize female athletes for bad performances just as quickly as you would with men. And if you follow CagePotato on Twitter and get upset when we express a harsh (but honest) opinion…what the hell are you doing following us in the first place?
In case you don’t remember Del Rosario, he made his name in Strikeforce with a submission win over Lavar Johnson. He came up short against Stipe Miocic in his first UFC fight. He last appeared in the Octagon back in December 2012 in a losing effort against Pat Barry. He was expected to fight at UFC 168 but had to withdraw due to injury (a rib injury seemingly unrelated to his current predicament).
It’s tragic and highly atypical for such a young, athletic individual to suffer a heart attack. Del Rosario’s manager stated that the fighter’s doctors believed it was called by a condition called Long QT Syndrome—an exceedingly rare heart condition that can lead to death-inducing arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).
Unfortunately, it’s highly probable that Del Rosario will be taken off life support soon. At the time of writing, there have been no updates on this front. We will provide any news as it becomes available. The CagePotato staff is hopeful that it will be the good kind of news.
In case you don’t remember Del Rosario, he made his name in Strikeforce with a submission win over Lavar Johnson. He came up short against Stipe Miocic in his first UFC fight. He last appeared in the Octagon back in December 2012 in a losing effort against Pat Barry. He was expected to fight at UFC 168 but had to withdraw due to injury (a rib injury seemingly unrelated to his current predicament).
It’s tragic and highly atypical for such a young, athletic individual to suffer a heart attack. Del Rosario’s manager stated that the fighter’s doctors believed it was called by a condition called Long QT Syndrome—an exceedingly rare heart condition that can lead to death-inducing arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).
Unfortunately, it’s highly probable that Del Rosario will be taken off life support soon. At the time of writing, there have been no updates on this front. We will provide any news as it becomes available. The CagePotato staff is hopeful that it will be the good kind of news.
The ninth season of Bellator demonstrated what the Viacom-owned promotion is capable of when it’s given a platform on a stable, popular network—but can what season nine showed us elevate Bellator to the top while simultaneously revitalizing the stagnating MMA market in the United States?
It’s tough to tell, though we can glean a semblance of an answer when we look at an event that was simultaneously the high point and low point for Bellator during its ninth season: Bellator 106, the PPV that wasn’t. The card encapsulated everything that was right and wrong with Bellator.
What was wrong:
-Focusing on well-past-their-prime talent—Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz—and the “these guys used to be in the UFC” marketing line in order to sell a PPV. The cancellation of the PPV because Ortiz suffered yet another injury.
-The conclusion of the knock-off Ultimate Fighter, “Fight Master,” being won by Joe Riggs, another peaked-in-the-mid-2000s, ex-UFC fighter.
-The dubious interim title fight between King Mo and Emanuel Newton that defied the “title shots are earned and not given” mantra that made Bellator special.
What was right:
-Bellator’s homegrown talent like Michael Chandler, Daniel Straus, and Pat Curran being proudly put on display for the MMA world to see.
-Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez was one of the best fights of the year.
These takeaways from Bellator 106 can be applied to the promotion’s efforts as a whole.
Bellator’s reliance on ex-UFC fighters in concerning. Rampage drew the second-highest ratings in Bellator history with 793,000 viewers in his fight against Joey Beltran, but banking on older, expensive fighters isn’t sustainable. At 35 years old, Rampage has a limited time left in the sport. The same goes for 38-year-old Tito Ortiz, who hasn’t even fought for Bellator yet since he can’t stay healthy. Placing the weight of a promotion’s future on surgically reconstructed knees and necks is a terrible idea.
Bellator apologists might argue that Rampage and Tito were brought in to garner the casual fan’s attention and in doing so promote the lesser-known, Bellator-made fighters…
The ninth season of Bellator demonstrated what the Viacom-owned promotion is capable of when it’s given a platform on a stable, popular network—but can what season nine showed us elevate Bellator to the top while simultaneously revitalizing the stagnating MMA market in the United States?
It’s tough to tell, though we can glean a semblance of an answer when we look at an event that was simultaneously the high point and low point for Bellator during its ninth season: Bellator 106, the PPV that wasn’t. The card encapsulated everything that was right and wrong with Bellator.
What was wrong:
-Focusing on well-past-their-prime talent—Rampage Jackson and Tito Ortiz—and the “these guys used to be in the UFC” marketing line in order to sell a PPV. The cancellation of the PPV because Ortiz suffered yet another injury.
-The conclusion of the knock-off Ultimate Fighter, “Fight Master,” being won by Joe Riggs, another peaked-in-the-mid-2000s, ex-UFC fighter.
-The dubious interim title fight between King Mo and Emanuel Newton that defied the “title shots are earned and not given” mantra that made Bellator special.
What was right:
-Bellator’s homegrown talent like Michael Chandler, Daniel Straus, and Pat Curran being proudly put on display for the MMA world to see.
-Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez was one of the best fights of the year.
These takeaways from Bellator 106 can be applied to the promotion’s efforts as a whole.
Bellator’s reliance on ex-UFC fighters in concerning. Rampage drew the second-highest ratings in Bellator history with 793,000 viewers in his fight against Joey Beltran, but banking on older, expensive fighters isn’t sustainable. At 35 years old, Rampage has a limited time left in the sport. The same goes for 38-year-old Tito Ortiz, who hasn’t even fought for Bellator yet since he can’t stay healthy. Placing the weight of a promotion’s future on surgically reconstructed knees and necks is a terrible idea.
Bellator apologists might argue that Rampage and Tito were brought in to garner the casual fan’s attention and in doing so promote the lesser-known, Bellator-made fighters. This logic sounds plausible but doesn’t hold up to snuff. As mentioned above, Alvarez vs. Chandler drew 1.1 million viewers. Rampage Jackson vs. Joey Beltran drew several hundred thousand less at 793,000. Two fighters that have never been in the UFC out-drew two fighters that had been in the UFC, one of whom was a “star.” Yes, casuals will watch Rampage if he’s on for free. But even more will watch if a fight is free and they perceive that it’s a contest of world-class talent and importance, like with Chandler and Alvarez.
If you’re still not getting the point: Two non-UFC guys earned Bellator’s highest ratings ever, proving that Bellator can build their popularity without people like Rampage and Tito if they wanted to. This isn’t to say that hiring any ex-UFC guy is bad. Bellator signed Paul Sass who made his debut for the promotion on the Bellator 104 prelims. Sass is a guy who’ll likely be a stud for Bellator and can be for a long time due to his young age. Instead of promoting that kind of UFC veteran, they chose to parade fighters like Vladimir Matyushenko, Houston Alexander, Joe Riggs, Cheick Kongo, Marcus Davis, Terry Etim, and Rich Clementi on Spike like it’s the previous era of MMA and they’re all still relevant.
This is to the detriment of the legitimately bright prospects that Bellator has on their roster—and they do have quite a few. If the undefeated, 6’6″ light heavyweight Liam McGeary were in the UFC rather than Bellator, people would be saying that he’d be one of the men who could be Jon Jones in 2014. 13-1 lightweight Will Brooks is a talented fighter who could go far in MMA and he’s only 27. Bellator also has Polish grappling phenom Marcin Held who’s 16-3 and is only 21. There’s also the resurgent NCAA Division I champ Bubba Jenkins who returned to the winning column on the Bellator 109 prelims and is now 5-1. At 25, he can go far in Bellator. As an MMA fan, I have more interest in seeing all of these fighters than I do in seeing the ex-UFC fighters mentioned earlier. I want to see athletes who compete for a better tomorrow, not ones who fight for fading glimpses of yesterday.
That’s the crossroads that Bellator finds itself at at the end of season nine. They can continue their focus on former UFC “stars” and adopt the money-fueled booking strategy for which they’ve lambasted the UFC, or they can be different. They can be the best Bellator they can be instead of being the best UFC impersonator.
During the furor of Bellator’s final season nine fight card, Lyoto Machida’s brother Chinzo Machida pulled off what Pat Miletich said the nastiest knee-inflicted KO he’d ever seen in his life—and it’s the nastiest we’ve ever seen in our lives too.
It was a flying knee to the head of one Brian Wood, who unfortunately shot right into Machida’s kneecap as it approached his face at 100 miles per hour. Wood was on the ground for several minutes after the fight stopped and left in a stretcher. In case you don’t have access to video, here’s the GIF courtesy of @ZProphet_MMA.
The victory was Chinzo Machida’s first since his MMA debut back in 2005 . He fought again in 2006, lost, and then took a furlough from the sport until 2010 but lost that fight too. At a disappointing 1-2, it seemed like Chinzo Machida was fated to be a Lance Evans or a Jason Guida—a Luigi to one of MMA’s many Marios. Maybe now he’ll be able to carve out his own name in the sport, but he better work fast: He’s already 36 years old.
There are also other highlights from the RFA 11 card on the video, enjoy.
It was a flying knee to the head of one Brian Wood, who unfortunately shot right into Machida’s kneecap as it approached his face at 100 miles per hour. Wood was on the ground for several minutes after the fight stopped and left in a stretcher. In case you don’t have access to video, here’s the GIF.
The victory was Chinzo Machida’s first since his MMA debut back in 2005 . He fought again in 2006, lost, and then took a furlough from the sport until 2010 but lost that fight too. At a disappointing 1-2, it seemed like Chinzo Machida was fated to be a Lance Evans or a Jason Guida—a Luigi to one of MMA’s many Marios. Maybe now he’ll be able to carve out his own name in the sport, but he better work fast: He’s already 36 years old.
There are also other highlights from the RFA 11 card on the video, enjoy.
Bellator 109 was the final event in the promotion’s ninth season. Like most other fight cards, it had its ups and downs.
Of note on the prelims, famed wrestler Bubba Jenkins rebounded from his upset loss to Larue Burly at Bellator 100. Blagoi Ivanov, one of the few men to beat Fedor Emelianenko in Sambo and who recently recovered from near-death, extended his unbeaten streak to nine fights. Also, 20-year-old Brazilian prospect Goiti Yamauchi ran over Saul Almeida like a soccer mom in a Ford Excursion runs over a small possum (though the Brazilian was seven pounds overweight for the fight).
In the night’s first bout, Terry Etim faced Patrick Cenoble. This was Etim’s first fight outside of the UFC since the promotion let him go. After watching this match, the UFC is probably patting themselves on the back for that call. Etim won a pedestrian decision. If you like seeing a grappler lounge in dominant positions for 15 minutes, this was your kind of fight.
Fans who didn’t sprint away from Spike TV after Etim-Cenoble were treated to the lightweight tournament semifinal: Will Brooks vs. Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy. The first round was closely contested. Sarnavskiy landed a few crisp combinations, as did Brooks. The American slowed the pace in the second round, employing the grinding style which he’s become known for. “Tiger” became a kitten under Brooks’ pressure. Brooks outclassed Sarnavskiy in the latter 10 minutes of the fight. He was stronger, better conditioned, and a superior grappler. He earned a unanimous decision victory.
Also on the card…
Bellator 109 was the final event in the promotion’s ninth season. Like most other fight cards, it had its ups and downs.
Of note on the prelims, famed wrestler Bubba Jenkins rebounded from his upset loss to Larue Burly at Bellator 100. Blagoi Ivanov, one of the few men to beat Fedor Emelianenko in Sambo and who recently recovered from near-death, extended his unbeaten streak to nine fights. Also, 20-year-old Brazilian prospect Goiti Yamauchi ran over Saul Almeida like a soccer mom in a Ford Excursion runs over a small possum (though the Brazilian was seven pounds overweight for the fight).
In the night’s first bout, Terry Etim faced Patrick Cenoble. This was Etim’s first fight outside of the UFC since the promotion let him go. After watching this match, the UFC is probably patting themselves on the back for that call. Etim won a pedestrian decision. If you like seeing a grappler lounge in dominant positions for 15 minutes, this was your kind of fight.
Fans who didn’t sprint away from Spike TV after Etim-Cenoble were treated to the lightweight tournament semifinal: Will Brooks vs. Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy. The first round was closely contested. Sarnavskiy landed a few crisp combinations, as did Brooks. The American slowed the pace in the second round, employing the grinding style which he’s become known for. “Tiger” became a kitten under Brooks’ pressure. Brooks outclassed Sarnavskiy in the latter 10 minutes of the fight. He was stronger, better conditioned, and a superior grappler. He earned a unanimous decision victory.
Ron Keslar and Rick Hawn faced off in the welterweight tournament semifinal. Keslar controlled the first round and even floored Hawn with a brutal knee to the body. But Hawn turned things around in the second, using a stiff jab to dictate the pace and range of the striking. Hawn built off this success in the third round, scoring a beautiful walk-off KO less than a minute in. Words can’t really describe how brutal the third round was. Let’s say that Keslar started it as a fighter, but ended it as a punching bag.
Then it was time for the main event, a middleweight title bout between champion Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko and Doug “Rhino” Marshall. The fight didn’t last long. Shlemenko made Marshall worry about takedowns before unleashing a liver shot that would’ve made Bas Rutten’s tear up with pride. Marshall’s face grimaced and contorted as he fled from the pocket. The champ smelled blood (or the secretions of a wounded liver) and finished the fight with another body shot a few moments later.
Overall though, the televised card displayed the same banality that’s plagued both Bellator and the UFC throughout 2013. Each amazing knockout was balanced out by a lackluster, grinding decision that scared the casuals off and made even the most hardcore fan consider tuning out for a little bit.
Here are the complete results:
Main Card:
Alexander Shlemenko def. Doug Marshall via TKO (punch to the body), 4:28 of Round 1
Rick Hawn def. Ron Keslar via KO (punch), 0:55 of Round 3
Will Brooks def. Alexander Sarnavskiy via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Terry Etim def. Patrick Cenoble via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)
Preliminary Card:
Mike Bannon def. Ahsan Abdulla via technical submission (arm triangle), 1:51 of Round 1
Blagoi Ivanov def. Keith Bell via submission (rear naked choke), 3:59 of Round 1
Goiti Yamauchi def. Saul Almeida via KO (punches), 2:04 of Round 1
Bubba Jenkins def. Ian Rammel via TKO (punches), 2:38 of Round 3
Brent Primus def. Brett Glass via submission (rear naked choke), 3:20 of Round 1
Lester Caslow def. Jay Haas via submission (guillotine), 2:44 of round 3
