Author: McKinley Noble

UFC Star Forrest Griffin Doesn’t Like Phil Davis’ Trademark Pink Shorts

Forrest Griffin doesn’t want to lose to a man who wears pink shorts into the Octagon.Sure, Phil Davis has a lot of other attributes that the former UFC lightweight champion should arguably be more worried about, but the original The Ultimate Fighter&nb…

Forrest Griffin doesn’t want to lose to a man who wears pink shorts into the Octagon.

Sure, Phil Davis has a lot of other attributes that the former UFC lightweight champion should arguably be more worried about, but the original The Ultimate Fighter winner has jokingly stated that’s why a loss to “Mr. Wonderful” would be rather embarrassing.

During a pre-fight interview with the UFC, Griffin poked fun at Davis and his unique attire choice:

Y’know, the thing about Phil Davis is [that] I really don’t want to get beat up by a guy in pink tights…”Mr. Wonderful” is a very unique nickname. I don’t know the origin story behind it. Maybe there’s a comic book that explains why he’s really powerful. I don’t know, I don’t want to judge him.

Maybe there’s nuclear materials that turned his shorts pink. I don’t know that. He’s probably got superpowers.

However, the story behind Davis’ nickname is actually far simpler. In a 2011 interview with the UFC, Davis revealed that his moniker actually came from his pet cat.

According to Davis, his cat was stolen from him in 2007 during his college wrestling days at Penn State. Sadly, “Mr. Wonderful” never reappeared and has been missing ever since.

Griffin also took a moment to analyze Davis’ elite ground game, citing the anaconda choke as one of the young star’s greatest weapons. Aside from a “great shot” and “great wrestling,” Griffin noted that Davis has a knack for grinding an opponent into the ground until his form slips, presenting Davis the opportunity to lock in the submission.

Griffin and Davis will face off on the UFC’s last 2012 card this year at UFC 155, which is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. Davis comes into the match off an impressive submission win (by anaconda choke) over Brazilian prospect Wagner Prado.

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UFC 155: Who Is More Focused, Junior Dos Santos or Cain Velasquez?

In all honesty, we barely learned anything from the first fight between Junior dos Santos and then-UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1.That’s just the nature of flash knockouts.We already knew that JDS possessed serious power in han…

In all honesty, we barely learned anything from the first fight between Junior dos Santos and then-UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at UFC on Fox 1.

That’s just the nature of flash knockouts.

We already knew that JDS possessed serious power in hands from victories against Gabriel Gonzaga, Gilbert Yvel, Stefan Struve and Fabricio Werdum. And while Velasquez had never been stopped on strikes before, just about any heavyweight would go down from a shot behind the ear.

That doesn’t leave much to ponder in the lead up to UFC 155, where both heavyweights will attempt to settle beyond a doubt whom the better fighter truly is.

What we can analyze, though, is how focused each man has seemed since that title fight.

The Smiling Champion

Junior dos Santos has been all smiles and sunshine, gleaming with the pride of bringing the UFC heavyweight title back home to Brazil. During various vignettes and previews, the champion has seemed to be his usual happy-go-lucky self.

Even during UFC 146, JDS wasn’t all business against Frank Mir, taking time to taunt the jiu-jitsu master after a failed submission attempt. Irregardless, the killer instinct was still there once JDS sensed the right moment to end the fight.

If JDS is letting the success get to his head, it’s clearly not a problem for the potent striker yet. But then again, it appears that his attention isn’t fully focused on the next task at hand.

The Shadow of “The Reem”

Despite the fact that international heavyweight superstar Alistair Overeem has been shuttled back into “the mix” following a positive test for elevated testosterone levels, dos Santos has spent more time talking about the Dutchman than anyone else.

Although Velasquez waits in the wings, and talks of a superfight with Jon Jones lurk in the background, JDS has been incensed about Overeem’s suspected drug use, calling his potential foe a cheater and worse during several pointed interviews. Amid all the talk, it’s obvious that JDS has a chip on his shoulder about performance enhancing drugs and their stranglehold on MMA.

But the question is, how much is that distracting the UFC champion? Moreover, will all that attention paid to such a distant rival come back to hurt JDS when he makes his next title defense?

The Angry Ex-Champion

Unlike dos Santos, former champion Velasquez is rarely grinning from ear to ear.

At the very least, the American Kickboxing Academy star seems viciously intent on reclaiming his lost title, and almost nothing in the heavyweight division has been as eye-opening as his brutal one-sided mauling of Antonio Silva at UFC 146 this past May.

For the better part of three minutes, Velasquez unleashed a lightning-paced onslaught all over Silva’s face in a tornado of fury, nearly turning “Bigfoot” into a murder victim. Inexplicably, the referee stoppage didn’t come until Silva was literally coated in blood, drowning under Velasquez’s assault.

If actions speak louder than words, the former champ is practically screaming at the top of his lungs.

Where JDS usually seems happy just to be living in the moment, and where Overeem seems content to ride out the storm, Velasquez simply looks like he wants to tear the world apart.

And at UFC 155, that might make all the difference.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

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Erick Silva Talks Bad Weight Cut, Lost 15 Pounds Before UFC 153 vs. Jon Fitch

For many UFC fighters, their next match is won or lost on the scales. If you cut weight the wrong way, it can ruin your performance in the Octagon at the worst time.As it turns out, that’s exactly what Erick Silva learned prior to facing Jon Fitch at U…

For many UFC fighters, their next match is won or lost on the scales. If you cut weight the wrong way, it can ruin your performance in the Octagon at the worst time.

As it turns out, that’s exactly what Erick Silva learned prior to facing Jon Fitch at UFC 153.

During an interview with Fighters Only, the X-Gym and Team Nogueria star explained how a poorly managed 15-pound weight cut would come back to bite him. According to Silva, his cardio suffered greatly as a result, even with the customary 24 hours to rest and rehydrate before his match.

However, he vows that it won’t happen again when facing seasoned veteran Jay Hieron at UFC 156 in Las Vegas this February:

I won’t permit it to happen again. I will be attentive to the weight, I will work it well. I won’t have much on me by the end of the year. In the last fight, I thought that it would be better to get heavier in the final stages of training but afterwards I realized that it ended up making me more slow and tired. Now this is going to be a whole new ball game.

Silva looks to rebound with a win against Hieron, hopefully inching closer to title contention despite his latest setback. Since joining the UFC off a 13-1-0-1 run in the Brazilian regional circuit, Silva only has a 2-2 record to show for his efforts.

However, one of those losses comes with an asterisk, as Silva was infamously disqualified for punches to the back of head during his UFC 142 bout with Carlo Prater by referee Mario Yamasaki.

Regardless, Silva has turned in memorable performances in each of his UFC fights, with “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” honors in his last two performances against Fitch and Charlie Brenneman respectively.

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Dong Hyun Kim Says 90 Percent of UFC Fighters Are on Drugs

If fighters in the UFC aren’t being pulled from upcoming cards due to injuries, they’re serving suspensions for banned substances.That’s been one hot-button issue hanging over the promotion during the last handful of years, and welterweight competitor&…

If fighters in the UFC aren’t being pulled from upcoming cards due to injuries, they’re serving suspensions for banned substances.

That’s been one hot-button issue hanging over the promotion during the last handful of years, and welterweight competitor Dong Hyun Kim is sick of it. In fact, “Stun Gun” claims that nearly every fighter in the company is using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) of some sort.

During an interview with South Korean outlet MFight (via Middle Easy), Kim also made the bold claim that 90 percent of UFC fighters are doping:

While a lot of people believe doping tests work, just like a breathalyzer test you can get away with it by just controlling timing. Most of the steroid users just cycle and get by the tests. It’s almost like other athletes look down on you as an idiot if you don’t do steroids. It’s like non-users are bicyclists while steroid users are racing with motorcycles. But I am one of those “idiots” that don’t use performance enhancers. I would say 90 percent of UFC fighters use performance enhancers.

Although Kim has yet to face a UFC fighter who’s tested positive for PEDs, he once lost a fight against Karo Parisyan by split decision, who was later outed for using illegal painkillers.

However, several fighters have tested positive for drugs and PEDs in 2011 and 2012 alone.

As it stands, the most high profile offenders for PEDs include Stephan Bonnar, Thiago Silva, Muhammed Lawal, Chael Sonnen and Cristiane Santos. Additionally, Nick Diaz, Matt Riddle and Dave Herman have also been suspended for marijuana use during this year.

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UFC on Fox 5: Don’t Expect Too Much from Aging BJ Penn

It’s hard to believe BJ Penn when he says that he’s rediscovered “that old fire” for his upcoming UFC on Fox 5 match against Rory MacDonald.For what it’s worth, he sounded ready to fight on today’s media call, promising to put on a show.And sure, we’ve…

It’s hard to believe BJ Penn when he says that he’s rediscovered “that old fire” for his upcoming UFC on Fox 5 match against Rory MacDonald.

For what it’s worth, he sounded ready to fight on today’s media call, promising to put on a show.

And sure, we’ve all seen that Thanksgiving video of a fit-looking Penn shadowboxing in his front yard, flexing his abs for legions of still-faithful fans.

But at the end of the day, that doesn’t really mean anything.

Oh, golly gee! BJ Penn sure looks shredded for his next fight! That’s…common.

At least, it would be common for any UFC fighter not named BJ Penn.

But over the years, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing “The Prodigy” turn up for welterweight fights looking soft and undercut. Even Penn himself noted it, saying that he trained extra hard after MacDonald called him out on his pudgy physique.

Now, Penn looks like he got in shape for a 170-pound fight. Hooray. That’s what he should’ve been doing all along.

Giving “The Prodigy” credit for getting fit is like praising a morbidly obese person for drinking diet sodas. It’s really just a minor step toward solving the much bigger problem at hand.

Is Penn still going to gas out halfway through the fight?

Is he going to mentally quit if Rory Mac turns up the pressure?

Those are the far more interesting questions we won’t get answers to until Dec. 8. But given Penn’s track record, it really won’t be much of a shock to see him turn in a half-hearted performance during the Fox main card.

Don’t get me wrong—it would be amazing if the UFC legend was able to dominate MacDonald, licking blood off his gloves and taunting a broken, defeated opponent.

But that’s unlikely to happen.

Every good fighter has an opponent that breaks him. Jon Jones broke Brandon Vera. Cain Velasquez broke Brock Lesnar. Gabriel Gonzaga broke Mirko Cro Cop.

And I believe that Frankie Edgar broke BJ Penn.

Nearly every time Penn has been on the ropes and forced to dig deep for a win, he had nothing more to give. He didn’t have enough fire to beat Georges St-Pierre or Jon Fitch. He didn’t have the will to beat Nick Diaz. And it’s hard to expect anything different when he faces Rory MacDonald.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

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Strikeforce: Champions Is Already Dead, Just Cancel the January Card

Look, I’m not a pessimist. I try to stay positive and see the bright side in everything.But every single time somebody mentions Strikeforce, I feel a pit in my stomach. It’s like we’re talking about a diseased family dog that’s overdue for a trip to th…

Look, I’m not a pessimist. I try to stay positive and see the bright side in everything.

But every single time somebody mentions Strikeforce, I feel a pit in my stomach. It’s like we’re talking about a diseased family dog that’s overdue for a trip to the vet.

Strikeforce was once great, and it hurts to see the upstart San Jose-based promotion being dragged through the dirt. Honestly, at this point, what else can be done to the company?

As it stands, I don’t even think there’s any point in looking forward to Strikeforce: Champions, the promotion’s final event. The current lineup is a pathetic, festering shell of its original self.

Really, why bother trying to keep the event together at all?

If everything had been done right, the main card would’ve been billed with nothing but title fights, headlined by Ronda Rousey and followed with Luke Rockhold, Nate Marquardt, Gilbert Melendez and Daniel Cormier.

But Rockhold and Melendez have already pulled out with injuries. Rousey is firmly under the UFC banner and won’t be coming back to give her home promotion a proper send-off.

Heck, you may as well call the January 12th card Strikeforce: Champion now that ex-UFC fighter Marquardt is the only one left who’s actually defending a belt.

And in all honesty, even if Lorenz Larkin is right about Rockhold ducking his last title defense in fear of looking bad on the last Strikeforce card, you really can’t blame the paper champion.

Why take the risk?

There’s no upside for anyone fighting in this event as the UFC has already made it obvious that they’re going to cherry-pick the biggest names available. Pragmatically, it’s just better to stay on the sidelines, call out some UFC fighters on Twitter and try to keep yourself in the headlines.

With the last two Strikeforce events in 2012 already canceled, it wouldn’t be a shock if the final event never happened.

In fact, that would be oddly fitting for the MMA promotion once known as the UFC’s biggest rival—a slow, fizzling death instead of going out with a huge bang.

So I’m not even expecting Strikeforce: Champions to happen.

Just get on with it, kill the card, and start merging the rosters sooner rather than later.

Besides, I doubt many Strikeforce fans are really that interested in watching Daniel Cormier beat the stuffing out of (hang on, let me look up this guy’s name) Dion Staring.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com