Author: Michael Moraitis

St-Pierre vs. Diaz: Personalities Are Biggest Difference in UFC 158 Match

UFC 158 will pit welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre against challenger Nick Diaz in a match that features two fighters who are complete opposites. St-Pierre is much easier to figure out of the two. He is always the ultimate professional who does e…

UFC 158 will pit welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre against challenger Nick Diaz in a match that features two fighters who are complete opposites.

St-Pierre is much easier to figure out of the two.

He is always the ultimate professional who does exactly what is necessary of him in regard to his responsibilities to himself and the sport as a whole.

St-Pierre is always well-prepared and in great shape after countless hours of training, and he is a lock to do all the promotional work that must be done before any event he headlines. Not to mention, GSP isn’t an obnoxious, loudmouthed person who is full of himself to a nauseating extent.

These qualities make it extremely easy to root for the champ.

Diaz on the other hand, does things very differently.

While you can’t really question Diaz’s dedication to training and his work leading up to a fight, you can question his effort in the promotional work and overall responsibilities to the UFC.

In fact, this fight between Diaz and GSP was supposed to happen at UFC 137, but Diaz failed to handle his pre-fight responsibilities and UFC President Dana White ended up pulling the plug.

Even for UFC 158, Diaz has already skipped the open workouts before the event, per MMAJunkie.com staff.

And as far as being a loudmouth is concerned, Diaz completely dominated St-Pierre with numerous long tirades during a media conference call, which also left other fighters on the same call unable to get a word in at all, according to the report.

As if Diaz needed to give people another reason to dislike him.

It appears Diaz is once again attempting to sabotage his own career by tempting White to throw him off this card as well. That could potentially happen if Diaz doesn’t show up to the press conference on Thursday, which again wouldn’t be his first time doing something so bizarre.

It would be another big blow to Diaz who is finally returning to the Octagon after serving a year-long suspension thanks to a second positive drug test for marijuana, per the same MMAJunkie.com article.

At this point, Diaz’s problems are very much self-inflicted. He is no doubt a talented fighter, but it’s frustrating to see him throw away his chances at taking a step to the next level and that’s what makes him impossible to cheer for—especially against a guy like St-Pierre.

There are plenty of fighters who would love the opportunity to fight the champion and would sleep in the airport terminal in order to make sure they didn’t miss their flight. Diaz doesn’t seem to have that same kind of desire inside of him and that’s disappointing to say the least.

The fight is still a few days away as it takes place on March 16, but that’s more than enough time for Diaz to have himself erased from another UFC card. But if he does make it, don’t expect to hear much cheering for Diaz as he continues to be one of the bigger villains in the UFC today.

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Ronda Rousey: Take-Home Pay for Rising Star Is a Joke in Respect to Real Value

Ronda Rousey’s UFC 157 payday has been revealed, and it’s actually quite shocking how little she made. According to MMAWeekly.com staff, Rousey took home a rather unimpressive $90,000, half of which is from a bonus given to her as a result of her victo…

Ronda Rousey‘s UFC 157 payday has been revealed, and it’s actually quite shocking how little she made.

According to MMAWeekly.com staff, Rousey took home a rather unimpressive $90,000, half of which is from a bonus given to her as a result of her victory. By comparison, Lyoto Machida ($200,000) and Dan Henderson ($250,000) took home more than double that total.

Now, that’s not to say that $90,000 isn’t a lot of money to the average person—and we’d all love to make that amount of dough for one night’s work—but with all Rousey brought to the pay-per-view and the UFC in general, it’s chump change.

For starters, Rousey and her opponent, Liz Carmouche, had the most entertaining fight of the night. Carmouche pushed Rousey to the limit, which wasn’t expected, only to have her efforts thwarted in an exciting fashion.

For her efforts, Carmouche received a measly $12,000.

Henderson and Machida were collectively the biggest names going into UFC 157, but together they put on a bout that was one of the least talked about of the night. It wasn’t entirely a waste, but it still left a lot to be desired.

If not for Rousey and Carmouche‘s fight, this pay-per-view would have been lost in the sauce of UFC history.

The only hope for a bigger payday for both female fighters can come in different forms and was listed in a report by Maggie Hendricks of Yahoo! Sports:

It does not include money the fighters make of pay-per-view sales. Quite often, fighters at the top of the card will make a percentage of the pay-per-view profits. Early reports have UFC 157 with 400-500,000 pay-per-views, so it could mean a good payday for the headliners.

The UFC also is known to give out “locker room bonuses,” or extra money because of a good performance that they are not required to report to the athletic commissions.

Hopefully, these unreported sums of money will deservedly bring Rousey and Carmouche‘s grand total far higher than was originally reported. It would be a shame to think that the two biggest reasons UFC 157 was of any interest were paid that poorly.

Without Rousey and Carmouche, this pay-per-view likely doesn’t come close to the buy numbers mentioned above, because it was the single most intriguing fight on the card based on its historic significance.

Specifically, in regard to Rousey, her popularity is growing at an epic pace. Not only is she becoming a fan favorite with the overwhelming amount of men who watch the sport, but she is now opening a door to a female market that has never been available before to the UFC.

This incredible rise to fame will only continue for Rousey, and with it, new sponsors and fanbases will emerge to further push UFC into the national conversation as a must-watch sport. UFC President Dana White can thank Rousey (and to a lesser extent Carmouche) for that, and it should bring Rousey‘s base pay way up in the coming events she participates in.

However, it appears women still have a long way to go in order to catch up to what the men make, which is an old, sad tale in the history of this country.

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Twitter Erupts to Ronda Rousey’s Emphatic Championship Win over Liz Carmouche

UFC 157 is in the books and Ronda Rousey lived up to expectations by defeating Liz Carmouche in the first round to retain her UFC bantamweight belt.
Rousey sealed the deal by applying her signature armbar with 11 seconds left in the first round to…

UFC 157 is in the books and Ronda Rousey lived up to expectations by defeating Liz Carmouche in the first round to retain her UFC bantamweight belt.

Rousey sealed the deal by applying her signature armbar with 11 seconds left in the first round to emerge victorious over Carmouche.

The challenger appeared to have Rousey in trouble early on in the round as she had control of Rowdy’s back and neck. Things began to get dicey for Rousey as her face turned red and legs began to wobble when Carmouche nearly locked in her submission while hanging on Rowdy’s back.

But Carmouche couldn’t finish the deal and Rousey would go on to shake her off to survive the onslaught.

Eventually, Rousey took the fight to the ground and gained an advantageous position with a side headlock that resulted in several crushing strikes to Carmouche‘s face, which was the beginning of the end.

Rousey would gain the top position on Carmouche and attempted to lock in her patented armbar. Carmouche didn’t give up without a fight, however, and fought valiantly to free herself from the hold.

Carmouche proved to be unsuccessful in her attempt and ultimately became the latest victim of Rousey‘s devastating finisher. She might have lost, but there’s absolutely no shame in the way Carmouche performed against the champ.

This was no doubt a historic evening as the UFC introduced its first women’s matchup in the history of the sport. This pay-per-view event will no doubt leave people talking for weeks to come.

Let’s see what Twitter had to say.

 

Twitter Reaction

The UFC’s official Twitter page gave a shoutout to Rousey after her victory, which was historic:

Larry Brown of LarryBrownSports.com gave Rousey‘s armbar a high form of praise:

Bleacher Report shared a photo of the finishing move that capped off the evening:

Jarrod N. Rudolph of RealGM.com gave props to Carmouche as well, which was well-deserved for her gutsy performance:

Former WWE wrestler Lance Storm knows a good fight when he sees one and noted how exciting the Rousey-Carmouche bout was:

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Ronda Rousey Is Smart to Avoid Playboy Exposure

In a sport dominated by male fighters and viewers, gaining respect and credibility may be difficult for women’s UFC fighter Ronda Rousey. Sure, she is the former Strikeforce champion and has a 6-0 record, which she will look to improve at UFC 157 again…

In a sport dominated by male fighters and viewers, gaining respect and credibility may be difficult for women’s UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.

Sure, she is the former Strikeforce champion and has a 6-0 record, which she will look to improve at UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche this Saturday in the first-ever female brawl for the company. But that doesn’t guarantee people will flock to see her fights like most other champions in the sport.

It also doesn’t mean that women’s MMA in general will be accepted by UFC fans, though Rousey has a great opportunity to cement the women’s division as a legit version of MMA to watch.

The only way she and the rest of the ladies in the sport can do that is to put on great fights, leaving everything in the octagon in order to provide undeniable entertainment.

Despite her love for the sport, Rousey clearly won’t sell her soul in order to gain more recognition, and one of those avenues would be to pose in Playboy.

In an interview on the HBO show, “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” (per USA Today Sports), which is set to air on Feb. 19, Rousey says she would decline an opportunity to appear in Playboy if offered.

The offer will no doubt come for Rousey. Not only is she a rising star in the world of MMA, but she is also quite the beauty of the women’s division.

National attention and good looks will almost always lead to a call from Playboy, but Rousey is smart not to answer that call as she looks to become a pioneer in MMA.

Granted, the vast majority of men will disagree with me, and I can’t deny I wouldn’t look at those photos myself should they become reality.

But for the good of the sport and her respectability, Rousey shouldn’t pose for Playboy.

First of all, she doesn’t need any more exposure. The UFC has done a great job at promoting her first fight in the Octagon, so taking off her clothes to have more eyes look at her isn’t necessary at all.

On top of that, Rousey should be trying to get more viewers as a result of her fighting skills and domination of the division—not the removal of her clothes.

If she were to pose for Playboy, instead of seeing a fighter, men will look at her as a sex symbol and will likely be thinking of her photos during her fights more than the fight itself. That kind of distraction is not what the women’s division needs, especially for its potential best fighter in Rousey.

There is no question we will see Rousey in some risque photos as she gains more popularity, but total exposure would help ruin her march to the top of the sport.

The UFC wants her to be a role model to young girls who think mixed martial arts could be for them. A lot of parents might not like such a role model for their kids already based on the violent nature of MMA, and nude photos certainly won’t help the cause.

Rousey is best off letting her mouth and skills in the Octagon do the talking—and wisely enough, that is exactly what she plans on doing.

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Silva vs. Bonnar Results: Why Silva’s Victory Was Huge for UFC

The main event at UFC 153 went exactly as expected with Anderson Silva crushing Stephan Bonnar en route to stopping the fight in the first round. Despite the result being typical, it was rather important nonetheless. Silva had no problem standing toe t…

The main event at UFC 153 went exactly as expected with Anderson Silva crushing Stephan Bonnar en route to stopping the fight in the first round. Despite the result being typical, it was rather important nonetheless.

Silva had no problem standing toe to toe with Bonnar, who is a far less talented fighter. All it took was one big knee from Silva and Bonnar dropped like a sack of bricks, only to be finished off with vicious strikes from above by the middleweight champion.

It was exactly the type of dominance we’ve come to expect from the Spider over the years.

As is the case with all fights in the UFC, no matter how lopsided they might seem on paper, there is always a chance for an upset. The sport is unique in the sense that all it takes is one lucky punch and a fighter could walk out of the Octagon victorious.

That is a true testament to how good Silva has truly been, remaining undefeated all these years and never having to succumb to a lucky strike from an opponent.

Had this fight gone the other way, it would have been damn near catastrophic for the sport.

Silva would have lost a ton of credibility losing to Bonnar and it no doubt would have negatively affected his legacy. The Spider wouldn’t have that same unbeatable aura that he carries around with him wherever he goes.

Instead, Silva would have looked human for the first time in his career and doubts about his viability moving forward would have run rampant.

The UFC would like nothing more than for Silva to continue to climb the ranks of the light heavyweight division with the ultimate goal of setting up the fight of the century between champion, Jon Jones.

Losing to Bonnar would have destroyed any and all credibility that fight has. The UFC wouldn’t be able to justify that matchup after a loss to Bonnar, making it look like the sport was forcing the issue when Silva wouldn’t have deserved it.

But alas, the potential crisis was averted and Silva and Jones are still on track to one day meet in the Octagon. This is one fight fan who can’t wait for that incredible showdown to occur.

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UFC 153 Results: Jon Fitch’s Win over Erick Silva Makes Him a Contender Again

Jon Fitch gained a huge victory with his unanimous-decision win at UFC 153 over rising star Erick Silva. The win could have very well saved Fitch’s UFC career.Once a major contender in the welterweight division, Fitch had run into hard t…

Jon Fitch gained a huge victory with his unanimous-decision win at UFC 153 over rising star Erick Silva. The win could have very well saved Fitch’s UFC career.

Once a major contender in the welterweight division, Fitch had run into hard times as of late after a draw with BJ Penn and an unexpected loss to Johny Hendricks.

Fitch’s run of tough luck was a far cry from the fighter who once challenged Georges St. Pierre for his title back in 2008.

Fast forward to 2012 and now Fitch has life in the sport once again.

Not only did he beat Silva, but Fitch did it in impressive fashion. Fitch even came close to stopping the fight before the final horn sounded as he had Silva flattened out while the former No. 1 contender rained down vicious blows.

Silva was thought to be a top contender in the division before this fight, but that will certainly change after this loss. In turn, Fitch has now proven he can beat some of the best fighters on the planet. That’s the first step back to greatness for Fitch.

So just how far is Fitch from getting another title shot?

There’s no doubt it will take time.

This victory was the first Fitch has experienced since 2010, when he beat Thiago Alves in UFC 117. After the two disappointing finishes in 2011, Fitch didn’t get back into the Octagon for nearly 10 months.

While a title shot might be in his future, it will take more than one good fight to prove he deserves it. On top of that, Fitch would be better served to get some more fights under his belt before taking on GSP; otherwise, Fitch might find that he simply isn’t ready to compete at such a high level.

But no matter what, Fitch looked motivated against Silva, and that motivation is exactly what Fitch needed to begin climbing the ranks in order to staple himself as a worthy challenger for the welterweight crown.

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