At UFC on Fuel TV 3, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier and the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung will duke it out to further their ascension to the featherweight division’s top rung currently occupied by Jose “Scarface&rdquo…
At UFC on Fuel TV 3, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier and the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung will duke it out to further their ascension to the featherweight division’s top rung currently occupied by Jose “Scarface” Aldo. However, come fight night, the victor will not be rewarded with the No. 1 contender’s spot.
As Erik Koch is scheduled to face-off against the assemblage’s premier fighter at UFC 149, the likely contender for the aforementioned slot is Japanese denizen Hatsu Hioki.
The former Shooto and Sengoku titlist is currently the No. 2 fighter in the UFC’S 145-pound weight class, and is 2-0 (decision wins over George Roop and Bart Palaszewski) in the Zuffa-based promotion.
With that in mind, I believe he warrants an immediate shot at the championship, just as long as he gets past Ricardo Lamas at UFC on FX: Maynard vs. Guida on June 22.
However, in the likelihood that Hatsu were to lose his upcoming clash, then either Poirier (12-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) or the Korean Zombie (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) who steamrolled Mark Hominick in seven seconds, will be next in line for a tilt at the Aldo’s coveted crown.
Diego Nunes would’ve been in with a shout, but he scuppered his chances of moving up the rankings when he lost a unanimous decision to Denis Siver at UFC on Fuel TV 2.
Chad Mendes is also out of the reckoning, as he recently lost to Aldo at UFC 142.
When it comes to professionalism in MMA combatants, there are those that act accordingly and those that don’t. However, if push came to shove, I’d have to say that the unprofessional fighters are the more entertaining. In a recent interview…
When it comes to professionalism in MMA combatants, there are those that act accordingly and those that don’t. However, if push came to shove, I’d have to say that the unprofessional fighters are the more entertaining.
In a recent interview, undisputed UFC 170-pound titlist Georges St-Pierre spoke about the perks acquired with regards to being a professional in the sport.
“This is something that I’ve been doing since the beginning of my career,” St-Pierre said. “I wore a suit at press conferences when all the other fighters were making fun of me. (They said), ‘Oh, look at St-Pierre, he doesn’t wear his sponsor.’ I’m the one who first started doing this stuff, and I think the image and how you conduct yourself … because the sponsor, the big companies in corporate America, they’re not interested in sponsoring an athlete who is good in his sport but acts like an idiot outside of the Octagon. They want someone who performs well, of course, but acts like a gentleman outside of the Octagon.
“I understood that more than ten years ago. That’s why I behave the way I do and I do things that I do. That’s why I have a lot of sponsors. I do have a lot of sponsors and a lot of money because of this. It brings money to the table.”
“I’m in this business because I want to make it for a living, for money,” he said rather passionately. “People don’t understand that. They used to make fun of me. Now ten years after, now they start picking up on it. It’s sad to see that it takes a long time for them to understand.”
That was the Canadian native at his professional best, but the question I ask is would the sport or any sport for that matter be as entertaining if every one of its participants towed the line and behaved in a goody two-shoes fashion just like the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter?
The answer is no.
In the world of sweet science no one pugilist or sportsman has ever captured the public’s imagination as Michael Gerrard Tyson did during his reign terror—he was loved and loathed in equal measure.
“The Baddest Man on the Planet’s” unprofessionalism both inside and outside of the ring knew no bounds—an early morning with brawl with Mitch “Blood” Green, a press junket scuffle with Lennox Lewis, and a sentence for a rape conviction.
I doubt anyone could ever forget one of the most infamous incidents to have ever occurred in four-squared ring—chomping at the bit would be an understatement—Tyson helped himself to a piece of both Evander Holyfield’s ears.
Were the aforementioned infractions unprofessional? Absolutely, but they were also immensely entertaining and made headline news.
His polarizing persona was the reason he became such an enigma to million’s worldwide, the latter of which we’re still trying to unravel.
Apropos the MMA stratosphere, the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Chael Sonnen and Nick Diaz are near enough the epitome of unprofessionalism.
Rampage’s rants and antics are both legendary and unseemly—taking to Twitter to berate your employer is a professional no-no, but he did. And if that doesn’t get the juices flowing, in addition to humping not one, but two reporters, he goes one further by humping a tiger.
Then, there’s the case of Sonnen, the self-styled “American Gangster” tested positive for elevated testosterone, and was subsequently suspended by CSAC (California State Athletic Commission).
Furthermore, he incurred a felony charge for money laundering in correlation with mortgage fraud, and to boot, has vocally annihilated any fighter that he thought required bringing down a peg or two.
Meanwhile, Diaz, a Stockton native has failed two drugs test and has openly and publicly admitted to smoking cannabis. And with regards to the media, he isn’t averse to a profane word or two and neither is he loath to flip the bird whenever the mood takes him.
Even though the St-Pierre’s of the MMA world are overly professional and sometimes entertaining in the steel cage, they do lack that certain oomph out of it.
The likes of Rampage, Sonnen and Diaz might every so often come across as unprofessional, but on any given day, I would rather click on a link with news regarding them than a prim-and-proper combatant who faultlessly goes by the professional code of ethics.
Unprofessionalism in mixed martial arts mightn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but more times than not, it makes for great entertainment, and as long as the combatants prove themselves in a fighting capacity, it’s all good.
At UFC 141, Alistair Overeem executed a brutal blitzkrieg on Brock Lesnar, forcing the former UFC Heavyweight champion into early retirement and back to the scripted stage of WWE.However, with recent revelations that “The Demolition Man” fa…
At UFC 141, Alistair Overeem executed a brutal blitzkrieg on Brock Lesnar, forcing the former UFC Heavyweight champion into early retirement and back to the scripted stage of WWE.
However, with recent revelations that “The Demolition Man” failed a random drug test, there’s speculation as to whether his win means anything now.
So far, that victory has remained intact in the annals of MMA history and rightly so.
The fact it was revealed he had elevated levels of testosterone in his system leading up to his UFC 146 bout with Junior dos Santos shouldn’t take anything away from the Lesnar win—it was a ferocious display of power, Octagon savvy and skill from the Dutch kickboxer.
With wins over Randy Couture (for the heavyweight crown), Frank Mir and Shane Carwin (two successful title defenses), Lesnar was hailed as some unstoppable force.
Albeit he came unstuck against Cain Velasquez, he was still seen as a force to be reckoned with, and thus was expected to test Overeem like never before.
That never transpired—he was outclassed, outfought and ultimately exposed as a mass of bulging muscle with only his wrestling abilities to fall back on.
Nonetheless, if Overeem had tested positive, the victory would’ve most definitely been called in to question.
However, the fact remains that Overeem was given the all clear to compete against Lesnar, and that should be enough to dispel any notions that his win was nothing more than a suspected drug-fueled conquest.
If anything, his victory showed that he’s in the top three of the baddest heavyweight MMA fighters on the planet.
For five years and more, Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Georges “Rush” St-Pierre have held sway over their respective divisions. The question is, who will replace MMA’s No. 1 and No. 2 pound-for-pound kingpins when their …
For five years and more, Anderson “The Spider” Silva and Georges “Rush” St-Pierre have held sway over their respective divisions. The question is, who will replace MMA’s No. 1 and No. 2 pound-for-pound kingpins when their reigns come to an end or when they decide to hang ‘em up?
Both combatants have captured the public’s imagination with their consummate professionalism and unerring skill sets.
Whilst Silva (a record nine title defenses) has more times than not, clinically dismantled his opponents, St-Pierre (six title defenses) has been content to employ his all-around athleticism to grind out results.
Furthermore, the Canadian denizen is more or less the face of the UFC.
Presently, only one fighter fits the bill and that one fighter is sure to carry the torch into the next phase of MMA and for the next generation of combatants to grace a ring or steel cage.
The fighter who holds the honor of replacing Silva (31-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) and St-Pierre (22-2 MMA, 16-2 UFC) is none other than the phenom that is Jon “Bones” Jones.
The fans might love to loathe him, they might wish for his cataclysmic demise, but one thing they will readily admit, is that Jones is the real deal both inside and outside of the Octagon.
He’s possesses the looks and charisma.
At only 24, he’s well-grounded, and to boot, he’s a family man with two children. Jones is also fast turning into a well-known celebrity, and if that isn’t enough, his overall persona, makes him a public-relations dream.
In addition to the aforesaid attributes, the Endicott, N.Y., native holds the distinction of being the youngest-ever UFC champion at age 23, when he relieved Mauricio Rua of the light heavyweight title.
He followed that up with three successive title defenses (only the fourth 205-pounder to achieve that feat in UFC history) against erstwhile champions Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida and former friend and training partner Rashad Evans.
Jones’ vicious and sometimes unfathomably unorthodox style of fighting has garnered him rave reviews and has also helped catapult him to the status of No. 3 ranked fighter in the MMA world.
Jones (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) is the right replacement once Silva and St-Pierre have ridden into the sunset.
The punishment dished out to Alistair Overeem for failing a random drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission is in all honesty, commensurate with the crime. In April of this year, it was announced that the Dutch behemoth had an overly high leve…
The punishment dished out to Alistair Overeem for failing a random drug test by the Nevada State Athletic Commission is in all honesty, commensurate with the crime.
In April of this year, it was announced that the Dutch behemoth had an overly high level of testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio—14-to-1, the legally allowed limit by NSAC is 6-to-1.
As a consequence of his actions, he can’t reapply for a license in the State of Nevada until the year’s end.
In addition to the infraction, he was bounced from the main card of UFC 146, thus dashing any hopes of a tilt at the heavyweight crown and Junior dos Santos.
The astonishing dramatics of Overeem suggesting that his doctor was the culprit in his failed test is insulting fans—does he think they’re stupid?
Even though it’s been well-documented that he has never failed any sort of test in the entirety of his career, he, more so than any other athlete participating in professional mixed martial arts, should’ve known the ramifications of PEDs.
Especially, given the fact, that suspicions have been rife with regards to he how went from a lean 205-pounder to an Incredible Hulk-type figure.
The UFC top brass were looking to him to be the next big thing, not only in the heavyweight division, but also in MMA. I’m assuming Dana White and company did the requisite splurging to make that a reality, but it’s now gone up in smoke.
The former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 titlist in all likelihood could’ve been crowned the UFC champion. However, he now faces an uphill struggle to redeem himself and as well as make amends to his tainted image.
Furthermore, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the 31-year-old will be an employee of the Zuffa-based promotion when he returns to the world of combative fighting.
Gaining an advantage over an opponent with anything, unless otherwise stated by the powers that be is cheating, and Overeem (36-11-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) did just that.
As things stand, “The Demolition Man” is now in the MMA wilderness, and he has only himself to blame.
Jon “Bones” Jones is slated to throw hands with mixed martial arts veteran Dan “Hendo” Henderson most likely at UFC 151. However, the likelihood that the Endicott native will have the fans cheering him on will be slim to say the…
Jon “Bones” Jones is slated to throw hands with mixed martial arts veteran Dan “Hendo” Henderson most likely at UFC 151. However, the likelihood that the Endicott native will have the fans cheering him on will be slim to say the least.
That honor of fan favorite will be bestowed upon the shoulders of the 41-year-old Henderson, and that’s a given.
Since attaining the status of UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jones has, for some reason or another, felt the wrath of the MMA contingent—they love to hate him. They want that supposed smirk wiped completely off his face, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
With that in mind, here are the reasons why the fans will be backing Henderson all the way come fight night.
At UFC on Fuel TV 3, Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier and the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung will duke it out to further their ascension to the featherweight division’s top rung currently occupied by Jose “Scarface” Aldo. However, come fight night, the victor will not be rewarded with the No. 1 contender’s spot.