Author: SethF

UFC Booking Roundup: These UFC on Fox Sports 1 Cards Are Downright Stacked


(Stacked enough to mandate a *formal* paisley vest.)

If you somehow still aren’t excited about the UFC on Fox Sports 1 cards, then perhaps this new batch of fight booking announcements will be enough to change your mind. Let’s start off with what is reportedly the co-main event of UFC on Fox Sports 1: Condit vs. Kampmann (aka UFC on Fox Sports 1:2). It appears that top lightweights Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos have been booked for that honor.

After a rough start to his UFC career, dos Anjos will be riding a four fight win streak into this bout. His last fight was just over two weeks ago, where he edged out Evan Dunham in a very close fight at UFC on FX 8. Likewise, Cerrone last competed almost two weeks ago at UFC 160, where he absolutely dominated KJ Noons on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

This looks like a great fight that will have a direct impact on the UFC lightweight division. If you disagree, well, just realize that not every fight can be Fitch vs. Askren. Sometimes, people like to watch fights because they’ll be fun and entertaining.

Speaking of UFC on Fox Sports 1 booking updates…


(Stacked enough to mandate a *formal* paisley vest.)

If you somehow still aren’t excited about the UFC on Fox Sports 1 cards, then perhaps this new batch of fight booking announcements will be enough to change your mind. Let’s start off with what is reportedly the co-main event of UFC on Fox Sports 1: Condit vs. Kampmann (aka UFC on Fox Sports 1:2). It appears that top lightweights Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos have been booked for that honor.

After a rough start to his UFC career, dos Anjos will be riding a four fight win streak into this bout. His last fight was just over two weeks ago, where he edged out Evan Dunham in a very close fight at UFC on FX 8. Likewise, Cerrone last competed almost two weeks ago at UFC 160, where he absolutely dominated KJ Noons on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

This looks like a great fight that will have a direct impact on the UFC lightweight division. If you disagree, well, just realize that not every fight can be Fitch vs. Askren. Sometimes, people like to watch fights because they’ll be fun and entertaining.

Speaking of UFC on Fox Sports 1 booking updates…

– UFC on Fox Sports 1: Condit vs. Kampmann will have yet another top ten showdown on the card, as it has been announced that undefeated female bantamweight Sara McMann will take on former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman at the event. McMann won her UFC debut by first round TKO back at UFC 159, while Kaufman recently got back in the W column by picking up a split-decision over Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 5 this past April. I’d write that the winner is in line for a title shot, but with Cat Zingano getting the next title shot when she returns from her knee injury, who the hell knows for sure?

– As for UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs Sonnen (UFC on Fox Sports 1:1), bantamweight contests Brad Pickett vs Michael McDonald and also Urijah Faber vs. Yuri Alcantara have both been added to the already strong card. If you thought Dana White was just hyping up the launch of Fox Sports 1 when he promised us a “SICK card” to celebrate it, then this is his way of walking towards the coffee pot and declaring that he is not fucking with you.

Here’s a list of the announced bouts for UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs. Sonnen, which goes down on August 17th from the TD Garden in Boston:

Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne
Urijah Faber vs. Yuri Alcantara
Matt Brown vs. Thiago Alves
Uriah Hall vs. Nick Ring
Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson
Brad Pickett vs. Michael McDonald
Mike Brown vs. Akira Corassani
Daniel Pineda vs. Diego Brandao
Andy Ogle vs. Conor McGregor
Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick

The only questions that remain are, will Fox Sports 1:1 be as good as it looks on paper? And when both cards fill up, which card will have the better fights? Let us know in the comments section what you think.

@SethFalvo

Hilarious Boxing Update: Dude Tells his Opponent to Come at Him, Is Immediately KTFO.

(If you’re coming on…shit, where’d I put my glasses? Props to Deadspin for the find.)

For those of you who still don’t think that taunting only looks cool if the person who wins the fight does it, please direct your attention to Exhibit Z: This clip from a boxing match between Miguel Zuniga and Daquan Arnett on Saturday night.

During the fifth round of the bout, Zuniga began to finally crack Arnett’s counterpunch-heavy style, backing Arnett up against the ropes as he unleashed his hardest punches. Sensing his opponent was in trouble, Zuniga was all about trading haymakers, while Arnett was more interested in silly things like defense, counter left hooks and not getting his ass kicked. Clearly frustrated, Zuniga decided that his best option in this situation was to channel his inner Harold Howard, signaling for his opponent to “COME ON!” while he let Arnett off the ropes.

I’m not here to fault Zuniga for attempting a mid-fight Harold Howard tribute. Hell, I don’t think anyone reading this is here to do that. But…if you’re telling your opponent to “come on,” can you at least do it in a stereotypically Canadian accent? And for crying out loud, please don’t immediately get knocked the fuck out, either. Especially if you attempt zero cartwheel kicks in the process.

@SethFalvo


(If you’re coming on…shit, where’d I put my glasses? Props to Deadspin for the find.)

For those of you who still don’t think that taunting only looks cool if the person who wins the fight does it, please direct your attention to Exhibit Z: This clip from a boxing match between Miguel Zuniga and Daquan Arnett on Saturday night.

During the fifth round of the bout, Zuniga began to finally crack Arnett’s counterpunch-heavy style, backing Arnett up against the ropes as he unleashed his hardest punches. Sensing his opponent was in trouble, Zuniga was all about trading haymakers, while Arnett was more interested in silly things like defense, counter left hooks and not getting his ass kicked. Clearly frustrated, Zuniga decided that his best option in this situation was to channel his inner Harold Howard, signaling for his opponent to “COME ON!” while he let Arnett off the ropes.

I’m not here to fault Zuniga for attempting a mid-fight Harold Howard tribute. Hell, I don’t think anyone reading this is here to do that. But…if you’re telling your opponent to “come on,” can you at least do it in a stereotypically Canadian accent? And for crying out loud, please don’t immediately get knocked the fuck out, either. Especially if you attempt zero cartwheel kicks in the process.

@SethFalvo

Report: Liz Carmouche to Fight Jessica Andrade at UFC on FOX 8


(The photo you’ve seen 1,000,000x by now, courtesy of Getty Images.)

With Miesha Tate suddenly replacing the injured Cat Zingano as a TUF 18 coach, former title contender Liz Carmouche was left without an opponent for UFC on FOX 8. According to MMAFighting.com, the UFC has found a replacement opponent for Carmouche, and that opponent will be UFC newcomer Jessica Andrade.

Before we go any further, it’s okay: This is the first time we’ve heard of Andrade, too.

What we know about Andrade – or “Bate Estaca” as her friends call her – is that at twenty-one years old she’ll be the youngest female fighter in the UFC. She has been competing professionally for almost two years now and has compiled an impressive 9-2 record with all of her victories coming by stoppage. Granted, six of those nine victories came over fighters who were making their professional MMA debuts, but the fact that she has fought nine times since last May is still extremely impressive. Her most recent victory came over Milana Dudieva in April.

As for Carmouche, if you don’t know her recent fight history by now, I’m afraid that there’s not much I can do for you.

After the jump, we have some videos of Andrade in action.


(The photo you’ve seen 1,000,000x by now, courtesy of Getty Images.)

With Miesha Tate suddenly replacing the injured Cat Zingano as a TUF 18 coach, former title contender Liz Carmouche was left without an opponent for UFC on FOX 8. According to MMAFighting.com, the UFC has found a replacement opponent for Carmouche, and that opponent will be UFC newcomer Jessica Andrade.

Before we go any further, it’s okay: This is the first time we’ve heard of Andrade, too.

What we know about Andrade – or “Bate Estaca” as her friends call her – is that at twenty-one years old she’ll be the youngest female fighter in the UFC. She has been competing professionally for almost two years now and has compiled an impressive 9-2 record with all of her victories coming by stoppage. Granted, six of those nine victories came over fighters who were making their professional MMA debuts, but the fact that she has fought nine times since last May is still extremely impressive. Her most recent victory came over Milana Dudieva in April.

As for Carmouche, if you don’t know her recent fight history by now, I’m afraid that there’s not much I can do for you.

After the jump, we have some videos of Andrade in action.


Andrade vs. Duda Yankovich, 09/08/2012.


Andrade vs. Alessandra Silva, 09/15/2012. Yes, that date is correct.


Andrade vs. Vanessa Silva, 10/13/2012. You may want to turn your speakers down for this one…


Andrade vs. Milana Dudieva, 04/14/2013.

So, does she have what it takes to beat Carmouche?

@SethFalvo

CagePotato Ban: Anything to Do With the Bickering Between Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz


(Nope. Nothing to see here. Everyone just move along. Photo via Iamflashdance.) 

If following loosely MMA-related minor celebrities on Twitter is your thing, there’s a chance that you have already seen Jenna Jameson‘s latest tirade against Tito Ortiz last night. That’s right, the couple known for their crazy, attention-seeking behavior decided to air their dirty laundry on Twitter, and it was just as outrageous and pathetic as you’d expect it to be.

There’s no way I’m covering every tweet from this disaster, so here’s the short version: Jenna accused Tito of taking her children, cheating his drug tests with the UFC and almost killing her in February. As “proof” that Tito Ortiz is a raging drug addict, Jenna tweeted a picture of a drawer that she claimed belonged to Ortiz — which contained a few syringes and a bottle of Ibuprofen — and a picture of the Diet Cokes in her fridge with some prescription bottles above them. Tito responded to MMAJunkie.com by essentially saying “think of the goddamn children” before blaming her for all those losses at the end of his career.

Of course I’m not joking about that last statement. Tito Ortiz said that Jenna Jameson’s erratic behavior distracted him before the fights he lost at the end of his career; presumably because even he has finally realized how pathetic of an excuse “I totally had a cracked skull, you guys” is.

This may be more of a precautionary measure than anything else — who knows if Jenna Jameson will actually come forward with a story about Tito Ortiz almost killing her — but it’s right about now that I think we need to revisit a defunct CagePotato Ban from the days when Ortiz was a free agent claiming to be “very close” to signing with a new promotion every other day:


(Nope. Nothing to see here. Everyone just move along. Photo via Iamflashdance.) 

If following loosely MMA-related minor celebrities on Twitter is your thing, there’s a chance that you have already seen Jenna Jameson‘s latest tirade against Tito Ortiz last night. That’s right, the couple known for their crazy, attention-seeking behavior decided to air their dirty laundry on Twitter, and it was just as outrageous and pathetic as you’d expect it to be.

There’s no way I’m covering every tweet from this disaster, so here’s the short version: Jenna accused Tito of taking her children, cheating his drug tests with the UFC and almost killing her in February. As “proof” that Tito Ortiz is a raging drug addict, Jenna tweeted a picture of a drawer that she claimed belonged to Ortiz — which contained a few syringes and a bottle of Ibuprofen — and a picture of the Diet Cokes in her fridge with some prescription bottles above them. Tito responded to MMAJunkie.com by essentially saying “think of the goddamn children” before blaming her for all those losses at the end of his career.

Of course I’m not joking about that last statement. Tito Ortiz said that Jenna Jameson’s erratic behavior distracted him before the fights he lost at the end of his career; presumably because even he has finally realized how pathetic of an excuse “I totally had a cracked skull, you guys” is.

This may be more of a precautionary measure than anything else — who knows if Jenna Jameson will actually come forward with a story about Tito Ortiz almost killing her — but it’s right about now that I think we need to revisit a defunct CagePotato Ban from the days when Ortiz was a free agent claiming to be “very close” to signing with a new promotion every other day:

Well, that settles that. Tito, you have fooled us for the last time. Just as E! banned Speidi, CagePotato will now enact a news ban on Tito Ortiz until he actually does something newsworthy. Seriously. Even if it’s the slowest of slow news days, and the only story going around is that Tito is “very close” to signing a deal with DREAM to participate in their “Super Douchebag Tournament,” we won’t cover it until it actually happens. That’s our promise to you.

Except this time, we’ll strictly bring it back for the Tito vs. Jenna feud. As a UFC Hall of Famer and Cris Cyborg’s manager, Ortiz doesn’t deserve to be banned from this site. But unless one of them either gets arrested or brings the other to court, we’ll leave their tabloid relationship drama to the experts on that sort of thing.

@SethFalvo

So We’re Serious About this War MMA Thing, Huh? Main Event of War MMA 1 Confirmed


(Screen capture of the War MMA website, NickDiazPromotions.com.)

If you assumed that War MMA would never get past the planning stages, then do I have a surprise for you: It looks like Nick Diaz got that temporary promoter’s license, because War MMA 1 is officially set for June 22 from the Stockton Arena and the main card appears set for the inaugural event.

Hell, tickets even went on sale, with ringside (yes, as in a ring not a cage) seats still available as of writing this!

Unsurprisingly, the main event will feature a Team Cesar Gracie fighter – UFC veteran Daniel Roberts (14-4, 3-4 UFC) – fighting against the most formidable local opponent the promotion can find. Via NickDiazPromotions.com:


(Screen capture of the War MMA website, NickDiazPromotions.com.)

If you assumed that War MMA would never get past the planning stages, then do I have a surprise for you: It looks like Nick Diaz got that temporary promoter’s license, because War MMA 1 is officially set for June 22 from the Stockton Arena and the main card appears set for the inaugural event.

Hell, tickets even went on sale, with ringside (yes, as in a ring not a cage) seats still available as of writing this!

Unsurprisingly, the main event will feature a Team Cesar Gracie fighter – UFC veteran Daniel Roberts (14-4, 3-4 UFC) – fighting against the most formidable local opponent the promotion can find. Via NickDiazPromotions.com:

Fighting out of San Francisco, Daniel Roberts is set to face challenger Justin Baesman from the East Bay of California. Roberts has had numerous bouts in the UFC and trains with the Cesar Gracie Fight Team. Baesman now with a 12-4 record, has looked good as of late and a win over Roberts would catapult him to the next level of his career.

As for the rest of the main card, there are a few names you may recognize:

Main Card:
Daniel Roberts vs. Justin Baesman
Antonio Banuelos vs. Benny Vinson
Caleb Mitchell vs. Evan Esguerra
Mike Persons vs. Clayton McKinney
Darin Cooley vs. Cody Gibson
Roy Boughton vs. Liron Wilson
Chris Quitiquit vs. Dominic Clark

There haven’t been any announced bouts for the undercard, so if you’re holding out on hope that there will be a gloriously preventable screw-up somewhere in the planning of this event, it may come here. But as for now, things appear to be running very smoothly, despite all of us expecting the contrary.

So now the only question that remains is, do you plan on watching War MMA’s inaugural event in a few weeks?

@SethFalvo

[UPDATE] MMA Manager Brett Atchley Banned from Attending Invicta FC Events

One week ago today, Invicta FC CEO Shannon Knapp posted a Facebook message warning fighters and fans about the predatory, deceitful and manipulative tactics of MMA manager Brett Atchley, causing numerous other fighters to come forward and describe in great detail what a rotten individual he apparently is. Now, Knapp has revealed that Atchley will no longer be allowed to attend future Invicta FC events. Via Inside MMA:

“In light of the documented information that has come to us – and this is via text messages from Mr. Atchley, along with email and things of that nature – with the misuse of our company name, my name [and] also in light of the fact that some of these sexual misconduct allegations have taken place at our events, we’re going to stand firm in saying Mr. Atchley will not be welcome at our events.”

Couldn’t have happened to a[n allegedly] nicer guy.

In his defense, Atchley offered the following statement:

“I am stunned and deeply saddened that my reputation as a hard-working manager can be torn apart by a few unfounded malicious attacks against me and my character. I categorically deny all of the false allegations that have been made and look forward to an opportunity to clear my name.”

If it were only “a few” allegations, Atchley probably wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. In reality, there are multiple reports here and here covering the things that he’s been accused of doing – all of it very serious, heavy stuff.

It didn’t exactly help his cause that he would supposedly do all of it while falsely representing Invicta FC, either. Invicta unsurprisingly wants to distance themselves as much as possible from him, and banning him from events sends a strong message that his actions do not represent the promotion.

We’ll keep you up-to-date as this continues to unfold.

@SethFalvo

One week ago today, Invicta FC CEO Shannon Knapp posted a Facebook message warning fighters and fans about the predatory, deceitful and manipulative tactics of MMA manager Brett Atchley, causing numerous other fighters to come forward and describe in great detail what a rotten individual he apparently is. Now, Knapp has revealed that Atchley will no longer be allowed to attend future Invicta FC events. Via Inside MMA:

“In light of the documented information that has come to us – and this is via text messages from Mr. Atchley, along with email and things of that nature – with the misuse of our company name, my name [and] also in light of the fact that some of these sexual misconduct allegations have taken place at our events, we’re going to stand firm in saying Mr. Atchley will not be welcome at our events.”

Couldn’t have happened to a[n allegedly] nicer guy.

In his defense, Atchley offered the following statement:

“I am stunned and deeply saddened that my reputation as a hard-working manager can be torn apart by a few unfounded malicious attacks against me and my character. I categorically deny all of the false allegations that have been made and look forward to an opportunity to clear my name.”

If it were only “a few” allegations, Atchley probably wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. In reality, there are multiple reports here and here covering the things that he’s been accused of doing – all of it very serious, heavy stuff.

It didn’t exactly help his cause that he would supposedly do all of it while falsely representing Invicta FC, either. Invicta unsurprisingly wants to distance themselves as much as possible from him, and banning him from events sends a strong message that his actions do not represent the promotion.

We’ll keep you up-to-date as this continues to unfold.

@SethFalvo