Author: SethF

Guess What? Chael Sonnen’s Camp is Appealing the Outcome of the Anderson Silva Fight.


…and we specifically asked for AquaDeco to go with those brown M&Ms!

Well, that didn’t take long.

After appearing genuinely humbled after losing the second round his middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 148, none of us were buying the idea that Chael Sonnen had been humbled by the loss and accepted the outcome. For starters, we literally saw the exact same thing happen after UFC 117. On top of that, since Saturday night there have been countless debates both on and offline over vaseline, shorts-grabbing and ‘illegal’ knees that potentially cost Chael P. Sonnen a victory against Anderson Silva. In other words, if Chael Sonnen could come up with excuses to justify his “victory” over Anderson Silva at UFC 117, it was obvious that he would have an excuse for his loss in the rematch now that there’s actually some kind of controversy surrounding the fight.

Earlier today, it was reported that Chael Sonnen’s camp filed an appeal with the Nevada Athletic Commission to overturn the result of the his bout against Anderson Silva at UFC 148 to a no-contest. As first reported by Jonathan Snowden on The MMA Show:

“Scott McQuarry, the head coach of Chael Sonnen, says they’ve started the process to file an appeal with Keith Kizer and the Nevada Athletic Commission. They believe the knee Anderson Silva threw was illegal, that the intent was to knee the face, that it did it in fact strike Chael in the face, that he got eight stitches and that he bit his tongue. They also say Anderson grabbed the cage at the point of impact. They are intending to appeal and have the fight ruled a no contest.”


…and we specifically asked for AquaDeco to go with those brown M&Ms!

Well, that didn’t take long.

After appearing genuinely humbled after losing the second round his middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 148, none of us were buying the idea that Chael Sonnen had been humbled by the loss and accepted the outcome. For starters, we literally saw the exact same thing happen after UFC 117. On top of that, since Saturday night there have been countless debates both on and offline over vaseline, shorts-grabbing and ‘illegal’ knees that potentially cost Chael P. Sonnen a victory against Anderson Silva. In other words, if Chael Sonnen could come up with excuses to justify his “victory” over Anderson Silva at UFC 117, it was obvious that he would have an excuse for his loss in the rematch now that there’s actually some kind of controversy surrounding the fight.

Earlier today, it was reported that Chael Sonnen’s camp filed an appeal with the Nevada Athletic Commission to overturn the result of the his bout against Anderson Silva at UFC 148 to a no-contest. As first reported by Jonathan Snowden on The MMA Show:

“Scott McQuarry, the head coach of Chael Sonnen, says they’ve started the process to file an appeal with Keith Kizer and the Nevada Athletic Commission. They believe the knee Anderson Silva threw was illegal, that the intent was to knee the face, that it did it in fact strike Chael in the face, that he got eight stitches and that he bit his tongue. They also say Anderson grabbed the cage at the point of impact. They are intending to appeal and have the fight ruled a no contest.”

Before we get back to Illegal-Kneegate, it already appears that after talking to NSAC officials, Sonnen’s coaches have already scrapped the initial plan. Instead, it looks like Sonnen will just stick with appealing to both the fans and Dana White for a third match against “The Spider.” Considering that NSAC Head Keith Kizer had no idea what the legal basis of an appeal would be, that’s probably for the best.

For a guy who complains about wasteful government spending, Chael Sonnen and company almost wasted a lot of money on a frivolous hearing.

Back to Illegal-Kneegate: The perceived illegal intent of the knee in question is not in any way, shape or form relevant, so let’s not even have that debate. The vaseline (that was wiped off of Silva immediately, mind you) didn’t seem to prevent Sonnen from taking down Silva in the first round, so how about we end that debate too? As for the shorts-grabbing, Silva was warned about it during the fight and Sonnen admitted after the fight to grabbing Silva’s shorts as well. If you wanted Yves Lavigne to separate the fighters and deduct a point from Silva, then kindly refrain from explaining how that would have prevented Chael Sonnen’s boneheaded decision to attempt a spinning backfist, allowing Anderson Silva the opportunity to finish “The America Gangster.”

As numerous fans, pundits and members of our comments section have already pointed out, this is just another instance of Chael Sonnen being his own worst enemy. He has now lost two fights against Anderson Silva due to monumental lapses in judgment, and is clinging to the idea that he is the victim of a series of illegal tactics. If Sonnen is ever going to hold a belt in the UFC – at any weight class – he needs to stop making excuses and avoid the mental breakdowns he’s been having during title fights. Also, if Sonnen’s endgame is establishing a reason for an immediate rematch, I highly doubt that the UFC will want to taint the reputation of its most dominant champion by implying that he cheated during their fight Saturday night.

And on that note, I offer one final picture of the knee. You may now resume your debate. Keep it civil, you guys.


Props: @ArielHelwani

@SethFalvo

It’s Official: Gunnar Nelson to Face Pascal Krauss in UFC Debut


Look at how clean shaven you are in this pic. I thought we were going to grow matching goatees, homie.

After years of wild speculation, it looks like the rumors are finally true. The UFC has announced that the organization has signed twenty-three year old Icelandic grappling phenom Gunnar Nelson. Nelson, who is 9-0-1 in MMA competition, has earned all victories by stoppage – eight of which came in the first round. Aside from a draw against John Olesen in his MMA debut, his only fight that made it to the second round was a second round knockout against Iran Mascarenhas back in 2008.

Although we’ve recently seen signings fall through before the fighter has made his UFC debut, it’s being reported that the Renzo Gracie black belt will face the Pascal Krauss, a twenty-five year old German with a decorated boxing background, at UFC on Fuel TV 5 on September 29. “Panzer” made his UFC debut at UFC 122 back in 2010, taking a unanimous decision over Mark Scanlon. However, Krauss would then sit out for seventeen months rehabilitating an injury. He lost his return bout against John Hathaway at UFC on Fox 3 back in May.


Look at how clean shaven you are in this pic. I thought we were going to grow matching goatees, homie.

After years of wild speculation, it looks like the rumors are finally true. The UFC has announced that the organization has signed twenty-three year old Icelandic grappling phenom Gunnar Nelson. Nelson, who is 9-0-1 in MMA competition, has earned all victories by stoppage – eight of which came in the first round. Aside from a draw against John Olesen in his MMA debut, his only fight that made it to the second round was a second round knockout against Iran Mascarenhas back in 2008.

Although we’ve recently seen signings fall through before the fighter has made his UFC debut, it’s being reported that the Renzo Gracie black belt will face the Pascal Krauss, a twenty-five year old German with a decorated boxing background, at UFC on Fuel TV 5 on September 29. “Panzer” made his UFC debut at UFC 122 back in 2010, taking a unanimous decision over Mark Scanlon. However, Krauss would then sit out for seventeen months rehabilitating an injury. He lost his return bout against John Hathaway at UFC on Fox 3 back in May.

UFC on Fuel TV 5, aka UFC Nottingham, is shaping up to be a pretty good card for a free event. Headlined by a heavyweight bout between Stipe Miocic vs. Stefan Struve, the card also features Dan Hardy vs. Amir Sadollah and Che Mills vs. Duane Ludwig. We’ll keep you up-to-date as this card continues to fill out.

“UFC 148: Silva vs Sonnen” Aftermath (Part Two): Seizing (And Destroying) the Moment


Props: MMAfanmade.tumblr.com

Let’s get one thing straight: Last night’s co-main event was by no means a legacy-cementing fight. The legacies of both fighters had been cemented well before last night, with both Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz being very influential in the UFC’s push towards the mainstream, being involved in unforgettable fights and holding the light-heavyweight championship. While winning the trilogy would be a nice way to cap off an otherwise lackluster rivalry, it would be nothing more than another “W” in the grand scheme of things. Especially for Tito – while Forrest is arguably worthy of a Hall of Fame induction, Tito already has been inducted.

Which perhaps explained why Tito Ortiz seemed more aggressive throughout the fight: Forrest had little to lose, Tito had nothing to lose. While the aggression of “The People’s Champion” seemed to have Forrest Griffin on the verge of defeat a few times during the fight, in the end it wasn’t enough. For the majority of the fight, Griffin managed to outstrike Ortiz en route to the unanimous decision victory.

Really, there is little more to be said for the actual fight. Two aging veterans entered the cage and performed like aging veterans. Both men looked slow, both men gassed out early, and if it weren’t for the names involved, this fight would have had zero chance of taking home the $75k Fight of the Night honors. If you want to watch the fight again, watch the fight again – if you missed it, you didn’t miss much.


Props: MMAfanmade.tumblr.com

Let’s get one thing straight: Last night’s co-main event was by no means a legacy-cementing fight. The legacies of both fighters had been cemented well before last night, with both Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz being very influential in the UFC’s push towards the mainstream, being involved in unforgettable fights and holding the light-heavyweight championship. While winning the trilogy would be a nice way to cap off an otherwise lackluster rivalry, it would be nothing more than another “W” in the grand scheme of things. Especially for Tito – while Forrest is arguably worthy of a Hall of Fame induction, Tito already has been inducted.

Which perhaps explained why Tito Ortiz seemed more aggressive throughout the fight: Forrest had little to lose, Tito had nothing to lose. While the aggression of “The People’s Champion” seemed to have Forrest Griffin on the verge of defeat a few times during the fight, in the end it wasn’t enough. For the majority of the fight, Griffin managed to outstrike Ortiz en route to the unanimous decision victory.

Really, there is little more to be said for the actual fight. Two aging veterans entered the cage and performed like aging veterans. Both men looked slow, both men gassed out early, and if it weren’t for the names involved, this fight would have had zero chance of taking home the $75k Fight of the Night honors. If you want to watch the fight again, watch the fight again – if you missed it, you didn’t miss much.

As for the implications of the bout: Does the victory for Forrest Griffin keep him relevant in the light-heavyweight division? Don’t be crazy – Griffin looked unmotivated and admitted to letting himself be lazy throughout the fight. Does the victory improve his chances of getting into the UFC Hall of Fame? Ask Frank Shamrock to comment on whether admission into the UFC Hall of Fame relies strictly on your record. Forrest Griffin’s Hall of Fame credentials begin with his legendary bout against Stephan Bonnar and end with his victory over Rampage Jackson  for the light-heavyweight title. The fact that he jabbed and wheezed his way through three rounds against a fellow aging veteran should be treated for what it is: A footnote in his career. Even if he lost last night, I’d still be convinced that he’ll one day be in the UFC Hall of Fame.

As for his bizarre post-fight decision to walk out of the cage and head towards the locker room? I’ll leave that for you all to debate. To me, what was supposed to be a time for Tito to receive one last ovation from the fans became a collective “WTF” moment for everyone involved. Rather than continuing to focus on Griffin’s antics, let’s put the spotlight back where it belongs. Thank you for the memories, Tito. It’s a shame you went out winning only one of your last nine fights, but your legacy as one of our sport’s greatest light heavyweights had been cemented well before this.

Speaking of legacies, Cung Le certainly improved his with a hard-fought victory over the returning Patrick Cote. The decorated forty year kickboxer and former Strikeforce champion picked up his first victory in the UFC over arguably his toughest test to date. Le used his dynamic striking to outpoint Cote and pull off the upset; although when Cote was able to get inside against Le, he was able to do some damage.

While a victory in the UFC is a feather in the cap of any martial artist, it’s doubtful that Le has too much further to go from here. Aside from being forty years old, he’s also a somewhat one dimensional fighter attempting to make his way through a division with wrestlers like Jake Shields, Chael Sonnen, Chris Weidman and Mark Munoz, just to name a few. Even guys like Michael Bisping, Brian Stann and Alan Belcher are balanced enough to keep Le from the deep end of the division. This isn’t meant to take away anything from Le – it’s a reminder rather that he’s not an answer to the stalemate that has become the UFC middleweight division.

As for the rest of the fights on the main card, they happened. I wish I could say more for them than that, but honestly, there’s nothing that even can be said for them. Sorry, Maia fans, but I’m not going to act like a forty-seven second freak injury tells us anything about Demian Maia‘s attempt to rejuvenate his career by dropping to welterweight. Likewise, we’ve literally said since the booking of the fight that Mendes vs. McKenzie was a ridiculous mismatch. The fact that it ended the way it did, a thirty-second body shot KO, proved it. Also, Easton vs. Menjivar provided fans exactly what they expected: A fast paced unanimous decision that has become par for the course whenever the bantamweights are in the cage. Easton came out on top, looking good, but not great. Expect at least one more victory from Easton before he’s trusted with a title shot. Meanwhile, Menjivar drops to 24-9 in his career, and will be back to the drawing board after winning three straight in the UFC before last night.

Previously: “UFC 148: Silva vs Sonnen” Aftermath (Part I): Tough Talk Sold the Fight, But the Tougher Fighter Finished It

@SethFalvo

Don’t Worry, Steven Seagal Has Some Last-Second UFC 148 Trolling


(Props: FilmDrunk)

I know what you’ve all been thinking this week. You’ve been thinking “This whole pissed off and angry Anderson Silva is a frightening change of pace, and the press conference was fun I guess, but damn it, I need to know how Steven Seagal will take credit for all of this!” Well don’t worry, person who doesn’t exist – you won’t have to wait until after the fight to find that out.

Ariel Helwani caught up with Cockpuncher to discuss Anderson Silva’s upcoming rematch with Chael Sonnen. After appearing reluctant to give the mere mortal an interview, Seagal explained how Silva’s intense new attitude is entirely his doing. And those concerns you may be having over The Spider’s emotions affecting his performance? Don’t worry, Seagal has an answer for that, too.

Videos (Yes, multiple) after the jump.


(Props: FilmDrunk)

I know what you’ve all been thinking this week. You’ve been thinking “This whole pissed off and angry Anderson Silva is a frightening change of pace, and the press conference was fun I guess, but damn it, I need to know how Steven Seagal will take credit for all of this!” Well don’t worry, person who doesn’t exist – you won’t have to wait until after the fight to find that out.

Ariel Helwani caught up with Cockpuncher to discuss Anderson Silva‘s upcoming rematch with Chael Sonnen. After appearing reluctant to give the mere mortal an interview, Seagal explained how Silva’s intense new attitude is entirely his doing. And those concerns you may be having over The Spider’s emotions affecting his performance? Don’t worry, Seagal has an answer for that, too.


Props: MMAFighting.com

Perhaps the most note-worthy quote from this interview was Steven Seagal’s claim to have taught Anderson Silva “two or three things…stuff that we thought was maybe illegal that’s not illegal.” When pressed for more information, Seagal claimed to not want to give anything away so that Chael won’t know to expect it. Of course, for a guy who doesn’t want to give anything away, it’s odd that he clarified that the technique is a stand-up technique.

In other words: Anderson Silva now has Teh Deadly in his possession, he’ll use it to defeat Chael Sonnen, and it looks like a technique that most people thought was illegal but totally isn’t. Awesome.

And on that note, I leave you with this game of patty-cake between The Keeper and Rafael Cavalcante gone terribly wrong.


Props: MiddleEasy.com

Joe Stevenson Loses to Dakota Cochrane via Rear Naked Choke; Everyone Snickers [VIDEO]

(Fight video props: IronForgesIron. The hot man-on-man action starts at the 7:01 mark.)

By George Shunick

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson’s return to the cage was foiled by everyone’s favorite not-really-gay gay porn star Dakota Cochrane last night, who submitted “Daddy” with a rear naked choke. For Stevenson, this is obviously a disappointment. His losing streak has reached five in a row now, his skills have seemingly peaked, and thanks to Ian McCall he doesn’t even own the best patriarchal nickname in MMA anymore. Though to be fair, that was probably because no one else had one. At any rate, he’s not going to reach the big time again, as the sport has passed him by. It’s a shame, but at least he can always hold on to the fact that his face will always be remembered. Well, at least the parts of it that were not obscured by his own blood.


(Fight video props: IronForgesIron. The hot man-on-man action starts at the 7:01 mark.)

By George Shunick

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson’s return to the cage was foiled by everyone’s favorite not-really-gay gay porn star Dakota Cochrane last night, who submitted “Daddy” with a rear naked choke. For Stevenson, this is obviously a disappointment. His losing streak has reached five in a row now, his skills have seemingly peaked, and thanks to Ian McCall he doesn’t even own the best patriarchal nickname in MMA anymore. Though to be fair, that was probably because no one else had one. At any rate, he’s not going to reach the big time again, as the sport has passed him by. It’s a shame, but at least he can always hold on to the fact that his face will always be remembered. Well, at least the parts of it that were not obscured by his own blood.

For Dakota, a win over Joe “Daddy” definitely bolsters his resume. He may never be able to shed his reputation, but being a successful cagefighter probably helps quell any critics he has to deal with. And frankly, while I’m not suggesting that singling out a fighter because of their sexual orientation is a good thing, I do think that Cochrane’s presence and success in the sport bodes well for any future (or currently closeted) gay or bisexual fighters. Even if Cochrane doesn’t consider himself one of them.

In many ways, the MMA, especially the UFC — as a promotion and a sport — is fundamentally rooted in modernity. It has very little history beyond the past two decades. As the sport has evolved in the past few years, so has the moral perception of homosexuality. While these two things aren’t necessarily related, they also mean that the sport hasn’t really had time to cultivate a culture that is oppressive to homosexuals. Sure, Dana White has dropped the other f-bomb occasionally (though, if a word’s offensive, you can bet it came out of his mouth at some point), Big Nog won’t train with gays and there are probably a decent number of fans who are homophobes. But given the complete lack of outrage over Cochrane’s past, the fact that he was allowed to try out for TUF and that he was in a headlining fight last night, it seems that the general MMA community is prepared to adopt a moral standard for sexuality that reflects the modern age during which the sport has developed.

It doesn’t matter who you fuck, just as long as you can fight.

And Today’s UFC 149 Injury Victim Is…Siyar Bahadurzada


Injury victim, or karma victim?

We don’t have an easy way to break this to you, so we’ll just come out and say it: Afghan knockout artist Siyar Bahadurzada has been sent to live with our friend who owns a farm upstate. He’ll be able to frolic in an open field to his heart’s desire, and he’ll have plenty of friends to play with. Because of this, he won’t be fighting at UFC 149 against Chris Clements.

Just kidding, he’s out with an undisclosed injury. What, you actually believed your parents when they told you your dog was living on a farm upstate? That’s adorable.


Injury victim, or karma victim?

We don’t have an easy way to break this to you, so we’ll just come out and say it: Afghan knockout artist Siyar Bahadurzada has been sent to live with our friend who owns a farm upstate. He’ll be able to frolic in an open field to his heart’s desire, and he’ll have plenty of friends to play with. Because of this, he won’t be fighting at UFC 149 against Chris Clements. 

Just kidding, he’s out with an undisclosed injury. What, you actually believed your parents when they told you your dog was living on a farm upstate? That’s adorable.

Replacing Bahadurzada will be Matt Riddle. Riddle is coming off of a split-decision over Henry Martinez,  a lightweight who took the welterweight bout on short notice, at UFC 143. The victory snapped a two fight skid which saw him drop unanimous decisions to Sean Pierson and Lance Benoist.

Okay, so it’s not the most compelling matchup, but given the way that injuries have ravaged this card, it’s a small miracle we even have a UFC 149.

For those of you keeping score, this bout was initially set to be Thiago Alves vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama, which became Alves vs. Bahadurzada after an injury to Sexyama, which became Bahadurzada vs. Clements after an injury to Alves, and is now Clements vs. Riddle after an injury to Bahadurzada. And this doesn’t even put a dent in the injuries that have plagued the rest of the card.

We’d ask who ya got for this one, but honestly, the odds are pretty good that this bout is going to be changed before it’s all said and done.