While Dana White seems to be avidly against Fedor Emelianenko joining the UFC, make no mistake, he is seriously mulling the pros and cons of this idea.This writer wants it to happen. Pretty badly. I am not the oldest of old school MMA fans, so I was no…
While Dana White seems to be avidly against Fedor Emelianenko joining the UFC, make no mistake, he is seriously mulling the pros and cons of this idea.
This writer wants it to happen. Pretty badly. I am not the oldest of old school MMA fans, so I was not following Fedor’s every step as closely as I am now, but this move makes sense.
Looking back to when Fedor was the prize in the bidding war between the UFC and Strikeforce, it is easy to see why Dana White, who recently said he was “not even a little bit” interested in Fedor, would be holding a grudge against the former heavyweight.
Fedor was allegedly offered “millions and millions” of dollars to fight in the UFC and turned it down.
The rest is history; Fedor joined Strikeforce, who made a sizable concession in agreeing to co-promote events with M-1 Global. Fedor then ended up a decision and disqualification short of losing in every possible way in Strikeforce. Since then, he has become something of a journeyman, longing for the opportunity to face the best heavyweights who he identifies as being in the UFC.
While Dana White is brash and does have the tendency to speak first and think later, he has never let good business opportunities slip past him. Fedor is still a name-brand heavyweight. Obviously, he is no longer an elite heavyweight. Only fools are still claiming that’s the case.
Fedor is still a draw to some degree, and the UFC is still hurting to find some viable main event-caliber fighters. Fedor would be an excellent stopgap. The UFC tends to overmatch its wily veterans (Tito Ortiz being the best example of this). If they avoid that it will make for some interesting fights.
Fedor vs. Mark Hunt II would be an intriguing rehash of both fighter’s final fight with Pride. A bout against Stefan Struve would be a great way to cement either fighter’s place in the UFC. Gabriel Gonzaga would also make an interesting opponent, as the first loss that started the streak for Fedor was another BJJ specialist, Fabricio Werdum. Last but not least, Pat Barry vs. Fedor would probably be an absolute spectacle before and after, given Barry’s fun-loving attitude.
All of those fights would be intriguing matchups, relevant to both fighters, interesting for fans and, in all likelihood, really strong co-main events for a PPV—even a good headline for a UFC on FX-type card.
While Dana White has every right to hold a grudge, Fedor can still be a valuable asset.
Dana insists that he has zero interest in him. But if Fedor is willing to fight for the right price, there is no reason to keep him out of the UFC. Dana knows this.
Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. Two men who helped build the UFC into what it is today. Both former light heavyweight champions. Locked in a sure-to-be intense battle that will end with Ortiz walking off into the sunset after an illustrious career. At …
Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. Two men who helped build the UFC into what it is today. Both former light heavyweight champions. Locked in a sure-to-be intense battle that will end with Ortiz walking off into the sunset after an illustrious career. At least, that is what the fight is being billed as. As with any high-profile fight, this one has UFC President Dana White “rounding up” when it comes to the actual impact of this bout.
For a variety of reasons, this fight is simply not a big deal. Both Griffin and Ortiz are in a position in their careers where this was not a fight that they should have made, and the inevitable efforts to portray this fight as something other than a gimmick fight should not be taken seriously.
Whether or not the fight proves to be a successful main or co-main event financially (the UFC 148 card is not completely arranged yet), it remains a sideshow.
When this article popped up as a subject for discussion, I was intrigued. Like a fine wine, MMA is deep and complex, and something that can be enjoyed on many levels. It is a sport. It is a game. It is a business. Each of those is a world unto itself a…
When this article popped up as a subject for discussion, I was intrigued. Like a fine wine, MMA is deep and complex, and something that can be enjoyed on many levels.
It is a sport. It is a game. It is a business. Each of those is a world unto itself and each can be dissected and elaborated upon.
This article is meant to touch on every aspect of mixed martial arts and select the fighters that best illustrate this. This involved choosing (relatively) straightforward things like which fighter effectively blends together the most styles and who best represents the individual things MMA requires like hard work and intelligence.
There are also other, more abstract subjects brought up, like which fighters best represent fun, friendship, fitness and other things that training in MMA can bring. Also, everything in between.
What this ultimately shows is the depth there truly is to each circle found inside MMA. So enjoy it.
The Ultimate Fighter is now entering its 15th season, and the MMA fandom has been abuzz over it for a wide variety of reasons. Between the show’s new live format, the network changes and the blitz of coverage about former pornographic actor Dakota Coch…
The Ultimate Fighter is now entering its 15th season, and the MMA fandom has been abuzz over it for a wide variety of reasons. Between the show’s new live format, the network changes and the blitz of coverage about former pornographic actor Dakota Cochrane’s (brief) presence on the show, there has been a lot to talk about.
Something that the spotlight has started to stray from, however, is the exciting pair of coaches, Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz. While the newest season of TUF may be a boon for the UFC, the effect this may have on the careers of these two fighters cannot be overstated.
Typically, when a season of TUF is approaching, the talk surrounds what the coaches can bring to a show. After all, numerous seasons have been defined by the conflicts and antics of their coaches.
TUF 10, for example, is remembered for the incessant bickering between Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson (an impressive feat when so much buzz surrounded Kimbo Slice’s presence on the show). This season is different, though. While true MMA fans are knowledgeable about the incredible skills possessed by both fighters, casual fans are yet to catch on to these two.
While Urijah Faber was the face of the WEC and has been a marketing force for a year now with a load of promotions, he is known more for his personality and appearance than his actual cage savvy.
With MMA stars becoming a better and better way to reach the fabled 18-39 men’s audience, there is still plenty of room for him to grow. While Faber is already popular and fairly identifiable, he will get a profound boost from the extra exposure from TUF. But the possibility of him ending the season with a UFC champion’s belt means the UFC could end up having an absolute star on their hands.
While Urijah Faber is known for his surfer looks, Dominick Cruz is not really known at all, even though he has quietly worked his way into almost all the pound-for-pound Top Ten lists out there. He is currently riding a 10-fight win streak (nine of which in either the UFC or WEC) and has four title defenses in his reign as the UFC’s bantamweight king.
For a variety of reasons, he has kept clear of becoming a household name and actually had his last title defense against Demetrious Johnson relegated to cable television (Versus, to be specific). Cruz is as skilled as almost anyone in the sport, but clearly needs a boost in his visibility. That is something TUF offers like no other and is a great first step in terms of getting Cruz into the spotlight.
With that in mind, it needs to be reiterated that having Cruz and Faber coach opposite each other remains an absolutely brilliant move by the UFC, in spite of the mixed reviews over the ratings—1.3 million tuned in— of the debut episode.
Their prior UFC bout at UFC 132, was actually one of the better-selling cards of 2011 (grabbing an estimated 350,000 buys), surprisingly beating out cards headlined by Dos Santos vs. Carwin, Silva vs. Okami and either card that featured a Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard main event.
However, as stated in this article (and touched on in my “UFC Star-Search” article), there is still plenty of room to grow for these two fighters. The parts are in place for their eventual coaches’ fight to become a major draw.
The UFC is actually counting on this, as Dana White and Joe Silva continue to work on replacing a slew of main event-caliber fighters that sustained injuries or retired over the past 12 months, including Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, Brock Lesnar, BJ Penn and Randy Couture.
Even though both these fighters have reached the top in the cage, they are still working to get the respect that entails. Even if the numbers for TUF do not meet the expectations of those who thought the show would boom on its new home, FX, this is still a pivotal moment in the careers of Cruz and Faber. This could, finally, be the time when they become the stars they deserve to be.
Every fan knows that Nick Diaz is one of the most complicated personalities in MMA. Outside the cage, you never know what he is going to do, a fact that has frustrated Dana White and cost Diaz himself two separate title shots (first, his fight with GSP…
Every fan knows that Nick Diaz is one of the most complicated personalities in MMA. Outside the cage, you never know what he is going to do, a fact that has frustrated Dana White and cost Diaz himself two separate title shots (first, his fight with GSP and then a potential rematch with Carlos Condit).
Inside the cage is another story. Everyone knows what Nick Diaz wants to do inside the cage. He prides himself on it. He wants to come at you, and punch you in the face. Period. He has a lot of skills outside the powerful boxing that has given him thirteen career KOs and made him a fan favorite in every promotion he fought for. But more and more in the last few months, we have seen that being a tough, talented brawler is simply not enough to reach the top in the UFC anymore.
Nick Diaz was an absolute force in Strikeforce, winning all six of his bouts with little resistance. While his success in the California-based promotion is not something to completely dismiss, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Strikeforce’s talent pool has been consistently shallow and even the biggest Strikeforce fan will agree that BJ Penn, Carlos Condit and Georges St-Pierre are profoundly better than Paul Daley, Evangelista Santos and KJ Noons.
While Diaz has always made quick work of lesser competition, we have seen he will not be able to do this in the UFC. He beat BJ Penn convincingly, but had a lot of help from Penn’s signature lack of conditioning at welterweight (Penn won the first round, but gassed early in the second and was pounded by Diaz for the remainder of the fight). His next fight, an interim title bout against Carlos Condit, was another story entirely.
The fight started, and ended, with Diaz pressing forward, absorbing damage and having Condit elude him. While some questioned the decision, what cannot be denied is that Diaz was radically out-struck by Condit, who landed 151 significant strikes to Diaz’s 105. Diaz also took more hits than he gave in four of five rounds and took substantially more damage. While there is a case that can be made that Diaz deserved to win the fight (a weak case…but a case nonetheless), Diaz clearly showed an inability or, more likely, an unwillingness to adjust to Condit’s successful hit-and-run strategy.
Unfortunately, MMA fans have seen this before. Very recently, in fact. While it feels almost wrong to say this, Nick Diaz can be put in the same boat as former light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. In some ways, the sport of MMA has moved forward, while they have not.
Granted, Jackson’s issues run far deeper than one decision loss to a serious talent like Carlos Condit, but Diaz and Jackson had great success for a long time, and lost to fighters that capitalized on their simplistic style and imperfect technique. Both fighters are clearly irked by the fact that they can no longer just punch their way to the top
Being a tough, straightforward puncher is not enough in the UFC anymore. The fighters at the top of each division are faster, smarter, stronger and more talented than ever. Nick Diaz cannot just expect to come into a fight against a top UFC welterweight and expect to have consistent success by simply walking forward and swinging away with his technically-spotty boxing.
He can beat a washed-up Frank Shamrock that way, sure. He can beat Paul Daley that way. But Carlos Condit successfully game-planned around it, and there is no reason to believe comparably smart, and equally skilled, fighters like Josh Koscheck, Jake Ellenberger, John Fitch and, above all, Georges St-Pierre cannot do the same.
MMA is an ever-changing game and Nick Diaz, if he wants to remain one of the best, needs to evolve with it. Just 28 years old, he still has many years ahead of him if he chooses to stick around. Though he stated he was retiring after his loss to Condit, one should always view post-fight declarations of retirement skeptically (Dana White openly believes he will return).
Diaz wants to be the UFC champ (though again, it seems like he keeps on making efforts to sabotage his chances). To achieve this, he needs to be wiling to leave his comfort zone of standing and banging. The days of Nick Diaz being able to reach the top this way are gone.
That does not, in any way, suggest Diaz does not have a future ahead of him. He is still talented, hardworking and fairly young, but Diaz needs to come around to the fact that talent and hard work will only bring you so far. He has the tools to reach the top. He just needs to start using them, or else he is going to see plenty of unanimous decision losses in his future.
There are only a few great rivalries in modern MMA. Jon Jones and Rashad Evans happen to have one of the best. From a human angle, it is filled with trust leading to betrayal, friends turning into enemies and brothers-in-arms becoming an army against y…
There are only a few great rivalries in modern MMA. Jon Jones and Rashad Evans happen to have one of the best. From a human angle, it is filled with trust leading to betrayal, friends turning into enemies and brothers-in-arms becoming an army against you. From a sports perspective, it is an intriguing matchup between two truly versatile light heavyweights, who are also two of the biggest threats in the division standing, clinched or on the ground.
From the bleachers, it is one of the most exciting, and possibly one of the best, fights of the year.
With this in mind, it is important to look over the history between these two fighters and how two teammates became some of the bitterest of enemies in the sport.
One of the biggest problems when it comes to matchmaking in MMA is that teammates often refuse to face each other. With only a handful of top-level gyms, people like UFC VP of Talent Relations, Joe Silva, often get headaches when there are several fighters in the same division that train together while ascending to the top of the rankings. With a relatively shallow pool of talent in the UFC’s second-biggest division, it was foreseeable that, eventually, teammates would be put into a position where they would be forced to face each other.
In 2009, following his third straight UFC victory over Jake O’Brien, Jon Jones sought to bring his training to the next level. In August of that year, he joined the Greg Jackson camp, home of many top-level mixed martial artists including Georges St-Pierre, Carlos Condit and, at the time, Rashad Evans.
Evans was already sitting high atop the light heavyweight rankings just after losing the belt to Lyoto Machida. Though his only fight as champion ended with a harsh knockout loss, he was never particularly far from the top contender spot.
Jones, meanwhile, was approaching stardom at a previously unseen rate with his fan-grabbing fighting style that incorporated over-the-top strikes with powerful grappling. As such, when the news hit that Jones was joining Jackson and co., some questions popped up regarding how everyone would fit together.
At the time, things did not seem particularly contentious. Evans already shared the Jackson camp with another at-the-time high-tier light heavyweight, Keith Jardine. The two shared what is possibly the closest relationship between active fighters ever.
When it came to Jones, however, Evans claims that he was not open to the idea of adding another star light heavyweight to the platoon, saying flatly that “Jones was brought in…against my wishes.” Greg Jackson, however, denies this was the case.
Regardless of Evans’ initial reaction, when the two began training together, they seemingly became fast friends, with many pictures taken showing how close they had grown together. The two also continued their winning ways. Rashad put together back-to-back wins over Thiago Silva and Quinton Jackson, putting him in line to fight then-champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the belt.
Jones, meanwhile, put together a winning streak of his own. While he lost his first bout to Matt Hamill due to a referee technicality in what was an otherwise genuinely lopsided fight, he proceeded to follow this with a devastating TKO of Brandon Vera. Then a quick TKO of Vladimir Matyushenko. Then a convincing victory over the previously unbeaten Ryan Bader at UFC 126.
Fans were shocked when, during Jones’ post-fight interview after besting Bader, it was revealed that Rashad Evans had injured his knee and would not be able face Rua at UFC 128. Jones was offered the opportunity to fill in for Evans and instantly accepted.
This is the point where Jones became a household name, and the point where the relationship between the two fighters sours.
In the buildup to Rua vs. Jones, Jones was fielding questions and was asked if he was willing to face Rashad Evans, should Joe Silva match them against each other. Jones replied that he would be open to this matchup. While this news did not make huge headlines, it irked Evans in a profound way.
The animosity continued to grow when Jones stated, “I absolutely hate when people mention Rashad Evans,” during a UFC 128 conference call. The air of hostility in the Jackson camp was starting to become noticeable.
Jones went on to beat Rua with almost scary ease. Evans was brought into the cage after Jones was belted, and was announced to be his next opponent. He walked out of the cage and started an interview with Ariel Helwani where he matter-of-factly stated, “I’m done with Jacksons.”
The tension was now clear, and there was not a single MMA fan that did not know about the schism between Evans and his former comrades.
Though there were signs that this was coming, it still surprised many. Evans joined Jackson in 2005 after winning the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. Jackson helped Evans become the light heavyweight champion in 2008.
Evans helped make Jackson one of the most sought-after coaches in the sport. Now the two were amidst an ugly, public bridge-burning.
Evans’ criticisms of Jackson were frequent and touched on many different subjects. He said he openly resisted Jones joining the camp. He said that Jackson demonstrated a complete lack of foresight in training a top contender alongside a top prospect. He said that the two of them were growing distant both as friend and mentor. He said the camp as a whole was too big, and had too many members to give fighters the individual attention they deserved.
Worst of all, he said that with Jackson’s refusal to corner him in a fight against Jones, he was not dependable enough as a coach.
While Evans’ gripes with Jackson were largely professional, he attacked Jones on a personal level. It started off slowly, with Evans simply referring to the situation as “awkward” when he made the initial announcement that he was leaving his long-time camp.
This was followed, however, with talk that Evans and Jones got testy with each other in a Las Vegas nightclub. Though initial reports suggested the altercation was physical, or near physical, Evans later claimed that Jones talked smack, then left without incident. Jones has yet to comment on this.
Shortly after this came a controversy over Rashad Evans sending text messages to Jones claiming he was a “fake ass white boy.” Evans denied he sent the messages, but Jones presented his cell phone to media members and confirmed his claim. Evans then admitted he sent the messages amidst a lengthy argument, and in turn criticized Jones’ maturity level, basically accusing Jones of tattling.
All these rumors and headlines provided a great deal of interest for their fight…a fight that did not end up happening. Jones pulled out of what was to be his first title defense at UFC 133 with a hand injury. Evans was then matched against Phil Davis, who was later replaced with Tito Ortiz.
Questions began popping up around Jones’ injury as, shortly after Evans was no longer available as an opponent, he declared that his injury was not as severe as initially thought, and he would be available to fight immediately. He was then quickly matched against Quinton Jackson, who Evans had beaten the previous year.
Evans defeated Ortiz handily and remained the top contender. Jones defeated Jackson handily and remained the champion. The two, once again, were penciled in to face each other, this time at UFC 140. This fight, like the one before it, did not come to pass. Evans, shortly after calling for the fight, backpedaled and said he was unable to get medical clearance due to a thumb injury that would require surgery.
Jon Jones began an offensive just as bitter and vitriolic as anything Evans had said to that point. He started by saying that Evans was “never my friend” and is, in fact, a “jealous snake.” Evans and Jones had a back-and-forth regarding individual sparring and grappling sessions, with both claiming that they had “the number” of the other.
This was followed by claims from Jones that Evans was ducking him (though Evans, unlike Jones, actually went through with surgery). He went on to say that Evans made a foolish PR play by trying to force a fight on short notice and should not be regarded as the top contender after spending a full year benched between his bouts with Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz.
The UFC, needing a headline for UFC 140, ended up having Jones square off against Lyoto Machida, who he went on to submit in the second round.
The UFC, hurting for big headline fights in early 2012 due to injuries to Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos and Georges St-Pierre (as well as the retirement of Brock Lesnar) went on to schedule Jones’ next title defense for UFC 145 in April 2012. They said that Evans would finally get his fight if he could beat Phil Davis at UFC on FOX 2, and if he could avoid any injury that would prevent him from fighting less than three months later.
Beating Davis, who was 9-0-0 at the time, was an incredibly tall order on its own, but asking Evans to be adequately prepared for another five-round bout less than three months later, at the time, seemed almost impossible.
In what was probably equal parts luck and skill, Evans easily beat Davis and avoided injury, bringing us to this juncture in the rivalry. Evans and Jones are scheduled to fight for the belt April 21, 2012 and their belligerence in the build-up has been as intense as ever. As more interviews happen, expect more headlines to pop up discussing how the two really, really do not like each other.
Even though we have seen Jones and Evans mercilessly fighting for over a year now, we could still see their hatred put aside after the fight. Bitter rivals like Matt Hughes and Matt Serra, Matt Hughes and BJ Penn and, well, Matt Hughes and essentially anybody else he fought, all ended up on friendly terms after fighting and, occasionally, ended up training together afterward.
While Evans and Jones are enemies now for a variety of reasons, it does not mean the two will not come to an understanding after their fight. And with both fighters sitting atop the divisions, do not discount the possibility that the two may fight again.
While Dana White seems to be avidly against Fedor Emelianenko joining the UFC, make no mistake, he is seriously mulling the pros and cons of this idea.