Nobody likes last-second injury withdrawals. They crush expectations for fans, disrupt the marketing process for the company brass, and flip fighter training camps on their head. Still, this is the sport we’ve chosen to follow, and it’s a violent one, to say the least, so we all kind of accept that these things happen in MMA.
That being said, it’s rare you hear a fighter get heated over an opponent’s injuries, because deep down, they know it could’ve been them. But getting heated is exactly what Wanderlei Silva did after he heard about Vitor Belfort’s broken hand.
“It’s a great irresponsibility not to be careful on training,” Silva fumed midway through a Twitter barrage (translation via Tatame). “[Vitor,] I’m ready to knock you out, you have nowhere to run.
“If you were scared, you shouldn’t have accepted it. If you really got it broken, it’s amateurism and if you didn’t, you’re scared. In both scenarios, it was irresponsible of you towards the fans. Pardon the word, but I’m pissed with your amateurism.”
Well then. If you were looking for some old-school “Ax Murderer,” you just found him.
Obviously Silva is frustrated to be put in the exact same scenario as Urijah Faber — spend an entire TUF season hating a guy on national TV, just to have the fight fall apart at the last second — and obviously he’s in the wrong here. But let’s probe into this for a second.
Wanderlei isn’t exactly a spring chicken, and considering his past performances, this was probably the highest-profile fight he had left in his career. The main event of a pay-per-view for his countrymen, after months of national hype from the first international TUF season in UFC history — that’s about as big-time as he could’ve asked for. And now look at it. UFC 147 is a little over three weeks away, and there’s only three-and-a-half fights booked. Even assuming the TUF Brazil guys are going to be late additions to the card, when was the last time a pay-per-view looked to be in such dire straits so late in the game?
Brazilian fans are a committed lot, but at what point do they look around and say, ‘wait a second, this is just a bunch of table scraps?’ (Chances are, it may have already happened. On Tatame’s side-poll, which asks fans to vote on who should replace Belfort, the overwhelming winning choice was, “I don’t care about this card anymore.” Keep in mind, this is a Brazilian site. Probably not a good omen.)
So if Wanderlei Silva is a little frustrated, it’s at least somewhat understandable. But then again, the UFC seems to always make some form of lemonade out of the world’s worst lemons, so it’ll be interesting to see how this develops.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Wanderlei Silva blasts Vitor Belfort. Wanderlei Silva unloaded after hearing about Vitor Belfort’s withdrawal from UFC 147, calling his TUF Brazil rival “irresponsible” and “scared,” while saying he was “pissed with (Vitor’s) amateurism.”
Jon Jones pleads guilty. 24-year-old UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated, after crashing his 2012 Bentley into a telephone pole on May 19 in Binghamton, New York. Jones’ next hearing takes place on June 19, and his attorney expects him to receive a fine and conditional discharge.
Dana White talks TUF. UFC President Dana White discussed this past season of The Ultimate Fighter Live, his love of the new live format, and the upcoming process of figuring out the right combination between reality TV and fight-centric programming.
UFC 146 suspensions/salaries. The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the official report of UFC 146 salaries and medical suspensions in the aftermath of Saturday’s heavyweight event.
Melendez isn’t going anywhere. Dana White was a guest on HDNet’s Inside MMA, where he went on to repeat that neither Strikeforce, nor Gilbert Melendez are going anywhere anytime soon.
MEDIA STEW
Wait, you woke up this morning and said, ‘man, I can’t wait to see Justin Bieber hitting a heavy bag with Mike Tyson?’ Really? Well, if you insist. (HT: Fight Linker)
Ever want to see BJJ competitions with a full arsenal of striking unleashed on the ground? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Eddie Bravo’s newest brainchild: Combat Jiu-Jitsu.
Slow days always mean digging into the back catalogues for old-school gems. And since Wanderlei Silva just ripped Vitor Belfort a new one, it seems fitting to look back and realize how this isn’t anything new at all. (HT: Reddit)
Some guys believe soccer kicking an opponent in the face until he’s flat-faced unconscious is good enough. For others, that just means it’s Beast Mode time. For the lazy, skip to 8:45 to see the beginning of the end. (HT: Cage Potato)
The folks over at TMZ dug up Arianny’s mugshot from this past weekend, if you’re into that sort of thing.
HE SPEAKS
Don’t worry. I’m not dead. Just analyzing it all so I can share my human experience with you.
— Jason Mayhem Miller (@mayhemmiller) May 29, 2012
HARD TO ARGUE
Best game of all-time, in my opinion. RT @RagingKorean: Man I forgot how awesome zelda ocarina of time was!
— Joe Lauzon (@JoeLauzon) May 28, 2012
SOMEWHERE, A CHILD IS CRYING
Time for the hawk to come off…
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) May 29, 2012
Ok, its gone. See how much my hair will grow between now and the fan expo in July!
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) May 30, 2012
Hows my disguise? 🙂 twitter.com/danhardymma/st…
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) May 30, 2012
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Tuesday, May 29, 2012):
– Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy: Pat Healy (27-16) vs. Mizuto Hirota (14-4-1)
– Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy: Jordan Mein (24-8) vs. Tyler Stinson (23-8)
– Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy: Jason High (15-3) vs. Nate Moore (8-2).
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day sees Hobbie invoke his inner Sergio Leone to bring you: Bellator Season Six: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
With Bellator’s sixth season (technically the seventh season overall if you count last summer’s “Summer Series) wrapping up this past weekend, I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to reflect on the season that was.
As we’ve come to expect from Bellator, this season offered us quite a roller coaster ride as fans – and I don’t necessarily mean that in a positive way .
We got everything from all-out wars, to contenders for “snoozer of the year.” We got dynamic, exciting tournaments right along with some headscratchingly-poor matchmaking decisions. We got excitement, fun fights, and a big ol’ dollup of weird – pretty much what we’ve come to expect from MMA’s “little promotion that could”.
And since I’m such a Clint Eastwood type of guy myself (I too, enjoy wearing colorful ponchos and not telling people my name) I thought I’d go all spaghetti western for our stroll down (recent) memory lane. So without further ado, let’s look back on the season that was, and recall “the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” of Bellator’s sixth season.
The Good
Pat Curran Arrives: Few wins were more gratifying this season than watching Pat Curran go from “perennial contender” to “bona fide champion”. A victor of two Bellator tournaments in two different weight classes (the only man to ever do so) Curran seemed destined for the “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” role within Bellator.
That he finally won a major world title was a great story; that he won via spectacular KO was even better; and that said KO was over the legendarily arrogant Joe Warren is the icing on the cake. Curran is a polite, well-spoken champion with unbelievable KO power for a 145’er – his win was a win for MMA fans everywhere.
Found something perfect for the Morning Report? Just hit me on Twitter @shaunalshatti and we’ll include it in tomorrow’s post.