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Bum Rush Rant: Jorge Rivera is Sick of Round Winners Who Call Themselves Fighters

("Fight, you bastard. If you want to have a dance-off, I’ll kick your ass in that too.")
A hot topic of debate at Cage Potato lately is whether or not the recent trend of wrestlers who are content to win fights by earning decisions via take…

("Fight, you bastard. If you want to have a dance-off, I’ll kick your ass in that too.")

A hot topic of debate at Cage Potato lately is whether or not the recent trend of wrestlers who are content to win fights by earning decisions via take downs and lay and pray is hurting the sport.

We asked UFC middleweight Jorge Rivera for his opinion on the subject during the latest episode of The Bum Rush Radio Show and El Conquistador didn’t pull any punches when explaining his take on the issue.

Rivera, who squares off with fellow slugger Alessio Sakara tomorrow at UFC 122 in Germany, says that he specifically asked for the fight with the former pro-boxer because he knows that Legionarius, like him, is a fighter who always steps into the Octagon to fight.

"I asked for this fight. Alessio’s a great fight. He’s tough, he’s got great stand-up and he comes forward. I asked for this fight. I always want tough fights. I know he’s gonna bring it. I know it’s gonna be a tough fight. I know it’s no walk in the park," Rivera explains. "You’re gonna see a good stand-up brawl and one of us is gonna get knocked out. I’m alright with that. I give the fans what they want. This is what we do. We both no what we’re getting into and we both agree to it, so let’s do it."

He says that guys who time and time again seem to be content to take a decision by being conservative and just doing the minimum necessary to win are in essence stealing from the fans.

"I was a fan before I was ever a fighter. I’m still a fan and I’m a fan of even some of the guys I fight against. I like watching them fight for various reasons. I hate watching boring fighters. You’re gonna pay 50 bucks to sit at home and watch some guy be boring. They build up all this hype around this guy and a guy puts you to sleep and you’re like, ‘What the fuck!?’ I’m not the only one. You’ve got ten million people who say the same shit. That’s not what I want to do. I want to be the exact opposite," Rivera explains. "When my name is called up, I want people to be like, ‘Hell yeah!’ because they know there’s going to be a fight. Even with this fight they know their gonna get a fight with me and Alessio. They know that. Everybody knows that we’re gonna fight. I know he’s not gonna run from me, he knows I’m not gonna run from him, and you know we both throw bombs. You guys know you’re gonna get your money’s worth. If all nine of the fights suck, ours isn’t going to. You’re gonna remember our fight for sure. That’s what I want."

Alessio Sakara Takes His Love of Body Art, Italian History Very Seriously

(Sakara will do absolutely anything to land this amateur modeling gig, you guys. Any. Thing. Props: MMACrypt.com)
The prevailing public opinion on Alessio Sakara has long been: Mediocre fighter, world class tattoos. Hell, even Jorge Rivera – who …

(Sakara will do absolutely anything to land this amateur modeling gig, you guys. Any. Thing. Props: MMACrypt.com)

The prevailing public opinion on Alessio Sakara has long been: Mediocre fighter, world class tattoos. Hell, even Jorge Rivera – who will fight him this Saturday at UFC 122 – admitted in interviews this week that he thinks Sakara has the best ink in MMA. With a middling 6-4 record in the Octagon (with one hard-earned no contest after Ron Faircloth kicked him in the balls at UFC 55) it’s even been suggested (OK, maybe just by me, but whatever) that the UFC’s rationale for giving him second chance after second chance has more to do with his wicked physical appearance than his actual fighting ability.

One glance at Sakara tells you he’s proud of his Italian heritage, but we had no idea exactly how into it he was until we got a load of his interview with Fighters Only this week. Turns out, not only does Sakara actually consider himself a modern day “solider of Rome” (his words), but he named his sons Leonidas and Marcus Valerian … which is not quite as weird as naming all your sons “Rampage,” but still. That’s dedication, people. Dedication to a proud history that ended in about 476 AD.

UFC 122 Press Conference Sound Bites

Filed under: UFCFive featured fighters from the UFC 122 event along with a pair of UFC officials entertained questions from the media at Koenig Pilsener Arena in Germany on Thursday.

Among those taking part were main event participants Yushin Okami an…

Filed under: UFC

Five featured fighters from the UFC 122 event along with a pair of UFC officials entertained questions from the media at Koenig Pilsener Arena in Germany on Thursday.

Among those taking part were main event participants Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, along with co-main event fighters Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara, and German lightweight Dennis Siver, along with UFC UK president Marshall Zelaznik and German event co-promoter Marek Lieberberg.

Below are excerpts from the fighters and officials about the upcoming event.

My First Fight: Jorge Rivera

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveOn Nov. 13, MMA veteran Jorge Rivera will attempt to extend his three-fight winning streak against Alessio Sakara at UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany. But before he finds out what his future holds, Rivera took a look b…

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive

On Nov. 13, MMA veteran Jorge Rivera will attempt to extend his three-fight winning streak against Alessio Sakara at UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany. But before he finds out what his future holds, Rivera took a look back at his past with us for a new feature on MMA Fighting where fighters revisit their very first professional MMA bout to tell us what they remember now, and what they’ve learned since.

The year was 2001. Jorge Rivera, then 29 years old, had come down from Milford, Mass. to Chester, W. Va. for one simple reason.

“I really just wanted to know how good I was, because I honestly had no idea. It turned out the other guy was much better.”

‘UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami’ — Extended Video Preview

(Props: fromhit)
UFC 122 may not be stacked — it’s Germany, those haters should be glad they’re getting anything — but it’ll be broadcast free on Spike, it’s full of potentially exciting matchups, and it’ll have serious implications f…

(Props: fromhit)

UFC 122 may not be stacked — it’s Germany, those haters should be glad they’re getting anything — but it’ll be broadcast free on Spike, it’s full of potentially exciting matchups, and it’ll have serious implications for the UFC’s middleweight division. In the main event, Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami will face off for a title shot against the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort. Marquardt and Okami are two guys who have spent their UFC careers clawing their way almost to the top, but falling just short of the glory. Earlier in his UFC career, Marquardt was TKO’d by Anderson Silva in the Spider’s first official title defense at UFC 73; this year, Marquardt suffered a decision loss to Chael Sonnen, snapping a fearsome three-knockout run.

As for Okami, the Japanese standout was outpointed in a previous #1-contender match against Rich Franklin at UFC 72, and was also stymied by Chael Sonnen last October. In other words, UFC 122’s headliners have endured the same setbacks — and they both know that the big opportunities don’t last forever. It’s do or die time. At Jackson’s MMA and Grudge Training Center, Marquardt is getting the best preparation that this country has to offer, and he’s a powerful, vicious striker. Okami is a deceptively strong fighter with great conditioning, who might be able to smother Marquardt just like Sonnen did.

More Injuries Strike UFC 118 Lineup; ‘Godzilla’ Returns

(Sakara and Etim, the latest victims of the UFC’s brand-new curse.)
After losing Phil Baroni and Jorge Rivera due to injuries, UFC 118 (August 28, Boston) is inching towards "cursed" status with another pair of late withdrawals that have co…

(Sakara and Etim, the latest victims of the UFC’s brand-new curse.)

After losing Phil Baroni and Jorge Rivera due to injuries, UFC 118 (August 28, Boston) is inching towards "cursed" status with another pair of late withdrawals that have completely re-arranged the Spike TV prelim broadcast. First off, Alessio Sakara has been forced out of his fight against Gerald Harris due to a knee injury. Harris, who was originally a replacement for Rivera, will now face the returning Joe Vedepo, who has won four straight fights by stoppage outside of the UFC since being released in April 2009. Unfortunately, the fight is no longer slated for the Spike broadcast, meaning that Harris will need another dramatic stoppage to get some TV time. At this point, it hasn’t been confirmed which fight will move up to the prelim broadcast in its place.

The injury fairy also paid a visit to Terry Etim, who bows out of his UFC 118 fight against Joe Lauzon due to a broken rib. Lauzon will instead meet — get this — Gabe "Godzilla" Ruediger, the TUF 5 contestant who became a national punchline due to his love of colonics and ice cream cake, and was eventually dismissed from the show for not making weight. More recently, Ruediger has built up a six-fight win streak competing in California, picked up the Tachi Palace Fights lightweight title, and has helped turn Paris Hilton into a killing machine.

We’ll let you know as soon as UFC 118’s lineup is finalized.