Tag: Alexander Gustafsson

UFC 141: By the Odds

Filed under: UFCFor UFC 141, the Vegas-based promotion is back home in the arms of the city that’s never more than one good heater away from turning this mess around. Will Friday night be the evening you finally outsmart the oddsmakers and let your obs…

Filed under:

Brock LesnarFor UFC 141, the Vegas-based promotion is back home in the arms of the city that’s never more than one good heater away from turning this mess around. Will Friday night be the evening you finally outsmart the oddsmakers and let your obsessive MMA knowledge pay you back for all those pay-per-views? Only one way to find out…

Brock Lesnar (+115) vs. Alistair Overeem (-145)

The line on Overeem has gone as high as -200 in some places before coming back down to the more reasonable levels we see here. We all know how Lesnar feels about being the underdog. Or at least, we know that asking him how he feels about it is a great way to get him to suddenly terminate your interview. But why are fans and oddsmakers so hot on Overeem, who didn’t look spectacular in his last outing, and has had every distraction possible without beginning an acting career in the lead-up to this fight?

If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a combination of Overeem’s experience and a general pessimism about Lesnar. A little over a year ago he was the baddest man on the planet to many onlookers, but one loss and one colon-chopping surgery later and people are wondering if he’ll retire if he can’t beat Overeem. For better or worse, the pendulum swings hard on the subject of Lesnar, and there’s very little middle ground to be found. But the fact is, the former NCAA wrestling champ presents a difficult challenge for Overeem, who hasn’t faced a takedown threat this significant since, well, ever. Seriously, look at Overeem’s record and find me another big man with Lesnar’s wrestling skills. It’s one thing to shut down Fabricio Werdum’s takedowns, but Lesnar is a whole different problem. If Overeem had spent months working diligently on his takedown defense — in fact, if he had spent months doing any one thing in any one place — I’d be more optimistic. With all the distractions, the roving camp, and the possibility of Octagon jitters for a man with an unproven ability to shut down a powerhouse wrestler, optimism is in short supply over here.
My pick: Lesnar. There’s always the possibility that one good punch or knee from The Reem will change his world, but when I add up all the variables I have no problem justifying the slight underdog pick.


Nate Diaz (+220) vs. Donald Cerrone (-280)

This feels like an instance of oddsmakers getting the right guy, but to the wrong degree. Cerrone deserves to be the favorite, especially after the year he’s had, but Diaz’s tenacity, durability, and submissions game make him impossible to count out. Even if Cerrone batters Diaz bloody on the feet — and he very well may — he’s probably going to have to keep it up for three rounds. Diaz doesn’t go down easily, and his sheer pace and pressure has been known to make opponents do dumb things from time to time. At the same time, Diaz doesn’t seem capable of performing the kind of risk/reward calculus necessary to conclude that he needs to get the fight to the mat. If you’re beating him on the feet, chances are it will only make him more committed to fighting on the feet. If that’s the case, his best hope might be to keep the heat on and trash-talk Cerrone into a stupid mistake.
My pick: Cerrone. I couldn’t possibly justify favoring him to this extreme, so I’ll save it for the parlay.

Jon Fitch (-230) vs. Johny Hendricks (+180)

Oh, did you forget Fitch was on this card? You’re probably not alone. It’s easy to get dwarfed by the enormity of Lesnar and Overeem, and the Cerrone-Diaz fight promises exactly the kind of fireworks that a typical Fitch fight all but rules out. As a result, he flies under the radar in another fight that he’ll most likely win with his methodical, technical brilliance on the mat. You have to hand it to him: the man is outstanding at what he does. It’s just too bad that so many fans don’t enjoy what he does, no matter how well he does it. Hendricks would seem to have the pure wresting credentials to strap on the singlet and go takedown for takedown with Fitch, but he doesn’t quite have the high-level experience to make you feel comfortable with picking him over a vet like Fitch.
My pick: Fitch. It won’t be much fun to watch, but it will be in my parlay.

Vladimir Matyushenko (+250) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (-325)

It’s kind of amazing that the 41-year-old Matyushenko still has this much steam. He’s not in the title hunt at the moment, but when you look at the loss column of his record all you see are serious players (okay, and Vernon White, who Vladdy will still tell you he should have beaten that night in 1999). Still, the odds reflect a general feeling that Gustafsson is on his way up the ranks, whereas Matyushenko is doing well just to hang around where he is. Could Matyushenko outwrestle the big Swede? Sure he could. But just because Phil Davis managed to do it, that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
My pick: Gustafsson. That line is slightly ridiculous, however, so I’ll add it to the parlay.

Nam Phan (-230) vs. Jim Hettes (+180)

Have other people been seeing a different Nam Phan than I have lately? Because the guy I’ve seen is competent and fairly well-rounded, but he’s the not the type of guy I’d lay 2-1 odds for when he’s fighting a submissions wiz who has yet to find out what defeat tastes like. Granted, we don’t know if Hettes’ chokes are as easily applied to the upper echelon guys, but while Phan’s fought the bigger names, he didn’t always do so well against them. It’s not so hard to imagine him being taken down and submitted, just like it’s not so hard to imagine me talking myself into taking one of the safer underdogs on the card just so I don’t feel like a wuss for going with so many favorites.
My pick: Hettes. There’s a chance Phan could prove himself worthy of those odds, but I don’t think he’s done it yet.

Quick picks:

– Matt Riddle (-130) over Luis Ramos (even). Riddle knows he needs a win, so look for him to play it smart and get it by any means necessary.

– Ross Pearson (-280) over Junior Assuncao (+220). No, it’s not exactly daring, but it is a safe place for your hard-earned money.

The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: You know what? Forget my weak list of favorites and very slight underdogs. If you’ve got guts and a little pocket change, I recommend taking a look at this totally insane parlay that our friends at Middle Easy have stumbled upon. It’s a longshot that could make for a very happy New Year.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Nearing 41 Years Old, Vladimir Matyushenko Still Has UFC Title Hopes

Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting ExclusiveThere comes a time for professional athletes when they start to get asked about how much longer they will continue competing. It’s different for everyone. It might be brought on by a lack of success or injury or …

Filed under: ,

There comes a time for professional athletes when they start to get asked about how much longer they will continue competing. It’s different for everyone. It might be brought on by a lack of success or injury or age. And usually when the question comes, it never lets up, until reaching the point where not a single interview goes by without being asked about the possibility of retirement.

That’s about the stage that’s been reached by Vladimir Matyushenko, the veteran UFC light-heavyweight who will turn 41 years old just five days after his UFC 141 bout with fast-rising prospect Alexander Gustafsson.

It’s a question Matyushenko has every intention of deflecting as long as possible. And why shouldn’t he? The UFC light-heavyweight has won five of his last six fights, including two in a row by knockout. His most recent, a 20-second KO of Jason Brilz in April, was the second-fastest finish of his 14-year career.

But his age combined with his resume and win streak put him in a unique situation. Is he a contender, a gatekeeper or somewhere in between?


The Friday night bout with Gustafsson is at least a step forward in determining the answer to that question. Matyushenko (26-5) himself won’t discuss his place in the UFC without a bit of prodding. Focused solely on what’s directly in front of him, he knows it’s not quite worth the energy to think about any extraneous minutiae. But if you ask more than once, he does admit he still harbors championship dreams.

“Yes, I definitely do,” he told MMA Fighting. Then he adds, “It’s always in the back of my head.”

He says that as if to point out that he’s not overlooking the task in front of him, but that goes without saying for one of MMA’s true pros. So focused was he on UFC 141 that the holiday season ceased to exist for him. For Matyushenko, there was no shopping, no binging and no problems. He didn’t even buy his wife a gift.

“But she’s happy, so I’m happy,” he said.

Indeed, all of his attention has been on Gustafsson, who at 24 years old, is just four years older than Matyushenko’s son Roman. Aside from one blip on his record in a submission loss to Phil Davis, Gustafsson (12-1) has impressed many with his rapidly maturing game. All four of his UFC wins have been by finish, and he’s only been to a decision once in his career. In his last bout, Gustafsson thrashed Matt Hamill, sending him into retirement following a second-round TKO.

Count Matyushenko among those who have been impressed by the Swede’s recent tear. Matyushenko described him as tall, young and athletic.

“In a way,” he said, “he looks like a white Jon Jones.”

Of course, Matyushenko already had the real Jon Jones experience in a fight that led to the most lopsided loss of his career. Jones won by TKO in just 1:52 of the first round. So why will this time around be different?

He said that he’s learned to adapt with the changing nature of MMA. He pointed to fighters like Jones, Anderson Silva, and Junior dos Santos who emphasize technique over brawling but still fight in exciting fashion. Attempting to reinvent and refine the “Janitor” has helped keep things fresh.

“The best fighters are not just bulky, strong guys,” he said. “They’re fast and athletic. You have to train, to move. You can’t stand in front of people like that. Everything is changing and I’m changing with it. I’m getting prepared for that. I’m not in the gym fooling around. But that’s the learning process. That’s what actually keeps me going. I don’t like doing the same thing over and over. I like change.”

Matyushenko is well accustomed to changing scenery. In a career that began in 1997, he’s competed in multiple promotions and under various rule sets that predated modern MMA. When he began his career, he wore wrestling shoes in the cage. At various times, he fought a 25-minute round, went the distance with Tito Ortiz in a five-round decision loss when Ortiz was the long-reigning champ, and later captured the IFL light-heavyweight championship.

Unlike some others, Matyushenko wasn’t left behind when the sport began evolving. Showing his ability to adapt, he went 13-3 from 1997 through 2004, and has a 13-2 record since the start of 2005.

Despite a solid and consistent career, he never quite earned the accolades or name recognition enjoyed by some other 40-something MMA stars that have come before him like Randy Couture and Dan Henderson — names that Matyushenko mentions when discussing his own longevity.

That is at least partly because a major belt has eluded him. Despite all the accomplishments on his resume, that omission is one that he hopes to rectify. Even nearing 41, he believes he still has the time to do it.

“One fight at a time, but my goal is to kick some ass,” he said. “Right now, my goals are simple: to make weight and go fight.

“My weight division is pretty stacked,” he continued. “There are a lot of guys doing well. I’m not kidding myself saying I’m going to be champion next month. If it’s going to happen, it’s a long way to go, but it’s possible. Anything is possible.”

Funny thing about Matyushenko: when he got his “Janitor” nickname, it was back when he was a teenager wrestling internationally, and he beat Olympic gold medalist Kevin Jackson. Just beforehand, Matyushenko had been cleaning the mats, and a U.S. team member told Jackson he’d gotten beat by the janitor.

So there are two constants in Matyushenko’s career going forward. One is the retirement question that doesn’t seem likely to disappear even if he continues making younger fighters wilt under his pressure. And the second is being underestimated. From teen upstart to respected veteran, he’s done nothing but excelled.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

UFC 141 Predictions

Filed under: UFCWill Brock Lesnar make a triumphant return to the Octagon after more than a year away? Or will Alistair Overeem’s debut mark him as the No. 1 contender in the heavyweight division? Can Donald Cerrone finish 2011 with a perfect 5-0 recor…

Filed under:

Brock Lesnar will face Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 141 on Friday night.Will Brock Lesnar make a triumphant return to the Octagon after more than a year away? Or will Alistair Overeem‘s debut mark him as the No. 1 contender in the heavyweight division? Can Donald Cerrone finish 2011 with a perfect 5-0 record? Or will Nate Diaz hand Cerrone a difficult ending to his stellar year? Will Jon Fitch return to his steady pace of grinding out decision victories? Or will Johny Hendricks become the first man not named Georges St. Pierre to beat Fitch in the Octagon?

We’ll attempt to answer those questions and more as we predict the winners at UFC 141.

What: UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem

When: Friday, the Facebook fights begin at 7 PM ET, the Spike preliminaries start at 9 and the pay-per-view starts at 10.

Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
 This fight is so fun for so many reasons. The obvious reason being that it’s two enormous men who will attempt to smash each other for our entertainment, but the slightly less obvious reason is that they’ll have two very different approaches to smashing each other, and that each man’s greatest strength aligns well with the other man’s greatest weakness.

For Overeem, the strength is that he punches, kicks and knees people really hard, and Lesnar’s greatest weakness is that he doesn’t react well at all when he gets hit really hard. In his last two fights, Lesnar has been finished by first-round TKO (against Cain Velasquez) and almost finished by first-round TKO (against Shane Carwin). In both cases, Lesnar did little more than cover up on the ground once he got leveled with a hard punch, although we have to give him credit for eventually recovering to beat Carwin. Overeem hits every bit as hard as Carwin and Velasquez do, and so Lesnar looks incredibly vulnerable on his feet.

However, Overeem has never shown that he can fair well against a good wrestler, and Lesnar is certainly that. Lesnar is also bigger and stronger than Overeem (or at least he is if he’s completely recovered from his latest bout of diverticulitis) and so he can’t be thrown around the cage the way many of Overeem’s recent opponents have been. It’s easy to picture Lesnar doing to Overeem what he did to Frank Mir at UFC 100: Getting on top of him on the ground, controlling him from the top, and eventually finishing him with punches.

And that’s what I think he’s going to do. This is a fight that could go a number of different ways, and Overeem probably has more different ways to win — he could easily use his K-1 striking to TKO Lesnar, and I wouldn’t rule out an Overeem win by submission either. But as long as Lesnar is completely healthy, I believe his physical power and wrestling prowess will be enough to take this.
Pick: Lesnar


Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone
 Cerrone jumped to the UFC at the start of the year with the rest of the old WEC stars, and he’s promptly had one of the best years of any UFC fighter not named Jon Jones. Cerrone has already won four fights in 2011, beating Paul Kelly, Vagner Rocha, Charlies Oliveira and Dennis Siver. I think Diaz matches up better with Cerrone than any of those four, but I think at the end of an entertaining and mostly even fight, Cerrone will have landed more effective strikes and come out with a narrow decision victory.
Pick: Cerrone
Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
Fitch is finally returning to the Octagon after 10 months off because of a shoulder injury, and in Hendricks — a former NCAA wrestling champion — he might be facing the first opponent since Georges St. Pierre who can force him to abandon his usual tack of winning a decision through clinches, takedowns and top control. However, while Hendricks has much better college wrestling credentials than Fitch, Fitch is better at incorporating his wrestling in MMA. I like Fitch to win this one by decision.
Pick: Fitch

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Alexander Gustafsson
 Matyushenko will turn 41 next week, but he’s still a sturdy gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division. Yes, he got wrecked by Jon Jones last year, but everyone gets wrecked by Jones. And that fight is Matyushenko’s only loss since he returned to the UFC in 2009. Throw in the fact that Matyushenko’s last two wins have been impressive first-round stoppages, and there’s a lot to like about Matyushenko.

But there’s even more to like about Gustafsson, a 24-year-old Swede who has all kinds of talent. This fight represents a solid test for Gustafsson, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see Matyushenko take it, but I like Gustafsson to win by TKO and offer up another indication that he’s a rising star at 205 pounds.
Pick: Gustafsson
Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes
Hettes easily won his UFC debut in August, submitting former Ultimate Fighter contestant Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres. Now he gets a step up in quality of competition against Caceres’s Ultimate Fighter castmate, Phan. Hettes is 9-0 in his MMA career, with all nine wins coming by submission, and in training at Greg Jackson’s gym he’s becoming a more complete fighter. Phan has never been submitted in 26 pro fights and probably won’t be submitted this time, but Hettes is good enough that he should beat Phan by decision.
Pick: Hettes

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

UFC 141 Predictions

Main card for Lesnar vs Overeem UFC 141 Heavyweight bout: Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem First thoughts are Overeem – EASILY. Lesnar has shown to have a rather large glass jaw when it comes to heavyweight punchers – but who doesn’t really? One clip from anyone that big and its over. Lesnar’s best chance is

Main card for Lesnar vs Overeem UFC 141

Heavyweight bout: Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem

First thoughts are Overeem – EASILY. Lesnar has shown to have a rather large glass jaw when it comes to heavyweight punchers – but who doesn’t really? One clip from anyone that big and its over. Lesnar’s best chance is obviously getting this fight to the ground. Utilize the wrestling skills to tire Overeem out. The problem is Overeem’s take down defense is better than decent as it was displayed against Fabricio Werdum, Lesnar would be a fool to stand with Overeem and there is no chance that strategy is going to happen. Lesnar gets Overeem to the ground and this fight could go Lesnar’s way really quick, but Lesnar better not go for the double as Alistair has a ridiculously strong guillotine. Lesnar needs to take single shots and drag Overeem down or trip him.

Once in full or half guard, Brock on top is a problem for any heavyweight.

I think you have to decide will Overeem catch Lesnar coming in, or will Lesnar be able to drag Overeem down and keep him there for each round – maybe even getting the TKO.

5 rounds gives Overeem ample opportunity, in his UFC debut, to catch Lesnar somewhere with a K-1 level strike via elbow against the cage maybe? That cracks the glass of Lesnar.

My prediction Round 2 TKO Overeem. As long as the odds don’t go Jon Jones or Anderson Silvaish.

Lightweight bout: Nate Diaz vs Donald Cerrone

Love the Diaz brothers, but in this one I think Cerrone brings too much firepower and speed. If this fight goes to the ground its going to look like an instructional video. Cerrone.

Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch vs Johny Hendricks

Guessing the odds are close for this fight. Fitch doesn’t posess the power that Hendricks has and I think the wrestling is probably going to be pretty nulled between the two of them. Fitch has MUCH more experience in big fights though and cardio has always been of Kenyan marathoner quality. Hendricks carries more muscle and could tire quicker giving Fitch the late rounds submission.

Light Heavyweight bout: Vladimir Matyushenko vs Alexander Gustafsson

Tough call as I want to root for the old dog The Janitor Matyushenko, but Gustafsson is one of the best unknowns in the division. Taking Gustafsson because he is great with submissions – long legs – and Vladi is going to want to take Alex to the ground. Alex is also way better on the feet. Odds probably favor Alex here, haven’t seen them yet.

Featherweight bout: Nam Phan vs Jimy Hettes

Can’t go against Nam Phan – he’s awesome.

UFC 141 Preliminary card (televised)

Featherweight bout: Ross Pearson vs Junior Assunção

Ross Pearson – too much standup skills. Assuncao though on the ground will have big advantage, but he likes to standup – weird.

Lightweight bout: Anthony Njokuani vs Danny Castillo

Njokuani

UFC 141 Preliminary card untelevised

Welterweight bout: Dong Hyun Kim vs Sean Pierson

I can’t go against Dong Hyun Kim.

Lightweight bout: Jacob Volkmann vs Efrain Escudero

Volkmann is much better than he looks. Escudero is going to come out furious though to try and get back in the UFC.

Welterweight bout: Matt Riddle vs Luis Ramos

pass

Featherweight bout: Manvel Gamburyan vs Diego Nunes

Interesting fight. Nunes is pretty damn good fighter and hasn’t really had a chance to display it since his loss to Kenny Florian. I think Nunes here will win decision. If not Manny is always good for a surprise KO victory. However, I’m going smart and picking Nunes.

Taylor Out of 138 Bout with Njokuani, Diabate/Perosh Bumped to Main Card


(At least there will always be this to tide us over.) 

Bad news for any of you Brits out there planning on attending UFC 138 (because, let’s be honest, you will be the only ones doing so.) Word has it that Paul Taylor has suffered minor whiplash as a result of a recent rear-end collision he was involved in and will not be competing in his main card lightweight clash with Anthony Njokuani.

As you may or may not remember, this is not the first time Taylor has been forced to pull out of a fight at the last minute. Back at UFC 112, he was deemed medically unfit to compete just days before his bout with John Gunderson after suffering a severe migraine as a result of his weight cut. This marks the third total fight in Taylor’s UFC career that he has withdrawn from as a result of injury. One more, and he will be entering James Irvin territory, which is second only to Cabrini-Green in terms of places no one ever wants to find themself.


(At least there will always be this to tide us over.) 

Bad news for any of you Brits out there planning on attending UFC 138 (because, let’s be honest, you will be the only ones doing so.) Word has it that Paul Taylor has suffered minor whiplash as a result of a recent rear-end collision he was involved in and will not be competing in his main card lightweight clash with Anthony Njokuani.

As you may or may not remember, this is not the first time Taylor has been forced to pull out of a fight at the last minute. Back at UFC 112, he was deemed medically unfit to compete just days before his bout with John Gunderson after suffering a severe migraine as a result of his weight cut. This marks the third total fight in Taylor’s UFC career that he has withdrawn from as a result of injury. One more, and he will be entering James Irvin territory, which is second only to Cabrini-Green in terms of places no one ever wants to find themself.

Taylor, who most recently shellacked UFC punching bag/Paris Hilton trainer Gabe Rudiger back at UFC 126, has gone 3-3 in his last 6 bouts, with all of those victories coming over now released fighters. Njokuani on the other hand, is coming off an impressive decision victory over TUF 9 finalist Andre Winner, but will now be forced to withdraw from the card due to a lack of a replaceable opponent.

Moving up to the main card as a result will be the light heavyweight bout between Australian submission specialist Anthony “Hippo” Perosh and French stiker Cyrille Diabate. After going 0-2 in his first UFC tour of duty, Perosh was called back to the big leagues at UFC 110, where he suffered a second round doctor stoppage loss to Mirko Cro Cop. Perosh was able to bounce back and earn his first UFC win at UFC 127 however, scoring a first round rear-naked choke over Tom Blackledge.

He is facing a tough test in Diabate, a lethal striker and PRIDE veteran who has gone 2-1 in his octagon career, scoring perhaps his most notable victory in his debut, where he knocked out Luis Cane in just over 2 minutes. After suffering a second round submission in his sophomore match to Alexander Gustafsson, “The Snake” will be looking to build on his most recent victory, a somewhat lackluster decision over Steve Cantwell at UFC on Versus 3.

UFC 138 is set to transpire on November 5th and will be broadcast live in the US on Spike.

-Danga 

After Surgery, ‘Company Man’ Rich Franklin Struggles to Figure Where He Belongs

Filed under:

Rich FranklinFormer UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin is just coming off successful shoulder surgery, but now comes the hard part, as he told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour.

Franklin, who said he was told that he wouldn’t even be able to run for three more weeks, is now wondering how he’s going to cope with the limited physical activity.

“I had surgery six days ago, and it’s already driving me crazy,” he said, adding that, at least for the moment, “rehab is my job.”

But Franklin, who said he’s hoping to return in late May or June of 2012, seems a tad unsure about where he fits in with the current UFC. The organization hasn’t seemed anxious to see him return to middleweight, and yet at 205 pounds he finds himself undersized on fight night, he told Helwani.

“If you look at the pictures of Forrest [Griffin] and I squaring off at the weigh-ins, we look almost the same size. And then if you look at the two of us squaring off in the middle of the Octagon, pre-fight, he outweighed me by probably about 25 pounds, and I’m going to run into this type of problem in the weight class. It’s just, the weight class is full of big guys.”

And yet, Franklin has continued to fight wherever the UFC wants him because, as he explained, “I’ve been quote-unquote the company man. There have been magazine articles written about me calling me that. …I’ve always been the guy that has taken whatever fight they’ve asked me to take.”

Which is why, Franklin said, he was none too pleased about hearing UFC president Dana White suggest in an interview with Helwani that he had purposely avoided a fight with Alexander Gustafsson as a replacement opponent for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133.

According to Franklin, he found out exactly three weeks before his scheduled fight with Nogueira that the Brazilian was injured and the UFC wanted to move Gustafsson up to replace him.

“At the time I was like, well who is this guy? I don’t know. So my manager, Monte Cox, said Joe Silva’s going to send you over some tapes so you can at least see this guy and check it out. I said all right.”

The following afternoon, Franklin said, he told his manager he’d take the fight, even though “there was nothing really appealing about the fight, and I basically told my manager that.”

But, due to what Franklin described as a “communication breakdown” brought on by the stress of an injury-riddled fight card, the UFC opted instead to pull Franklin from the event altogether. By itself, it might not have been so bad, but Franklin was irked by the implication that he’d ducked a fighter like Gustafsson, he said.

“I listened to the interview that you did with Dana, and was a bit disappointed…I’ll be honest with you, I was a bit disappointed listening to that, because the tone of the interview between you and Dana almost sounded like that. I thought, first of all, I’ve never ducked any other opponent in my life.”

In fact, Franklin said, the only time he’s ever said no to the UFC was when he was asked to fight Reese Andy, who had recently been a training partner of his. Aside from that, he said, he always agreed to whatever the UFC offered, and at whatever weight, which is why “for that kind of stuff to come out and to question, I guess, my motives or my character or whatever, it was very upsetting to me.”

Following the UFC 133 incident, Franklin said he sat down with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to discuss the fallout from the situation and his feelings on White’s comments.

“That feeling of family, it’s dissipated a little bit,” Franklin said. “It’s not the same as it used to be when I first starting fighting for the UFC, and I basically told Lorenzo that. I said, ‘Hey, I feel like sometimes you guys don’t really have my back,’ and he told me that they’d been really busy with the FOX deal and all that kind of stuff.”

After that conversation, Franklin said, he and the UFC “were all on the same page,” and there was even talk of a bout with Tito Ortiz in November, which Franklin said he was “definitely open to and interested in.”

Unfortunately, his shoulder surgery scuttled those hopes, leaving him focused only on rehab and getting back to fighting shape for now. As for the weight class he’ll compete in and the opponent he might face when he returns, Franklin said he’s content to leave that up to the UFC.

“If the UFC said something to me about fighting at middleweight again, I’d be great with that,” he said, though he clarified that he’s not about to request anything specific along those lines. “…If they’re not going to let me work toward a title, in the meantime as long as I can just work at putting on exciting fights and that stuff, then I’m good with doing that.”

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under:

Rich FranklinFormer UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin is just coming off successful shoulder surgery, but now comes the hard part, as he told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour.

Franklin, who said he was told that he wouldn’t even be able to run for three more weeks, is now wondering how he’s going to cope with the limited physical activity.

“I had surgery six days ago, and it’s already driving me crazy,” he said, adding that, at least for the moment, “rehab is my job.”

But Franklin, who said he’s hoping to return in late May or June of 2012, seems a tad unsure about where he fits in with the current UFC. The organization hasn’t seemed anxious to see him return to middleweight, and yet at 205 pounds he finds himself undersized on fight night, he told Helwani.

“If you look at the pictures of Forrest [Griffin] and I squaring off at the weigh-ins, we look almost the same size. And then if you look at the two of us squaring off in the middle of the Octagon, pre-fight, he outweighed me by probably about 25 pounds, and I’m going to run into this type of problem in the weight class. It’s just, the weight class is full of big guys.”


And yet, Franklin has continued to fight wherever the UFC wants him because, as he explained, “I’ve been quote-unquote the company man. There have been magazine articles written about me calling me that. …I’ve always been the guy that has taken whatever fight they’ve asked me to take.”

Which is why, Franklin said, he was none too pleased about hearing UFC president Dana White suggest in an interview with Helwani that he had purposely avoided a fight with Alexander Gustafsson as a replacement opponent for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133.

According to Franklin, he found out exactly three weeks before his scheduled fight with Nogueira that the Brazilian was injured and the UFC wanted to move Gustafsson up to replace him.

“At the time I was like, well who is this guy? I don’t know. So my manager, Monte Cox, said Joe Silva’s going to send you over some tapes so you can at least see this guy and check it out. I said all right.”

The following afternoon, Franklin said, he told his manager he’d take the fight, even though “there was nothing really appealing about the fight, and I basically told my manager that.”

But, due to what Franklin described as a “communication breakdown” brought on by the stress of an injury-riddled fight card, the UFC opted instead to pull Franklin from the event altogether. By itself, it might not have been so bad, but Franklin was irked by the implication that he’d ducked a fighter like Gustafsson, he said.

“I listened to the interview that you did with Dana, and was a bit disappointed…I’ll be honest with you, I was a bit disappointed listening to that, because the tone of the interview between you and Dana almost sounded like that. I thought, first of all, I’ve never ducked any other opponent in my life.”

In fact, Franklin said, the only time he’s ever said no to the UFC was when he was asked to fight Reese Andy, who had recently been a training partner of his. Aside from that, he said, he always agreed to whatever the UFC offered, and at whatever weight, which is why “for that kind of stuff to come out and to question, I guess, my motives or my character or whatever, it was very upsetting to me.”

Following the UFC 133 incident, Franklin said he sat down with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to discuss the fallout from the situation and his feelings on White’s comments.

“That feeling of family, it’s dissipated a little bit,” Franklin said. “It’s not the same as it used to be when I first starting fighting for the UFC, and I basically told Lorenzo that. I said, ‘Hey, I feel like sometimes you guys don’t really have my back,’ and he told me that they’d been really busy with the FOX deal and all that kind of stuff.”

After that conversation, Franklin said, he and the UFC “were all on the same page,” and there was even talk of a bout with Tito Ortiz in November, which Franklin said he was “definitely open to and interested in.”

Unfortunately, his shoulder surgery scuttled those hopes, leaving him focused only on rehab and getting back to fighting shape for now. As for the weight class he’ll compete in and the opponent he might face when he returns, Franklin said he’s content to leave that up to the UFC.

“If the UFC said something to me about fighting at middleweight again, I’d be great with that,” he said, though he clarified that he’s not about to request anything specific along those lines. “…If they’re not going to let me work toward a title, in the meantime as long as I can just work at putting on exciting fights and that stuff, then I’m good with doing that.”

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments