Although his firing has yet to be made official, it appears that Baroni has in fact been let go for his ongoing support of War Machine, even as the horrendous allegations and charges against him continue to pile up. Then again, Baroni’s defense of his former training partner could just be the out Coker was looking for to send the NYBA packing. For one, Baroni’s dropped his past three fights in a row. For two, he was smoked by Karo Parisyan in his promotional debut at Bellator 122. And for three, he can’t even spell the name of the promotion he was fighting in. Three strikes, you’re out!
Now, if only we can make it to the end of this sentence without Coker immediately contradicting his decision to steer clear of anyone even relatively involved in a domestic violence case…
Bellator has fired War Machine after a report from TMZ claimed he was involved in a domestic violence investigation.
TMZ’s report claimed the domestic dispute involved three people at War Machine’s Las Vegas home. Two people were reportedly injured so bad they had to go to the hospital. The report claimed one victim was War Machine’s “significant other.”
A tweet from Christy Mack, War Machine’s sort of girlfriend (the “it’s complicated” relationship status was made for them), seems to confirm the report:
(War Machine in 2007 / Photo via Getty)
Bellator has fired War Machine after a report from TMZ claimed he was involved in a domestic violence investigation.
TMZ’s report claimed the domestic dispute involved three people at War Machine’s Las Vegas home. Two people were reportedly injured so bad they had to go to the hospital. The report claimed one victim was War Machine’s “significant other.”
A tweet from Christy Mack, War Machine’s sort of girlfriend (the “it’s complicated” relationship status was made for them), seems to confirm the report:
War Machine seemingly tweeted about the incident as well:
While nothing is official yet, a domestic violence incident seems pretty likely. We hate to say this was inevitable, it seemed inevitable given War Machine’s sordid history.
Fortunately, Bellator under Scott Coker threw the book at War Machine.
“We have a zero tolerance policy here at Bellator when it relates to any form of domestic violence,” Bellator president Scott Coker said in a press release sent to CagePotato. “And after learning of this latest incident involving Jon Koppenhaver, War Machine, Bellator is releasing him from his promotional contract with the organization.”
War Machine has been arrested before, so who knows if and how long he’ll be incarcerated this time. His last fight was a loss to Ron Keslar at Bellator 104. To be honest, Bellator is better off without him.
(Yep, we’re sticking to our *guns* with this photo. BA-DUM-TSH!)
How about some actual news for a change?
On the subject of Chael Sonnen‘s second straight drug test failure, I believe Old Dad summed it up best when he said that the American Gangster had a “cheater’s dream cocktail” flowing through his veins. And indeed, Sonnen tested positive for not trace amounts of HGH, EPO, WWE, TRL, HSN, and BET when retested, which made his previous failed drug test prior to UFC 175 all the harder to swallow.
It’s important to note that Sonnen’s second test was administered before the results of his first test were made public, meaning that he was still technically competing while loaded to gills with a veritable pharmacy heading into UFC 175. Following his all but forced retirement shortly thereafter, the question quickly became not where Sonnen’s fighting career was headed, but if the UFC/FOX would continue to employ a multiple time steroid cheat simply because he was charismatic in front of a camera. It would send a hell of a mixed message to the rest of their fighters in their roster, that’s for sure.
Well today brings an answer, and that answer is “Eff no.”(via a UFC-FOX press release sent out this morning):
The UFC and FOX Sports organizations announced today the termination of their respective broadcasting services agreements with analyst Chael Sonnen. This decision comes in light of Sonnen failing a second test conducted by the Nevada Athletic Commission for banned substances in June. Sonnen was previously under temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission for failing an initial test conducted in May.
I guess this means Sonnen won’t be given the opportunity to defend himself via a laughably rushed interview on America’s Pregame, then?
(Yep, we’re sticking to our *guns* with this photo. BA-DUM-TSH!)
How about some actual news for a change?
On the subject of Chael Sonnen‘s second straight drug test failure, I believe Old Dad summed it up best when he said that the American Gangster had a “cheater’s dream cocktail” flowing through his veins. And indeed, Sonnen tested positive for not trace amounts of HGH, EPO, WWE, TRL, HSN, and BET when retested, which made his previous failed drug test prior to UFC 175 all the harder to swallow.
It’s important to note that Sonnen’s second test was administered before the results of his first test were made public, meaning that he was still technically competing while loaded to gills with a veritable pharmacy heading into UFC 175. Following his all but forced retirement shortly thereafter, the question quickly became not where Sonnen’s fighting career was headed, but if the UFC/FOX would continue to employ a multiple time steroid cheat simply because he was charismatic in front of a camera. It would send a hell of a mixed message to the rest of their fighters in their roster, that’s for sure.
Well today brings an answer, and that answer is “Eff no.”(via a UFC-FOX press release sent out this morning):
The UFC and FOX Sports organizations announced today the termination of their respective broadcasting services agreements with analyst Chael Sonnen. This decision comes in light of Sonnen failing a second test conducted by the Nevada Athletic Commission for banned substances in June. Sonnen was previously under temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission for failing an initial test conducted in May.
I guess this means Sonnen won’t be given the opportunity to defend himself via a laughably rushed interview on America’s Pregame, then?
Honestly, this is an unfortunate, if fitting end to Sonnen’s professional career. Controversy has followed “The American Gangster” both inside and outside the cage since he first popped onto our radar back in his WEC days, and mainly as a result of his own damn arrogance. Despite being able to talk his way into fight after fight, Sonnen’s reputation as a cheater will undoubtedly be the one thing he will never be able to talk his way out of. The irony is almost poetic.
But fret not, grappling aficionados, Sonnen will still be competing at Metamoris 4 in his much talked about match with Andre Galvao despite his recent drug issues, so sayeth the promotion’s official Twitter account:
You hear that, Chael? If there was ever a time to start injecting PCP into your eyeballs to gain a competitive edge, it’s now.
Any post-mortem of Brandon Vera’s career has to focus on what a disappointment it turned out to be. (I’m not trying to be a dick, here; I bet Vera feels the same way.) This is a guy who went from hot-shot contender to hapless journeyman seemingly overnight. The Fox Sports article summarizes it well:
Vera burst upon the scene in Oct. 2005, defeating Fabiano Scherner via TKO in the first of four consecutive victories, a streak that emboldened him to infamously promise that he would hold two UFC title belts at the same time.
He never even fought for the title.
Vera was at one time slated to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship, but a contract dispute put his career on ice in the fall of 2006. By the time it was resolved, nearly a year had gone by, and Vera was never able to recapture his previous magic and reach the high bar he’d set for himself.
By late 2006, Vera had every right to carry a big ego. He had a flawless pro record of 8-0 with all wins by stoppage, and was fresh off a 69-second TKO of former champ Frank Mir, who was struggling to make a comeback at the time (and eventually succeeded). As it turned out, Mir was the last notable opponent that Vera managed to beat. And if you wanted to be brutally honest about it, you could argue that Mir is the only notable opponent that Vera has ever beaten.
Any post-mortem of Brandon Vera’s career has to focus on what a disappointment it turned out to be. (I’m not trying to be a dick, here; I bet Vera feels the same way.) This is a guy who went from hot-shot contender to hapless journeyman seemingly overnight. The Fox Sports article summarizes it well:
Vera burst upon the scene in Oct. 2005, defeating Fabiano Scherner via TKO in the first of four consecutive victories, a streak that emboldened him to infamously promise that he would hold two UFC title belts at the same time.
He never even fought for the title.
Vera was at one time slated to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship, but a contract dispute put his career on ice in the fall of 2006. By the time it was resolved, nearly a year had gone by, and Vera was never able to recapture his previous magic and reach the high bar he’d set for himself.
By late 2006, Vera had every right to carry a big ego. He had a flawless pro record of 8-0 with all wins by stoppage, and was fresh off a 69-second TKO of former champ Frank Mir, who was struggling to make a comeback at the time (and eventually succeeded). As it turned out, Mir was the last notable opponent that Vera managed to beat. And if you wanted to be brutally honest about it, you could argue that Mir is the only notable opponent that Vera has ever beaten.
Vera built his reputation by gobbling up un-spectacular sluggers like Mike Whitehead and Justin Eilers. After the Mir fight, reality struck. Maybe the year-long contract dispute stole his fire in some way — Dana White blamed Vera’s decline on Vera earning too much money, of course — but the truth is, Vera was forced to jump up in competition, and his hype was quickly exposed once he got up there.
Tim Sylvia busted him up. Fabricio Werdum smashed him within one round. Vera fled the heavyweight division and tried his luck at 205. Keith Jardine and Randy Couture edged him out in close decisions. Jon Jones destroyed his face, and UFC fans rejoiced, because don’t we all love to see a cocky bastard get his comeuppance? (This was back before Jon Jones became a cocky bastard himself.) Along the way, Vera was fed Reese Andy and Mike Patt, to prevent him from spiraling completely out of orbit, and he managed to win a decision over TUF 8 vet Krzysztof Soszynski.
In essence, Vera found semi-regular work as a can-crusher, and became a cautionary tale about buying into your own hype. But in recent years, his story picked up an uncomfortable subplot: drugs. Specifically, all of his opponents being on them.
Brandon Vera spent New Year’s Day 2011 being publicly slapped around by scary Brazilian 205-er Thiago Silva, en route to a unanimous decision loss. It was Vera’s third-straight defeat, and the UFC quickly fired him. Then, a month-and-a-half later, the UFC unfired him after it was revealed that Silva submitted a fake urine sample to hide his steroid use. Vera had been granted a stay of execution, and returned in October 2011 to win a forgettable decision against another TUF 8 castmember, Eliot Marshall.
Then, the ass-kicking against Shogun. Then, a follow-up ass-kicking from Ben Rothwell back at heavyweight, in which Rothwell decided to break the tension in round three by going completely insane:
And then, the inevitable news that Rothwell had failed his drug test. This time, elevated testosterone was the culprit — but unlike the fallout that Silva faced after botching his drug test, Rothwell was only given an “administrative warning” by the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, and the fight result was officially kept as a loss for Vera. More importantly, the UFC decided not to give him another chance.
Despite Vera’s competitive shortcomings, the 8+ years that he spent in the Octagon virtually guarantees that he’ll be fielding offers from other promotions. (He already has the right attitude for Bellator.) We’ll keep you posted on where he ends up.
“What I did find out is that I guess that Jason High kid got up and pushed a referee – he’s cut,” White said in disgust. “I’m going to cut him. I look at that the way (Paul) Daley put his hands on his opponent after a fight was over. You don’t ever, ever f****** touch a referee, ever. You’re done here. He’s been apologizing on Twitter, but he’s done.”
I feel bad for High. It’s not like he went full-Yvel on Mulhall, and yet he could be shut out of the UFC for life, for a single bad decision. On the other hand, an example needs to be set that you never put your hands on an official, no matter how much you think the stoppage sucked. On the other, other hand:
There’s some truth to that. Maybe High’s biggest crime was simply being expendable.
Dana also confirmed in the “Download” column that the UFC will be paying Ross Pearson his win bonus after Pearson was blatantly robbed against Diego Sanchez, and hoped that the judge who scored the fight 30-27 for Sanchez (Jeff Collins) never judges another professional fight. Also, he was struggling with allergies while relaxing in Maine and buying cars while drunk:
(At least he’s taking it well. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
“What I did find out is that I guess that Jason High kid got up and pushed a referee – he’s cut,” White said in disgust. “I’m going to cut him. I look at that the way (Paul) Daley put his hands on his opponent after a fight was over. You don’t ever, ever f****** touch a referee, ever. You’re done here. He’s been apologizing on Twitter, but he’s done.”
I feel bad for High. It’s not like he went full-Yvel on Mulhall, and yet he could be shut out of the UFC for life, for a single bad decision. On the other hand, an example needs to be set that you never put your hands on an official, no matter how much you think the stoppage sucked. On the other, other hand:
There’s some truth to that. Maybe High’s biggest crime was simply being expendable.
Dana also confirmed in the “Download” column that the UFC will be paying Ross Pearson his win bonus after Pearson was blatantly robbed against Diego Sanchez, and hoped that the judge who scored the fight 30-27 for Sanchez (Jeff Collins) never judges another professional fight. Also, he was struggling with allergies while relaxing in Maine and buying cars while drunk:
“I was f***** up Saturday night because I had real bad allergies, so I took some Benadryl and it knocked me out,” he said Tuesday afternoon on his first day back in the office after a short weekend family getaway to his hometown in Maine.
But as White drifted off into a medicine-induced sleep, something jolted him back to consciousness on the TV.
“My eyes swelled up like I just got the s**t kicked out of me,” White explained. “It snowed in May in Maine, so they’re just going through Spring now. There was so much Pollen on my car, my eyes swelled up. So I drove into the pharmacy and the lady is like, ‘You need to take some Benadryl.’ I had never taken Benadryl in my life — I always thought it was some s**t you rubbed on your skin.
“So I asked her, ‘What happens if I drink with these?’ She said, ‘It’s going to make you more tired.’ So I took two. I drank 3/4 of a beer and I barely made it to my bedroom walking. I laid down for a few minutes and I’m dead — hallucinating, dreaming crazy s**t”
We sincerely hope that Dana is back to 100% after that traumatic experience, and that he gets some good use out of his new car. Oh, and that Jason High finds another job. That too.
The news that Jake Shields had been axed by the UFC on Tuesday was not taken lightly by MMA fans who had referred to the former Strikeforce champion as “Jake Shieldzzzz” for years prior. Days later, we are still trying to make sense of the decision to cut Shields following his first loss in two and a half years, but it was an easy one to make in the eyes of Dana White, who basically told reporters that Shields was released because he didn’t “WAR!!” enough.
The news that Jake Shields had been axed by the UFC on Tuesday was not taken lightly by MMA fans who had referred to the former Strikeforce champion as “Jake Shieldzzzz” for years prior. Days later, we are still trying to make sense of the decision to cut Shields following his first loss in two and a half years, but it was an easy one to make in the eyes of Dana White, who basically told reporters that Shields was released because he didn’t “WAR!!” enough.
Otherwise known as the UFC firing that opened the floodgates of criticism for an entire week back in 2013, the release of perennial contender Jon Fitch was initially met with shock and outrage by fans and pundits of the sport alike, despite the fact that none of us could sit through an entire Jon Fitch fight without checking our cell phones or throwing pencils into the ceiling out of boredom if our lives depended on it.
You’re telling me that Fitch, who’s already had a better career than 90 percent of active welterweights, and who’s been with the same organization for more than seven years, has priced himself out of a job with $66,000 in show money? Seriously? Take away taxes, training expenses, his management’s cut, and all the other miscellaneous stuff that eats into a fighter’s pay, and that’s not a ton of take-home cash for a night of professional cage fighting. If that’s too much for a guy like Fitch, most other fighters should go ahead and start working on that law school application right now because the future is grim.
Yushin Okami (Who’s got two thumbs and will be out of a job come Monday? THIS GUY. Photo via Getty.)
Listed as the #6 middleweight at the time of his release, Yushin Okami had scored 3 victories in as many fights until a first round knockout loss to #4 ranked Jacare Souza at Fight Night 28 apparently signified that the times had passed him by. Said Dana White:
He’s been with us forever. He was always a tough guy and was right up there, but it’s almost like he’d become a gatekeeper. I like Okami, and you’ve heard me say this many times, that a win over Yushin Okami meant something. But he was never able to get over the hump and win one of those [significant] fights. We have a lot of guys coming in and I’ve been saying this all year: We have a full roster and there are guys who deserve opportunities. When you bring guys in, someone has to go. That’s why these fights are so meaningful.
“You know, sometimes you just have to cut a guy in the top 10 to make room for the 0-0 yoga instructors who really deserve a shot.”
Proof that one underwhelming fight can get your fired regardless of your record, TUF 7 alum Gerald Harris was let go by the UFC following his lackluster decision loss to Maiquel Falcao at UFC 123. The insanity in this decision being that the loss was Harris’ first under the UFC banner, and came following three straight TKO wins, two ‘Knockout of the Night’ awards, and an appearance on the Sportscenter Top 10. Harris has fought seven times since his departure, going a respectable 5-2 in such organizations as the WSOF, Dream, and Legacy Fighting Championships, but will likely never fight in the UFC again because he had an off night that one time back in 2010.
Meanwhile, Jared Hamman, who joined the UFC around the same time as Harris, has been smoked in his past three fights by Costas Philippou (legit), Michael Kuiper (fired) and Magnus Cedenblad (no Wiki page), and is 2-5 in the UFC overall, yet is still listed as an employee of the UFC. Politics, ladies and gentleman.
Come to think of it, you could just as easily swap Harris with Falcao, who was also fired for coasting to victory over Harris at UFC 123 (although it was later revealed that Falcao’s release stemmed from an assault case). In hindsight, it was clearly a good move on the UFC’s part, but at the time it was almost unprecedented to see a fighter booted after a win.
