Tag: Announcement

UFC Bantamweight Nick Denis Retires From MMA to Protect Brain Health


(Photo via UFC.com)

For a number of reasons having to do with the sport’s culture, rule set and diversity of techniques, MMA simply is not as dangerous a sport as, say, boxing or American football in terms of brain trauma. That said, it is still quite dangeous and fighteres face a myriad of potential dangers in training and in competition.

Featherweight Eddie Yagin was just ordered to take six months off from MMA to let his brain heal. Many other active fighters conceal or ignore brain trauma and don’t retire or take the rest they need in order to hopefully have some quality of life as they age.

So when UFC bantamweight Nick Denis announced on his tumblr blog this week that he had decided to retire from MMA, it was bittersweet. Bitter because the international community had only begun to see how skilled and talented the twenty nine year-old was after two fights in the globe’s top organization. Sweet because, as he detailed on his blog, he made a thoughtful and proactive decision to protect what is left of his health.

One of hardest things for athletes to do is walk away, no matter their physical condition or age, because it means a forced change of identities. They have to find a new way to define themselves, a new set of activitites to spend their lives doing.

Denis seems at peace with his decision and confident that he will find new things to “obsess” over. We are glad and we hope so.

His written statement announcing his retirement is insightful, moving and inspirational. Read it and then go out and get started pursuing dreams and accomplishments that will make you worthy of a nickname as awesome as the one Nick “The Ninja of Love” Denis has.

“I would like to think that I don’t have an ego. Sometimes though, I think it might just be so big that it can’t be hurt.

I really believe in living life. I always tell people, quite casually, ‘follow your heart.’ I don’t just say it for the sake of having words come out of my mouth, it is something that I truly believe in and do. I couldn’t imagine living my life and ignoring my true feelings and desires, just for the sake of living a ‘rational’ and safe lifestyle. That is why I quit my Ph.D. in biochemistry to move to Montreal, train full-time and make my way to the UFC.

To me, it was the only available option. What other choice did I have?


(Photo via UFC.com)

For a number of reasons having to do with the sport’s culture, rule set and diversity of techniques, MMA simply is not as dangerous a sport as, say, boxing or American football in terms of brain trauma. That said, it is still quite dangeous and fighteres face a myriad of potential dangers in training and in competition.

Featherweight Eddie Yagin was just ordered to take six months off from MMA to let his brain heal. Many other active fighters conceal or ignore brain trauma and don’t retire or take the rest they need in order to hopefully have some quality of life as they age.

So when UFC bantamweight Nick Denis announced on his tumblr blog this week that he had decided to retire from MMA, it was bittersweet. Bitter because the international community had only begun to see how skilled and talented the twenty nine year-old was after two fights in the globe’s top organization. Sweet because, as he detailed on his blog, he made a thoughtful and proactive decision to protect what is left of his health.

One of hardest things for athletes to do is walk away, no matter their physical condition or age, because it means a forced change of identities. They have to find a new way to define themselves, a new set of activitites to spend their lives doing.

Denis seems at peace with his decision and confident that he will find new things to “obsess” over. We are glad and we hope so.

His written statement announcing his retirement is insightful, moving and inspirational. Read it and then go out and get started pursuing dreams and accomplishments that will make you worthy of a nickname as awesome as the one Nick “The Ninja of Love” Denis has.

“I would like to think that I don’t have an ego. Sometimes though, I think it might just be so big that it can’t be hurt.

I really believe in living life. I always tell people, quite casually, ‘follow your heart.’ I don’t just say it for the sake of having words come out of my mouth, it is something that I truly believe in and do. I couldn’t imagine living my life and ignoring my true feelings and desires, just for the sake of living a ‘rational’ and safe lifestyle. That is why I quit my Ph.D. in biochemistry to move to Montreal, train full-time and make my way to the UFC.

To me, it was the only available option. What other choice did I have? To graduate, get a research job, work in a lab and never really dedicate myself completely to my passion and dream? That just doesn’t make sense. You know, my girlfriend put it perfectly. I will put my own twist on it. Imagine going on a vacation to a far off land that you’ve been planning for all of your life. You get there, and for one reason or another, you don’t get to see or experience something that you really wanted to do. You go back home, and tell yourself ‘next time…’ We all know there is no next time, usually.

Now, imagine if that was the only vacation you ever took your entire life. How horrible would that be? The one trip you have ever taken, and you didn’t get to experience what you wanted to. What a waste. Now, imagine that trip was your life.

Imagine never doing the things you wanted to do. Whether it is a career choice, a random hobby, a personal goal, a trip, whatever. There is always a reason NOT to do something; timing isn’t right, money, risks, doubts, etc. You can rationalize any decision you want, but rationality can’t speak to your dreams and to happiness. You can’t rationalize your way to happiness.

So, with all that rambling, I am trying to say that I follow my heart. In doing so, I accomplished one of my goals. I made it to the UFC, signed a 5 fight contract, made an amazing debut, some said one of the best debuts in the UFC ever, and had a great second fight that I am very proud of, but ended up breaking my orbital bone and ultimately losing by submission with a second left in the round.

I am going to hold those moments close to me, because they will be as far as my dream goes. I have decided to bow out of MMA.

After my first loss, a devastating knockout where Marlon Sandro dribbled my head on the canvas like a basketball, I did lots of research on concussions. As a graduate student at the university of Ottawa, I had access to all peer reviewed scientific journals. No surprise to find that concussions = bad. However, I found something that had never occurred to me.

Sub-concussive trauma. Basically, a blow to the head that doesn’t lead to a concussion. When it happens, you feel fine, and continue on. Maybe you feel like you just had a little brain scramble, nothing big. Those who spar, know what I am talking about. However these add up. They accumulate, from training session to training session, year after year. The research papers found that men who never had an actual concussion, rather only sub-concussive trauma, (they used football/hockey players) when brain scans were administered to them (can’t remember if it was mri or ct), their brain morphology was decayed like that of individuals with later stages of neurodegenerative disorders.

I told myself that if I suffered one more concussion, whether it was in training, in a fight, or just slipped and fell outside on ice, that I was going to be done fighting. Well, over 3 years later, and I haven’t suffered a concussion. I told my best friend Nick, while climbing a never ending mountain in Petra a few months ago, before I made my decision to retire, that I hope one day I will get knocked out again. Funny, I know, but it would give me a sign of a definitive concussion. I would know for sure, decisively, and be able to follow my own rule and retire. But what if I never do get knocked out again? What if for the next decade I keep training hard and competing. I get in ‘wars’ and receive tons and tons of sub-concussive blows. Wouldn’t that be orders of magnitude worse than one concussion?

In the last couple years, and especially in the last few months leading up to my May 5th fight, while sparring I would notice that when I got hit, it would affect me more and more. When I first started sparring I would run through punches unaffected. Not only that, but now training at Tristar, I am literally training with the worlds best. We are all training at the highest level, all for the same reasons. Could I fight in the UFC, against the best fighters in our solar system, literally trained killers, without sparring in training? Not really, so what was I to do? I have made the decision to retire.

Some might judge, but that is fine. Maybe I have already suffered brain injury, maybe I never would have. That is the problem with the brain. You can’t really see the injury, it will take years and decades to manifest itself. When you get rocked in sparring, you shake your head and regain your composure, and within 10 seconds say ‘ok, I’m good let’s keep going.’ But are you actually ok? You are no longer dizzy, true, but do you have any idea what physical trauma your brain has just experienced? I have told this to a few people before.

I make the analogy of my love for MMA as being a drug addict- I know that it isn’t healthy for me, but holy fuck do I love it. I love MMA, and I have loved my experience with the UFC, Sengoku, and every other promotion along the way, but I am a human being first.

I don’t define myself by my work, and nor should you. I am a human being, and I was born with only one brain, and I want to take care of it so that I will recognize the ones I love when I get older.”

To read Denis’ full entry, go visit his personal blog, “Go Love a Ninja”.

Ronda Rousey Officially a UFC Champ, ‘Cyborg’ Needs to Drop to 135, Says Dana White


(We could have found a more pertinent photo but are you really going to complain?)

Amidst all the UFC 154 talk and Anderson Silva vs. GSP superfight speculation, UFC President Dana White took some time to discuss the UFC’s newest superstar, Ronda Rousey. The good news is that White says Ronda is now officially the UFC’s first female world champion, at 135 pounds.

Just as when the UFC absorbed WEC fighters after dissolving the organization and champions from divisions that previously had not existed in the UFC  automatically became champs in their new homes, Ronda’s Strikeforce belt will be turned into a brand spanking new one. This is what happened with Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo and now Rousey makes more history as the first ever female UFC champ.

The bad news, according to MMA Junkie that has the story from Montreal, is that right now White only has plans to have one female weight division – Ronda’s 135 pound one. Is anyone even thinking of poor, suspended and stripped former champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos?

The former Strikeforce 145 pound champ recently announced that her crack team of doctors said it would be utterly impossible for her to safely move down a weight class. Surely they considered the possibility of Santos cycling her steroid usage differently in order to become slightly less muscle-bound and, thus, lighter in coming up with their opinions.

In any case, White doesn’t seem to be buying Santos’ public stance that, A. she does want to fight Rousey and B. that there is no way she could safely drop ten pounds. White only has plans for a 135 pound female division and if ‘Cyborg’ wants in the UFC she’ll have to drop down to there.

“We’re bringing in the 135-pound division,” White said. “I’m trying this whole women’s thing out. Obviously, Ronda is the champ. I think Ronda has the potential to be a big star. She’s already getting media that we’ve never even gotten before, and she’s never even set foot in the UFC yet. That’s the division that we’re bringing in. We’re bringing in the 135-pound division.”

Uncle Dana also clearly thinks that the mean lady who took Gina Carano away from us is scared of Rousey, homie. “Our matchmakers have talked to their camp, and she doesn’t seem too excited to fight Ronda,” White said.


(We could have found a more pertinent photo but are you really going to complain?)

Amidst all the UFC 154 talk and Anderson Silva vs. GSP superfight speculation, UFC President Dana White took some time to discuss the UFC’s newest superstar, Ronda Rousey. The good news is that White says Ronda is now officially the UFC’s first female world champion, at 135 pounds.

Just as when the UFC absorbed WEC fighters after dissolving the organization and champions from divisions that previously had not existed in the UFC  automatically became champs in their new homes, Ronda’s Strikeforce belt will be turned into a brand spanking new one. This is what happened with Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo and now Rousey makes more history as the first ever female UFC champ.

The bad news, according to MMA Junkie that has the story from Montreal, is that right now White only has plans to have one female weight division – Ronda’s 135 pound one. Is anyone even thinking of poor, suspended and stripped former champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos?

The former Strikeforce 145 pound champ recently announced that her crack team of doctors said it would be utterly impossible for her to safely move down a weight class. Surely they considered the possibility of Santos cycling her steroid usage differently in order to become slightly less muscle-bound and, thus, lighter in coming up with their opinions.

In any case, White doesn’t seem to be buying Santos’ public stance that, A. she does want to fight Rousey and B. that there is no way she could safely drop ten pounds. White only has plans for a 135 pound female division and if ‘Cyborg’ wants in the UFC she’ll have to drop down to there.

“We’re bringing in the 135-pound division,” White said. “I’m trying this whole women’s thing out. Obviously, Ronda is the champ. I think Ronda has the potential to be a big star. She’s already getting media that we’ve never even gotten before, and she’s never even set foot in the UFC yet. That’s the division that we’re bringing in. We’re bringing in the 135-pound division.”

Uncle Dana also clearly thinks that the mean lady who took Gina Carano away from us is scared of Rousey, homie. “Our matchmakers have talked to their camp, and she doesn’t seem too excited to fight Ronda,” White said.

The scale of the opportunities for Rousey and whoever she fights could be huge, though, according to White. He said that the plan is for Rousey to headline a pay per view in her first UFC fight.

Also, he’s open to the idea of Rousey and another female fighter coaching (male) fighters on a season of The Ultimate Fighter. That’s cool, we guess, because of exposure for the two female fighter/coaches, but why not use TUF as a way of determining if the ranks of female fighters are truly as thin as White has always and still does maintain they are?

What with all the high quality female fighters in the U.S., Japan, Australia, Europe and elsewhere, such a scenario might make White’s argument that women fighters aren’t all that good or plentiful a little less convincing. Well, at least the (for now) one-woman female UFC division is a good start.

Who do you want to see Rousey fight first, nation? And are you in favor of ‘Cyborg’ cutting off a limb in order to make 135 and fight the rowdy one?

For your time, videos of some of our favorite female MMA fighters below.

Megumi Fujii:

Marloes Coenen:

Miesha Tate:

Ronda Rousey:

Cyborg:

– Elias Cepeda

‘UFC on FUEL: Franklin vs. Le’ Fight-Picking Contest: The Winners!


(Bruce Lee would be pleased with your performance, but sort of disappointed about how much of your life you spend on the Internet. Images via Lancaster/Roots of Fight)

Let’s have another round of applause for Cung Le, who gave China its first-ever epic UFC punch-face on Saturday, then followed it up by scaring the crap out of cutman Don House. Only a handful of you predicted that Cung would knock out Rich Franklin during last week’s fight-picking contest, and only two of you thought it would happen in the first round, and that it would net Le a Knockout of the Night bonus. They were…

– Blakethoria: Cung Le Defeats Rich Franklin via TKO @ 2:21 of round 1
KO of the night [Ed. note: The comments section of the fight-picking post is only displaying the most recent 25 comments for some reason, but believe me, it’s there.]
– Sniffer-Piffits: Le def. Franklin via TKO @ 4:17 of RD 1, KO of the Night, bitch…..

Well, I don’t think the profanity was necessary, Sniffer, but nevertheless you and Blakethoria have won spiffy new Bruce Lee Movember t-shirts from LancasterLTD. Shoot your real names, sizes, and addresses to [email protected] and we’ll get you hooked up soon. The rest of you should consider buying one of Lancaster’s Movember tees. A portion of all sales benefit the cause, y’know.

Speaking of which: How are your moustaches coming along, anyway? Post photos of your mo’ progress on our Facebook page, and there might be a $50 StubHub gift card in it for you. And thanks so much for your continued donations to the Mo’Tato Nation team page!


(Bruce Lee would be pleased with your performance, but sort of disappointed about how much of your life you spend on the Internet. Images via Lancaster/Roots of Fight)

Let’s have another round of applause for Cung Le, who gave China its first-ever epic UFC punch-face on Saturday, then followed it up by scaring the crap out of cutman Don House. Only a handful of you predicted that Cung would knock out Rich Franklin during last week’s fight-picking contest, and only two of you thought it would happen in the first round, and that it would net Le a Knockout of the Night bonus. They were…

– Blakethoria: Cung Le Defeats Rich Franklin via TKO @ 2:21 of round 1
KO of the night [Ed. note: The comments section of the fight-picking post is only displaying the most recent 25 comments for some reason, but believe me, it’s there.]
– Sniffer-Piffits: Le def. Franklin via TKO @ 4:17 of RD 1, KO of the Night, bitch…..

Well, I don’t think the profanity was necessary, Sniffer, but nevertheless you and Blakethoria have won spiffy new Bruce Lee Movember t-shirts from LancasterLTD. Shoot your real names, sizes, and addresses to [email protected] and we’ll get you hooked up soon. The rest of you should consider buying one of Lancaster’s Movember tees. A portion of all sales benefit the cause, y’know.

Speaking of which: How are your moustaches coming along, anyway? Post photos of your mo’ progress on our Facebook page, and there might be a $50 StubHub gift card in it for you. And thanks so much for your continued donations to the Mo’Tato Nation team page!

‘Franklin vs. Le’ Fight-Picking Contest: Win a Bruce Lee/Movember T-Shirt From Lancaster LTD!

(Bruce Lee is “the father of mixed martial arts” — which more than qualifies him for a spot on the next UFC event poster. Video via LancasterLTD)

As we enter the first full week of Movember, your moustache-in-progress may be looking thin, patchy, and unattractive — more befitting a McPoyle than an alpha male. Stay strong and stick with it, because you have greatness in your future.

Thanks so much to the folks who have already contributed cash to our Movember team, the Mo’tato Nation; your money will help fund awareness efforts, research, and other critical support for men’s health issues. Last year, the Break and Friends network (which we’re a part of) raised over $40,000. If you want to help us smash that mark this year, please register and donate.

Onto the business at hand. Our good friends at Lancaster LTD — who are also celebrating Movember with a series of limited edition t-shirts — have pledged us a couple of their new Movember Bruce Lee tees for the Mo’tato Nation. To win one, simply guess the exact outcome of this Saturday’s main event fight between Rich Franklin and Cung Le at UFC on FUEL 6 in Macao, along with which bonus(es) the fight will earn, if any. Your entry should be in this format…


(Bruce Lee is “the father of mixed martial arts” — which more than qualifies him for a spot on the next UFC event poster. Video via LancasterLTD)

As we enter the first full week of Movember, your moustache-in-progress may be looking thin, patchy, and unattractive — more befitting a McPoyle than an alpha male. Stay strong and stick with it, because you have greatness in your future.

Thanks so much to the folks who have already contributed cash to our Movember team, the Mo’tato Nation; your money will help fund awareness efforts, research, and other critical support for men’s health issues. Last year, the Break and Friends network (which we’re a part of) raised over $40,000. If you want to help us smash that mark this year, please register and donate.

Onto the business at hand. Our good friends at Lancaster LTD — who are also celebrating Movember with a series of limited edition t-shirts — have pledged us a couple of their new Movember Bruce Lee tees for the Mo’tato Nation. To win one, simply guess the exact outcome of this Saturday’s main event fight between Rich Franklin and Cung Le at UFC on FUEL 6 in Macao, along with which bonus(es) the fight will earn, if any. Your entry should be in this format…

Franklin def. Le via TKO, 3:02 of round 3, Knockout of the Night
or
Le def. Franklin via spilt-decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29), Fight of the Night
or
Franklin def. Le via armbar, 4:08 of round 2, no bonus

Submit your predictions in the comments section by Friday at midnight ET. The two closest guesses will win the shirts, and we’ll announce the winners on Monday. Good luck, and keep growing them Mo’s!


(The Movember Bruce Lee T, via Lancaster/Roots of Fight)

Loser Leaves Town Alert: Leonard Garcia vs. Cody McKenzie Booked for UFC 155


Clearly, there are zero inappropriate jokes to be made here.

In the territorial days of professional wrestling, the loser leaves town match was a way for wrestling promoters to wrap up a storyline when one of the wrestlers left his company for a rival promotion. Even though MMA is much different from professional wrestling, our sport still books these fights every so often. It isn’t exactly uncommon for the UFC to book fights between two not-quite-contenders, where the losers receive a pink slip and a call from Ray or Bjorn.

Case in point: The UFC announced yesterday that featherweights Leonard Garcia and Cody McKenzie will meet up at UFC 155. With both men being a combined 3-7 in their last ten fights (2-8 if you aren’t blind, deaf and dumb), and both coming off of less-than-impressive losses, the loser of this fight will almost certainly be spending time outside of the UFC.

On paper, Leonard Garcia is heading into this bout in worse condition than his opponent. Garcia has only won once in his last five fights, and that victory was a total bullshit decision over Nam Phan. The only thing that may save Garcia is the fact that he’s usually entertaining in defeat – his Zuffa career includes a total of five Fight of the Night awards, one Knockout of the Night and 2010’s Fight of the Year, a total bullshit victory over The Korean Zombie at WEC 48. Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, judges have an inexplicable love for the guy.


Clearly, there are zero inappropriate jokes to be made here.

In the territorial days of professional wrestling, the loser leaves town match was a way for wrestling promoters to wrap up a storyline when one of the wrestlers left his company for a rival promotion. Even though MMA is much different from professional wrestling, our sport still books these fights every so often. It isn’t exactly uncommon for the UFC to book fights between two not-quite-contenders, where the losers receive a pink slip and a call from Ray or Bjorn. 

Case in point: The UFC announced yesterday that featherweights Leonard Garcia and Cody McKenzie will meet up at UFC 155. With both men being a combined 3-7 in their last ten fights (2-8 if you aren’t blind, deaf and dumb), and both coming off of less-than-impressive losses, the loser of this fight will almost certainly be spending time outside of the UFC.

On paper, Leonard Garcia is heading into this bout in worse condition than his opponent. Garcia has only won once in his last five fights, and that victory was a total bullshit decision over Nam Phan. The only thing that may save Garcia is the fact that he’s usually entertaining in defeat – his Zuffa career includes a total of five Fight of the Night awards, one Knockout of the Night and 2010′s Fight of the Year, a total bullshit victory over The Korean Zombie at WEC 48. Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, judges have an inexplicable love for the guy.

In reality, Cody McKenzie is in worse standing with the UFC heading into this contest. The TUF alumnus has been a one-trick pony, using his McKenzietine to rack up victories. While this strategy works in the bush leagues – and even against the lower end of the UFC’s roster – it has been disastrous for him against legitimate competition. McKenzie may only be on a one fight skid, but he could not have possibly looked worse in his last outing. Cody McKenzie managed to do jack shit before Chad Mendes crumbled him with a body shot just thirty-one seconds into their fight. Another loss would put the former lightweight at 2-4, and demonstrate that he just isn’t UFC material.

Based on a completely scientific formula I just made up involving both fighters’ recent fights and the very nature of loser leaves town matches, you can expect this fight to be an epic striker-vs-grappler clash. For three rounds, expect Cody McKenzie to put on a grappling clinic against Leonard Garcia, powering his way through Garcia’s wild striking, while attempting the dreaded McKenzietine numerous times throughout the fight. Garcia will win this match 30-27 on all scorecards, and give a post-fight interview that mostly consists of him shrugging his shoulders. McKenzie will scream “I’LL BE BACK!” while Dana White has security drag him out of the arena.

At UFC 156, a masked featherweight will absolutely destroy some hapless jobber while Joe Rogan comments that nobody knows who this new guy is, but it’s crazy how much he physically resembles Cody McKenzie. The masked grappler will end the fight with a McKenzietine, and we will all smile, knowing that the guy under the mask is clearly Cody McKenzie. The new guy will demand a fight against Leonard Garcia, and Dana White will happily grant him that fight at UFC 157. The new guy will destroy Leonard Garcia, take off his mask, and reveal to us all that he is actually just some random featherweight that has thick chest hair. Our collective minds will be blown away by this.

So that’s our prediction for this fight. Call your bookie now and bet on all of that happening. Do it.

CagePotato PSA: It’s Movember 1st, So Shave Your Damn Face


(Moustaches: For real men only. / Photo via CombatLifestyle)

Just a quick update for those of you who are participating in the men’s health awareness moustache-a-thon known as Movember: It starts today, so if you haven’t done so already, please shave your bristly face. And make sure to take photos of your moustache progress through the month, because we’ll be awarding a $100 StubHub gift card to the prettiest one at the end of the month.

If you’re not really the participatory type, but still want to help out a good cause, please donate a few bucks to CagePotato’s Mo’tato Nation team page (which you should join if you’re doing this), or Karmaatemycat’s personal page, because that dude keeps it real.

Good luck, Mo’ bros.


(Moustaches: For real men only. / Photo via CombatLifestyle)

Just a quick update for those of you who are participating in the men’s health awareness moustache-a-thon known as Movember: It starts today, so if you haven’t done so already, please shave your bristly face. And make sure to take photos of your moustache progress through the month, because we’ll be awarding a $100 StubHub gift card to the prettiest one at the end of the month.

If you’re not really the participatory type, but still want to help out a good cause, please donate a few bucks to CagePotato’s Mo’tato Nation team page (which you should join if you’re doing this), or Karmaatemycat’s personal page, because that dude keeps it real.

Good luck, Mo’ bros.