Tag: Ariel Helwani

UFC Suspends Matt Mitrione for “Offensive and Wholly Unacceptable” Comments About Fallon Fox

Despite being fresh off of a nineteen-second knockout victory over Philip De Fries at last weekend’s UFC on FUEL TV 9, it may be a while before we see Matt Mitrione in the Octagon again.

Earlier today, Mitrione was a guest on The MMA Hour, where he wrapped up his appearance with some jokes he had prepared for host Ariel Helwani. He started off with a joke about Aleksander Emelianenko’s unretirement, a joke about how he considered finishing De Fries – a Llyod Irvin student – with a rape choke, and a joke about how transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox should call herself “The Queen of the Buffaloes” in reference to “Silence of the Lambs.”

If he just stopped there, we probably wouldn’t even be talking about his appearance on the show, but he wasn’t done making jokes at Fallon’s expense just yet.

“Holy shit, I have not seen a man beat a woman like that since Chris Brown beat Rihanna. That is exceptional how he just beats innocent, unknowing women like that. Incredible,” Mitrione continued. “Since he’s obviously looking for any way to break or avoid the rules regarding fighting, if he ever fights again – which I hope he doesn’t – but if he ever fights again and loses to a woman, is he going to charge that woman with a hate crime because she imposing on his freedom as a tranny.”

At this point, Ariel Helwani intervened to ask Mitrione why he kept referring to Fallon Fox as a man. This resulted on a fairly heated rant from Meathead, which we have video of after the jump.

Despite being fresh off of a nineteen-second knockout victory over Philip De Fries at last weekend’s UFC on FUEL TV 9, it may be a while before we see Matt Mitrione in the Octagon again.

Earlier today, Mitrione was a guest on The MMA Hour, where he wrapped up his appearance with some jokes he had prepared for host Ariel Helwani. He started off with a joke about Aleksander Emelianenko’s unretirement, a joke about how he considered finishing De Fries – a Llyod Irvin student – with a rape choke, and a joke about how transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox should call herself “The Queen of the Buffaloes” in reference to “Silence of the Lambs.”

If he just stopped there, we probably wouldn’t even be talking about his appearance on the show, but he wasn’t done making jokes at Fallon’s expense just yet.

“Holy shit, I have not seen a man beat a woman like that since Chris Brown beat Rihanna. That is exceptional how he just beats innocent, unknowing women like that. Incredible,” Mitrione continued. “Since he’s obviously looking for any way to break or avoid the rules regarding fighting, if he ever fights again – which I hope he doesn’t – but if he ever fights again and loses to a woman, is he going to charge that woman with a hate crime because she imposing on his freedom as a tranny?”

At this point, Ariel Helwani intervened to ask Mitrione why he kept referring to Fallon Fox as a man. This resulted on a fairly heated rant from Meathead, which we have video of after the jump.


Props: MMAFighting.com

“Because she’s not a he. He’s a he. He’s chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He’s still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That’s a couple years younger than I am. He’s a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That’s ridiculous. That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak, and I mean that because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself. And the fact that Florida licensed him because California licensed him or whoever the hell did it, it’s an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that.”

The UFC reacted quickly to Mitrione’s rant, suspending Matt Mitrione and issuing the following statement on their website earlier today:

The UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight Matt Mitrione today in an interview on the ‘MMA Hour.’

The organization finds Mr. Mitrione’s comments offensive and wholly unacceptable and — as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC’s code of conduct – Mr. Mitrione’s UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated.

The UFC is a friend and ally of the LGBT community, and expects and requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect.

Here’s what I took away from this:

– That joke he made about the Lloyd Irvin rape case? Perfectly acceptable; probably because he didn’t tweet it.
– Calling Fallon Fox a man is ignorant and transphobic when Joe Rogan isn’t the one doing it.
– Maybe if he just made a video teaching people how to rape her, he wouldn’t have been suspended.
– I hate to sound like a broken record, but this is exactly why the UFC really needs some sort of policy in place to ensure that fighters know where the line is drawn in terms of what is acceptable and unacceptable to say about an issue and what will happen to them if they cross that line (aside from community service, of course). Or rather, why this policy needs to be evenly enforced among all UFC employees.
– Of course, this is all written under the assumption that Meathead’s suspension will leave him on the shelf for an extended period of time. Time will tell how many months he is actually suspended for.

I can’t be the only one who feels this way, right?

@SethFalvo

Quick Poll: What’s More Embarrassing — Ariel Helwani’s Winged Sneakers, or Erik Koch’s Bronzer?

Answer: Helwani’s shoes, because at least Koch gets paid to wear that shit. (“Shout out to Sun Seekers Milwaukee.”) Videos courtesy of YouTube.com/MMAFighting.


Answer: Helwani’s shoes, because at least Koch gets paid to wear that shit. (“Shout out to Sun Seekers Milwaukee.”) Videos courtesy of YouTube.com/MMAFighting.

Pat Healy Draws Newbie for Final Strikeforce Event, Should Probably Pull Out Like Everyone Else, Because Seriously, Who Gives a F*ck?


(I’m going to avoid an obvious nose-joke here. Instead, I’ll just link to this picture of an adorable puppy.)

You know what? Screw what Tim Kennedy said about Strikeforce’s fighters being a bunch of little vaginas. When Gilbert Melendez and Luke Rockhold withdrew from their scheduled matches at Strikeforce’s final event, they were looking out for their best interests. And if Pat Healy does the same, we’re not going to blame the guy.

Healy, as you might recall, was originally slated to face Melendez in their long-delayed matchup on the January 12th “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” card, then he was booked to face Jorge Masvidal when Melendez pulled out, then he was booked to face nobody when Masvidal pulled out. [Ed. note: CagePotato would like to clarify that Healy was probably not a Nazi guard or serial killer in a past life, despite suggestions to the contrary. There. Feel better, Chris?]. Now, the former/sort-of lightweight title-contender will be facing undefeated Strikeforce-newcomer Kurt Holobaugh, according to a recent report from MMAWeekly.

A little about Kurt: He’s compiled a perfect 8-0 professional record, competing against regional talent in such regionally-named promotions as Karnival Karnage and Nightmare On The Northshore. He is best known for taking a fight on his wedding day and almost being selected for TUF 15. The fight with Healy will be the biggest opportunity of his career. Unfortunately, the booking officially drags Healy down to the Showtime Extreme portion of the “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” card.


(I’m going to avoid an obvious nose-joke here. Instead, I’ll just link to this picture of an adorable puppy.)

You know what? Screw what Tim Kennedy said about Strikeforce’s fighters being a bunch of little vaginas. When Gilbert Melendez and Luke Rockhold withdrew from their scheduled matches at Strikeforce’s final event, they were looking out for their best interests. And if Pat Healy does the same, we’re not going to blame the guy.

Healy, as you might recall, was originally slated to face Melendez in their long-delayed matchup on the January 12th “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” card, then he was booked to face Jorge Masvidal when Melendez pulled out, then he was booked to face nobody when Masvidal pulled out. [Ed. note: CagePotato would like to clarify that Healy was probably not a Nazi guard or serial killer in a past life, despite suggestions to the contrary. There. Feel better, Chris?]. Now, the former/sort-of lightweight title-contender will be facing undefeated Strikeforce-newcomer Kurt Holobaugh, according to a recent report from MMAWeekly.

A little about Kurt: He’s compiled a perfect 8-0 professional record, competing against regional talent in such regionally-named promotions as Karnival Karnage and Nightmare On The Northshore. He is best known for taking a fight on his wedding day and almost being selected for TUF 15. The fight with Healy will be the biggest opportunity of his career. Unfortunately, the booking officially drags Healy down to the Showtime Extreme portion of the “Marquardt vs. Saffiedine” card.

The only thing Healy is getting out of this is a much-needed paycheck. But the potential downside — suffering an upset loss to an unheralded up-and-comer on the prelims of a dying promotion — could cost Healy his ticket to the UFC. I’m not saying that’s likely to happen, and I really hope it doesn’t, because the man has suffered enough. But just the possibility of such a scenario should make Healy think twice about going through with this fight. It’s not exactly “lose-lose,” but there’s not a whole lot of “win” to be found.

So yes, maybe Pat comes down with a last-minute knee injury and has to withdraw from the fight. You might roll your eyes when it happens. But hell, we’d understand.

Crazy Enough to Be True: Ten Wild MMA Predictions for 2013


(You see, kids, this is why we don’t break the fourth rule of Project Mayhem. Photo via Complex)

By Jason Moles

As is customary, nay tradition, around these parts, we’re hitting the eggnog early and often this week — thus, the obligatory Top 10 list to close out another year in the world of mixed martial arts. It’s not all fluff, though: Last year we predicted a champion would test positive for a banned substance and Brock Lesnar would retire. Not bad, huh? So grab a seat while we break out the crystal ball and see what 2013 has in store for us.

1.) Showtime stays in the MMA biz, will announce deal with Invicta FC and others.

MMA is just too popular to completely wash your hands of. Showtime may finally be done with Strikeforce, but that only means they’re now free to partner up with the likes of all-female Invicta FC or the World Series of Fighting, both of which could be looking for more permanent homes after their early success in 2012. Don’t let the Invicta PPV news fool you; they can’t win that battle. No matter who inks the deal, expect Showtime to counter-program at least one UFC event.

2.) A Ronda Rousey loss brings about the swift execution of women’s MMA in the UFC.


(You see, kids, this is why we don’t break the fourth rule of Project Mayhem. Photo via Complex)

By Jason Moles

As is customary, nay tradition, around these parts, we’re hitting the eggnog early and often this week — thus, the obligatory Top 10 list to close out another year in the world of mixed martial arts. It’s not all fluff, though: Last year we predicted a champion would test positive for a banned substance and Brock Lesnar would retire. Not bad, huh? So grab a seat while we break out the crystal ball and see what 2013 has in store for us.

1.) Showtime stays in the MMA biz, will announce deal with Invicta FC and others.

MMA is just too popular to completely wash your hands of. Showtime may finally be done with Strikeforce, but that only means they’re now free to partner up with the likes of all-female Invicta FC or the World Series of Fighting, both of which could be looking for more permanent homes after their early success in 2012. Don’t let the Invicta PPV news fool you; they can’t win that battle. No matter who inks the deal, expect Showtime to counter-program at least one UFC event.

2.) A Ronda Rousey loss brings about the swift execution of women’s MMA in the UFC.

After amputating what’s her name in February, Rowdy will move on to calling out every woman possible who she knows cannot make 135 — especially Cyborg. In what comes as a major surprise to fight fans around the globe, Gina Carano accepts her open challenge (perfect timing to publicize her upcoming role in Fast 6) in late spring/early summer. “Conviction” TKO’s her way to victory then ships off to work on the chick version of The Expendables never to return to the cage. Dana White will be inconsolable but manages to release the handful of remaining women under Zuffa contract that don’t parade around in shorty shorts and a push-up bra.

3.) The Ultimate Fighter coaching curse ends in season 17. Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen will take place as scheduled — guaranteed.

Hear me out on this one. Just like you, the Injury Bug desperately wants to see this fight, either to see that fake-ass white boy Sonnen get savaged or to watch Jonny Bones get knocked down a peg or two.  That’s right, neither Jones nor Sonnen will become injured prior to their bout on April 27th. How can I guarantee something so outlandish? Suffice it to say we have our ways of getting things done.

4.) Dana White announces his retirement*.

A man can only go so hard for so long before his body tosses in the towel. Dana White’s battle with Meniere’s Disease combined with international travel will have finally caught up with MMA’s Moses. You’ll all kick yourself for not seeing this coming sooner. First it was a missed event, then it was two. Next thing you knew, DFW was running the broadcasts from his bunker in Vegas. During the breaking interview, Ariel Helwani will shower White with tremendous praise and wish him the best in his future endeavors while trying to keep a straight face on The MMA Hour because he was briefed on the regime change months ago. Helwani nose.

5.) An A-list celebrity tries his hand at MMA.

My sources cannot confirm, but the word on the street is that both CM Punk and Justin Bieber are looking to cash in on the MMA craze before the bubble bursts in 2014. ($%&@! I’ve said too much already.) You already know that Punk is a Gracie trained white belt, but did you know that the annoying little Bieber kid could throw down? Me either, at least not until I saw this. One guy is always one pipe bomb away from the unemployment line and the other, well… has the testosterone of Alistair Overeem at a random drug test, which means he’s constantly in a state of  “Come at me, bro!” These two savvy businessmen are too smart to leave money on the table so they nut up and get in the cage. But you can bet your last dollar “Biebs” won’t be fighting when the Octagon comes rolling into the Philippines.

*Announcement scheduled for 04/01/13.

Hit the “next page” link for even more Nostradumas-like predictions that will make us look like geniuses later…

Oh Snap! Caio Terra is “a Formidable Force at a Teenage Girls’ Pajama Party,” According to Cesar Gracie

We reacted the same way.

It wasn’t surprising to see Cesar Gracie fire Caio Terra for helping nemesis Carlos Condit, but it was sort of odd that Gracie had so little to say about it. Never one to shy away from calling someone out, it was strange to see Cesar post a half-assed rant on Facebook about the firing and be done with it. Fortunately, he was asked to address the firing on this week’s edition of The MMA Hour, and by the time he shows up on the show, he does not disappoint.

The segment started off with Areil Helwani asking some pretty standard questions about Nate Diaz’s upcoming title fight, but things get interesting when he plays Terra’s explanation for his decision to train Condit and then asks Gracie for a reaction. Believe it or not, Cesar Gracie does not threaten to slap Helwani for instigating fights, but instead opts to give an articulate response detailing the finer points of Caio Terra’s bitchassness. Via MMAFighting.com:

“He must be happy, because this is literally the most publicity he’s ever received. ” Gracie remarked. “He a jiu-jitsu guy, he doesn’t have any kind of MMA anything.”


We reacted the same way.

It wasn’t surprising to see Cesar Gracie fire Caio Terra for helping nemesis Carlos Condit, but it was sort of odd that Gracie had so little to say about it. Never one to shy away from calling someone out, it was strange to see Cesar post a half-assed rant on Facebook about the firing and be done with it. Fortunately, he was asked to address the firing on this week’s edition of The MMA Hour, and by the time he shows up on the show, he does not disappoint. 

The segment started off with Areil Helwani asking some pretty standard questions about Nate Diaz’s upcoming title fight, but things get interesting when he plays Terra’s explanation for his decision to train Condit and then asks Gracie for a reaction.  Believe it or not, Cesar Gracie does not threaten to slap Helwani for instigating fights, but instead opts to give an articulate response detailing the finer points of Caio Terra’s bitchassness. Via MMAFighting.com:

“He must be happy, because this is literally the most publicity he’s ever received. ” Gracie remarked. “He a jiu-jitsu guy, he doesn’t have any kind of MMA anything.”

“Being the champ at 125 (pounds) with the gi pretty much makes him a formidable force at a teenage girls’ pajama party, or something like that. It’s not a loss to us whatsoever in the MMA scene. Honestly, he’d never won anything before he came on our team, so he should be thankful. You know, people like that, they here come from Brazil, they’re a dime a dozen down there. Trust me. They’re all over the place, these little dudes running around and they’re pretty good at jiu-jitsu. He comes out here in what, 2007, 2008, something like that, and he’s won all his world championships since he’s been on the team. And his first opportunity, he goes and does something stupid like that.”

Gracie then attempts to explain his point to Helwani by using his favorite sports team in an analogy, and although the explanation works well in theory, the fact that Helwani’s favorite football team is the Buffalo Bills just makes everything come off as a cheap pop.

“You’re one of the owners of the Buffalo Bills, or whatever, and you find out the Buffalo Bills’ coach is going to another team to train them and give them the playbook. What happens to him? What does the Buffalo Bills’ owner do when he finds out one of his coaches is going to go do that? Guess what? He’s terminated. He’s immediately terminated and there’s not even a discussion.”

Clearly Cesar Gracie has not watched a Bills game since the early 1990s, but I digress.

Gracie also addresses the fact that most fighters – even his own fighters – temporarily train with different camps in order to switch things up.

“It doesn’t make us bad people, but we’ve got to terminate people like that. We want people that we can rely on. And honestly, I’ll be honest with you, this particular situation, it’s not something that I’m that upset about. If we wanted Condit to lose a fight, we would send him Caio Terra. I’ll tell you why, that’s not even a dig. Caio Terra doesn’t understand anything about MMA. He’s never done any training for it or anything. You can not win a fight with the IBJJ jiu-jitsu rules.

Condit would have done much better, he did great by the way, but he would’ve done much better had he just listened to his other coaches, (Mike) Winkeljohn and those guys, and not sat there and tried to set up some complex submission attempt from the bottom while he was getting punched in the face. That’s what lost him the fight, really.”

And just for good measure: 

“I heard [Terra say], ‘The Diaz brothers didn’t call me.’ It’s like, dude, what? Who are you? You’re promoting the Diaz’s and Jake Shields? No, they promoted you. They went on YouTube and helped you out with your videos. They did all this stuff for you to make a name for yourself. They taught you the leglock game because you were getting tapped out all the time when you got down here, and now you’re winning these tournaments and everything because of training with guys like the Diaz’s. And the first opportunity [you get], you give him a little bit of money, you put a camera in his face, the guy’s got like a Napoleon complex, and bam, all of a sudden it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m in the news. I’m with Ariel Helwani talking about it. Cesar’s pissed.’ I’ve turned the page, man. I’ve already replaced the guy. I’ve got better people in already. It’s nothing, so if we can get past [it], get over it, whatever, that’s it.”

To recap everything: Terra is a force to be reckoned with at a teenage girls’ pajama party, but he’s an easily replaceable coach who showed no loyalty to the gym that taught him the leglock game by training Condit – even though Condit lost because he was listening to Terra’s advice. Oh, and he also has a Napoleon complex.

Never change, Cesar Gracie. Never change.

[VIDEO] Chris Weidman Gives Us a Tour of His Long Island Home Post-Hurricane Sandy


(We can’t be the only ones seeing the metaphorical connection here, right?) 

Less than a week ago, Hurricane Sandy blew through the Northeast like the seventh plague of Egypt, leaving over 40,000 New Yorkers alone without a home to go back to. One of the people we originally reported to be among the homeless was UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman, whose house was “lost in the storm” according to a tweet sent out by UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader.

And although it turns out that the damage wasn’t as bad as we reported (his house is still standing for starters), it will still be weeks, if not months, before Weidman’s home is deemed livable again. Luckily for us, Weidman was generous enough to give MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani a tour of his home and the surrounding damage and even managed to capture some footage of his house as the storm was progressing. Pretty captivating stuff.

Video after the jump. 


(We can’t be the only ones seeing the metaphorical connection here, right?) 

Less than a week ago, Hurricane Sandy blew through the Northeast like the seventh plague of Egypt, leaving over 40,000 New Yorkers alone without a home to go back to. One of the people we originally reported to be among the homeless was UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman, whose house was “lost in the storm” according to a tweet sent out by UFC light heavyweight Ryan Bader.

And although it turns out that the damage wasn’t as bad as we reported (his house is still standing for starters), it will still be weeks, if not months, before Weidman’s home is deemed livable again. Luckily for us, Weidman was generous enough to give MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani a tour of his home and the surrounding damage and even managed to capture some footage of his house as the storm was progressing. Pretty captivating stuff.

Video after the jump. 

Being the impossibly nice guy that Weidman is, he makes sure to inform Helwani that he actually made out a lot better than many of his neighbors. In case he hadn’t nailed that point home, Weidman gives us a tour of the surrounding area (24:00), which looks like a cheesesteak cart post-Hurricane Christie [RIMSHOT]. And hey, Weidman even ended up with a free basketball hoop for his troubles. Like we said, dude’s blessed.

Strikeforce heavyweight Gian Villante makes an appearance around the 22 minute mark to lend his help (and his trousers) to his fellow Long Islander. But even then, Weidman just has to throw a jab out there about Villante claiming to be a “UFC fighter” when he’s still stuck in Strikeforce purgatory. Don’t worry, Gian, that tragedy will also be over soon.

Were any of you Taters hit hard by Sandy? Light up a stogie and tell us your war stories in the comments section.

–J. Jones