It may not have been the most hyped mixed martial arts (MMA) event of 2016, but last night’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, delivered a heavy-hitting mix of great fights and finishes that earned it a deserving recognition as a very solid under-the-radar event.
It may not have been the most hyped mixed martial arts (MMA) event of 2016, but last night’s (Sunday, February 21, 2016) UFC Fight Night 83 from the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, delivered a heavy-hitting mix of great fights and finishes that earned it a deserving recognition as a very solid under-the-radar event.
There was a great women’s bout between Lauren Murphy and Kelly Faszholz that earned ‘Fight of the Night’ on the Fight Pass prelims, while the fight right after it between Ashlee Evans-Smith and Marion Reneau resulted in yet another MMA scoring controversy that only furthered the backlash towards the scoring system in place and the judges present in Pittsburgh that made some head-scratching errors.
There was also the continued rises of a few strong up-and-coming stars, and another return of sorts as recent lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone returned to winning ways with an impressive first round submission of late replacement Alex Oliveira. All in all, it was a strong card that continued the UFC’s strong recent efforts and will continue promotional momentum into the absolutely blockbuster events scheduled for two weeks to come.
Let’s take a look back at the five biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 83.
The meeting was not without it’s fair share of actual, noteworthy highlights, however, so let’s get to them…
– If you recall, Jake Shields fought Ed Herman in a middleweight contest at UFC 150 back in 2012, emerging victorious via unanimous decision. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Shields had tested positive for a banned substance, resulting in a $5,675 fine and his win being overturned. What Shields tested positive for exactly remained a mystery until yesterday’s meeting, when in the process of applying for a fight license for his upcoming WSOF 17 main event fight with Brian Foster, Shields admitted to using diuretics, not Mary Jane as we had suspected, prior to UFC 150. (via MMAFighting):
Shields said he was given the diuretics in 2012 by someone he knew from fighting, but not a fellow fighter. He said it was someone he didn’t know very well and called it a “mistake.”
“I learn from my mistakes,” Shields said. “I’d like to think that, at least. I’m not one to go through what I went through before.”
“I didn’t know it was banned, but it was my fault,” he said. “It was my responsibility.”
(Oddly enough, Shields was much more compliant during yesterday’s hearing. via Combat Lifestyle)
The meeting was not without it’s fair share of actual, noteworthy highlights, however, so let’s get to them…
– If you recall, Jake Shields fought Ed Herman in a middleweight contest at UFC 150 back in 2012, emerging victorious via unanimous decision. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Shields had tested positive for a banned substance, resulting in a $5,675 fine and his win being overturned. What Shields tested positive for exactly remained a mystery until yesterday’s meeting, when in the process of applying for a fight license for his upcoming WSOF 17 main event fight with Brian Foster, Shields admitted to using diuretics, not Mary Jane as we had suspected, prior to UFC 150. (via MMAFighting):
Shields said he was given the diuretics in 2012 by someone he knew from fighting, but not a fellow fighter. He said it was someone he didn’t know very well and called it a “mistake.”
“I learn from my mistakes,” Shields said. “I’d like to think that, at least. I’m not one to go through what I went through before.”
“I didn’t know it was banned, but it was my fault,” he said. “It was my responsibility.”
-Speaking of diuretics, Ashlee Evans-Smith’s recent positive test for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (or as her manager called it, “flowers and sh*t”) was also addressed by the committee yesterday. Evans-Smith was handed “a temporary suspension pending a full disciplinary hearing” and opted against contesting the ruling. Her manager, on the other hand, had less than kind things to say.
It’s not performance-enhancing or anything. I don’t understand why they’re talking about her doing diuretics, but Jon Jones did cocaine and nothing is happening to him. Cocaine is okay because it’s out of competition? He was in training camp.
– Finally, the Nevada State Athletic Commission handed out 9 month suspensions to Bellator heavyweight James Wilson and WSOF lightweight Bryson Gutches. The former pissed hot for nandrolone metabolite and was fined 33 percent of his $2,500 purse (LOL!). The latter tested positive for the diuretic furosemide, and the resulting fine is equal parts hilarious and depressing. (via MMAJunkie):
Gutches was paid $1,000 in “show” money for the contest, as well as $1,000 for his win bonus. The NSAC elected to fine him the entirety of the win bonus, as well as 20 percent (or $200) of his win bonus, amounting to a total fine of $1,200.
(“I’ll ask you one final time, Ashlee, HAVE. YOU. MOVED. TO METRO?” Photo via Getty.)
Perhaps the biggest problem with the UFC’s current expansion rate — you know, other than the watered-down cards, the recycled marketing gimmicks, and the spreading of those watered-down cards across 5 different platforms — is how often their “event a week” schedule almost inherently undermines the legitimacy of their product. With so many cards to fill a year, the UFC needs every last fighter on their roster to stay healthy in order to keep things afloat, and when a fighter inevitably gets injured, the promotion is forced to hire an outside gun — often on short notice — whom they expect to not only make weight and put on a show, but do so without any…how do I put this…”help.” All for a glorious 8k/8k paycheck if they’re lucky.
Case in point: Ashlee Evans-Smith, who was called up to the UFC on less than a month’s notice to face Raquel Pennington at UFC 181 after Holly Holm went down with an injury. Having not fought since July, the task of making weight in such a short time would be a difficult one for Smith (especially if she wasn’t training), but a concern worth turning down the biggest fight of her young career? NOT UNLESS YOU’RE LOOKING TO GET BLACKBALLED, SWEETHEART.
So Evans-Smith accepted the fight and was able to make weight for her debut (which sadly ended in heartbreak/near decapitation), but surprise surprise, it looks like she might have needed a little of the aforementioned help in order to do so…
(“I’ll ask you one final time, Ashlee, HAVE. YOU. MOVED. TO METRO?” Photo via Getty.)
Perhaps the biggest problem with the UFC’s current expansion rate — you know, other than the watered-down cards, the recycled marketing gimmicks, and the spreading of those watered-down cards across 5 different platforms — is how often their “event a week” schedule almost inherently undermines the legitimacy of their product. With so many cards to fill a year, the UFC needs every last fighter on their roster to stay healthy in order to keep things afloat, and when a fighter inevitably gets injured, the promotion is forced to hire an outside gun — often on short notice — whom they expect to not only make weight and put on a show, but do so without any…how do I put this…”help.” All for a glorious 8k/8k paycheck if they’re lucky.
Case in point: Ashlee Evans-Smith, who was called up to the UFC on less than a month’s notice to face Raquel Pennington at UFC 181 after Holly Holm went down with an injury. Having not fought since July, the task of making weight in such a short time would be a difficult one for Smith (especially if she wasn’t training), but a concern worth turning down the biggest fight of her young career? NOT UNLESS YOU’RE LOOKING TO GET BLACKBALLED, SWEETHEART.
So Evans-Smith accepted the fight and was able to make weight for her debut (which sadly ended in heartbreak/near decapitation), but surprise surprise, it looks like she might have needed a little of the aforementioned help in order to do so.
According to MMAJunkie, Smith’s tested positive for “diuretics” following her loss to Pennington and will now face up to a six-month suspension when NSAC meets next week. Not that the Nevada State Athletic Commission has bothered to inform her or her camp of this:
Manager Mike McLeish first learned that his client, Ashlee Evans-Smith (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), had failed a drug test when a UFC executive called him.
McLeish was told Evans-Smith faced a six-month suspension and needed to assemble a list of supplements to present to the commission, which would be calling him shortly.
That call never came, he said Tuesday night. He said neither he or Evans-Smith have received any written notice of a rule violation. Yet Evans-Smith showed up on an agenda for an NSAC meeting scheduled next week in Las Vegas.
But even crazier than NSAC’s inability to take a piss without dribbling on its shoes is the explanation Evans-Smith’s manager gave for her positive test:
She takes flowers, weird sh-t. It could possibly be that.
Wow. If you ever wanted proof that literally anyone can become an MMA manager, look no further than this grade-A defense (see also: Kogan, M.).
While looking over Evans-Smith’s case, I am oddly reminded of Kevin Casey, another fighter who was called up to the UFC on short notice, only to be popped for steroids following his victory at UFC 175. It’s almost as if the UFC is expanding at a rate at which their roster cannot support. Weird. In any case, I look forward to hearing how proud the UFC is of Evans-Smith once she checks into rehab for flower addiction.
If Evans-Smith’s name sounds vaguely familiar, there’s a reason for that. Carrying a 3-0 professional record, Evans-Smith is best known as the woman responsible for giving transgendered fighter Fallon Fox her only loss, via third-round TKO last October. Evans-Smith also got destroyed by Veronica Rothenhausler in five seconds during an amateur bout in July 2012.
From a competitive standpoint, Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Raquel Pennington is actually a more compelling fight than Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington, which seemed like an obvious mismatch designed to put Holm over. I don’t know…I’m just trying to find a silver lining here. UFC.com currently lists Evans-Smith vs. Pennington as a part of the UFC 181 prelims broadcast on FOX Sports 1. A heavyweight bout between Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton has been moved up to the main card in the wake of Holly Holm’s withdrawal.
If Evans-Smith’s name sounds vaguely familiar, there’s a reason for that. Carrying a 3-0 professional record, Evans-Smith is best known as the woman responsible for giving transgendered fighter Fallon Fox her only loss, via third-round TKO last October. Evans-Smith also got destroyed by Veronica Rothenhausler in five seconds during an amateur bout in July 2012.
From a competitive standpoint, Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Raquel Pennington is actually a more compelling fight than Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington, which seemed like an obvious mismatch designed to put Holm over. I don’t know…I’m just trying to find a silver lining here. UFC.com currently lists Evans-Smith vs. Pennington as a part of the UFC 181 prelims broadcast on FOX Sports 1. A heavyweight bout between Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton has been moved up to the main card in the wake of Holly Holm’s withdrawal.
