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[EXCLUSIVE] Bellator’s Joe Warren Talks Bellator 98 Health Scare, Getting Back to Fighting, and the Return of Olympic Wrestling

(Photo via Bellator)

Former Bellator champion Joe Warren was set to face Nick Kirk earlier this month at Bellator 98 in Connecticut before the state’s commission refused to allow him to fight. The exact reason was not given at the time but speculation from fans and members of the media as to why Warren was barred from fighting abounded.

Some wondered if Warren had tested positive for marijuana as he had during his competitive wrestling days. Even Bellator’s CEO Bjorn Rebney volunteered a theory – that Warren had been knocked out during his training camp and so was not being allowed to fight because of brain damage. Just two fights ago, of course, Warren was hurt badly in a KO loss to Pat Curran. That was his second straight KO loss.

Warren has since been cleared to fight in tonight’s Bellator event and he and Kirk will square off in this season’s bantamweight tournament. CagePotato visited with Warren as he cut weight Wednesday.

Not knowing how else to get into the matter with Warren as he stepped out of the sauna we simply had to ask, “What the heck happened?”

“A big mess happened,” Warren said.

“The Connecticut commission is stricter than most and I had a CT scan and MRI done leading up to the fight. I had three different doctors telling me different things. They didn’t read the images correctly and thought I had an abnormality on the image of my brain. One was telling me I had had a stroke, one was telling me I’d never fight again. Crazy stuff. Another said that I was fine. I was running around for weeks getting different tests done out of my own pocket, my family was scared. It was a huge ordeal.”

(Photo via Bellator)

By Elias Cepeda

Not knowing how else to get into the matter with Warren as he stepped out of the sauna we simply had to ask, “What the heck happened?”

“A big mess happened,” Warren said.

Given the brutal nature of Warren’s losses combined with his lifetime in combat sports and relatively advanced age, one could argue that CT scans and MRI imaging exams before each fight are great ideas. Warren insists that he is fine, however, and of course so does the Oregon commission overseeing his fight with Kirk tonight.

The fighter also says that he was not knocked out at any point during his most recent training camp, as was earlier reported. “I saw those things being written and it was just nuts,” he tells us.

“This whole camp has been focused on my not taking damage, actually. We’ve been very careful and safe and it has gone great.”

With all the confusion behind him, Warren has had scant time to focus on his opponent. The former world champion Greco-Roman wrestler has a lot of respect for his younger opponent and looks forward to just competing.

“He’s a tough, well-conditioned guy,” Warren says of Kirk.

“And, he’s a wrestler so you can never overlook him. I just want to go in there, lay hands on him and put him down. Beating Nick Kirk will get me a step closer to that belt again.”

One recent news item has made Warren particularly happy – The International Olympic Committee’s decision to once more include wrestling in the games. “Wrestling was the first Olympic sport,” he says.

“There might as well not be an Olympics without wrestling. When I was a kid, I dreamt of being in the Olympics. Wrestlers need that to work towards.”

Counterpoint: Signing UFC Washouts Has Significantly Boosted Bellator’s Ratings (Sort Of) (Maybe)

(If you think Bellator’s main carders are old, you obviously haven’t checked out their prelims in a while…)

After months of rolling our eyes while trying to make sense of Bellator’s new “sign pretty much anyone the UFC cuts and pray that it boosts our ratings” business model, the ratings for Bellator 99 – the promotion’s first show as The MMA Senior Circuit – are finally in.

The show drew in 660,000 viewers, which is fairly impressive on its own, but even more so next to the 437,000 viewers that Bellator 98 drew in. Also significant, Bellator 99’s main event featuring Patricio Pitbull and UFC also-ran Diego Nunes hit a high point of 809,000 viewers, as opposed to the 595,000 viewers that Fight of the Year candidate Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brett Cooper managed to attract.

Now, how you chose to interpret these numbers depends entirely on who you feel like being cynical towards this afternoon.

(If you think Bellator’s main carders are old, you obviously haven’t checked out their prelims in a while…)

The show drew in 660,000 viewers, which is fairly impressive on its own, but even more so next to the 437,000 viewers that Bellator 98 drew in. Also significant, Bellator 99′s main event featuring Patricio Pitbull and UFC also-ran Diego Nunes hit a high point of 809,000 viewers, as opposed to the 595,000 viewers that Fight of the Year candidate Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brett Cooper managed to attract.

Now, how you chose to interpret these numbers depends entirely on who you feel like being cynical towards this afternoon.

– On one hand, you can view the ratings boost as a sign that UFC veterans like Vladimir Matyushenko and Houston Alexander – despite being well past their sell-by dates – can still draw in the casual MMA fans, simply because they’re guys that the casual fans have actually heard of. You can’t have two nobodies headline an event and then act surprised when the casual fans don’t tune in – even if said nobodies are two of the best non-Zuffa middleweights on the planet. Perhaps the same way that signing David Beckham caused casual sports fans to take Major League Soccer seriously, the UFC castoffs will get causal MMA fans to consider Bellator a worthy alternative to the UFC. Make that we as human beings value name recognition more than talent and potential whatever you will.

– On the other hand, if you only feel like being cynical towards Bellator instead of humanity in general, you can point out that Bellator 99 didn’t have nearly as much competition as Bellator 98 did. Bellator 98 had to compete against NCAA Football and NASCAR (don’t laugh, it’s true) for the casual sports fans’ attention. With that in mind, can we really pin Bellator’s improved ratings on Diego “I once lost to KenFlo you remember that right?” Nunes?

It’ll be interesting to track how guys like Cheick Kongo, John Alessio and Paul Sass move the needle for Bellator, but until then, what do you think affected Bellator’s ratings more?

@SethFalvo

[VIDEO] Fight of the Day: Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brett Cooper from Bellator 98

(Enjoy it while it lasts.)

Say what you will about Bellator’s recent free agent acquisitions, but let’s not deny that the promotion can provide some great scraps. Exhibit A: Last night’s card was headlined by a middleweight title fight between Alexander Shlemenko and Brett Cooper – an injury replacement for the resurgent Doug Marshall who previously fought Shlemenko at Bellator 44.

But while their initial fight was forgettable, their rematch last night provided a legitimate Fight of the Year candidate. Both fighters landed hard shots early and often, and continued this trend for the duration of the five round bout. It was a close, bloody fight, but in the end, Shlemenko retained his title with a unanimous decision victory.

Elsewhere on the card, “The Arm Collector” retired after being knocked out by Jason Butcher, Mikkel Parlo beat Brian Rogers and Derek Anderson upset Patricky Pitbull, if that’s what you’re into.

(Enjoy it while it lasts.)

Main card
Alexander Shlemenko def. Brett Cooper via unanimous decision
Mikkel Parlo def. Brian Rogers via unanimous decision
Jason Butcher def. Giva Santana via TKO, 1:12 of Round Two
Brennan Ward def. Justin Torrey via TKO, 3:28 of Round Two
Perry Filkins def. Jeremy Kimball via submission (rear-naked choke), 4:18 of Round Three
Derek Anderson def. Patricky Pitbull via unanimous decision

Undercard
Jeff Nader vs. Mike Mucitelli ruled no-contest (accidental eye poke)
Ryan Quinn def. Brylan Van Artsdalen via submission (arm triangle), 2:34 of Round One
Matt Bessette def. Nick Piedmont via TKO, 1:41 of Round One
Rico DiSciullo def. Glenn Allair via KO, 1:21 of Round One
Josh Diekman def. Parker Porter via TKO, 1:12 of Round One

@SethFalvo

Joe Warren Deemed “Medically Unfit” for Bellator 98 Tomorrow, So Let’s Speculate Why

(Joe Warren: Former Bellator champion, Fight Master Coach, Unconscious Nazi.)

I know, I know, we already agreed to stop caring about Bellator, but hear us out for a second. For reasons that have not yet been divulged, Joe Warren has been deemed medically unfit to compete at tomorrow’s Bellator 98 event. Said Bjorn Rebney:

I’ve been fortunate to work with one of the best commissioners in the sport in Mike Mazzulli, and after carefully reviewing Joe’s medical documents, everyone agreed to err on the side of caution with the goal of ensuring our fighters safety.

It was determined Joe would be unable to compete this Saturday at Mohegan Sun. Joe’s been with us since the beginning and as is the case with every fighter here, it’s incumbent on me to ensure Joe is 100% healthy and medically cleared to fight before he steps into the Bellator cage.

While this is an interesting development in and of itself, it only becomes more intriguing when you consider that Warren was deemed unfit by the Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation. As Old Dad said, “It’s not a good sign if an Indian casino won’t clear you to fight,” so let’s use this time to speculate as to why Warren wasn’t cleared to fight, shall we?

(Joe Warren: Former Bellator champion, Fight Master Coach, Unconscious Nazi.)

I’ve been fortunate to work with one of the best commissioners in the sport in Mike Mazzulli, and after carefully reviewing Joe’s medical documents, everyone agreed to err on the side of caution with the goal of ensuring our fighters safety.

It was determined Joe would be unable to compete this Saturday at Mohegan Sun. Joe’s been with us since the beginning and as is the case with every fighter here, it’s incumbent on me to ensure Joe is 100% healthy and medically cleared to fight before he steps into the Bellator cage.

Conspiracy Theory #1: Obviously, this is just a transparent ploy by Bellator to move one of their more popular fighters (and the only Fight Master coach currently competing in MMA) to their pay-per-view card in November. Obviously. The same goes for Joe “Diesel” Riggs, who was forced to pull out of his Fight Master Finals bout with Mike Bronzoulis (also scheduled for Bellator 98) due to an “eye injury.” That photo he posted to prove he wasn’t faking? Obvious shop job.

Conspiracy Theory #2: Joe Warren currently has the testosterone of 30 men (or 1 DREAM-era Alistair Overeem) flowing through his veins.

Conspiracy Theory #3: Joe Warren now suffers from chronic vertigo on account of the beating he suffered at the hands of Pat Curran last March.

If you think Warren’s removal from the card could be the result of something other than the options we’ve laid before you (Hint: It isn’t), let us know in the comments section.

–J. Jones

Bellator Signs UFC Vet Houston Alexander to Fight Vladimir Matyushenko at Bellator 99

(Future Bellator title fight? Photo via Sherdog)

September 13th’s Bellator 99 card was supposed to feature Vladmir Matyushenko’s promotional debut against former Bellator light-heavyweight champ Christian M’Pumbu, but a hand injury has forced M’Pumbu off the card. Stepping in to replace him against the Janitor is Houston Alexander, the ex-UFC brawler whose brief stint in the Octagon ended in one of the saddest fights of all time.

If this match was booked in 2007, it would be awesome. Back then, Matyushenko was dominating everybody in his path while competing for the IFL, while Alexander was establishing himself as a dangerous force in the UFC, knocking out Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara in short order, before suffering his first loss to Thiago Silva.

Six years later, they’re both struggling to remain somewhat relevant. Matyushenko recently bounced out of the UFC after suffering back-to-back first-round losses against Alexander Gustafsson and Ryan Bader, while Houston Alexander has been rebuilding himself in the Nebraska-based Victory Fighting Championship, where he won two fights this year and became the promotion’s light-heavyweight champion last month with a knockout of Chuck Grigsby. Alexander’s post-UFC record is 6-4 with one no-contest.

As a short-notice replacement, Bellator could have done worse than Houston Alexander. But BloodyElbow passes along an alarming trend…

(Future Bellator title fight? Photo via Sherdog)

As a short-notice replacement, Bellator could have done worse than Houston Alexander. But BloodyElbow passes along an alarming trend…

Instead of talking about the new fight, let’s have a look at the age of Bellator’s recent lightweight and light heavyweight signings:

Quinton Jackson – 35 years old
Tito Ortiz – 38 years old
Houston Alexander – 41 years old
Vladimir Matyushenko – 42 years old
Marcus Davis – 39 years old (will be 40 this week)
John Alessio – 34 years old

By the end of this week Bellator will have recently signed 3 fighters aged at least 40, as well as Rampage and Tito who are headlining their November PPV. John Alessio is the youngest of that group at 34, but he’s been competing since 1998, is winless in his last 3, and is the only fighter in UFC history to sport an 0-5 record with the promotion.

So instead of developing new talent, Bellator is squeezing the last drops of juice out of aging UFC washouts. It’s a new direction for the company, likely spurred by the new corporate overlords at Viacom, who want recognizable names on their broadcasts by any means necessary.

That’s not a bad strategy in theory. I’ve always felt that one of the things holding Bellator back is that so many of its events lack big-name headliners; good luck drawing casual fans when M’Pumbu vs. Vegh is your marquee fight. The problem isn’t that Bellator is picking up the UFC’s leftovers, it’s that the ex-UFC fighters they’re picking up are all carrying the stench of failure. John Alessio is arguably the worst UFC fighter of all time. Houston Alexander couldn’t handle Kimbo Slice. Tito Ortiz should be retired now, not gearing up for a comeback. But now they’ll all be bangin’ on Spike TV, making viewers wonder if they’ve stumbled upon an old episode of UFC Unleashed.

The results will speak for themselves, one way or the other. If Bellator can boost its TV ratings with a bunch of UFC refugees on the roster, then it will all be worth it. Luckily, Bellator 99 will be headlined by a featherweight battle featuring at least one home-grown star in Patricio Freire. His opponent will be Diego Nunes, who was released by the UFC earlier this year. It is what it is.