Tag: Boston

John Howard Once Broke Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s Nose During Sparring Session, Regrets Not Hurting Him Worse [COOL STORY BRO]


(Two years after this fight, Dennis Hallman would show up to UFC 133 wearing baby-blue man-panties. Crazy. It’s like everybody John Howard meets turns into one of humanity’s greatest villains. / Photo via Sherdog)

John Howard is the former UFC fighter best known for knocking out Dennis Hallman and Daniel Roberts, and getting his eye blown up by Jake Ellenberger. Tamerlan Tsarnaev is the thankfully-dead Boston Marathon bombing mastermind who was formerly a regular at Wai Kru MMA in Boston, where he trained as a boxer. As “Doomsday” explained during an appearance on Sherdog’s Beatdown radio show on Monday, Howard and Tsarnaev were occasional training partners at the gym, which didn’t work out so well for the future murderer:

“The reason why he trained at my gym was because he was a good boxer. He wanted a good sparring partner, and most gyms he went to, a lot of guys couldn’t hang with his boxing. He was beating guys up. The reason why he came to Wai Kru was because you had me as a UFC fighter and you had other good strikers there who weren’t scared to take a beating or give one. That’s how I knew him.

“One day we was sparring and it got a little too physical. Me being an MMA fighter and him being a boxer, it was like a little rivalry thing and we were boxing and we kind of went kind of hard one time. I give him credit. He was a good boxer, but because of the power I possess, I could put anybody down, I believe. What happened was, he got a little cocky. He was touching me up. He was getting the best of me. We went at it, and I caught him with my left hook, my famous left hook, and broke his nose. When I broke his nose, he covered his face. His body was open, so I turned my angle and I hit him with a body shot — with my right hand, a body shot, and I dropped him. That was the end of the sparring match…


(Two years after this fight, Dennis Hallman would show up to UFC 133 wearing baby-blue man-panties. Crazy. It’s like everybody John Howard meets turns into one of humanity’s greatest villains. / Photo via Sherdog)

John Howard is the former UFC fighter best known for knocking out Dennis Hallman and Daniel Roberts, and getting his eye blown up by Jake Ellenberger. Tamerlan Tsarnaev is the thankfully-dead Boston Marathon bombing mastermind who was formerly a regular at Wai Kru MMA in Boston, where he trained as a boxer. As “Doomsday” explained during an appearance on Sherdog’s Beatdown radio show on Monday, Howard and Tsarnaev were occasional training partners at the gym, which didn’t work out so well for the future murderer:

“The reason why he trained at my gym was because he was a good boxer. He wanted a good sparring partner, and most gyms he went to, a lot of guys couldn’t hang with his boxing. He was beating guys up. The reason why he came to Wai Kru was because you had me as a UFC fighter and you had other good strikers there who weren’t scared to take a beating or give one. That’s how I knew him.

“One day we was sparring and it got a little too physical. Me being an MMA fighter and him being a boxer, it was like a little rivalry thing and we were boxing and we kind of went kind of hard one time. I give him credit. He was a good boxer, but because of the power I possess, I could put anybody down, I believe. What happened was, he got a little cocky. He was touching me up. He was getting the best of me. We went at it, and I caught him with my left hook, my famous left hook, and broke his nose. When I broke his nose, he covered his face. His body was open, so I turned my angle and I hit him with a body shot — with my right hand, a body shot, and I dropped him. That was the end of the sparring match…

I did feel kind of bad. I was like, ‘Man, I went too far.’ But ever since the tragedy happened, I don’t feel bad. The only thing I regret is I didn’t keep hitting him and choke him out and put him out of his misery.”

Since being released by the UFC in June 2011 following a three-fight losing streak, Howard has gone 6-0, competing mostly in Rhode Island for the CES MMA promotion, where he is currently the middleweight champion. Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s brother Dzhokar is currently awaiting trial while proclaiming his innocence.

UFC on FS1 1: Did the UFC Deliver with First Fox Sports 1 Fight Card?

As an avid MMA fanatic who currently resides in Boston, admittedly, I was initially a bit disappointed by the fight card that the UFC announced it will be bringing to the Hub for its Fox Sports 1 debut on August 17.Maybe it was all the talk about the p…

As an avid MMA fanatic who currently resides in Boston, admittedly, I was initially a bit disappointed by the fight card that the UFC announced it will be bringing to the Hub for its Fox Sports 1 debut on August 17.

Maybe it was all the talk about the possibility of a champ like Jon Jones or Benson Henderson getting the nod to headline the summer event at the TD Garden—or perhaps it was just me acting as a spoiled fan—but I was expecting more from these bouts, especially after UFC president Dana White said that it would be “the biggest card on free television that we’ve ever done.”

Although the line-up features a plethora of former Zuffa title holders and TUF alums, the fact that eight of the 12 main card fighters are coming into this event off of losses made me feel uneasy about the promotion’s kick-off on FS1 this summer.

But once my fan-boy side simmered down and I took the time to reevaluate the fights, I am now actually pretty pumped for the UFC’s next trip to Boston.

Like really, super pumped.

True, many of the athletes on the main card have seen their stock fall in recent months due to losses, but it’s not like they are coming in with Leonard Garcia-style losing streaks. In fact, if this line-up had been announced just a few months prior, critics and fans alike would be praising the promotion for putting together such a stacked event.

However, there always seems to be a “what have you done for me lately” mentality with us fickle MMA enthusiasts.

For example, headliners Chael Sonnen and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua may be a combined 4-5 over the past three years, but each of those defeats—and even most of the wins—have come against the best of the best in their respective divisions.

There’s a difference between having back-to-back losses against the likes of Jon Jones and Anderson Silva and having back-to-back losses to middle of the pack fighters, so maybe we should cut the main eventers a little bit of slack.

The same goes for the night’s co-main event.

Every MMA fan and their mother was excited to see Alistair Overeem finally grace the Octagon in December of 2011. But after one unexpected, yet brutal, knockout loss—and let’s not forget his positive drug test prior to UFC 146—”The Reem” has lost a ton of support.

Think what you will of the Dutch striker, but his recent misfortunes shouldn’t completely dissuade viewers from tuning in. Before fans completely write him off, we should give Overeem a chance to see if he can get back to his glory days, like when he was putting people to sleep as the K-1 and Strikeforce heavyweight champ.

As for the card as a whole, critics need to consider that there is a former UFC champ, a former Strikeforce champ, two former WEC champs, a TUF winner and plenty of TUF alums that will be fighting in Boston—not to mention one of the sport’s best trash-talkers, as well as a certain budding Irish prospect.

With names like Sonnen, Overeem, Conor McGregor, Urijah Faber and more set to do battle at the TD Garden, on paper, this card could rival most of the UFC’s recent pay-per-views.

For me, the only true gripe I have with this event is the lack of featured local talent.

Sure, Boston-area native Joe Lauzon and Irishman McGregor will be on the card, but that’s about it. I would love to see Team Link’s Gabriel Gonzaga of Ludlow, MA be featured at this show, or even the UFC return of Dorchester’s own John Howard.

But, even without featuring a lot of hometown fighters, this card is still quite stacked for a free, televised event.

Sure, fans may be a bit weary since many of the fighters are coming into the summer event following losses, but that should make fans even more excited because athletes almost always do their best when their backs are against the wall. And, if these fighters want to stay employed by the UFC, you can bet that they are going to bring their all on August 17.

Not to mention one of the sport’s best trash-talkers, as well as a certain budding Irish prospect.

 

Be sure to like Matt on Facebook and follow @MattchidaMMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Mike Brown vs. Akira Corassani Added to First UFC on Fox Sports 1 Card in Boston

Former WEC champion Mike Brown is returning for a featherweight bout at UFC on Fox Sports 1-1, where he’ll face Akira Corassani on August 17.That news was made official by the UFC on Friday (via Twitter) during a torrent of announcements for upcom…

Former WEC champion Mike Brown is returning for a featherweight bout at UFC on Fox Sports 1-1, where he’ll face Akira Corassani on August 17.

That news was made official by the UFC on Friday (via Twitter) during a torrent of announcements for upcoming fight cards.

Both men are looking to continue hard-fought winning streaks in their divisions, with Brown heading back into action more than a year after his last outing at UFC 146.

During the past couple of years, Brown has suffered from a string of injuries that have hindered his training and general health, including a torn ligament in his left hand (via MMA Fighting) and a knee injury that sidelined him from UFC on FX 1.

Brown had briefly considered retirement from MMA after a win against Daniel Pineda but instead signed a new five-fight UFC contract.

Corassani hasn’t been that much more active in comparison to his opponent, having fought only once a year so far since February 2011.

But this most recent fight announcement will give the Ultimate Fighter alumnus a relatively quick turnaround at just under five months—his most recent bout at UFC Sweden 2 (also known as UFC on Fuel TV 9) ended in a stellar unanimous-decision victory over Robbie Peralta.

Neither fighter is currently included in the official UFC rankings at featherweight, but the presence of Conor McGregor vs. Andy Ogle on the same card may determine some future matchmaking potential after the night is over.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Uriah Hall Draws Nick Ring at UFC on Fox Sports 1 in Boston

Following an impressive run of knockouts on The Ultimate Fighter Season 18, Uriah Hall will try to rebound from a loss in the finale when he returns to action at UFC on Fox Sports 1 on August 17 in Boston. Hall will square off with fellow Ultimate Fighter alum Nick Ring in a battle of […]

Following an impressive run of knockouts on The Ultimate Fighter Season 18, Uriah Hall will try to rebound from a loss in the finale when he returns to action at UFC on Fox Sports 1 on August 17 in Boston. Hall will square off with fellow Ultimate Fighter alum Nick Ring in a battle of […]

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Does UFC Want Jon Jones for UFC on Fox Sports in Boston or UFC 164 in Milwaukee?

When you hear the name Jon Jones these days, one of the first things that comes to mind is a horrific visual of the nasty toe injury he suffered in his fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159. The light heavyweight champion has been mostly laying low sin…

When you hear the name Jon Jones these days, one of the first things that comes to mind is a horrific visual of the nasty toe injury he suffered in his fight against Chael Sonnen at UFC 159. The light heavyweight champion has been mostly laying low since then. He took a trip to Russia […]

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UFC on Fox Sports 1-1: Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne Confirmed for Aug. 17

Update: Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne is apparently a done deal, with the UFC reposting MMA Junkie’s report on its official Twitter feed:RT: @mmajunkie: Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne set as UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 non-headliner dlvr.it/3PrtgN v…

Update: Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne is apparently a done deal, with the UFC reposting MMA Junkie’s report on its official Twitter feed:

Travis Browne is taking a huge step up in competition at UFC on Fox Sports 1-1, where he’s expected to face Alistair Overeem in Boston’s TD Garden.

MMA Junkie reports that “The Demolition Man” will be returning to the Octagon on August 17, where he’ll look to rebound from a shocking TKO defeat suffered during UFC 156 at the hands of current UFC title contender Antonio Silva.

According to MMA Junkie, UFC president Dana White has also stated that Overeem vs. Browne won’t be the main event bout.

That leaves the rest of the main card (and the preliminary bouts) yet to be filled, although UFC president Dana White has promised MMA fans that the event will be “the best television card” the UFC has ever done (via MMA Weekly).

MMA Junkie had previously reported that Overeem would likely be returning to action at UFC 164 on August 31, although that plan has obviously changed in order to continue filling the very first event for the newly established Fox Sports 1 channel.

As it stands, here’s how the UFC on Fox Sports 1-1 lineup looks so far:

• Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne
• Matt Brown vs. Thiago Alves
• Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson

Browne is coming off a win in his last UFC outing, where he scored a “Knockout of the Night” victory against Gabriel Gonzaga at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.

However, the Greg Jackson’s MMA fighter isn’t too far removed from his own loss against “Bigfoot” Silva earlier in October 2012, where Browne was dealt his first MMA career loss via first-round TKO during UFC on FX 5.

It’s not known if this bout has any title implications, although Browne stands to make a significant leap up the official UFC rankings should he win.

Currently, former Strikeforce and DREAM champion Overeem still hovers in title talks, where he’s ranked as the No. 5 heavyweight in the UFC via a collective panel of media votes—while Browne is the No. 10 fighter in the division.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com