Tag: brawls

UFC Releases Obligatory Hand-Wringing Statement About Jones/Cormier Brawl, Posts Totally Awesome Official Video on Its YouTube Channel

(The UFC is shocked and appalled by the number of views this video is getting. [tee hee!] Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about yesterday’s Jon Jones/Daniel Cormier media day brawl, and my basic feeling is this: While I’m sure that the incident wasn’t “staged” in the sense that it was planned or rehearsed beforehand, it’s an inevitable result of the unique situation that these superstar fighters find themselves in. Basically, this is what happens when two alpha males who genuinely dislike each other have absolutely no financial incentive to behave themselves.

Jones and Cormier have been around the game long enough to understand that a wild melee at a press appearance generates the kind of heat that will draw more interest to their fight. Considering that Jones is a UFC champion who gets a cut of his fights’ pay-per-view revenue, this sort of thing directly puts money in his pocket, as it creates more buyers for the product. Whatever fines the NSAC decides to levy upon them will be more than offset by the increase in cash — directly or indirectly — that Jones and Cormier will see because of this incident.

And besides, we’re not talking about a mid-level roster dweller who the UFC can easily cut loose to make a point that unprofessional behavior won’t be tolerated. Jones and Cormier run zero risk of losing their jobs or getting suspended. Their light-heavyweight title fight is already scheduled to headline a gigantic PPV in Las Vegas less than two months from now, and Nevada would lose out on a truckload of money if the fight was canceled. Do you really think the NSAC would shoot itself in the foot by jeopardizing that? In this particular situation, Jones and Cormier were untouchable — and deep down, I think they knew that.

This, of course, puts the UFC in a tricky position. When two of its most elite fighters are caught on camera throwing hands at a casino — knocking over a poor, defenseless PR stiff in the process, and hitting a lady in the face with a shoe — it makes the promotion look really bad. And yet, in 20 seconds, Jones and Cormier just promoted their fight better than any amount of generic video promos and late-night talk show appearances ever could.

On that note, here’s the closest thing to an official statement that the UFC has released so far, which was posted yesterday on UFC.com:


(The UFC is shocked and appalled by the number of views this video is getting. [tee hee!] Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about yesterday’s Jon Jones/Daniel Cormier media day brawl, and my basic feeling is this: While I’m sure that the incident wasn’t “staged” in the sense that it was planned or rehearsed beforehand, it’s an inevitable result of the unique situation that these superstar fighters find themselves in. Basically, this is what happens when two alpha males who genuinely dislike each other have absolutely no financial incentive to behave themselves.

Jones and Cormier have been around the game long enough to understand that a wild melee at a press appearance generates the kind of heat that will draw more interest to their fight. Considering that Jones is a UFC champion who gets a cut of his fights’ pay-per-view revenue, this sort of thing directly puts money in his pocket, as it creates more buyers for the product. Whatever fines the NSAC decides to levy upon them will be more than offset by the increase in cash — directly or indirectly — that Jones and Cormier will see because of this incident.

And besides, we’re not talking about a mid-level roster dweller who the UFC can easily cut loose to make a point that unprofessional behavior won’t be tolerated. Jones and Cormier run zero risk of losing their jobs or getting suspended. Their light-heavyweight title fight is already scheduled to headline a gigantic PPV in Las Vegas less than two months from now, and Nevada would lose out on a truckload of money if the fight was canceled. Do you really think the NSAC would shoot itself in the foot by jeopardizing that? In this particular situation, Jones and Cormier were untouchable — and deep down, I think they knew that.

This, of course, puts the UFC in a tricky position. When two of its most elite fighters are caught on camera throwing hands at a casino — knocking over a poor, defenseless PR stiff in the process, and hitting a lady in the face with a shoe — it makes the promotion look really bad. And yet, in 20 seconds, Jones and Cormier just promoted their fight better than any amount of generic video promos and late-night talk show appearances ever could.

On that note, here’s the closest thing to an official statement that the UFC has released so far, which was posted yesterday on UFC.com:

The big news out of Las Vegas Monday afternoon was the brawl that broke out at the MGM Grand between UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his challenger in the UFC 178 main event, Daniel Cormier, during the kickoff press conference for the event.

And though this unfortunate incident* lit up social media outlets and message boards around the sports world**, it wasn’t the kind of event that the leading brand in mixed martial arts wants to see.

“This is certainly not a proud moment for the UFC organization,” said Kirk Hendrick***, the UFC’s Chief Legal Officer. “We expect more from our athletes, especially these two gentlemen, who are very well-trained and highly educated professionals.  Their actions were clearly a violation of the UFC’s code of conduct.” 

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has requested a video copy of the incident****, and the UFC is cooperating fully with them in order to come to a quick resolution when it comes to possible penalties for both fighters. As for penalties from the UFC, Hendrick said, “We are going to reserve our right to penalize both fighters after the commission has made a decision. We expect more from our athletes and we are prepared to levy sanctions to reinforce the appropriate behavior.”*****

Luckily, there were no serious injuries to the fighters or to anyone in attendance****** for the open to the public media day.

“There are going to be ramifications,” he concluded. “Whether you’re the champion, or this is your first fight in the UFC, there are going to be ramifications from the UFC for these actions.”*******

* Make no mistake, press conference brawls are bad…

** …but we killed it on Twitter, bro! High fives!

*** Who the fuck is Kirk Hendrick, and why is he doing Matt Hughes’s job?

**** The same athletic commission that punished Chael Sonnen with a $0.00 fine and a job offer? Great, we can all be confident that justice will be served.

***** Although in terms of fight-promotion, what Jones and Cormier did was the appropriate behavior. New idea: Any time a fighter says “I respect my opponent and I do all my talking in the cage,” he/she shall be fined $1,000 by the UFC.

****** Again, Dave Sholler got shoved off a stage and Heidi Fang ate Cormier’s shoe, but whatever. You already know how I feel about this.

******* Of course, those ramifications would be much, much different if Jones and Cormier were first-time UFC rookies. The fight will go on. Jones and Cormier will keep their jobs, regardless.

Feel free to re-watch the brawl in the video at the top of this post, which the UFC helpfully uploaded to its YouTube channel directly after the incident. But again, this is a disappointing, regrettable, shameful incident, and our fighters are better than that, etc., LOL, $$$.

UFC president Dana White remains in Bora Bora.

VIDEO: Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier’s Wild Brawl at the UFC 178 Media Day [UPDATED]

(Props: allelbows)

We got ourselves a rivalry, folks — and possibly some hefty fines for bad behavior. Photos and news updates are after the jump…


(Props: allelbows)

We got ourselves a rivalry, folks — and possibly some hefty fines for bad behavior. Photos and news updates are after the jump…

Some great shots via Heidi Fang:

Here’s head UFC PR flack Dave Sholler, in way over his head (via @caposa):

The aftermath, via Adam Hill:

Adam Hill adds that Jones and Cormier have a joint media appearance scheduled for tomorrow in LA, and that Cormier did indeed throw his shoe, which may have hit Heidi Fang in the face. A longer video from Heidi is below. The Jones/Cormier face-off begins at 0:50; a delighted Conor McGregor can be seen at 1:35, and Jones makes his triumphant return to the crowd at 1:55.

CagePotato Presents: The 10 Best UFC Brawls of the Year (So Far)


(This photo and all photos after it via Getty)

By Jared Jones

It’s the halfway-ish point of the year, which means that we are a mere six or so months away from handing out our annual Potato Awards in categories such as “MMA Fail of the Year”, “Media Shill of the Year”, and the always coveted “Krazy Horse Bennett Arrest of the Year.” But because you Taters have been good this year, we’re going to allow you to open one present early: Our definitive ranking of the best UFC brawls of the year, so far.

It’s been a rocky year for the UFC, to say the absolute least. Pay-per-view numbers are tanking, fan interest is waning due to market oversaturation, and even the promotion’s new video game has been plagued by (albeit hilarious) technical issues. But the great thing about the UFC/MMA in general is that all can be forgiven with a few great fights, and these 10 brawls are undoubtedly the kernels of corn hidden amongst the soggy floor-turds that the UFC has been shitting out this year.

To repeat: This list is only dedicated to the best *brawls* of the year, which implies a fight in which both participants take their fare share of licks. TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao was a one-sided beatdown, albeit a brilliant one-sided beatdown, and therefore bears no mention here. Except that I just mentioned it. God damn it.

Let’s just get to the top 10 brawls of the year, nearly all of which contain links to full fight videos for your viewing pleasure…

#10 — Kevin Souza vs Mark Eddiva: TUF Brazil 3 Finale

(Check out Souza vs. Eddiva in its entirety here.)

A classic example of two guys with more heart than brains (or defensive capabilities) leaving it all in the octagon, Kevin Souza vs. Mark Eddiva opened up the FS1 prelims for the TUF Brazil Finale in a huge way.

Watching Souza vs. Eddiva was kind of like watching two women play Tekken for the very first time, in that both fighters only seemed to understand how one button on their controllers worked — for Eddiva it was leg kicks, for Souza it was the overhand right. These two techniques were traded with absolutely zero setup for two highly entertaining rounds, earning both men a $50,000 “Fight of the Night’ bonus in an evening of otherwise unmemorable decisions and memorable-for-all-the-wrong-ways squash matches. It was Souza, however, who walked away from the fight victorious via an always rare standing TKO.


(This photo and all photos after it via Getty)

By Jared Jones

It’s the halfway-ish point of the year, which means that we are a mere six or so months away from handing out our annual Potato Awards in categories such as “MMA Fail of the Year”, “Media Shill of the Year”, and the always coveted “Krazy Horse Bennett Arrest of the Year.” But because you Taters have been good this year, we’re going to allow you to open one present early: Our definitive ranking of the best UFC brawls of the year, so far.

It’s been a rocky year for the UFC, to say the absolute least. Pay-per-view numbers are tanking, fan interest is waning due to market oversaturation, and even the promotion’s new video game has been plagued by (albeit hilarious) technical issues. But the great thing about the UFC/MMA in general is that all can be forgiven with a few great fights, and these 10 brawls are undoubtedly the kernels of corn hidden amongst the soggy floor-turds that the UFC has been shitting out this year.

To repeat: This list is only dedicated to the best *brawls* of the year, which implies a fight in which both participants take their fare share of licks. TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao was a one-sided beatdown, albeit a brilliant one-sided beatdown, and therefore bears no mention here. Except that I just mentioned it. God damn it.

Let’s just get to the top 10 brawls of the year, nearly all of which contain links to full fight videos for your viewing pleasure…

#10 – Kevin Souza vs Mark Eddiva: TUF Brazil 3 Finale

(Check out Souza vs. Eddiva in its entirety here.)

A classic example of two guys with more heart than brains (or defensive capabilities) leaving it all in the octagon, Kevin Souza vs. Mark Eddiva opened up the FS1 prelims for the TUF Brazil Finale in a huge way.

Watching Souza vs. Eddiva was kind of like watching two women play Tekken for the very first time, in that both fighters only seemed to understand how one button on their controllers worked — for Eddiva it was leg kicks, for Souza it was the overhand right. These two techniques were traded with absolutely zero setup for two highly entertaining rounds, earning both men a $50,000 “Fight of the Night’ bonus in an evening of otherwise unmemorable decisions and memorable-for-all-the-wrong-ways squash matches. It was Souza, however, who walked away from the fight victorious via an always rare standing TKO.

#9 — Yui Chul Nam vs. Kazuki Tokudome: Fight Night 37

The utter ass-whooping that Kazuki Tokudome suffered in the first round of his fight with Yui Chul Nam at Fight Night 37 was comparable only to Maynard-Edgar 1 in terms of its lopsidedness. From the opening bell, Nam blitzkrieged Tokudome with big right hands both in the clinch and on the break, wobbling his Japanese counterpart multiple times in the process. Had Tokudome been that one French guy from TUF 11, he would have surely quit on his stool between rounds.

But as was the case in Maynard-Edgar 1, the second round told a different story entirely. Tokudome scored a huge double leg takedown in the opening stanza, then utilized some heavy top control to peck away at the South Korean with short shots from above. While not able to inflict nearly as much damage on his opponent as he received in the first round, Tokudome arguably earned a 10-8 of his own in the second thanks to his complete positional dominance. “Askrening”, I believe it’s called.

The first half of the third round was much of the same for Tokudome, who despite having both his eyes nearly swollen shut by the strikes of Nam, continued to dominate with top control. But you can never keep a good Nam down, as they say. “The Korean Bulldozer” (awesome nickname, BTW) was eventually able to reverse the position and secure a takedown of his own, which was apparently all he needed to earn a split decision win.

Renzo Gracie Nightclub Brawl Was Either a Simple Misunderstanding or a Coordinated Storm of Vengeful Fury


(Damn. How much better would this story be if Renzo’s crew were all wearing IFL Pitbulls jerseys at the time?)

While official details on Renzo Gracie‘s Sunday night arrest are still scarce, both sides of the altercation are starting to talk about what happened outside of 1-OAK nightclub in New York City, which ended with a doorman getting his ass kicked. Here’s what Gracie himself told MMAFighting.com via text message on Tuesday afternoon, after the MMA pioneer was booked for misdemeanor assault with intent to cause injury, then released on $10,000 bail:

“Everything is a misunderstanding. We always had a great relationship with that amazing club and all their employees. Soon everything will be clear.”

Alright, fine. Maybe this is just one of those things that happens late at night when you mix alcohol and testosterone. Maybe Renzo and Igor Gracie showed up to the club and the bouncer was wearing a “LUTA LIVRE IS THE STRONGEST” t-shirt, and one thing led to another. A comment was taken the wrong way. The bouncer failed to recognize who these Gracies were, bro. Maybe.

However, the bouncer himself — 35-year-old Craig Molesphini — has a very different story, and it suggests that the attack was premeditated. Here’s what Molesphini told the New York Post:


(Damn. How much better would this story be if Renzo’s crew were all wearing IFL Pitbulls jerseys at the time?)

While official details on Renzo Gracie‘s Sunday night arrest are still scarce, both sides of the altercation are starting to talk about what happened outside of 1-OAK nightclub in New York City, which ended with a doorman getting his ass kicked. Here’s what Gracie himself told MMAFighting.com via text message on Tuesday afternoon, after the MMA pioneer was booked for misdemeanor assault with intent to cause injury, then released on $10,000 bail:

“Everything is a misunderstanding. We always had a great relationship with that amazing club and all their employees. Soon everything will be clear.”

Alright, fine. Maybe this is just one of those things that happens late at night when you mix alcohol and testosterone. Maybe Renzo and Igor Gracie showed up to the club and the bouncer was wearing a “LUTA LIVRE IS THE STRONGEST” t-shirt, and one thing led to another. A comment was taken the wrong way. The bouncer failed to recognize who these Gracies were, bro. Maybe.

However, the bouncer himself — 35-year-old Craig Molesphini — has a very different story, and it suggests that the attack was premeditated. Here’s what Molesphini told the New York Post:

“In my entire 14-year career, I have never seen anything like this. At 1:30 a.m. a gray van pulled up, parked in the middle of the street, seven men exited the vehicle and started creating mayhem, screaming, pointing, starting to pick fights with the security guards. One man, [who] I later learned was Renzo, came in my direction, threw the velvet rope on the floor, ran straight into my chest and knocked me back onto the concrete floor onto my elbow. He was on top of me for 20 seconds, trying to punch me, but I wrapped both my arms around his neck so he couldn’t hit me, before somebody pulled him off.”

He added of the brawl, “All of the seven men were fighting, doing MMA moves on the guards, some of whom were injured. When the police arrived, they tried to get away, but the cops parked in front of their van, which was waiting with a driver.”

He said the attack was “retribution for me not allowing two of their masters into the venue last week. This was a carefully planned and coordinated attack. The police arrested all seven of them.”

Molesphini reportedly suffered a fractured elbow and shoulder. His lawyer Salvatore Strazzullo said they were cooperating with the district attorney, and could also file a civil assault claim.

Misunderstanding or not, this could turn into a very expensive mistake for Renzo. We’ll keep you posted…

Renzo Gracie and Igor Gracie Arrested Following Alleged Beating of Nightclub Doorman in New York

(This video doesn’t show any of the actual brawl, but it does feature a dude calling Renzo a “f*ckin’ legend” over and over again. / Props: Sherdog)

The last time Renzo Gracie beat the hell out of somebody in New York, we all had a good laugh about it. But his latest public altercation sent him to jail on Sunday night — and might tarnish his good-guy reputation.

As reported earlier today by Sherdog and the New York Post, Renzo and his cousin Igor Gracie were arrested in Manhattan last night following a brawl outside of the nightclub 1-OAK:

Sherdog.com was able to obtain a video following the alleged altercation from an anonymous witness who recorded the scene on a camera phone. According to the witness, Gracie arrived at the club in a group of approximately seven men and immediately went to the front of the line.

Gracie then became involved in a confrontation with what the witness described as the doorman. Things escalated from there, as Gracie’s group allegedly squared off with a group of 1-Oak bouncers. According to the witness, Gracie at one point had the doorman in full mount, while another one of his group hit a different bouncer with a construction cone.

The fracas spilled into the street, with more punches being thrown. Eventually the police arrived and arrested everyone in Gracie’s party, while an ambulance came for the bouncer who had been mounted by Gracie, according to the witness. It was unclear as to why Gracie and his group were originally upset.

The New York Post‘s report adds a couple more details, delivered with a very anti-Gracie slant:


(This video doesn’t show any of the actual brawl, but it does feature a dude calling Renzo a “f*ckin’ legend” over and over again. / Props: Sherdog)

The last time Renzo Gracie beat the hell out of somebody in New York, we all had a good laugh about it. But his latest public altercation sent him to jail on Sunday night — and might tarnish his good-guy reputation.

As reported earlier today by Sherdog and the New York Post, Renzo and his cousin Igor Gracie were arrested in Manhattan last night following a brawl outside of the nightclub 1-OAK:

Sherdog.com was able to obtain a video following the alleged altercation from an anonymous witness who recorded the scene on a camera phone. According to the witness, Gracie arrived at the club in a group of approximately seven men and immediately went to the front of the line.

Gracie then became involved in a confrontation with what the witness described as the doorman. Things escalated from there, as Gracie’s group allegedly squared off with a group of 1-Oak bouncers. According to the witness, Gracie at one point had the doorman in full mount, while another one of his group hit a different bouncer with a construction cone.

The fracas spilled into the street, with more punches being thrown. Eventually the police arrived and arrested everyone in Gracie’s party, while an ambulance came for the bouncer who had been mounted by Gracie, according to the witness. It was unclear as to why Gracie and his group were originally upset.

The New York Post‘s report adds a couple more details, delivered with a very anti-Gracie slant:

Two top mixed-martial-arts fighters — part of the famed Gracie clan — were busted for helping to beat a bouncer to a pulp outside a Manhattan celeb hangout early Monday, law-enforcement sources told The Post.

Renzo Gracie and his cousin Igor were arrested along with five other people for the 1:30 a.m. beat-down of the worker outside 1 OAK in the Meatpacking District, sources said.

The victim suffered a fractured right arm along with bruises and cuts, sources said.

The hulking cousins — whose Brazilian family started the sports-promoting business Ultimate Fighting Championship — were charged with gang assault, as were the other suspects. The charge for Renzo and Igor Gracie is in the second degree…

“People who train this kind of stuff have no business getting into street fights — it’s completely unfair,’’ said a disgusted law-enforcement source. “These guys really should have known better”…

The thugs were busted in front of the trendy West 17th Street club, where celebs such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz hang out.

Renzo just wanted to party with Leo DiCaprio, bro, and now a major NYC newspaper is referring to him as a “hulking thug.” Not good. We’ll update you when we know more…

VIDEO: Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen’s Hilarious and Awful TUF Brawl, In Its Entirety

The infamous “brawl” episode of TUF Brazil 3 finally aired yesterday, giving us a complete picture of what led up to Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen tussling on the gym floor, and it’s honestly one of the funniest moments in TUF history. Silva instigates the situation by punching his palm and repeating the word “soon!” at Sonnen, like a schoolyard bully from a Disney movie. He spits at Sonnen’s feet, and I hate to make insulting comparisons here, but it’s the kind of thing that a llama or ape would do.

Chael remains as a cucumber, though: “How do you feel when you say crazy things like that to me, when I’ve been challenging you for years. You ever feel weird about that?”

At the 0:40 mark, I kid you not, Wanderlei says that Sonnen is going to have a daymare. Goodness, the English language offers so many possibilities for clever turns of phrase. But the best part is when Chael tries to grill Wandy on when exactly they’re going to fight. Of course, Wandy doesn’t have a clear answer for that. Then, Silva does some kind of slapping thing in front of Chael’s face, and the next time Silva closes distance on him, it’s on. Before you know it, Sonnen is on top of Silva, and Andre “Dida” Amade — who is an assistant coach on the show, not a competitor — is slugging Sonnen in the back of the head and ripping his jersey.

And that’s when this whole incident goes from comedy to tragedy. Sonnen called Dida’s behavior “straight-up illegal”, and he might have a point there. Just because you’re sucker-punched on a reality show doesn’t mean that normal assault rules don’t apply. Right? I have no idea, actually; I’ve never been on a Brazilian reality show. But I hear good things.

A few more important notes about this episode, via Wikipedia:

The infamous “brawl” episode of TUF Brazil 3 finally aired yesterday, giving us a complete picture of what led up to Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen tussling on the gym floor, and it’s honestly one of the funniest moments in TUF history. Silva instigates the situation by punching his palm and repeating the word “soon!” at Sonnen, like a schoolyard bully from a Disney movie. He spits at Sonnen’s feet, and I hate to make insulting comparisons here, but it’s the kind of thing that a llama or ape would do.

Chael remains as a cucumber, though: “How do you feel when you say crazy things like that to me, when I’ve been challenging you for years. You ever feel weird about that?”

At the 0:40 mark, I kid you not, Wanderlei says that Sonnen is going to have a daymare. Goodness, the English language offers so many possibilities for clever turns of phrase. But the best part is when Chael tries to grill Wandy on when exactly they’re going to fight. Of course, Wandy doesn’t have a clear answer for that. Then, Silva does some kind of slapping thing in front of Chael’s face, and the next time Silva closes distance on him, it’s on. Before you know it, Sonnen is on top of Silva, and Andre “Dida” Amade — who is an assistant coach on the show, not a competitor — is slugging Sonnen in the back of the head and ripping his jersey.

And that’s when this whole incident goes from comedy to tragedy. Sonnen called Dida’s behavior “straight-up illegal”, and he might have a point there. Just because you’re sucker-punched on a reality show doesn’t mean that normal assault rules don’t apply. Right? I have no idea, actually; I’ve never been on a Brazilian reality show. But I hear good things.

A few more important notes about this episode, via Wikipedia:

– “The next heavyweight fight is supposed to be announced by Wanderlei, but he’s nowhere to be found. He finally arrives and the fight is revealed: Richardson Moreira vs. Job Kleber. Sonnen argues about Wanderlei’s excuses to be late and even mentions that he smells alcohol from his opponent.”

“Both teams participate in a challenge to write TUF: Brasil using a strings-based device that requires them to work together so the words are correctly written and approved by a professor. Team Sonnen finally ends their overall losing streak and Hortência announces that their team will participate in a pajamas party at the house while their opponents will be locked in a room as the party goes on.” [Ed. note: So, one team gets an all-dude pajama party, while the other has to play seven minutes in heaven?]

– “Gabrielle Garcia, a multi-time BJJ world champion, participates as a guest coach in Team Wanderlei’s training session.” [Ed. note: Obviously, this was filmed before her Clomiphene bust.]

– “…André Amade punches [Sonnen] in the back of the head and later brags about punching him and ripping his shirt off. Vinny Magalhães tells [Sonnen] that Amade was punching him, something that he didn’t notice. The entire team is perplexed with Amade’s attitude.”