Tag: Breaking News

Mayhem Miller on Clothing Line, Knee Surgery and Retirement

Ex UFC middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller still seems to be generating media attention following retirement, appearing this week on FOX 11 Sports.
He was on air to discuss life outside MMA, which includes his new clothing line, Stubborn.
Mi…

Ex UFC middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller still seems to be generating media attention following retirement, appearing this week on FOX 11 Sports.

He was on air to discuss life outside MMA, which includes his new clothing line, Stubborn.

Miller said that launching a clothing line was one of his lifelong dreams.

“I saw that these days there’s not a lot of thought put it into anything these days. Especially amongst the mixed martial arts community,” he said. “Nobody thinks about anything. Well, I’m inviting you to come along and think with me.”

The T-shirt he was wearing featured Einstein writing the equation that triangle choke = death.

Miller said “retirement” was a funny word for a 32 year-old, and that he was focused on other arts that inspire him in his life. Among these is painting, which he could have learnt at Oklahoma Christian University – one of the many courses it offers to students. However, that is unlikely to have the same thrill as combat sports, and the fighter said he would like to get back in the cage again.

“Yeah, have I thought about fighting? All the time! Every time anybody brings anything up. OK? I’m an intense person.”

Miller blamed a knee injury for his second loss to CB Dolloway and he told Fox 11 that he’s currently in the healing process, requiring two knee surgeries. He also said that he had difficulty with his insurance company having to pay for the surgeries.

“They dragged me out. They told me ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna do it but we just gotta get a confirmation from another doctor.’ He said ‘yes, do the surgery’, but the insurance company still came back [to me].”

Miller has no love lost with his former boss at the UFC, Dana White, and his continuing complaints about medical treatment of fighters is hardly likely to endear him further.

“We have no protection. We’re at the will of one bald headed uncle Fester.”

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Dana White: Fight of the Night and Discretionary Bonuses Will Not Change

The conversation about fighter pay in mixed martial arts is still a hot button subject, but it seems the biggest segment of the competitors in the UFC are happy with things just the way they are right now.
Recently, UFC president Dana White spoke out a…

The conversation about fighter pay in mixed martial arts is still a hot button subject, but it seems the biggest segment of the competitors in the UFC are happy with things just the way they are right now.

Recently, UFC president Dana White spoke out after several fighters had done interviews complaining about fighter pay.

Some undercard fighters on UFC events will routinely walk away with a payday less than $10,000, which most will also argue is not nearly enough to live on while preparing for a high level mixed martial arts bout.

At UFC 162 in Las Vegas on July 6, Kazuki Tokudome walked out with a loss on his record and an $8000 payday, while David Mitchell was paid $10,000 for his losing effort against Mike Pierce.

The argument has been that the undercard fighters, while valuable, don’t attract the crowds or sell tickets to an event. Which is why at UFC 162, former UFC middleweight champion and headliner Anderson Silva took home a whopping $600,000 salary.

White’s proposed solution to pay the undercard fighters more money up front was to do away with the UFC’s bonus structure system. Currently the UFC pays out bonuses for “Fight of the Night,” “Submission of the Night” and “Knockout of the Night” (a set amount of $50,000 per bonus) and also with their discretionary bonus system as well.

“It wasn’t just the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses, it was all bonuses,” White said about eliminating the additional pay to give undercard fighters more money. “There are a lot of bonuses that fly around this company, and the reality is that the bonuses that are given are bonuses that are deserved.”

A UFC bout agreement has a set standard pay that a fighter receives as well as a win bonus for the victor in the matchup.

For several years, the UFC has also paid fighters what has been known as a “locker room bonus” or “discretionary bonus” that is given based on performance or other circumstances surrounding a fight.

These funds are not public and are paid out by the UFC to the fighters directly.

Following White’s initial statement about possibly doing away with the bonuses, he says now the fighters under contract with his promotion don’t want anything to change.

“At the last press conference I talked to the press, I told them we’re not doing away with the ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses. After I said that, we had a lot of feedback from fighters, and fighters want the finish bonuses,” White revealed during a media conference call on Tuesday. “They want the finish bonuses and fighters want the discretionary bonuses to stay the same. So that’s that.”

White has routinely praised fighters that put on the best performances, and he’s willing to pay extra to those that go above and beyond during a show.

It appears for now, the majority of UFC fighters would rather keep the bonus structure as is and not revamp the entire system under which they are paid.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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Hector Lombard: UFC Asked Me to Cut to Welterweight, I Would’ve Stayed at 185

Former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard announced back in April that he would be testing the waters at 170 pounds for the first time in his 38-fight career. 
Since then, he’s been booked to face former Strikeforce welterweight titleho…

Former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard announced back in April that he would be testing the waters at 170 pounds for the first time in his 38-fight career. 

Since then, he’s been booked to face former Strikeforce welterweight titleholder Nate Marquardt at UFC 166 in October. 

On Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour yesterday afternoon, Lombard hinted that the UFC gave him an ultimatum to drop to welterweight or be handed his pink slip after going 1-2 at middleweight inside the Octagon (transcription via Mixedmartialarts.com). 

“That wasn’t my plans, UFC wanted me to go to 170. They believe that I have, that I will perform better at 170 than 185. I have to do what the bosses say you know. Can’t argue with the bosses. If it were up to me, I would have stayed at 185. I have to be disciplined and I have to do what they want me to do. I’ve been training hard and I think I will be able to make it and I will be able to perform better that way.”

After an incredible 25-fight unbeaten streak (24 wins, 1 draw) between February 2007 and November 2011, it made sense that “Lightning” was the hottest free agent on the market. 

Naysayers who said that the Cuban-Australian Judoka faced weak opposition during that time frame were arguably right, as Lombard dropped split decisions against Tim Boetsch and Yushin Okami inside the Octagon. 

However, he did score a vintage knockout over dangerous submission specialist Rousimar Palhares in December of last year, which occurred in between the two aforementioned losses. 

Marquardt, also an ex-Pancrase middleweight champion, has lost back-to-back bouts to Tarec Saffiedine and Jake Ellenberger, so the loser of Marquardt vs. Lombard this fall will more than likely be handed their walking papers.

Has welterweight been the proper home for Lombard all along, or will the drastic weight quick hinder his cardio and devastating KO power? 

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.

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UFC 161 Drug Test Results Return Clean, No Fighters Given TUEs for the Card

The drug test results for last month’s UFC 161 card in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, have been returned with no fighters testing positive for banned substances.
According to an email received by Bleacher Report from the Manitoba Combative Sports Commissi…

The drug test results for last month’s UFC 161 card in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, have been returned with no fighters testing positive for banned substances.

According to an email received by Bleacher Report from the Manitoba Combative Sports Commission, who oversaw the June 15 event, a total of 10 fighters from the card were tested and all returned with negative results.

There were a total of 22 fighters competing that night, so just under half were drug tested by the commission.

In addition to the drug test results, the commission also verified that no fighters on the UFC 161 fight card received a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) prior to the event. TUEs are given to fighters for a number of medical reasons, most notably known in MMA for competitors who use testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).

Fighters who are on TRT are required to disclose the information to the commission ahead of time and receive an exemption to be allowed to use the treatment leading up to the show. Any fighter who receives a TUE still has to test within the legal limits for testosterone or any other drug that is approved to use before a bout.

The reason why this is such an interesting side note for UFC 161 was the participation of former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and noted TRT user Dan Henderson.

Henderson has never shied away from his use of TRT as a result of being diagnosed with hypogonadism, which leads to lower testosterone. He has been approved to use the treatment since 2007, with commissions in areas like Nevada and Ohio approving and overseeing the procedures.

Henderson even openly talked about his TRT use ahead of UFC 161 when speaking with Yahoo! Sports while advocating for stronger drug testing across the board for MMA:

I would welcome random drug testing for everybody, not just for a few. Do it for everybody in the sport, and that would help to clean up the sport quite a bit. Threatening them with the idea that someone could knock on your door without any notice and make you pee in a cup would make a big difference.

A follow-up message was sent to the Manitoba commission on Tuesday asking for clarification about Henderson because he has openly discussed his use of TRT and received TUEs several times in the past.

“We are not able to comment on specific individuals medical information at this time due to Provincial Privacy Legislation,” commission representative Joel Fingard told Bleacher Report via email. “I believe we indicated no TUE’s were granted for any fighters on UFC 161.”

Henderson has not commented on the situation or made a statement as to whether or not he discontinued his use of TRT before the fight or if there was some kind of clerical mistake by the commission for this fight card.

The last time Henderson dropped off TRT, his testosterone dropped well below the normal levels for athletes tested in MMA. According to testing results published in the same Yahoo! report, Henderson stopped using TRT in 2010 for two months and his testosterone levels came back much lower than normal (normal levels are between 250-1100, and during his test in 2010 he scored a 168).

Henderson has never tested positive for banned substances or elevated levels of testosterone during his entire MMA career.

 

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

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Anderson Silva’s Coach: “Silva Admitted That He Struggled, Couldn’t Hit Weidman”

People have formulated their own conclusions about UFC 162, but according to Cesario Bezerra, Anderson Silva was vulnerable for the first time in his UFC career.
Along with the rest of the MMA world, Bezerra, Silva’s longtime coach, watched in as…

People have formulated their own conclusions about UFC 162, but according to Cesario Bezerra, Anderson Silva was vulnerable for the first time in his UFC career.

Along with the rest of the MMA world, Bezerra, Silva’s longtime coach, watched in astonishment as Chris Weidman landed the left hook and right hand that closed the curtains on the greatest championship reign in UFC history.

Immediately after the fight, the court of public opinion began regurgitating theory after theory in a desperate attempt to find some understanding and reasoning behind the loss. At 38 years old, no one expected Silva to remain unbeaten forever.

Still, it’s tough to accept the fact that a young and relatively unknown contender was fated to be the one to succeed where some of the most respected legends in the sport had failed.

As a natural defense mechanism, fans began blaming Silva’s reckless fighting style and “clowning” for the loss. Some even went as far as drawing up conspiracy theories in an attempt to prove that the fight was fixed to generate even more revenue in a rematch.

Unfortunately, the court of public opinion holds no real relevance to the matter at hand. The only opinion that really matters is Anderson Silva’s.

He is the one who spent endless hours in the gym grinding it out in preparation for a man his peers lauded as the next middleweight champ. He is the one who put on the four ounce gloves and stepped into the cage that fateful night and, ultimately, he was the one who got knocked out and lost the UFC title.

In speaking with Brazil’s Globo TV, via MMAFighting.com, Bezerra said Silva admitted that he struggled and couldn’t hit Weidman. This only echoes Silva’s claims at the post-fight press conference that all of the taunting was done in an attempt to get in Weidman’s head and keep the fight standing.

Silva, who also spoke with Globo (via MMAFighting.com), chalked the loss up as a lesson learned in “the worst way possible.”

“Nobody likes to lose. I train four months to win. But you end [up] learning with your mistakes, and I learned the worst way possible,” said Silva.

Silva isn’t the only person learning a lesson from this fight.

Leading up to the bout, the vast majority of fans considered it blasphemous that anyone could ever pick against Silva, especially in a bout with Weidman.

The unpredictability of MMA is what makes the sport so alluring. With so many different styles, the dynamic of the sport is always changing, and new stars are always rising. Fights are decided by styles, not names or past accomplishments.

There are no conspiracies or hidden reasons behind Silva’s loss. The answer has been there all along, and even after UFC 162, some still refuse to see it.

Perhaps Chris Weidman is better than we thought.

 

Jordy McElroy is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMAwriter for Rocktagon Worldwide.

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Urijah Faber and Phil Davis Host 1st MMA Draft Combine at Recent UFC Fan Expo

The UFC Fan Expo took place over the July 4 weekend in Las Vegas. One of the featured exhibitions of the 2013 version was the first MMA combine, hosted by Urijah Faber and Phil Davis.
The combine, the brainchild of MMADraft.com, hopes to find the next …

The UFC Fan Expo took place over the July 4 weekend in Las Vegas. One of the featured exhibitions of the 2013 version was the first MMA combine, hosted by Urijah Faber and Phil Davis.

The combine, the brainchild of MMADraft.com, hopes to find the next MMA superstars. The amateur fighters who participated in the event were run through a series of MMA skill tests that allowed the cream of the crop to showcase their talents.

The hope of Faber and Davis is that the combine will allow fans of MMA to become aware of what up-and-coming fighters they need to keep an eye on as those fighters move through the ranks.

Bleacher Report was on hand to talk to Faber and Davis, as well as other UFC fighters and participants at the combine.

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