Tag: Breaking News

Tim Kennedy Apologizes for UFC Fighter Pay Remarks

It appears Tim Kennedy had a change of heart.Earlier this week, the former Strikeforce title contender and soon-to-be UFC fighter slammed the UFC for its pay scale.Now, in a statement obtained by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting (via Shaun Al-Shatti), Ken…

It appears Tim Kennedy had a change of heart.

Earlier this week, the former Strikeforce title contender and soon-to-be UFC fighter slammed the UFC for its pay scale.

Now, in a statement obtained by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting (via Shaun Al-Shatti), Kennedy is backtracking on his earlier comments, saying they were “not properly informed.”

I recently made comments regarding fighter pay. The intent of these statements was to highlight that professional fighters incur significant expense associated with their preparations to fight and that fighter compensation is still not on par with other major sports. While I am fortunate to have various revenue streams associated with my business interests, most fighters do not have that luxury. When you spend training camps with great guys with amazing talents and you see them barely making ends meet, while simultaneously seeing athletes in other sports with far less character and a far smaller work ethic making exponentially more, you can get frustrated.

Kennedy would then go on to praise Zuffa and give the typical, “my quotes were taken out of context” line that we’ve seen so many times before.

Unfortunately, I made statements that alluded to how the UFC in particular pays its athletes. This was particularly offensive as Zuffa has taken better care of me than any other organization, even giving me a bonus for being amusing on Twitter. My choice of words was poor, not properly informed, and did not match my intent. Additionally, my comments were taken out of context. I can tell you that I have been fighting longer than most people and I remember all too well the days when there was no regulation or standard for an MMA promotion. I fought many times in Mexico where the rules were negligible, there were no physicals, and being paid was a luxury we didn’t expect. Our sport was shunned and was considered ‘human cockfighting.’ Today, we are on Fox. We have doctors and insurance. We make more money than the average American. And we get these things by playing a sport we love. The only reason this is possible is because of Zuffa. They have legitimized the sport and taken better care of the athletes than any other organization, and the trend is only improving, with athletes making three times what they made on average five years ago.

Kennedy finished by apologizing directly to Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Joe Silva for his comments.

This is basically a public relations rescue attempt by Kennedy. His initial breakdown of how his expenses are laid out drew quite a bit of criticism from fans and surely didn’t help his standing with his new employers.

Kennedy hasn’t even fought for the UFC yet and is already making himself look bad not only to fans but also to the UFC brass. I understand where he’s coming from; fighters do make tremendous sacrifices to perfect their craft, but it’s something that comes with the territory.

Everyone knows what they’re getting themselves into when competing in MMA. There isn’t a lot of money to be made and for a guy making $50,000 for his first UFC fight, it would seem Kennedy doesn’t have a lot of room to complain.

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UFC 162 Preview: What Twitter Is Saying About Silva vs. Weidman

Word on the street is that Chris Weidman has the best chance of dethroning Anderson Silva than any fighter he’s ever faced when the two face off at UFC 162. But can Weidman really have the last word? Silva is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in …

Word on the street is that Chris Weidman has the best chance of dethroning Anderson Silva than any fighter he’s ever faced when the two face off at UFC 162. But can Weidman really have the last word?

Silva is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and regardless of what pundits and fighters alike are saying about Weidman’s chances of defeating him, he is widely regarded as the best fighter ever.

Silva has been the UFC middleweight champion for seven years, posting a 16-0 record in the UFC with only two of those fights ending in decisions. Outside of the five combined rounds he lost to Chael Sonnen in their two memorable fights, he’s dominated in a way that makes one question if anyone can stop him.

Weidman holds a record of 9-0, and in all honesty, he is the default No. 1 contender due to losses by other high-profile middleweight contenders. Stylistically, however, Weidman is the perfect prototype to beat Silva: exceptional wrestler, good submission fighter, young and powerful.

The idea that Weidman could actually defeat Silva all started when UFC welterweight champion Georges St.Pierre reportedly stated there was no chance a superfight would happen between he and Silva. Dana White shed light on why in an interview on mmafighting.com .

“He 100-percent, absolutely, positively knows that (Chris) Weidman is going to beat Anderson Silva,” White declared. “No doubt in his mind that [a superfight] won’t happen. The fight with [Silva] won’t happen because Weidman is going to win. There’s no ‘what if’ for [St-Pierre]. He absolutely, positively knows [Weidman] is going to win that fight.”

Guys like the aforementioned Sonnen, Dominic Cruz and Frank Mir believe Weidman’s pure power will give him the edge that Sonnen didn’t have against “The Spider.”

“I think Weidman has an outstanding chance of beating Anderson and becoming the champion,” Mir said.  … “This upset is going to happen, and everyone is going to be shocked because they never saw it coming. He’s got the best style to beat Anderson of anyone Anderson’s faced in the UFC. Anderson has shown one weakness—he can be controlled on the ground by powerful wrestlers—and Weidman is the most powerful wrestler there is in the division.”

On the other side of the spectrum, some perceive the hype train that is Chris Weidman as premature. While Tim Boetsch seems to believe he’s the fighter that will eventually conquer Silva, experience seems to be Weidman’s heel in his mind.

“I think Weidman has the tools to do it, but with the experience and Anderson just being the greatest fighter in the world, I think he’s going to hang onto that title for a little bit longer until I get there to take it away from him,” Boetsch said.

Twitter trends seem to show that many casual fans are behind Weidman in the contest. While it’s too early to say the majority of fans are picking Weidman, the majority of fans are predicting this fight to be one of the best the UFC has ever seen.

 

 

Does Weidman have the tools to defeat Silva? Twitter says yes because he is young and hungry, and he has the confidence to defeat Silva, which is something Sonnen didn’t have when he came up short.

 

 

The power and age advantage goes to Weidman, but the experience and aura of invincibility are still on Silva’s side. However, my gut says there is too much hype for a fighter with only nine victories, and Silva will once again derail the hype train in dramatic fashion.

Am I wrong? 

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Report: Melvin Guillard Avoids Jail Time, Faces Probation for Assault Charges

UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard will not face jail time for assault charges that have been pending in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 2010, according to Sports Illustrated’s Melissa Segura.
UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard avoids jail time; sentenced to s…

UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard will not face jail time for assault charges that have been pending in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 2010, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Melissa Segura.

As MMA Junkie reported in March, Bernalillo County (N.M.) court records said that Guillard faced five charges: two misdemeanor counts of aggravated battery, to which he pleaded not guilty. Three misdemeanor counts of failure to appear in court were settled. 

Additionally, the report revealed that “The Young Assassin’s” legal issues, as well as switching to the Blackzilians camp in Florida, prevented him from returning to Greg Jackson’s MMA in Albuquerque. 

The change of scenery was ill-fated for the 18-fight UFC veteran, as he has gone just 1-3 in his four fights since leaving Jackson’s MMA, getting finished in two of those losses. 

After being labeled a rising prospect for years, it looked like Guillard may finally reach his potential in the cage as he put together five wins between February 2010 and July 2011. 

His label as a dark horse title contender was quickly scrapped though, going 1-4 since then, most recently coming up short against former WEC champ Jamie Varner at UFC 155 in December. 

The knockout artist looks to get back to his winning ways against fellow Ultimate Fighter alumnus, Mac Danzig, at UFC on FX 8 next month. 

Will Guillard ever be able to live up to the hype and become a legitimate 155-pound title contender or is he forever destined to come up short in the fights that matter the most? 

 

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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Bellator Fight Master Episode 2 Ratings Up, Still Searching for Larger Audience

Spike TV and Bellator both have high hopes for their new reality show Fight Master: Bellator MMA, but last week’s ratings were not nearly what the network and promotion likely had in mind. Going head-to-head with the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, the debut…

Spike TV and Bellator both have high hopes for their new reality show Fight Master: Bellator MMA, but last week’s ratings were not nearly what the network and promotion likely had in mind.

Going head-to-head with the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, the debut episode of the new MMA reality program pulled in 432,000 average viewers over the one-hour broadcast.

The numbers were obviously much, much lower than what Spike TV officials anticipated, but with no major sporting events to battle with on Wednesday nights, episode two fared much better.

According to the Nielsen Ratings received by Bleacher Report on Thursday, the second episode of Fight Master averaged 545,000 viewers this week, up 26 percent over last week’s offering.

In the key demographics, Fight Master posted 25 percent higher ratings among males between the ages of 18-49 and got a huge boost in the coveted 18-34 male market with ratings spiking 54 percent higher than last week.

While the numbers certainly aren’t in the same league as The Ultimate Fighter when it was airing on Spike TV, the improvement is a good sign for the future.

Spike TV officials told Bleacher Report last week that while they were not happy with the results for episode one, it wasn’t time to hit the panic button just yet.

Spike TV Senior Vice President of Communications David Schwarz broke it down when last week’s ratings came out.

We feel that a few hundred thousand people went over to watch one of the best hockey games you’d ever seen.  We are disappointed, but we feel like people will find the show and like all reality shows it might take a few nights.

Season 14 of the reality show, which was the final year The Ultimate Fighter ran on Spike TV, averaged 1.5 million viewers per episode.

The UFC reality show routinely earned well over one million viewers per episode with certain offerings jumping even higher.

This is Bellator‘s first try in the reality-show game, but with a top-notch coaching staff—including UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, Greg Jackson and Frank Shamrock—leading the way, its hope is to continue to build viewership as the season moves forward.

Fight Master: Bellator MMA will be going solo on Wednesday nights until July 31 when Bellator‘s live show returns for another card on the same night.

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Uriah Hall Drops Sparring Partner with Spinning Back Kick (Video)

The only things certain in life are death, taxes and spinning back kicks from Uriah Hall.In February, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 runner-up became a celebrity overnight after the aired taping of his vicious spinning back hook kick knockout over Ad…

The only things certain in life are death, taxes and spinning back kicks from Uriah Hall.

In February, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 17 runner-up became a celebrity overnight after the aired taping of his vicious spinning back hook kick knockout over Adam Cella.

On the show, UFC President Dana White called it “one of the nastiest knockouts” he’d ever seen in the fight business.

FightHubTV recently attended one of Hall’s training sessions at Reign Training Center, and it was déjà vu all over again. In the video, Hall appears to be enjoying a light sparring session with his teammate, which quickly escalates after Hall eats an unintentional kick to the face.

After the kick and a few “oohs” and “ahhs” from those watching, the two fighters touch gloves and resume sparring. It doesn’t take long before Hall repays his teammate with his patented spinning back kick to the body. The impact of the kick is felt immediately, as Hall’s teammate drops to the ground gasping for air.

During the training session, Hall favors an Anderson Silva-like stance with both hands hanging deliberately at his waistline. It’s quite unclear as to whether he is drilling head movement in this particular round or if he’s attempting to bait his partner into making a mistake.

Someone off-camera can clearly be heard yelling, “Hands up.”

Hall, who is coming off a loss to Kelvin Gastelum, officially parted ways with previous gym Tiger Schulmann’s in May to join middleweight contender Mark Munoz at the Reign Training Center. On August 17, he is expected to face Nick Ring at “UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs. Sonnen.” From the early looks of Hall’s fight camp, one thing is clearly certain.

He still has a knack for being flashy and unpredictable.

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Weidman Says Chael Was Too ‘Uptight’ and ‘Tense’ When He Fought Silva at UFC 117

Upcoming UFC middleweight title challenger Chris Weidman is extremely confident heading into his championship bout with pound-for-pound juggernaut Anderson Silva at UFC 162. Giving his grappling credentials, “The All-American” has every reason to …

Upcoming UFC middleweight title challenger Chris Weidman is extremely confident heading into his championship bout with pound-for-pound juggernaut Anderson Silva at UFC 162. 

Giving his grappling credentials, “The All-American” has every reason to believe he matches up well with his Brazilian counterpart. 

Many fans and analysts believe that Chael Sonnen set the blueprint for beating “The Spider” when they fought at UFC 117, scoring with takedowns and ground-and-pound for over four rounds before the champion threw up a miracle submission in the fifth and final round. 

At the UFC 162 conference call, Weidman said he thought he could beat Silva before UFC 117, but it also showed him what he will have to do to capture the middleweight strap (via MMA Junkie). 

“I believed I could beat him before that fight, but (Silva) stays relaxed, and if you’re tense and he’s relaxed, eventually, he’s going to be able to get off what he wants. So, I think the main thing I learned from that is that I thought Chael was a little bit too uptight and tense when he got the takedown, and I think it paid off for Anderson to stay relaxed the entire fight because he was able to have the energy to knock that out in the fifth round. And all props to Anderson on that.”

After wins over Brian Stann and Michael Bisping, Sonnen earned a rematch with his arch nemesis at UFC 148. 

While “The American Gangster” was again able to dominate Round 1 with a takedown and superior positioning on the mat, an ill-advised missed spinning back fist led to Silva finishing him via TKO in the second round. 

Weidman, like Sonnen, was a two-time All-American wrestler in college, though his jiu-jitsu and striking skills are generally believed to be more dangerous than those of Sonnen. 

The undefeated prospect has notched three knockouts and three submissions in nine career victories and also earned his brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu earlier this month. 

Of course, Silva remains a stiff challenge for anyone, boasting a 16-0 record inside the Octagon, as well as setting the UFC middleweight record with 10 consecutive title defenses. 

 

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. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com