Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall hasn’t had his hand raised in victory since August of 2011. The UFC flyweight has also yet to win a bout in the Octagon, and it’s something that seems to be bugging him.McCall spoke to MMA Junkie about how he’s not happy …
Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall hasn’t had his hand raised in victory since August of 2011. The UFC flyweight has also yet to win a bout in the Octagon, and it’s something that seems to be bugging him.
McCall spoke to MMA Junkie about how he’s not happy with how things have played out in his career.
“I’m no longer happy with my career at this point,” McCall said. “I need a win. I came to the UFC claiming to be world champion. Now I’m 0-1-1, and I’m definitely not happy about it.”
“Uncle Creepy” entered the UFC’s ranks as a clear No. 1-ranked flyweight. McCall held the Tachi Palace flyweight title and was a favorite to make it to the finals of the four-man tournament to crown a UFC flyweight champ.
McCall debuted against the future UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson and engaged in two very entertaining bouts. Their first encounter was initially scored as a majority decision but was overturned to a draw after a scoring error was found.
In the rematch, McCall was clearly overmatched, and Johnson sailed to an unanimous decision victory.
McCall took some flak from the MMA community for his showboating against Johnson, something McCall has vowed to change.
“I’m going to prove to the world that I’m not just a show-off,” McCall said. “I can actually win.”
It will be tough for McCall to prove he can win against a very tough Joseph Benavidez in their scheduled contest at UFC 156. Benavidez lost to Johnson earlier this year, and many believe the winner of Benavidez-McCall could be in line for a future title shot.
McCall doesn’t seem to think that will be the case.
“People keep saying, ‘Oh, you’re going to get a title shot after this,'” McCall said. “I mean, think about it. Honestly, neither of us deserve it. I think Demetrious beat both of us. I would say maybe this one, if I win it convincingly, and then fight whoever else after this. Then maybe.”
Although McCall believes he still has work to put in to get another crack at a UFC title, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t envision wearing UFC gold in 2013.
“I think I’m going to win that word title back in 2013,” McCall said.
I have had jobs in the past where I had no personal investment. I know what it’s like to not be into a job. I know the feeling of just going through the motions in order to earn a paycheck. The process can be a mind-numbing one, but sometimes it&…
I have had jobs in the past where I had no personal investment. I know what it’s like to not be into a job. I know the feeling of just going through the motions in order to earn a paycheck. The process can be a mind-numbing one, but sometimes it’s necessary to serve time in some type of hellish work environment in order to put food on the table. I don’t recommend it, but when it’s necessary, you do what you have to.
In some instances, I got out as soon as I was able to; in others, the pay was good and I sloughed through the days, hating every minute of them. These jobs didn’t involve the threat of physical danger, so there was minimal risk involved in hanging around while I wasn’t into the work.
Some jobs don’t provide that kind of luxury—being a professional mixed martial artist is one of those jobs. If a fighter starts thinking that maybe he’s not too into his work, it may be time to get out, to take a breather and enjoy life.
That brings us to Jonathan Brookins.
You know Brookins, the winner of Season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter; the 27-year-old who just lost his second consecutive fight in the UFC when Dustin Poirier tapped him out in the first round of their December 15 bout. It seems Brookins’ mind was not fully invested in the Poirier fight—not the ideal situation when your job is standing inside a cage while another man tries to cause bodily harm to you, and because of that, he’s walking away from the sport for now.
Brookins will be heading to India in the not-too-distant future, where he will pursue what was really on his mind during the Poirier fight—finding a more fulfilling existence. Speaking to Fightland’s Josh Rosenblatt, Brookins said:
I’m looking for a mindset to exist better. I think that I can find a happiness about myself, a way of living, where my constitution is more sound. I think that martial arts has been a positive, but it hasn’t been as much as it could be. I want to find martial arts for real. Yoga just seems to me like one of the oldest forms of martial arts. It seems like the very beginning.
So, Brookins is off to India to get his mind right, to pursue something more than riches, fame, reputation or titles. He’s out to become a better person—a commendable pursuit, and one that we don’t hear about too often these days.
There will be those that say Brookins is throwing away a dream job. These people will question the logic of “throwing away” what they consider to be a dream job—making a living as a professional athlete—but I have a feeling that Brookinscouldn’t care less if people think that.
Brookins should be applauded for this move, and it will be interesting to see where this next step leads him.
Johny Hendricks vs. Jake Ellenberger features two skilled wrestlers with heavy hands facing off in hopes of a meeting with divisional champion Georges St-Pierre. Speaking to Sherdog Radio’s Beatdown show, “Bigg Rigg” explained why he believes Elle…
Johny Hendricks vs. Jake Ellenberger features two skilled wrestlers with heavy hands facing off in hopes of a meeting with divisional champion Georges St-Pierre.
Speaking to Sherdog Radio’s Beatdown show, “Bigg Rigg” explained why he believes Ellenberger is a more dangerous opponent than GSP (transcription via MMA Mania).
It’s not that it’s more difficult (fight) but, it’s a little bit more dangerous, you know what I’m saying? Like I said, you don’t know which punch will be the last. With GSP, you know where he’s going to want to take it, you know he’s not going to want to stand with you. He’s going to want to go in there set up his jab, throw a few leg kicks, or he’s going to get you to the perimeter, to that black line, and you know a double leg is coming. Ellenberger, he is going to try to knock you out before he takes you down.
The numbers seem to back up Hendricks’ argument. In 28 career wins, Ellenberger has scored 17 victories via knockout, while St-Pierre has just eight knockouts in 23 professional wins.
By the same token, there is no question of St-Pierre’s dominance at welterweight. He is riding a 10-fight win streak that includes seven successful title defenses.
Even though Hendricks has won five in a row, boasting knockouts over Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann during that span, Nick Diaz will be the one challenging GSP for the title at UFC 158 in March.
Hendricks and Ellenberger will battle on the same card, which also features another high-profile welterweight clash between Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit.
Will Hendricks defeat Ellenberger and finally get his shot at St-Pierre or will Ellenberger or Diaz spoil the party?
One of the names we keep hearing from just about everyone when talking about the UFC Lightweight division is Gilbert Melendez.Melendez, who still does not have an official deal with the UFC, does not appear to be impressed in the least bit with the wor…
One of the names we keep hearing from just about everyone when talking about the UFC Lightweight division is Gilbert Melendez.
Melendez, who still does not have an official deal with the UFC, does not appear to be impressed in the least bit with the work of current UFC Champion Benson Henderson over the last year.
“El Nino” spoke to MMA Weekly about his desire to face Henderson upon entering the UFC promotion:
Your eyes are always on the guy with the UFC strap. Your eyes were on Frankie Edgar for a long time, and B.J. (Penn) for a long time, and everyone needs to adapt for the champ, to figure out how to beat them. I think about it all the time with Benson (Henderson). If he wants to be undoubtedly No. 1, I think that would be a good victory for him to prove it or for me to prove otherwise. Another fight if I was in the UFC would be fine with me as well, but I’m ready now. The fire was lit a couple of weeks ago. Since the buzz has been out, the fire has been lit. I definitely feel that. I hope everyone would get as excited as I would be about that. In a perfect world. I’d love that fight with Benson, I really would.
While Melendez does state his request to fight for the belt immediately, he also appears ready to accept a “title eliminator” fight to start off his UFC career.
Melendez and Henderson have very similar records. Melendez is 21-2 and Henderson is 18-2. The most fundamental difference comes from their offensive strategies. Melendez is more of a stand up striker, whereas Henderson loves to get the fight on the ground.
For now, it appears the next person to fight Henderson for the title will be the winner of Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis, although nothing has been confirmed.
Cerrone has won eight of his last nine fights but has lost to Henderson twice within the last 15 months. Pettis has won six of his last seven and is also the last person to beat Henderson.
Either way, the fans can’t go wrong with either Cerrone, Pettis or Melendez fighting Henderson for the belt.
Joe Chacon is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a staff writer for Operation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.
Fighters have told Lenne Hardt that they knew they had “made it” in the fight game when they heard her call their name.Hardt, who started her run in the world of martial arts under the Pride FC banner, still works events—namely with…
Fighters have told LenneHardt that they knew they had “made it” in the fight game when they heard her call their name.
Hardt, who started her run in the world of martial arts under the Pride FC banner, still works events—namely with GLORY World Series and One FC. But it now takes much less than years of dedicated training to have your name called by Hardt in her distinct style, which she says has developed organically over the course of the past decade and a half.
Via her website, which includes unique “Warhol-inspired” merchandise like shirts and mugs, fans may order a personalized message from the famed announcer—with “a little bit o’ my soul one piece at a time,” the Alaska-born Hardt says.
Getting to Know LenneHardt
LenneHardt was born in Alaska but spent her early childhood as the youngest of six children of an Air Force pilot on a farm in northern Idaho, with “lots of dogs, horses, skiing and dreaming.”
Hardt, who wanted to be either an actress or an archaeologist in her youth, began her announcing career at Pride FC’s first grand prix in Tokyo in 2000. Since Hardt’s first event, where she says she was “simply gobsmacked” by the spectacle of it all, she estimates that she has worked more than 100 martial arts events en route to being known in the mixed martial arts world.
Hardt, a veteran voice actress, has also worked on video games (with the Tekken and Silent Hill franchises) and anime productions and has been the announcer for several Japanese music groups.
Ed Kapp is a Regina, Saskatchewan-based freelance journalist. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations were obtained firsthand.
It’s official—Strikeforce, which grew to prominence over six years as the second-biggest mixed martial arts promotion after the UFC, will be no more after it hosts its final event on Showtime on Jan. 12, 2013. The promotion has been sufferi…
It’s official—Strikeforce, which grew to prominence over six years as the second-biggest mixed martial arts promotion after the UFC, will be no more after it hosts its final event on Showtime on Jan. 12, 2013.
The promotion has been suffering a slow death since the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, purchased Strikeforce in 2011, and now its chief executive Scott Coker has made it official (H/T MMA Mania).
“Since 2009, Showtime has been a great partner and we appreciate its support of Strikeforce and our athletes,” said Coker. “For our final event, we’ve loaded the card with some outstanding fights. This is going to be a memorable night for the sport of mixed martial arts.”
Strikeforce began life as a kickboxing promotion but over the years grew to rival the UFC with big-name MMA fighters on its roster including Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem and the legendary Russian heavyweight, FedorEmelianenko.
However, it grew too big for comfort for Zuffa, especially when in February 2011 it announced the Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament.
The event was an eight-man tournament and featured an array of MMA heavyweights, such as Emelianenko, Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Daniel Cormier, Josh Barnett and Antonio Silva. At the time Coker proclaimed that Strikeforce had the strongest heavyweight division in the whole of MMA—a clear challenge to the UFC which had traditionally struggled with putting together a deep heavyweight roster.
Zuffa quickly moved in and began plundering Strikeforce, bringing stars such as Overeem and welterweight Nick Diaz under the UFC banner, and then effectively dissolving Strikeforce’s heavyweight division altogether.
However, Strikeforce had a long-term contract with Showtime which Zuffa had to honour, and so the January event in Oklahoma, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, will be the promotion’s last.
Stephen Espinoza, Showtime Sports Executive Vice President and General Manager stated:
We are proud of our association with Scott Coker and the entire Strikeforce team. From Gina Carano to Ronda Rousey, FedorEmelianenko to Daniel Cormier, Nick Diaz to Gilbert Melendez, Showtime Sports and Strikeforce have built some of the biggest stars in the sport and have produced many of the most watched and most intriguing fights in the history of MMA. We look forward to another night of competitive and explosive Strikeforce fights on Showtime on January 12 in OKC.
And so Strikeforce will wind down in the new year not with a bang, but with a whimper. Its stars plundered, the final card is an underwhelming mixture of big-name talent taking on virtual unknowns.
Most of these men will be relieved that the end is finally here. Fighters such as Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce’s lightweight champion, has been itching to get inside the UFC ever since the Zuffa purchase, and was supposed to fight on this final card. But an injury means he will likely be transitioned to the UFC later next year without having to fight in Strikeforce again.
Other men, such as Daniel Cormier and Josh Barnett, two top-10 heavyweights, will face unknowns Dion Staring and NandorGuelmino in their last fights, in what many predict will be foregone conclusions.
Finally, Ronda Rousey, a fighter who has taken women’s MMA to new heights under Strikeforce, is due to headline the UFC’s first-ever female event in February as she takes on Liz Carmouche to defend her anointed UFC women’s bantamweight belt.
Many had feared that women’s MMA, for so long championed by Strikeforce, would suffer following the promotion’s dissolution, but with Rousey’s signing, female fighters may have found a new home within the UFC itself.
That leaves Strikeforce an empty shell of a promotion, without anything significant left to contribute to MMA. It can, however, look back proudly on a six-year history of having made waves in a sport dominated by the UFC.
The promotion’s swansong, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, will take place at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall hasn’t had his hand raised in victory since August of 2011. The UFC flyweight has also yet to win a bout in the Octagon, and it’s something that seems to be bugging him.