Strikeforce’s Miesha Tate has the biggest fight of her professional career tonight when she faces Ronda Rousey in the main event of the Strikeforce show in Columbus, OH.Sadly, most of the attention that should be focused on Tate and her accomplishments…
Strikeforce’s Miesha Tate has the biggest fight of her professional career tonight when she faces Ronda Rousey in the main event of the Strikeforce show in Columbus, OH.
Sadly, most of the attention that should be focused on Tate and her accomplishments have now been turned towards her boyfriend Bryan Caraway, who decided last night that he’d had enough of Rousey’s trash-talking and started firing back.
@colbub and if she wants to challenge a man I’ll knock her teeth dwn her throat the break her arm!
Such a classy move from Caraway, proving his manhood by telling the world that he will punch Rousey in the face and break her arm. And then, as if to prove his point, Caraway reminds us that women have a role in life.
Fans immediately began responding to Caraway’s senseless comments, and the former Ultimate Fighter competitor went into spin mode. He deleted several of the offending tweets, including the first one I quoted above.
@PADDYKILLZ@cmpunk@frontrowbrian oh I dnt hit Women! But she not a women. She gonna act like a dude she can deal w the consequences.
To every1 who actually knows me knows I’m a nice guy! I didn’t mean anything bad or threatening and I’m NOT a woman beater At ALL.
I just believe athetlically and on the same talent level woman can’t overall compete w men. Look at data
Do I believe Caraway is a bad guy? No, I don’t. Caraway and Tate have been happily dating for many years and he’s never been more than the model boyfriend and trainer.
But it’s obvious that Caraway could really benefit from those “How NOT To Use Twitter” classes the UFC conducts at their yearly Fighter Summit at the Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas each summer. Caraway missed the last one due to the Ultimate Fighter.
Someone at Zuffa better make sure he attends the next one, before he says something he’ll really regret.
Thiago Alves Gave That One AwayThiago Alves had it all. Through two rounds Friday night at UFC on FX 2, the Brazilian export battered and bloodied Martin Kampmann to the point where it seemed he had the fight in the bag. A victory was all but ensured, …
Thiago Alves Gave That One Away
Thiago Alves had it all. Through two rounds Friday night at UFC on FX 2, the Brazilian export battered and bloodied Martin Kampmann to the point where it seemed he had the fight in the bag. A victory was all but ensured, and an emphatic one at that.
And then he gave it all away.
Alves made a costly mistake in attempting to take Kampmann to the mat during an exchange on the feet that he was clearly winning. It was a moment where Alves could have placed an exclamation mark on a strong win. Instead, he gave Kampmann his neck, and the Danish striker capitalized by rolling through with a sweet guillotine for the submission win.
Kudos to Kampmann for having the awareness to secure the submission when he needed it the most. But Alves now finds himself outside the top 10, with no real shot at the title picture in his immediate future, and it’s his own fault.
Judges Are Terrible at Judging Fights (and Doing Math)
Look, I could talk endlessly about the ineffective state of judging in mixed martial arts. It’s a broken record at this point, and it’s a broken system. There’s no use going on and on about it, because nothing is changing and we’re pretty much stuck with what we’ve got.
But tonight was inexcusable.
In case you missed it, the fight between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall was not actually a split-decision victory for Johnson. It was actually a draw. The judges in charge of the fight somehow wrote down the wrong scores and awarded Johnson an unwarranted victory, when in reality the fight should have gone to a fourth “sudden victory” round.
Johnson and McCall were both paid their win bonuses, and an immediate rematch between the pair is targeted for April. But the fans in attendance and viewers at home were robbed of what would have been a thrilling, winner-takes-all round between two extremely exciting fighters.
You’ve got to hope that someday, somewhere, the judges will eventually get something right. But tonight was not that moment, and it was an embarrassing black mark for everyone involved in the New South Wales combat commission.
Joseph Benavidez Will Win the Flyweight Tournament
It should be clear after tonight’s event that Joseph Benavidez and his status as the uncrowned world flyweight champion was warranted.
He’s long been considered one of the best bantamweights in the world, but Benavidez’ quick and fairly easy work of Yasuhiro Urushitani proved that he’s easily the favorite to capture the UFC’s first flyweight gold. He was quick, and he’ll be one of the biggest flyweights in the division. When you couple that with his wrestling and striking skills, it’s a package that other 125-pound fighters will have a lot of difficulty overcoming.
Don’t Mess with Texas.
We Texans are quite proud of our heritage. Even though the rest of the country laughs at us, we still celebrate Texas Independence Day every March by eating fattening Texas cuisine and drinking fine Texas beer like Shiner Bock.
Daniel Pineda, T.J. Waldburger and Andrew Craig celebrated the holiday in fine form by scoring big wins in Australia.
Pineda and Craig are new UFC imports, having spent the majority of their careers fighting for the Houston-based Legacy Fighting Championships. Both scored big wins over seasoned veterans in Mackens Semerzier and Kyle Noke, respectively, and Waldburger executed his second consecutive first-round submission win in beating Jake Hecht with a sublime armbar.
It was a good night for Texas, and for Houston in particular. I think I’ll go celebrate by eating some more brisket.
James Te Huna Is a Violent Man
I don’t think much needs to be said about this. Te Huna, a New Zealand native fighting in front of a rabid almost-home crowd, make short work of Aaron Rosa, a fighter who has long been known for not much more than his ability to take a punch.
Rosa couldn’t take Te Huna’s punches, could he? No, he could not.
Today’s Daily Video Fix features a heavy slant towards tonight’s UFC on FX 2 action in Australia, and why not? It’s not the biggest or greatest card the UFC’s ever promoted, but the televised card does feature at least three bouts with barn-burning pot…
Today’s Daily Video Fix features a heavy slant towards tonight’s UFC on FX 2 action in Australia, and why not? It’s not the biggest or greatest card the UFC’s ever promoted, but the televised card does feature at least three bouts with barn-burning potential.
Get set for all of the action from down under with today’s visual offerings.
The mixed martial arts machine kicks into high speed today as fans and journalists alike prepare for a weekend packed with fighting action. Tonight’s UFC on FX card from Australia will give many fans around the world their first look at the flywei…
The mixed martial arts machine kicks into high speed today as fans and journalists alike prepare for a weekend packed with fighting action.
Tonight’s UFC on FX card from Australia will give many fans around the world their first look at the flyweight division when Joseph Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson, Ian McCall and Yasuhiro Urushitani step in the cage for the first round of a tournament to crown the UFC’s first-ever flyweight champion.
Saturday night sees the culmination of a long feud between Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey.
The pair square off in the most anticipated female mixed martial arts fight since Gina Carano faced Cyborg Santos over two years ago.
But, before the madness begins, let’s take a look at yesterday’s biggest stories in our latest UFC Morning Update:
There’s no love lost between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey.
The pair of bantamweights will finally be afforded the chance to settle their differences in a cage on Saturday night, but they took the opportunity to get in a few more verbal digs at each other during Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.
All 22 fighters scheduled to compete on tonight’s UFC on FX card in Australia made weight during the official fighter weigh-ins last night.
That includes new flyweights Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson, both of whom made the drop down from bantamweight to compete in a tournament to crown the first-ever UFC flyweight champion. All four flyweight competitors weighed in at exactly 125.5 pounds, which is a bit strange when you think about it.
There’s a first for everything.
Oh, and Thiago Alves? He had no problems making weight for the second consecutive fight, thanks to weight-management guru Mike Dolce. It’s the start of a good trend for the Brazilian.
As the former manager of Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko Cro Cop, Mijo Mijatovic was certainly a power player behind the scenes during the glory days of PRIDE.
In this unedited interview from Spike TV’s MMA Uncensored Live, Mijatovic details PRIDE’s deep connection to the Japanese yakuza (mafia) and recounts several harrowing and life-threatening situations.
The full story of PRIDE’s rise to glory and eventual downfall may never be properly told, but this interview sheds plenty of light on the rampant corruption surrounding the Japanese promotion.
New lightweight champion Benson Henderson received a potential six-month suspension after his UFC 144 win over Frankie Edgar last weekend in Japan. Henderson received the suspension due to possible broken bones in his hand and left foot, but can be cleared for an early return to the gym by a doctor.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Eiji Mitsuoka also received six-month suspensions.
All three fighters will likely be cleared by their doctors long before the suspensions run out.
Frankie Edgar may not be dropping to featherweight, but divisional champion Jose Aldo should have an opponent sooner rather than later.
That’s because top contenders Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung will meet on May 15 to determine Aldo’s next opponent. The bout between Poirier and Jung—better known as “The Korean Zombie”—will serve as the main event for UFC on Fuel 3.
In an ideal world, we’d see Edgar abandon the lightweight division in favor of a super-fight with Aldo. However, that doesn’t appear to be on the docket, and so Poirier and Jung must suffice. It’s a fight with plenty of potential for excitement, and the winner will be more deserving of a title shot than anyone else currently in the division.
I’m just not sure either guy is truly ready to face Aldo.
He’s the son of a legendary fighter, and fans expect stellar performances from him every time he steps in the cage.
But, in reality, Couture is still a young fighter trying to make his way in the MMA world. Brian Lopez-Benchimol takes a look at the career arc of the younger Couture.
Ronda Rousey’s rise to mixed martial arts stardom has very little to do with fighting.Sure, Rousey has proven that she’s very good at one specific thing—throwing her opponents to the ground and then submitting them with an armbar—but with a…
Ronda Rousey’s rise to mixed martial arts stardom has very little to do with fighting.
Sure, Rousey has proven that she’s very good at one specific thing—throwing her opponents to the ground and then submitting them with an armbar—but with a total in-cage time of less than four minutes, nobody will ever mistake Rousey for a grizzled veteran. She’s headlining Saturday’s Strikeforce card and challenging Miesha Tate for the Strikeforce bantamweight title on the strength of her trash-talking alone.
Tate prefers to keep things a little more low key, but the bantamweight champion is finally revealing her true feelings for the opponent she’ll attempt to defeat on Saturday night. Tate told MMA Weekly Radio that she believes Rousey is a bad representative for women in mixed martial arts
“Not only am I not a fan, I cannot stand the girl. She is full of it. I think she runs her mouth way too much. She says things that just make her look absolutely ridiculous and I think she gives women’s MMA a bad name. I don’t think she’s good representation or a good role model for the sport, period,” Tate said.
“Not only do I not like her, but I don’t respect her at all.”
The key in this entire situation, and one that Tate seemingly cannot grasp, is that the two female fighters would not be in the main event of Saturday’s card without Rousey constantly badmouthing Tate, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and various other female fighters.
Fights need a hook in order to attract an audience beyond the typical hardcore MMA fanbase that watches every UFC or Strikeforce show no matter who appears on the card. Fights appeal to the sporting side in all of us, but they also appeal to the imagination.
There’s no question that Tate and Rousey are two very talented fighters. It can’t be denied. But it also cannot be denied that mixed martial arts fans, as a general rule, just aren’t that interested in seeing women fight, particularly in high-profile situations. Rousey’s verbal ability changed her bout with Tate in drastic ways, turning it from just another female title fight on a Strikeforce card into the most anticipated female fight since Gina Carano faced Santos in 2009.
Tate prefers to think of MMA as pure sport, and that’s fine. But the truth of the matter is that without Ronda Rousey and her constant jabs in Tate’s direction, few people would care enough about this fight to actually tune in and watch it.
Dave Meltzer has reported in the latest edition of the subscription-only Wrestling Observer Newsletter that last weekend’s UFC 144 event in Saitama, Japan pulled in nearly 375,000 pay-per-view buys.The big surprise was in PPV, as preliminary indication…
Dave Meltzer has reported in the latest edition of the subscription-only Wrestling Observer Newsletter that last weekend’s UFC 144 event in Saitama, Japan pulled in nearly 375,000 pay-per-view buys.
The big surprise was in PPV, as preliminary indications are about 375,000 buys, which is way above predictions. Keep in mind, numbers this early in the game can be off by a significant amount. The last time Edgar main evented, they did 225,000 buys.
Meltzer’s buy-rate reports are typically fairly accurate and are a result of years of reporting on the pro wrestling industry’s pay-per-view numbers.
The UFC must be pleased with this. Going into the show, I figured we were looking at roughly 260,000 buys for the event. Frankie Edgar is historically not a draw, as evidenced by the UFC 136 buy rate that Meltzer mentioned in the above quote.
On top of that, events that take place outside of North America tend to pull far smaller numbers on pay-per-view than shows that take place on North American soil. Last summer’s UFC Rio event in Brazil featured Anderson Silva in the main event and pulled 335,000 viewers.
The numbers reflect the idea that Frankie Edgar, after going through four consecutive stellar fights without much in the way of fan interest, may have finally become a pay-per-view draw shortly before losing his title to Benson Henderson.
The presence of Rampage Jackson on the card likely helped boost the numbers, but UFC events are often purchased on the strength of their main events.
This news bodes well for the future of the UFC lightweight division.
Thiago Alves Gave That One Away