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UFC 137 Trash-Talk Alert: Cesar Gracie Blasts GSP’s ‘Ultimate Stalling’

(“‘aters gonna ‘ate.” Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)

George St. Pierre‘s genius as an MMA fighter is his ability to put his opponents exactly where they don’t want to be. Against strikers (see: Alves, Hardy), that usually means St. Pierre taking top position on the mat and not giving them an inch of space. Against wrestlers (see: Koscheck, Shields), it usually means keeping the fight standing and jabbing them into a living death.

But in both cases, it hasn’t translated into dramatic finishes recently. Aside from his corner-stoppage win over BJ Penn at UFC 94, the last time that GSP has legitimately TKO’d or submitted an opponent was during his rematch with Matt Serra, over three years ago. Now two months away from his UFC 137 title defense against Nick Diaz, St. Pierre has picked up a reputation among some fans and observers as a “safe” fighter. One of his recent critics is Diaz’s trainer/manager Cesar Gracie, who shared some less-than-kind words to Full Contact Fighter:

(“‘aters gonna ‘ate.” Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)

“The thing is it’s really not my business how he fights; he’s not on my team, so, I truly don’t care how he fights. Now if you’re asking me as a fan, yeah, that style is not what I like to watch. I like to watch guys that just go completely for it, take chances, and give crowds what they want, which is ‘Ultimate Fighting,’ not ‘ultimate stalling’ or anything like that.”

If Gracie is just saying that to get under St. Pierre’s skin and insult him into fighting a different kind of fight against Nick Diaz, well, his strategy probably won’t work. But from a fan’s perspective, he has a point. Keep in mind that Georges St. Pierre was unable to finish Dan Hardy in 25 minutes when they fought at UFC 111, while Carlos Condit subsequently knocked Hardy out in the first round, and Chris Lytle tapped him in the third. That seems to imply something about GSP’s finishing ability and/or risk-aversion.

Meanwhile, Nick Diaz’s current ten-fight win streak includes six TKOs and three submissions. Admittedly, Diaz’s level of competition hasn’t always been as high as GSP’s, but it’s obvious that when both fighters enter a cage, the objective is different. One is looking to win, the other is looking to kill.

So whose strategy will prove more effective when they meet on October 29th? And does GSP’s decision-streak affect your enjoyment of his fights?

Damn, ‘Batista’ Really Thinks He’s a Valuable Training Partner

(Video courtesy of MyFoxTAMPABAY)

It’s too bad we didn’t notice this charity auction item until after bidding on it ended, because we know a few of you may have been interested.

WWE wrestler-turned MMA hopeful Dave Bautista (AKA “Batista”) was offering a one-hour training session with him and a Cesar Gracie black belt (please let it be Nick Diaz) at his newly-opened gym in Tampa Bay and a follow-up lunch as part of a charity auction for Ovarian cancer. Now, I’m not sure if our valuation skills are a bit skewed, but we’re guessing that the deal isn’t quite worth the $2,500 they estimated — especially when the winning bidder had to provide his or her own airfare and accommodations for the lesson.

(Video courtesy of MyFoxTAMPABAY)

It’s too bad we didn’t notice this charity auction item until after bidding on it ended, because we know a few of you may have been interested.

A one-hour private with Royce or Renzo Gracie or Loyd Irvin doesn’t even cost that much, but then again you don’t get to watch any of those guys eat afterwards, so maybe it is worth it.

Gilbert Melendez to Defend Strikeforce Belt Against Jorge Masvidal in Late Fall

Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, News Gilbert Melendez’s desire to fight in the UFC will have to wait. The Strikeforce lightweight champion will square off with Jorge Masvidal in his next title defense, which will take place in the fal…

Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, News

Gilbert Melendez‘s desire to fight in the UFC will have to wait. The Strikeforce lightweight champion will square off with Jorge Masvidal in his next title defense, which will take place in the fall, according to Melendez’s trainer Cesar Gracie.

In a Friday interview, Gracie told MMA Fighting that a date had not yet been decided upon, but that the camp had been informed of the championship pairing.

Strikeforce has not yet announced any events past September, but it is not expected to host any major events in October, making November or December the likely target for the bout.

The fight comes as no surprise. It had previously been rumored after Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker called the winner of June’s Masvidal vs. KJ Noons fight a “frontrunner” to face Melendez. Masvidal won the bout via unanimous decision.

In his most recent bout, Melendez returned after a one-year layoff to crush the “Crusher,” Tatsuya Kawajiri, in a 3-minute, 14-second TKO. The victory was the fifth straight for Melendez, who improved to 19-2.

Afterward, he spoke about the possibility of moving over to the UFC like teammate Nick Diaz, but it appears that possibility has been shelved for the time being.

Masvidal’s win over Noons in June was his second straight win and third in his last four outings. The victory helped him improve to 22-6.

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No, It’s Not April Fool’s: Former WWE Wrestler To Open MMA Gym With Cesar Gracie

By Jason Moles

Man, they sure are lowering the bar these days. According to TMZ, Dave Bautista (aka former WWE professional wrestler “Batista“) and renowned MMA trainer Cesar Gracie have created a new tag team, and will be opening a Gracie Fighter Jiu Jitsu franchise in Tampa. Though the gym is currently only open to “close martial artist friends,” it will be opened to the public next week; you can see a couple photos of the joint here.

The last we heard about Bautista’s MMA career is that it was dead thanks to the UFC acquiring Strikeforce. I’m not sure if I’m more surprised that Bautista can’t stop pretending he’s a real fighter or that Cesar is whoring out the Gracie family name like that. I hope his cousin Renzo gives him a good talking to about this whole ordeal.

By Jason Moles

We can only imagine what a normal training day is like at Batista Top Team. Let’s see here, we’ve got jiu jitsu for dummies followed by tire-flipping. After that you have your choice of “Juice” 101, How to Sell a Punch, or 10 Steps to a Meaner Mug. You’ve got your work cut out for you, Ron Kruck.

This seems more like a publicity stunt than anything — or maybe it’s Bautista’s attempt to convince Dana White that he’s not a fake-fighter after all. What’s your take?

Eight Fights, No Boxing: More Details on Nick Diaz’s New Zuffa Contract

(Post-fight press conferences are about to get even more uncomfortable for Ariel Helwani. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle)

Following up yesterday’s bombshell about Nick Diaz‘s October 29th return to the UFC against Georges St. Pierre, USA Today and MMAFighting checked in with Diaz’s manager Cesar Gracie and picked up a couple more details. Here are the brass tacks…

– Diaz has signed a new eight-fight deal with Zuffa, which allows him to fight for both the UFC and Strikeforce. But the plan for Diaz isn’t necessarily to jump back and forth between promotions. Asked if the new deal marked the end of Diaz’s run in Strikeforce, Gracie replied, “Hopefully. If he’s back in Strikeforce, I would imagine that’s because he lost his next fight.”

(Post-fight press conferences are about to get even more uncomfortable for Ariel Helwani. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle)

– Diaz won’t be able to pursue a boxing career while under contract. “He obviously had to be compensated for not boxing and taking this fight instead,” Gracie said. (Points on the pay-per-view, perhaps?)

– There’s still no word on what, if anything, will happen with Diaz’s Strikeforce welterweight title in the aftermath of the GSP fight.

So, will Diaz be able to “play the game” enough to last eight fights under the stricter watch of Dana White and the UFC? Or will it be hospital fights and in-cage riots until he’s eventually booted? Personally, I wouldn’t expect Diaz to suddenly cheer up just because he’s been given everything he’s wanted. Can’t wait to see the next installment of this storyline…

Cesar Gracie Discusses Nick Diaz’s New UFC Contract, Upcoming GSP Fight

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsAt UFC 130, Dana White didn’t sound very confident that he would be able to put together the much talked about Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre super-fight. However, on Wednesday afternoon, the UFC president ann…

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, News

At UFC 130, Dana White didn’t sound very confident that he would be able to put together the much talked about Nick Diaz vs. Georges St-Pierre super-fight. However, on Wednesday afternoon, the UFC president announced the fight was a done deal and would take place at UFC 137 on Oct. 29 in Las Vegas.

MMA Fighting spoke to Cesar Gracie, Diaz’s manager and trainer, about how the deal was completed and what this means for Diaz’s Strikeforce future.

A transcript of the conversation can be found below.

Ariel Helwani: How did this deal get done?
Cesar Gracie: We just sent the contract yesterday and it arrived in their office today.

Is Nick now a UFC fighter?
You know what? That’s an interesting question and they have not told me how they’re going to structure that.

So is his Strikeforce belt on the line?
I don’t know. I truly don’t. They haven’t told me if his belt is on the line. I don’t think so. This is not like that because if his belt was on the line that would make GSP the Strikeforce champion (if he wins). And then what? He’s going to fight someone from Strikeforce? I don’t think that’s happening. But then again, refer to Dana on that one because I truly don’t know.

Did Nick sign a one-fight deal with the UFC or a longer one?
We have a new deal. Multi-fight, multi-year contract with the UFC.

How many fights is the new contract for?
I can tell you it’s a multi-fight, multi-year contract. I can’t tell you how many fights.

So it sounds like he is a UFC fighter now.
Right, but the contract does give the option to fight in Strikeforce. So what that opens up is the potential for him to also fight in Strikeforce.

Over the weekend, Dana White referred to some issues which were stopping this fight from being made. Do you know how those were resolved?
There was a lot of misinformation — there were a lot of reports out there that weren’t true. Showtime, I don’t think was a problem, to be honest with you, at all. They don’t have a contract with Nick. Nick’s contract is strictly with Explosion [Strikeforce’s parent company prior to the Zuffa purchase]. It has never been a contract with Showtime. So the reports you heard were erroneous and false. Other than that, the hurdles were the [Jeff] Lacy thing, stuff like that. I don’t know if they were Strikeforce, and if they were, Nick signed a new contract that dissolved his old contract with Strikeforce.

Do you know if Showtime is getting any kind of percentage of the pay-per-view?
No idea.

Any idea why Vegas was chosen as the site of the fight?
There were two venues they were looking at: one was in Canada and one was in Vegas. We didn’t know which one it was going to be until today.

Would you have been OK with fighting in Canada?
I did tell them it would be better if we fought in Vegas, obviously, because then the belt wouldn’t have very much further to go once Nick gets it (laughs).

Do you think this marks the end of Nick’s run in Strikeforce?
Hopefully. If he’s back in Strikeforce, I would imagine that’s because he lost his next fight.

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