Tag: Cheick Kongo

Matt Mitrione Steps In Against Roy Nelson at TUF 16 Finale After Cheick Kongo Turns It Down


(Yeah, Matt, we’re all pissed about the Giants last performance.) 

When we last heard from Matt Mitrione, he had placed himself in Dana White’s crosshairs by committing the #1 sin a UFC fighter can commit. No, not failing a drug test that eventually cancels the biggest fight of the year — that sort of thing can easily be forgiven. The man known by many as simply “Meathead” did something much, much worse: he refused to bail the UFC out by taking a fight against Daniel Cormier when Frank Mir got injured. THE AUDACITY.

Out of action since October of 2011 and coming off a hype-derailing performance against Cheick Kongo, Mitrione needed to step up for the UFC in one way or another ASAP, lest he find himself Attonito’d. The perfect opportunity arose when Shane Carwin became the sixth coach in the last eight TUF seasons to pull out of his scheduled fight due to injury. So bada boom bada bing, Mitrione will now be squaring off against fellow TUF 10 castmate Roy Nelson at the TUF 16 Finale in December.


(Yeah, Matt, we’re all pissed about the Giants last performance.) 

When we last heard from Matt Mitrione, he had placed himself in Dana White’s crosshairs by committing the #1 sin a UFC fighter can commit. No, not failing a drug test that eventually cancels the biggest fight of the year — that sort of thing can easily be forgiven. The man known by many as simply “Meathead” did something much, much worse: he refused to bail the UFC out by taking a fight against Daniel Cormier when Frank Mir got injured. THE AUDACITY.

Out of action since October of 2011 and coming off a hype-derailing performance against Cheick Kongo, Mitrione needed to step up for the UFC in one way or another ASAP, lest he find himself Attonito’d. The perfect opportunity arose when Shane Carwin became the sixth coach in the last eight TUF seasons to pull out of his scheduled fight due to injury. So bada boom bada bing, Mitrione will now be squaring off against fellow TUF 10 castmate Roy Nelson at the TUF 16 Finale in December.

Ironically enough, Kongo was originally being sought after to fill in against Nelson. One would think that, given his last few performances (snoozer over Mitrione, crushed by Mark Hunt, even worse snoozer over Shawn Jordan), Kongo would want to try and earn a little redemption in both the fans and the UFC’s eyes by stepping up. Then again, Nelson’s short and stout frame would have made it difficult for the 6’4″ Frenchman to turn “Big Country’s” testicles into flapjacks with a series of low blows, so perhaps it makes sense that he turned the fight down.

In either case, Mitrione vs. Nelson will now headline the preposterously titled TUF 16 Finale, a card which more or less sums up the kind of talent the UFC has been able to discover in the past few seasons of the show. Which is to say, none. I mean, just look at this card:

-Roy Nelson vs. Matt Mitrione
-”TUF 16″ tournament final
-James Head vs. Mike Pyle
-Tim Elliott vs. Jared Papazian
-Pat Barry vs. Shane Del Rosario
-Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner
-Jonathan Brookins vs. Dustin Poirier
-Johnny Bedford vs. Marcos Vinicius
-Rustam Khabilov vs. Vinc Pichel
-Nick Catone vs. T.J. Waldburger
-Reuben Duran vs. Hugo Viana
-John Cofer vs. Mike Rio

I know, pretty stacked for a TUF Finale, right? That might be because there are only two members from the current season competing on the card, who will undoubtedly have long careers in the UFC ahead of them [SARCASM].

This is what baffles me most about the current state of TUF. MMA is constantly evolving; gyms are popping up more frequently around the world than zits on a teenagers mug and producing more talented up and comers than ever before. Thousands upon thousands of fighters audition for TUF each year, yet somehow, those who are deemed talented enough for the show are simultaneously so untalented that they don’t even deserve a shot on the card dedicated to the show they were just on? After months of training with top fighters at their disposal?

I have no clue if Ross Pointon is a more talented fighter than the “Let me bang, bro” guy or not, but the TUF Finale events are starting to resemble some ass-backwards high school graduation where no students are actually invited on stage and instead spend three hours watching the teachers and past alumni stroke each other’s egos. And half of the teachers are from different schools. Perhaps stealing the casting crew behind the Real World/Road Rules Challenge wasn’t such a good move by the UFC after all…

…SO WHO’S EXCITED FOR NEXT SEASON?!

–J. Jones

UFC on Fuel 5: Who Should Stefan Struve Face Next?

The UFC’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom was met with mixed reactions leading up to the event. British fans feel that the UFC stays away for far too long, while the UFC brass points out that it is trying to cultivate new markets and it canno…

The UFC’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom was met with mixed reactions leading up to the event. British fans feel that the UFC stays away for far too long, while the UFC brass points out that it is trying to cultivate new markets and it cannot be everywhere at once.

However, after the event was over, I think that the fans were pleased with the action on Saturday night. Dan Hardy won his bout to great approval and there were slugfests, submission wins and three great knockouts on the card. So, even though Paul Sass suffered a loss by submission and John Hathaway was ho-hum in his performance, the event was still a roaring success if you ask me.

I understand that the English fans might feel a bit left out after the UFC invested a lot of time and effort there from 2007-2009 to strengthen that market and now they have to begin to watch the UFC visit less and less as it continues its global expansion. 

Either way, Britain still seems to get a UFC event year after year which is much more than I can say for my home state of Illinois (It is also important to note that my state is in the country of the UFC’s origin and is still largely ignored). The UFC is “going everywhere” as Dana White likes to say and they cannot be everywhere simultaneously so I think we all need to simmer down and relax a bit. Patience is part of game folks. In the current context of what Zuffa is trying to do with the UFC, this is likely to happen to a lot of markets so they are not being singled out in any way.

The biggest winner from UFC on Fuel 5, both literally and symbolically, had to be Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve.  Stefan has looked increasingly good in wins over Pat Barry, Dave Herman and Lavar Johnson.  All of these wins came via stoppage.

Struve looked sharp on Saturday, landing good strikes at range and finally seeming to utilize his 84.5″ reach to his advantage on his way to notching his fourth straight win in the UFC.  Stipe Miocic was a game opponent and gave Stefan a good run for his money in the first round with solid standup and clinch skills, however Struve used a popping jab and some crushing uppercuts to set up a second-round TKO in Nottingham.

With this win in hand who should Stefan Struve face next? He certainly had an interesting idea when, after the fight, Struve called out Brazilian heavyweight and top contender Fabricio Werdum.

I’m not so sure I like that matchup for him right now, instead I have three other options that I think make a lot more sense for his progression while not pushing him too fast, which could be the case with booking the Werdum fight right now.

 

Option No. 1

Struve could face the winner of the Travis Browne-Antonio Silva bout that takes place this coming Friday in Minnesota at UFC on FX 5. This fight is appealing for three reasons.

The first is that the timing is ideal. Both fighters, if healthy, would be able to get back into the cage soon, which is usually appealing to up-and-comers.

Secondly, I think this would be a step up but not too far. Browne is undefeated but for whatever reason he doesn’t have a lot of hype behind him and neither does Silva, however, they both are solid top-10 guys like Struve.

Lastly, if Browne wins in particular a rematch of a previous fight with Struve could be an easy sell and no doubt would provide some great pre-fight trash talk.

 

Option No. 2

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira would be another great choice for Struve at this point in his career ascension. Big Nog is not only a legend, but he is fighting Dave Herman, whom Struve beat not that long ago to get to where he is.

When we combine this with the fact that Nogueira is a name opponent and a known commodity, this fight just makes sense. If Rodrigo emerges unscathed from his UFC 153 bout, this is a viable option for Skyscraper.

 

Option No. 3

Why not Cheick Kongo? Many newer fans may not think this man is a top heavyweight but he is a top-10 UFC heavyweight. 

Since 2010 Kongo is 4-1-1, with the loss coming to Mark Hunt and the draw was against Travis Browne, another top heavyweight fighter.  In fact, Cheick is a combined 11-5-1 in the UFC, which is much better than a lot of naysayers would think.

It is true that he has lost five times, but the only decisive losses were against Mark Hunt, Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez who are all top tier heavyweights.

Kongo could be a perfect fit for Struve because he is a top-10 heavyweight, a veteran and not too much of a step up at this point. But Kongo will test Struve‘s skills and his Octagon moxy, which Stefan needs to beat the top UFC heavyweights. In my opinion this is actually the best option right now because it moves him forward but he won’t be reaching too far and end up getting Superman punched out of the top ten again. Ouch! That one had to hurt.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Old Spice, Chevy, and Six More Corporate Sponsors That Should Tap Into MMA


(“Nothing comes between me and my Baconator. Nothing.”)

By Jason Moles

In the ever-competitive world of professional mixed martial arts, the men and women are fighting for more than just the fans and their next paycheck; they’re fighting for survival. When you barely have enough money left for yourself after paying your training partners, coaches, and buying nutritional supplements, it’s time to find another source of income. Most do this in the way of sponsorships — you know, like the Nike deal Jon Jones recently signed, or Anderson Silva’s relationship with Burger King. And if more of these well-known mainstream companies would sponsor a few fighters, the smaller companies that currently sponsor fighters could move to guys and gals who are still making their way up the ranks without anyone losing out. Let’s look at the companies that best suit MMA, how they should be involved, and why it makes sense.

Company: Old Spice
Ideal fighter to sponsor: Cheick Kongo, Alistair Overeem

Why it makes sense: Standing 6′ 4″ and weighing 230 pounds, and 6′ 5″/263, respectively, the Frenchman and the Dutchman are the most physically imposing fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Old Spice is known for their funny commercials targeting the same audience watching PPV’s on a Saturday night. In the past, Old Spice has used NFL players Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis as spokesman for their ‘Swagger’ line of men’s body products, as well as jacked Expendables cast-member Terry Crews. And if those guys can do it, why not Kongo and Overeem? In particular, “The Demolition Man” is the type of guy you want your customers to think they’ll be more like by using your product. Alistair could even make his commercial debut by eating the horse the original Old Spice Guy rode in on.


(“Nothing comes between me and my Baconator. Nothing.”)

By Jason Moles

In the ever-competitive world of professional mixed martial arts, the men and women are fighting for more than just the fans and their next paycheck; they’re fighting for survival. When you barely have enough money left for yourself after paying your training partners, coaches, and buying nutritional supplements, it’s time to find another source of income. Most do this in the way of sponsorships — you know, like the Nike deal Jon Jones recently signed, or Anderson Silva’s relationship with Burger King. And if more of these well-known mainstream companies would sponsor a few fighters, the smaller companies that currently sponsor fighters could move to guys and gals who are still making their way up the ranks without anyone losing out. Let’s look at the companies that best suit MMA, how they should be involved, and why it makes sense.

Company: Old Spice
Ideal fighter to sponsor: Cheick Kongo, Alistair Overeem

Why it makes sense: Standing 6′ 4″ and weighing 230 pounds, and 6′ 5″/263, respectively, the Frenchman and the Dutchman are the most physically imposing fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Old Spice is known for their funny commercials targeting the same audience watching PPV’s on a Saturday night. In the past, Old Spice has used NFL players Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis as spokesman for their ‘Swagger’ line of men’s body products, as well as jacked Expendables cast-member Terry Crews. And if those guys can do it, why not Kongo and Overeem? In particular, “The Demolition Man” is the type of guy you want your customers to think they’ll be more like by using your product. Alistair could even make his commercial debut by eating the horse the original Old Spice Guy rode in on.

Company: Chevrolet
Ideal fighters to sponsor: Joseph Benavidez, Demetrious Johnson

Why it makes sense: The 2013 Chevy Spark may be small, but what it lacks in stature, it more than makes up for in heart. The potential to save drivers a small fortune on gas is enough to get most excited, and the 18-34 male demographic includes cash-strapped college guys and new dads — definitely a bunch a dudes looking to save a few extra bucks any chance they can get. Who better to market your product than your Ultimate Fighting counterparts, the UFC’s two smallest and most fuel-efficient contenders?

Both the fighters and the mini-cars are well equipped, fast, and flashy. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the unbelievably high MPG, which means you won’t ever have to worry about running out of gas when you enter the championship rounds. Isn’t it obvious that this is a match made in mini-heaven?

Company: Lunesta
Ideal fighters to sponsor: Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, Ben Askren

Why it makes sense: From Lunesta’s website: “When you want to sleep, do you lie awake? When you get to sleep, do you wake up often during the night? Sleep is here on the wings of LUNESTA. Some sleep aids are approved to help you fall asleep and others to help you stay asleep. Prescription LUNESTA is approved to do both.”

4 out of 5 doctors recommend you watch a fight featuring Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, or Ben Askren, if you do not wish to use or cannot afford prescription medication. It’s a known fact; these boring wrestlers will put you to sleep before they even break a sweat. While most fans spew vitriol every time these fighters are mentioned, a large percentage of the audience is insomniacs and singing their praises. MMA managers these days tell their guys in the gym to make themselves into a brand. It just so happens that the brands these guys have created have the same tags as Lunesta: sleep, helps me sleep, cures insomnia, best sleep I’ve ever had.

Company: Tampax
Ideal fighter to sponsor: Ronda Rousey

Why it makes sense: Hear me out. Back in 2009, Tampax signed Serena Williams of tennis fame to an endorsement deal during their “Outsmart Mother Nature” campaign. The commercial was clever and effective. After watching it, you believed that one of the best female tennis players to ever step onto a court could go on with life as usual, despite her monthly visitor, with no major adjustments to her schedule. Skip ahead to present day where Strikeforce Women’s champion Ronda Rousey graces the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue, appears on Conan O’Brian, and has a two-part all-access pass look at her life filmed by Showtime. Sounds like Tampax has a fresh face with enough exposure to take home a larger share of the feminine hygiene products sales. Rousey is the perfect example of a woman that demands a lot out of her girlie products. Training for a championship bout consists of running, strength training, kickboxing, and most of all, jiu jitsu — and all of the rolling around that comes with it. Just like there’s no crying in baseball, there are no time outs for leaks. Not to worry, she has Tampax in her corner.

I envision some poor soul getting a text from his girl while he’s out getting snacks for fight night. She asks him to do the unthinkable — pick up some tampons and hurry back. So he makes his way to the pink aisle and scans a ton of pink boxes that may have been written in gibberish. He wants to make this as quick as possible so there’s no time to ask his damsel in distress what kind she wants. He’ll just have to figure this out on his own. *Boom!* “Yep, these are the ones Ronda Rousey uses, so they must be good.” he says to himself. Brand association is a powerful tool — one that makes a deal like this all but certain in the years to come.

On the next page: Listerine, UPS, and the return of Jimmy John’s…

UFC: The 10 Fighters You Don’t Want to Meet in a Dark Alley

Let’s face it: there really aren’t any UFC fighters that you’d want to meet in a dark alley.Not if you have bad intentions on your mind, anyway. You’d go from being the aggressor to testing out your speed in a foot race in a blink of an eye. That’s als…

Let’s face it: there really aren’t any UFC fighters that you’d want to meet in a dark alley.

Not if you have bad intentions on your mind, anyway. You’d go from being the aggressor to testing out your speed in a foot race in a blink of an eye. That’s also a fight you probably wouldn’t win. 

But there are certain guys on the UFC roster that instill a little more fear than the rest. Or, I should say, the thought of running into these guys in anywhere but an absolutely public place puts the fear of God into me.

Let me state, for the record, that all of the guys I’ve included on this list are incredibly nice human beings. We’re not talking about Mike Tyson in the ’80s or ’90s here, folks. All of these fighters would be more inclined to take you out for a beer than bash the ever-loving stuffing out of you.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at 10 of the scariest fighters in the UFC.

Begin Slideshow

The Referees have Infuriated Dana White Once Again at UFC 149

UFC 149 was the first event to be held in Canada in 2012. Support for the UFC in Canada is surging, and the fans always bring enthusiasm and high spirits to the events. The head.

UFC 149 was the first event to be held in Canada in 2012. Support for the UFC in Canada is surging, and the fans always bring enthusiasm and high spirits to the events. The head of the UFC hope to create a phenomenon there, declaring MMA a top sport in Canada, right after hockey. Events like UFC 149, however, deteriorate the high potential of the sport.

The card was in upheaval from the start. Injury after injury caused numerous fighters to drop out, causing Joe Silva and Dana White to constantly make alterations. The performances at the event were lackluster, and didn’t generate nearly enough excitement to live up to their hype. And most notably, as Dana White notoriously complains about after events, the horrible jobs of the referees. Personally, nothing angers me more than bad calls or timing by the refs. If my favorite fighter loses due to a KO or a fair decision, he wasn’t the best man in the ring that night. But I become infuriated when I see a ref miscall a move, stop a bout too soon, or allow two fighters to wall and stall.

A huge mistake occurred during the first bout of the main event when Matt Riddle orchestrated a kick to Chris Clements’ body. It was completely legal, and Riddle could have potentially finished the fight. However, Josh Rosenthal, the referee for the fight, thought that the body kick was in fact a kick to the groin, and gave Clements time to recovery for the seemingly “illegal move.”
Dana White openly expressed his anger: “It’s a kick to the body, and Rosenthal jumps in the middle because he thought it was a kick to the groin,” White said. “Come on. You’re standing right there. Open your eyes. Pay attention – this is what you’re getting paid to do. You choose to do this. If you don’t want to do it 100 percent, don’t do it. Go do something else. The fight could’ve been ended right there. That’s a situation where he doesn’t see it, stops the action, gets half-assed in there instead of making a clear, decisive decision. And what if Riddle lost the fight after that at a point where he had him hurt to the body with a beautiful kick? And he jumps in the middle.”

Another main event bout between Cheick Kongo and Shawn Jordan created dissatisfaction among fans. Referee Yves Lavigne allowed the two fighters to stand in a clinch for the majority of three rounds without doing any work. The bout ended in a very lackluster decision win that generated a displeased audience. Perhaps the most aggravating referee mishap, was that of a preliminary bout between Ryan Jimmo and Anthony Perosh. Jimmo made his UFC debut Saturday night, and he had one memorable entrance. He knocked out Perosh in 7 seconds, a tie for the fastest knockout in UFC history. The mistake that was made was once again by referee Josh Rosenthal. He was a significant distance away from the fighters, and it took him longer to declare the official end of the fight. Had he been closer like he should have been, Jimmo could have had the record for the fastest knockout. In essence, Rosenthal’s mistake screwed Jimmo out of, hypothetically, the best UFC debut in history.

All in all, what does this mean for the sport? Dana White has stated numerous times that he has no jurisdiction over the calls of the referees or the referees in general. The promotion and state deal with the referees. But how long can the originally criticized sport handle such dissatisfaction by fans? Dana White knows the detrimental effects it has for the fans, and yet he is powerless. I feel as if the sport needs to have more competent referees, or ones that can at least make calls that are fair for the bout. The UFC, being a relatively new promotion in terms of sports, has been scrutinized in the past for numerous reasons, and current issues like this hurt their potentially growing fan base, and their attempt to revitalize the sport. Whatever actions are taken, something needs to be done, because Dana White has been advocating this problem for quite too long.

By: Emily Kapala

UFC 149 Injury Update: Urijah Faber Fought Through a Broken Rib, Cheick Kongo Had Two Jacked-Up Shoulders

In one final outburst of senseless violence, the UFC 149 Injury Curse claimed multiple victims on fight night, before receding back to the haunted ground that spawned it. We already mentioned that Tim Boetsch broke his foot during the second round of his fight against Hector Lombard, and yesterday Urijah Faber confirmed that he broke a rib during his main event meeting with Renan Barao. The California Kid tweeted out the x-ray above, writing “Congrats 2 @RenanBaraoUFC. He’s a tough dude. Broke my rib in the 1st with a great knee. Thank u 4 all the support.”

So if you were wondering why Boetsch wasn’t quite as active as you expected him to be on Saturday, or why Faber consistently looked a half-step behind his Brazilian opponent, blame the broken bones. And if you were wondering why Cheick Kongo‘s bout with Shawn Jordan turned out to be a hopelessly dull clinching-competition, there’s a similar explanation for that too…

In one final outburst of senseless violence, the UFC 149 Injury Curse claimed multiple victims on fight night, before receding back to the haunted ground that spawned it. We already mentioned that Tim Boetsch broke his foot during the second round of his fight against Hector Lombard, and yesterday Urijah Faber confirmed that he broke a rib during his main event meeting with Renan Barao. The California Kid tweeted out the x-ray above, writing “Congrats 2 @RenanBaraoUFC. He’s a tough dude. Broke my rib in the 1st with a great knee. Thank u 4 all the support.”

So if you were wondering why Boetsch wasn’t quite as active as you expected him to be on Saturday, or why Faber consistently looked a half-step behind his Brazilian opponent, blame the broken bones. And if you were wondering why Cheick Kongo‘s bout with Shawn Jordan turned out to be a hopelessly dull clinching-competition, there’s a similar explanation for that too…


(Props: MMAFighting.com)

In his post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani, Kongo admits to entering the fight with two injured shoulders that gave him about a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1-10, pain-wise. (So maybe that’s why he didn’t do his traditional “chest thump thing” before the fight. It’s not your fault, Anthony.) When Helwani asks him if he wishes he’d pulled out of the fight, Kongo agrees and says “I just tried to be there just for the fans” — which is admirable, in theory.

Though Kongo apologized for his performance, he did have something to say to the Calgary fans who booed the fight: ”They don’t know what’s going on, what’s happened. Everybody thinks the fight is really easy to do…if they got to fight in the same condition like I am today, honestly, they [would] cry or just pass out.”