(Quarry slugs it out with Jorge Rivera during his final Octagon appearance in March 2010. / Photo via MMAWeekly)
For five years, Nate Quarry was a reliable and entertaining presence in the UFC’s middleweight division. He fought through some incredible brawls, gave us a few laughs, and most of his fights ended in satisfyingly violent fashion, for better or worse.
Quarry retired from MMA two years ago on his own terms. There was no contract dispute, no falling out with the UFC top brass. The TUF 1 veteran stepped away quietly and respectfully, due to concerns about his own health and future. He had no axe to grind.
But on a recent UG thread about the UFC’s upcoming fighter uniforms, Quarry couldn’t hold his tongue any longer, and wrote out a long post about his own experiences with sponsorships during his time in the UFC, and the cold, impersonal way he was treated by the promotion. Whether or not you think the UFC has any obligation to support its fighters beyond their contracted fight-purses, Quarry’s note is worth reading in its entirety. Check it out below, and let us know what you think.
*********
“When I signed with the UFC this is what I was told:
We can’t pay you much but you can have any sponsors you want.
Then: We need to approve your sponsors.
Then: You can’t have any conflicting sponsors.
Then: You can’t thank your sponsors after fights.
Then: We are not approving any sponsors that we don’t like their product.
Then: Your sponsors have to pay us a fee of $50,000 for the pleasure to sponsor you.
Then: Your sponsors have to pay us a fee of $100,000 for the pleasure to sponsor you.
If a sponsor has a budget of 10k to sponsor a fighter, they are then out. If there are 5 shorts companies in the UFC you can only go to them for a sponsorship. If they have spent their budget or don’t want to support an up and coming fighter they give you shorts instead of money. If you’re fighting for $6,000 to show and fighting 3 times a year, even $500 makes a big difference. When there is no competition they don’t have to pay you. I lost And1 as a sponsor when the UFC enacted the tax.
(Quarry slugs it out with Jorge Rivera during his final Octagon appearance in March 2010. / Photo via MMAWeekly)
For five years, Nate Quarry was a reliable and entertaining presence in the UFC’s middleweight division. He fought through some incredible brawls, gave us a few laughs, and most of his fights ended in satisfyingly violent fashion, for better or worse.
Quarry retired from MMA two years ago on his own terms. There was no contract dispute, no falling out with the UFC top brass. The TUF 1 veteran stepped away quietly and respectfully, due to concerns about his own health and future. He had no axe to grind.
But on a recent UG thread about the UFC’s upcoming fighter uniforms, Quarry couldn’t hold his tongue any longer, and wrote out a long post about his own experiences with sponsorships during his time in the UFC, and the cold, impersonal way he was treated by the promotion. Whether or not you think the UFC has any obligation to support its fighters beyond their contracted fight-purses, Quarry’s note is worth reading in its entirety. Check it out below, and let us know what you think.
*********
“When I signed with the UFC this is what I was told:
We can’t pay you much but you can have any sponsors you want.
Then: We need to approve your sponsors.
Then: You can’t have any conflicting sponsors.
Then: You can’t thank your sponsors after fights.
Then: We are not approving any sponsors that we don’t like their product.
Then: Your sponsors have to pay us a fee of $50,000 for the pleasure to sponsor you.
Then: Your sponsors have to pay us a fee of $100,000 for the pleasure to sponsor you.
If a sponsor has a budget of 10k to sponsor a fighter, they are then out. If there are 5 shorts companies in the UFC you can only go to them for a sponsorship. If they have spent their budget or don’t want to support an up and coming fighter they give you shorts instead of money. If you’re fighting for $6,000 to show and fighting 3 times a year, even $500 makes a big difference. When there is no competition they don’t have to pay you. I lost And1 as a sponsor when the UFC enacted the tax.
At the UFC summit a fighter asked if he could wear his own shirt. Dana laughed and said, “Uh… we can talk about it.” I turned around and asked the UFC lawyer if I could wear my OWN shirt and he said, “Sure, give me $50,000 and we can talk about it.”
People have no clue from the outside what it’s like to fight for the UFC. After spending 10-15 years chasing your dream only to see that the company it’s been your dream to fight for cares nothing about the fighters and only cares about the bottom line.
When I was fighting for the UFC we got X-Mas presents like an iPod. A very bottom of the line iPod but it was still cool. Now the guys get a gift certificate to the UFC store and can use it ONE day. Any money they don’t spend on that day is forfeited.
A fighter gets to use the gym at the hotel he’s fighting at for free. The cornermen and everyone with him have to pay. So I’m helping Leben make weight the day of weigh ins and have to pay to go sit in the sauna with him. The UFC couldn’t say, “The fighter gets 3 people to go into the gym with him the week of the fight.”
That’s just nickel and dime stuff.
With every little bit they try to squeeze out of the fighters, the more the other organizations will look more attractive.
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to fight for the UFC and everything I have besides my daughter has come from fighting. But let’s not fool ourselves. It’s not a charity. It’s a business. And they are doing everything they can to make money. The fighters are just a product to use and discard. Every up and coming fighter is the best ever. Every ex-fighter who then expresses an opinion is a coward, loser, etc, etc.
I fought for the world title for $10,000. Not a penny more. No bonus. No cut of the PPV. The gate alone was 3.5 million dollars. The third highest gate in UFC history at the time. And they must have loved the fight cuz they show the final punch at the start of EVERY UFC PPV.
And that’s fine. Because it’s a business. But sooner or later the allure of fighting in the UFC will not be as attractive as fighting for an organization that takes care of you, appreciates you, will let you have sponsors to help make up the income gap, doesn’t trash you when you think for yourself, and on and on. Just like every business you work for. It’s funny to me to hear people cheer for Dana when he says things that if he was your boss and he said them about you, you would be looking for another job. [Ed. note: Oh my God, this x 1,000.] But when you’re signed to a contract, you can’t go anywhere. No matter how much you want to.
When I retired I received a form letter, EMAILED to me that said, “Should you choose to fight again you are still under contract with the UFC.” I didn’t even get a hard copy with a real signature that I could frame.
As I said, I love what the UFC has done for me and my family. And specifically what Dana has done for me.
But I also know it’s a business. And that’s the best piece of advice I can give to wanna be fighters. Fight for the love of the game. But you better treat it like a business. Because the promoter handing you a contract sure will.”
At the risk of upsetting another French brick shithouse, Riner’s anti-MMA stance reeks of ignorance. So in honour of UFC 170, I’m going to highlight four Olympians who have a good chance of crossing over. These athletes have either expressed an interest in MMA, supported it, or have an uncanny parallel with another well-known fighter. Lets run them down…
Outside of the Olympic games there isn’t a professional avenue for judo players, but MMA provides that opportunity, giving former judokas a chance to use their skill set to compete and make a living. Travis Stevens could be the next crossover star from the world of judo — joining the ranks of Rousey, Hector Lombard, and Yoshiro Akiyama — and he’s already considering MMA as a future career.
The 27-year-old American made his first Olympic appearance at the 2008 Beijing Games (where he placed 9th), and fell short of the podium again in London in 2012, losing out in the bronze medal match. Failing to capture an Olympic medal in two attempts puts Stevens in an awkward position. Does he jump into MMA now or wait around for the next Olympic games?
Stevens is not only a top ten Judoka in his weight division he also regularly trains under Renzo Gracie at his academy in New York, and more impressively is a black-belt in jiu-jitsu under grappling guru John Danaher. A double black belt is a testament to Stevens’ incredible ground game, which provides the perfect base to enter MMA.
(The bronze-medalist judoka and silver-medalist freestyle wrestler both have a shot at UFC gold this weekend. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
At the risk of upsetting another French brick shithouse, Riner’s anti-MMA stance reeks of ignorance. So in honour of UFC 170, I’m going to highlight four Olympians who have a good chance of crossing over. These athletes have either expressed an interest in MMA, supported it, or have an uncanny parallel with another well-known fighter. Lets run them down…
Outside of the Olympic games there isn’t a professional avenue for judo players, but MMA provides that opportunity, giving former judokas a chance to use their skill set to compete and make a living. Travis Stevens could be the next crossover star from the world of judo — joining the ranks of Rousey, Hector Lombard, and Yoshiro Akiyama — and he’s already considering MMA as a future career.
The 27-year-old American made his first Olympic appearance at the 2008 Beijing Games (where he placed 9th in the 81kg division), and fell short of the podium again in London in 2012, losing out in the bronze medal match. Failing to capture an Olympic medal in two attempts puts Stevens in an awkward position. Does he jump into MMA now or wait around for the next Olympic games?
Stevens is not only a top ten Judoka in his weight division he also regularly trains under Renzo Gracie at his academy in New York, and more impressively is a black-belt in jiu-jitsu under grappling guru John Danaher. A double black belt is a testament to Stevens’ incredible ground game, which provides the perfect base to enter MMA.
The Irish boxing starlet has won a long list of medals in her boxing career competing at 60kg, culminating in her gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Traditionally for male athletes, winning a medal in the Olympics is a foundation to enter the professional ranks, with many of the top boxing promoters snapping up successful Olympians. However, the women’s boxing scene isn’t thriving, which makes a transition to MMA much more enticing.
There is a ton of buzz surrounding former boxing star turned hot MMA prospect Holly Holm, who has made short work with all her opponents in MMA, albeit against some questionable opponents. Taylor is still fairly young at the age of 27, so she has time to work on the ground mechanics before shifting to MMA. Already carrying a huge following in her home country, Taylor would be a welcome addition to the 135-pound division.
MMA is littered with many collegiate, regional, national, you-name-it wrestling stars. Most of the best wrestlers have come out of the amateur wrestling scene in the U.S., which has served as a conveyor belt in feeding the best talent to MMA. There are only a handful of Olympic-caliber wrestlers in the sport, but freestyle wrestler Varner could potentially be another one. Varner hasn’t indicated whether he will enter the MMA bubble, but unlike his teammate Jordan Burroughs, he hasn’t dismissed it. The California native is a fan of the UFC, naming fellow wrestler Dan Henderson as his favorite fighter.
If his gold medal from the 2012 London Games wasn’t enough to prove how legitimate his wrestling credentials are, the 96kg competitor is also coached by Cael Sanderson who is one of, if not the greatest amateur wrestler to come out of the States. Like Stevens and Taylor, Varner is still relatively young at the age of 27 and could mold his MMA career on fellow Olympian Daniel Cormier. Cormier turned professional at the age of twenty-nine, and was also a small heavyweight who eventually dropped down to 205 pounds. With Varner’s elite-of-the-elite wrestling pedigree, a move to MMA could garner him just as much success as past Olympians who have competed in the sport.
Another gold medalist at the London Olympics, the British Taekwondo practitioner became a overnight superstar with her performances en route to a gold medal in the 57kg division. The Korean martial art isn’t as common as other disciplines among MMA practitioners, but two fighters who have embraced it are decorated lightweight stars Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson.
If Jones decided to transition into MMA, a few years of practicing the ground game would be a must, but being only 20 years old she has time on her side. As the UFC was ramping up for last year’s Fight Night in Manchester, Jones met and trained with WMMA pioneer Rosi Sexton, who became the first female British UFC fighter and was involved in the first UFC women’s bout in Europe. Now that Sexton has left the promotion, could Jones step in as the next British WMMA star?
Any sentiment related to the UFC and how they take care of their fighters (whether it’s about pay, insurance, or what have you) is bound to be controversial. Leben’s tweet suggesting the UFC discards their fighters once they’ve outlived their usefulness and leaves them as empty, “broken” husks was no exception. A firestorm erupted on twitter and otherInternet locales, with many fans insulting Leben and bashing the TUF Season 1 veteran. Their argument: Leben made more money than me, so fuck him. His drug issues are not my problem. Harsh words for a man who risked his mind and body to entertain so many.
Any sentiment related to the UFC and how they take care of their fighters (whether it’s about pay, insurance, or what have you) is bound to be controversial. Leben’s tweet suggesting the UFC discards their fighters once they’ve outlived their usefulness and leaves them as empty, “broken” husks was no exception. A firestorm erupted on twitter and otherInternet locales, with many fans insulting Leben and bashing the TUF Season 1 veteran. Their argument: Leben made more money than me, so fuck him. His drug issues are not my problem. Harsh words for a man who risked his mind and body to entertain so many.
A shame fans didn’t express these sentiments while Leben was in the UFC and clearly had issues. But then he was a BANGER, a WARRIOR. Now, since he doesn’t collect a UFC paycheck, fans think he’s a pathetic, burned out mooch who deserves nothing but agony. We’ve said it before, but MMA fans are terrible sometimes. Furthermore, Leben was distraught over the death of his dog, which prompted his above tweet about the UFC. It’s terrible to deride a person in such circumstances.
Ailing animal aside, Leben’s tweet brings a question to the fore: Should the UFC start a rehabilitation program for their fighters?
As the UFC roster balloons and the old guard of MMA ages, more and more Chris Lebens—athletes who fought hard but perhaps partied harder—will enter the confusing, empty-feeling life of an ex-fighter. What’ll those fighters do? They can’t all get ridiculousjobs from Zuffa, nor can they all become commentators. Some will find gigs as coaches and successful gym owners, but what about the rest who lose their way and fall to their drug habits—habits they acquired because of the MMA lifestyle?
Zuffa might help distressed fighters they’re partial to (guys that WARRED), but ideally the UFC would mimic the WWE’s model of rehabilitation assistance, the goal of which is “to help any former talent that may have a substance-related dependency problem.” The WWE covers all costs and “maintains regular contact with talent who have entered a rehab program or reached out for WWE assistance.”
The professional wrestling industry has a history with drug use. The grueling, 300+ day schedules combined with the constant wear and tear of taking bumps night after night is too much for some. They turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with the pain and pressure.
While competing in the UFC doesn’t require constant travel, fighting isn’t an easy occupation on the mind or body—not at the high levels, where the “Rock Star Life” can consume fighters, nor at the low levels where $8,000 to show doesn’t come close to covering your costs for the fight, and training often has to be juggled with a day job. Financial struggles are only half the problem. No fighter enters the cage injury-free. But they can only get paychecks from fighting. When injuries mount and bank accounts run dry, competing hurt is the only option. Fighters, such as Chris Leben and Karo Parisyan, turn topainkillers. Other athletes might turn to different kinds of drugs.
Perhaps it’s the UFC’s responsibility to offer some aid to competitors who succumbed to drugs to cope with the physical and mental pressures of fighting. For all of Dana White’s/Zuffa’s grandstanding, the UFC would be nowhere without the fighters. Where’s the harm in bankrolling rehab for fighters who gave the best years of their lives (and their long-term health) to the UFC?
Fans didn’t think it could get worse than UFC 169. Then they watched UFC Fight Night 36—a night of fights so horrid even the technical artistry in the main event bout between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi couldn’t save it.
The negativity ran deeper than the amount of decisions on the card—which was the most common criticism. A decision doesn’t necessarily equate to a bad fight. But a decision that lacks action and is fought between C and D level fighters who aren’t even known by everyone at their respective gyms, let alone the fans, does equate to a bad fight.
1. Fighters that are so evenly matched they negate one another.
2. Fighters have become risk-averse—fearful that one loss will send their contract to the paper shredder. Removing submission and knockout of the night bonuses probably didn’t help spur such fighters on to accomplish great in-cage feats.
3. The baseline quality of the average UFC fighter is far lower than it used to be. The days of elite athletes fighting in the “Super Bowl of MMA” are long gone. Welcome to the age of lowered standards; The UFC needs warm bodies to fill out a Fight Pass card in Djibouti. The term “UFC caliber” means nothing.
For the time being, the UFC seems content to ignore these problems to focus on “World Fucking Domination.” They don’t realize marketing what amounts to UFC-branded regional shows in other countries is losing them their fans in the United States. Just look at TUF’s most recent ratings. Fans simply don’t care about the UFC like they did in the halcyon days days of SpikeTV, Brock Lesnar, and PPVs that didn’t hearken to boxing’s age-old strategy of a good main event preceded by an army of no-names. Fans don’t care because what’s there to care about? The product is, to put it simply, lacking. The few remaining big names are islands in a sea of wiki-less, generic UFC fighters™.
This is the situation Bellator finds the MMA landscape in as the Viacom-0wned promotion starts its 10th season…
Fans didn’t think it could get worse than UFC 169. Then they watched UFC Fight Night 36—a night of fights so horrid even the technical artistry in the main event bout between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi couldn’t save it.
The negativity ran deeper than the amount of decisions on the card—which was the most common criticism. A decision doesn’t necessarily equate to a bad fight. But a decision that lacks action and is fought between C and D level fighters who aren’t even known by everyone at their respective gyms, let alone the fans, does equate to a bad fight.
1. Fighters that are so evenly matched they negate one another.
2. Fighters have become risk-averse—fearful that one loss will send their contract to the paper shredder. Removing submission and knockout of the night bonuses probably didn’t help spur such fighters on to accomplish great in-cage feats.
3. The baseline quality of the average UFC fighter is far lower than it used to be. The days of elite athletes fighting in the “Super Bowl of MMA” are long gone. Welcome to the age of lowered standards; The UFC needs warm bodies to fill out a Fight Pass card in Djibouti. The term “UFC caliber” means nothing.
For the time being, the UFC seems content to ignore these problems to focus on “World Fucking Domination.” They don’t realize marketing what amounts to UFC-branded regional shows in other countries is losing them their fans in the United States. Just look at TUF’s most recent ratings. Fans simply don’t care about the UFC like they did in the halcyon days days of SpikeTV, Brock Lesnar, and PPVs that didn’t hearken to boxing’s age-old strategy of a good main event preceded by an army of no-names. Fans don’t care because what’s there to care about? The product is, to put it simply, lacking. The few remaining big names are islands in a sea of wiki-less, generic UFC fighters™.
This is the situation Bellator finds the MMA landscape in as the Viacom-0wned promotion starts its 10th season—which features some pretty intriguing tournaments. In fact, I’m looking forward to these tournaments playing out more than I’m looking forward to the slew of upcoming UFC Fight Night cards. True, many of the Fight Night cards have more talent in their main events, but their undercards and prelims are lacking. I have more interest in watching Bellator hopefuls like Goiti Yamauchi, Marcin Held, Liam McGeary and Bubba Jenkins than I do in watching many nameless fighters hired only to fill air time on prelims and on televised portions of UFC cards.
“But Bellator has a bunch of no-names too,” you say? Fair enough. Bellator’s shows and UFC Fight Night cards are, at the worst of times, both regional events with more pomp; the quality of fighter is, to make a tired reference, virtually identical. But I can watch Bellator’s prelims for free. They aren’t forcing me to buy a half-finished, poorly put together, potentially dangerous digital network to watch fights that belong in a strip club parking lot in Raleigh-Durham. And, at the risk of dozens of CagePotato commenters calling me “Mat Sackofshit,” I think that free Bellator cards are in some ways more interesting to watch than free UFC cards. Sure, as I mentioned, the UFC’s free cards almost always have better main events than Bellator’s, but the undercard on Bellator’s free events are tournament bouts—and unlike many undercard matches on Fight Night cards, they actually have implications.
This isn’t to say that Bellator doesn’t have problems. They have loads. They can’t sell tickets. Their reality show was a bust. Their PPV last year became one of MMA’s most cringeworthy failures, as was their acquisition of Tito Ortiz (signing Rampage Jackson was frowned upon too but at least he made it into the cage). It’s unlikely that any future Bellator PPV will reach any notable or even average heights. Their matchmaking doesn’t correspond with the supposedly sacrosanct tournament system, and they’ve pulled some pretty shady stuff in the past.
Still, Bellator isn’t out of the fight. They’re closer to the UFC’s level than they’ve ever been—and not necessarily because they upped their game, but because the UFC diluted and lowered theirs to the point where a Friday night SpikeTV Bellator card matched (and in some cases exceeded) the entertainment value of a UFC Fight Night card on Fox Sports 1 (or Fox Sports 2, or UFC Fight Pass).
Coincidentally enough, we’ll start with his next opponent…
10.) Injury Replacement Daniel Cormier Wins the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images.)
The Details: Replaced Alistair Overeem against Antonio Silva at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov (09/10/2011). Why He Makes the Top Ten: It’s hard to believe that just under three years ago, Daniel Cormier such an unknown prospect that sportsbooks didn’t even bother creating odds for him to win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, despite creating odds for Ray Sefo and Valentijn “Othereem” Overeem; a $20 bet on Cormier “FIELD” to win the tournament would have netted you $1,000. But when Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem injured his toe/realized fighting in the tournament was pointless and pulled out of his scheduled bout against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Cormier handled Silva so effortlessly that it was impossible not to take note. Cormier would go on to defeat Josh Barnett for the tournament title, and the rest is history. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: While Cormier may not have been high on our radars at the time, it’s hard to call an Olympic wrestler an “unknown prospect.”
On a somewhat related note…
(He wore his own shirt in hopes of getting MMA fans to learn his name. Instead, they all asked him if he’s a cameraman for the new Danny Trejo movie.)
Coincidentally enough, we’ll start with his next opponent…
10.) Injury Replacement Daniel Cormier Wins the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. (Photo Courtesy of Getty Images.)
The Details: Replaced Alistair Overeem against Antonio Silva at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov (09/10/2011). Why He Makes the Top Ten: It’s hard to believe that just under three years ago, Daniel Cormier such an unknown prospect that sportsbooks didn’t even bother creating odds for him to win the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, despite creating odds for Ray Sefo and Valentijn “Othereem” Overeem; a $20 bet on Cormier “FIELD” to win the tournament would have netted you $1,000. But when Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem injured his toe/realized fighting in the tournament was pointless and pulled out of his scheduled bout against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Cormier handled Silva so effortlessly that it was impossible not to take note. Cormier would go on to defeat Josh Barnett for the tournament title, and the rest is history. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: While Cormier may not have been high on our radars at the time, it’s hard to call an Olympic wrestler an “unknown prospect.”
On a somewhat related note…
9.) Injury Replacement Steve Jennum Wins UFC 3.
The Details: Replaced Ken Shamrock against Harold Howard in the finals of UFC 3 (09/09/1994). Why He Makes the Top Ten: Well, did you buy UFC 3 to watch a police officer who dabbled in ninjutsu? Of course not. You bought that card to watch Royce Gracie take on Ken Shamrock, which made things sort-of disappointing when Royce Gracie forfeited from exhaustion to crazy person Harold Howard and Ken Shamrock was unable to continue fighting in the tournament after his victory over Felix Lee Mitchell. What we ended up with was Jennum quickly submitting Howard, winning the tournament before most fans watching could even be bothered learning his name. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: Because at this point in UFC history, pretty much everyone other than Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie was a random unknown (okay, slight exaggeration, but you get the idea…).
8.) Stephan Bonnar Saves UFC 153 by Getting Damn-Near Murdered by Anderson Silva.
The Details: Replaced Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar as the Main Event of UFC 153 (10/13/2012). Why This Makes the Top Ten: With The Injury Curse of 2012 in full effect, the UFC saw this show’s main event shift from Aldo vs. Koch to Aldo vs. Edgar to The First Two Healthy Bodies We Can Find, Hopefully At Least One of Which Brazilian. What the UFC ended up getting was then-indestructible middleweight champion Anderson Silva taking on The Ultimate Fighter star Stephan Bonnar at light-heavyweight. The short-notice bout felt like the recipe for a memorable freak show fight, and it certainly did not disappoint. Why This Isn’t Ranked Higher: As random as matching these two guys up against each other was, let’s not act like either fighter was an unknown nobody before this fight.
7.) Strikeforce Takes Zero Chances on Replacement Opponent for Bobby Lashley, Books Wes Sims to Fight at Strikeforce: Miami.
(Photo Courtesy of Sherdog)
The Details: Replaced Shane Del Rosario/Yohan Banks against Bobby Lashley at Strikeforce: Miami (01/30/2010). Why He Makes the Top Ten: Believe it or not, there once was a time when Strikeforce was an independently owned company that was actively trying to establish its own stars. One such fighter they were hoping would become a huge draw for them was former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley, who initially agreed to a bout against decorated Muay Thai fighter Shane Del Rosario at this event. Presumably as soon as Strikeforce officials realized how suicidal the match would be for Lashley, they changed their minds and set out to book a fight between Lashley and some guy named Yohan Banks. When the commission didn’t approve the bout – possibly because they asked “Who the hell is Yohan Banks?” and were met with vacant, blank stares – Strikeforce settled for none other than infamous UFC castoff Wes Sims. And if there were any doubts that Sims wouldn’t be a threat to their crossover star, they were erased when Sims showed up looking pregnant and attempted a pro-wrasslin’ test of strength at the start of the fight. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: Wes Sims may not have been the most credible opponent for Bobby Lashley, but at least he was once a somewhat-big name. He was a lot more relevant than Jimmy Ambriz – who was also being considered for the fight – ever was.
6.) The So-Very-YAMMA Pit Fighting Saga of Patrick Smith
(Photo Courtesy of Sherdog)
The Details: Injury replacement for pretty much every “Masters Division” fighter YAMMA actually wanted for YAMMA Pit Fighting 1 (04/11/2008). Why He Makes the Top Ten: It’s almost too easy to make jokes about the YAMMA Pit Fighting Senior Circuit – or “Masters Division,” as their marketing department wanted us to call it. The short version of the events is that the old-school UFC veteran was initially brought in to replace Don Frye against Oleg Taktarov, then removed from the card when he was arrested after a high-speed chase, making his participation appear doubtful. He was brought back when not only were his crimes reduced to misdemeanors, but also when his replacement, Maurice Smith, pulled out from the card. Smith fought Butterbean at the promotion’s only event, because of course he did. Butterbean, for the record, was initially set to take on Gary Goodridge. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: Because even though he hadn’t been relevant in over a decade, he was still actively competing at regional shows when YAMMA called him up to fight.
5.) Seth Petruzelli Dethrones The Baddest Man in EliteXC…*sigh* Kimbo Slice The Details: Injury replacement for Ken Shamrock against Kimbo Slice at EliteXC: Heat(10/04/2008). Why He Makes the Top Ten: Don’t act like you don’t know the story by now. Petruzelli was the semi-retired light-heavyweight who put on a few last-second pounds to save EliteXC: Heat‘s main event when Ken Shamrock pulled out on the day of the fight. Ironically enough, he pretty much sunk the company by saving this card. Although every MMA fan in the United States would learn his name after he became the Kimbo Killer, let’s not change history and act like he was a big star before the bout. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: Well, he was a TUF alumnus, so it’s not like no one had heard of him; never mind that most of those in attendance probably never heard of TUF, either.
4.) Patrick Cummins Will Fight Daniel Cormier at UFC 170 (Photo Courtesy of MMAJunkie.com)
The Details: Will replace Rashad Evans against Daniel Cormier at UFC 170 (02/22/2014). Why He Makes the Top Ten: I’m not writing that he has no chance of beating Daniel Cormier, but on paper he sure as hell doesn’t. The 4-0 prospect has two weeks to prepare for one of the top fighters in the UFC, and the only reason anyone is giving him a chance is because of a high school drama-esque story about Cummins making Daniel Cormier cry when they trained together. This bout is essentially a slightly more legitimate version of Shamrock vs Lober II on paper; let’s see how it actually plays out. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: Because who knows, Cummins might actually win…
3.) Pro-Wrestler Sean O’Haire Steps in to Fight Butterbean #PRIDENEVERDIE
The Details: Replacement for Mark Hunt against Butterbean at PRIDE 32: The Real Deal(10/21/2006). Why He Makes the Top Ten: The craziest aspect of this bout isn’t the fact that PRIDE replaced one of their top heavyweights with a professional wrestler; that was pretty much par for the course with them. No, the strangest part about this fight was that Mark Hunt was pulled from the card when the NSAC deemed that he held an “unfair mat advantage” over Butterbean. I guess if you consider attempting a leg drop in an MMA fight a “mat advantage,” then yeah, O’Haire actually did have a chance of winning this new, “more competitive” fight. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: Because Sean O’Haire was actually 2-1 in MMA at the time, so it’s not like he was completely inexperienced when he was called in to replace Mark Hunt. Also, because if you expected anything different from PRIDE, you clearly weren’t a fan.
2.) Fred Ettish: The Excellence of Being Executed
The Details: Injury replacement who stepped in for Ken Shamrock to fight Johnny Rhodes at UFC 2 (03/11/1994). Why He Makes the Top Ten: What happens when a point fighter actually gets into a real fight? Something so tragic that it immediately becomes the stuff of legends, apparently. You have to feel bad for Ettish, who was there to essentially play Burt Watson before being called into action against an opponent with actual fighting experience. And the rest, as they say, is history. Why He Isn’t Ranked Higher: Two Reasons: Number one, because if he looked unprepared, it’s because everyone was unprepared for what they were getting into in those days, because mixed martial arts was so new that the very term “mixed martial arts” wasn’t even coined yet. And number two, because the UFC was still very much an infomercial for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, so it’s not like matchmakers were looking for fighters who could actually beat King Royce.
1.) Ilir Latifi: The Only Man To Ever Headline a UFC Card Who Still Doesn’t Have a Wikipedia Page.
The Details: Injury replacement for Alexander Gustafsson against Gegard Mousasi at UFC on Fuel TV 9(04/06/2013). Why He Makes the Top Ten: When the guy who just signed you to a contract couldn’t be bothered with learning how to actually spell your name, you know that hopes aren’t exactly high for you. Latifi was a training partner of the injured Alexander Gustafsson, and presumably because every UFC light-heavyweight realized how suicidal accepting a short-notice bout against a Top Ten fighter would be for their careers – and also because Martin “Poker Face” Wojcik already made plans for that day, I imagine – the UFC signed Ilir Latifi to save the event. To his credit, Latifi managed to shed twenty-six pounds in three days in order to make weight for the fight. Too bad for him, though, was that the fight itself was completely forgettable, and he drifted back into obscurity immediately after it was over. Why He Is Number One: Name one other person in UFC history to headline a fight card who doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Do you have an even more random replacement opponent in mind? You know you’re dying to share it in the comments section.
Not only is Rousey a pop culture icon, sex symbol, media darling, Olympic heroine, and budding movie talent, but her star’s also been pushed sky-high by Dana White and the UFC marketing machine.
Amazingly, this is something that rubs Jones the wrong way, as he detailed in a recent Bloody Elbow profile:
“We don’t always see eye to eye with the UFC, so I don’t know if they are always necessarily pushing me and whether that’s a smart idea on their end or not, who knows?
I do know that they are pushing Ronda Rousey really hard, and she’s gotten a lot of great opportunities. I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I’m pushing myself all the time so, I’m not really worried.”
And in just a few sentences, Jon Jones does his best to remind everyone that he’s a total douchebag.
Not only is Rousey a pop culture icon, sex symbol, media darling, Olympic heroine, and budding movie talent, but her star’s also been pushed sky-high by Dana White and the UFC marketing machine.
Amazingly, this is something that rubs Jones the wrong way, as he detailed in a recent Bloody Elbow profile:
“We don’t always see eye to eye with the UFC, so I don’t know if they are always necessarily pushing me and whether that’s a smart idea on their end or not, who knows?
I do know that they are pushing Ronda Rousey really hard, and she’s gotten a lot of great opportunities. I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I’m pushing myself all the time so, I’m not really worried.”
And in just a few sentences, Jon Jones does his best to remind everyone that he’s a total douchebag.
But sure, he’ll still openly wonder why the UFC’s a little cold on him.
Then again, his attitude is hardly a surprise. Jones has such a savant-level lack of self-awareness, it’s become a running joke amongst hardcore fans. He’s so dimwittedly into himself, he’s essentially become the Bo Dallas of MMA.
Sure, Rousey has her haters and can certainly be divisive, but her personality comes off as far more genuine. Moreover, her natural charisma still wins over a great deal of MMA fans. That’s the “It Factor” that Jones lacks, and a key part in Rousey’s promotional superiority.
Jones, on the other hand, is a walking, talking, giraffe-legged bundle of contradictions. He feigns zen-like humbleness, but equates himself with Jesus Christ, “blessing” his followers with t-shirts. He tried to pass himself off as MMA’s greatest Christian — because God would give a shit about combat sports — but continued to have kids out of wedlock.
