The UFC faced a class-action lawsuit in 2014 when a number of fighters made allegations that the promotion had violated anti-trust laws. The case is still ongoing, however, and the UFC’s biggest rival is now involved Reports confirm that Bellator has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court (Central District of California) which will effectively […]
The UFC faced a class-action lawsuit in 2014 when a number of fighters made allegations that the promotion had violated anti-trust laws. The case is still ongoing, however, and the UFC’s biggest rival is now involved Reports confirm that Bellator has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court (Central District of California) which will effectively […]
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans love to sit down and watch a fighter take to the Octagon who they know is always down to scrap, but fighting style isn’t the only thing that puts butts in the seats or makes you click that ‘BUY’ button on your remote. Throughout the years, many men have taken to
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans love to sit down and watch a fighter take to the Octagon who they know is always down to scrap, but fighting style isn’t the only thing that puts butts in the seats or makes you click that ‘BUY’ button on your remote.
Throughout the years, many men have taken to the microphone to make a name for themselves, and we can’t help but love to watch a fighter who knows how to talk trash and back it up when locked inside of a cage with their adversary.
So without further ado, lets take a look at the UFC’s top 10 most outspoken fighters of all time…
Another Bellator fan fest will coincide with Bellator 154 next week in California, as MMA legends and current Bellator champion Liam McGeary appear.
Set for Dave & Buster’s from Milpitas, California, McGeary will be joined by Royce Gracie, Randy…
Another Bellator fan fest will coincide with Bellator 154 next week in California, as MMA legends and current Bellator champion Liam McGeary appear.
Set for Dave & Buster’s from Milpitas, California, McGeary will be joined by Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, Cung Le, Mark Coleman and Jacob “Stitch” Duran.
The event is exclusively for Bellator Nation members, which is a free club to join. It begins at 8 p.m. PT and will serve as the lead-in to Saturday’s Bellator 154 card from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
In the headline fight on Spike TV, Phil Davis takes on Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal in a No. 1 contender match to McGeary’s title.
In the media firestorm following his Fight Night 48 drug-testing fiasco and subsequent (but unrelated) class-action lawsuit against the UFC, Cung Le has decided to retire from MMA. Fans of spinning sh*t, pour one out.
In eight years of professional competition, Le collected a 9-3 record that included wins over Rich Franklin, Patrick Cote, and Frank Shamrock — the latter of which earned him the Strikeforce middleweight championship. After rattling off back-to-back wins at the age of 40 in 2012, Le came under fire when he tested positive for HGH following his 4th round TKO loss to Michael Bisping at Fight Night Macau in August. While photos of Le’s suspiciously jacked physique had raised a heap of questions prior to the fight, it was the UFC’s mishandling of his urine sample that raised a ton more.
After the jump: Check out Le’s prepared statement, the UFC’s response, and a brief tribute to some of his most memorable moments in the cage.
(Warrior. Photo via Victor Fraile/Getty Images)
Well, we probably should have seen this coming.
In the media firestorm following his Fight Night 48 drug-testing fiasco and subsequent (but unrelated) class-action lawsuit against the UFC, Cung Le has decided to retire from MMA. Fans of spinning sh*t, pour one out.
In eight years of professional competition, Le collected a 9-3 record that included wins over Rich Franklin, Patrick Cote, and Frank Shamrock — the latter of which earned him the Strikeforce middleweight championship. After rattling off back-to-back wins at the age of 40 in 2012, Le came under fire when he tested positive for HGH following his 4th round TKO loss to Michael Bisping at Fight Night Macau in August. While photos of Le’s suspiciously jacked physique had raised a heap of questions prior to the fight, it was the UFC’s mishandling of his urine sample that raised a ton more.
After the jump: Check out Le’s prepared statement, the UFC’s response, and a brief tribute to some of his most memorable moments in the cage.
Although Le hasn’t ruled out a possible return to kickboxing, he released a prepared statement (via MMAJunkie) yesterday which states that “active competition in mixed martial arts” was no longer a part of his and his families future.
After several months of thought and discussion with my wife and family we realize our future includes many things, but active competition in mixed martial arts is no longer one of them therefore I am officially announcing my retirement from active competition. Fighting will never be far from my heart and martial arts will always continue to be a part of my daily life. I have thoroughly enjoyed the career that I have been blessed with due in large part to all my fans and the many people who have helped me on my journey.
I want to personally thank my wife, Suzanne, my three Little Ninjas, my Mother, Sister and the rest of my incredible family for their support, prayers and inspiration. I’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank Scott Coker for his long-time friendship and support of my career, Gary Ibarra for your tenacity, to Khoa Do for everything, Scott Sheeley, you know, and to Jane Estioko, thank you for your loyalty. I’d also like to thank all of my past and present USH Team Family members, I am grateful for every round.
I’d like to recognize the UFC for the opportunity they have provided me, the sport of mixed martial arts, and more importantly the fans who love it, you will never be far from my heart. It has truly been my honor and my privilege to entertain you.
In statements of their own released through UFC.com, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta graciously thanked Le for all he had done to expand the promotion’s brand into Asia while lauding the quality of his character.
“Cung Le was a great ambassador of the sport for us in Asia and one of the most exciting middleweights to step foot in the octagon,” said Fertitta. “We wish him well in his retirement and future endeavors.”
“Cung Le was awesome and would take any fight. He was such a huge piece of the success of ‘The Ultimate Fighter: China.’ I loved working with him and wish him well in the future” echoed White.
For a guy who averaged just one fight a year, Le was able to amass quite a ridiculous highlight reel of brutal finishes, so join us below to relive some of his most memorable ones.
Le vs. Brian Warren — Strikeforce: Revenge
Le vs. Tony Fryklund — Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni
Le vs. Frank Shamrock — Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le
Le vs. Scott Smith II — Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum
(White, seen here introducing the UFC’s latest catchphrase, “Whaddya gon’ do?” Photo via Getty.)
Of all the things that went so, so wrong for the UFC in 2014, the biggest positive that could be taken away was easily the promotion’s decision to begin drug-testing its athletes in house and year-round. As luck would have it, 2014 also went down as one of the druggiest years in MMA since the PRIDE days (allegedly). Random, out-of-competition drug testing was an expensive but necessary step forward and one that helped quell the near-constant questions regarding the legitimacy of the organization’s product. And it was working, dammit.
Well put your minds at ease, Potato Nation, because the UFC’s days of out-of-competition drug testing is over. HIP, HIP, HOORAY!!
Dana White broke the news during a media session on Thursday afternoon at the MGM Grand. Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter has the details:
“Our legal team completed screwed that up. We f—-d it up, and we will f–k it up again. That’s what the commission is there for,” he said.
White continued by saying that, while they have come to the realization that the promotion cannot oversee its own drug testing program, Zuffa will instead give more money to athletic commissions to help fund additional testing.
“What we’ll do is we’ll help fund it, so they can do more drug testing,” he said. “Our legal department screwed that whole thing up. We’ve got no business handling the regulation.”
(White, seen here introducing the UFC’s latest catchphrase, ”Whaddya gon’ do?” Photo via Getty.)
Of all the things that went so, so wrong for the UFC in 2014, the biggest positive that could be taken away was easily the promotion’s decision to begin drug-testing its athletes in house and year-round. As luck would have it, 2014 also went down as one of the druggiest years in MMA since the PRIDE days (allegedly). Random, out-of-competition drug testing was an expensive but necessary step forward and one that helped quell the near-constant questions regarding the legitimacy of the organization’s product. And it was working, dammit.
Well put your minds at ease, Potato Nation, because the UFC’s days of out-of-competition drug testing is over. HIP, HIP, HOORAY!!
Dana White broke the news during a media session on Thursday afternoon at the MGM Grand. Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter has the details:
“Our legal team completed screwed that up. We f—-d it up, and we will f–k it up again. That’s what the commission is there for,” he said.
White continued by saying that, while they have come to the realization that the promotion cannot oversee its own drug testing program, Zuffa will instead give more money to athletic commissions to help fund additional testing.
“What we’ll do is we’ll help fund it, so they can do more drug testing,” he said. “Our legal department screwed that whole thing up. We’ve got no business handling the regulation.”
While this may seem like a crushing blow to the UFC’s legitimacy at first, we should all probably recognize that the drug testing methods the UFC was using prior to this decision were shaky at best. Several top scientists in the field already brought into question the legitimacy of Le’s test, stating that the method used to determine his HGH levels (which were 18 times the limit, BTW) differed from those used by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and therefore should not be considered. (via BloodyElbow):
There are currently two different tests being used by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) to detect hGH use. The hGH “Isoform Differential Immunoassays” test is used to determine the presence of exogenous (meaning from an outside source) hGH in the system. That test is used in conjunction with a test for serum IGF1 levels.
The other hGH test is known as the Biomarker test. According to the Hong Kong lab report reviewed by this reporter, none of these sports doping hGH tests were conducted on Cung Le’s blood sample.
Instead, the Hong Kong lab took a reading of Le’s total hGH concentration, which by itself cannot determine if the subject has used exogenous hGH or not.
For a male who has fasted and rested for 12 hours prior to giving a blood sample to be tested, [proper protocol], the normal range is 05 ng/mL. For an athlete giving a sample after strenuous activity such as a fight, the expected range is 20-30 ng/mL. Le’s reading was a bit below 20 ng/mL, which is actually lower than the expected post-exercise reference range.
I don’t know where to begin, really. White’s reasoning for calling an end to random drug-testing (“We’ll f*ck it up again”) is about as laughably dismissive of a much bigger problem as you can get. Rather than, you know, attempt to improve their flawed but effective system of fighter-testing, the UFC is essentially shrugging its shoulders over how incompetently their billion dollar organization is run and hoping that throwing some money at the problem will make everything hunky-dory. “That’s what the commission is there for?” You mean those same incompetent, underfunded commissions that you endlessly bitch about not being able to even appoint a proper set of judges? That’s who’s going to swoop in and save the day?
Of course, White is more than likely glossing over the bigger reason behind the decision: Money. Carbon Isotope Ratio tests (the drug test of choice by VADA) cost between $700 and $1000 a piece, making them four to five times more expensive than the average T:E tests. Because of their cost, most athletic commissions can’t afford to use them on every athlete competing on a given fight card, let alone on a year-round basis. Without getting into how bad a year the UFC had money-wise, well, let’s just say they are probably in the “cutting-corners” phase of operations. And if they can’t afford to pay one of their fighters more than 8k to show, how much do you think they’ll be willing to donate to these commissions to make sure that their athletes are properly tested?
(This is a Tank Abbott professional wrestling action figure produced and sold by the WWE. Spoiler alert: It is easily a much better Christmas present for the MMA fans in your life than ANYTHING on this list.)
From ugly t-shirts to video games with comically deformed characters, MMA fans don’t exactly have a ton of half-decent options for Christmas presents. So it should probably go without saying that if you see that one of your presents is from UFCStore.com tomorrow morning, you should just throw the damn thing in the trash without opening it. Trust me, whatever is inside of that box is a Christmas tragedy the likes of which would make Agatha Christie blush.
The UFC’s official shop is not only littered with exactly the ugly, trashy, tasteless merchandise that you’d expect to see the Eddie Justbleeds of the world own, but also some incredibly confusing, useless products that suggest that maybe the UFC isn’t fully comfortable catering to said Justbleeds. I mean, for a company whose fan base is constantly measuring its collective dick, you’d think they’d be selling things like a UFC Belt Sander instead of a hyper-masculine UFC Shoe Bag.
So it’s in that spirit that I’ll be ranking the fifteen most depressing UFC items that you can currently buy — or, likely, receive as a Christmas present tomorrow — from UFCStore.com. Two rules: Number one, only UFC and UFC Gym brand items are eligible for inclusion, because as much as I’d love to include this eyesore, I’m not nearly enough of a masochist to rank every last item that awful place has up for grabs. And number two: It isn’t enough for an item to simply be extremely ugly, pointless, overpriced, dated or just plain stupid. No, for an item to make this list, it has to be that magical brand of awfulness that actually makes you feel sad and empty upon seeing that people are being asked to pay money in order to own it. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin our trip to the Island of Misfit UFC Merchandise…
(This is a Tank Abbott professional wrestling action figure produced and sold by the WWE. Spoiler alert: It is easily a much better Christmas present for the MMA fans in your life than ANYTHING on this list.)
From ugly t-shirts to video games with comically deformed characters, MMA fans don’t exactly have a ton of half-decent options for Christmas presents. So it should probably go without saying that if you see that one of your presents is from UFCStore.com tomorrow morning, you should just throw the damn thing in the trash without opening it. Trust me, whatever is inside of that box is a Christmas tragedy the likes of which would make Agatha Christie blush.
The UFC’s official shop is not only littered with exactly the ugly, trashy, tasteless merchandise that you’d expect to see the Eddie Justbleeds of the world own, but also some incredibly confusing, useless products that suggest that maybe the UFC isn’t fully comfortable catering to said Justbleeds. I mean, for a company whose fan base is constantly measuring its collective dick, you’d think they’d be selling things like a UFC Belt Sander instead of a hyper-masculine UFC Shoe Bag.
So it’s in that spirit that I’ll be ranking the fifteen most depressing UFC items that you can currently buy — or, likely, receive as a Christmas present tomorrow — from UFCStore.com. Two rules: Number one, only UFC and UFC Gym brand items are eligible for inclusion, because as much as I’d love to include this eyesore, I’m not nearly enough of a masochist to rank every last item that awful place has up for grabs. And number two: It isn’t enough for an item to simply be extremely ugly, pointless, overpriced, dated or just plain stupid. No, for an item to make this list, it has to be that magical brand of awfulness that actually makes you feel sad and empty upon seeing that people are being asked to pay money in order to own it. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin our trip to the Island of Misfit UFC Merchandise…
Price: $24.95 From the UFCStore.com Product Description: “With this tank, everyone will know you’re a ferocious contender.”
Everyone may know that you’re a ferocious contender [Author Note: Please excuse me, I need to go vomit now…], but they’ll certainly wonder if you can actually read English. “UFC Fight Girl?” That’s how I’d expect an offensively stereotypical foreign tourist to describe Ronda Rousey. That this shirt was likely designed by a native English speaker to be worn by native English speakers both confuses and depresses me.
Price: $39.95 From the UFCStore.com Product Description: “Great for hats or lapels, this accessory will let everyone see your loyalty to the UFC!”
You’re honestly telling me that there are people who both fret over their inabilities to show the world that they’re UFC fans in their business professional attire and also want to spend $39.95 on a novelty lapel pin? I refuse to believe it. In fact, I bet if you tried to buy one of these, you’d be redirected to a page that explains how this item was just an anthropologist’s experiment to see if MMA fans really are stupid enough to buy anything with the letters “UFC” on it. There’s no damn way that the UFC has a box of lapel pins cluttering up a warehouse somewhere.
Price: $44.95 From the UFCStore.com Product Description: “While you may not be stepping into the octagon, with this tee, you’ll be ready to show the world how much dedication you have for the sport.”
If you wore this shirt in the same room as Joe Son, Thiago Silva, Bryan Caraway and Rob Emerson, my first thought would be “That guy in the star-spangled UFC shirt is a total douche.”
Price:$79.95 ON SALE NOW FOR ONLY $55.99 From the UFCStore.com Product Description: “These cute swimsuit bottoms will definitely show off your UFC style at the beach.”
“Great news, babe. I saved up some cash to buy you these BIKINI BOTTOMS! Not only are they inexcusably repulsive, but if you look really, really, closely at them, you’ll notice that they have OCTAGONS on them! THIS WAY EVERYONE WILL KNOW THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND WATCHES THE UFC!!!!”
Price: $799.95. That’s not a typo. Seven hundred ninenty-nine dollars and ninety-five cents. From the UFCStore.com Product Description: “Your UFC pride won’t be clearer when you wear this bracelet!”
This is the most expensive item currently available from UFCStore.com, and it looks like it’s held together by a goddamn hair scrunchie. If this isn’t symbolic of how much the UFC “respects” its fans, then I really do not know what is.
On the next page: Things get worse. Much, much worse.
