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DALLAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Daniel Cormier after his dominant win over Jeff Monson at Saturday’s Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum event. Cormier talked about why he stood with Monson on the feet, his gameplan going into the fight and his next possible opponents.
Filed under: MMA Videos, Strikeforce
DALLAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Daniel Cormier after his dominant win over Jeff Monson at Saturday’s Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum event. Cormier talked about why he stood with Monson on the feet, his gameplan going into the fight and his next possible opponents.
(Where’s your creepy joker–smile now, playboy?)
The latest installment in Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament goes down tonight at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, featuring the long-awaited rematch between Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett’s promotional debut against Brett Rogers. Plus, KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal jockey for #1 contendership in the lightweight division, and 14-year veteran Jeff Monson collides with rising heavyweight star Daniel Cormier.
Handling the play-by-play for this evening will be the Shemp Howard of CagePotato’s liveblog-rotation, Matt Kaplan, so let him know you care in the comments section. Live results from the Showtime broadcast of “Overeem vs. Werdum” will be stacking up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.
(Where’s your creepy joker–smile now, playboy?)
The latest installment in Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament goes down tonight at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, featuring the long-awaited rematch between Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett’s promotional debut against Brett Rogers. Plus, KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal jockey for #1 contendership in the lightweight division, and 14-year veteran Jeff Monson collides with rising heavyweight star Daniel Cormier.
Handling the play-by-play for this evening will be the Shemp Howard of CagePotato’s liveblog-rotation, Matt Kaplan, so let him know you care in the comments section. Live results from the Showtime broadcast of “Overeem vs. Werdum” will be stacking up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.
Chad Griggs vs. Valentijn Overeem:
Griggs hits an early takedown after some feeling out and fights from half guard. Overeem lacks mental toughness, according to Mauro. Griggs is pounding away on Overeem, who’s given up his back. Hammer fists…and some more. Here’s the ref. That’ll do it. Griggs wins it early.
(Backstage interview with Heidi and Werdum. Peronaility plus. Let’s get to the next fight already.)
Daniel Cormier and Jeff Monson:
Monson is not an anarchist, says Mauro. Just a guy who wants equality for all. This could be an interesting match-up.
Hig kick from Cormier blocked by Monson. Both guys tentative. Noe they lock up. elbow form Cormier and they separate. Monson kicks the lead leag; Cormier responds with a 1-2 and presses Monson against the cage. Cormier opens up with his fists and bakcs Monson up. Monson’s got some blood under the left eye. Cormier seems to be loading up the right. Left hook. Another 1-2 lands for Cormier, who looks calm and is moving well. More blood on Monson’s face. Straight left from Monson; Cormier counters with both hands. Cormier wins that round easily.
Round 2: Monson looks lost here: swinging wildly, staggering. Cormier presses Monson against the cage. Bog right on the break from Monson. Stiff left from Cormier. More of the clinch. Jab from Monson, but Cormier counters with better shots. Left from Cormier, uppercut, clinch. Still clinched. Body kick from Cormier now. And a right hand. Knees to Mnson’s thighs from Cormier. Another round for Cormier.
Round 3: I’m sure Masvidal is thrilled to have the phrase “like Kombo Slice” attached to his billing. Back to the fight…Monson misses a wild overhand right and Cormier counters with a right uppercut. Laser right hand. Big left hook. Monson is in trouble. Big right. Monson backpedals and falls to his back, inviting Cormier to follow. Nope. Cormier presses Monson against the cage: punches, knees. Left, right from Cormier. Monson tries for a takedown. Stuffed. Cormier again presses Monson against the cage. Frank Shamrock is calling for elbows from Cormier. 1-2 and a leg kick from Cormier. Monson needs the home run here. Time runs out, though. Cormier dominated that fight from the opening bell.
Cormier wins 30-27 from all 3 judges.
Mauro on Cormier: “His toolbox continues to grow.” Gold.
Backstage with Alistair Overeem. Anyone else waiting for him to do something terrible to this chick?
KJ Noons vs. Jorge Masvidal:
I just heard audio of Pat Miletich saying Noons “wants to be the matinee idol of this sport.” That’s adorable. I watched the replay of Noons-Jurgel the other night, and Masvidal better look out for the left hook.
Masvidal kicks the lead leg and misses with a jumping knee. Masvidal jabs. Noons lands a left. These guys are getting after it. Knee from Masvidal. Noons moves in with combos. Another Masvidal knee. Takedown from Masvidal, who has Noons against the cage. Noons looks to get at Masvidal’s left arm and makes it back up to his feet. Knee from Masvidal after a quick shot. Noons is bloodied now. Left-right from Masvidal. More blood. Right from Masvidal. Head kick drops Noons! Ground and pound! Noons is back up but still taking shots, and the bell sounds to end the first. Masvidal is dominating this fight. Let’s keep it going…
Round 2: Noons misses with the right. Masvidal is smiling as Noons tries a knee. Masvidal is proving to be a tough target. Masvidal hit a big takedown, but Noons pops right back up and fires punches…before being taken down again. Masvidal attacks from Noons’s guard. Noons is back up and lands a knee. Nasty left body hook from Masvidal, who’s got Noons pressed against the cage with a little over a minute left. A bloody Noons is back up and finds himself on top of Masvidal for a bit. Back on the feet. Big knee from Masvidal and Noons is hurt. Lots of blood coming from his forehead as the second round concludes.
Round 3: Footage of Michael Irvin watching from the crowd is hilarious. Noons lands (part of) an uppercut but misses the subsequent hook. Masvidal stays tight in his boxing. Blood is streaming down Noons’s face as Masvidal remains in complete control. Takedown by Masvidal, but Noons gets right back to his feet without taking any shots. Again Masvidal dumps Noons to the mat. He’s in a side mount and has a hold of Noons’s left arm. Noons breaks free but Masvidal now has a hold of the right leg. Masvidal keeps throwing punches. Looks like Masvidal vs Melendez. 30-27 (x3) for Masvidal.
I’m Shemp Howard? I just saw that. Could be worse, I guess…
Gus Johnson just called Mauro a legend. Frank Shamrock haunts my dreams. Gus Johnson’s got a perty mouth. In all seriousness, though, Gus has been doing a killer job with the Super 6 boxing tournament. Here comes Brett Rogers and some lady with a mean face on…
Brett Rogers vs. Josh Barnett:
There’s the comment about Rogers stacking tires. It was only a matter of time…
Barnett looks kinda slim for 256.
Here we go. Brett is jiggling all over the place. Josh presses him against the cage, hoists him into the air, and slams him to his back. Damn. Josh in side control. Releases a shoulder lock; now in half guard…and now mounting Brett. Here come some punches and short ’bows. Brett is trying ot buck off the cage with hsi feet, but that’s a big man on top. Josh looks patient. Brett bucks, but Josh lands back in the mount. Brett is just holding on now. A dominant round for Josh Barnett.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I miss seeing Josh Barnett fight.
Round 2: Big left hook from Josh, who’s again mounting sweaty Brett. Side choke? Arm choke? Got it! Good night. Brett Rogers had nothing for Josh Barnett tonight.
Josh professed his love for Gus and fires up the Dallas crowd. Barnett is now walking the cage and has completely taken over this interview. He’s talking about skulls, piles of bodies, and gold. Sweet Jesus.
Nice little Fedor-Hendo promo for July 30.
Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum:
Overeem comes out to the cage draped in a Dallas Mavs flag. Smart move. Overeem has more submission wins in MMA than he does KO/TKO wins.
Main event time: A sloppy combo from Werdum, but a decent knee. Werdum shoots; nope. And again. He wants Overeem to come into his guard and is waiting on the ground. Boos from the crowd. Overeem wants Werdum to stand the f- up already. Back to the feet. Each man lands a knee. Overeem misses a big right. Werdum clinches, pulls guard, and waits fro Overeem to fall into his guard. This strategy is pissing off Overeem and the Texan crowd. Big left hook from Overeem. Overeem slams Werdum down; Werdum begs Overeem to a ground fight. Not having it. Big knee from Overeem drops the Brazilian. Werdum might need a new strategy because Overeem isn’t taking the bait.
Round 2: Both men hit knees. A few punches from Werdum land on Overeem. Wow. Werdum catches an Overeem kick and drops Overeem. Back up. Overeem stuffs a takedown. Werdum pulls guard. Overeem steps back. Werdum is slow to rise. Overeem is landing some big punches now. Werdum looks fatigued. Knee, uppercuts from Overeem. Werdum pulls him into his guard. Working for a triangle, it seems. Overem is up and free. Werdum is slow. Again pulls guard. Overeem is waiting for Werdum to get up. Overeem falls into Werdum’s guard. The crowd is not loving this.
Round 3: Werdum presses Overeem against the cage after a flurry of strikes from both men. Overeem lands a right to the side of the head; Werdum flops to guard. Again. He’s having some success with his hands and knees, but he’s sticking to his guard. Overeem is standing over Werdum, stalking. Werdum gets up and lands a good right hand. Again Werdum is on his back with Overeem in his guard. Overeem stands with 30 seconds left. Werdum lands 3 good punches, falls to guard, and goes for a knee bar as the round ends. Not an exciting main event. Overeem gets the nod from all 3 judges, as expected.
Up next in the Grand Prix, Overeem-Bigfoot and Barnett-Kharitonov.
Gus just rubbed Mauro’s head! I’ve seen enough.
Happy Father’s Day, guys.
– Shemp
(“Overeem is my son. Scott Coker is my uncle. Gina Carano is my hot cousin. Josh Barnett is my sister’s meathead boyfriend.”)
Betting odds for the complete lineup of tomorrow night’s Strikeforce card were released yesterday, and looking over these numbers, it seems like the perfect opportunity to dig yourself out of the hole you put yourself in by following our previous gambling advice. Now, we don’t actually recommend the use of off-shore gambling sites these days, in light of the government’s recent eRaids, but hey, entertainment purposes and all, right? Check out the juiciest lines for Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com, then listen very carefully to what we have to say…
Main Card (Showtime, 10 p.m.)
Alistair Overeem (-321) vs. Fabricio Werdum (+300)
Josh Barnett (-319) vs. Brett Rogers (+309)
K.J. Noons (-144) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+135)
Daniel Cormier (-300) vs. Jeff Monson (+325)
Valentijn Overeem (+111) vs. Chad Griggs (-122)
(“Overeem is my son. Scott Coker is my uncle. Gina Carano is my hot cousin. Josh Barnett is my sister’s meathead boyfriend.”)
Betting odds for the complete lineup of tomorrow night’s Strikeforce card were released yesterday, and looking over these numbers, it seems like the perfect opportunity to dig yourself out of the hole you put yourself in by following our previous gambling advice. Now, we don’t actually recommend the use of off-shore gambling sites these days, in light of the government’s recent eRaids, but hey, entertainment purposes and all, right? Check out the juiciest lines for Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com, then listen very carefully to what we have to say…
Main Card (Showtime, 10 p.m.)
Alistair Overeem (-321) vs. Fabricio Werdum (+300)
Josh Barnett (-319) vs. Brett Rogers (+309)
K.J. Noons (-144) vs. Jorge Masvidal (+135)
Daniel Cormier (-300) vs. Jeff Monson (+325)
Valentijn Overeem (+111) vs. Chad Griggs (-122)
Preliminary Card (HDNet, 8 p.m. ET)
Gesias Cavalcante (-115) vs. Justin Wilcox (+110)
Conor Heun (+120) vs. Magno Almeida (-130)
Nah-Shon Burrell (+275) vs. Joe Ray (-313)
Todd Moore (+260) vs. Mike Bronzoulis (-280)
Brian Melancon (-115) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (+105)
The Main Event: Look, I hug Ubereem’s nuts as much as the next dude. I’m just saying, Werdum was a +430 underdog against Fedor Emelianenko, and he managed to end that fight in 69 seconds. (He was also good enough to submit Overeem five years ago, if that means anything to you.) Most likely, Overeem will be able keep the fight standing and have his way with Werdum — but there’s always the chance that Fabricio could catch the jacked Dutchman. And since he’d triple your investment, it’s worth a modest bet.
The Good ‘Dogs: A lot of them, actually — this is definitely a card that encourages risk. Besides the main event, you have Jeff Monson as a more-than-3-to-1 underdog against Daniel Cormier. Cormier is undefeated, and always impressive in his fights, but he’s a baby in the sport, and he’s never faced anybody even remotely close to Monson’s level of skill and experience. (Stupid fact: In the Snowman’s 53-fight career, he’s earned the same number of wins via north/south choke [7] as Cormier has total fights on his record.) The line is a little inflated, is what I’m saying.
Similarly, the well-traveled Valentijn Overeem is a slight underdog against rising prospect Chad Griggs, when I’d put Alistair’s bro as a slight favorite. But the opposite is true in Cavalcante vs. Wilcox. Despite JZ’s previous history of top-ten-ranked excellence, he’s really struggled to make an impact in the last three years, while Wilcox has been on a tear. Cash on the Silverback could pay off.
Keep Away: Josh Barnett as a 3-1 fave over Brett Rogers sounds about right to me; there’s not enough edge for a straight bet, so save him for the parlay. I also think KJ Noons makes sense as a solid favorite over Jorge Masvidal, but I’d like to see how Noons looks back at lightweight for at least one fight before I start putting money on him.
The Guy You’ve Never Heard Of: Magno Almeida is a 9-1 submission ace who has ended seven of his fights in the first round. Due to injuries and bad matchups, his opponent Conor Heun hasn’t won a fight in nearly three years, and hasn’t been inside the cage since losing a decision to KJ Noons last June. Give the new kid a shot.
Official CagePotato Parlay #1 (novice): $10 on A. Overeem + Barnett + Wilcox + Almeida returns a $46.48 profit at BetUS.
Official CagePotato Parlay #2 (advanced): $10 on Werdum + Barnett + V. Overeem + Monson + Noons returns a $589.63 profit.
Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, Videos
DALLAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier about his Saturday night fight at Overeem vs. Werdum against Jeff Monson, how he expects the fight to play out, fighting for Zuffa, his progression as a pro fighter and much more.
Filed under: Strikeforce, MMA Fighting Exclusive, Videos
DALLAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier about his Saturday night fight at Overeem vs. Werdum against Jeff Monson, how he expects the fight to play out, fighting for Zuffa, his progression as a pro fighter and much more.
It’s no Ghengis Con joint, but it’s something. VidProps: ShoSports
Nation, amongst all the large names and ginormous dudes fighting this weekend, you may have overlooked Daniel Cormier. This weekend’s bout with heavyweight submission grappler/anarchist/tattoo enthusiast Jeff Monson will be Cormier’s fifth fight for Strikeforce since his debut in September of 2009 under the Challengers banner. Perhaps it’s no shock that Cormier isn’t a household name, considering the lack of promotion from his, uh, promotion, but he’s nonetheless a dude you should know.
Come on in past the jump and better know Daniel Cormier, so you’ll have something intelligent to say at the bar while his fight is on.
It’s no Ghengis Con joint, but it’s something. VidProps: ShoSports
Nation, amongst all the large names and ginormous dudes fighting this weekend, you may have overlooked Daniel Cormier. This weekend’s bout with heavyweight submission grappler/anarchist/tattoo enthusiast Jeff Monson will be Cormier’s fifth fight for Strikeforce since his debut in September of 2009 under the Challengers banner. Perhaps it’s no shock that Cormier isn’t a household name, considering the lack of promotion from his, uh, promotion, but he’s nonetheless a dude you should know.
Come on in past the jump and better know Daniel Cormier, so you’ll have something intelligent to say at the bar while his fight is on.
Who is the best pure wrestler in MMA? Daniel Cormier’s resume is the definition of world class: high school champ and All-American, ju-co champ, Oklahoma State alum, member of the US Olympic wrestling team in 2004 and 2008. (Sadly, Cormier could not compete at the 2008 games.) Perhaps the most interesting wrestling experience is his time in the now-defunct Real Pro Wrestling league, where Cormier was a champion. Amateur wrestling rules were tweaked for the RPW, giving Cormier some experience with hybrid grappling and a bridge to MMA competition.
Cormier hooked up with the people at AKA in San Jose, where he trains with some of the best wrestlers-turned-fighters on the planet: Cain Velasquez, King Mo, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Kyle Kingsbury… we could go on, but we think you’ve probably heard of this team. Training with smaller guys has kept Cormier quick and sharp, and he can match power with the big heavyweights as well. The team has shown that they can teach wrestlers how to strike, and Cormier is a quick study.
Cormier is deceptively quick for a heavyweight, and he mixes strikes and takedowns extremely well. He has gone to decision just once, in his last fight versus Devin Cole; his six other victories are split evenly between subs and TKO wins. Only one of those sub wins was actually a sub win in the usual sense: Soa Palelei and Jason Riley both tapped to strikes. Cormier’s powerful ground and pound should continue to rack up victories for him.
Cormier was just 2-0 when Xtreme MMA out of Sydney, Australia offered him a fight for the XMMA heavyweight championship. Cormier claimed the gold with a TKO victory over Lucas Browne in the first round. (He went on to successfully defend that title as well.) King of the Cage offered him a fight with newly crowned champ Tony Johnson Jr last August, and he dominated Johnson for an RNC win in just two and a half minutes. (Full fight can be found here.)
Cormier comes off as a class act in interviews, whether he’s talking about his own progression as a fighter or the enmity between his bro-dog King Mo and Rampage Jackson. He seems thoughtful and humble, and have a very strong grasp of what he does well, and what he needs to improve upon. It’s this introspection that puts Cormier’s potential so high.
…but don’t sweat it. Cormier gets dinged for being undersized at 265, at only 5’11″ (74 inch reach), but he’s powerfully built. Against wrestlers, Cormier’s lower center of gravity is actually an advantage. Against submission artists, his short limbs make for difficult taps. Against pure strikers, his ability to change levels quickly and mix up strikes and shoots can keep kickboxers from pulling the trigger on big strikes and combos. Put simply, it’s going to take a complete fighter to hand Cormier his first loss.
Cormier will face a big test this weekend against Monson, and this could be his coming-out party, with a large expected audience for the heavyweight GP. And if the winner of the tournament vacates the title and moves over to the UFC, don’t be surprised if Cormier claims the Strikeforce belt quickly. If, that is, he doesn’t join up with the big show himself. And that’s the word.
[RX]
Filed under: Strikeforce
Jeff Monson has cost himself plenty of money over the years. Nobody has to tell him that. It’s not the tattoos. In another line of work being inked from head to toe with everything from anarchy symbols to a Soviet hammer and sickle might be detrimental to your career health.
But Monson is lucky. He’s in the line of work where tattoos are almost part of the uniform. When he fights Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce this Saturday night, it will probably barely merit a mention from the commentary team.
No, it’s not the tattoos that have cost Monson. Instead, it’s him. It’s the things he believes. Or rather, the things he does and says because of the things he believes. For these, he has probably paid a small fortune over the years, in ancillary income if not in fight purses.
“As far as sponsorships and making money? One hundred percent, it’s cost me,” said Monson. “I’ve had sponsors tell me they don’t want any part of it because of the things I say. I had stuff set up with a nutrition company and clothing company and stuff that I’ve lost because of it, and it’s cost me a lot of money. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to live with yourself. Some things are just right and wrong.”
In case the tattoos didn’t give it away, Monson freely identifies himself as an anarchist. Not that he thinks most people truly understand what that means, at least to him.
“It has such a bad connotation, like being an insurgent or a terrorist or a communist or something,” he said. “To me, it gets portrayed as something that it’s not. Anarchy is a society where everyone is free. Everyone has equal rights. Everyone has a voice.”
It’s not that he wants to live in a state of constant chaos and violence, he insisted, but rather in one where people decide amongst themselves how to live, without a government cracking the whip to keep them in line. He wants a peaceful orderly society, but he doesn’t want authority figures making sure it stays that way.
In other words, he wants a society that doesn’t exist and that some would argue can never exist, but he wants it anyway. When simply wanting it or marching in support of it — as he did in Paris a few weeks ago — doesn’t feel like enough, he believes in taking action. And here’s where the real trouble starts.
Take the incident at the Washington state Capitol building. It started when military convoys wanted to bring equipment through OIympia on its way to a port to get shipped overseas to Iraq, Monson said.
“The people of Olympia said no, we don’t support this, we don’t support the war,” he explained. “But the city council and the mayor, they overrode that, which shows you right there that we don’t have a true democracy. We’re supposed to have a representative democracy, where the people we elect are representing us, but how are they representing us if they’re not listening to what the people want?”
In protest, Monson spray-painted his message on the Capitol building late one afternoon. The anarchy symbol. The words “No war.” General pleas for peace.
It’s not that he thought it would immediately end the war in Iraq and bring about his ideal anarchist society, he said, but he wanted lawmakers to see it on their way to work the next morning. When the photos of Monson doing the spray-painting were published in ESPN the Magazine, law enforcement officials saw it too, and he had a problem on his hands.
Monson entered an Alford plea to charges of malicious mischief and was given work release and ordered to pay over $20,000 in restitution. He also got himself known in MMA circles for the wrong reasons. Major organizations weren’t exactly clamoring to take on a middle-aged heavyweight with legal problems and far-left political beliefs. Whether it was his personal baggage or simply the natural progression of the fight business, that’s debatable. But in a few short years he went from fighting for the UFC heavyweight title to competing on one small promotion after another, most of his fights visible only on the internet if at all.
“I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say, ‘I watched your fight against [Tim] Sylvia in the UFC. What have you been up to since then?’ And I’m like, well, I’ve had about 25 fights since then. If you’re not on TV, nobody knows.
“It’s definitely frustrating, because in some of my recent fights I’ve beaten guys who are tough, who have wins over guys who are in the UFC, so it’s not like they’re easy fights. I’m not fighting just to be known or anything, but I am fighting to get a title. And if nobody knows what you’re doing, it’s tough to get a shot at a title.”
Now Monson is finally back in the big leagues with Strikeforce, and has the opportunity to make a big impression against the undefeated Cormier, a former U.S. Olympic wrestling team captain. But at 40 years old, time is running out on Monson, and he knows it. He might only have a couple good years left in him, so he has to make the most of them, he said.
“I want to win this fight obviously, but then my plan is to drop to 205 [pounds] and make a run at the title. My weight is pretty low already – right now it’s under 230 [pounds] – so cutting to 205 would be no big deal. I want to win this fight, see what happens from there, but drop down and make my run at a title. …That’s the only reason I fight. That’s it. The only reason I fight is to win a Strikeforce or UFC title. If there was no possibility that that would happen, I’d retire today.”
Then again, a part of him thought he’d already be retired. Two years ago when people asked him how much longer he’d continue fighting, he told them two more years. Then he fought five times in 2009 and nine times in 2010. The fight with Cormier will be his fourth this year, so it’s not as if he’s slowing down.
At the same time, he knows he can’t keep up that pace forever. He’s already fought well beyond the point where most fighters stop being competitive, and he doesn’t want to be another one of the guys who stays too long in a sport that offers few rewards for second place.
“As you get older, some things happen,” Monson said. “You’re not as fast. Maybe it takes you longer to recover. But good things come of it too. This is a brand new sport, and we forget that. What was baseball like twenty years after it was mainstream? It’s the same with us. In twenty years, these fights are going to be dinosaur fights. So I’m still learning new stuff and taking care of my body better. But I’m not going to do it if I can’t compete anymore. I’m not going to do it for a paycheck or just to walk around and say I’m an MMA fighter. If I can’t compete, that’ll be my last fight.”
The irony is, in order to get that shot at a major title, he has to go through the proper channels. He has to take what is, in the MMA world, about as corporate a gig as one can get. Fighting under the Zuffa banner means working for the man, in a sense. Not that he hasn’t already thought this one through, of course.
“I’m like everybody else. I live in a capitalist system, so that’s what I have to do. … I may not like it or agree it, but that’s our society. I’m trying to change it, but I’m not a hypocrite either. I know that I have to earn money to pay bills. I just happen to have a job that I enjoy, and I do feel blessed. If I could make any job for myself, this would be one of them.
“At the same time, these people paying me to fight, they’re making a hell of a lot more off the fighters than they’re paying them. They’re doing it to make a profit. In essence, they’re stealing from me. It’s like someone working in a shoe factory making shoes, that person doesn’t get paid what those shoes are worth. They get paid a fraction of it. They get paid the minimum they can get paid and stay living and employed and keep them from quitting. They’re wage slaves, just like I’m a wage slave.”
Again, probably not exactly what the bosses want to hear from a man who hopes to one day hold one of their major titles, but that’s Monson. That’s how he’s always been. He’s made his way in the sport for more than a decade without worrying too much about what other people want to hear. Why change now?
Filed under: Strikeforce
Jeff Monson has cost himself plenty of money over the years. Nobody has to tell him that. It’s not the tattoos. In another line of work being inked from head to toe with everything from anarchy symbols to a Soviet hammer and sickle might be detrimental to your career health.
But Monson is lucky. He’s in the line of work where tattoos are almost part of the uniform. When he fights Daniel Cormier in Strikeforce this Saturday night, it will probably barely merit a mention from the commentary team.
No, it’s not the tattoos that have cost Monson. Instead, it’s him. It’s the things he believes. Or rather, the things he does and says because of the things he believes. For these, he has probably paid a small fortune over the years, in ancillary income if not in fight purses.
“As far as sponsorships and making money? One hundred percent, it’s cost me,” said Monson. “I’ve had sponsors tell me they don’t want any part of it because of the things I say. I had stuff set up with a nutrition company and clothing company and stuff that I’ve lost because of it, and it’s cost me a lot of money. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to live with yourself. Some things are just right and wrong.”
In case the tattoos didn’t give it away, Monson freely identifies himself as an anarchist. Not that he thinks most people truly understand what that means, at least to him.
It’s not that he wants to live in a state of constant chaos and violence, he insisted, but rather in one where people decide amongst themselves how to live, without a government cracking the whip to keep them in line. He wants a peaceful orderly society, but he doesn’t want authority figures making sure it stays that way.
In other words, he wants a society that doesn’t exist and that some would argue can never exist, but he wants it anyway. When simply wanting it or marching in support of it — as he did in Paris a few weeks ago — doesn’t feel like enough, he believes in taking action. And here’s where the real trouble starts.
Take the incident at the Washington state Capitol building. It started when military convoys wanted to bring equipment through OIympia on its way to a port to get shipped overseas to Iraq, Monson said.
“The people of Olympia said no, we don’t support this, we don’t support the war,” he explained. “But the city council and the mayor, they overrode that, which shows you right there that we don’t have a true democracy. We’re supposed to have a representative democracy, where the people we elect are representing us, but how are they representing us if they’re not listening to what the people want?”
In protest, Monson spray-painted his message on the Capitol building late one afternoon. The anarchy symbol. The words “No war.” General pleas for peace.
It’s not that he thought it would immediately end the war in Iraq and bring about his ideal anarchist society, he said, but he wanted lawmakers to see it on their way to work the next morning. When the photos of Monson doing the spray-painting were published in ESPN the Magazine, law enforcement officials saw it too, and he had a problem on his hands.
Monson entered an Alford plea to charges of malicious mischief and was given work release and ordered to pay over $20,000 in restitution. He also got himself known in MMA circles for the wrong reasons. Major organizations weren’t exactly clamoring to take on a middle-aged heavyweight with legal problems and far-left political beliefs. Whether it was his personal baggage or simply the natural progression of the fight business, that’s debatable. But in a few short years he went from fighting for the UFC heavyweight title to competing on one small promotion after another, most of his fights visible only on the internet if at all.
“I’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say, ‘I watched your fight against [Tim] Sylvia in the UFC. What have you been up to since then?’ And I’m like, well, I’ve had about 25 fights since then. If you’re not on TV, nobody knows.
“It’s definitely frustrating, because in some of my recent fights I’ve beaten guys who are tough, who have wins over guys who are in the UFC, so it’s not like they’re easy fights. I’m not fighting just to be known or anything, but I am fighting to get a title. And if nobody knows what you’re doing, it’s tough to get a shot at a title.”
Now Monson is finally back in the big leagues with Strikeforce, and has the opportunity to make a big impression against the undefeated Cormier, a former U.S. Olympic wrestling team captain. But at 40 years old, time is running out on Monson, and he knows it. He might only have a couple good years left in him, so he has to make the most of them, he said.
“I want to win this fight obviously, but then my plan is to drop to 205 [pounds] and make a run at the title. My weight is pretty low already – right now it’s under 230 [pounds] – so cutting to 205 would be no big deal. I want to win this fight, see what happens from there, but drop down and make my run at a title. …That’s the only reason I fight. That’s it. The only reason I fight is to win a Strikeforce or UFC title. If there was no possibility that that would happen, I’d retire today.”
Then again, a part of him thought he’d already be retired. Two years ago when people asked him how much longer he’d continue fighting, he told them two more years. Then he fought five times in 2009 and nine times in 2010. The fight with Cormier will be his fourth this year, so it’s not as if he’s slowing down.
At the same time, he knows he can’t keep up that pace forever. He’s already fought well beyond the point where most fighters stop being competitive, and he doesn’t want to be another one of the guys who stays too long in a sport that offers few rewards for second place.
“As you get older, some things happen,” Monson said. “You’re not as fast. Maybe it takes you longer to recover. But good things come of it too. This is a brand new sport, and we forget that. What was baseball like twenty years after it was mainstream? It’s the same with us. In twenty years, these fights are going to be dinosaur fights. So I’m still learning new stuff and taking care of my body better. But I’m not going to do it if I can’t compete anymore. I’m not going to do it for a paycheck or just to walk around and say I’m an MMA fighter. If I can’t compete, that’ll be my last fight.”
The irony is, in order to get that shot at a major title, he has to go through the proper channels. He has to take what is, in the MMA world, about as corporate a gig as one can get. Fighting under the Zuffa banner means working for the man, in a sense. Not that he hasn’t already thought this one through, of course.
“I’m like everybody else. I live in a capitalist system, so that’s what I have to do. … I may not like it or agree it, but that’s our society. I’m trying to change it, but I’m not a hypocrite either. I know that I have to earn money to pay bills. I just happen to have a job that I enjoy, and I do feel blessed. If I could make any job for myself, this would be one of them.
“At the same time, these people paying me to fight, they’re making a hell of a lot more off the fighters than they’re paying them. They’re doing it to make a profit. In essence, they’re stealing from me. It’s like someone working in a shoe factory making shoes, that person doesn’t get paid what those shoes are worth. They get paid a fraction of it. They get paid the minimum they can get paid and stay living and employed and keep them from quitting. They’re wage slaves, just like I’m a wage slave.”
Again, probably not exactly what the bosses want to hear from a man who hopes to one day hold one of their major titles, but that’s Monson. That’s how he’s always been. He’s made his way in the sport for more than a decade without worrying too much about what other people want to hear. Why change now?
