Tag: dirty fighters

VIDEO: Bryan Caraway Fish-Hooks Erik Perez at UFC Fight Night 42

(Props: reddit/mma)

As if we needed any more reasons to dislike Bryan Caraway, the UFC bantamweight contender was spotted fish-hooking opponent Erik Perez last night at UFC Fight Night 42: Henderson vs. Khabilov. Caraway went on to win by rear-naked choke submission in the second round. If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying, I guess.

Fish-hooking — the act of sticking your fingers in a dude’s mouth and yanking — is one of the fouls listed in the Unified Rules of MMA. Unfortunately, the ref didn’t see it, which was just one of many officiating screw-ups that plagued last night’s card, from questionable stoppages to premature stand-ups to indefensible hometown decisions.

Check out a close-up screen-cap of the fish hook incident after the jump, and let us know what you think.


(Props: reddit/mma)

As if we needed any more reasons to dislike Bryan Caraway, the UFC bantamweight contender was spotted fish-hooking opponent Erik Perez last night at UFC Fight Night 42: Henderson vs. Khabilov. Caraway went on to win by rear-naked choke submission in the second round. If you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying, I guess.

Fish-hooking — the act of sticking your fingers in a dude’s mouth and yanking — is one of the fouls listed in the Unified Rules of MMA. Unfortunately, the ref didn’t see it, which was just one of many officiating screw-ups that plagued last night’s card, from questionable stoppages to premature stand-ups to indefensible hometown decisions.

Check out a close-up screen-cap of the fish hook incident after the jump, and let us know what you think.

GIFs of the Day: WEC/KOTC Vet Tony Lopez Holds Onto a Choke, Then Punches Opponent After Ref Intervenes


(Gifs courtesy of @GrabakaHitman.)

File this one under your all-time scumbag moves.

Former King of the Cage multi-division champion Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez picked up his first win in his past five contests at a KOTC event yesterday, submitting Andenilson Clementino (yes, that’s his real name) with a rear-naked choke. And that is where the good news ends.

You see, it turns out that Clementino was “mad-dogging” Lopez’s wife backstage before their fight, and believe it or not, Lopez didn’t take too kindly to it. So after securing a rear-naked choke midway through the second round, Lopez decided to teach Clementino a lesson in respect the Babalu Sobral way, by refusing to release the choke even after his opponent had tapped and referee Mike Beltran intervened. Even worse, when he finally decided to let go of the choke, Lopez proceeded to finish things off with a completely unnecessary hammerfist to his downed opponent before walking away.

Not since Mike Kyle vs. Brian Olsen have we seen such a blatant disregard for both the unified rules of MMA and the safety of a fellow fighter, but don’t worry, because Lopez had his reasons, you guys. Or so he tells MMA Prime’s Aaron Tru in a post-fight video which we’ve thrown after the jump.


(Gifs courtesy of @GrabakaHitman.)

File this one under your all-time scumbag moves.

Former King of the Cage multi-division champion Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez picked up his first win in his past five contests at a KOTC event yesterday, submitting Andenilson Clementino (yes, that’s his real name) with a rear-naked choke. And that is where the good news ends.

You see, it turns out that Clementino was “mad-dogging” Lopez’s wife backstage before their fight, and believe it or not, Lopez didn’t take too kindly to it. So after securing a rear-naked choke midway through the second round, Lopez decided to teach Clementino a lesson in respect the Babalu Sobral way, by refusing to release the choke even after his opponent had tapped and referee Mike Beltran intervened. Even worse, when he finally decided to let go of the choke, Lopez proceeded to finish things off with a completely unnecessary hammerfist to his downed opponent before walking away.

Not since Mike Kyle vs. Brian Olsen have we seen such a blatant disregard for both the unified rules of MMA and the safety of a fellow fighter, but don’t worry, because Lopez had his reasons, you guys. Or so he tells MMA Prime’s Aaron Tru in a post-fight video which we’ve thrown after the jump.

“It’s a violent sport and I’m here to show the violent part of it.”

That’s all we’re willing to quote from what may be the most ridiculous defense for a cheap shot in combat sports history.

As Tru mentioned, Lopez has already been indefinitely suspended by the California State Athletic Commission and is likely to receive several hefty fines for his reprehensible act in the near future. But perhaps the craziest thing to come out of this story was that everyone else involved in the fight, from the ringside announcers to the referee, all but refused to acknowledge what had just happened in the moments afterward. Twitter user Fight_Ghost was liveblogging the event and described the bewildering scene:


It’s safe to say that the book should be thrown at Lopez for his intentional and straight evil act of retribution. Thankfully, word has it that CSAC Executive Director Andy Foster was actually at the event when this disgraceful behavior was carried out, so expect Lopez to potentially receive a lifetime ban from fighting in the state of California. That still seems like it would be letting him off easy.

We will update you on the severity of his punishment when details are made available.

–J. Jones

Cheick Kongo Calls Out Stefan Struve, Who Has Already Started Padding His Protective Cup

(A glimpse into the nightmare that awaits Stefan Struve if he doesn’t start choosing his battles.) 

If I could spend a day inside the head of any UFC fighter — Being John Malkovich style — I would obviously choose Donald Cerrone, who is currently sticking it to Brittney Palmer if I remember correctly. High fives all around, guys! But on the off chance I could crawl inside the head of a second UFC fighter, I would have to go with Cheick Kongo, because based on recent events, I can only assume that his brain functions exactly like one of those twisty-turvey waterslides at your local amusement park.

In the past few days, Kongo has turned down a fight with Daniel Cormier, which is understandable, and turned down a fight with Roy Nelson, which is not so understandable for a guy who is coming off one of the most atrocious winning performances in UFC history. But after turning down the Nelson fight, Kongo sent out this tweet, which challenges the phrase “splitting hairs” on a level my brain has yet to fully comprehend:

I did NOT REFUSE to FIGHT Roy Nelson. I REFUSED to TAKE A FIGHT on SHORT NOTICE. Which is NOT THE SAME AT ALL.

Fine, Cheick, if that helps you sleep at night. I hate to judge a book by it’s cover, but if you were to tell me anywhere else that a man with pectorals the size of dinner plates refused to fight this dude on a month’s notice, I would probably call him a pussy. I said probably.


(A glimpse into the nightmare that awaits Stefan Struve if he doesn’t start choosing his battles.) 

If I could spend a day inside the head of any UFC fighter – Being John Malkovich style — I would obviously choose Donald Cerrone, who is currently sticking it to Brittney Palmer if I remember correctly. High fives all around, guys! But on the off chance I could crawl inside the head of a second UFC fighter, I would have to go with Cheick Kongo, because based on recent events, I can only assume that his brain functions exactly like one of those twisty-turvey waterslides at your local amusement park.

In the past few days, Kongo has turned down a fight with Daniel Cormier, which is understandable, and turned down a fight with Roy Nelson, which is not so understandable for a guy who is coming off one of the most atrocious winning performances in UFC history. But after turning down the Nelson fight, Kongo sent out this tweet, which challenges the phrase “splitting hairs” on a level my brain has yet to fully comprehend:

I did NOT REFUSE to FIGHT Roy Nelson. I REFUSED to TAKE A FIGHT on SHORT NOTICE. Which is NOT THE SAME AT ALL.

Fine, Cheick, if that helps you sleep at night. I hate to judge a book by it’s cover, but if you were to tell me anywhere else that a man with pectorals the size of dinner plates refused to fight this dude on a month’s notice, I would probably call him a pussy. I said probably.

Dana White seemed to share this sentiment, and recently lashed out at Kongo for his insolence, pretty much stating the following.

At this point, one would assume that Kongo would just shut the fuck up for a second and pray to God that DW threw him a bone in the near future. But like I said, the mind of Cheick Kongo can not be unraveled by even Cheick Kongo. So despite everything that was going against him, Kongo recently had the Corn Nuts to call out Stefan Struve on Twitter, because anyone who has taken an Introduction to Business course knows that the best way to ascend up the corporate ladder is to ignore your boss repeatedly before asking him for a favor. Or something like that.

One would also assume that Struve — who is currently riding a four fight win streak and most recently knocked out an undefeated rising contender in Stipe Miocic — would realize that he and Kongo are leagues apart at this point in their careers and give him the old “Thanks, but no thanks.”

You ignorant sluts. Struve almost immediately agreed to the idea, tweeting, “I’m in! Great fight for sure.” Now, while I’d like to applaud Struve for being the kind of “take on all comers” fighter that Kongo only wishes he could be, I can’t help but feel that this a terrible idea for Struve. Although his standup is ever-improving, “Skyscraper” has had trouble utilizing his massive reach against much smaller guys than Kongo in the past, and usually found himself brutally knocked out when he failed to do so. Fighting a tall, strong guy with knockout power like Kongo is basically asking for an upset, and will do little if not nothing for Struve’s momentum should he emerge victorious.

But I’m just one man with an opinion and an asshole. So would any of you buy this fight for a dollar?

–J. Jones

Despite What “Rampage” Jackson Says, Linear Knee Strikes Are Much Ado About Nothing


(Who knew keeping your back against the cage was effective defense? This kept Vitor’s knee from ending up like Willis McGahee. Pic Props:Ryan Kightlinger)

By Jason Moles

Yesterday on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, your all too friendly, neighborhood reporter-humping, cage fighter made an appearance. And, as per usual, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson left the MMA world with a lot to talk about after withdrawing from UFC 153 and using TRT to trading verbal jabs and “F*ck you!”‘s with former TUF 10 contestant, Matt Mitrione. What was more notable from the interview was Jackson’s criticism of light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his dirty, dirty knee kicks.

Vitor took the fight on short notice, and this is how you respect him, by kicking his knee backwards and stuff like that? He’s supposed to be a man of God. You can injure somebody, you can sever their career. You can mess people up for life kicking their knee back like that and he does it repeatedly, over and over. To me that has no honor. I take a lot of honor in fighting. He has no honor.

The former Pride and UFC champion went on to question why the athletic commission even allow “stuff like that” to be legal, arguing that if Jones keeps fighting dirty like this, he’ll put everyone on the shelf and won’t have anyone left to fight. As it would turn out, he’s not alone. TheScore.com’s Adam Martin took to twitter to voice his displeasure of the use of linear kicks to the knee as well and reminded his followers that the CSAC already bans the technique.


(Who knew keeping your back against the cage was effective defense? This kept Vitor’s knee from ending up like Willis McGahee. Pic Props:Ryan Kightlinger)

By Jason Moles

Yesterday on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, your all too friendly, neighborhood reporter-humping, cage fighter made an appearance. And, as per usual, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson left the MMA world with a lot to talk about after withdrawing from UFC 153 and using TRT to trading verbal jabs and “F*ck you!”‘s with former TUF 10 contestant, Matt Mitrione. What was more notable from the interview was Jackson’s criticism of light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his dirty, dirty knee kicks.

Vitor took the fight on short notice, and this is how you respect him, by kicking his knee backwards and stuff like that? He’s supposed to be a man of God. You can injure somebody, you can sever their career. You can mess people up for life kicking their knee back like that and he does it repeatedly, over and over. To me that has no honor. I take a lot of honor in fighting. He has no honor.

The former Pride and UFC champion went on to question why the athletic commission even allow “stuff like that” to be legal, arguing that if Jones keeps fighting dirty like this, he’ll put everyone on the shelf and won’t have anyone left to fight. As it would turn out, he’s not alone. TheScore.com’s Adam Martin took to twitter to voice his displeasure of the use of linear kicks to the knee as well and reminded his followers that the CSAC already bans the technique.

Just because one state bans something doesn’t make it a good decision (yeah, I’m looking at you New York!). Remember the craziness surrounding the Adlan Amagov/Keith Barry fight on the undercard at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman? Never would’ve happened if everyone fought under the Unified Rules – which allow linear kicks to the knee – but I digress.

You remember when Kenny Florian was in a bloodbath or two and some people wanted to ban elbows? It’s the same argument all over again. All opposed complain that the usefulness of the strike in question is limited and is simply doing more cosmetic damage or causing career altering injuries than actually getting the fighter closer to victory via traditional methods like a knockout or submission. Conversely, all proponents of the (mostly) legal tactics point to their effectiveness at rocking opponents or allowing a fighter to keep an opponent at bay.

Question: Who doesn’t like razor sharp elbows or discombobulating knee strikes? Answer: Anyone who has ever faced a fighter who used them and couldn’t find a way to stop them. Here’s another question for you: What makes the type of kick Jon Jones utilized against “Shogun” Rua and Vitor Belfort (let’s not forget Carlos Condit using them recently as well) any more dangerous than a heel hook? After seeing an injury like this, are you going to tell me you’re more worried about some dinosaur’s knee because of a simple kick? Didn’t think so.

I’m convinced there will always be percentage of the population that fully embodies the “Just Bleed” mentality. The idea that mixed martial arts is little more than a glorified street fight fuels their desire to see defenseless grounded fighters have their face caved in with a devastating knee to the mouth. These people crave gratuitous violence and if given their druthers, would award fighter’s bonuses for soccer kicking their opponents head into the crowd like a Mortal Kombat fatality. These people would set the sport back a decade if they ran the athletic commissions.

Supporting the tactical use of certain attacks, however “dirty” others may perceive them to be, does not qualify you as one of those people.

Watching world-class athletes square off in the Octagon to test their skills is not for everyone, after all it is still (for the most part) two guys balling up their fists trying to punch each other’s lights out. But if it is for you, there are far more threatening problems facing fighters today than the type of kick Jon Jones used against Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 on Saturday night. It’s time we realize fighters are going to get hurt from time to time and more often than not, the injury will occur long before his music hits the speakers. Stop worrying about guys getting jacked up during a fight and focus more on keeping him from getting sidelined during practice. (Yes, we’re talking about practice.)

If You Ain’t Cheating, You Ain’t Trying: M-1 Fighter Maxim Grishin Busted Using Bengay Before Friday Night’s Bout

At least he won’t be a sore loser. (Photo: M-1Global.com)

Cheating in MMA is actually pretty common, but it generally rears its head in minor infractions such as grabbing the cage, punches to the back of the head, and all-things Cheick Kongo. Cheating before a bout is also somewhat common, but it usually involves creative diet supplementation or concerns over greasing.

In a move straight out of the 1993 Vale Tudo circuit in Rio, Maxim Grishin, one of the two men vying for M-1’s coveted Heavyweight Interim Champion title on Friday night, was caught getting the ol’ Bengay rub down prior to his bout with Kenny Garner. If you’re not aware, that’s a no-no.

More details after the jump…

At least he won’t be a sore loser.  (Photo: M-1Global.com)

Cheating in MMA is actually pretty common, but it generally rears its head in minor infractions such as grabbing the cage, punches to the back of the head, and all-things Cheick Kongo. Cheating before a bout is also somewhat common, but it usually involves creative diet supplementation or concerns over greasing.

In a move straight out of the 1993 Vale Tudo circuit in Rio, Maxim Grishin, one of the two men vying for M-1′s coveted Heavyweight Interim Champion title on Friday night, was caught getting the ol’ Bengay rub down prior to his bout with Kenny Garner. If you’re not aware, that’s a no-no.

As reported by SBNation.com:

According to Garner’s striking coach, Paulie “Gloves” Gavoni, the team immediately sensed something amiss as they were warming up in the locker room.

“One of our guys walked by and smelled the aroma of Bengay in the back,” Gavoni explained to MMA Nation. “So we had the commissioner check and they had to wipe the Bengay off (Grishin) before he walked in there.”

“They were rubbing it on his legs,” said the corner-man who spotted the infraction. “As soon as they noticed I was there, he took off back into the dressing room.”

As we mentioned yesterday, if Grishin’s legs were sore it wasn’t from an excessive cardio routine, as the fighter eventually halfheartedly tapped to punches and fatigue after a plodding affair that saw both men exhausted early on. Had the violation not been noticed, things could have gotten very interesting during the fight; moments before he tapped out, Grishin’s armbar and triangle choke attempts put his legs on and around Garner’s eyes.