It’s widely understood that in order to compete at the highest level in any sport, athletes must be supremely disciplined and make sacrifices in their personal lives to be able to perform at their best. For professional MMA fighters, it goes without saying that staying up late partying, drinking alcohol, and taking recreational drugs are […]
It’s widely understood that in order to compete at the highest level in any sport, athletes must be supremely disciplined and make sacrifices in their personal lives to be able to perform at their best.
For professional MMA fighters, it goes without saying that staying up late partying, drinking alcohol, and taking recreational drugs are things to avoid, especially in the build-up to a fight, but for some, it seems the temptation is too strong to resist.
In this article we’ll look at the lives of 10 MMA stars who became so seduced by the party lifestyle that even the daunting prospect of an upcoming fight looming large on the horizon wasn’t enough to stop them from succumbing to their base instincts, and furthermore show how this rarely lead to a happy ending in the long run.
Jon Jones
As the UFC’s light heavyweight champion and one of the sport’s all-time greats, Jon Jones appeared to have the world at his feet, but that wasn’t enough for the self-destructive star.
Though he’d had minor issues in the past, alarm bells started ringing loudly in early 2015 when Jones tested positive for cocaine just weeks prior to his UFC 182 title defense against Daniel Cormier.
His various run-ins with both the law and USADA since are well documented, but in an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Jones gave further insight into just how out-of-control his behavior had been over the years.
“I had this crazy thing that I would do where I would party one week before every fight and I did that throughout my whole career,” Jones confessed to Rogan. “…I would get blacked out wasted.
“My logic was if this guy was to beat me somehow I can look myself in the mirror and say that I lost because I got hammered the week before the fight. It was a safety net. I did it my whole career.”
The 30-year-old Jones was recently stripped of his light heavyweight title for the third time in three years after testing positive for steroids and is now facing another potentially lengthy suspension in the prime of his career.
The MMA world is currently buzzing with the news that former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre wants to make a comeback to the UFC after a three year break from fighting. Given his past success, there’s every chance that if and when he does return, GSP will be able to win back his title and reclaim
The MMA world is currently buzzing with the news that former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre wants to make a comeback to the UFC after a three year break from fighting.
Given his past success, there’s every chance that if and when he does return, GSP will be able to win back his title and reclaim his spot at the summit of the pound-for-pound rankings.
However, nothing is certain in this rapidly evolving sport, and as you’ll see in this article, over the years there’s been many occasions where stars have returned to the cage after a lengthy absence, only to have their dreams of recapturing past glories quickly turn into the stuff of nightmares.
(Oh, this? Just the face of a man who knows he’s about to be chewed out by the Wheaties people. via Getty.)
By Scott Johnson
UFC 185 was a very interesting anomaly in the world of MMA, in which two incumbent champions were dethroned by the challengers who were considered underdogs going into the fight. Carla Esparza was only considered a slight favorite heading into her fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk so the surprise there was minimal, but there weren’t many people expecting to see Rafael Dos Anjos topple Pretty Tony Pettis. Hell, most of us were already looking forward to Pettis vs. Nurmagomedov, but the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and now the UFC Lightweight division has a new champion in its mix.
In the spirit of these events, I’ve compiled what I consider to be the top five upsets in UFC championship history. I have no doubts that there will be a difference in opinion as to which fights belong here or which order they should be in, but in the words of the great Oskar Schindler, “Fuck you, it’s my list and I’ll put who I want on it.”
(Oh, this? Just the face of a man who knows he’s about to be chewed out by the Wheaties people. via Getty.)
By Scott Johnson
UFC 185 was a very interesting anomaly in the world of MMA, in which two incumbent champions were dethroned by the challengers who were considered underdogs going into the fight. Carla Esparza was only considered a slight favorite heading into her fight with Joanna Jedrzejczyk so the surprise there was minimal, but there weren’t many people expecting to see Rafael Dos Anjos topple Pretty Tony Pettis. Hell, most of us were already looking forward to Pettis vs. Nurmagomedov, but the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and now the UFC Lightweight division has a new champion in its mix.
In the spirit of these events, I’ve compiled what I consider to be the top five upsets in UFC championship history. I have no doubts that there will be a difference in opinion as to which fights belong here or which order they should be in, but in the words of the great Oskar Schindler, “Fuck you, it’s my list and I’ll put who I want on it.”
#5 – Evan Tanner vs. David Terrell — UFC 51
In 2002, the UFC Middleweight championship had been vacated by Murilo Bustamante after he made the jump to PRIDE Fighting Championships. It sat defunct for over two years before the decision was made to reestablish a new champion via a match between Evan Tanner and David Terrell at UFC 51. While Tanner was no slouch and heading into the fight with a three win streak over Phil Baroni (2x) and current Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, it was the young upstart Terrell (who had recently knocked out Matt Lindland before it was cool) who was considered the favorite.
Terrell looked to solidify that opinion early in the match, securing a tight guillotine choke on Tanner that looked as if it could end things before they ever started. However, the gritty Tanner would not be stopped and escaped the choke, a move which seemed to mentally break Terrell. The young prospect looked almost helpless against Tanner, who dominated the rest of the round by delivering heavy elbows and punches on the ground until the match was stopped just before the first round ended.
Sadly, Tanner would never defend his belt, as Rich Franklin would defeat him via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) in the 4th round of their rematch at UFC 53. Franklin, as we all well know, would go on to become the longest reigning middleweight champion in UFC history, and would semi-retire in 2014 with a perfect professional record in the octagon. What? YOU HAVE YOUR HISTORY AND I HAVE MINE!!!
At the time of this fight, Randy Couture had already made a huge mark in the UFC, having won the UFC Heavyweight championship twice with victories over Maurice Smith and Kevin Randleman. In his last fight, he dropped the title to Josh Barnett, who would have his title relinquished for ridin’ dirty on anabolic steroids. A match for the now vacant Heavyweight title was set between the former champion and Ricco Rodriguez, a young up and comer who had racked up an impressive win streak over fighters like Pete Williams, Jeff Monson and Andrei Arlovski. Yet few expected that Rodriguez would be capable of defeating Captain America.
For the first three rounds of the fight, Couture controlled the action and appeared well on his way to securing his third Heavyweight title. However, the momentum of the fight would change completely in the championship rounds. A tired and sluggish Couture would barely survive the fourth round, and enter the fifth looking like a man already defeated. Rodriguez, having not yet descended into a cocaine and Taco Bell nightmare from which he would never return, took full advantage of his opponent’s inferior gas tank, securing a takedown and delivering a massive elbow that would break Couture’s orbital bone and force him to submit.
BJ Penn entered this fight as the most dominant Lightweight in UFC history. His last loss in the division was to Jens Pulver back in 2002 and he had held the title for just over two years at this point. After an unsuccessful bid at the welterweight championship, Penn defended his title against Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez in utterly dominant performances before being matched up against Frankie Edgar. Edgar had made a name for himself with his epic fight against Tyson Griffin back at UFC 67 and had managed to rack up a series of wins against top level fighters like Hermes Franca and former champ Sean Sherk. Still, the odds were stacked against Edgar as he was facing arguably the best Lightweight champion in UFC history in a division where he was considered by many to be undersized.
Once the bell rang, however, Edgar began slowly erasing any doubts about his chances. “The Answer” stood toe to toe with Penn for five solid rounds in a grueling back and forth encounter that surprised many of the onlookers who expected to see another domination by Penn. The fight was so closely contested that the audience was on the edge of their seats as they announced the judge’s scores, all three of whom saw the fight in Edgar’s favor. Edgar would defeat Penn in their next two fights proving that while this fight was considered a major upset, it certainly was no fluke.
Being best known for being on the wrong end of a Shonie Carter spinning backfist, Matt Serra had recently seen a resurgence of his career by winning The Ultimate Fighter 4 season and earning himself a UFC Welterweight title shot in the process. No one gave the undersized, pasta-loving Long Islander a reasonable shot of defeating the current champion, Georges St. Pierre, who had amassed a 15-1 career record and barely lost a round in his UFC career. GSP looked nothing short of unstoppable, and the -1100 odds being given by many sports books seemed to back this notion.
The opening minutes of the first round went as expected, with GSP controlling the pace and attempting to land kicks to Serra’s head. Serra would not be intimidated and continued to maintain a sharp focus on the champion while GSP seemed to be simply going through the motions and not taking his opponent as seriously as he should be. This lackadaisical attitude cost him just before the three minute mark, as Serra landed a right hand to the champion’s ear. GSP began to lose his balance and would never be able to get it back as Serra, sensing the champ was in danger, swarmed the champion with a swift combination of punches before landing one final shot that floored the champion. It was considered by far to be the most shocking title upset of all time, until…
For 6 ½ years, Anderson Silva had maintained a deathgrip on the UFC Middleweight title. Other than a very close call against Chael Sonnen, there hadn’t been anyone who had been able to break the invincible aura that Silva had cultivated. The idea that Chris Weidman, who had been inactive for almost a year and whose biggest win to date was over Mark Munoz, would be the one to topple the Middleweight king seemed like an impossibility to most UFC fans. Many fighters and coaches were touting his skills and claiming that he was a bad match for the champion, but many chalked that up to the typical UFC fight hype.
The fight started out as a typical performance, with Silva setting his usual “wait and see” pace to measure his opponent. Weidman, taking a page from Sonnen’s book, used his wrestling skills and was able to take down Silva and apply some nice ground and pound before the first round ended. As round two started, Silva began his taunting routine that he had displayed many fights before in an attempt to get into Weidman’s head. However, the challenger would not fall into the same trap that other challengers had and maintained his focus. After a brief exchange, Silva dropped his hands to once again taunt his opponent and it would prove to be a career-defining mistake.
Weidman flattened Silva with a perfectly placed left hook, putting the once thought unbeatable champion to sleep and making history by ending Anderson Silva’s more than half decade winning streak and earning the greatest upset victory in UFC history.
Got a gripe with our list? Of course you do! Let us know in the comments section.
“Never take for granted anything in life. Never underestimate the surroundings you’re in, be it the city, the mountains, the desert. Once you do, that’s when it comes to say hello to you.” — Charles Lucas, Supervising Deputy Coroner of Imperial County
In advance of a feature-length film about Evan Tanner called 1, MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak has released a 20-minute documentary about the former UFC middleweight champion’s tragic 2008 death from heat exposure, which occurred during a doomed solo adventure in the desert near Palo Verde, California. Through interviews with the coroners and rescue personnel who were directly involved with the case, “The Truth Behind Evan Tanner’s Death” describes the brutal circumstances surrounding Tanner’s last days, and what might have saved his life. It also clears up the theories that the death was a suicide (as some scholars have suggested) or that the famously-troubled Tanner had relapsed on alcohol. And contrary to initial reports, Tanner’s death apparently had nothing to do with his motorcycle running out of gas.
Watching this documentary five years after Tanner’s passing is like ripping open an old wound. Some of it is genuinely hard to watch, and credit goes to Bobby Razak for his ability to take viewers into the hostile environment that killed Tanner, and convey his mounting desperation. If you’d like to donate some cash to help Razak complete the full-length movie, visit the Evan Tanner Film Indiegogo page.
“Never take for granted anything in life. Never underestimate the surroundings you’re in, be it the city, the mountains, the desert. Once you do, that’s when it comes to say hello to you.” — Charles Lucas, Supervising Deputy Coroner of Imperial County
In advance of a feature-length film about Evan Tanner called 1, MMA filmmaker Bobby Razak has released a 20-minute documentary about the former UFC middleweight champion’s tragic 2008 death from heat exposure, which occurred during a doomed solo adventure in the desert near Palo Verde, California. Through interviews with the coroners and rescue personnel who were directly involved with the case, “The Truth Behind Evan Tanner’s Death” describes the brutal circumstances surrounding Tanner’s last days, and what might have saved his life. It also clears up the theories that the death was a suicide (as some scholars have suggested) or that the famously-troubled Tanner had relapsed on alcohol. And contrary to initial reports, Tanner’s death apparently had nothing to do with his motorcycle running out of gas.
Watching this documentary five years after Tanner’s passing is like ripping open an old wound. Some of it is genuinely hard to watch, and credit goes to Bobby Razak for his ability to take viewers into the hostile environment that killed Tanner, and convey his mounting desperation. If you’d like to donate some cash to help Razak complete the full-length movie, visit the Evan Tanner Film Indiegogo page.
If you’ve been following the sport of mixed martial arts for more than four or five years, you’re more than likely familiar with the storied career of the late, great Evan Tanner. Tanner entered the sport in 1997 of his own desire (with a l…
If you’ve been following the sport of mixed martial arts for more than four or five years, you’re more than likely familiar with the storied career of the late, great Evan Tanner.
Tanner entered the sport in 1997 of his own desire (with a little influence from close friends), having never trained extensively with any MMA camp. He studied Gracie jiu-jitsu videos and learned the art of the submission at home, in his garage. His competitive drive and pure will to win, however, enabled him to reach heights that now seem borderline preposterous.
Evan took his first professional fight at the Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation’s fourth event. An unknown entrant in the evening’s tournament, Tanner stunned the hometown crowd by defeating Mike Kennedy, Gary Nabors and Paul Buentello to sweep the evening’s tournament. He finished all three opponents and clocked just 6:11 of combat time.
He returned at Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation 7, where he won his first official title by defeating the significantly larger Heath Herring. Tanner would go on to accumulate more monumental accolades, as he became the first American to win the PancraseNeo-Blood Tournament in 1998. Again, he tore through the competition, compiling four submission victories in Japan.
Evan’s success overseas, coupled with his dominating run in the USWF earned him an invite from the UFC, the world’s premiere mixed martial arts promotion, and he made the best of it. During his 17-fight UFC career, Evan secured 11 victories and captured the middleweight championship in the process after battering the highly touted prospect David Terrell.
Tanner’s subsequent career trajectory was a bit rocky.
He dropped four of his next five fights and incorporated a two-year hiatus from the sport during that stretch. His exploits away from the cage became that of legend, as he embarked on a journey to “find himself” (as he described to me personally), which ultimately led to extended trips into the wilderness, failed boating excursions and a brief battle with alcoholism.
Through it all Evan maintained a positive outlook on life, determined to return to fighting glory and rediscover the success he’d wrangled in the early years of his career.
Sadly, fate would intervene in the cruelest of manners. Another trek into the wild—this time a trip into the Southern California desert—would prove fatal. Out of water and fuel for his motorcycle, Evan died in the scorching sun, just miles from his campsite. He was 37 years old.
Since his death, many fantastic fighters have come and gone, but few leave the impression that Tanner managed. I can say with complete honesty that he was an incredibly deep thinker who carried a kind heart in his chest. He aimed to be remembered as a great man, not simply a great fighter, and to this day, I still consider my time with Evan a shining star in my career as a journalist.
The long anticipated documentary (which went into production shortly after Evan’s passing), “Once I Was a Champion” hit the Internet Saturday and can be found on Amazon Instant Video. A tearjerker to the greatest extreme, this film sheds some light on Evan Tanner and who he was as a man as well as a fighter. It is, in short, a must watch, but not for MMA fanatics exclusively: It’s a brilliant piece of work for anyone who fancies film in general.
Roxburgh Films released the Tough Crowd/Tapout picture, which was directed by Gerard Roxburgh.
Let’s be honest, being a referee in mixed martial arts is a pretty thankless job. Like the CIA, their failures are known and their successes are not. No one remembers flawless refereeing precisely because a good official blends into the scenery u…
Let’s be honest, being a referee in mixed martial arts is a pretty thankless job. Like the CIA, their failures are known and their successes are not.
No one remembers flawless refereeing precisely because a good official blends into the scenery unless he is forced to act.
In contrast, when one of our referees puts on the kind of performance that makes Joe Cortez look competent, it remains at the forefront of our minds until we vent our frustration at their ineptitude.
In honour of those calls that left you scratching your head in bemusement, I present the five worst refereeing performances in the history of modern-day UFC.
Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section.
If you’