Tag: Fighting

Josh Koscheck Really, Really Does Not Like Javier Mendez or AKA

UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck’s split from Javier Mendez and the American Kickboxing Academy has been acrimonious, to say the least.Koscheck, who trained at the gym for nearly the entirety of his UFC career, announced his departure from the gym in a t…

UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck‘s split from Javier Mendez and the American Kickboxing Academy has been acrimonious, to say the least.

Koscheck, who trained at the gym for nearly the entirety of his UFC career, announced his departure from the gym in a tirade after his win over Mike Pierce at UFC 143. He didn’t mince words then and he’s not mincing words now, as you’ll see in this transcript from an interview Ariel Helwani conducted with Koscheck after the UFC on FOX 3 press conference in New York City yesterday:

For the record, he was never my coach. He tagged along here and there. I think that I’m in a better place now, and my Dethrone Base Camp Fresno gyms, they’re rocking right now. We’re rolling. I think that Bob Cook will always be the man over there. Bob Cook comes and trains with me a couple of times a week in Fresno, whenever he can. It’s good to be around real coaches that care, real coaches that put time in. Real coaches that will put the effort in to make your fighter the best they can possibly be. And I have that now. And I think that May 5th, you guys are going to get to see that.

Koscheck previously owned a pair of AKA-affiliated gyms, but has changed the name to Dethrone Base Camp Fresno. 

Helwani asked Koscheck if Mendez ever served as his coach, even back in the early days of his career. 

Of course he worked with me. Did I learn anything? Eh. It is what it is. I’m done with that chapter of my life and I prefer not to talk about it. I prefer to talk about Dethrone Base Camp Fresno. That’s where it’s at right now. I have a lot of good guys training over there right now. I have a lot of guys coming in and out who come in for a couple of weeks and then they roll out. It’s a good time to be on your own and be doing what you gotta do.

Koscheck then dropped another bomb, saying that he believes AKA would have produced more champions over the years if they had “real coaching”: 

I think that the reason why everyone is so successful at that gym over there in San Jose is because of the training partners. I really, truly believe that it’s why guys have fought for world titles and why guys have fought for UFC titles, like Cain. Because of the training partners. I think that’s the number one reason. I think if you added coaching, real coaching, you would have seen a lot more champions out of that gym. I think in my career we’re going to see big improvements really quick. 

Koscheck has maintained his long relationship with Jon Fitch, even saying he would retire if the UFC tried to force him to fight Fitch. Will Fitch or any of Koscheck’s former training partners help him out in his new venture in Fresno?

If they’re smart, they’ll come and get real coaching. I think they should. That’s up to them. The door is always open to those guys. I prefer to never set foot in the city of San Jose ever again.

Fitch and Koscheck might be able to maintain their friendship, but other former training partners at AKA aren’t being quite so nice. As Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier told MMAjunkie’s Steven Marrocco:

“Sometimes people grow apart, and it was just Josh’s time,” Cormier said.

“It’s just Josh – Josh being Josh,” Rockhold told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “We’ve always been a family. Josh has always been on the outside; he’s always been an outcast.”

With many fighters, it’s hard to separate what you see on the screen from the person away from the camera. That’s not the case with Koscheck.

Love him or hate him—and a vast majority of MMA fans and people involved in the industry do, in fact, hate him—Koscheck is what he is, and he’s not changing for Javier Mendez, you or anybody else.

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Greatest Rematches in MMA History

Between October 1942 and October 1945, legendary boxers Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake (Raging Bull) LaMotta waged war five times. Five times they stood face to face in the ring. Five times they exchanged furious blows. Only once did LaMotta pull off a wi…

Between October 1942 and October 1945, legendary boxers Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake (Raging Bull) LaMotta waged war five times. Five times they stood face to face in the ring. Five times they exchanged furious blows. Only once did LaMotta pull off a win. It was enough to make him a sports immortal.

In the 1940’s, a shared history made boxing matches more interesting for the fans. There was a built in storyline. And if the initial fights between two boxers were fun and fast paced? Well, fans clamored for more.

That’s not the case with some MMA fans. Despite their amazing back and forth bout at UFC 144, there is an undercurrent of negativity greeting Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson’s rematch later this year.

But why?

If the first fight was any indication, this one will be super. And, without rematches, we might have missed out on these five sensational bouts.

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UFC 146: Heavyweight Destruction Derby with Overeem, Dos Santos, Velasquez, Mir

Are you an Affliction-wearing, beer-guzzling UFC fan who lives and dies by the action taking place in the heavyweight division?If so, May got a whole lot more interesting over the past twenty-four hours.The month kicks off at UFC on FOX 3 on May 5th, w…

Are you an Affliction-wearing, beer-guzzling UFC fan who lives and dies by the action taking place in the heavyweight division?

If so, May got a whole lot more interesting over the past twenty-four hours.

The month kicks off at UFC on FOX 3 on May 5th, where Pat Barry and Lavar Johnson will meet to determine who can take the most punches to the head before falling flat on their face. That’s going to be an exciting fight, to be sure, but the real intriguing stuff happens later in the month.

More specifically, the heavyweight division could go through a sea change of sorts at UFC 146 on Memorial Day weekend.

Over the past twenty-four hours, the UFC revealed a series of three top-flight heavyweight bouts. All will take place at UFC 146 in Las Vegas.

Let’s take a deeper look at one of the heaviest-hitting cards in the history of the UFC.

 

Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem (UFC heavyweight championship)

These are the two best strikers in MMA‘s heavyweight division, and it’s going to be a blast watching them trade leather with terrifying power. Overeem is unquestionably the better overall striker, which is to say he’s much better at the kicking game. But Dos Santos is the best pure boxer in the game and has lights-out power in his hands.

Dos Santos allegedly has an outstanding ground game, though at this point I’m not sure if that’s the truth or if that’s one of the red herrings we in the media are often fed to hype up a fight. I don’t think it’ll matter in this fight, regardless.

 

Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir

How Frank Mir finds himself on the cusp of yet another UFC title run is beyond me, but here we are, just two months from a number one contender’s fight.

Yep, the winner of this bout will move on to face the winner of the Dos Santos/Overeem main event for the heavyweight championship, which means Mir could potentially be a UFC champion in 2012. I never would’ve seen that coming a year ago.

I don’t believe he gets that far. Velasquez, despite his quick loss to Dos Santos, is still the most technical and skilled heavyweight in the world. He’ll prove it here and in destructive fashion. Don’t expect Mir to make it past the second round.

 

Roy Nelson vs. Antonio Silva

Poor Roy Nelson. Dude just keeps getting tough fight after tough fight. There are no easy shortcuts for Big Country, not when he continually avoids any real attempts by Dana White to move him to the light heavyweight division. 

This is a winnable fight for Nelson, but it’s going to be a tough one. I don’t think Silva will put him away because, let’s face it, nobody puts Big Country away. Nelson will need to endure what will likely be another horrific heavyweight beating, but he’s a better overall fighter than Silva and should be able to do enough to get the win.

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Cain Velasquez vs. Frank Mir Title Eliminator Set for UFC 146

Two former UFC heavyweight champions will clash at an already star-studded card set for May 26th, according to MMA Junkie. Submission specialist Frank Mir will take on heavy-handed wrestler Cain Velasquez in a bout that seems unlikely to go a full…

Two former UFC heavyweight champions will clash at an already star-studded card set for May 26th, according to MMA Junkie.

Submission specialist Frank Mir will take on heavy-handed wrestler Cain Velasquez in a bout that seems unlikely to go a full 15 minutes at UFC 146.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta said the bout would take place roughly a month ago in a question-and-answer session with fans via his Twitter account.

Additionally, UFC 146 will determine who either Mir or Velasquez will challenge for the belt, as the event is headlined by a heavyweight title clash between reigning title holder Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.

Mir is currently riding a three-fight win streak, which includes a his fantastic kimura technical submission over fellow jiu-jitsu ace Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140 which many fans and analysts deemed the 2011 Submission of the Year.

Most recently, Velasquez, who was coming off of rotator cuff surgery, lost the UFC heavyweight title to JDS via devastating first-round knockout at the promotion’s inaugural FOX network debut this past November.

Prior to that bout, the former Arizona State Sun Devil won the coveted 12 pounds of gold from Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October of 2010.

This announcement comes on the heels of another heavyweight bout being confirmed by the UFC. 

Despite recently entertaining a drop to light heavyweight, Roy Nelson will welcome former Strikeforce heavyweight contender Antonio Silva to the Octagon.

The card, which will be hosted at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena, has yet another showdown in a bout likely regulated to the undercard when Gabriel Gonzaga takes on undefeated former Strikeforce fighter Shane del Rosario.



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UFC: Why a 7-Fight Main Card Is the Right Move

Now that UFC on FX 2 has come and gone, I look at my calendar and anxiously crave UFC on FUEL 2 to get here. Sure, I have the kickoff of Bellator season five to look forward to, but just like a crackhead who is offered weed, it helps, but it doesn’t sa…

Now that UFC on FX 2 has come and gone, I look at my calendar and anxiously crave UFC on FUEL 2 to get here. Sure, I have the kickoff of Bellator season five to look forward to, but just like a crackhead who is offered weed, it helps, but it doesn’t satisfy the juicy UFC fix that consumes me. 

Dana White and the boys have done their jobs. When it comes to big-time MMA excitement, nothing can truly compete with a UFC pay-per-view. UFC 144 in Japan showed fans the very best that mixed martial arts has to offer, and did so by offering fans something they had never done before: extend the show by promoting two fights from the preliminary card up to the main card.

What a treat! Many fight fans don’t shell out their hard earned dollars for the pay-per-views. Instead they go to a sports bar, which oftentimes airs the PPV only and excludes the FX prelims. Could you imagine not getting to enjoy the breathtaking moments we experienced in the KO of the Night from Anthony Pettis and the comeback of the year we got when Tim Boetsch knocked out Yushin Okami? It’s just plain wrong.

Hopefully, this will not be a one time thing. Featuring two additional fights on the main card is a great idea for several reasons.

  • Notoriety

Preliminary – adj. Denoting an action or event preceding or done in preparation for something fuller or more important

Any fighter who has been on the preliminary card of a UFC event knows that it can be a humbling event. The name preliminary tells both the audience and the fighter himself that the fight is less important that the bouts that are happening in just a few minutes. If nothing more, being featured on the “main card” would serve the purpose of boosting fighter morale.

  • Exhausting The Audience

 

You can never have too much of a good thing, right? Wrong! When SPIKE TV aired the preliminary bouts back in 2011, they never planned to air more than one hour worth of live UFC programming. This served the purpose of not exhausting the home audience before the pay-per-view. 

 

Have you ever noticed that during the preliminary portion of most events, the crowd is still filtering in, and there are a lot of empty seats? That’s because it takes a lot of stamina to make it through the seven hours of fights that occur in a single sitting.

The home audience is no different. While hardcore UFC fans want to watch all of the fights, the casual fan will watch whatever comes on the pay-per-view broadcast, oftentimes neglecting the cable or Facebook options. The people who care about the preliminaries will watch no matter where you air them. Hell, I watched the FUEL TV  prelims in the bar of a bowling alley because the channel isn’t available in my area. Get two extra fights in front of them without having them stuck on FX for a few hours before what they want to see.

By putting two extra fights on the main card, you increase the number of fights that the casual fans get to see and thereby increase the amount of UFC content that they are exposed to.

  • More Bang For Your Buck

The standard definition UFC pay-per-view sells for $45 a pop. If you want to watch in HD, it’ll cost you an extra 10. For a five card main event, that’s more than $10 per fight. Kinda sucks when you realize that Donald Cerrone vs Vagner Rocha cost you the same price as the epic Dan Henderson vs Shogun Rua.

 

 

By adding two extra fights, you get an extra hour of UFC action. Getting a barn burner of a fight like Matt Brown vs Brian Foster can certainly take away the sting of realizing you paid good money to watch Jon Fitch lay on top of someone for 15 minutes. God forbid he finds his way into a main event. Could you imagine nearly half an hour of a guy throwing punches from guard?

  • Preview vs Free Show

 

Due to the purchase of several Strikeforce contracts and the addition of three extra weight classes, the UFC has a much deeper talent pool than it did only one year ago. While that is a great thing for business, it is giving away too much for free.

As an example, let’s look at the upcoming preliminary card for UFC 145. Miguel Torres v Michael McDonald is a contest that features the No. 6 bantamweight in the world against the man ranked immediately behind him. You’ve also got a marketable battle of Ultimate Fighter winners when Efrain Escudero squares off with Mac Danzig. What’s more is that Stephen Thompson and Matt Brown are against one another after both men providing us with thrilling knockouts in their last bouts.

Tack on a fourth bout featuring heavyweight knockout artists Travis Browne and Chad Griggs and you’ve got a totally separate card with the strength of the preliminaries rivals the level of entertainment and star power that you can see on any Fight Night on FX event.

If you have already watched two hours of fast-paced action that features name-value stars and highlight-reel entertainment, your MMA fix has already been provided and you may actually be dissuaded from ordering the event. By taking the top two bouts off of the prelims and transplanting them onto the pay-per-view, you make the PPV more valuable as a whole, and you give the fans just enough to get them wanting more.

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Will Dan Henderson’s Legend Be Questioned If He Doesn’t Earn UFC Gold?

The legacies of professional athletes are defined by championships. Many athletes have stellar careers, but have never been a world champion for their sport.Dan Henderson falls into this category.Technically speaking, Hendo was a UFC champion. He …

The legacies of professional athletes are defined by championships. Many athletes have stellar careers, but have never been a world champion for their sport.

Dan Henderson falls into this category.

Technically speaking, Hendo was a UFC champion. He defeated Carlos Newton to win the middleweight tournament at UFC 17. He has not been a “modern day” UFC champion, however.

Henderson became the Pride welterweight champion in 2005. Two years later he beat Wanderlei Silva to become the Pride middleweight champion. For good measure, Hendo added a Strikeforce light heavyweight championship in 2011.

But he has not been what many consider to be a world champion MMA fighter. He has not won in the most prestigious promotion, the UFC.

Fans would be hard pressed to find a more impressive career. Over the course of a 15-year professional career, Hendo has racked up 29 wins (13 by knockout), and earned four titles in three different weight classes.

In 37 career fights, Henderson has never been knocked out, and of his eight losses only three have not gone to a decision.

At 41 years old, most would expect Hendo to have a couple of fights left in the tank and wrap up what should be a Hall of Fame UFC career. Or is it?

The glaring achievement missing from Dan Henderson’s legendary career is a UFC championship belt. Furthermore, while he has an outstanding career, his record in the Octagon is only 6-2.

Hendo’s victories in the UFC have come against Allan Goes, Carlos Newton, Rousimar Palhares, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping and Shogun Rua.

The two losses have come against Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva. Those two losses were also his chances of winning a UFC belt.

It would be unfair to say Hendo can’t win when the title is on the line. He has shown throughout his career he can rise to the occasion with the championship in reach. Unfortunately, he hasn’t come through in a UFC title fight.

From all accounts, it appears Henderson is going to hand pick his next opponent. He doesn’t want to fight anybody but the best, and he wants to go out on top with a UFC belt.

Should Dan Henderson retire without earning UFC gold, it would not diminish anything he has accomplished as a professional fighter. It would, however, put him in the undesirable club of the best UFC fighters never to hold a title.

Hendo deserves better than that.

 

Follow Joe Chacon on Twitter (@JoeChacon)

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