Tag: Fighting

Georges St-Pierre Sounds off on Japan, Marijuana as a PED

The UFC’s second trip to Japan featured one of its most anticipated events of the year, and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre reflected on his experience going to the country where his martial arts base in Kyokushin Karate was founded almost …

The UFC’s second trip to Japan featured one of its most anticipated events of the year, and UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre reflected on his experience going to the country where his martial arts base in Kyokushin Karate was founded almost 50 years ago.

It’s like a different world, said St-Pierre, who is currently ranked as the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. They have a different culture. They are very extreme in a way that they are very respectful and everything, but when they do something, they do it a hundred percent. I really like that.

When the Canadian star suffered a knee injury late last year, he was forced to pull out of a scheduled bout with former WEC champion Carlos Condit at UFC 137. Instead, Nick Diaz and B.J. Penn fought to determine a top contender in the division.

After Diaz defeated Penn by decision, the fight between him and St-Pierre had been set before the UFC champion suffered an ACL injury and was forced to pull out and possibly sit out from competing in the sport for 10 months.

Diaz went on to fight Condit at UFC 143 and lost a close unanimous decision after five rounds. St-Pierre said of the decision:

I think Carlos won. It was a very tight fight. It could have gone either way, but if I would have been a judge, and most of the people that were with me thought Carlos had an edge. Even though Diaz was pressing more of the action, Carlos was more efficient.

Following the fight, Diaz tested positive for marijuana, and arguments about whether or not it is performance enhancing have been ongoing among MMA fans and fighters. St-Pierre does not consider marijuana performance-enhancing:

I wasn’t surprised because I heard some story before that he took marijuana, but for me, marijuana, I don’t think it’s performance enhancing. I don’t see it as bad as if it would be like a steroid or something like that so maybe it could help Nick Diaz because he might have problems in front of the camera. Maybe the marijuana calms him down and makes him perform better.

GSP’s return is anticipated for late this year or early 2013. It will have been almost two years since he last fought and defeated Jake Shields at UFC 129.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Comprehensive Ways to Fix MMA Judging Once and for All

The sport of mixed martial arts is dictated by a few things. The fighter, the referee and the judges.More often than not, fighters look to finish their bouts in order to alleviate the pressures that exist in taking a chance and allowing the fight …

The sport of mixed martial arts is dictated by a few things. 

The fighter, the referee and the judges.

More often than not, fighters look to finish their bouts in order to alleviate the pressures that exist in taking a chance and allowing the fight to enter the hands of the judges, who, in the past, have shown deficiencies in effectively scoring certain bouts.

Fights like Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia, Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins and Joe Warren vs. Marcos Galvao are just a few among the many botched decisions that have occurred as of late. There have been numerous others guided by the misguided. 

Ironically enough, judges are seated cageside in order to prevent such travesties from happening, looking to effectively score fights based on striking, grappling, aggression and cage/ring control.

We have seen new faces grace the judging circuit, with commissions taking the right approach in bringing in well-versed veterans of the sport.

Guys like Bill Mahood and Ricardo Almeida, two veterans of the UFC, have been recent additions to the scene of judges, but they only help remedy a small portion of what is an even bigger problem.

It’s almost become like a secret society of sorts, where certain officials have received immunity, allowing them time and time again to flop decisions.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan said it best: “There’s a few very good judges surrounded by a bunch of incompetent morons that know absolutely nothing about the sport.”

Executive director Keith Kizer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, who bears some responsibility since he oversaw judges turn in controversial decisions during his tenure, has made mention that simply cleaning house is something he will not consider, or rather is something that is unwarranted.

Dissension among your flank of flunkees will eventually occur, as the need for better judging criteria will need to come into play sooner rather than later.

It seems as if everybody interprets the sport in their own way, with judges hailing from different backgrounds of martial arts, some from boxing and others from karate, jiu jitsu, etc.

Ex-MMA fighters may be the best and the most suitable solution, but it may take more egregiously atrocious decisions down the line before we see an immediate change to take place.

At the very least, throw your judges in a gym and get them acclimated with the grappling aspect of MMA. Just because a wrestler is on top doesn’t mean he’s the one that makes an effort to finish the fight.

Isn’t that the most important aspect of the sport? 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

How to Get Your MMA Fix During the Long Break Between UFC Fights

Until April 14, the UFC will not have any events.With the upcoming seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, with one season airing live in the States and another setting up shop in Brazil, the UFC will have their hands full.Now, budding promotions will have th…

Until April 14, the UFC will not have any events.

With the upcoming seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, with one season airing live in the States and another setting up shop in Brazil, the UFC will have their hands full.

Now, budding promotions will have the opportunity to help fill the void that the UFC will leave behind for well over a month.

Here is how you should be looking to satisfy your hungry MMA appetite. 

Begin Slideshow

UFC Morning Update: Rampage Jackson Quitting UFC, Henderson vs. Edgar 2

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is an emotional dude. This news shouldn’t surprise you in the slightest. And that’s why you also shouldn’t be surprised that Jackson went on a Twitter rant while you slept, revealing that he has one fight remaining on his UFC …

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is an emotional dude. This news shouldn’t surprise you in the slightest. And that’s why you also shouldn’t be surprised that Jackson went on a Twitter rant while you slept, revealing that he has one fight remaining on his UFC contract. 

After that fight ends? I’ll let him tell the rest in today’s UFC Morning Update.

 

Rampage Says He’s Quitting The UFC After One More Fight

Jackson is an open book. He’ll tell you exactly what’s on his mind and detail his trials and tribulations to the entire world. It’s one of the things that has made him one of the most endearing fighters in the history of the sport. In short, he’s real. Fans appreciate that kind of thing.

Last night, Jackson was once again an open book on his Twitter account.

I didn’t say I would b done fighting,I just said I’m not fighting 4 the UFC,(u fight cheap)I said I have other things on my mind (big head)

I will fight who ever they put n front of me,I always have,but it will b my last fight n the ufc,I have other things on my mind

:  your leaving the UFC?” Y should I stay? I don’t need them or anybody else negative dealing with my carrie

Much of this likely stems from the interview Jackson did with Fighter’s Only where he admitted to using Testosterone Replacement Therapy for his fight with Ryan Bader. Jackson also said the UFC’s doctor pushed him towards using TRT, which probably didn’t go over too well in the Zuffa offices in Las Vegas.

Jackson has a history of emotional outbursts, so there’s no real way of knowing if this will stick. He and Dana White have one of the most up-and-down relationships in the industry.

He won’t be able to earn the kind of money he gets from Zuffa anywhere else in the world. If he wants to keep fighting, he’ll stick around and forget this whole incident ever happened.

 

Benson Henderson Willing To Rematch Frankie Edgar

New UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour podcast on Monday and said he’s perfectly willing to give Frankie Edgar the rematch he so badly wants.

Frankie had a very tough situation. He had a rough road with two rematches right away after his title defenses. So the fan in me feels that he deserves (the rematch). He had to put himself on the line, I don’t want anybody coming back to me and saying ‘oh, Henderson didn’t want to rematch Frankie because he was scared.’

I’m more than willing to give Frankie a rematch. Let’s do it. Set it up for tomorrow.

It’s looking more and more likely that we’ll see a rematch. Dana White badly wants Edgar to move down to featherweight for a big fight with Jose Aldo, but Edgar has resisted all efforts to force him to switch weight classes. He wants the rematch, and Henderson would seemingly rather face Edgar a second time than face Anthony Pettis a second time.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Rampage Says His Next Fight Will Be His Last in the UFC

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson might only have one fight left in the UFC, according to a recent tweet posted by the former UFC light heavyweight champion.I will fight who ever they put n front of me,I always have,but it will b my last fight n the ufc,I have…

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson might only have one fight left in the UFC, according to a recent tweet posted by the former UFC light heavyweight champion.

I will fight who ever they put n front of me,I always have,but it will b my last fight n the ufc,I have other things on my mind

Jackson’s last fight came against Ultimate Fighter winner Ryan Bader at UFC 144. The fight took place in Japan, a country where Jackson had fought many times before while making a name for himself in the Pride organization. His training for the fight had been hindered by injures, and he admitted after that he knew he was going to lose.

Many fans have been wondering if Jackson’s motivation is being directed towards his other aspirations. The 33-year-old had a star role in The A-Team in 2010. It came before one of the more important fights of his UFC career against Rashad Evans. The fight had to be moved to a later date because of Jackson’s filming schedule, and he would go on to lose a decision after having been out of the Octagon for almost a year.

Since that fight, he has gone 2-2 with victories over Lyoto Machida and Matt Hamill. He is currently riding a two-fight losing streak against reigning champion Jon Jones and Bader.

It is unsure of who he will fight next, but if it is his last in the UFC, he might get an opponent he has always wanted to rematch against in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Jackson lost to the Brazilian muay-thai fighter in 2005. Shogun would go on to become the UFC light heavyweight title as well, but he has been battling injuries for most of his UFC career and is 2-3 in his last five.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Why Bellator Signing UFC Castoffs Hurts the Company’s Image & Future

Bellator is the second largest MMA organization in the world today and if it keeps buying up former UFC fighters and placing them in their tournaments, that is all they are ever go to be.UFC is the largest brand available today and when a fighter compe…

Bellator is the second largest MMA organization in the world today and if it keeps buying up former UFC fighters and placing them in their tournaments, that is all they are ever go to be.

UFC is the largest brand available today and when a fighter competes long enough for them, they become a UFC fighter. Even those that don’t last long in the company are branded “former UFC fighter” status. It’s a great marketing tool, helps increase the salary for any fighter who has it and gives them bigger awareness in MMA news.

It is something that every fighter should willingly embrace because, at the end of the day, it helps their career.

Bellator is embracing it to having signed fighters like Maiquel Falcao, Rob McCullough and Ben Saunders to their ranks. They even acquired War Machine despite the fact that he had troubles with the law in the past which has lead him going to jail yet again.

There isn’t much of a point in signing a fighter like War Machine or letting Ben Saunders take place in a tournament to fight for the belt except for one reason.

They have name recognition.

For a new promotion like Bellator, they want to have as much built in marketing as they can for their events, but using branded stars won’t help them.

It may be a bit callous to refer to fighters in a way that sounds like Bellator is dealing with cattle, but the logic isn’t unfounded. Fighters who have been built up and tied in with a certain brand will always be stuck with that connection.

People like Tito Ortiz or Randy Couture, even when they weren’t active in the company, were considered UFC fighters.

There was no way to escape the brand and what it had done for their careers or the notoriety it had given them.

If Bellator continues to buy up former UFC fighters, they will get the reputation of having some great fighters. They will also be known for having fighters who couldn’t make it in the UFC and, if those fighters win the championships or even come close, then that is all Bellator will amount to.

A place where those who couldn’t be the best in the world go to still get a healthy paycheck. That is all their championship will amount to as well.

Bellator now has the possibility of rivaling the UFC someday. It wasn’t possible in the past, but now that they have been bought by Viacom, they have the capitol and the backing to do so.

They just need to remember that just like their tournament format, they are a different product then the UFC.

Their fighters need to be the same.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com