Prior to finalizing a bout between himself and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, there were rumors regarding a possible matchup between Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum.Since claiming a second victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UF…
Prior to finalizing a bout between himself and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, there were rumors regarding a possible matchup between Frank Mir and Fabricio Werdum.
Since claiming a second victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 140, Mir was hesitant on facing Werdum in the Brazilian’s homeland, when he hinted at the idea of meeting Mir at UFC 147 in Rio de Janeiro.
Mir said he feared for his safety and well-being in Brazil, especially after defeating one of the country’s most respected and beloved fighters in Nogueira.
“I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t know if that would be such a great idea, I don’t know if I’m gonna be that well-received there.’ I’d have to go there for a whole week with my family, my wife and my children,” Mir told CraveOnline.com.
“I don’t think I’m in (Chael’s) boat yet, but at the same time if I go to a restaurant and someone is a Nogueira fan, what are they gonna do to my food?,” he added.
Instead, Mir will likely feel more comfortable in his own country, when he slated to meet Velasquez at UFC 146 in Las Vegas on May 26th.
Nevada has been able to test athletes randomly for a while now, but only recently got an increase in their department’s funding that has allowed them to begin such testing in earnest, according to Chiappetta. The state commission decided to take advantage of all the fighters coming to the state, and save the money it might have cost to go to them, in effect. As the MMAFighting report explains:
(Test this man! No one has that much style naturally)
Nevada has been able to test athletes randomly for a while now, but only recently got an increase in their department’s funding that has allowed them to begin such testing in earnest, according to Chiappetta. The state commission decided to take advantage of all the fighters coming to the state, and save the money it might have cost to go to them, in effect. As the MMAFighting report explains:
“According to Kizer, the commission currently has a deal in place with Quest Diagnostics which allows the lab to send testers on-site to obtain samples. After the conclusion of the UFC 146 press conference, the fighters were taken in groups of two to an MGM Grand VIP lounge to submit their sample. Kizer could not say when the results would be made available, saying they may not be publicly released until after the event’s May 26 completion. Of course, that would likely change if any of the tests came back positive and put one of the night’s big fights into jeopardy.”
As you might remember, after some difficulties keeping to Nevada’s required drug testing late last year, Alistair Overeem was given a license that required he undergo two more random tests from the commission. The surprise one he submitted to yesterday will count as one. We wouldn’t even deign to imagine that Alistair uses any banned performance enhancing substances, but we just hope he doesn’t have any banned recreational substances passed off to him while party rocking from bad influences.
Check out the video (for the press conference, not the urine collection, you weirdos!) below:
The UFC rolled out what can be termed “Heavyweight Royalty” at the UFC 146 press conference today from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. President Dana White was on hand to answer questions and he was flanked on both sides by six of the biggest and badd…
The UFC rolled out what can be termed “Heavyweight Royalty” at the UFC 146 press conference today from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
President Dana White was on hand to answer questions and he was flanked on both sides by six of the biggest and baddest fighters on the planet. Top-10 UFC heavyweights Roy Nelson, Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Frank Mir and Antonio Silva were all in attendance to promote UFC 146, which will take place on May 26th from the same venue where they sat today.
The fighters on hand answered many different questions about their upcoming fights against each other and the new-and-improved depth in the heavyweight division. The May card is being billed as one of the best heavyweight fight cards in the history of the promotion.
World and UFC Champion Junior Dos Santos will defend his title against monster striker Alistair Overeem, while two former champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir will battle for the next shot at the title.
“After this card it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out,” President Dana White stated.
The event has an “Elimination Tournament” feel to it, with very intriguing consequences for the future of the division, although it wasn’t made that way by design.
“There are so may factors in making fights and this one just lined up as an all heavyweight card,” White said.
In a heavyweight fight, it is often feast or famine. You get a brief slug fest of fireworks ending in a devastating knockout or submission, or you get two tentative and out-of-shape men who are weary to engage.
A question was asked if having this many heavyweights on one card is a risky thing for the quality of entertainment that fans are expecting to see.
“There is a concern there, but if you look at the last few fights that these guys up here have had, they weren’t boring. Yes it’s possible, but not likely,” White acknowledged.
It is very true that fight fans have a particular obsession and admiration for the heavyweights of the sport. Fans rarely get more excited than they do leading up to an elite heavyweight clash.
Why is that? Why the popularity over the lighter and smaller divisions?
Each fighter at the table gave the obvious cookie-cutter answer that people like finishes and “heavyweight’s finish fights. People like the knockout.” While that is all very true, it was veteran Frank Mir who once again articulated it best.
“When a lot of fans see a 135-pound elite fighter, if you are a 220-pound man you are still thinking ‘I could still kick his ass,’ but we’re the heavyweights….if you are thinking that you are stupid,” Mir said.
Frank Mir often says it best, and I see him holding the title before 2012 is done.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA, MMA Editor at CKSN.ca and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.
We finally know when Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will make sweet violence to one another for a second time: It’ll be June 23 in Rio de Janeiro.Sonnen likely won’t be well-received by the fans there. That’s what happens when you spend two years badm…
We finally know when Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will make sweet violence to one another for a second time: It’ll be June 23 in Rio de Janeiro.
Sonnen likely won’t be well-received by the fans there. That’s what happens when you spend two years badmouthing an entire country and their most beloved fighter. But another UFC fighter says he’s not too keen on fighting in Brazil either.
The only reason why I at first said, ‘hmmm, maybe not a good idea’ (was) when I found out he wanted to fight in June in Brazil. I was like, ‘Ah, I don’t know if that would be such a great idea, I don’t know if I’m gonna be that well received there.’
I’d have to go there for a whole week with my family, my wife and my children … I don’t think I’m in (Chael Sonnen’s) boat yet. But at the same time if I go to a restaurant and someone is a Nogueira fan, what are they gonna do to my food? Brazilian fans, fans in general, can be kinda crazy … I’ve received quite a few crazy Emails … Google translate is a phenomenal thing but it kind of makes you cringe a little bit when you see what people wanna say.
The Brazilian fans are certainly the most vocal and outgoing in the entire sport. During the UFC’s first trip to Brazil, media members sitting by the octagon were showered in beer thrown by unruly fans.
They’re passionate about the sport, but you can’t blame Mir and other UFC stars who are hesitant to fight there.
(Props: Amazon.com, via CP reader “joe sons balls,” who claims that he randomly came upon one of Phil Baroni‘s old fetish-modeling gigs while searching for XTC t-shirts. Sure, buddy. Your secret’s safe with us.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…
(Props: Amazon.com, via CP reader “joe sons balls,” who claims that he randomly came upon one of Phil Baroni‘s old fetish-modeling gigs while searching for XTC t-shirts. Sure, buddy. Your secret’s safe with us.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…
As with most MMA fans, I do not like seeing fights end early. I was at UFC 96 three years ago when Aaron Riley was the victim of a bad stoppage. This being said, late stoppages are beginning to concern me.Of course, I am a little fired up after watchin…
As with most MMA fans, I do not like seeing fights end early. I was at UFC 96 three years ago when Aaron Riley was the victim of a bad stoppage. This being said, late stoppages are beginning to concern me.
Of course, I am a little fired up after watching Bellator 60 this past weekend but I think I am justified in my concern. Last year seemed to be my year of campaigning against the current scoring system. It appears that this year I’m going to keep my attention fixed on the late stoppage issue.
This issue has already been on my radar for some time now. I first got really worked up over this hot topic while watching UFC 111. Shane Carwin blasted Frank Mir with several punches to the side of the head while Mir was clearly sprawled face first on the mat and appeared to be already unconscious. In that particular fight Carwin looked up at the referee as if to say, “Do you want me to keep hitting this defenseless man?”
As a longtime fan of mixed martial arts, the UFC and many other organizations, I am no stranger to violence. Obviously if I didn’t condone the actions of these athletes I wouldn’t tune in. However, there is a way to protect these men and women from themselves and that is with good referees.
What we saw this past Friday, March 9, 2012 at Bellator 60 is just plain unacceptable. I have heard people trying to defend the referee and a lot of what has been said makes some sense but I simply do not agree at all. A referee has to take some blame in this situation because they are the ones who are right there.
The fight I am referring to was the Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight title match between Joe Warren and Pat Curran. In round three Curran hit Joe with a brutal combination of knees and punches that left former champion reeling. Instead of stopping the fight when it was clear that Warren was turning away and not defending himself, the referee let Joe Warren absorb several shots to the head that were beyond unnecessary.
It is rare that I am afraid for a fighter’s well being, but this is definitely one of those times. Warren had to practically be carried back to the backstage area. Former UFC fighter Sean McCorkle voiced a similar concern after he saw how bad of shape the former featherweight champion was in.
It is always said that if a person is not intelligently defending themselves then the fight needs to be stopped. Joe Warren was not defending himself for the last 15 seconds of that fight and I cannot believe the referee didn’t step in before that.
The bottom line here is that a good referee such as Herb Dean would have stopped this fight much sooner. Until we get better referees this is going to continue to happen. I just don’t want to be entertained by watching someone get permanently damaged. Yes, this sport is violent, but we are a civilized after all. Aren’t we?
The UFC rolled out what can be termed “Heavyweight Royalty” at the 