MMA is a global sport, and as such stars often find themselves traveling overseas to all kinds of exotic and outlandish locations to train or fight.
As you’ll see in this article, that can often lead to some of the craziest, scariest and most bizarre experiences of their lives.
Eddie Alvarez Knocks Out Mafia Man In Russia
Back in 2007, ‘The Underground King,’ Eddie Alvarez was the welterweight champion for Bodog Fighting Championships and traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, to defend his title against Nick Thompson.
Following the event, he attended an after-party on a yacht hosted by one of Bodog’s owners from Russia, where, according to fellow fighter Chael Sonnen who was also in attendance that night, a Russian gangster at the party punched one of the Bodog ring girls.
Outraged by what he’d just witnessed and not realizing who he was dealing with, Alvarez then stepped forward and knocked him out cold with one punch.
Sonnen says that portion of the story is 100% true, but admits that he doesn’t have concrete proof of what happened next, though the rumor was that Alvarez was then escorted from the yacht by Russian mobsters and taken out to the middle of nowhere, where a hole was dug and his life was threatened before they finally set him free.
In the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), the concept of ‘ring rust’ is frequently used, with fighters who have been out of the cage for an extended period of time often seen as being at risk of not performing to the best of their abilities. There have been plenty of examples of this phenomenon, […]
In the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), the concept of ‘ring rust’ is frequently used, with fighters who have been out of the cage for an extended period of time often seen as being at risk of not performing to the best of their abilities.
There have been plenty of examples of this phenomenon, and whether it’s a fighter coming back after a long spell due to injury, suspension, or just an extended hiatus, the belief is that it can lead to sluggish performances in which they are slow to start, struggle to find their range and timing, and generally seem to be missing a step.
However, there is an opposing school of thought among some fighters that ring rust is in fact a myth, and that the real problem lies with either a mental block or a lack of preparation.
In this article, we’ll seek to find evidence to back up that theory by recounting 10 examples of UFC stars who have gone against the grain and shown no sign of ring rust and excelled at the highest level after returning from particularly lengthy layoffs from the sport.
Georges St-Pierre
UFC fans waited four long years for the return of former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, who vacated his title in late 2013 after citing the need to take time out from the sport.
At one stage it looked like he might be gone for good, but finally, a comeback fight was announced, and rather than just looking to conquer his old weight class, the Canadian superstar opted to move up to challenge Michael Bisping for the middleweight title instead.
Despite having been the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport a few years beforehand, there were concerns as to whether the now 36-year-old had waited too long to return and how he’d cope with stepping up a division and carrying extra muscle and so the odds were very close leading into his fight with Bisping.
St-Pierre seemed confident though, claiming that he was now a better fighter than ever, although he did acknowledge that ‘ring rust’ could be a factor, particularly in the early stages of the fight.
However, there was little sign of that at UFC 217 as he started brightly, showing off a more diverse striking arsenal, increased punching power, and sharpened submission skills.
That would lead to him dropping Bisping with a left hook in the third round and then sending him to sleep with a rear-naked choke to earn his first stoppage victory in over eight years and seize the 185-pound title.
Leave it to Frank Shamrock to publicly say what many may be thinking about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The outspoke former UFC light heavyweight champion, who has a well-documented spat with UFC brass dating back many years, recently sized up the promotion’s sale and how the new owners have been doing during what can only
Leave it to Frank Shamrock to publicly say what many may be thinking about the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The outspoke former UFC light heavyweight champion, who has a well-documented spat with UFC brass dating back many years, recently sized up the promotion’s sale and how the new owners have been doing during what can only now be described as a horrific start to 2017 in an interview with Submission Radio (via MMA Mania), and things weren’t so optimistic.
According to Shamrock, the UFC finally needs to treat their fighters better after WME’s massive $4.2 billion purchase of the UFC last summer shed a ton of exposure on what the company was worth – and how that compared to what fighters make:
“You gotta change the way they treat these athletes. We gotta change the value that is given. Make it more fair. I think the way the old regime was set up, most of that money flowed to the top and all the executives got paid big, but these guys that really sacrificed, they didn’t get much and now they’re starting to speak about it.”
Shamrock went on to detail his opinion that previous owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta got out of the sport at just the right time, as a whole host of various regulatory statutes could potentially change the way the promotion does business. He believes the UFC brand is at the end of their lifecycle unless they make some all-out changes to the oppressive way they treat their athletes:
“Hundred percent. You know, the discord is coming, the regulation is coming, the government oversight is coming,” he said. “So yeah, that’s the time to get out. The brand’s had a great run, it’s built up. The girl’s beautiful globally, no one knows what it’s really like. Perfect time to get out. I mean, I applaud their business. They’re great business men. I knew they would be super successful with it, but at the same time, I want to be respected at work, I want to be cared for, I want my values to be acknowledged.”
“I mean, from a business perspective if I was looking at the lifecycle of a brand, we’re winding this brand down unless drastic changes happen. And only because they had a very oppressive, very results-oriented culture that wasn’t concerned about fighters and their rights and the chi and everything else, and now that community has pushed back. So they’re not performing, they’re not sacrificing, you know, they want to be paid first. And that’s great, but you need a very active and vibrant and risk-taking culture to keep this type of growth going, and I think that part is stagnant.”
The MMA legend then offered his stance that the UFC needs to go back to fostering the spirit of martial arts by creating a clear path to a UFC title, something that is tough to achieve in today’s uncertain MMA landscape:
“We need to find a way to reactivate how that martial spirit and that Rocky-esque dream, and it seems like it’s convoluted or smoke and mirrors now. There’s no real path, you know, to go from my martial arts school to my UFC championship, and I think that’s where they’ve lost the way.”
(“The reason I put it into the book is there are a lot of people that have a secret like this…and if that’s weighing you down, then get rid of it.” / Frank Shamrock on his own experience with sexual abuse)
As much as the search for the UFC’s first flyweight champion should make headlines, there’s a darker undertone to the proceedings that Oprah Winfrey would much more suited to handle than FOX media personality Karyn Bryant—the issue of sexual abuse and how it relates to MMA.
Outside of mentions like former UFC champion Frank Shamrock revealing he’d been sexually abused in his groundbreaking autobiography Uncaged, overall, there has been little or no press on MMA athletes who have been sexually abused. The moratorium on coverage might be because MMA is a relatively new sport; it might be because journalists feel uncomfortable asking these kinds of personal questions or it may be an attempt to protect the victims. Either way, the decision to open up lies solely with the athletes.
Athletes in other combat sports, like boxing, have talked openly about their experiences with sexual abuse. Prior to the 2012 Olympics, USA Boxing president Hal Adonis caused a massive ripple effect when he was quoted in the New Yorker as saying “Half of our girls have been molested; half of our girls are gay,” of the US women’s boxing team.
While Adonis faced widespread condemnation and was suspended for two years in the wake of his insensitive and politically incorrect comments, several Team USA female boxers have told their stories of personal tragedy: lightweight Queen Underwood spoke about being molested by her father to the New York Times in February 2012; flyweight Tyrieshia Douglas told the New Yorkerthat she’d been beaten and raped in foster care; middleweight Claressa Shields—the only US boxer to win a gold medal at the 2012 games—revealed to Essence magazine that she’d been raped by a family acquaintance as a child.
(“The reason I put it into the book is there are a lot of people that have a secret like this…and if that’s weighing you down, then get rid of it.” / Frank Shamrock on his own experience with sexual abuse)
As much as the search for the UFC’s first flyweight champion should make headlines, there’s a darker undertone to the proceedings that Oprah Winfrey would much more suited to handle than FOX media personality Karyn Bryant—the issue of sexual abuse and how it relates to MMA.
Outside of mentions like former UFC champion Frank Shamrock revealing he’d been sexually abused in his groundbreaking autobiography Uncaged, overall, there has been little or no press on MMA athletes who have been sexually abused. The moratorium on coverage might be because MMA is a relatively new sport; it might be because journalists feel uncomfortable asking these kinds of personal questions or it may be an attempt to protect the victims. Either way, the decision to open up lies solely with the athletes.
Athletes in other combat sports, like boxing, have talked openly about their experiences with sexual abuse. Prior to the 2012 Olympics, USA Boxing president Hal Adonis caused a massive ripple effect when he was quoted in the New Yorker as saying “Half of our girls have been molested; half of our girls are gay,” of the US women’s boxing team.
While Adonis faced widespread condemnation and was suspended for two years in the wake of his insensitive and politically incorrect comments, several Team USA female boxers have told their stories of personal tragedy: lightweight Queen Underwood spoke about being molested by her father to the New York Times in February 2012; flyweight Tyrieshia Douglas told the New Yorkerthat she’d been beaten and raped in foster care; middleweight Claressa Shields—the only US boxer to win a gold medal at the 2012 games—revealed to Essence magazine that she’d been raped by a family acquaintance as a child.
Male boxers who have opened up about their stories are also not short in number. Retired Australian professional boxer Paul Briggs, who challenged for the WBC light heavyweight title twice, revealed that he’d been raped as a child in his 2005 autobiography Heart, Soul, Fire. “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Micky Ward and Mike Tyson also recount incidents of sexual abuse or transgressions of their personal boundaries in their respective autobiographies. This is by no means a definitive list of victims—just the handful brave enough to come forward with their stories, most having done so long after they retired from the fight game.
MMA does have advocates willing to address the issue of sexual abuse. For example, In 2008, then-US judo Olympic hopeful Ronda Rousey was vocal about criticizing the lack of action by USA Judo over the molestation allegations surrounding USA Judo official Fletcher Thornton, which were were detailed in sworn affidavits. Feeling the heat, Thornton resigned two weeks before the 2008 Olympic games.
For her part, Rousey knew that there could have been blowback to her judo career had she chosen an earlier time to speak out. “I felt it was the right thing to do, and I had already made the Olympic team, so there was nothing anyone could do to me,” Rousey told Maggie Hendricks from Yahoo!.
Depression is a common symptom associated wtih sexual abuse, with some victims attempting or committing suicide. It does need to be said that symptoms of depression can also be the result of mental illness with no link or connection to any abuse; this is evident in Ernest Hemingway’s family tree, with at least seven of his relatives including the literary great himself having committed suicide.
Other consequences for victims of sexual abuse can include feelings of shame and stigma. This is a potent sanction against speaking out that is often counterproductive. Silence over crime inhibits personal healing, the justice system and aiding the next generation of victims.
The glaring reality of MMA is that the sport continues to get a bad rap for purportedly being a barbaric spectacle, designed merely for audience pleasure and profits with little regard for the health and safety of the combatants involved. Promotions have a mandate to spearhead campaigns to garner positive press and avoid controversial topics that could lead to further negative coverage—like the sexual assault scandals surrounding BJJ black belt Lloyd Irvin or MMA fighters Hermes Franca and Mike Whitehead.
The last time the UFC was involved in a hard-hitting segment on a mainstream American talk show was when UFC president Dana White and fighters Kenny Florian and Forrest Griffin appeared on Oprah spin-off Dr. Phil to talk about youths involved in street fighting.
“In the 20 year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship…there has never been a death or serious injury,” White proudly pontificates.
Fatalities in MMA are extremely rare, but what’s hidden beneath the surface is the scar tissue within each fighter’s psyche. Training and competing in combat sports may have therapeutic value, but it is not a long-term solution. Often, we see fighters self-destruct in the public eye as the limelight is fading away—but more often than not, athletes suffer in silence without ever getting any kind of treatment.
The issue needs to surface in the near future. Not as a marketing tool to sell pay-per-views or to generate viewer interest in MMA’s athletes—but as a personal truth revealed in order to erase social stigma associated with abuse, help others deal with their predicament and avert future tragedies from occurring.
After all, there will always be opportunities for sports glory. There will not always be a chance to change lives.
Spike TV’s newest reality series, ‘Gym Rescue‘, is set to debut this Sunday, August 10th, at 10 p.m. ET. Last week, Craig Marks — the glasses-tossing gym owner featured in the episode 1 sneak-preview — reached out to CagePotato.com to discuss how the new series inaccurately portrayed what went down when Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock “rescued” his gym. Marks claims that the show wound up destroying his business, but ‘Gym Rescue’ host Frank Shamrock maintains that he offered Craig valuable assistance, and that Craig’s lack of business expertise is what really sunk his operation. Join us as we present both Craig and Frank’s versions of the experience.
“The entire ordeal was supposed to be fun and beneficial. It was to the production company. To us, it was a disaster and we have had to start our business over from scratch.”
This isn’t what Craig Marks — former owner of T3 Health & Fitness in Cooper City, Florida — thought he’d be writing about his experience when he allowed his struggling gym to be “rescued” as part of Spike TV’s newest reality series. He also didn’t anticipate thousands of dollars worth of fines, a nasty mold infestation that forced him to relocate to nearby Davie, and the loss of several longstanding clients in the process. When Marks reached out to me last week, his ensuing diatribe placed the blame for these and other struggles that his business has endured solely on Gym Rescue.
Needless to say, Gym Rescue host Frank Shamrock does not agree that the show has ruined T3 Health & Fitness. Rather, Shamrock painted Marks as a good-hearted person who is unfortunately trying to blame the reality series for his own shortcomings as a businessman. “Craig was a unique individual who reminds me a lot of what you see in the martial arts,” Shamrock said. “A guy who has a passion for helping other people, but doesn’t really have good business sense.”
What’s indisputable throughout all of this is that Craig Marks has recently filed for bankruptcy. While he’s looking to rebuild Xcelerate Training — the new name for his gym — he’s facing an uphill battle.
Spike TV’s newest reality series, ‘Gym Rescue‘, is set to debut this Sunday, August 10th, at 10 p.m. ET. Last week, Craig Marks — the glasses-tossing gym owner featured in the episode 1 sneak-preview — reached out to CagePotato.com to discuss how the new series inaccurately portrayed what went down when Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock “rescued” his gym. Marks claims that the show wound up destroying his business, but ‘Gym Rescue’ host Frank Shamrock maintains that he offered Craig valuable assistance, and that Craig’s lack of business expertise is what really sunk his operation. Join us as we present both Craig and Frank’s versions of the experience.
“The entire ordeal was supposed to be fun and beneficial. It was to the production company. To us, it was a disaster and we have had to start our business over from scratch.”
This isn’t what Craig Marks — former owner of T3 Health & Fitness in Cooper City, Florida — thought he’d be writing about his experience when he allowed his struggling gym to be “rescued” as part of Spike TV’s newest reality series. He also didn’t anticipate thousands of dollars worth of fines, a nasty mold infestation that forced him to relocate to nearby Davie, and the loss of several longstanding clients in the process. When Marks reached out to me last week, his ensuing diatribe placed the blame for these and other struggles that his business has endured solely on Gym Rescue.
Needless to say, Gym Rescue host Frank Shamrock does not agree that the show has ruined T3 Health & Fitness. Rather, Shamrock painted Marks as a good-hearted person who is unfortunately trying to blame the reality series for his own shortcomings as a businessman. “Craig was a unique individual who reminds me a lot of what you see in the martial arts,” Shamrock said. “A guy who has a passion for helping other people, but doesn’t really have good business sense.”
What’s indisputable throughout all of this is that Craig Marks has recently filed for bankruptcy. While he’s looking to rebuild Xcelerate Training — the new name for his gym — he’s facing an uphill battle.
So how exactly was T3 Health & Fitness chosen to be featured on Gym Rescue in the first place? That would turn out to be a very good question. Craig Marks never gave me an answer. Frank Shamrock didn’t know, and I was told through Spike TV representative David Schwarz that Spike declined to comment on my story.
Marks never denied that his gym was in rough shape, though perhaps “rough shape” is putting things too lightly. While speaking about T3 Health & Fitness before Gym Rescue, Shamrock referred to the establishment as a “homemade deathtrap.” The facility suffered from shoddy design and dangerous equipment to the point where Shamrock recalled that an object actually fell from the ceiling and hit co-host Randy Couture as they first arrived; Couture was also unavailable for comment.
The Rescue
It’s at this point where Craig Marks swears that the series became more about making him look like a pushover and less about actually helping his struggling gym. Marks claims that nearly everything you’ll see when the episode premieres was scripted. “We were told how to dress, what to wear, what to say,” he remarked. “I was even told not to shave my hair, as I usually do every two days, because it would make me look ‘more vulnerable’ on camera.”
Interestingly enough, Marks insisted that the moment that the CagePotato.com staff thought was most likely to have been staged was actually the only non-scripted segment that made the episode — the moment where Marks shoves Frank Shamrock out of frustration. Marks claimed that the tension between himself and Shamrock was very real. “He was a narcissistic asshole from the get-go and [he] kept flirting with my wife,” said Marks, “even texting her after one night of shooting to come join him in the jacuzzi at his hotel.”
While Shamrock vehemently denied that he was ever flirting with Craig’s wife, he was not surprised that Marks had made unflattering comments about him. “My role was to go in there and call him on his craziness,” he told me, “and he didn’t take that very well.”
Shamrock also denied that the exposed piece of metal at the foot of the stairway shown during the episode preview was staged in any way by the producers. That something so potentially dangerous could be “either completely forgotten or overlooked” provoked Shamrock’s reaction.
The renovations made were supposed to save the facility. According to Marks, they did anything but. “All renovations made to the fitness studio were done without one single permit being pulled from the City of Cooper City,” he wrote. “Fines issued were in the thousands and left to the responsibility of the unknowing owners.”
“The owners had supplies and equipment stolen and thrown away. According to the chief building inspector, the renovation work was ‘unlike anything I’ve witnessed in 30 years on the job, horrible.’ The relocated stairway was not up to code and extremely dangerous. They converted the upstairs loft into an office and yoga area even though that space was zoned for storage only. The drywall removed and then put back was coated with mold.”
When all was said and done, Marks speculated that the fines he had to pay the City of Cooper City have financially set him back over one year. He cited ongoing issues with permitting and mold as the reason the gym was forced from its old location to a spot in nearby Davie, Florida in March.
The Chief Building Official Responds
Shortly after Marks wrote to me describing the renovations that Gym Rescue had made, I asked Mr. Ted Fowler if he would like to comment. Mr. Fowler is listed as the Chief Building Official of Cooper City on the city’s official website, and had been directly quoted by Marks when he wrote about the allegedly reckless repairs that the Gym Rescue crew had made to his facility. However, Mr. Fowler did not have any recollection in having made the comments attributed to him by Marks. He also wrote the following:
“A building permit was applied for and issued after the fact, all required inspections were obtained and the permit was closed.”
As of Today
As mentioned earlier, Craig Marks now runs his gym — Xcelerate Training — out of Davie, Florida. Marks claims that most of his clients have remained loyal to the gym throughout the ordeal, but several clients have stopped attending due to the rude treatment they received from the show’s producers. Marks also expressed disappointment over the fact that no one from Gym Rescue has checked in on the gym since filming ended.
When I mentioned this to Frank Shamrock, he replied that he doesn’t keep in contact with the gym owners featured on the show in order to maintain a level of professionalism and distance between himself and his clients. “At the end of the day,” he said, “we’re just helping other people help their communities.”
What the Future Holds for Gym Rescue
Frank Shamrock is optimistic that Spike TV will bring Gym Rescue back for another season. “Gyms are the second place besides the bar where people go to socialize,” he said. “Unfortunately, a lot of gym owners are wonderful people with great intentions, but clueless with how to run a business. That’s why the average gym owner is struggling.”
In the meantime, Shamrock did offer some valuable advice to prospective gym owners — the most important stages of opening a gym are preparation and planning. “Study your market. Does your community really want this? Do your potential clients really want this?” Since everyone has their own expectations of what a workout should be and what a gym should include, it is important to make sure that you’re offering something for any trainee who may attend your gym.
Also, despite the negative comments that Marks made about the show, Shamrock still considers working with struggling gym owners to be rewarding.
“Seeing a gym go from near failure to ‘they have a shot if they keep going’ — that’s why I’m doing this. Just for that payoff. If we make the gym a better place for the two hundred, three hundred members there, their lives are going to be better, they’re going to feel better and the community is going to be better.”
“Before that, I’m beating the heck out of people.”
You could probably guess that Spike TV’s upcoming gym rescue series (I believe it’s called, uh, Gym Rescue) starring Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock would not fall into the category of what we call “compelling television.” It’s a reality show, for starters, and one starring former MMA fighters that is attempting to piggyback off the success of Bar Rescue, another Spike TV reality show that is itself a ripoff of shows like Restaurant Impossible and countless others (all due respect to Jon Taffer, #buttfunnel).
What you might not have guessed, however, was that Gym Rescue would be an absolute dumpster fire of epic proportions and quite possibly the nadir of television programming as we know it. Don’t believe me? Check out the sneak peak of Gym Rescue that awaits you after the jump and tell me I’m wrong. Keep in mind that the footage you are about to witness is what the makers of Gym Rescue thought might entice on-the-fence viewers into watching their show, not B-roll that should have been left on the cutting room floor.
You could probably guess that Spike TV’s upcoming gym rescue series (I believe it’s called, uh, Gym Rescue) starring Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock would not fall into the category of what we call “compelling television.” It’s a reality show, for starters, and one starring former MMA fighters that is attempting to piggyback off the success of Bar Rescue, another Spike TV reality show that is itself a ripoff of shows like Restaurant Impossible and countless others (all due respect to Jon Taffer, #buttfunnel).
What you might not have guessed, however, was that Gym Rescue would be an absolute dumpster fire of epic proportions and quite possibly the nadir of television programming as we know it. Don’t believe me? Check out the sneak peak of Gym Rescue that awaits you after the jump and tell me I’m wrong. Keep in mind that the footage you are about to witness is what the makers of Gym Rescue thought might entice on-the-fence viewers into watching their show, not B-roll that should have been left on the cutting room floor.
Fucking wow.
Seriously? That’s the best you got, Spike? A guy angrily throwing his glasses, some footage of an exposed piece of metal, and the most delicate, noncommittal shove in reality show history? Jesus, the Real Housewives of Whore Avenue have more balls than you.
This show is going to be a train wreck, but you bet your ass I will be liveblogging Gym Rescue‘s premiere on August 10th.
