This probably won’t earn Michael Bisping any new fans. The polarizing UFC middleweight champion, who has the MMA world at his proverbial fingertips following his shocking knockout win over Luke Rockhold in the main event of June 4’s UFC 199, has been linked to a rematch with longtime rival Dan Henderson in the main event of
This probably won’t earn Michael Bisping any new fans.
The polarizing UFC middleweight champion, who has the MMA world at his proverbial fingertips following his shocking knockout win over Luke Rockhold in the main event of June 4’s UFC 199, has been linked to a rematch with longtime rival Dan Henderson in the main event of October’s rumored UFC 204 from Manchester, England.
It’s a rematch he’s understandably wanted since ‘Hendo’ infamously starched him with arguably the most iconic knockout in UFC history at 2009’s UFC 100, but apparently he turned down an absolute massive fight to get it.
All-time great former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre is reportedly closer than ever to returning to the octagon, ‘GSP’s’ famed boxing coach Freddie Roach recently met up with Fight Hub TV to reveal that ‘The Count’ actually turned down the high-profile bout:
St. Pierre recently unveiled his desire to face Bisping on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, citing only a need to hammer out his contract situation with the UFC, as he’s sponsored by athletic apparel giant Under Armor while the UFC obviously has a long-term deal with Reebok.
But Roach said the fight most likely won’t happen because Bisping said no (quotes transcribed by Bloody Elbow):
“Yeah, I do like that fight, but Bisping said no. I know that that fight’s not going to happen.”
Roach added that even though that fight may be off, St. Pierre will continue to negotiate with the UFC, although it may be with the new owners after talent group WME-IMG bought the UFC earlier this week for a record $4 billion:
“He’s negotiating with the — well, he was negotiating with the Fertitta brothers. But I heard a rumor the company just got sold and bought by Ari Emanuel or someone. Maybe more than one person is involved is what I heard, but I don’t know exactly who owns UFC right now. He’ll negotiate with somebody, I’m sure.”
As for St. Pierre’s readiness to truly come back to fighting, Roach said he’s looked fantastic in training. All he needs is an opponent, and no names have surfaced as of late:
“He looked really good in training. He did really well. But the thing is, there are no names out there yet. We haven’t picked anyone or we don’t have a favorite at this point.”
With Bisping seemingly angering his divisional rivals Chris Weidman, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, and Rockhold with his decision to face No. 13-ranked Henderson in order to settle a grudge, the decision to reportedly also turn down a blockbuster bout with St. Pierre is guaranteed to ruffle more feathers.
Did ‘The Count’ miss the boat on what could have been his biggest-ever payday, or will it still come to fruition?
It’s been nearly three years since we’ve seen Geroges St-Pierre compete inside the Octagon, and according to his boxing coach Freddie Roach, it may not be long before we see the former welterweight king compete in the UFC again. In a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, Roach revealed that ‘GSP’ is just about ready
It’s been nearly three years since we’ve seen Geroges St-Pierre compete inside the Octagon, and according to his boxing coach Freddie Roach, it may not be long before we see the former welterweight king compete in the UFC again.
In a recent interview with Fight Hub TV, Roach revealed that ‘GSP’ is just about ready to undergo training camp:
“Georges came by the gym but we haven’t made any decisions yet,” Roach said. “But he’s going to start training camp pretty soon to see how he feels and if his heart feels like he could do it again, he’ll possibly do it again.”
In regards to a potential return, however, no decision has been made by ‘GSP’ for his rumored and highly-anticipated UFC return:
“But as far as we go right now, I did work out with him and so forth, but no comebacks yet. No decision has been made. I think when he feels it’s the right time, then we’ll make a decision.”
The legendary boxing coach also mentioned a promise he made to ‘GSP’ if the Canadian does decide to make one last Octagon appearance:
“I had to make one promise: I will be in his corner if he does fight again.”
While no official confirmation has been made from ‘GSP’ or his camp, the Canadian star’s return has been a hot topic for the past few months now. Do you think we’ll ever see ‘GSP’ back inside the Octagon?
Legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach was recently linked to rumors that UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s team contacted him to coach the Irishman for a possible upcoming boxing bout against legend Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. Well that may not exactly be the case. In a recent interview on AXS TV’s “Inside MMA,” Roach discussed a recent conversation with
Legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach was recently linked to rumors that UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s team contacted him to coach the Irishman for a possible upcoming boxing bout against legend Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. Well that may not exactly be the case.
In a recent interview on AXS TV’s “Inside MMA,” Roach discussed a recent conversation with Mayweather, who visited Roach at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, with hosts Bas Rutten and Mauro Ranallo.
According to Roach, ‘Money’ actually told him to coach the Irishman and also claimed the bout was set to go down for a huge payday:
“There’s a lot of rumors out there and I’m getting constant calls that Conor asked me to train him,” Roach said. “But they’re not true. He has not called me yet.
But Mayweather did come by my gym last week and he asked me to take that job if it’s offered to me, because he told me the fight is gonna happen and we’re gonna make a lot of money.”
Roach, however, believes it would take quite some time to get the 145-pound champ in fighting shape to go toe-to-to with the undefeated legend:
“As I told Mayweather, I said,”It would take me three years, at least, to get him ready to fight you,” Roach said.
“I don’t think it’s really possible for an MMA fighter to fight a boxer, or I don’t think it’s really even fair. Depending on what rules you fight under, one person has a tremendous advantage.
So Mayweather would out-box him I think all day long. Conor McGregor seems like a tough guy and all that, but being a tough guy really doesn’t help you in boxing.”
While Mayweather did confirm that the bout was set to go down, Roach admits that an official date was not mentioned:
“No, he did not give me a date,” Roach said. “And then I went to Russia the next day with [Denis] Lebedev. [Mayweather] did not come back [to the Wild Card Boxing Club] to see me when I was in Russia, but I haven’t seen him since. But there was no date discussed at all, no.”
Mayweather, according to Roach, is now training at his gym in Santa Monica, and Roach has heard that ‘Money’ isn’t doing to well against his trained professionals:
“But I do know he’s training at the Wild Card West, which is one of my gyms on the west side [in Santa Monica], and he’s sparring with a couple of my professional fighters over there. And I hear he’s, umm, not doing that well with my professionals.”
While Roach respects McGregor’s MMA ability, the Hall Of Fame coach doesn’t believe Mayweather would drop a single round against the Irishman:
“Mayweather is the best boxer in the world and I think he just would absolutely not even lose a round against a guy with Conor’s experience,” Roach said.
“He looks like an OK boxer. He’s a very good MMA fighter. But the thing is, this is boxing and the thing is he’s just kind of a beginner in boxing.
And again, it probably would take me almost three years to get him ready for a fight against a guy like Mayweather. I was hoping Mayweather was gonna come and ask Manny for a rematch, but that didn’t come true.”
You can check out Roach’s interview with Rutten and Ranallo here:
Yesterday morning, Roach entered a gym in Macau for an open workout scheduled ahead of Pacquiao’s clash with Brandon Rios this Saturday. Shortly after entering, Roach got into a heated altercation with Brandon Rios’ trainers, Robert Garcia and Alex Ariza, regarding gym time. When Rios’ crew refused to leave despite their time being up, Roach called Garcia a “piece of shit,” setting into motion a back-and-forth that would result in Roach being kicked in the chest, called a “faggot” repeatedly, and having his Parkinson’s disease mocked and laughed at by Rios and his crew of troglodyte cohorts.
Now, while some of the blame for this altercation can be placed on Roach for his overly-aggressive approach (and somewhat insidious use of the term “Mexican motherfucker”), to act as if Garcia and Ariza’s childish mocking of a boxing legend’s incurable disease is anything less than despicable, abhorrent behavior is to sell the incident short.
Fuck you, Robert Garcia. Fuck you, Alex Ariza. Fuck you both to Hell. May your tiny, tiny genitals be severed from your bodies and fed to the meanest, junkyardiest dogs this planet has to offer while the rest of you is cast to the boats.
After the jump: A second angle of the confrontation, as well as a little backstory on the rough history between Roach and Ariza.
Yesterday morning, Roach entered a gym in Macau for an open workout scheduled ahead of Pacquiao’s clash with Brandon Rios this Saturday. Shortly after entering, Roach got into a heated altercation with Brandon Rios’ trainers, Robert Garcia and Alex Ariza, regarding gym time. When Rios’ crew refused to leave despite their time being up, Roach called Garcia a “piece of shit,” setting into motion a back-and-forth that would result in Roach being kicked in the chest, called a “faggot” repeatedly, and having his Parkinson’s disease mocked and laughed at by Rios and his crew of troglodyte cohorts.
Now, while some of the blame for this altercation can be placed on Roach for his overly-aggressive approach (and somewhat insidious use of the term “Mexican motherfucker”), to act as if Garcia and Ariza’s childish mocking of a boxing legend’s incurable disease is anything less than despicable, abhorrent behavior is to sell the incident short.
Fuck you, Robert Garcia. Fuck you, Alex Ariza. Fuck you both to Hell. May your tiny, tiny genitals be severed from your bodies and fed to the meanest, junkyardiest dogs this planet has to offer while the rest of you is cast to the boats.
A second angle of the confrontation, as well as a little backstory on the rough history between Roach and Ariza, is below.
For those of you who think this was an isolated incident, think again. It turns out that, for a time, Ariza was the strength and conditioning coach for Pacquiao until he was fired on Roach’s advice. Yahoo’s Kevin Iole has the scoop:
“Ariza is just an [expletive],” Roach said. “He never did a thing for Manny. Manny always worked on his own. Alex just stretched him, and that was the extent of his job. I told Manny, ‘You’re paying this guy a lot of money just to stretch you.’ What fighter in the world, what professional athlete, can’t stretch himself?’ And Manny agreed and said, ‘I’m going to go back to the old way.’
“Alex is just a pain in the ass. My cornermen, Buboy [Fernandez], he used to cut off and go up in the ring. He cut Buboy off and would start yelling instructions over me. My cutman, Miguel Diaz, refused to work the corner if Alex was in the corner because he wanted to be the cutman also. If he would have just done his job, he would have been OK, but he wanted to do everyone else’s job.
Now let’s bring things back to the “racist” allegations being thrown Roach’s way in/as a result of this video.
To my understanding (which is somewhat limited on account of my “whiteness”), calling a person of Mexican descent “a Mexican” does not inherently qualify as racist. In the interest of fairness, however, I will say that Roach’s use of the term sure sounded racist, if only because of the context in which he was using it.
Calling someone with Parkinson’s disease “a stuttering prick” and “a faggot” before repeatedly mocking their disease, on the other hand, is a revolting act worthy of a swift and brutal punishment. While my previous suggestion of castration/scaphism might be a little on the extreme side, can we all agree that a good old fashioned kneecapping is in order for both Ariza and Garcia?
Oh, and the worst part? This isn’t even the first time that Rios & Co. have been caught mocking Roach’s Parkinson’s on camera.
You know what, fuck it. Fasten each and every last one of Rios’ crew to a boat and let the insects feast on their insides.
We’re not sure if you’ve heard about this yet but UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre hung onto his belt this past Saturday at UFC 167 with a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks and then kinda, sorta announced a retirement, of sorts. The story hasn’t got much attention so first off, we wanted to make sure you knew about that.
In any case, UFC president Dana White is intent on bringing GSP back to fight Hendricks again and, according to a new report from Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, who is in Macau to cover the Manny Pacquiao/Brandon Rios boxing match this week, “Rush” told “PacMan” trainer Freddie Roach that he’ll never fight again if he doesn’t have him in his corner.
Roach said he has yet to speak to St-Pierre on the telephone, but said the champion texted him.
“He said, ‘I’m not going to fight again unless you are in my corner,'” Roach said. Asked to clarify if that meant on fight night, as well, Roach said, “Absolutely.” To this point, Roach has never been in a UFC fighter’s corner on the night of a fight.
Roach, always eager to promote himself, also said that he “pretty much came up with the game plan” for St. Pierre against Hendricks. So…good job?
We’re not sure if you’ve heard about this yet but UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre hung onto his belt this past Saturday at UFC 167 with a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks and then kinda, sorta announced a retirement, of sorts. The story hasn’t got much attention so first off, we wanted to make sure you knew about that.
In any case, UFC president Dana White is intent on bringing GSP back to fight Hendricks again and, according to a new report from Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, who is in Macau to cover the Manny Pacquiao/Brandon Rios boxing match this week, “Rush” told “PacMan” trainer Freddie Roach that he’ll never fight again if he doesn’t have him in his corner.
Roach said he has yet to speak to St-Pierre on the telephone, but said the champion texted him.
“He said, ‘I’m not going to fight again unless you are in my corner,’” Roach said. Asked to clarify if that meant on fight night, as well, Roach said, “Absolutely.” To this point, Roach has never been in a UFC fighter’s corner on the night of a fight.
Roach, always eager to promote himself, also said that he “pretty much came up with the game plan” for St. Pierre against Hendricks. So…good job?
I wrote elsewhere today that St. Pierre may very well want to go ahead and stay retired. He’s anxious, can’t sleep and suspects that aliens are fucking with him. Plus, he’s almost gotten knocked out two out of his last three fights and has been at it for over a decade.
I don’t know what’s more worrisome — St. Pierre believing that he’s been abducted by extra-terrestrials or him believing that Freddie Roach knows anything about MMA and should therefore be designing his game-plans and cornering him during fights.
(“It’s a trap when you’re on top of the world. When I was champion, I had people who would go out with me every day of the week. After I had two, three losses, people disappeared.” / Photo via Sherdog)
As he prepares to bounce back into the win column, the Pitbull took some time to speak with us about this weekend’s fight, as well as the highs and lows of a memorable career. Enjoy…
CagePotato.com: What do you think about Mike Kyle as an opponent? Andrei Arlovski: He’s very quick. Has quick hands. Very quick jab, good right hand. I just have to be ready for his speed. That’s why I train a lot right now with Jon Jones — he’s my main sparring partner. We try to help each other. He’s a hard worker, he’s a good striker, so it’s good to work with him.
CP: Your last fight against Anthony Johnson was a painful one. AA: Yes, my jaw was broken in the fight. The referee didn’t watch the time [letting the fight continue eight seconds past the five-minute first round] and Johnson broke my jaw in two places. Every punch in my face after that gave me that feeling of putting electricity in my body. Of course, I’m not happy that I lost, but I’m very happy that I shut all the fucking mouths who said I have a weak chin. I was able to fight two more rounds with a broken jaw.
CP: How big of a problem is bad officiating, bad time-keeping, and bad refereeing in MMA?
AA: To be honest with you, I can’t make any comments right now. Maybe later. I’m sorry. I just hope this time, the referee is going to be more professional.
CP: You’ve made an impressive career comeback after losing four straight fights in 2009-2011. How tough was that losing streak for you mentally?
AA: It was really tough mentally, it was really tough physically. I was asking myself, “What’s wrong? Every time, I do everything right.” I train right, I was on a schedule. You know what my old trainer told me? He said “You need to retire.”
I just gave a call to Greg Jackson, I said “Listen, should I retire or not?” He said, “Absolutely not! Just come to my camp and we’ll start over again.” Greg Jackson supported me a lot, he gave me hope.
I told [Greg] face to face, “I don’t need any favors from you. Do you think I can be champion again?” He said, “Yes.” “Do you think I have potential?” he said, “Yes.” And hearing that was enough for me.
(“It’s a trap when you’re on top of the world. When I was champion, I had people who would go out with me every day of the week. After I had two, three losses, people disappeared.” / Photo via Sherdog)
As he prepares to bounce back into the win column, the Pitbull took some time to speak with us about this weekend’s fight, as well as the highs and lows of a memorable career. Enjoy…
CagePotato.com: What do you think about Mike Kyle as an opponent? Andrei Arlovski: He’s very quick. Has quick hands. Very quick jab, good right hand. I just have to be ready for his speed. That’s why I train a lot right now with Jon Jones — he’s my main sparring partner. We try to help each other. He’s a hard worker, he’s a good striker, so it’s good to work with him.
CP: Your last fight against Anthony Johnson was a painful one. AA: Yes, my jaw was broken in the fight. The referee didn’t watch the time [letting the fight continue eight seconds past the five-minute first round] and Johnson broke my jaw in two places. Every punch in my face after that gave me that feeling of putting electricity in my body. Of course, I’m not happy that I lost, but I’m very happy that I shut all the fucking mouths who said I have a weak chin. I was able to fight two more rounds with a broken jaw.
CP: How big of a problem is bad officiating, bad time-keeping, and bad refereeing in MMA?
AA: To be honest with you, I can’t make any comments right now. Maybe later. I’m sorry. I just hope this time, the referee is going to be more professional.
CP: You’ve made an impressive career comeback after losing four straight fights in 2009-2011. How tough was that losing streak for you mentally?
AA: It was really tough mentally, it was really tough physically. I was asking myself, “What’s wrong? Every time, I do everything right.” I train right, I was on a schedule. You know what my old trainer told me? He said “You need to retire.”
I just gave a call to Greg Jackson, I said “Listen, should I retire or not?” He said, “Absolutely not! Just come to my camp and we’ll start over again.” Greg Jackson supported me a lot, he gave me hope.
I told [Greg] face to face, “I don’t need any favors from you. Do you think I can be champion again?” He said, “Yes.” “Do you think I have potential?” he said, “Yes.” And hearing that was enough for me.
Now I train with Greg Jackson. I have a couple more guys in Chicago, Dino Costeas, he has been my jiu-jitsu trainer from day one.
CP: You worked with Freddie Roach before facing Fedor Emelianenko. Shogun Rua recently worked with Freddie Roach and lost to Chael Sonnen. Do you think Shogun made a mistake, or do you think Roach helped him fine-tune his boxing game?
AA: I definitely learned something from Freddie Roach, training boxing. When I used to train with Freddie Roach, that hurt my relationship with my other trainers. It didn’t really work well for me. I don’t know, it was some experience, and that’s it.
CP: In Belarus, what were some of the problems you experienced growing up? AA: I didn’t have many problems, except all the kids, all the time bullied me. Because I was a bigger boy, I was bullied. Later, I fought with everyone, all the time, everywhere. At age 16, I went to boys academy, about that time, I started training in Sambo, and became world champion in Sambo, it kind of gave me a way to follow MMA to UFC. Everything happens for a reason.
CP: At one time, you pursued a career in law enforcement. Why did you keep coming back to MMA? AA: I train hard, I like to fight and more important — I haven’t yet reached my goal. I want to be champion again, and I don’t think it’s impossible to reach my goal.
CP: What’s next after Mike Kyle? AA: I have no idea. I think back in the day, I was supposed to fight Mike Kyle in the UFC, but it didn’t happen. I just have to beat him.
CP: Wes Sims recently told Jack Brown, “Unfortunately, the fighting life isn’t for everyone. Many people see it as something glamorous, but the truth is that while struggling to make it to the next level, you are literally a day or two away from losing your house.” Is it tough to find stability in a sport with so many extremes?
AA: Definitely, it’s a trap when you’re on top of the world. When I was champion in the UFC, I had a good paycheck. I had people who would go out with me Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday — every day of the week. After I had two, three losses, those people disappeared. I have a few guys around me who have been around me through all my victories and all my losses, I consider them my true friends.
CP: With hindsight, would you have let the same people into your entourage?
AA: To be honest with you, I don’t know how to answer. Definitely, I’m not going to bring again, like, 40 people to Affliction and the UFC shows. Just a few people — coaches and my wife, that’s it.
CP: Tell me a little more about your relationship with Jon Jones. Is he a nice guy?
AA: My personality is kind of weird. I need to take some time to get closer to people. But he’s an essentially nice person.
CP: Do you ever give him advice, considering that you’ve been in sport much longer than he has?
AA: I don’t like to give advice because you have to be responsible for the results. For somebody, it’s going to work, for someone [else], it’s not going to work. To each, his own.
CP: Have you thought about another fight against Tim Sylvia? [Arlovski went 1-2 against Sylvia in the UFC and had a no-contest against Sylvia in August 2012 at ONE FC].
AA: I don’t know if someone is going to be interested in putting on a match between us again. If some fans want to see Arlovski against Sylvia, maybe, I don’t know. I am not really interested in having a rematch with Tim at this time.
CP: Any other final words for our readers?
Thank you to all my fans who have been with me through all my victories and losses and I’ll be back on September 14. See you soon.
