Heading into their “Fight Night” headlining scrap at the TD Garden this weekend, it’s become apparent that both Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Chael “P.” Sonnen have made some significant changes to their training routines. The former one-time light heavyweight champion has brought in Freddie Roach to tighten up his boxing, and has improved from “punching like a girl” to “punching like a boy” according to the world-renowned trainer. Great, Freddie, now you’ve gone and sent Forrest Griffin into another Xanax-laced shame spiral. You can check a video of Shogun hitting the mitts with Freddie above.
On the contrary, it appears that former/future middleweight Chael Sonnen has stopped training altogether in order to brush up on his Longfellow and hone his already brilliant poetry skills. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, and we’ll have to see if it pays off for him.
Last night, Sonnen appeared on UFC Tonight to arrogantly cut off hosts Kenny Florian and Daniel Cormier and perform “A Poem to Shogun.” It wasn’t his best work (I like my poetry to contain far more profanity) but I’d say it went over better than his recent failed stand up bit on Def Comedy Jam. Check it out after the jump, because there’s seriously nothing better going on out there and you know it.
Heading into their “Fight Night” headlining scrap at the TD Garden this weekend, it’s become apparent that both Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Chael “P.” Sonnen have made some significant changes to their training routines. The former one-time light heavyweight champion has brought in Freddie Roach to tighten up his boxing, and has improved from “punching like a girl” to “punching like a boy” according to the world-renowned trainer. Great, Freddie, now you’ve gone and sent Forrest Griffin into another Xanax-laced shame spiral. You can check a video of Shogun hitting the mitts with Freddie above.
On the contrary, it appears that former/future middleweight Chael Sonnen has stopped training altogether in order to brush up on his Longfellow and hone his already brilliant poetry skills. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton, and we’ll have to see if it pays off for him.
Last night, Sonnen appeared on UFC Tonight to arrogantly cut off hosts Kenny Florian and Daniel Cormier and perform “A Poem to Shogun.” It wasn’t his best work (I like my poetry to contain far more profanity) but I’d say it went over better than his recent failed stand up bit on Def Comedy Jam. Check it out after the jump, because there’s seriously nothing better going on out there and you know it.
To sum it up, Sonnen is banking on a knockout victory that ends Rua’s career and sends him on the quickest boat back to Brazil. In light of the new evidence, I see him defeating Shogun via Rua-Rua-bo-bua banana-fana-fo-fua Irish Fling, but if there is a boat that travels from Boston directly to Brazil then I AM MICKEY MOUSE!
We still don’t know if we’ll get a super fight between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and middleweight champion Anderson Silva one day, but at least it seems that UFC President Dana White is on our side with this thing. “I think we’re pretty close,” White told Ariel Helwani on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight. “I mean if Georges St. Pierre beats [Carlos] Condit, that could be the next fight.”
In other words, St. Pierre vs. Condit isn’t “meaningless” after all. And if GSP vs. Anderson does happen, White told Helwani that it would likely be held at a 180-pound catch weight.
“At one point it sounded like Anderson wanted to go to 170 and take Georges’ welterweight title,” White said. “That was what he was talking at one point. Then it was 180 as a catchweight, because Georges doesn’t want to go to 185, he’s going to stay at ’70. He said if ‘I had to make the move to go to ’85, I’d have to stay at ’85.’ We figured that a 180-pound catchweight makes sense.”
Sounds good to us, and Silva has seemed to do everything he could to signal that he wants that fight (from insulting the entire middleweight division to expressing a willingness to drop down in weight) but there’s a lot standing in the way of that dream match-up from happening. First of all, Condit could beat St. Pierre in November.
We still don’t know if we’ll get a super fight between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and middleweight champion Anderson Silva one day, but at least it seems that UFC President Dana White is on our side with this thing. “I think we’re pretty close,” White told Ariel Helwani on Fuel TV’s UFC Tonight. “I mean if Georges St. Pierre beats [Carlos] Condit, that could be the next fight.”
In other words, St. Pierre vs. Condit isn’t “meaningless” after all. And if GSP vs. Anderson does happen, White told Helwani that it would likely be held at a 180-pound catch weight.
“At one point it sounded like Anderson wanted to go to 170 and take Georges’ welterweight title,” White said. “That was what he was talking at one point. Then it was 180 as a catchweight, because Georges doesn’t want to go to 185, he’s going to stay at ’70. He said if ‘I had to make the move to go to ’85, I’d have to stay at ’85.’ We figured that a 180-pound catchweight makes sense.”
Sounds good to us, and Silva has seemed to do everything he could to signal that he wants that fight (from insulting the entire middleweight division to expressing a willingness to drop down in weight) but there’s a lot standing in the way of that dream match-up from happening. First of all, Condit could beat St. Pierre in November.
Speaking of that, Condit had better make sure he plans to finish St. Pierre, because he can’t like the odds of winning a decision against one of the promotion’s biggest stars when it would mean possibly spoiling one of the biggest fights in MMA history. [Ed. note:The MMA conspiracy theory threat level has now been raised to “elevated.”] Also, Silva or St. Pierre could get injured, be on the shelf, forcing the other to fight in the meantime, opening up all sorts of other possibilities at that point.
Furthermore, we are not yet as sure that St. Pierre wants the fight with Silva. He’s not saying much about it lately, more than likely because he’s got a title fight with Condit coming up. His head coach Firas Zihabi has said that St. Pierre has told him he wants the Silva fight, but on the other hand, GSP’s sometimes boxing coach Freddie Roach recently told Fight Hub that he still believes that Silva is “too big,” for Georges.
“[Georges] likes the weight he’s fighting at now, its where he’s at his best and I don’t think this fight’s really going to happen because I think [Silva is] too big for [St. Pierre].”
What do you say, ‘taters? Is the dream of Silva vs. St. Pierre still alive in your dark lil’ hearts or is it time to lower our expectations?
Famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach recently appeared on MMAJunkie.com Radio, and he delivered the goods. Sure, he touched on Amir Kahn’s upcoming fight, Pacquiao, and certain MMA fighters, but none of that matters. Freddie Roach almost ate a man’s eye in a street fight. Not only did he do this, but he talks about it with the gleeful amusement more befitting a child recalling his favorite prank than a grown man describing how he used his teeth to transform another human being into an unwilling cyclops.
The conversation begins with Roach discussing Amir Khan’s fight against Danny Garcia, but quickly veers into MMA. At one point, Roach claims that one of the reasons that boxing has fallen behind MMA in terms of pay-per-view numbers is that “[boxing has] promoters that don’t like each other, and they bring their personal life into boxing.” Fortunately, MMA hasn’t had to suffer overly emotionalpromoterswho hold grudges, so it’s still in good shape. Then Roach hits on a number of topics, including…
Famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach recently appeared on MMAJunkie.com Radio, and he delivered the goods. Sure, he touched on Amir Kahn’s upcoming fight, Pacquiao, and certain MMA fighters, but none of that matters. Freddie Roach almost ate a man’s eye in a street fight. Not only did he do this, but he talks about it with the gleeful amusement more befitting a child recalling his favorite prank than a grown man describing how he used his teeth to transform another human being into an unwilling cyclops.
The conversation begins with Roach discussing Amir Khan’s fight against Danny Garcia, but quickly veers into MMA. At one point, Roach claims that one of the reasons that boxing has fallen behind MMA in terms of pay-per-view numbers is that “[boxing has] promoters that don’t like each other, and they bring their personal life into boxing.” Fortunately, MMA hasn’t had to suffer overly emotionalpromoterswho hold grudges, so it’s still in good shape. Then Roach hits on a number of topics, including…
Lingering MMA-Boxing enmity:“I have boxing people that don’t like that I like MMA. And it’s like ‘they’re against us.’ And I said there’s room for everybody. A good fight’s a good fight. I don’t care what you call it. You know, I like good fights.”
Anderson Silva:“My good friend Anderson Silva, of course, he had a great fight the other night. They’re saying there’s a little controversy about the knee, that it was a little bit high and went to the chin… I talked to the commissioner Keith Kizer about it, he says ‘we have tape, it’s clean and they’ll be no change in the outcome.’ And Anderson’s one of the best guys I’ve trained, just as far as knowing timing and distance, he’s really, really good.”
GSP:“Right now, I’ve been working with GSP quite a bit. And he’s just like, he’s a great guy and he wants to learn. He’s the type of guy, you show him a move and the next day he comes back and he’s got it down pretty good. And I asked him ‘how long did you spend in the mirror practicing that?’ And he’s that type of guy, he goes back to his hotel room, in front of that mirror working on it. He’s just a great guy to work with.”
BJ Penn:“Penn was one of the best strikers I’ve ever trained. I think at that time he was maybe the best striker. He could really punch. I really liked working with him, and one thing about working with the UFC fighters or the MMA fighters is they have a lot of respect. They come to my gym and they bow and they’re very respectful.”
Tito Ortiz:“I trained Tito for a while also. But the thing about training Tito, though, is that he wanted to go to the ground right away. ‘Cause that was his thing. He didn’t like the standup as much as the other guys I had trained. He wanted to get me on the floor as soon as possible… Even on the mitts, he’d throw a combination and shoot for the takedown.”
Finally, Roach mentioned a street fight in passing. Curious, host George Garcia pressed him for more details. Roach then proceeded to explain how he ended up biting a dude’s eyeball out of its socket.
“I was leaving a club, and I was going out with this girl. She was a Penthouse Playmate and she was real pretty. She was a pretty girl, but she had a drug problem and so forth. So I really don’t know why this fight happened, but two cars, one cuts in front of me, one gets behind me, three guys jump out. I should have probably stayed in the car, but it’s not like me to stay in the car. I get out, the guy’s yelling at me in a foreign language, getting really aggressive, so I dropped him, and then I jumped on him, and then the other two guys thought I was a football and they kicked the shit out of me with their boots on. So then, I gotta do something drastic here, so then I took the guy and I bit his eyeball out. I had eyelashes in between my teeth. It worked though, ‘cause they swung a knife at my back and cut my shirt right in half but didn’t scratch me. And then they went to hit me again with it, and Mike Andolini [approximate guess of this dude’s name] I was giving a ride home that night, he grabs the knife, twists it out of the guy’s hand and threw it in someone’s yard. I had to take him to the hospital to get stitched up. I had 25 major contusions on my head, broken head, broken shoulder, they messed me up pretty good.”
Just, wow. I mean, Freddie and I must have a different concept of efficacy – I’m not entirely sure having someone swing a knife at you is proof that biting a man’s eye out “worked,” but to each his own. At any rate, this has to rank in the top five street fight stories in MMA lore, alongside Bas Rutten fending off Swedish bouncers and Lee Murray landing a Tekken combo and then curb-stomping Tito’s cranium. Even if, you know, this one doesn’t concern an MMA fighter. Whatever, no one’s a fan of technicalities. And as for the question everyone is asking; did he spit the eyeball out? “Oh yeah, blood was gushing. It was great.”
So when he sat down alongside current WBA (super), WBC, and The Ring super middleweight champion Andre Ward on last night’s edition of Inside MMA, the inevitable question came up: who does he think are the top five best boxers in MMA?
Check out Freddie’s top five, along with his thoughts on GSP vs. A. Silva, after the jump.
(That moment when you get hit so hard you shit your pants in front of the whole gym.)
So when he sat down alongside current WBA (super), WBC, and The Ring super middleweight champion Andre Ward on last night’s edition of Inside MMA, the inevitable question came up: who does he think are the top five best boxers in MMA?
Freddie’s Top Five 5. K.J. Noons – ”K.J. is always in my gym and he’s very dedicated with his work ethic. I just love his tenacity in the ring. He comes to fight and he’s all about action.”
4. Nick Diaz– “Nick Diaz is one of the most exciting fighters in the world, today. He’s great with his hands. He gets sidetracked a little bit, like in his last fight, but I think he’ll a great comeback. I’m looking forward to facing him with “GSP” someday, ’cause there’s a lot of talk about that.”
3. B.J. Penn– “You know, B.J., he’s one of the best strikers I’ve ever faced, and that I’ve ever been in the ring with. It’s been quite a few years ago, and I think he’s close to retiring right now, but I’d call him the “James Toney of MMA,” because his weight would fluctuate quite a bit. He’ll fight from low weights to heavyweights. He’ll fight anyone in the world. He’s a good guy to be around, and he’s just a hard, hard worker and a great striker.”
2. George St. Pierre– “GSP’s one of the greatest guys in the world. He’s a real gentleman and one of the best students I’ve ever had. I asked him, ‘How long did you go home and practice in front of the mirror last night?’ Because if I show him a move, he comes back with it the next day, and you know he practiced all night in front of the mirror. So, I love the guy. He’s a good guy and a hard worker, and that’s what it’s all about it hard work.”
1. Anderson Silva– “I had the honor of working with Anderson Silva, when he was in our gym for about five or six days in a row. He told me, ‘I’m pretty good at MMA, but I’m not too goo at boxing.’ He’s just a real humble guy and very talented. He is one of the best guys that really understands distance and timing. He fights off the ropes a little bit. I told him that can be a little bit dangerous sometimes and to be careful, but he’ll suck you in, he’ll set you up, he’s one of the most intelligent fighters I’ve ever seen and have ever worked with.”
While you’re thinking your own lists over, check out part of the interview from last night’s episode, in which Roach and Ward break down the Dana White approved Anderson Silva vs. GSP match, their favorite aspects of MMA other than boxing, and boxing’s current decline, or lack thereof.
When Georges St-Pierre enlisted the help of revered boxing coach Freddie Roach, it demonstrated that the UFC welterweight champ is still continuing to work towards shoring up all of the weaknesses in his overall game. Having worked with Cana…
When Georges St-Pierre enlisted the help of revered boxing coach Freddie Roach, it demonstrated that the UFC welterweight champ is still continuing to work towards shoring up all of the weaknesses in his overall game. Having worked with Canadian Olympic boxers Otis and Howard Grant for most of his MMA career, most would assume that GSP had his boxing covered, but that’s why he’s a UFC champ any we’re all armchair fighters.
Roach, who revealed in the interview above with FightHubTV.com that St-Pierre asked him to be in his corner for his upcoming UFC 124 rematch with Josh Koscheck in Montreal but he had to decline due to commitments with other fighters, says that the French Canadian has all the tools to become a great pugilist.
"He told me that he thought he knew boxing until he met me. He’s improving all the time…His boxing ability is getting a lot better. He’s getting a lot looser. We tried to loosen him up. He’s not so tight like normal and he’s a great student. I show him something and next day, he’s got it pretty much down. I’d say, ‘Georges, how long did you practice that move in the mirror?’ and he’d look at me and say, ‘How did you know?’ ‘Come on,’ I said, ‘Nobody can improve that quickly.’ He’s a great student and a great guy; I wish him the best."
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has been spending time working out with Manny Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, and in Roach’s comments about St. Pierre, he showed once again that he’s one of the few old-school boxing gu…
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has been spending time working out with Manny Pacquiao‘s trainer, Freddie Roach, and in Roach’s comments about St. Pierre, he showed once again that he’s one of the few old-school boxing guys who actually respects mixed martial arts, praising St. Pierre as an athlete and even hinting that he might make an appearance on The Ultimate Fighter.
