Jonathan Coachman On Ronda Rousey: “As Far As WWE Is Concerned, They Don’t Bring in Broken Stars.”

We all know what happened last saturday night to UFC media darling Ronda Rousey. She was taken out in less than a minute by current reigning women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes. While many called for retirement, those looking for the silver lining called for a career in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

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Seat’s taken

We all know what happened last saturday night to UFC media darling Ronda Rousey. She was taken out in less than a minute by current reigning women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes. While many called for retirement, those looking for the silver lining called for the rumored option of a career in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).

And why not? I mean Brock Lesnar did it after his devastating loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141, and with the type of media attention she would garner, it’s a win win for her and the company – right? Wrong. According to long time commentator, interviewer, and occasional wrestler for the WWE, Jonathan Coachman, the business doesn’t take in “broken stars.”

In a recent interview with Busted Open Radio, Coachman explains why Ronda’s losses make her a bad fit.

Unfortunately what happened to Ronda Rousey over the weekend; unfortunately I had predicted it almost down to exactly the minute and what would happen, and what could happen to her going forward. I want wrestling fans to understand that this is not a guess, or an educated guess. You have to understand that when you try to bring somebody in from the outside, and let’s mention a few of those names, just to give those people on Twitter some respect; that they’ve been comparing Ronda Rousey to some of the other legends WWE has brought in. They say, well, Brock Lesnar lost a fight and WWE still brought him in. Mike Tyson lost a fight and WWE still brought him in. What people have to understand is that those two individuals have nothing to do with Ronda Rousey. It’s not really a fair comparison. You’re talking about a woman, who I have a great deal of respect for. Anybody who wants to insult her, and the way she got knocked down..there are very few fighters in any sport; whether it’s MMA or Boxing, that have not been knocked out at some point. Look at what she did. She took 13 months off. She was essentially a recluse. We really didn’t see much of her other than the commercials that she did in order to earn a living, and then she came out and got absolutely obliterated, as I called it on First Take. If you don’t change what you are doing. If you are not changing the way you train, then there are a lot of women now who are training like great Boxers, like Amanda Nunes. Amanda Nunes is a complete beast. Nobody was giving her the respect that she deserves, so when you look at Ronda Rousey now..what do you have now that she wasn’t before the fight? The WWE would have taken her before the fight. People want to Tweet out pictures of her when she was with The Rock. Guess when that was? That was Wrestlemania, 2015. I’ll say this before, and I will say it again; there has never been an athlete in the history of sports that their self worth, and I don’t like saying this but it’s true..their self worth is so tied to their professional success, think about that for a second; when she lost, she was not only devastated; when she lost, the thoughts that were going through her head were not good ones, and hopefully she understands that she has gone much farther than any female in sports, and hopefully she can latch on to a positive, but as far as the WWE is concerned, they don’t bring in a broken star, and that is what she is. She is broken from a professional sense. They don’t rebuild broken celebrities outside of the WWE. Brock started in the WWE. Ken Shamrock was a fighter who lost, but any of these comparisons, are not only fair to them, but they’re not fair to Ronda Rousey. They are never going to bring her in because the fans won’t treat her fairly, and what exactly are they going to do with her at this point?

While we understand Cocahman’s points, it’s still hard to believe that a woman who can garner so much media attention is useless in a contest purely based on entertainment. Let’s face it, people just like to watch Ronda Rousey do things. Whether it’s for hate, love, or just to see her freak out, people can’t stop watching.

Besides that, WWE is sports entertainment. As long as a fighter can look imposing, is physically fit, and carry out a pinfall with chutzpah, they don’t have to be a mental Juggernaut.

We get it, Brock had a previous following, Tyson was a beast, and the fans would treat Ronda poorly – to say the least. But to say you couldn’t turn Ronda Rousey into a world class heel? I call shenanigans.

Hit us up in the comment section and let us know if you think Ronda Rousey has a future with the WWE.

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Opinion: Was Dominick Cruz Crushed Under The Weight Of His Ego?

Ego. It’s something I tell my fighters never to have. It’s helpful in its ability to push through pain, to overcome fear and doubt, telling yourself that you belong in the ring or cage. But as useful as it can be, it’s something impossible to fully control. Some say that “ego is the fuel a fighter needs to get to the top.” Still, I say it’s useless. “If you want to knock a man out, you don’t look for it. You allow it to happen.” Training camp after training camp this is the motto that is instilled into my fighters. It’s exactly the approach Dominick Cruz has followed for his entire career. That is, until UFC 207.

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Don’t be fooled, having a big ego can be a great thing. It can influence naysayers, turn enemies to friends, and even thrust individuals into positions of power like our president-elect. However, the one place where it shouldn’t be present is during a fist fight.

We can get into the whole nature of fighting from a primal angle, that ego and pride and passion are all intertwined when it comes to competing against another human being, to see who is the better combatant. In prize fighting however, there’s no place for it. Why? Because in the haze of combat there are too many variables to keep track of, too many outcomes to even the slightest mistake. Relying on your ego during a fist fight, perhaps the most high risk circumstance a person can find themselves in, can prove to be fighters undoing. For Dominick Cruz it’s a lesson that he had to learn the hard way.

In the co-main event of UFC 207 we got to see Cody Garbrandt rise to the occasion. It’s interesting to note that the challenger had a tremendous ego all his own leading into the fight. When interviewed by the press Garbrandt’s simple reply was that he would knock the champion out. Things didn’t quite turn out as he expected, yet his prideful boasts was something that he thrived on. For Dominick Cruz however, it was nothing but hubris. It must be noted that Cruz has been one of my favorite fighters simply for the fact that he never played into his opponent’s game. Rather than get swept up in the moment, look to trade leather and risk it all, he would always choose to take precaution and play to his strengths. Staying on the outside, being unpredictable, these are the qualities that make Dominick Cruz a cut above the rest.

Standing toe to toe with an opponent has never been what made Cruz great. He was superior because he wasn’t like those other “sluggers” who decide to stay in the pocket a trade blows. Cruz has been all about being elusive, making fighters miss, then making them pay. The Dominick Cruz that battled Cody Garbrandt for the bantamweight belt was not the same man we saw out dueling TJ Dillashaw in January. Instead we saw a man willing to trade blows, willing to stay in the pocket and trade leather. In other words, an ordinary fighter.

Cody Garbrandt on the other hand proved that ego can in fact sharpen a fighter’s skills. Rather than rush forward and look for the finish, Garbrandt instead fought a patient and balanced fight. Despite the fact that he’d been campaigning for a knock out for weeks before their fight, Garbrandt showed more maturity than he led on. With the raw power in his favor he didn’t have to look for the knock out and simply waited for his moments to shine. Cody slipped, he ripped, and he made Cruz pay for every time he remained in the pocket.

Dominick Cruz endeavored to knock the challenger out, something completely uncharacteristic of the bantamweight king. He believed Cody was emotionally invested in the bout, that the young gun would fold under the pressure. But you can’t help but feel that the now former bantamweight champion fell prey to the very ideology that he accused the young Garbrandt of possessing. Ego and pride may get you to the top. It may even keep you there. But as the old saying goes, pride goes before the fall.

Dominick Cruz was a great champion, a true inspiration. To come back from three ACL surgeries and once again capture UFC gold took pride. It took ego. But it also took humility. It was hard to watch such an intelligent fighter like Cruz throw caution to the wind and stand in front of Garbrandt hoping to test his mettle. Ego returned Cruz to the throne yet it also caused his downfall. It will be that same unruly mistress that will get him back to the top of the mountain. I still think ego is useless come fight time. But it is ego that will carry Cruz back to the top of the mountain. Like it or not, it’s a balancing act that can be the difference between glory and defeat.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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Todd Grisham Joins The UFC Broadcasting Team…How Do We Feel About This?

Now that UFC 207 has come and gone, there are somethings that have been left in it’s wake. For one, the possible retirement of Ronda Rousey. Secondly, the emergence of Cody Garbrandt. And thirdly, the bittersweet “so long” of 19 year cage side announcer Mike Goldberg.

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“It’s All Over!”

While he wasn’t exactly a vast array of MMA knowledge, he certainly bought Charisma to the cage and when you heard that voice, you knew it was about to go down!

But with the end of one thing brings the beginning of something new, and while we expect newest member of the UFC broadcasting team Todd Grisham to Butcher Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s ( /yo-an-nahyen-jrey-chik/) name a couple of times, I for one am excited about the MMA newbie. And here’s why.

Exhibit A: He can take a superkick to the mouth

For those of you who don’t know much about Grisham, he was a broadcaster and personality for the WWE from 2204-2011, taking his share of bumps along the way. In the video above he plays a pretty good straight man to rowdy antics of “sexy boy” Shawn Michaels. Gotta respect a guy who can take a good superkick to the mouth and still have the wherewithal to read a teleprompter.

Exhibit B: He use to work for ESPN

After parting ways with the WWE network in 2011, Grisham has been working as in studio host to Friday Night Fights as well as SportCenter Anchor. This means that not only does he bring a certain level of professionalism, he’s a fan of all combat sports who’s use to doing his research.

Exhibit C: Joe Rogan and Kenny Florian

While he may not be the most knowledgeable in MMA, that’s what Joe Rogan and Kenny Florian are for. Let them break down every grappling sequence to a sweet science, sometimes MMA fans, like girls, just wanna have fun!

In all seriousness, it seems like we’re getting a real professional with a personality to boot. A true fan of combat sports who’s not afraid to walk on the wild side. While the learning curb will be steep, all in all this could be a good direction for the UFC.

For those of you who just can’t get enough of Mike Goldberg,We’ve found a video that compiled some of his biggest blunders all in one foul swoop. You know like the time he compared Mike Tyson to the great fighter “George Holmes”…? Exactly.

“One of the most talented fighters to ever enter the octagon is B.J. Penn, the pra-gidy.”

“His precision is ugh,…really precise”

“CB Dollaway makes a bad decision, and now he gets a second chance tonight, to earn a victory against CB Dollaway.”

“There is twin brother Mark, working with equally aged twin brother Matt…” – Mike Goldberg

What do you guys think of the new switch? Have the WME-IMG finally done something right?

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Now That It’s Over…Who Does Garbrandt Fight Next?

The unthinkable (okay, a bit dramatic) happened on Saturday. Cody Garbrandt beat Dominick Cruz by unanimous decision…by UNANIMOUS DECISION! Still can’t believe it.

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Now what?

The unthinkable (okay, a bit dramatic) happened on Saturday. Cody Garbrandt beat Dominick Cruz by unanimous decision…by UNANIMOUS DECISION! Still can’t believe it.

But now that it’s over, and we’re starting to come to grasp that our bantamweight champion has a dirty, dirty neck tattoo, the age old MMA question still applies. Who does he fight next?

While the rumblings of an “Alpha Male” showdown between #2 contender T.J. Dillashaw and Garbrandt have come to a boil, there’s also talk of a rematch with Cruz. The only hiccup with that situation is that rematches are all but guaranteed in this sport, no matter how deserving, just ask Jose Aldo.

Speaking of Jose Aldo…it seems there’s already a twist in the unforeseen storyline. In a recent interview Garbrandt pulled a Tyron Woodley, calling for a “big money fight” before his first title defense. Who with? You guessed it; the 145lb champ himself.

“I need to sit down with Dana [White] and Sean [Shelby], and find out the biggest money fight for me,” Garbrandt said during an appearance on The MMA Hour on Monday. “I know I could go up and fight with Jose Aldo. He has wins over my teammates, he’s a legend, and I’d like to test his chin. I know I hit hard, and I’m just getting started. And I could also have the biggest fight with Conor [McGregor]. I could easily go up. My homie Nate Diaz choked him out, and I can’t believe he’s pound-for-pound No. 2 on the list, with, you know he got choked out.”

He also discussed a possible catch weight fight at 150lbs with dual champion Conor McGregor. After a little scuffle in the TUF 22 house between McGregor and the alpha male crew, Garbrandt has been dieing to get his hands on him, and this bantamweight title might be his chance.

“And you know, Conor, too. He knows that I’d go up to 150 and catchweight with him. Jose Aldo I’ll go up to 45. But yeah. I’m excited for the potential match-ups for me. I feel like I’m one of the biggest draws. I’m the biggest draw for Conor in the division, you know what I mean? I’m a rising star. Jose Aldo needs a fight. I think that he went out there and said that he’d like to fight me too.”

Now that Cody Garbrandt has got the conch, he seems to be using it to the best of his ability. The real question is how long will he keep it? It seems fighters on the come up are always talking about champions cherry picking fights, but once they feel the power, they do the exact same thing.

When asked when he’s like to fight next, Cody says he’ll be talking bit of time off and plans to return in June of 2017.

“I think so, say June maybe, before summer,” he said. “Yeah, I think that would be a great time to come back and give somebody an ass-whooping. But yeah, me and Conor had the beef on The Ultimate Fighter. I mean, have nothing against the guy as far as a fighter. It’s a business to me. But I’ll tell you what, somebody puts their hands on me and I didn’t do shit about it, I’d be wanting to get them back each time. That’s for sure.”

What do you guys think about Cody Garbrandt’s recent call outs? Which fight should he take next?

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Fallout: The Real Reasons Ronda Rousey Lost At UFC 207

She got hit in the face. That would probably be the meathead’s quick and easy version of what went wrong for former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey when she faced off against the new champ Amanda Nunes. That certainly isn’t an incorrect statement by any means, but it’s not really telling the full story of proceedings. Ronda Rousey, her coach Edmond Tarverdyan, and the UFC made some pretty big gaffs leading up to UFC 207.

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Media Black Out

So, let’s talk about the fact that Ronda Rousey refused to fulfill her media obligations leading up to the last event of 2016. Speaking to a few colleagues about this situation, it seemed that many people didn’t have too much of a problem with Rousey skipping media scrums and interviews. The major problem I had with all this is that Rousey and her camp were choosing to look at the media as a form of distraction, as if skipping out on the interviews before the fight would somehow elevate her fighting skills to a new level. The unfortunate thing is that while less distractions can sometimes help performance, there was no evidence indicating that media obligations is what led to her first loss in the cage.

In a sense, by going through with the media blackout, it gave Ronda and her camp a false sense of security. Media or no, it’s all about the skill and will once you get inside the cage. Everything else is dust. The UFC allowing her to skip all the media didn’t help things either. She certainly helped to revolutionize the sport, but at the same time codling the once dominant champion wasn’t going to help her confidence but damage it in the long run.

Little Improvements

What I saw at the opening bell of the UFC 207 main event wasn’t a Ronda Rousey who had made major improvements since her loss to Holly Holm. In fact, because of how quickly the fight ended, it’s hard to say what, if anything Ronda was able to learn during her time away from the cage. What was evident is her lack of improvement where strategy as well as footwork is concerned. She came straight forward on the same line, offered no feints or fakes, and looked pretty stiff out there. It seemed like Nunes had little issue dismantling Rousey simply because she was there to be hit. The former champion has always been aggressive, but when you don’t evolve your game, add new tools, or keep your opponent guessing then guess what? It’s only a matter of time before you’re figured out.

The Coaching Problem

Now the biggest issue I had with this match up has already been stated above. Ronda Rousey didn’t look like a fighter who took a year off to improve her game. In fact, she seemed even less impressive this time around. Nunes made a statement after her victory suggesting that Ronda’s coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, did her a disservice and I’m inclined to agree. While Ronda Rousey’s ability to hit mitts has improved, her footwork hasn’t seemed to improve all that much. Distance management is the most important dimension of striking and in MMA it’s importance is even more paramount than in boxing or kickboxing. Understand the range in which your opponent can land strikes, enter for takedowns, and have the best chance of winning is overwhelmingly important.

From what we’ve seen so far out of Edmond Tarverdyan as a coach is that he taught Ronda how to throw a decent punch. We haven’t seen feints out of Ronda, no pumping the jab to gauge distance, little to no kicks, and overall little fluidity in her striking combinations. Ronda’s game is all about closing distance, yet we haven’t seen anything to indicate that her abilities to do so with sophistication has improved since her last bout. Either she wasn’t training to learn how to close the gap or she simply had a hard time in doing so against a fighter of Nunes’ caliber.

Total blame can’t be forced on Tarverdyan, but at this point you have to wonder if Ronda had the best preparation possible for this fight with the coaching staff on hand.

Where do you think Ronda Rousey goes from here?

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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UFC 207 Result: Nunes Beats Rousey in 1st Round

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Ronda Rousey has been off the MMA scene for over a year now and the burning question has been when and if she’d be making a return to action. Well, at tonight’s UFC 207 event we got our answer. Ronda Rousey faced off against bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in the main event.

Amanda Nunes proved that she is the number one women’s bantamweight in the world with a first round KO of Ronda Rousey. What does this mean for the legacy of Ronda Rousey? Only time will tell… but it’s not looking good at the moment.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

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