On This Day In MMA History: August 9

(Video courtesy of YouTube/IronChefKenichiSakai)

UFC 87: Seek and Destroy went down three years ago at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Why it Matters:

(Video courtesy of YouTube/SemtexRumble617)

Jon Jones made his UFC debut on the card, defeating fellow undefeated fighter Andre Gusmao by unanimous decision. Jones would go on to win five of his next six fights in dominating fashion against some of the promotion’s best fighters including Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 to win the UFC light heavyweight strap in a little more than two-and-a-half years since he first competed in the Octagon. Analysts predict that he will go down as one of the sport’s best fighters. Time will tell.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/IronChefKenichiSakai)

UFC 87: Seek and Destroy went down three years ago at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Why it Matters:


(Video courtesy of YouTube/SemtexRumble617)

Jon Jones made his UFC debut on the card, defeating fellow undefeated fighter Andre Gusmao by unanimous decision. Jones would go on to win five of his next six fights in dominating fashion against some of the promotion’s best fighters including Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128 to win the UFC light heavyweight strap in a little more than two-and-a-half years since he first competed in the Octagon. Analysts predict that he will go down as one of the sport’s best fighters. Time will tell.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/SAWrestlingEire)

Brock Lesnar got his first UFC win by decisively beating PRIDE veteran Heath Herring via unanimous decision (30-26 all) after getting submitted in his first bout by Frank Mir. In his next bout, which was only his fourth in MMA, he defeated Randy Couture to win the UFC heavyweight championship.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/zeno35)

Jon Fitch faced Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight strap and was dominated by the French Canadian champion for five rounds. In spite of a seven-fight undefeated streak since the bout, including a draw in a so-called title eliminator with BJ Penn at UFC 127 in February, Fitch has been passed over more than once for another shot at St-Pierre.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/Sherdog)

Kenny Florian defeated Roger Huerta, effectively knocking “El Matador” off of his trajectory towards an inevitable title shot. Florian would defeat Joe Stevenson in his next bout at UFC 91 to earn a second shot at the lightweight strap against BJ Penn at UFC 101.

Friday Afternoon Link Dump

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHub)

– The Most Misleadingly Named MMA MMA Moves (Clutch.MTV)

– Strikeforce Overeem vs. Werdum from a CP Reader’s Perspective (PatrickWalter)

– The Most Amazing Acts of MMA Mid-Fight Mockery (Cracked)

– Andy Roddick is Baffled By Reporter’s Questions (Guyism)

– Jones, GSP and Werdum Nominated for ESPY Awards (MMAJunkie)

– The Dugout: Jim Riggleman is Sick of This Winning Shit (WithLeather)

– Cecil Peoples Caught in a Riot at Kickboxing Event (TheFightNerd)

– James Spader to Join The Office (ScreenJunkies)

– “Shogun Would ather Stomps Than Elbows in MMA (MMAMania)

– Westboro Church Picketts Ryan Dunn Memorial (HolyTaco)

– Sony Facing Possible Class Action Suit For PS Server Hack (FileFront)

– New Captain America Trailer Kicks Ass (TheRugged)


(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHub)

– The Most Misleadingly Named MMA MMA Moves (Clutch.MTV)

– Strikeforce Overeem vs. Werdum from a CP Reader’s Perspective (PatrickWalter)

– The Most Amazing Acts of MMA Mid-Fight Mockery (Cracked)

– Andy Roddick is Baffled By Reporter’s Questions (Guyism)

– Jones, GSP and Werdum Nominated for ESPY Awards (MMAJunkie)

– The Dugout: Jim Riggleman is Sick of This Winning Shit (WithLeather)

– Cecil Peoples Caught in a Riot at Kickboxing Event (TheFightNerd)

– James Spader to Join The Office (ScreenJunkies)

– “Shogun Would ather Stomps Than Elbows in MMA (MMAMania)

– Westboro Church Picketts Ryan Dunn Memorial (HolyTaco)

– Sony Facing Possible Class Action Suit For PS Server Hack (FileFront)

– New Captain America Trailer Kicks Ass (TheRugged)

“Ask Gary” #4: Defending GSP, Crying Over Leg Kicks, and Losing Via ‘No Apparent Reason’

Gary Goodridge Don Frye UFC MMA photos
(The good old days — when men were men and briefs were shiny.)

Hello to all of my Cage Potato friends and thanks again for your interest and questions. It’s been a busy 2011 so far and things are only looking better from here. Thank you for the wonderful night before UFC 129 in Toronto. To those who missed it, there was a Cage Potato: Banned party that week and I had the opportunity to meet many loyal readers and Cage Potato “Big Wigs.” As you may know, I’ve reached a different stage in my career and I hope to provide you with more honest insights into many of the things that I’ve learned. I’m pleased to be black by popular demand. Ask away for my next column. Also, add me on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog www.bigdaddyfightteam.com.

All the best and Happy Humping,
Gary Goodridge

‘Bob Villa’ asks: How do you feel about all the lay and pray we’ve been subjected to lately? What do you think about guys like GSP who seem to fight not to lose and never go for the finish?
You’re asking the wrong guy because I always went for the finish. I think just lying on top of somebody is just crap and ridiculous. However, when fighters start doing that they pay the price because the promotions are not going to bring you back. You already know I like Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben; I also like a lot of the U.K. fighters like Dan Hardy because they always provide entertaining fights.

GSP is a different animal though. He is a champion. He doesn’t have to finish these guys. They have to finish GSP. His job is to keep his belt any way that he can because the belt means prestige and, more importantly, money. If I were him I would use every fibre in my body to walk away with the belt. I never won a championship beyond the International Vale Tudo Championship so I was never in a position to have to try and retain my belt. I was the guy who tried to shatter the myths of others fighters as champions.

People need to understand that guys like GSP are facing the top competition in the world every fight. There is no room for a mistake. It may not look like he’s doing much but trust me, he is.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: At PRIDE 11, you gave Yoshiaki Yatsu one of the most savage beatings I’ve ever seen in my life. Why did PRIDE book a rematch of that fight the next year? Did you feel bad accepting it?

Gary Goodridge Don Frye UFC MMA photos
(The good old days — when men were men and briefs were shiny.)

Hello to all of my Cage Potato friends and thanks again for your interest and questions. It’s been a busy 2011 so far and things are only looking better from here. Thank you for the wonderful night before UFC 129 in Toronto. To those who missed it, there was a Cage Potato: Banned party that week and I had the opportunity to meet many loyal readers and Cage Potato “Big Wigs.” As you may know, I’ve reached a different stage in my career and I hope to provide you with more honest insights into many of the things that I’ve learned. I’m pleased to be black by popular demand. Ask away for my next column. Also, add me on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog www.bigdaddyfightteam.com.

All the best and Happy Humping,
Gary Goodridge

‘Bob Villa’ asks: How do you feel about all the lay and pray we’ve been subjected to lately? What do you think about guys like GSP who seem to fight not to lose and never go for the finish?
You’re asking the wrong guy because I always went for the finish. I think just lying on top of somebody is just crap and ridiculous. However, when fighters start doing that they pay the price because the promotions are not going to bring you back. You already know I like Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben; I also like a lot of the U.K. fighters like Dan Hardy because they always provide entertaining fights.

GSP is a different animal though. He is a champion. He doesn’t have to finish these guys. They have to finish GSP. His job is to keep his belt any way that he can because the belt means prestige and, more importantly, money. If I were him I would use every fibre in my body to walk away with the belt. I never won a championship beyond the International Vale Tudo Championship so I was never in a position to have to try and retain my belt. I was the guy who tried to shatter the myths of others fighters as champions.

People need to understand that guys like GSP are facing the top competition in the world every fight. There is no room for a mistake. It may not look like he’s doing much but trust me, he is.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: At PRIDE 11, you gave Yoshiaki Yatsu one of the most savage beatings I’ve ever seen in my life. Why did PRIDE book a rematch of that fight the next year? Did you feel bad accepting it?
No, I didn’t feel bad about accepting it at all. Why would I feel bad? If he wanted to take the fight again, who am I to turn him down? I will say that nobody can ever question Yatsu’s heart. In fact, it you ever see a Yatsu watch next to a Timex, pick the Yatsu because guaranteed it’ll take a licking and keep on ticking.


(Goodridge vs. Yatsu, 10/31/00. The brutal finish begins around the 9:40 mark.)

‘RWilsonR’ asks: What injury have you sustained that has hurt the worst? Randy Couture said he has never felt pain like a broken orbital bone. Do you have an especially painful injury story?
I have never felt pain like I did when Musashi gave me my first taste of a legitimate leg kick. If you watch the fight you can see that I can’t even stand. My nerves weren’t used to receiving those types of strikes and I didn’t know how to defend against them. After that fight, I went straight to the dressing room and cried for a long time. I didn’t even know why I was crying because it didn’t stop the pain. But I had never felt anything like the leg kicks in K-1.

‘NotReadyStatus’ asks: I have seen you listed as repping Canada and/or Trinidad-Tobago. Which Country do you feel is more “Big Daddy’s”?
This is an odd question for me because I don’t consider myself very patriotic. I say I’m Canadian though because I’ve been here for over 40 years of my life. Canada is my home. All of my family is here expect one of my sisters who lives in Jamaica. My mother is very patriotic. She chose to bring her family here for a better life. I know she’s similar to other immigrants in that she sees herself as more Canadian than many people who were born here. Out of all of the places in the world, this is where she chose to come. As far as I’m concerned, promoters can say I’m from wherever they want me to be from. That type of stuff never bothered me.

‘RWilsonR’ (again) asks: What’s the story behind your fight with Mario Neto? It says you lost via Submission (No Apparent Reason) on Sherdog.
I have a hard time remembering this fight and a lot of people tend to bring it up. All I can say is that I was exhausted. It was early in my career and I didn’t know how to train properly. People ask me how I didn’t know that I needed cardio…I just didn’t know. None of us knew anything. At that point I didn’t have the mental fortitude that fighters need in order to surpass that point of exhaustion. I was exhausted and I couldn’t defend myself so I didn’t want to stay in there and take more damage.

‘LOKI’ asks: Did you ever turn down a fight for any reason that in retrospect you wish you had taken?
No I never turned down any fights in my life. Only when I got married. Take that as you will ;)

On This Day in MMA History


(Back when Ken was making more than GSP…)

The TUF 11 Finale went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Five of the fighters from the show are still active in the UFC and four are undefeated in the Octagon.

TUF winner Court McGee, who defeated Kris McCray in the finale by rear naked choke also beat Ryan Jensen by arm triangle at UFC 121 in October. He’s set to face Don Yi Yang at UFN “Battle at the Bayou” in September.

Kyle Noke, who was beaten by teammate McCray by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the show, defeated Josh Bryant by TKO at the finale and rattled off two rear naked choke submission wins against Rob Kimmons at UFC 122 in November and TUF 11 cast mate Chris Camozzi at UFC 127 at home in Australia in February. He’ll face Tom Lawlor next at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle in August.

Brad Tavares, who lost to McGee in the semi-finals by rear naked choke is undefeated in official competition as well as 2-0 in the Octagon.He defeated TUF 11 quarterfinal opponent Seth Baczynski at the finale by unanimous decision and Phil Baroni by knockout at UFC 125 in January.


(Back when Ken was making more than GSP…)

The TUF 11 Finale went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Five of the fighters from the show are still active in the UFC and four are undefeated in the Octagon.

TUF winner Court McGee, who defeated Kris McCray in the finale by rear naked choke also beat Ryan Jensen by arm triangle at UFC 121 in October. He’s set to face Don Yi Yang at UFN “Battle at the Bayou” in September.

Kyle Noke, who was beaten by teammate McCray by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the show, defeated Josh Bryant by TKO at the finale and rattled off two rear naked choke submission wins against Rob Kimmons at UFC 122 in November and TUF 11 cast mate Chris Camozzi at UFC 127 at home in Australia in February. He’ll face Tom Lawlor next at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle in August.

Brad Tavares, who lost to McGee in the semi-finals by rear naked choke is undefeated in official competition as well as 2-0 in the Octagon.He defeated TUF 11 quarterfinal opponent Seth Baczynski at the finale by unanimous decision and Phil Baroni by knockout at UFC 125 in January.

Nick Ring, who was forced out of the competition due to a lingering knee injury that also left him unable to compete at the finale is undefeated in his MMA career and is 2-0 in the UFC with a February UFC 127 unanimous decision win over Riki Fukuda and a UFC 131 rear naked choke win over James Head at last weekend’s UFC 131.

Cage Potato TUF 11 guest blogger Rich Attonito beat Rafael Natal at the finale and lost a hard-fought decision to Dave Branch at the TUF 12 Finale in December. He squares off with Daniel Roberts next week at UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story.

Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg went down two years ago.

Why it matters:

The card, which featured a ton of talent was one of Strikeforce’s “B” show’s best. Tim Kennedy made his debut with the promotion on the card, as did Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. Kennedy defeated Nick Thompson via tapout due to strikes, while Santos dropped a split decision to Joey Vilasenor.

Also on the card were future SF women’s welterweight champion Sarah Kaufman, Dennis Hallman, Lyle Beerbohm, Luke Rockhold, Conor Heun and Duane Ludwig.

UFC 48: Payback went down 7 years ago.

Why it matters:

Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes both earned a shot at the vacant UFC welterweight title with their respective wins over Jay Hieron and Renato Verissimo.

Frank Mir won the vacant UFC heavyweight strap by defeating (and breaking the arm of) Tim Sylvia. Three months later he was in a serious motorcycle accident in which he broke his leg in several places. He didn’t compete again until nearly two years after winning the belt. Two years later he won the interim title by defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by TKO at UFC 92 in December 2008, but failed to unify the belts by beating Brock Lesnar seven months later at UFC 100 in July 2009. An impressive unanimous decision win last month over Roy Nelson at UFC 130 has elevated him back to contender status.

Evan Tanner defeated Phil Baroni for the second time in as many fights. One more win over Robbie Lawler (via triangle) at UFC 50 earned Tanner a shot at the vacant UFC middleweight strap, which he won by beating highly-touted David Terrell at UFC 51 by first-round TKO.

Ken Shamrock beat Kimo Leopolda by first-round TKO (knee). The fight would be Kimo’s last in the Octagon. Shamrock made $170,000 for the bout (including a $50,000 win bonus), while Kimo took home $55,000. St-Pierre, who was on the undercard, made $8,000, including a $4,000 win bonus.

Mike Swick was born 31 years ago.

Why he matters:

Of the 16 contestants from the show, only seven are still in the UFC. Although he hasn’t enjoyed the same level of success as cast mates like Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian or Chris Leben, Swick, like Stephan Bonnar, has some personal victories to his credit.

Beating a former number one contender like David Loiseau like he did at UFC 63 was a huge upset. Beating the career-threatening stomach ailment that hindered his training and ability to put on and cut weight is another notch in his belt. Although his job with the UFC is at risk coming off two straight losses, a year and a half away from the game spent training in places like Thailand and medical treatment to cure his misdiagnosed dyspepsia will hopefully have done the welterweight good and help to rejuvenate his career.

His next fight is against Erick Silva at UFC 134 in Rio in August.

MMA According to Google Search Autofill

If you’ve ever done a Google search, you know that the autofill results can be ridiculous at times. The truth is, Google has an autocomplete algorithm it uses to determine what you might be searching for that is based on popular search terms and combinations of words.

While looking up Michael Bisping’s record today for a piece I was working on, “Bisping’s Island” autofilled in my search window. As I deleted the “D-N-A-L” I got back a litany of homoerotic insults and slurs attached to the resulting “Michael Bisping is” that remained in the queue. So since it was a slow news day, I decided what better way to waste the rest of it than to search and screen capture the results for your viewing enjoyment.

If you’re a fighter or a promoter with thin skin, we suggest that you refrain from searching for yourself. You’ve been warned.

Check out the results after the jump.

If you’ve ever done a Google search, you know that the autofill results can be ridiculous at times. The truth is, Google has an autocomplete algorithm it uses to determine what you might be searching for that is based on popular search terms and combinations of words.

While looking up Michael Bisping’s record today for a piece I was working on, “Bisping’s Island” autofilled in my search window. As I deleted the “D-N-A-L” I got back a litany of homoerotic insults and slurs attached to the resulting “Michael Bisping is” that remained in the queue. So since it was a slow news day, I decided what better way to waste the rest of it than to search and screen capture the results for your viewing enjoyment.

If you’re a fighter or a promoter with thin skin, we suggest that you refrain from searching for yourself. You’ve been warned.

Check out the fruits of our labor below.

Just As Pompous As Ever, Bisping Doesn’t Consider Mayhem a Worthy Opponent, But Sees the ‘Business Perspective’ of Having Him on TUF

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ncaasteve)

Steve Cofield caught up to TUF 14 coach Michael Bisping recently during a break from taping the SPIKE TV reality series, and the cocky Brit expressed his dissentient opinion that his opposing coach on the show, Jason “Mayhem” Miller is not a worthy opponent.

“I can fully understand it. The guy’s obviously….he does Bully Beatdown. He does a TV show, so he’s got a bit of got a bit of a crossover appeal, if you will, but I wasn’t overly excited that he’s going to be my next fight. I wanted somebody like Chael Sonnen or possibly the winner of [Yushin] Okami and Anderson [Silva] — you know, somebody of that stature in the middleweight division,” Bisping explained matter-of-factly. “But I can understand from a business perspective the UFC’s decision to do…you know, to give Mayhem the shot. It’s a double-edged sword. It will be good for the show, but it wasn’t the opponent I wanted though.”


(Video courtesy of YouTube/ncaasteve)

Steve Cofield caught up to TUF 14 coach Michael Bisping recently during a break from taping the SPIKE TV reality series, and the cocky Brit expressed his dissentient opinion that his opposing coach on the show, Jason “Mayhem” Miller is not a worthy opponent.

“I can fully understand it. The guy’s obviously….he does Bully Beatdown. He does a TV show, so he’s got a bit of got a bit of a crossover appeal, if you will, but I wasn’t overly excited that he’s going to be my next fight. I wanted somebody like Chael Sonnen or possibly the winner of [Yushin] Okami and Anderson [Silva] — you know, somebody of that stature in the middleweight division,” Bisping explained matter-of-factly. “But I can understand from a business perspective the UFC’s decision to do…you know, to give Mayhem the shot. It’s a double-edged sword. It will be good for the show, but it wasn’t the opponent I wanted though.”

Bisping may have caught a break when Sonnen was barred from being on the show due to his ongoing licensing issues with the California State Athletic Commission as the durable Team Quest product would drink his milkshake seven different ways.

What’s somewhat of a head-scratcher is how Bisping thinks he should be considered a superior fighter to Miller.

Let’s compare their last ten fights:

Bisping’s current three-fight streak includes wins over 39-year-old Jorge Rivera and 35-year-old Yoshihiro Akiyama. Akiyama’s biggest win of the past three years was a very debatable split-decision over Alan Belcher. Rivera’s biggest win over the same period was against Kendall Grove.

Three of his other wins in that 10-fight span were over Jason Day, Charles McCarthy and Denis Kang — all of whom have since been dropped by the UFC.

Looking at his losses, Bisping was knocked out by Dan Henderson and dropped decisions to Rashad Evans, (which prompted him to drop to middleweight) and to aging veteran Wanderlei Silva, whose UFC success could be described as lacklustre, in spite of his go-for-broke fan-friendly style.

If we go back further and find the biggest win of Bisping’s career, it would have to be the one he stole from Matt Hamill, which most would argue was a gift decision awarded to him by hometown judges in England. Because the fight took place at light heavyweight, it doesn’t improve his spot in the rankings.

Now let’s take a look at Miller’s past ten fights.

His win over Sakuraba pretty much cancels out Bisping’s win over Rivera and you could argue that his win over Tim Kennedy is worth more than any of Bisping’s, considering he is consistently ranked higher than any of the fighters “The Count” has fought at 185.

One point that’s worth noting is that Bisping has only fought one top 5 ranked middlewight fighter — Dan Henderson — and he was knocked out in devastating fashion in that fight. Miller has faced two: Chael Sonnen and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and although he lost to both of them, he did so by decision, which in itself is a feat considering the caliber of both fighters.

He also survived three rounds with one of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Maybe we’re missing something, but how exactly is Bisping on another echelon than Miller?

He later backtracks slightly in the interview from all but calling Miller a can to simply stating he’s a decent fighter looking to propel himself into the limelight by beating a fighter of his, er..stature.

“Listen…Miller’s tough. There’s no question, he’s super tough. He’s got great cardio. He’s tough as hell. If you look at his fight with Georges St-Pierre, he was getting the shit kicked out of him and he was just laughing the whole time. So he’s hard to finish, do you know what I mean? He’s tough. He’s got awesome jiu-jitsu. He’s got underrated stand-up and good wrestling. So don’t get me wrong, I’m not underestimating him. I’m not thinking he’s a lesser fighter than me,” Bisping explained with a straight face after stating minutes before that he was a superior fighter to Miller. “That’s not what I’m saying. But in terms of world rankings and getting a title shot, I don’t think he’s going to progress me in my career. In some ways I think he’s a bad match-up because the pressure’s going to be on me because I’m expected to beat him. And he’s obviously looking to make a name on my back.”

So a win over Mayhem wouldn’t do anything for his career, but his past three wins over Akiyama, Miller and Rivera did?

Fight Matrix’s middleweight rankings disagree: