(One of the instances when we’d overlook the flagrant violation of Zuffa’s “business as usual” policy)
Montreal is being targeted as the site of UFC 140 on December 10 according to the UFC’s director of Canadian operations Tom Wright who revealed the news on Ringside Report Radio Wednesday night.
“We’ll do Vancouver on June 11 and then most likely we’ll be back in Montreal on December 10,” Wright said.“We know how important this market is to us and putting on great fights. [Bell Centre’s] a great venue, it’s a great fan-base, it’s a great environment. The energy in that building is as good as any building in North America. We’ll always have a soft spot for Montreal.”
(One of the instances when we’d overlook the flagrant violation of Zuffa’s “business as usual” policy)
Montreal is being targeted as the site of UFC 140 on December 10 according to the UFC’s director of Canadian operations Tom Wright who revealed the news on Ringside Report Radio Wednesday night.
“We’ll do Vancouver on June 11 and then most likely we’ll be back in Montreal on December 10,” Wright said.“We know how important this market is to us and putting on great fights. [Bell Centre’s] a great venue, it’s a great fan-base, it’s a great environment. The energy in that building is as good as any building in North America. We’ll always have a soft spot for Montreal.”
Although he said that talk of a proposed title-unification bout between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz for the card is premature, Wright didn’t exactly discount the notion.
“Well I’ve heard about the Nick Diaz-GSP fight but it is too early [to tell],” Wright said.
When you look at the current contenders in the UFC, who could they put in at this point against GSP who would have a better chance than Jake Shields or any of the other half dozen fighters who have challenged St-Pierre the past few years?
(Having proven his colorful past is behind him, Ford wants the opportunity to prove he’s a future UFC welterweight contender – PicProps GUHDAR photography)
Heading into the stiffest test of his young MMA career – a main event tilt with embattled former UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan Thursday night at MMA Live 1 in London, Ontario, Canada, Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford is remarkably calm and focused at the challenging task that lies ahead.
In spite of the fact that he has another bout booked a few weeks after his fight with Parisyan he says it isn’t because he’s taking “The Heat” lightly, it’s because he wants to keep putting in work until certain promoters can’t ignore him any longer.
“It just came up the way it did. I haven’t even been thinking about my other fight, the only fight that I’ve been thinking about for the last eight weeks is Karo Parisyan, and I could care less about the next fight I have coming up right now. Karo Parisyan’s been on my mind when I go to bed, when I wake up, and even when I’m sleeping. I never take any of my opponents lightly, especially Karo Parisyan. I’ve seen what he’s done in the sport, so obviously I’m not coming in thinking I’m just going to walk through him,” Ford explains. “I’ve been training my ass off, every day. What I’m looking to do is run through him, so it is what it is. My overall goal is for Mr. Dana White to give me a call, and give me my shot. I’m going to keep putting the work in and do what I can for him to realize that I’m ready for the UFC. And you know, he’s the boss, so it’s up to him and the Fertitta brothers, so it’s up to them to want me to be a part of their organization.”
(Having proven his colorful past is behind him, Ford wants the opportunity to prove he’s a future UFC welterweight contender – PicProps GUHDAR photography)
Heading into the stiffest test of his young MMA career – a main event tilt with embattled former UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan Thursday night at MMA Live 1 in London, Ontario, Canada, Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford is remarkably calm and focused at the challenging task that lies ahead.
In spite of the fact that he has another bout booked a few weeks after his fight with Parisyan, Ford says it isn’t because he’s taking “The Heat” lightly, it’s because he wants to keep putting in work until certain promoters can’t ignore him any longer.
“It just came up the way it did. I haven’t even been thinking about my other fight, the only fight that I’ve been thinking about for the last eight weeks is Karo Parisyan, and I could care less about the next fight I have coming up right now. Karo Parisyan’s been on my mind when I go to bed, when I wake up, and even when I’m sleeping. I never take any of my opponents lightly, especially Karo Parisyan. I’ve seen what he’s done in the sport, so obviously I’m not coming in thinking I’m just going to walk through him,” Ford explains. “I’ve been training my ass off, every day. What I’m looking to do is run through him, so it is what it is. My overall goal is for Mr. Dana White to give me a call, and give me my shot. I’m going to keep putting the work in and do what I can for him to realize that I’m ready for the UFC. And you know, he’s the boss, so it’s up to him and the Fertitta brothers, so it’s up to them to want me to be a part of their organization.”
Although he admits that a win over Karo would do wonders for his already successful 14-3 MMA career, Ford denies that he is looking at using Parisyan as a steppingstone, because steppingstones don’t hit you or try to throw you on your head when you step on them.
“I’m never one to take an opponent as a steppingstone. I’m just taking him as a game opponent that will help my career, and I just want to fight. Karo Parisyan’s been in there with George St Pierre and he lost by decision,” he points out. “He beat Nick Diaz. He beat Chris Lytle. He beat Matt Serra. He’s beaten a lot of top guys if you look at his record. He’s fought a who’s who of MMA. I want to step up my competition and fight these tough opponents, and he’s a tough opponent.”
Ford says that contrary to what some of Parisyan’s critics are saying about him being a shell of his former dangerous self due to his highly publicized battle with prescription painkillers and anxiety, he is expecting the Armenian judoka to be very well-prepared and in shape for the fight, which is why he sequestered himself in Vancouver away from his home in Edmonton for the majority of the past eight weeks to ready for the bout.
“Yeah, Karo’s had his problems and whatnot but he can overcome those problems. People don’t know what people are like on a personal level, on a day to day basis, so they can say whatever they want, but at the end of the day, they’re the ones paying for the tickets to come watch us fight, no matter what’s going on in our personal lives. Me, I’m not a guy who really listens to what the fans say, because I’m a guy that takes a lot of criticism already because of my past,” he says. “Karo’s doing what he’s doing, and I’m pretty sure he’s getting in shape, and he’s going to be in shape for this fight. If he’s not, I don’t know why he would take a fight against me, because I’m one of those guys who is very dedicated and is in the gym day in and day out. I’m not training for the last Karo Parisyan who fought in the UFC, or the Karo Parisyan before that. I’m training for the 2006 and 2007 Karo Parisyan – the dude that everybody was scared to fight. I’m ready for him to come with the best that he’s got, and I’m going to be ready to do the same.”
Ford is especially sympathetic to Parisyan’s plight because his own past mistakes are continually brought up and used against him. Having spent time in jail a decade ago for an assault he was found guilty of when he was, as he says, “young and stupid,” Ford has turned his life around thanks to MMA and has become a responsible father and a mentor to troubled youth who he spends a portion of his free time speaking with about the downfalls of being on the wrong side of the law.
“I’m just tired of people criticizing me for stuff that happened 10 years ago, but that’s what fans do, right? They’re your biggest critics. They need to look at me now, and what I’ve done with my life, and that this is what I do for my life now,” Ford says. “I fight and I look after my family. I fight because I love to fight. God has plans for me, so I’ll wait for the UFC to call. “
In spite of naysayers who point out that Ford’s colorful past will prevent him from making it to the UFC, the fact that he made something out of himself should be enough to give him the chance he deserves. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson whose 2008 hit-and-run incident made headlines around the world has spoken on many occasions about how he made ends meet as a teenager living on his own by dealing drugs. As did Strikeforce standout Lyle Beerbohm, whose remarkable 180-degree turn from drug-addicted criminal to highly-touted fighter has garnered him praise and respect from both fans and the MMA and mainstream media. All Ford wants is to be given the same benefit of the doubt and opportunity, as he should.
“I know for a fact, the UFC would sell out shows no matter what in Edmonton without Ryan Ford. But I’ve got to say that I believe that I’m the next best thing to come out of Canada since George St. Pierre. Everybody talks about all these other guys, but I’ve been in this sport for less years, and been training and fighting for less years than most of the guys in the country, and I’ve put a stamp on my name and I make sure people know who I am,” he says. “If I get a chance to fight in the UFC I can guarantee that that crowd’s going to go wild when I walk out, and when I fight.”
Until he gets that call, Ford plans to keep on keepin’ on by fighting as much as possible. With a two-fight deal in place with MMA Live and one with Aggression that will see him square off with fellow Canadian Nick Hinchliffe June 10 in Edmonton, Ford says his future looks bright, especially for fans who come to show that he’s fighting at who haven’t seen him fight.
“I’ve just been looking for opportunities to fight wherever, and the guys at MMA Live gave me the right contract and the right opportunity. I’m looking to grow my fan base as big as I can get it – market that Ryan ‘The Real Deal’ Ford brand. I hope that I have a lot of supporters that come out Thursday night and if they aren’t fans, at the end of the night, there will be a lot more,” Ford predicts. “If you can expect one thing from me it’s an exciting fight, the same as in every fight that I fight. Now that they’ve opened it up in London, I signed a two-fight deal with MMA Live, so this isn’t the only show that people in London are going to be able to watch me on. I’ll be coming back after this fight, and I’ll be making sure to put on another exciting show just like the one I’m planning on putting on against Karo on Thursday night.”
Now, before you jump to conclusions and say that Matt is only saying that Georges stunk the joint up in his UFC 129 fight against Jake Shields at Rogers Centre because he’s still sore that “Rush” laid a beating on him in their last two bouts, Hughes did say that he likes St-Pierre just fine.
Check out what the former UFC welterweight champ had to say in a recent blog post he wrote about the Shields-St-Pierre bout after the jump.
(“Come on, Georges. If you keep this up I’m going to rescind my offer to join me for a country breakfast.”)
Now, before you jump to conclusions and say that Matt is only saying that Georges stunk the joint up in his UFC 129 fight against Jake Shields at Rogers Centre because he’s still sore that “Rush” laid a beating on him in their last two bouts, Hughes did say that he likes St-Pierre just fine.
Here’s what the former UFC welterweight champ had to say in a recent blog post he wrote about the bout:
“As for the GSP/Shields fight, I really believed GSP was going to tear Shields up. The fight didn’t go like I thought it would at all. Let me tell everybody now, I like GSP, he’s a good guy and he’s somebody I wouldn’t mind sitting next to on a plane ride or at a supper table. So don’t think that I’m talking out of bitterness for the two losses, I’m speaking through experienced eyes that have been in these situations. GSP actually looked worse in this fight than I’ve ever seen him before. I really feel like Georges fights not to lose, he just doesn’t fight to win anymore. I like Georges, I like watching him fight, I wish there was some way I could help him to get that hunger back inside of him. Georges has the potential of being so much better than what we’ve seen recently. If Jake had won one more round he would have won the fight, based on how the judges scored it. So an interesting fight and a little disappointing at being the last fight of the night.”
I guess we’re not the only ones who are getting a bit fed up with GSP’s inability to finish (or reluctance to engage for fear of getting caught like he did against Serra) lately. Maybe Matt needs a rematch to remind us that Georges can cause a stoppage.
Now, before you jump to conclusions and say that Matt is only saying that Georges stunk the joint up in his UFC 129 fight against Jake Shields at Rogers Centre because he’s still sore that “Rush” laid a beating on him in their last two bouts, Hughes did say that he likes St-Pierre just fine.
Check out what the former UFC welterweight champ had to say in a recent blog post he wrote about the Shields-St-Pierre bout after the jump.
(“Come on, Georges. If you keep this up I’m going to rescind my offer to join me for a country breakfast.”)
Now, before you jump to conclusions and say that Matt is only saying that Georges stunk the joint up in his UFC 129 fight against Jake Shields at Rogers Centre because he’s still sore that “Rush” laid a beating on him in their last two bouts, Hughes did say that he likes St-Pierre just fine.
Here’s what the former UFC welterweight champ had to say in a recent blog post he wrote about the bout:
“As for the GSP/Shields fight, I really believed GSP was going to tear Shields up. The fight didn’t go like I thought it would at all. Let me tell everybody now, I like GSP, he’s a good guy and he’s somebody I wouldn’t mind sitting next to on a plane ride or at a supper table. So don’t think that I’m talking out of bitterness for the two losses, I’m speaking through experienced eyes that have been in these situations. GSP actually looked worse in this fight than I’ve ever seen him before. I really feel like Georges fights not to lose, he just doesn’t fight to win anymore. I like Georges, I like watching him fight, I wish there was some way I could help him to get that hunger back inside of him. Georges has the potential of being so much better than what we’ve seen recently. If Jake had won one more round he would have won the fight, based on how the judges scored it. So an interesting fight and a little disappointing at being the last fight of the night.”
I guess we’re not the only ones who are getting a bit fed up with GSP’s inability to finish (or reluctance to engage for fear of getting caught like he did against Serra) lately. Maybe Matt needs a rematch to remind us that Georges can cause a stoppage.
Yesterday we discussed the fact that not only is the name Jake Shields still relatively new to a lot of ‘ultimate fighting’ fans, and thus, he’s not widely expected to dethrone Georges St. Pierre, many of the sport’s more ardent observers don’t expect the submission wiz to win either. Case in point? Just shift your […]
Yesterday we discussed the fact that not only is the name Jake Shields still relatively new to a lot of ‘ultimate fighting’ fans, and thus, he’s not widely expected to dethrone Georges St. Pierre, many of the sport’s more ardent observers don’t expect the submission wiz to win either. Case in point? Just shift your eyeballs to the right of your screen right now and take a peek at the betting lines we have up…The mighty GSP is the favorite and then some.
So, who is picking Shields to win? Well, a certain ex-light-heavyweight champ named Chuck Liddell is just one example. Now, keep in mind that Liddell and Shields go way back and that the former Strikeforce champ used to train with “The Iceman,” so either bias is raising its ugly head here, Liddell is making an informed assessment, or, yeah, maybe it’s a bit of both ….Speaking to MMA Fighting, here’s what Liddell had to say about the upcoming UFC 129 main event.
“I’m siding with Jake,” Liddell said. “Jake’s going to have to take him down. I’m expecting him to be in great shape for the fight. He’ll be in great shape for GSP. But yeah, I expect him to take him down and finish him.”
Now if Chuck had predicted Shields to win via highlight reel head kick or something similar, it’s likely the word ‘biased’ would be getting muttered repeatedly right about now. Will Shields, in fact, be able to take down a dude who had few issues countering renowned wrestlers like Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch? Guess we’ll find out Saturday.
To bet a little dough on this weekend’s action head here.
Remember when Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre were the talk of rivalry town; Hughes giving GSP a hard time on TUF, Georges tossing out the now famous “I am not impressed with your performance” bit at UFC 63. Ah, those were the days…
Well, things have changed a lot since then; GSP now stands atop […]
Remember when Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre were the talk of rivalry town; Hughes giving GSP a hard time on TUF, Georges tossing out the now famous “I am not impressed with your performance” bit at UFC 63. Ah, those were the days…
Well, things have changed a lot since then; GSP now stands atop the welterweight division while it remains to be seen what’s next for Hughes, following his ‘well that was quick’ loss to Penn in November. In a recent interview with Five Knuckles.com, Hughes was asked for his thoughts on GSP’s upcoming bout with Jake Shields, and the former champ predicted an easy night for his former rival.
“I think that’s gonna be a pretty easy fight,” Hughes said. “I really do. I think GSP’s going to be able to do whatever he wants. Jake’s not going to be able to get on top, so I just don’t see him being effective really anywhere. I definitely don’t think he’s going to be able to take him down, and if Shields is on his back I just don’t see him being effective. I have to really wonder why he got a title shot in the first place… but, I’ll tell you why he got a title shot is there’s no one else.”
And if you’re going to listen to someone on the topic of GSP, who better to ask than a dude that was beat down by the Canadian in their last two bouts? The legendary welterweight didn’t stop there though; he went on to say that he thinks GSP has a “pretty good chance” of beating Anderson Silva. That’s some serious respect going on. To bet on GSP vs. Shields head here.
