(And he *still* looks like the smaller fighter. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
We had a feeling that dropping to featherweight would be Frankie Edgar‘s quickest path to another title shot — we just didn’t think it would happen this fast. As first reported by USA Today, Edgar will step in to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), after original challenger Erik Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.
If Edgar is victorious, he will become just the third fighter in UFC history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to win a belt in two separate weight classes. We feel awful for Koch — who has already been inactive for nearly a year due to injuries and postponements — but you have to admit that this is one of the rare times in which an injury to a main event fighter results in a more compelling matchup. Said UFC president Dana White of the booking:
(And he *still* looks like the smaller fighter. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
We had a feeling that dropping to featherweight would be Frankie Edgar‘s quickest path to another title shot — we just didn’t think it would happen this fast. As first reported by USA Today, Edgar will step in to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), after original challenger Erik Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.
If Edgar is victorious, he will become just the third fighter in UFC history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to win a belt in two separate weight classes. We feel awful for Koch — who has already been inactive for nearly a year due to injuries and postponements — but you have to admit that this is one of the rare times in which an injury to a main event fighter results in a more compelling matchup. Said UFC president Dana White of the booking:
“Obviously, we’ve had a rough couple of weeks here at the UFC, and then sure enough, I walk in to work today, and Erik Koch is hurt. But Frankie Edgar, being the stud and the warrior that he is, steps up and accepts this fight…I’m pumped. I think that people are going to be very excited for this fight…Frankie has had a tough go the last couple of times with the judges, but a lot of people think he belongs at 145 pounds. Well, here we go — Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar. People have been wanting to see this fight for a long time.”
Despite his former reputation as one of the lightweight division’s elite, Edgar has only won one of his last four fights, including his most recent pair of decision losses to Ben Henderson and his split draw against Gray Maynard in January 2011. Meanwhile, Aldo is a 14-fight win streak, including three wins in the UFC and eight wins in the WEC.
(Jon Jones is now the UFC’s public enemy #1. Does that mean we can come out of hiding now? / Photo via MMAJunkie)
The rumors were true — and even worse than we thought. Due to a knee injury suffered in training, Dan Henderson has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled light-heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 151, and because the UFC couldn’t find a suitable main event replacement, the UFC is canceling an event for the first time in the Zuffa era. Dana White confirmed the news in a press conference held earlier today — describing the cancellation as “probably one of my all-time lows as being president of the UFC” — and he made no attempt to hide his heated emotions during the call. Here are the brass tacks…
– Henderson suffered a partial tear in his MCL during training, which was serious enough to keep him from competing.
– According to Dana White, Chael Sonnen immediately jumped up to take the fight (“I’ll fly to Vegas tonight and fight him,” White quoted Sonnen as saying), and the UFC immediately began preparing behind-the-scenes to promote Jones vs. Sonnen on eight days’ notice. But Jon Jones turned down the matchup, refusing to fight Sonnen on short notice.
– White is extremely upset that Jones, a UFC champion and pound-for-pound candidate, would turn down a fight that would save an event. Even Tito Ortiz never pulled this shit, he pointed out. White lambasted the idea that Jones would turn this fight down for business reasons. “If he was a businessman, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” he said. White agreed that his relationship with Jones would change “a lot” after this: “Me and Lorenzo are both disgusted.” Later in the call, White pointed out how Jones turning down the fight now screws all the supporting-card fighters out of paychecks.
– White saved additional venom for trainer Greg Jackson, who reportedly told Jones, “There’s no way you take this fight on eight days notice, it would be the biggest mistake of your entire career.” Said White: “How much faith do you have in your champion and your guy? [Jackson] is a fucking sport killer. This guy’s from another planet….Greg Jackson should never be interviewed by anybody ever again, except by a psychiatrist.”
(Jon Jones is now the UFC’s public enemy #1. Does that mean we can come out of hiding now? / Photo via MMAJunkie)
The rumors were true — and even worse than we thought. Due to a knee injury suffered in training, Dan Henderson has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled light-heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 151, and because the UFC couldn’t find a suitable main event replacement, the UFC is canceling an event for the first time in the Zuffa era. Dana White confirmed the news in a press conference held earlier today — describing the cancellation as “probably one of my all-time lows as being president of the UFC” — and he made no attempt to hide his heated emotions during the call. Here are the brass tacks…
– Henderson suffered a partial tear in his MCL during training, which was serious enough to keep him from competing.
– According to Dana White, Chael Sonnen immediately jumped up to take the fight (“I’ll fly to Vegas tonight and fight him,” White quoted Sonnen as saying), and the UFC immediately began preparing behind-the-scenes to promote Jones vs. Sonnen on eight days’ notice. But Jon Jones turned down the matchup, refusing to fight Sonnen on short notice.
– White is extremely upset that Jones, a UFC champion and pound-for-pound candidate, would turn down a fight that would save an event. Even Tito Ortiz never pulled this shit, he pointed out. White lambasted the idea that Jones would turn this fight down for business reasons. “If he was a businessman, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,” he said. White agreed that his relationship with Jones would change “a lot” after this: “Me and Lorenzo are both disgusted.” Later in the call, White pointed out how Jones turning down the fight now screws all the supporting-card fighters out of paychecks.
– White saved additional venom for trainer Greg Jackson, who reportedly told Jones, “There’s no way you take this fight on eight days notice, it would be the biggest mistake of your entire career.” Said White: “How much faith do you have in your champion and your guy? [Jackson] is a fucking sport killer. This guy’s from another planet….Greg Jackson should never be interviewed by anybody ever again, except by a psychiatrist.”
– Though Lyoto Machida was considered for a replacement opponent for Jones, Machida was flying back to Brazil when all this went down, and it simply wasn’t possible from a timing perspective. “I can accept why Machida didn’t take the fight,” White said.
– Now, Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida is scheduled for UFC 152 (September 22nd, Toronto). Or actually, UFC 151, since UFC 151 never happened. (Thanks to Ariel Helwani for that important clarification.) “I can tell you right now, [Jones] ain’t turning down the Machida fight. If he does, we’re gonna have another conference call this afternoon.” [*cue spooky music*]
– There wasn’t enough time to consider other options like putting the PPV on free TV. Dana White disagreed with the suggestion that the event would still go on if it had a stronger co-main event.
– Our suggestion of having Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg step in to headline the card with a 140-pound superfight was politely ignored.
Jesus, what a fiasco. We’ll update you when we get Jones’s reaction to this mess.
I’m going to take it easy on Bellator fighter Alexander Shlemenko here today, because it’s quite apparent from reading these recent comments that he’s either not all there mentally or just isn’t very smart. I mean, how else can …
I’m going to take it easy on Bellator fighter Alexander Shlemenko here today, because it’s quite apparent from reading these recent comments that he’s either not all there mentally or just isn’t very smart. I mean, how else can you explain this wacky interview? I can tell you for sure, 100%, I know why there […]
Some of Chael P. Sonnen’s recent statements in advance of UFC 148 this Saturday almost make sense. Almost. Speaking to the media about the rash of recent injuries and subsequent match-up shuffling in the UFC, Chael said that he believed any fighter that pulls out of a fight because of injury should have it counted as a loss on his or her professional record.
“I think there should be forfeiture,” he told MMA Junkie. “It’s not realistic with the architecture that we have, but we’re the only sport where you can just not show up. Every event is set. The Super Bowl for 2015. The kickoff time, the venue — it’s set. If one team doesn’t want to show up, a Super Bowl champion will be crowned that day.”
On one hand, it’s worth examining if the recent wave of UFC injuries is the result of fighters pulling out of scheduled matches simply because they feel their health is less than 100%, and they might be more competitive at a later date. The reality is, everybody fights injured, and pulling out of a fight just because you’re a little banged up is a way of gaming the system, and screws the fans out of fights they already paid to see.
On the other hand, Sonnen’s analogy falls apart almost immediately. Athletes can and do pull out of competition due to injury in every single sport on the planet. This includes the aforementioned Super Bowl, where players on teams that have made it to the big game often miss out because of injuries they’ve sustained. And just as the Super Bowl still goes on when players get injured, UFC title bouts still happen when an opponent pulls out. It just might not be the title fight that was originally scheduled.
(Its a trap.)
Some of Chael P. Sonnen’s recent statements in advance of UFC 148 this Saturday almost make sense. Almost. Speaking to the media about the rash of recent injuries and subsequent match-up shuffling in the UFC, Chael said that he believed any fighter that pulls out of a fight because of injury should have it counted as a loss on his or her professional record.
“I think there should be forfeiture,” he told MMA Junkie. ”It’s not realistic with the architecture that we have, but we’re the only sport where you can just not show up. Every event is set. The Super Bowl for 2015. The kickoff time, the venue — it’s set. If one team doesn’t want to show up, a Super Bowl champion will be crowned that day.”
On one hand, it’s worth examining if the recent wave of UFC injuries is the result of fighters pulling out of scheduled matches simply because they feel their health is less than 100%, and they might be more competitive at a later date. The reality is, everybody fights injured, and pulling out of a fight just because you’re a little banged up is a way of gaming the system, and screws the fans out of fights they already paid to see.
On the other hand, Sonnen’s analogy falls apart almost immediately. Athletes can and do pull out of competition due to injury in every single sport on the planet. This includes the aforementioned Super Bowl, where players on teams that have made it to the big game often miss out because of injuries they’ve sustained. And just as the Super Bowl still goes on when players get injured, UFC title bouts still happen when an opponent pulls out. It just might not be the title fight that was originally scheduled.
Case in point: Chael was scheduled to rematch Anderson Silva for the middleweight title in 2010 after he was submitted in the final round of their first fight. The fact that Sonnen failed his post-fight drug test, was suspended by the overseeing athletic commission for it, then plead guilty to money laundering — all of which delayed his rematch for two years — did not hold up the middleweight belt. Chael couldn’t show up, so others did.
No one likes seeing match-ups cancelled or postponed because of injury, most of all the injured fighters themselves who are losing out on money that they’ve been budgeting their lives around. Punishing them further by marking a loss on their record for a fight never fought is needlessly heavy handed. It’s also ironic that Sonnen, of all people, is advocating for harder punishment against fighters. You’d think a person who has gone before athletic commissions to beg for mercy and understanding would be a little more empathetic to his colleagues.
Most of all, we’re just disappointed that someone we once considered our great white conservative hope would call for more regulation in the lives of individuals and independent businesses instead of realizing that the market is perfectly capable of correcting these situations on its own. Believe us, a fighter who repeatedly pulls out of fights due to injuries or otherwise unexplained personal reasons gets a reputation for it, and eventually promoters stop booking them because they’re not reliable enough.
The sad collapse of ideological consistency in our favorite politician and philosopher aside, Sonnen’s comments about coming down hard on fighters also smack of hypocrisy. This, of course, is totally new terrain for Sonnen.
“My father was a plumber,” Sonnen continued in the MMAJunkie article. “I would never disrespect him by not showing up to an athletic competition that has a maximum duration of 25 minutes. I hear guys talking, ‘I pulled a hamstring.’ What does that have to do with anything? That’s a button off of my shirt. ‘Aw, I broke a finger — button fell off my shirt, let’s sew this back on.’ What possibly does it have to do with walking across the ring and beating a guy up? It’s ridiculous…If you give your word that you’re going to do something, you need to do it.”
Yep, Chael Sonnen is all about respect. Of course, disrespecting athletic commissions by not disclosing performance-enhancing treatments and substances one uses is another matter. So is lying about exchanges with regulators once you’ve failed a urine test.
In other words, while forfeiture is an interesting hypothetical to consider, Chael Sonnen should never be considered an authority on fair athletic competition, and the bottom line is this: If fighters don’t fight, they don’t get paid, which is why it’s usually ridiculous to question a fighter’s decision to pull out due to injury. And if a fighter decides that being hurt puts him at such a disadvantage that not fighting is the smarter option, we should respect that, even if their injury is less severe than, say, a totally blown-out knee. Can we go back to blaming hard sparring now?
When Jamie Varner returned to the UFC last month as an injury replacement against Edson Barboza at UFC 146, virtually nobody gave him a chance. (We called it “the biggest UFC squash-match of the year,” if you want to get specific.) Barboza was the undefeated wheel-kickin’ buzzsaw in the lightweight division, and Varner was just a WEC washout who had lost a decision to Dakota Cochrane the previous year. Varner admitted that Barboza was literally the only guy in the UFC he didn’t want to fight. And yet, he stormed the Brazilian golden boy, knocking him out in one round, and earning another tour of duty in the UFC. The question is, can he do it again?
It was reported yesterday that Terry Etim has withdrawn from his UFC on FOX 4 match with Joe Lauzon — yeah, yeah, that godforsaken UFC injury bug, the world is ending, etc. — and will be replaced by Varner. Inconsistent as of late, Lauzon has gone 3-3 in his last six appearances, most recently getting knocked out by Anthony Pettis in February.
When Jamie Varner returned to the UFC last month as an injury replacement against Edson Barboza at UFC 146, virtually nobody gave him a chance. (We called it “the biggest UFC squash-match of the year,” if you want to get specific.) Barboza was the undefeated wheel-kickin’ buzzsaw in the lightweight division, and Varner was just a WEC washout who had lost a decision to Dakota Cochrane the previous year. Varner admitted that Barboza was literally the only guy in the UFC he didn’t want to fight. And yet, he stormed the Brazilian golden boy, knocking him out in one round, and earning another tour of duty in the UFC. The question is, can he do it again?
It was reported yesterday that Terry Etim has withdrawn from his UFC on FOX 4 match with Joe Lauzon — yeah, yeah, that godforsaken UFC injury bug, the world is ending, etc. — and will be replaced by Varner. Inconsistent as of late, Lauzon has gone 3-3 in his last six appearances, most recently getting knocked out by Anthony Pettis in February.
In other words, the dynamic will be totally different for Varner this time. He isn’t the lamb being led to slaughter. He’ll have a tremendous amount of confidence going into the fight, and as long as he can avoid messing around on the mat too much with Lauzon, Varner could take another step toward one of the greatest career comebacks in UFC history. Your predictions, please.
How powerful is the 2012 UFC Injury Curse? It’s now attacking fighters who have just signed with the promotion. One week after DREAM bantamweight champ Bibiano Fernandes was inked to face Roland Delorme in his Octagon debut at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary), Bibi has withdrawn due to an injury suffered in training. Delorme is expected to remain on the UFC 149 card, against an opponent to be named later.
One big name who won’t be sticking around is Erik Koch, the featherweight contender who was originally slated to challenge for Jose Aldo’s belt at the event. Instead of taking a fight against a late-replacement, MMA Weekly reports that Koch will withdraw from the card and wait for Aldo to recover. Aldo reportedly suffered a thigh strain while preparing for the fight, and won’t be out for an extended period of time. But since Koch hasn’t competed since his decision win over Jonathan Brookins last September, he might be looking at a total layoff of a year or more — not an ideal situation when you’re heading into your first title fight.
Any guesses on who the UFC Injury Curse will strike next? You have to figure that at some point It will run out of fighters to ruin and move on to peripheral figures like ring girls and announcers. Please, please be careful with that thing, Bruce…
How powerful is the 2012 UFC Injury Curse? It’s now attacking fighters who have just signed with the promotion. One week after DREAM bantamweight champ Bibiano Fernandes was inked to face Roland Delorme in his Octagon debut at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary), Bibi has withdrawn due to an injury suffered in training. Delorme is expected to remain on the UFC 149 card, against an opponent to be named later.
One big name who won’t be sticking around is Erik Koch, the featherweight contender who was originally slated to challenge for Jose Aldo’s belt at the event. Instead of taking a fight against a late-replacement, MMA Weekly reports that Koch will withdraw from the card and wait for Aldo to recover. Aldo reportedly suffered a thigh strain while preparing for the fight, and won’t be out for an extended period of time. But since Koch hasn’t competed since his decision win over Jonathan Brookins last September, he might be looking at a total layoff of a year or more — not an ideal situation when you’re heading into your first title fight.
Any guesses on who the UFC Injury Curse will strike next? You have to figure that at some point It will run out of fighters to ruin and move on to peripheral figures like ring girls and announcers. Please, please be careful with that thing, Bruce…
