In what should come as a surprise to absolutely noone, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz were not able to keep things civil at yesterday’s UFC 196 press conference. In the evening’s staredown, Diaz put his fist a little too close to Conor’s face for the Notorious one’s liking, and McGregor responded by punching — not slapping, punching — Diaz’s hand out of his face.
What resulted was a bench-clearing skirmish that — had we been in Nashville — would have almost certainly resulted in the featherweight champion getting curb stomped.
After the jump: A full video of the skirmish with actual sound, plus McGregor and Diaz’s profanity laced interview on Fox Sports Live that followed.
In what should come as a surprise to absolutely noone, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz were not able to keep things civil at yesterday’s UFC 196 press conference. In the evening’s staredown, Diaz put his fist a little too close to Conor’s face for the Notorious one’s liking, and McGregor responded by punching — not slapping, punching — Diaz’s hand out of his face.
What resulted was a bench-clearing skirmish that — had we been in Nashville — would have almost certainly resulted in the featherweight champion getting curb stomped.
After the jump: A full video of the skirmish with actual sound, plus McGregor and Diaz’s profanity laced interview on Fox Sports Live that followed.
Seriously, have you seen how deep Diaz’s crew rolls? I don’t care how many pool noodles Ido Portal brings to the equation, McGregor and poor Artem were lucky that there were about a dozen armed police officers and Dana White’s bodyguard on hand.
After their scuffle, the UFC 196 headliners appeared on Fox Sports Live for a dual interview and if you think it was anything less than gold than you have clearly been in a coma for the past week or so.
(Wanderlei Silva: Professional in the streets, freak in the sheets.)
If there’s two things that Wanderlei Silva has become known for in his post-fighting career, it’s posting creepy, borderline unintelligible videos to his social networks and threatening to slap the sh*t out of people. And while the man has arguably raised some good points about the state of fighter pay, it’s growing harder and harder to take him seriously when those points are threateningly delivered in a dimly-lit room while heavy metal and/or techno blasts in the background.
So a credit is due to Silva for stripping away some of the more distracting elements in his most recent effort, wherein he calls for an immediate rematch between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo and threatens to slap the “Notorious” one should they ever meet face to face.
(Wanderlei Silva: Professional in the streets, freak in the sheets.)
If there’s two things that Wanderlei Silva has become known for in his post-fighting career, it’s posting creepy, borderline unintelligible videos to his social networks and threatening to slap the sh*t out of people. And while the man has arguably raised some good points about the state of fighter pay, it’s growing harder and harder to take him seriously when those points are threateningly delivered in a dimly-lit room while heavy metal and/or techno blasts in the background.
So a credit is due to Silva for stripping away some of the more distracting elements in his most recent effort, wherein he calls for an immediate rematch between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo and threatens to slap the “Notorious” one should they ever meet face to face.
The video was posted to Silva’s Facebook page the day after UFC 194, but the entire thing is in Goldbergian Japanese (aka Portuguese), so check out a full translation below via MMAFighting.
I’m here to support one of the greatest champions, our greatest champion, Jose Aldo. You continue to be our great champion. Wanderlei Silva continues to be your fan. I like you, I know what you can do, and I know you know that too. That has happened to be too, I’ve been through a moment like this you’re going through now.
And this promotion, if they don’t give (Aldo) the immediate rematch, we will criticize them. How? Everybody saw it was an accident, this a–hole was lucky. And when I meet this guy, for everything he said about Jesus, I will slap this motherf–ker in the face. You can’t do that. You can’t play with our God. When I meet you, raise your hand because you’re getting slapped in the face, you punk.
I’ll tell you this: it hurts. It hurts. A warrior feels this pain with the loss. I know you will walk through this and show you still are the best fighter in the world. Don’t listen to the critics. I want to ask Brazilians to support our champion. Hold back the jokes. If you have any garbage inside your heart, don’t throw it outside. Keep it to yourself. Don’t criticize our champion. Our champion needs support.
He represents us for a long time. A guy that lived in a gym, had nothing, and became the best fighter in the world, deserves out respect to say the least. Aldo, I’m with you. You’re our champion, and that won’t change anything.
Our major takeaway from this video: No Brazilian has or ever will lose a fight fair and square; extenuating circumstances are almost always to blame. Jose Aldo didn’t simply overcommit and walk right into the power hand of Conor McGregor (like McGregor predicted he would), he had an “accident.” As a matter of fact, we guarantee that if you slow down the footage of his final moments as champion, you’ll see him slipping on a piece of ice placed by in the octagon by that goddamn Dana White.
We kid, but as much as it would arguably make sense for Aldo to receive an immediate rematch — Cain Velasquez and Ronda Rousey are getting just that, and their losses were far less “flukey” than Aldo’s — it would be even harder to see the UFC selling McGregor/Aldo 2 to casual audiences, given the time it took for the first fight to actually come to fruition and the payoff (or lack thereof) it resulted in. As great as a champion as Aldo was, it’s just not a likely scenario that he’ll receive an immediate rematch against a guy with an extremely limited window left at 145 lbs anyways (which opens a whole other can of worms).
Still though, you have to love how the impetus for this whole video seemed to be McGregor’s assertion that he’d “whoop Jesus’ ass” in the octagon, as if he was speaking from the heart and considering it as his next matchup. We can only hope that Wanderlei has never seen Dogma, or else Kevin Smith will have one unholy ass-kicking coming his way.
Our advice to McGregor, though, should Wanderlei attempt to make good on his promise? GO FOR THE DOUBLE LEG!
(And just six months later, a baby boy superman punched his way to freedom. via Noxii)
(*sigh*)
In perhaps the most bizarre entry in the I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant canon since the show’s inception, Brazilian fighter Kinberly (not a typo) Novaes recently competed, and won, a strawweight title fight in Brazil while 12 weeks pregnant.
How did this happen? Well, it all started when Novaes signed her bout agreement for RFA 29: USA vs. Brazil against Jocelyn Jones Lybarger…
(And just six months later, a baby boy superman punched his way to freedom. via Noxii)
(*sigh*)
In perhaps the most bizarre entry in the I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant canon since the show’s inception, Brazilian fighter Kinberly (not a typo) Novaes recently competed, and won, a strawweight title fight in Brazil while 12 weeks pregnant.
How did this happen? Well, it all started when Novaes signed her bout agreement for RFA 29: USA vs. Brazil against Jocelyn Jones Lybarger. Less than a week out from the event, Novaes was having a particularly tough time cutting weight, we she had initially passed off as an intestinal issue. When her troubles persisted and she was finally forced to consult a doctor, however, she found out that she was in fact six months pregnant. Primeiro Round broke this insane story over the weekend (via MMAFighting):
“I’m a little stubborn, I don’t like to go to the doctor,” Novaes said with a laugh. “I’ve been feeling sick for a while, colic, headaches and cramps. I was feeling tired recently, couldn’t even run, and it was really tough for me to cut weight. I was cutting weight for my RFA debut, but couldn’t lose weight. I did a stricter diet four weeks before the fight, and I actually gained 2.2 pounds in six days. I was desperate. I realized my belly was hard, so I thought I had some intestine issue. I took laxative and other things, but a guy that does massages for me told me to go to the doctor.”
“I finally decided to go to the hospital, and the doctor immediately asked me if I was pregnant,” she continued. “I insisted I was not, that I had an intestine issue, but he asked for a blood test. One hour later, he told us I was pregnant. I cried a lot, ran out of the hospital, but I realized that was good news. I thought I was sick, but I had a baby instead.”
After pulling out of her upcoming RFA bout and doing a little math, Novaes soon realized that she had in fact been pregnant when she defeated Renata Baldan on May 17 to win the Noxii 115-pound title. And because Noxii is not regulated by the Brazilian MMA Athletic Comission for whatever reason, Novaes was not screened for pregnancy in her pre-fight medicals, which Noxii promoter Bruno Barros told MMAFighting was his mistake.
That was my first event. I didn’t ask for the exam. That’s the truth. I didn’t even think about the possibility of a woman fighting while pregnant, going through a camp and dehydrating and everything.
Barros stated that he additionally asked for HIV and hepatitis tests from all the fighters who competed at that event, but allowed those who didn’t return results to compete anyway. So there’s a bit of a learning curve going on here, you could say.
With each successive Ronda Rousey performance, it becomes increasingly difficult to picture any future opponent of hers lasting over a minute, let alone a round, with the “Rowdy” one. She outgrapples wrestlers, pancakes strikers, and submits everyone in between without breaking a sweat, and it’s been like this her entire career — nine of the woman’s twelve professional fights can be captured in a single gif, for Christ’s sake.
Enter Cat Zingano, a hulking physical specimen and tough-as-nails fighter that many of us believed would be the one to push Rousey further than anyone before when they collided at UFC 184. Unfortunately for us (and Zingano), she actually wound up on the wrong side of the shortest title fight in UFC history: a 14-second armbar defeat.
Personally, I chalked the loss up to Zingano simply being overwhelmed by the moment and throwing any strategy she had planned out the door. In an interview with ESPN published yesterday, however, “Alpha” made the mind-blowing revelation that her performance was only hindered by the fact that she didn’t expect Ronda Rousey — Judo master, nine-wins-by-armbar Ronda Rousey — to go for her arm.
With each successive Ronda Rousey performance, it becomes increasingly difficult to picture any future opponent of hers lasting over a minute, let alone a round, with the “Rowdy” one. She outgrapples wrestlers, pancakes strikers, and submits everyone in between without breaking a sweat, and it’s been like this her entire career — nine of the woman’s twelve professional fights can be captured in a single gif, for Christ’s sake.
Enter Cat Zingano, a hulking physical specimen and tough-as-nails fighter that many of us believed would be the one to push Rousey further than anyone before when they collided at UFC 184. Unfortunately for us (and Zingano), she actually wound up on the wrong side of the shortest title fight in UFC history: a 14-second armbar defeat.
Personally, I chalked the loss up to Zingano simply being overwhelmed by the moment and throwing any strategy she had planned out the door. In an interview with ESPN published yesterday, however, “Alpha” made the mind-blowing revelation that her performance was only hindered by the fact that she didn’t expect Ronda Rousey — Judo master, nine-wins-by-armbar Ronda Rousey — to go for her arm.
I stand by my decision. Throughout the week, every time I saw Ronda we would shake hands and she would say, ‘Come on, let’s do this. Let’s put on an epic fight.’ I was thinking, ‘I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t want to be friends with her. At some point, I’m planning on being on top of this girl and I don’t want to care what I’m doing to her.’
She kept saying things like that so I said, ‘OK, let’s do this.’ What better way to put on an epic fight than a flying knee? I expected us to continue to fight. I didn’t realize we were going to do a jiu-jitsu match where I’m flying at her and all of a sudden she’s going for my arm again. I guess that’s one disappointment I had. If I had known she was going to be going for my arms, I would have gone about it differently. I agreed to her kind of fight instead of my kind of fight, and that won’t happen again.
Well, that is just….wow.
Look, I have the utmost respect for what Ms. Zingano has achieved thus far in her MMA career — especially in light of the absolute hellshe has gone through over the past couple years — but those words that she spoke out of her mouthhole are bonkers. Absolutely bonkers. If Zingano is to be believed, she not only:
1.) Let her opponent’s request dictate how she approached the fight, but
2.) Forgot that Jiu-Jitsu is one of the many disciplines of MMA, and
3.) Didn’t expect a lifelong armbar specialist to go for an armbar when presented with a golden opportunity.
I don’t even know what to say to that. Fighting Ronda Rousey without expecting the armbar is like fighting Cody McKenzie and not expecting the guillotine and/or getting a paper cut from the tags still hanging off his basketball shorts.
(Word has it that upon seeing this image, Brock Lesnar’s sword tattoo grew 3 inches.)
While admittedly not being experts in the field of boxing, we here at CagePotato still think we’ve seen enough action inside the squared circle to spot a sham — Big Knockout Boxing or Mickey Rourke, for instance — and my God, if this isn’t the be-all end-all of boxing shams.
Meet Jorge Kahwagi, the amorphous creature pictured above who is an actual human being and not, as we originally thought, a prop from the face melting scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. According to Fightland, Kahwagi is some kind of Mexican politician/showbiz personality/boxer who, 10 years after compiling an auspicious 11-0 record, decided to step back in the ring last weekend at 47 years of age and prove he still had it. “It” in this case being a set of fake tits, shoulders, biceps, and a face surgically-constructed purely out of bologna.
The resulting contest was nothing short of tragic.
(Word has it that upon seeing this image, Brock Lesnar’s sword tattoo grew 3 inches.)
While admittedly not being experts in the field of boxing, we here at CagePotato still think we’ve seen enough action inside the squared circle to spot a sham — Big Knockout Boxing or Mickey Rourke, for instance — and my God, if this isn’t the be-all end-all of boxing shams.
Meet Jorge Kahwagi, the amorphous creature pictured above who is an actual human being and not, as we originally thought, a prop from the face melting scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. According to Fightland, Kahwagi is some kind of Mexican politician/showbiz personality/boxer who, 10 years after compiling an auspicious 11-0 record, decided to step back in the ring last weekend at 47 years of age and prove he still had it. “It” in this case being a set of fake tits, shoulders, biceps, and a face surgically-constructed purely out of bologna.
The resulting contest was nothing short of tragic.
Paired up against Ramon Olivas — a man who we’re certain is currently tucked away in some hole in the wall cantina, shame-drinking himself into an early grave — Kahwagi came out like a man on fire, blistering his much younger opponent with a ferocious series of right hooks until Olivas laid slung over the ropes like Rampage Jackson circa 2004.
(*checks earpiece*)
I’m sorry, I’m being told that Kahwagi did no such thing, and in fact threw punches at a slower rate than a Libyan internet connection until Olivas just kind of took a knee. Even the announcers couldn’t help but pile in on the disgrace they were witnessing, noting “Nacho Beristain said Kahwagi is a fraud… he throws punches in slow motion” and “Let it be clear, this fight means nothing.” An admirable stance to take, but super unprofessional, you guys. Goldie and Rogan would have lauded Kahwagi for his ring control while informing us that we’re simply not fight-smart enough to understand the masterful display happening before us.
But alright, boxing, you win. MMA may be a three-ring circus of a sport, but it will never hold a candle to the absolute freakshow sh*t that I just witnessed. Not YAMMA, not Kimbo vs. Shammy, not Super Hluk. Not nothing. And for that, we thank you.
I don’t know how this gif has flown under the radar in the month since One FC 28 went down, but my God, you guys, it is glorious.
Around the midway point of a flyweight contest between the 2-1 Ze Wu and then-undefeated prospect Jianbing Yang, Wu attempted…something. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but I do know that it was equal parts Chad Mendes somersault guard pass and the Eric Prindle-Thiago Santos groin strike saga personified in one move. Possibly while under the influence of a mind-altering drug, Zu lept into the air, cartwheeled over Yang’s outstretched legs, and landed a direct strike to his nards. Then proceeded to walk away and shrug as if he didn’t understand what the big deal was.
Never before have we ever seen an illegal blow so simultaneously devastating and… beautiful — I dare say that it will redefine our understanding of the groin strike altogether. We tried to reach out to nutshot aficionado Joe Rogan for comment, who could only offer this expression before retreating back into his home.
After the jump: An alternate angle of the strike and a video of it happening in real-time.
I don’t know how this gif has flown under the radar in the month since One FC 28 went down, but my God, you guys, it is glorious.
Around the midway point of a flyweight contest between the 2-1 Ze Wu and then-undefeated prospect Jianbing Yang, Wu attempted…something. I’m not exactly sure what it was, but I do know that it was equal parts Chad Mendes somersault guard pass and the Eric Prindle-Thiago Santos groin strike saga personified in one move. Possibly while under the influence of a mind-altering drug, Zu lept into the air, cartwheeled over Yang’s outstretched legs, and landed a direct strike to his nards. Then proceeded to walk away and shrug as if he didn’t understand what the big deal was.
Never before have we ever seen an illegal blow so simultaneously devastating and… beautiful — I dare say that it will redefine our understanding of the groin strike altogether. We tried to reach out to nutshot aficionado Joe Rogan for comment, who could only offer this expression before retreating back into his home.
After the jump: An alternate angle of the strike and a video of it happening in real-time.
It is worth noting that these gifs have been labeled as “Spinning Dick Attack” 1 and 2, which makes what happened sound less like a hilarious foul and more like what I do at weddings after a half-dozen shots of Jager. It’s a wonder why my brother’s in-laws won’t speak to me anymore.
Here’s the video of the foul, appropriately titled “Impressive side flip ball stomp.” If that isn’t the name of a death metal album by the end of the day, humanity will have failed.
