“Doc comes back and says, ‘Nate, you have the testosterone levels of a 35 year old man,’ and I just broke down. ‘Doc,’ I told him, ‘I’m only 32! Is there anything you can do to help me?’”
You have to hand it to the team at MMAFighting for nailing down the exclusive with Nate Marquardt yesterday. Everybody wanted to talk to him, but it was Ariel Helwani who welcomed Marquardt and manager Lex McMahon to the microphone for a heart to heart. Mike Chiappetta provided the Cliff’s Notes version of the interview to get the ball rolling on Twitter, and the discussion quickly took off.
The short interview was dissected and commented upon in real time on Twitter, and the reactions continued throughout the evening. What follows is only a *small* sampling of Twitter’s response to Nate’s release and the subject of Hormone Replacement in MMA. Keep in mind that Marquardt already has a Twitter dedicated to getting him back in the UFC, and a matching hashtag #BringNateBack that saw plenty of use yesterday as well.
It was also interesting to note that a lot of Zuffa fighters were unwilling to touch the subject. Usual Tweeting suspects were strangely silent on the hot topic; take from that what you will. On the other hand, there were a few fighters who had some choice words on the subject, and they did not beat around the bush.
Go ahead and wade through this collection of Tweets from yesterday, and then share your expert analysis and vital opinion in the comments. Is Nate a good guy that has made some bad choices? Is he a nefarious schemer looking to get any advantage he can? What about the larger issue of HRT/TRT/PEDs in MMA? Should Dana continue to clean house until fighters learn to stay away from anything questionable? Should athletic commissions just legalize everything from horse steroids to heroin?
After all, PRIDE was awesome, right?
[RX]
“Doc comes back and says, ‘Nate, you have the testosterone levels of a 35 year old man,’ and I just broke down. ‘Doc,’ I told him, ‘I’m only 32! Is there anything you can do to help me?’”
You have to hand it to the team at MMAFighting for nailing down the exclusive with Nate Marquardt yesterday. Everybody wanted to talk to him, but it was Ariel Helwani who welcomed Marquardt and manager Lex McMahon to the microphone for a heart to heart. Mike Chiappetta provided the Cliff’s Notes version of the interview to get the ball rolling on Twitter, and the discussion quickly took off.
The short interview was dissected and commented upon in real time on Twitter, and the reactions continued throughout the evening. What follows is only a *small* sampling of Twitter’s response to Nate’s release and the subject of Hormone Replacement in MMA. Keep in mind that Marquardt already has a Twitter dedicated to getting him back in the UFC, and a matching hashtag #BringNateBack that saw plenty of use yesterday as well.
It was also interesting to note that a lot of Zuffa fighters were unwilling to touch the subject. Usual Tweeting suspects were strangely silent on the hot topic; take from that what you will. On the other hand, there were a few fighters who had some choice words on the subject, and they did not beat around the bush.
Go ahead and wade through this collection of Tweets from yesterday, and then share your expert analysis and vital opinion in the comments. Is Nate a good guy that has made some bad choices? Is he a nefarious schemer looking to get any advantage he can? What about the larger issue of HRT/TRT/PEDs in MMA? Should Dana continue to clean house until fighters learn to stay away from anything questionable? Should athletic commissions just legalize everything from horse steroids to heroin?
There’s really no easy way to tell you this, so we’re just going to come right out and say it: As first reported by BJPenn.com, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and trash-talking boxing champ turned Randy Couture choke-victimJames Toney have agreed to face each other in an MMA bout this fall. The original report pegged the match to an unnamed event in El Paso, Texas, on September 23rd, but Toney’s trainer Trever Sherman says the bout could happen in September or October, and that Texas was simply the most likely location at this point; more details will be hashed out this weekend between the two fighters’ camps.
Look, we all had a good time laughing at Toney’s misfortune after all the smack he talked leading up to his humiliating MMA debut at UFC 118. But we gotta give him credit for getting back up on the horse. And to be brutally honest, he stands a much better chance against Shamrock, who hasn’t had much success over the last few years, outside of a plodding decision over the rotund Jonathan Ivey last year. (We’re not counting Shamrock’s 2009 submission over Ross Clifton as a legitimate victory, considering he tested positive for steroids after the fight, and Clifton was just seven months away from death at the time of the fight.)
There’s really no easy way to tell you this, so we’re just going to come right out and say it: As first reported by BJPenn.com, UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and trash-talking boxing champ turned Randy Couture choke-victimJames Toney have agreed to face each other in an MMA bout this fall. The original report pegged the match to an unnamed event in El Paso, Texas, on September 23rd, but Toney’s trainer Trever Sherman says the bout could happen in September or October, and that Texas was simply the most likely location at this point; more details will be hashed out this weekend between the two fighters’ camps.
Look, we all had a good time laughing at Toney’s misfortune after all the smack he talked leading up to his humiliating MMA debut at UFC 118. But we gotta give him credit for getting back up on the horse. And to be brutally honest, he stands a much better chance against Shamrock, who hasn’t had much success over the last few years, outside of a plodding decision over the rotund Jonathan Ivey last year. (We’re not counting Shamrock’s 2009 submission over Ross Clifton as a legitimate victory, considering he tested positive for steroids after the fight, and Clifton was just seven months away from death at the time of the fight.)
Shamrock has lost a lot of his former athleticism, and might not be able to score a takedown against Toney as easily as Couture did. Still, Sherman is expecting a similar gameplan — for both fighters: “The takedown is Ken’s only chance. I respect Ken as much as I do Randy. He’s one of the reasons we have this art. But he can’t stand with James. Randy proved that. He didn’t stand with him for 10 seconds. No one will make that mistake. I want James to go in with hands down by his waist and dare Ken to punch with him.”
James Toney already has the #1 spot locked up for the best American freak show fights in MMA history. If this fight actually comes together, I believe we’ll have a new entry at the top.
The long skirts, the nonsensical shrieking — all these dudes need is a rolling pin to shake at the camera, and this would basically be what greets me at the door when I come home drunk every Saturday night. Props to HolyTaco for the find.
The long skirts, the nonsensical shrieking — all these dudes need is a rolling pin to shake at the camera, and this would basically be what greets me at the door when I come home drunk every Saturday night. Props to HolyTaco for the find.
(Spit-bags: The sure sign of a bad time. Photo courtesy of TMZ.)
By Ben Goldstein and Jason Moles
The rule applies in any profession: For every law-abiding nice-guy, there’s an unstable son-of-a-bitch who you’d never want to leave your kids alone with. In honor of Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season being released on DVD and Blu-ray, we decided to take a ride through MMA’s shadowy history of assault, robbery, vandalism, drug-smuggling, and other nasty behavior — the most infamous examples of fighters living dangerously and paying the price…
#16: Jeff Monson Arrested for: First-degree malicious mischief; assault on a female and injury to real property
It’s never a good idea to have evidence of your law-breaking published nationally. In a bizarre lapse of judgment, heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson was busted after he allowed ESPN the Magazine to photograph him spray-painting an anarchy symbol on the Washington state capitol building. Though the charge packed a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the Snowman was able to plead down to three months. Just days later, Monson was arrested again when a domestic dust-up with one of his many love-interests resulted in an overturned grandfather clock and a fist-shaped hole in the wall; those charges were later dismissed.
(Spit-bags: The sure sign of a bad time. Photo courtesy of TMZ.)
By Ben Goldstein and Jason Moles
The rule applies in any profession: For every law-abiding nice-guy, there’s an unstable son-of-a-bitch who you’d never want to leave your kids alone with. In honor of Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season being released on DVD and Blu-ray, we decided to take a ride through MMA’s shadowy history of assault, robbery, vandalism, drug-smuggling, and other nasty behavior — the most infamous examples of fighters living dangerously and paying the price…
#16: Jeff Monson Arrested for: First-degree malicious mischief; assault on a female and injury to real property
It’s never a good idea to have evidence of your law-breaking published nationally. In a bizarre lapse of judgment, heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson was busted after he allowed ESPN the Magazine to photograph him spray-painting an anarchy symbol on the Washington state capitol building. Though the charge packed a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the Snowman was able to plead down to three months. Just days later, Monson was arrested again when a domestic dust-up with one of his many love-interests resulted in an overturned grandfather clock and a fist-shaped hole in the wall; those charges were later dismissed.
Last May, MMA’s most famous ex-wife ended an argument with her personal assistant by choking and shaking her on a bed. Couture was reportedly upset that the assistant wanted to move out of her house after living there for three weeks. The original report left us with these unsettling lines: “It seems that part of the friction that developed between the victim and Ms. Couture was that Ms. Couture was extremely controlling; she wouldn’t permit the victim any autonomy; and the implication that Ms. Couture wanted something more from the victim than just personal assistant services.”
#14: Harold Howard Arrested for: Aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, dangerous driving, failing to remain at the scene of an accident, etc.
The short version? He attacked two relatives with a claw hammer, then crashed his pick-up truck through the front doors of a Niagara Falls casino. It was later revealed that Howard had been self-medicating with a head-scrambling blend of Oxycocet, Gabapentin, and sleeping pills. Which begs the question: What was he on when he was cutting promos for UFC 3?
#13: Kimo Leopoldo Arrested for: Possession of a controlled substance, impersonating an officer
The famously undead UFC veteran was arrested in 2009 for hanging out in a Long Beach Police Department jumpsuit with drugs in his car. Leopoldo pleaded no-contest to stealing the police uniform, which earned him a mere 10 days of community service. However, what was first reported as meth turned out to be marijuana instead — still bad, but not lock ‘em up bad. After agreeing to a stint in rehab and three years’ probation, the misdemeanor charges were dropped.
#12: Vyacheslav Datsik Arrested for: Escaping from a Russian mental hospital by tearing through a chain link fence with his bare hands; he had been behind bars for three years for a previous string of armed robberies and death threats.
After a month on the lam, the nutty self-professed racist turned himself in to authorities in Norway, bringing along two loaded pistols for no good reason. The last we heard, he’d been granted temporary asylum in Norway after a Norwegian police psychiatrist argued that Datsik had been intentionally misdiagnosed as insane due to his undesirable political leanings. What the hell? Don’t these dudes have YouTube?
#11: Jeremy Jackson Arrested for: Forcible rape, kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree residential burglary, assault with a firearm, dissuading a witness by force or threat, and criminal threats.
In 2008, the TUF 4 castmember was accused of breaking into an ex-girlfriend’s house and raping her at gunpoint. During the trial, the victim’s credibility came under fire, and it seemed that Jackson had a shot at going free. But Jackson changed his mind midway through and decided to plead guilty, going against the advice of his lawyer. According to one juror, Jackson “only pleaded guilty because he was depressed and wanted the trial to end.” He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Continue to the next page for Krazy Horse’s gym assault, Junie Browning’s hospital freak-out and more…
Who writes these? Because we may have a job for him.
Whether you think he’s the most entertaining character in MMA right now, or you think he’s the boldest sort of hypocritical cheater, you kind of have to admit that no one — no one — can touch Chael Sonnen for smack talk. There seem to be no rhyme or reason to his endless stream of one-liners, and there’s no telling who he’ll target on any given day.
Who writes these? Because we may have a job for him.
Whether you think he’s the most entertaining character in MMA right now, or you think he’s the boldest sort of hypocritical cheater, you kind of have to admit that no one — no one — can touch Chael Sonnen for smack talk. There seem to be no rhyme or reason to his endless stream of one-liners, and there’s no telling who he’ll target on any given day.
Sonnen famously used Twitter to trash Anderson Silva in the lead-up to their fight last August, and Anderson (or “Andy”, as Sonnen likes to call him) has remained a favorite whipping boy ever since. Aside from Silva, Sonnen has gone to Twitter to shit talk Michael Bisping, Jason Miller, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Georges St. Pierre and the entire city of Toronto, the Nogueira brothers, The Hangover 2, The Bachelor, Mirko CroCop, Lyoto Machida… seriously, this guy is a never-ending fountain of the kind of talk that will get you curb-stomped outside of a Waffle House, then possibly urinated on.
In all honesty, we kinda wonder where he gets his material. Tweeting that many one-liners in itself is rather impressive, considering pretty much any one of these would be considered a burn of the burningest magnitude from another fighter. For Uncle Chael, it’s just another day at the keyboard. If he never manages to get licensed, he could probably make a decent living running an irreverent MMA site.
Actually, scratch that idea. But he could definitely be a Twitter consultant.
So we’ll leave you with this collection of Tweets, with one more point: this is his output in six days. If you know someone that can do this any better, let us know…because we want to follow him.
Potato Nation, sometimes it’s hard to entertain you. Frankly, there are some weeks we hope that War Machine stabs a dude during pre-release just because there’s no real news. There’s only so many ridiculous KO videos to go around, you know?
Truth is, one of you suggested we try our hand at an MMA version of “The Dugout” over on WithLeather. If you dig sports in general, chances are you’ve seen some of their work. If not, allow us to turn you on.
Long story short, we reached out to Brandon Stroud over there, and offered to exchange links if he would let us play with his toys. He’s a cool guy, so we went to work. Check out WithLeather, play nice, and, if you’re interested, come on in for the first mega-sized edition of CagePotato’s new exclusive feature: Keyboard Warriors.
Special thanks to Brandon and justchris/lenny/something. Enjoy!
[RX]
Potato Nation, sometimes it’s hard to entertain you. Frankly, there are some weeks we hope that War Machine stabs a dude during pre-release just because there’s no real news. There’s only so many ridiculous KO videos to go around, you know?
Truth is, one of you suggested we try our hand at an MMA version of “The Dugout” over on WithLeather. If you dig sports in general, chances are you’ve seen some of their work. If not, allow us to turn you on.
Long story short, we reached out to Brandon Stroud over there, and offered to exchange links if he would let us play with his toys. He’s a cool guy, so we went to work. Check out WithLeather, play nice, and, if you’re interested, come on in for the first mega-sized edition of CagePotato’s new exclusive feature: Keyboard Warriors.
Special thanks to Brandon and justchris/lenny/something. Enjoy!
“Doc comes back and says, ‘Nate, you have the testosterone levels of a 35 year old man,’ and I just broke down. ‘Doc,’ I told him, ‘I’m only 32! Is there anything you can do to help me?’”
