So former lightweight/welterweight champion BJ Penn appeared on Inside MMA last Friday (video above) to plug his upcoming coaching gig on TUF 19 opposite Frankie Edgar, which will culminate in a featherweight rubber match(?) of sorts that is doomed to never actually transpire. Aside from blinking approximately 750 times over the course of his three minute appearance, Penn extended a guest coaching invitation to Inside MMA co-host and former UFC Heavyweight champion Bas Rutten. Kenny Rice, on the other hand, was hung out to dry.
But for now, let’s just celebrate this occasion the only way we know how, with a veritable parade of amazing Bas Rutten gifs…
So former lightweight/welterweight champion BJ Penn appeared on Inside MMA last Friday (video above) to plug his upcoming coaching gig on TUF 19 opposite Frankie Edgar, which will culminate in a featherweight rubber match(?) of sorts that is doomed to never actually transpire. Aside from blinking approximately 750 times over the course of his three minute appearance, Penn extended a guest coaching invitation to Inside MMA co-host and former UFC Heavyweight champion Bas Rutten. Kenny Rice, on the other hand, was hung out to dry.
We’re not sure why every anti-MMA writer out there feels the need to compare the sport to some form of pornography, but when doing a write-up on the historic UFC 157 event some two weeks ago, OnMilwaukee contributing writer Dave Begel did just that, labeling women’s MMA a “disgrace” before declaring that women should just stick to tennis or golf or some sport that wont immediately be viewed as “some kind of porn” by male audiences nationwide.
Unfortunately, we here at CagePotato only have so much time each day to educate these fools via scathing emails, so you can imagine our excitement when we saw that Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice decided to take Begel to task for us. Although the dynamic Inside MMA duo did their best to try and shake some sense into this stubborn old bastard –bringing up such classic pro-MMA arguing points as “Hey, it’s not as bad as boxing” and “Hey, do you watch the Olympics?” — their words clearly fell on deaf ears.
“I don’t want to defend boxing or judo or Brazilian whatever,” Begel states, in doing so proving that he would totally be prepared to defend any of those sports if given the chance, “MMA is designed to hurt somebody. Boxing is one thing, MMA is another.”
Oh, and on the topic of WMMA? Begel believes that — and we’re paraphrasing here — because some of us men have fantasies about two women going at it, therefore the sport is pornographic in nature. We’re not going to delve into the fact that his “theory” could just as easily be applied to the men’s side of the sport, or wrestling, or couple’s ice skating, etc. Instead, we recommend that if you are seeking more sage-like wisdom of this nature, make sure to pick up Begel’s new book , Research: What Gives? — the follow-up to his groundbreaking bestseller, Women: Where Do They Get Off (And How?) — on Kindle today.
We’re not sure why every anti-MMA writer out there feels the need to compare the sport to some form of pornography, but when doing a write-up on the historic UFC 157 event some two weeks ago, OnMilwaukee contributing writer Dave Begel did just that, labeling women’s MMA a “disgrace” before declaring that women should just stick to tennis or golf or some sport that wont immediately be viewed as “some kind of porn” by male audiences nationwide.
Unfortunately, we here at CagePotato only have so much time each day to educate these fools via scathing emails, so you can imagine our excitement when we saw that Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice decided to take Begel to task for us. Although the dynamic Inside MMA duo did their best to try and shake some sense into this stubborn old bastard –bringing up such classic pro-MMA arguing points as “Hey, it’s not as bad as boxing” and “Hey, do you watch the Olympics?” — their words clearly fell on deaf ears.
“I don’t want to defend boxing or judo or Brazilian whatever,” Begel states, in doing so proving that he would totally be prepared to defend any of those sports if given the chance, “MMA is designed to hurt somebody. Boxing is one thing, MMA is another.”
Oh, and on the topic of WMMA? Begel believes that — and we’re paraphrasing here — because some of us men have fantasies about two women going at it, therefore the sport is pornographic in nature. We’re not going to delve into the fact that his “theory” could just as easily be applied to the men’s side of the sport, or wrestling, or couple’s ice skating, etc. Instead, we recommend that if you are seeking more sage-like wisdom of this nature, make sure to pick up Begel’s new book, Research: What Gives? – the follow-up to his groundbreaking bestseller, Women: Where Do They Get Off (And How?) — on Kindle today.
And yet he STILL hasn’t learned that only tools wear Affliction…
We’re just a few days away from UFC on FOX 4, which will be headlined by arguably the most confusing contender fight in modern UFC history. While most fans can kind of justify Shogun earning a title shot with a victory given his track record (especially if Hendo manages to put away Jones at UFC 151), Brandon Vera remains a gigantic question mark. With his most notable victory being a TKO over heavyweight Frank Mir back in 2006, it’s hardly a surprise that most fans and pundits are completely unable to make sense of this bout even headlining the card, yet alone being for a title shot.
If Brandon Vera attempted to justify all of this through his appearance on “Inside MMA,” he ended up just raising even more questions. Case in point: Vera talked about his training camp leading up to his bout with “Shogun” Rua. Aside from bringing back his Muay Thai coaches and sparring with Alexander Gustafsson, Vera commented that he was “doing the things he should have been doing since day one.” Specifically, he’s actually caring now about his career. As he told the “Inside MMA” crew:
And yet he STILL hasn’t learned that only tools wear Affliction…
We’re just a few days away from UFC on FOX 4, which will be headlined by arguably the most confusing contender fight in modern UFC history. While most fans can kind of justify Shogun earning a title shot with a victory given his track record (especially if Hendo manages to put away Jones at UFC 151), Brandon Vera remains a gigantic question mark. With his most notable victory being a TKO over heavyweight Frank Mir back in 2006, it’s hardly a surprise that most fans and pundits are completely unable to make sense of this bout even headlining the card, yet alone being for a title shot.
If Brandon Vera attempted to justify all of this through his appearance on “Inside MMA,” he ended up just raising even more questions. Case in point: Vera talked about his training camp leading up to his bout with “Shogun” Rua. Aside from bringing back his Muay Thai coaches and sparring with Alexander Gustafsson, Vera commented that he was ”doing the things he should have been doing since day one.” Specifically, he’s actually caring now about his career. As he told the “Inside MMA” crew:
“I should have been caring, man. I should’ve understood that I fight in the UFC, where the greatest fighters from around the world congregate to compete for the number one spot. And I didn’t treat it like that for a long time. I didn’t treat it like that at all. So, I understand where I’m at now. I understand.”
Is it just me, or is this a Karo “Too Talented to Train” Parisyan level cop-out? Are we really to believe that “The Truth” was just coasting his way to an 8-5 (1) record against the toughest competition in our sport? Before you answer that, though:
“After a while, I probably stated that people should just lose because my name was Brandon Vera. My name was ‘The Truth.’ You lose because of who I was, not because of what I was doing or putting into the sport. Not what I was putting into the bank, how hard I was training or the hours I was putting in.”
On second thought, THAT is a Karo “Too Talented to Train” Parisyan level cop-out. Seriously, that’d make Tim Sylvia roll his eyes, and he tried to pull the “Do you know who I am?” card after getting his ass kicked by Abe Wagner.
What’s especially confusing about this is that a victory over Brandon Vera hasn’t meant anything in nearly six years. Since 2007, Vera has gone 4-5 (1) and has been saved twice from the chopping block by dropping a weight class and by an opponent’s positive steroid test. For him to have been pulling the “Do you know who I am” schtick the entire time is unbelievably pathetic. We’re talking Scott Hall in Fall River pathetic.
Besides, we’ve heard this hype from him before, and we’ve seen just how badly it ended. To be fair to Vera, that will happen when you’re in the cage with Jon Jones. That will also happen when you’re convinced that “Bones” is “just some young punk.” Via MMAWeekly:
“The very first time I fought Jon Jones, I thought he was just some young punk and I didn’t respect him at all. I got what I deserved. If and when I do get a chance to fight Mr. Jones again, I promise he’ll have my full and undivided attention.”
Oh for God’s sake. You’re in the UFC. Every opponent should have your full and undivided attention. And not that I’m calling Vera a liar, but it’s easier to claim that you didn’t care after a loss than it is to just admit that your opponent was just that much better than you (especially if you’re fighting for a rematch with said opponent). But I digress.
So now that you’ve been told that the unspectacular “Truth” you’ve been watching was simply buying his own hype, do you believe it? Does Vera come out looking better than ever against Rua, or does he get crushed, only to make new excuses? Let us know what you think.
Fact: Next to the DMV and Detroit, airports are the most terrible places on the face of our dying planet. Fact: Stephan Bonnar is a dog-fighting, gun-toting, BAMF who is not afraid to to stare Death in the eyes and wipe that bitchy smirk off his face. Being the “gives not a fuck” type of guy that “The American Pyscho” is, the MMA apparel company he co-founded, NGAUGE, have found themselves in quite a bit of hot water lately, mainly due to the “gives not a fuck” attitude of their “Trash Talkin Kids” t-shirt line. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.
After getting into a little legal tossup with Josh Koscheck last summer, you would probably think that Bonnar’s t-shirt based troubles were over. You would be wrong, and I would implore you to stop being so Goddamn ignorant.
You see, alongside Rich Franklin and Keith Jardine, Bonnar was kind enough to travel all the way to Bahrain to visit some of the U.S. Troops recently. He was likely charming, and he likely brightened their day. But proving that no good deed goes unpunished, on Bonnar’s way out of the country, he was detained by airport security, interrogated for over a day, and bitten by a poisonous camel spider before finally being allowed to leave. Why, you ask? Because apparently airport security didn’t appreciate the subtlety of the Melvin Guillard “Young Assassin” shirt that Bonnar was wearing.
He recounted the ridiculous story on Tuesday’s episode of Inside MMA:
We’re getting ready to leave Bahrain, and I get detained at the airport. Jardine and Franklin get on the flight, and they take me in the room. They’re asking me all these questions, and they’re furious. One guy’s comin’ in the room and pointin’ at me, all furious, like that. And, what I think is that, I had on the ‘Young Assassin’ shirt, with Melvin Guillard, and there’s a guy with a turban with his brains spillin’ out. I don’t think they liked that too much.
Check out more from Bonnar’s interview, along with a nasty photo of the spider bite and two video updates taken by Bonnar himself while the ordeal was occurring, after the jump.
(Nope. Nothing suspicious here.)
Fact: Next to the DMV and Detroit, airports are the most terrible places on the face of our dying planet. Fact: Stephan Bonnar is a dog-fighting, gun-toting, BAMF who is not afraid to to stare Death in the eyes and wipe that bitchy smirk off his face. Being the “gives not a fuck” type of guy that “The American Pyscho” is, the MMA apparel company he co-founded, NGAUGE, have found themselves in quite a bit of hot water lately, mainly due to the “gives not a fuck” attitude of their “Trash Talkin Kids” t-shirt line. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.
After getting into a little legal tossup with Josh Koscheck last summer, you would probably think that Bonnar’s t-shirt based troubles were over. You would be wrong, and I would implore you to stop being so Goddamn ignorant.
You see, alongside Rich Franklin and Keith Jardine, Bonnar was kind enough to travel all the way to Bahrain to visit some of the U.S. Troops recently. He was likely charming, and he likely brightened their day. But proving that no good deed goes unpunished, on Bonnar’s way out of the country, he was detained by airport security, interrogated for over a day, and bitten by a poisonous camel spider before finally being allowed to leave. Why, you ask? Because apparently airport security didn’t appreciate the subtlety of the Melvin Guillard “Young Assassin” shirt that Bonnar was wearing.
He recounted the ridiculous story on Tuesday’s episode of Inside MMA:
We’re getting ready to leave Bahrain, and I get detained at the airport. Jardine and Franklin get on the flight, and they take me in the room. They’re asking me all these questions, and they’re furious. One guy’s comin’ in the room and pointin’ at me, all furious, like that. And, what I think is that, I had on the ’Young Assassin’ shirt, with Melvin Guillard, and there’s a guy with a turban with his brains spillin’ out. I don’t think they liked that too much.
Bonnar continued:
There was only one flight out for the day at 9:30 p.m. The United flight that I was on. They kept me at the airport so long, I missed my flight. I had to wait till the next day to get on the flight. So, I’m tired. I’m sleeping at the airport, and all of a sudden, I wake up to a burning sensation on my leg. It scared me. I went and brushed down on my leg and, sure enough, a spider about the size of my hand comes crawling out of my pant leg and takes off runnin’! I couldn’t believe my eyes! This big camel spider goes under the door. I try to chase it. I lose it, and then, my God, my leg swells up, I get a fever, it’s gettin’ infected…but, hey, I’m gettin’ the heck out of there. The next night, I’m on that 9:30 flight, I’m ready to board that flight when, lo and behold…THAT flight gets canceled! So I’m stuck there another day! So, I had the option of going in for an antibiotic IV or stay in the hospital a few days, but instead, I opted to go the oral route, three different kinds of antibiotics, and I got on that flight that next day and got the hell out of there! God bless America!
Not creeped out enough yet? Well, take a look at a photo of the bite he received on his leg while detained, one that apparently came from a spider the size of a dinner plate.
If you’ve got a couple more minutes, and somehow still haven’t filled your creep tanks for the day, we’ve posted the videos of Bonnar’s plight below. Enjoy?
But it was Schiavello, a long time friend of Overeem, who took an interesting stance on the issue, basically saying that, if a fighter pisses hot anytime other than fight week, why should they be held accountable? Here’s what he said:
You know, while we’re talking about the subject, Kenny, I just wanna chime in here on a couple things that have been playing on my mind, the last week or so, since the news of Alistair (Overeem) broke. Alistair doesn’t have a license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), so how are they testing him in the first place when he doesn’t have a license with them? By what jurisdiction are they testing him? And ‘B,’ everyone seems to be hanging Alistair out to dry. They’ve been nailing him to the cross and crucifying him, but it’s still two months away from his fight. You know, he hasn’t technically cheated. Because, unless he pisses hot on the fight night, how could he possibly have cheated? There’s still an opportunity he can get from the 14:1 down to the allowed 6:1 level by fight time. But we’re calling him out as a cheat, two months out from a fight?
Yes, Michael, we are calling him a cheat. Probably because he fucking cheated.
Check out the video, along with Mark Hunt’s reaction to the news, after the jump.
(Overeem likes his pecs like his K-1 trophies: abnormally large.)
But it was Schiavello, a long time friend of Overeem, who took an interesting stance on the issue, basically saying that, if a fighter pisses hot anytime other than fight week, why should they be held accountable? Yeah, it sounds as bad as it is:
You know, while we’re talking about the subject, Kenny, I just wanna chime in here on a couple things that have been playing on my mind, the last week or so, since the news of Alistair (Overeem) broke. Alistair doesn’t have a license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), so how are they testing him in the first place when he doesn’t have a license with them? By what jurisdiction are they testing him? And ‘B,’ everyone seems to be hanging Alistair out to dry. They’ve been nailing him to the cross and crucifying him, but it’s still two months away from his fight. You know, he hasn’t technically cheated. Because, unless he pisses hot on the fight night, how could he possibly have cheated? There’s still an opportunity he can get from the 14:1 down to the allowed 6:1 level by fight time. But we’re calling him out as a cheat, two months out from a fight?
Yes, Michael, we are calling him a cheat. Probably because he fucking cheated. Check out the video below and let us know what you think.
You see Michael, just because someone isn’t cheating at the exact time of their scheduled fight doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to freely and openly cheat in the off-season without repercussion. It’s like saying that someone shouldn’t be able to get a DWI if they aren’t holding a beer in their hand the moment a cop pulls them over. Would that be awesome? Of course, but it would result in a hell of a lot more accidents and deaths on the highway. Just like allowing certain fighters to use PED’s during training and step into the octagon against fighters who, you know, actually have some moral compass and want to try and win the natural way would result in the same. And let’s not even delve into how easy it is to cycle off steroids when one knows the test is coming. Bas Rutten backs this argument, so there is really nothing left to say.
But perhaps no criticism of Overeem’s horse-flavored piss was greater than that of Mark Hunt. As we all know, Hunt has been rallying to replace Overeem against Junior Dos Santos via Twitter-blitzkrieg lately, and has received widespread support from the MMA community, so perhaps his recent statements on The MMA Hour had ulterior motives behind them. In either case, when asked his thoughts on Overeem’s positive test, he went as far as to question the validity of Overeem’s entire career:
Drugs in all sports is a big problem. It’s a cutthroat business, people take this shit just to get by. I don’t use that shit, but when Alistair takes that shit or whoever takes it they just screw themselves out. Like when Barnett screwed himself out of the fight with Fedor. But who am I too judge anybody. I don’t take that shit and no one else should. If they do, that’s on them, Alistair got caught,that’s his problem and now he’s dealing with it and everything that Alistair has done is meaningless now. At the end of the day he just got caught cheating, so what’s the deal? I lost to him, so did he use that shit when I was fighting him? That’s on him, he has to live with that shit not me. It’s not my position to judge him, he has to look himself in the mirror. At the end of the day, I don’t give a crap who’s taking what. The steroids are not going to help them when I hit them. Take as much as you like, I don’t care.
It’s safe to say that if you haven’t gotten behind the #RallyforMarkHunt campaign yet, you can eat a bag of dicks. Other notable reactions from around the MMA world include:
Former UFC fighter Jason High, who tweeted: “LMAO…Overeem. Almost as surprising as the Cyborg incident. *looks for sarcasm font*”
Roy Nelson, who took the sarcastic approach: “yea! just found via internet that I PASSED MY DRUG TEST! It was close but I passed. #Nodoubts@ufc@danawhite“
And Joe Duarte, who went with a classic standby: ” ‘It wasn’t me, it was the horses, I swear!’ – Alistair Overeem”
So when he sat down alongside current WBA (super), WBC, and The Ring super middleweight champion Andre Ward on last night’s edition of Inside MMA, the inevitable question came up: who does he think are the top five best boxers in MMA?
Check out Freddie’s top five, along with his thoughts on GSP vs. A. Silva, after the jump.
(That moment when you get hit so hard you shit your pants in front of the whole gym.)
So when he sat down alongside current WBA (super), WBC, and The Ring super middleweight champion Andre Ward on last night’s edition of Inside MMA, the inevitable question came up: who does he think are the top five best boxers in MMA?
Freddie’s Top Five 5. K.J. Noons – ”K.J. is always in my gym and he’s very dedicated with his work ethic. I just love his tenacity in the ring. He comes to fight and he’s all about action.”
4. Nick Diaz– “Nick Diaz is one of the most exciting fighters in the world, today. He’s great with his hands. He gets sidetracked a little bit, like in his last fight, but I think he’ll a great comeback. I’m looking forward to facing him with “GSP” someday, ’cause there’s a lot of talk about that.”
3. B.J. Penn– “You know, B.J., he’s one of the best strikers I’ve ever faced, and that I’ve ever been in the ring with. It’s been quite a few years ago, and I think he’s close to retiring right now, but I’d call him the “James Toney of MMA,” because his weight would fluctuate quite a bit. He’ll fight from low weights to heavyweights. He’ll fight anyone in the world. He’s a good guy to be around, and he’s just a hard, hard worker and a great striker.”
2. George St. Pierre– “GSP’s one of the greatest guys in the world. He’s a real gentleman and one of the best students I’ve ever had. I asked him, ‘How long did you go home and practice in front of the mirror last night?’ Because if I show him a move, he comes back with it the next day, and you know he practiced all night in front of the mirror. So, I love the guy. He’s a good guy and a hard worker, and that’s what it’s all about it hard work.”
1. Anderson Silva– “I had the honor of working with Anderson Silva, when he was in our gym for about five or six days in a row. He told me, ‘I’m pretty good at MMA, but I’m not too goo at boxing.’ He’s just a real humble guy and very talented. He is one of the best guys that really understands distance and timing. He fights off the ropes a little bit. I told him that can be a little bit dangerous sometimes and to be careful, but he’ll suck you in, he’ll set you up, he’s one of the most intelligent fighters I’ve ever seen and have ever worked with.”
While you’re thinking your own lists over, check out part of the interview from last night’s episode, in which Roach and Ward break down the Dana White approved Anderson Silva vs. GSP match, their favorite aspects of MMA other than boxing, and boxing’s current decline, or lack thereof.
