Tag: Interview

Interview: Casey Oxendine Explains Why Hip Show Is an Evolution in Combat Sports, Not a Freak Show

(Props: AXS TV)

You may know Casey Oxendine as the MMA: Inside the Cage co-host with the most hated-on goatee in sports media. (If that doesn’t ring a bell, maybe you remember the “referee KO’s cornerman after fight” video we posted a while back. Yep, that was him too.) A longtime crusader for MMA regulation and awareness both locally and globally, Casey has signed on as co-host and American promoter for Hip Show: Arena Combat, the Russian 2-on-2 fight league that will make its North American broadcast debut on AXS TV this Friday, March 14th.

Although Hip Show has been building a strong fanbase in Russia since 2012, not everybody is on board with team-based MMA on an obstacle course. When we first announced our sponsorship of the 3/14 broadcast, we were hit with numerous negative comments from readers who called Hip Show a “spectacle,” “freak-show crap,” and “absolutely unacceptable to anyone who respects combat sports.” We called up Casey last week to discuss why team-fighting isn’t as crazy as it seems, the irony of MMA fans calling it a novelty act, and his current efforts to hold Hip Show events in the U.S.

Whether you think Hip Show looks badass or you think it’s a sign of the end-times, please tune in to AXS TV this Friday night at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT and give it a chance. (You can also follow the league on Twitter and Facebook.) Now on to the interview…

CAGEPOTATO: How did you and Cyrus Fees get this gig in the first place? Did you approach Hip Show to work on an English-language broadcast, or did they approach you?

CASEY OXENDINE: We saw Hip Show about a year ago, and we were like, “Wow, this is the craziest thing we’ve ever witnessed in our lives.” We started to get in contact with them because of our show MMA: Inside the Cage — we wanted to cover it, and to talk with them about exactly what we were seeing. They wanted to take this thing bigger than just Russia, where it’s been extremely popular. So through that course of action, we began repackaging a lot of their first-season footage into episodes and so forth to get it aired here in America, so that the English-speaking [market] could understand what was going on. From there, it evolved into what it is now.

We got in touch with [AXS TV Fights CEO] Andrew Simon — Cyrus had worked as a ring announcer for XFC on AXS TV — Andrew took a look at it and he’s like, “Man, this is really cool.” Then Andrew cleared it through Mark Cuban himself, which was really neat, and they said, “Go for it. We’re going to give you a two-hour special, let’s show the world what this is all about.”

What made you think that Hip Show had the potential to be more than just a novelty act?


(Props: AXS TV)

You may know Casey Oxendine as the MMA: Inside the Cage co-host with the most hated-on goatee in sports media. (If that doesn’t ring a bell, maybe you remember the “referee KO’s cornerman after fight” video we posted a while back. Yep, that was him too.) A longtime crusader for MMA regulation and awareness both locally and globally, Casey has signed on as co-host and American promoter for Hip Show: Arena Combat, the Russian 2-on-2 fight league that will make its North American broadcast debut on AXS TV this Friday, March 14th.

Although Hip Show has been building a strong fanbase in Russia since 2012, not everybody is on board with team-based MMA on an obstacle course. When we first announced our sponsorship of the 3/14 broadcast, we were hit with numerous negative comments from readers who called Hip Show a “spectacle,” “freak-show crap,” and ”absolutely unacceptable to anyone who respects combat sports.” We called up Casey last week to discuss why team-fighting isn’t as crazy as it seems, the irony of MMA fans calling it a novelty act, and his current efforts to hold Hip Show events in the U.S.

Whether you think Hip Show looks badass or you think it’s a sign of the end-times, please tune in to AXS TV this Friday night at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT and give it a chance. (You can also follow the league on Twitter and Facebook.) Now on to the interview…

CAGEPOTATO: How did you and Cyrus Fees get this gig in the first place? Did you approach Hip Show to work on an English-language broadcast, or did they approach you?

CASEY OXENDINE: We saw Hip Show about a year ago, and we were like, “Wow, this is the craziest thing we’ve ever witnessed in our lives.” We started to get in contact with them because of our show MMA: Inside the Cage — we wanted to cover it, and to talk with them about exactly what we were seeing. They wanted to take this thing bigger than just Russia, where it’s been extremely popular. So through that course of action, we began repackaging a lot of their first-season footage into episodes and so forth to get it aired here in America, so that the English-speaking [market] could understand what was going on. From there, it evolved into what it is now.

We got in touch with [AXS TV Fights CEO] Andrew Simon — Cyrus had worked as a ring announcer for XFC on AXS TV — Andrew took a look at it and he’s like, “Man, this is really cool.” Then Andrew cleared it through Mark Cuban himself, which was really neat, and they said, “Go for it. We’re going to give you a two-hour special, let’s show the world what this is all about.”

What made you think that Hip Show had the potential to be more than just a novelty act?

The biggest thing is the complexity of the production and the complexity of the rules. This is not one of those crazy misfit shows where they just throw a couple of wild guys into a ring and having them do 3-on-3 — they’ve done a few of these crazy novelty acts in America. It’s not the same thing. The production level of Hip Show is higher than any product I’ve ever seen. We’re talking like nine different camera angles, and they have a camera inside the headgear of some of the competitors and the referees. It’s the smallest camera in the world; it’s like half the size of a GoPro camera. It’s amazing.

And then there’s a very complex rule system. It’s basically the Unified Rules, but then on top of that you score points on how you deal with the arena. It’s not something that a guy came up with on the fly and said, “Hey, let’s throw some guys into this area here and let’s see what happens.” It was very well thought-out, and that’s what made the difference. When you watch it, you can tell that there’s a lot of money backing this and the people involved are very passionate about it.

Speaking of the rules, Hip Show fights aren’t really decided by judges subjectively. If a fight goes to a decision, a scoring system is in place based on occupying the different obstacles and things like knockdowns. It makes the judging more precise — which is a good thing. Do you think MMA can take any lessons from that?

I think it’s more similar to the characteristics of a grappling tournament. If you’re in the middle of a grappling tournament, you know exactly how you’re scored. You look up in the middle of that match and you see the points, and whether you agree with the score or not, you know exactly where you stand, and you know exactly what you need to do to win. I don’t know if that would work out in mixed martial arts competition — I think that the whole process of scoring in MMA, just like in boxing, is almost an artistic expression of the judge himself. But I think because Hip Show is so complex, the scoring system is something that simplifies it.

A lot of people are saying, “This is so crazy, this is so different,” and it is, but to me, it is the evolution of mixed martial arts. Twenty years ago, we had boxing analysts saying, “Hey, this MMA stuff” — they called it NHB back then — “is the craziest stuff we’ve ever seen. This will never happen, this can never be.” But over the last 20 years, the sport has been refined and scrutinized. Now is the time that we can see an evolution. Now the sport is ready to do more.

Does it bother you when people call Hip Show a “freak show”? We had a lot of negative feedback from readers who didn’t seem to take this seriously.

This is what’s so crazy. The people who are saying this are the same people who supported mixed martial arts during its inception. They battled for this evolution, and now all of a sudden, they’re telling the new generation of people, “We can’t have any more evolution, this is all you can have.” They were upset with the boxing promoters telling them that they can’t do it, but yet they’re doing the same thing here.

The general fans that are seeing this, they love it. When we were showing Hip Show to UFC fighters at the Arnold Classic, as a whole — aside from one exception — everyone loved it. All of them loved it! Guys like Ryan Bader, Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes, and older guys like Don Frye and Mark Coleman. They were like, “This is coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” These are guys who experienced mixed martial arts back in the day, and now they want to be involved in it.

So my answer to all those people who feel that it’s a spectacle? Fine. You should watch it regardless. Eventually we’re going to change your mind, because there’s a lot more coming. There’s an evolution. We can go into the rules and discuss how Hip Show is more of a sport than any other combat sport that’s ever been. If you take standard mixed martial arts, that’s an individual sport, right? But when you put a minimum of two guys on a team, suddenly it becomes a team sport. Now even at the gyms, you’re going to see more unity. And when they go into the arena, obviously they’re going to be more unified, because they’ve got to watch each other’s back.

Also, look at the people who are training in these gyms who aren’t competing in Hip Show, but they’re learning these techniques. Imagine learning how to defend yourself in a 2-on-1 situation. That might save your life. Martial arts are created to emulate real-life situations. And one-on-one combat is not the only real situation out there.

You have the “best of” Season 1 special airing on March 14th, so North American audiences can get their first look at the sport. What’s planned after that, in terms of broadcasts on AXS TV?

The way that these episodes are formatted are in 30-minute episodes. What we’re going to see on March 14th is the best of Season 1 — just the highlights, the championship rounds and those sort of things. Following that, you will get to follow the Season 2 tournament in its entirety.

I’m not divulging any information — Cyrus would probably kill me — but Hip Show coming to America is a very real possibility. I had a large part in getting mixed martial arts legalized and regulated in the state of Tennessee. I actually promoted the very first event ever in Tennessee that was legally commissioned. I’ve been speaking with a lot of people that I know very well — commissioners, judges, different officials involved in different state commissions — and they’re not just straight-up shutting down the idea [of Hip Show]. What they’re doing is asking, “Well, what about these concerns? What about these rules? How does this work?” And when I go into explicit detail with them, they’re like, “This is not as dangerous as you would think.” You see people flying off an obstacle, but that’s not legal in Hip Show, you can’t do that. You’d get disqualified immediately if you do those things. And then they start to realize, “Wow, and these guys are wearing protective headgear.”

You want to compare it to any other sport, let’s look at mixed martial arts, and look at Dan Henderson vs. Shogun. Those guys beat each other half to death in that fight. Blood everywhere. The fans loved it, I loved it — hey, don’t get me wrong, I still love mixed martial arts, I’m very passionate about it. But those guys beat each other half to death. Nobody in Hip Show has ever been beaten up like that! Ever! It’s never happened. So, you put these things into perspective, and you start to realize that people just don’t understand the sport yet. But once we get the rules in place and get these competitors used to it, it’s just as safe as any other combat sport.

What kind of fighters participate in Hip Show? I’m assuming these are prospects who don’t have much pro experience or are just starting out in the sport.

It isn’t necessarily that way. Of course we have different tiers of competitors, just like in any sport. But the championship tournament of Hip Show, you’re going to see guys who are elite Sambo specialists and champions, jiu-jitsu champions, kickboxing champions, and Russian Army combatives champions — which is extremely cool, because you never see the Army combatives stuff really come out in a mixed martial arts setting, but you certainly do here. These guys are going after submissions, they’re going after ankle locks, they’re setting up really pretty combinations on the feet.

And don’t get me wrong, it won’t translate directly to what you would think that a mixed martial arts fight should look like, because there’s more to it. These guys could be throwing [strikes], and then they could fast break over to their partner’s opponent and land a shot, if they see their partner in trouble. So things are going to be a tad bit scattered, and at first you’re gonna be like “Man, what are these guys doing?” But once you understand that they’re putting their skills together with a particular type of strategy, it’s much easier to understand. Then you’re like, “Wow, these guys really know what they’re doing.”

Have you visited the Hip Show headquarters in Moscow yet?

We haven’t been to Moscow yet, and we do plan on visiting. But our number-one priority right now is the first event that we’ll have here in the States. We’ll be providing American competitors, but we’ll also be bringing over Russian competitors as well.

On the Hip Show website, I see the UFC fighter Ali Bagautinov listed as a referee, and some of the fighters come from his gym. Is Ali still involved with Hip Show?

Yeah, he’s actually going to appear on the two-hour special on March 14th. You’re going to see a lot of him. He’s kind of the first face of Hip Show in Russia, so he plays a very strong role in the first couple of seasons there. We’re gonna see a lot of him and a lot of his training partners and so forth. And there are a few other big faces and big names who appear there, attending the events and talking about how much they love it as well.

Ultimately, what’s your goal with Hip Show? What’s the dream scenario for you?

We want to bring something to expand the minds of combat sports viewers — and really, combat sports competitors as well. Like I said, we’ve had 20 years of mixed martial arts, and it’s here to stay. Anybody who says, “You’re hurting MMA, you make it look bad,” hey, I’m telling you man, I was there in the ’90s, I was competing in the ’90s, I was around when everyone said it never would happen. And it was a rage against the machine, of sorts. We were fighting for our right to do this. And it was because people wanted to see more.

Even when I was a small child, I remember watching professional wrestling and seeing boxing and I’m like, “Man, professional wrestling is fake, boxing is real, but why don’t they have a real sport that encompasses both?” I always thought that, and I think a lot of people in the Generation-X era felt that way. This is a new generation, and I think after 20 years of the sport’s development, we can have more enlightenment to what sport combat truly is, and not close our minds and say, “It’s always gotta be a one-on-one situation in a cage, in a controlled environment this way, and we can never do anything outside of this box.” I think that’s very close-minded, and I think when you really start talking to the people who are supportive of this event, you’ll see that a lot of people who are involved in MMA love the idea and the prospect of having this sport grow and evolve.

Final question: Are international audiences ready for your beard?

I think the international audiences are definitely ready for it! When I go [out of the country], they treat me like a king, they love it. I didn’t just start doing this as a gimmick. When I was a kid, I watched Jesse Ventura, Mad Dog Vachon, and all these old-school wrestlers like Ernie Ladd who used to come in with their crazy beards, and I always thought that was the coolest thing in the world. So I always played around with it as soon as I was able to grow a beard. When we went to MMA events, it’s something that I shaped up a little bit just to add some flair, and then when we started [MMA: Inside the Cage], it gave us a little bit of a spectacle to draw from. Even if people didn’t like it, they were watching and paying attention, and it worked, because now we’ve gone all over the world and we’ve seen just about every type of mixed martial arts competition anywhere, every little nook and cranny of every nation, country, continent in the world, we’ve been a part of it and we’ve seen it. So I guess some people may not like the beard, but it’s really served its purpose.

Thanks so much for your time, Casey. Is there anything else you wanted to add?

Just be sure to watch Hip Show, March 14th on AXS TV. Take a look at it. You can like it or not like it, but you’re gonna be glued to that TV set, because it’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before in your entire life.

Quote of the Day: Georges St. Pierre Admits to Having OCD, But Does He *Really*?

During an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Company while promoting his new documentary, Takedown: The DNA of GSP, former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre discussed a little known facet of his personality that has both fueled his professional life and inhibited his personal one: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. According to St. Pierre, not only has he suffered from the mental anxiety disorder for some time now, but it was the main reason he decided to vacate his title indefinitely following his UFC 167 win over Johny Hendricks.

It was going to drive me crazy. That’s why I took that break.

Everything you do is oriented around that goal. But the same thing could be bad for a normal person in normal life. As a fighter it’s a good thing to have it, because it makes you better because you completely obsess about being a better martial artist.

You hear that? Not even GSP’s brain can ‘andle his riddum’ (I am so going to Hell).

During an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Company while promoting his new documentary, Takedown: The DNA of GSP, former welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre discussed a little known facet of his personality that has both fueled his professional life and inhibited his personal one: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. According to St. Pierre, not only has he suffered from the mental anxiety disorder for some time now, but it was the main reason he decided to vacate his title indefinitely following his UFC 167 win over Johny Hendricks.

It was going to drive me crazy. That’s why I took that break.

Everything you do is oriented around that goal. But the same thing could be bad for a normal person in normal life. As a fighter it’s a good thing to have it, because it makes you better because you completely obsess about being a better martial artist.

You hear that? Not even GSP’s brain can ‘andle his riddum’ (I am so going to Hell).

While St. Pierre had mentioned “some personal problems” in need of fixing during his UFC 167 post-fight interview, it is interesting to note that St. Pierre has never *actually* been clinically diagnosed with the disorder to public knowledge. And, as Fightland pointed out, “Only about two percent of the population has OCD.”

This is not to say that GSP is lying, per se, but that he could be simply confusing the meticulous, obsessive nature of being a world class athlete and champion with the symptoms related to OCD. There’s no denying that St. Pierre has been groomed into one of the most calculated fighters on the planet over the years, but (again, as Fightland pointed out), there’s a big difference between having OCD and simply being a perfectionist in the aspect of your life where it is most necessary to be one.

Of course, the correlation between top athletes and anxiety disorders is a well documented one, and we will only truly know the gravitas of St. Pierre’s condition if/when he decides to delve into it further. One thing’s for sure, St. Pierre will not be making a return to the UFC until he has his mind sorted out.

“I will be happy doing it again until the obsessiveness takes over and makes me unhappy again,” he told the CBC.

Perhaps this is the “dark place” St. Pierre was referring to in the lead-up to his fight with Nick Diaz, maybe? In any case, we just hope that St. Pierre has found some sense of serenity in his post-UFC life, regardless of whether or not we’ll ever see him fight again.

–J. Jones

Arianny Celeste Calls Ronda Rousey a Poor “Role Model,” Immediately Poses Nude on Hotel Balcony


(F*CK YEAH, FEMINISM!)

UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey have a lot in common in that they’re both women who have posed nude before. And while one of them is a former Olympian and the other is a former Ring Girl of the Year winner (2x!), it appears that the latter isn’t too high on how the former carries herself.

Yes, the woman whose breasts nearly destroyed CagePotato back in 2010 recently sat down with MMAJunkie radio (not nude on a hotel balcony, as previously speculated in this article’s title) to plug her show, Overhaulin‘. After a thirty second discussion about her social media presence that felt four hours long, the conversation eventually shifted to whether or not Celeste felt that Rousey was a good role model for our nation’s yoots. Her answer was so deeply profound that upon hearing it, Deepak Chopra allegedly threw his hands in the air and declared his life a sham:

I don’t really like the way she carries herself. I don’t think she’s a good role model for women. I think that women should empower each other and give each other a little pat on the back. (Ed. note: Or sometimes, a kiss on the backside.)

She’s paving the way for women’s MMA, and I’ve made being a UFC Octagon Girl into a career. She should definitely recognize that and be nice.

“The key to being a successful fighter…is being nice.” — Arianny Celeste


(F*CK YEAH, FEMINISM!)

UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste and UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey have a lot in common in that they’re both women who have posed nude before. And while one of them is a former Olympian and the other is a former Ring Girl of the Year winner (2x!), it appears that the latter isn’t too high on how the former carries herself.

Yes, the woman whose breasts nearly destroyed CagePotato back in 2010 recently sat down with MMAJunkie radio (not nude on a hotel balcony, as previously speculated in this article’s title) to plug her show, Overhaulin‘. After a thirty second discussion about her social media presence that felt four hours long, the conversation eventually shifted to whether or not Celeste felt that Rousey was a good role model for our nation’s yoots. Her answer was so deeply profound that upon hearing it, Deepak Chopra allegedly threw his hands in the air and declared his life a sham:

I don’t really like the way she carries herself. I don’t think she’s a good role model for women. I think that women should empower each other and give each other a little pat on the back. (Ed. note: Or sometimes, a kiss on the backside.)

She’s paving the way for women’s MMA, and I’ve made being a UFC Octagon Girl into a career. She should definitely recognize that and be nice.

“The key to being a successful fighter…is being nice.” — Arianny Celeste

Obviously, Celeste is commenting on Rousey’s heel-esque turn in recent months/years, which has branded the champion as “crazy” in many an MMA fans eyes. While Rousey’s brash, unforgiving personality is seemingly turning off more fans by the day, it’s also fueling said fans desire to see her fail. It’s building her brand. In a division that is essentially a feeder system for Rousey, the outside possibility of seeing her fall from her pedestal could be the factor that puts asses in seats as her career progresses. The matchups themselves sure won’t, that’s for sure.

The fact is, Ronda Rousey is the antithesis of what MMA fans (and apparently, Ms. Celeste) expect of a female fighter, let alone one on her level. Without reducing this to a “sexism in MMA” argument, it is interesting to note that the same people who double over with laughter whenever Chael Sonnen embraces his heel role recoil with disgust whenever Rousey does the same. Maybe it’s because they feel that Rousey’s grating personality is more genuine than Sonnen’s, or maybe it’s simply because they, like Ms. Celeste, expect a woman to be prim, proper, and “nice” (or “fake nice” as Rousey would likely put it) even when they break arms for a living.

Then again, considering the source of criticism here is a woman whose understanding of feminism is right up there with Farrah Abraham’s, maybe we’ve already read too far into Celeste’s statements.

–J. Jones

Video: Anderson Silva’s First Interview Since Leg Break Injury

Warning: This video contains the graphic footage of the leg break several times. UFC 168 saw Anderson Silva try to recapture his UFC middleweight crown against champion Chris Weidman, but the bid turned gruesome when a checked kick resulted in a broken leg. Silva crumpled to the mat in pain, and he was rushed to […]

Warning: This video contains the graphic footage of the leg break several times. UFC 168 saw Anderson Silva try to recapture his UFC middleweight crown against champion Chris Weidman, but the bid turned gruesome when a checked kick resulted in a broken leg. Silva crumpled to the mat in pain, and he was rushed to […]

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Quote of the Day: Anthony Johnson Has Nothing Against PEDs, As Long as You Don’t Kill Nobody


(Photo via Ryan Loco/Blackzilians)

Light-heavyweight slugger Anthony Johnson has been back in the UFC for less than a week, and already he’s courting controversy. During a recent interview with SiriusXM TapouT Radio, Johnson said he has no problem with performance-enhancing drug use in MMA — and seemed to argue in favor of responsible usage of PEDs. Here’s what he had to say (via MMAMania):

“In every sport people are using something. I mean, as long as nobody dies, nobody pulls a Chris Benoit, you know what I’m saying? I think everything is going to be fine. If it’s something that can absolutely help you, I don’t see what the problem is. Until that moment you go crazy on the person — whoever it may be — you can’t absolutely blame the…I don’t know. I guess it’s just an iffy situation.”

“If you abuse it, of course you are going to get popped for it and do stupid stuff. But if you use it the right way and you just do what you are supposed to do, then it shouldn’t be a problem…I think if you can do it, do it. I don’t have nothing against it. You know what I’m saying? As long as you don’t kill nobody.”

Of course, Johnson didn’t come out and say that he uses steroids or unapproved hormone therapy, though he indirectly cast suspicion on some of the UFC’s champions:


(Photo via Ryan Loco/Blackzilians)

Light-heavyweight slugger Anthony Johnson has been back in the UFC for less than a week, and already he’s courting controversy. During a recent interview with SiriusXM TapouT Radio, Johnson said he has no problem with performance-enhancing drug use in MMA — and seemed to argue in favor of responsible usage of PEDs. Here’s what he had to say (via MMAMania):

“In every sport people are using something. I mean, as long as nobody dies, nobody pulls a Chris Benoit, you know what I’m saying? I think everything is going to be fine. If it’s something that can absolutely help you, I don’t see what the problem is. Until that moment you go crazy on the person — whoever it may be — you can’t absolutely blame the…I don’t know. I guess it’s just an iffy situation.”

“If you abuse it, of course you are going to get popped for it and do stupid stuff. But if you use it the right way and you just do what you are supposed to do, then it shouldn’t be a problem…I think if you can do it, do it. I don’t have nothing against it. You know what I’m saying? As long as you don’t kill nobody.”

Of course, Johnson didn’t come out and say that he uses steroids or unapproved hormone therapy, though he indirectly cast suspicion on some of the UFC’s champions:

“I told my manager and stuff, I was like ‘Dude, I know these guys work out hard and stuff like that,’ that’s what we do, but I’m like, ‘Ain’t no way in hell anybody is supposed to go 25 minutes in a championship fight all-out like that without gassing some type of way.’” “Even if you pace yourself…Those dudes be ready for another three rounds after the five rounds. You know what I’m saying? I don’t know.”

“They got to be taking something. You got to take something, even if it’s legal or illegal. With as much training as we do, you have to take something. I mean, it doesn’t have to be illegal, but you have to do something, because you just can’t say ‘I’m going to to home and go to sleep’ and just wake up in the morning and feel better. It doesn’t work like that.”

Later in the interview, TapouT Radio host Ricky Bones asked Johnson about our recent Unsupportable Opinion column arguing for the legalization of PEDs in MMA. (Thanks for the plug, Ricky!) Johnson agreed with the premise, then suggested that if MMA fighters got paid like Major League Baseball players, fighters wouldn’t need to cheat in order to get ahead:

“[Y]ou got guys like A-Rod and all them. They making millions per game. We making a couple thousand. They look at us and be like, ‘Man that’s pocket change for me.’ Hell, I’m probably about to say something stupid but I’m about to say, either pay us like them (MLB) and then we won’t have to use it, or let us use it so we can get to that level. One or the other…Let us do something.”

To summarize, Johnson gave an interview in which he 1) Defended PED usage, 2) complained about MMA fighter pay, and 3) acknowledged the existence of CagePotato. If Dana White hasn’t chewed him out already, the hammer will be dropping soon. Stay strong, Rumble.

Dana White’s Criticisms of Jose Aldo & Alistair Overeem Are Unjustifiably Insane Bordering on Megalomania


(Just another day in the life of boring, gunshy Jose Aldo. Photo via Getty)

By Jared Jones

I know the title of this article has likely already branded me as a “UFC hater” in many of your eyes and invalidated whatever points of merit I may make, but if the MMA media is so insistent on clinging to Dana White’s every word, there needs to be a system of checks and balances in order here.

Following last weekend’s lackluster-at-best UFC 169, the UFC President was understandably frustrated. With a “10-decision, record-breaking catastrophe” of a card topped off by a controversial title fight in the books, it would be hard to fault White for dismissing a few questions that night in the fear of saying something stupid or potentially damaging about one of his employees, especially given how poorly his burial of Georges St. Pierre following UFC 167 was received.

If only White had the impulse control.

Because rather than hang back and let some of the fighters themselves explain why the fights were so underwhelming, White decided to shame two of the fighters on the card LEAST deserving of criticism: Alistair Overeem and Jose Aldo.

First, he told FS1 that Overeem had “a crappy performance” in what was “not a great night for Alistair.” Alistair Overeem, who had just outworked, outgrappled, and outstruck a former UFC champion 139 to 5, had a “crappy performance.” One-hundred thirty-nine to five.

Of course Overeem’s callout of Brock Lesnar was stupid and pointless. Of course it was. But White’s criticism of Overeem’s damn near flawless victory was far more unwarranted than some harmless little threat. It was lunacy.


(Just another day in the life of boring, gunshy Jose Aldo. Photo via Getty)

By Jared Jones

I know the title of this article has likely already branded me as a “UFC hater” in many of your eyes and invalidated whatever points of merit I may make, but if the MMA media is so insistent on clinging to Dana White’s every word, there needs to be a system of checks and balances in order here.

Following last weekend’s lackluster-at-best UFC 169, the UFC President was understandably frustrated. With a “10-decision, record-breaking catastrophe” of a card topped off by a controversial title fight in the books, it would be hard to fault White for dismissing a few questions that night in the fear of saying something stupid or potentially damaging about one of his employees, especially given how poorly his burial of Georges St. Pierre following UFC 167 was received.

If only White had the impulse control.

Because rather than hang back and let some of the fighters themselves explain why the fights were so underwhelming, White decided to shame two of the fighters on the card LEAST deserving of criticism: Alistair Overeem and Jose Aldo.

First, he told FS1 that Overeem had “a crappy performance” in what was “not a great night for Alistair.” Alistair Overeem, who had just outworked, outgrappled, and outstruck a former UFC champion 139 to 5, had a “crappy performance.” One-hundred thirty-nine to five.

Of course Overeem’s callout of Brock Lesnar was stupid and pointless. Of course it was. But White’s criticism of Overeem’s damn near flawless victory was far more unwarranted than some harmless little threat. It was lunacy.

Let us not forget that these comments came just weeks after White praised Bobby Voelker‘s ability to continuously walk face first into punches as “trying to win.” I respect Voelker as much as the next guy, but when did the ability to lose triumphantly become more worthy of praise than the ability to win…triumphantly? Dominantly? Proficiently? If White thought Overeem’s performance was “crappy,” then he must have been asleep during a few of St. Pierre and Ben Henderson‘s title defenses to say the least.

Overeem had dropped his past two fights by KO and was potentially fighting for his job against an incredibly dangerous opponent; a former champ. He put said former champ’s face through a meat grinder without barely breaking a sweat, and he’s boring now? Is anyone seeing the disconnect here?

In the final seconds of his fight with Frank Mir, you could practically see the moment when Overeem decided to spare the former champ (a fact that bears repeating) from his second consecutive KO loss. Overeem should be lauded for his restraint and respect for a man who, like himself, has suffered far too many concussions in his career, not attacked for his ability to gameplan. Who in the hell buries their fighters like this, even in victory?

Of course, once you hear White’s criticism of Jose Aldo, you should have a pretty clear understanding as to where his head is at these days (via ESPN):

The thing about Jose Aldo that drives me crazy is the kid has all the talent in the world. He’s explosive, fast. He can do anything but he just lays back and doesn’t let anything go.

When you talk about being the pound-for-pound best in the world, you can’t go five rounds with guys that it looks like you can defeat them in the second round. That’s what Aldo has a habit of doing.

Rant…incoming…can’t..stop..self…

Look, I get that Aldo hasn’t flying-kneed anyones face off lately (and did seem a bit hesitant in his fight with Lamas. A bit.) but “doesn’t let anything go? THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.

Aldo’s won 2 out of his past 4 fights by TKO for Christ’s sake. He’s consistently fought the elite of the division. Is White forgetting that Aldo and Chan Sung Jung broke each other to shit by the end of their fight? Or that he is the only man to ever defeat, let alone finish Chad Mendes (in spectacular fashion, I might add)? Aldo couldn’t finish Edgar, but who the hell can? The same goes for KenFlo to a lesser degree. And Lamas could only last two rounds with Aldo? LET’S SEE YOU EAT THAT MANY LEG KICKS WITHOUT EVEN FLINCHING, ASSHOLE.

The most infuriating thing about all of this is that White has been throwing around “pound for pound” term so much lately that it has all but lost the mostly pointless meaning it had in the first place. Basically, he’s done to “pound for pound” what Joe Rogan has done to the phrase “THIS GUY IS A BEAST” (which he literally used to describe Aldo and Lamas, back-to-back, at UFC 169). He thinks that he can just assign this ridiculous status to anyone he wants, whenever he wants, and people will care what his self-serving opinion on the matter is and purchase accordingly. The MMA media will, that’s for sure.

What I’m saying is, there are moments when White seems like the most level-headed, down to earth president of a billion dollar corporation you’d ever meet, and there are moments when he sounds like a megalomaniac with the candor of a wilfully dense message board troll. I’ll let you decide which category his recent statements fall into.

Regardless of how White felt about the fights that went down last weekend, or GSP’s decision to step away from the sport, or Randy Couture, etc., he needs to first realize that his fighters have sacrificed blood, sweat and years off their lives for him. They are warriors who have made him who he is today, and vice versa, and they need to be treated with the proper respect. I know it sounds hypocritical coming from your #1 source for fighter bashing and UFC h8errade, but even us cynics can recognize when a criticism is unnecessary. At a certain point, people are going to realize that the common denominator between the UFC and all of its bitter, estranged former employees is White himself, and it’s because of shit like this.

By the way, that whole “Julianna Pena was attacked” bit of nonsense White fed us all has since been refuted by damn near every member of Pena’s camp.

“The problem I have with all this is that my gym and her training partner got put on blast with no facts,” said Pena’s coach, Rick Little, when dealing with the backlash of White’s comments. But we’re sure The Baldfather felt it necessary to publicly bash someone (actually, an entire camp) before getting his facts straight regarding an incident he was hundreds of miles away from when it happened. It’s what they call Spike Lee-ing in the film industry.