WSOF 3 Interview: Jacob Volkmann Talks Fighter Unions, ‘Fancy Pants’, And Why He’s Done Trashing Obama


(“[Beerbohm’s] not even close to being able to stop my takedowns. This is going to be a ground battle and I’m hoping to finish it.” / Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

By Andreas Hale

In case you haven’t heard, Jacob Volkmann is a disgruntled former employee of the UFC who is preparing to start a new chapter in his career when he faces Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm at World Series of Fighting 3 this Friday, June 14th, in Las Vegas. Of course, being a disgruntled ex-UFC fighter doesn’t make Volkmann unique, as everyone from former champions and title contenders like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Jon Fitch to lower-tier fighters like John Cholish have been airing their dirty laundry recently.

Volkmann was recently cut after a loss to Bobby Green at UFC 156 back in February despite having a 6-2 record in the Octagon as a lightweight, after starting his UFC career with an 0-2 run at welterweight. The walking papers came as a shock to Volkmann who couldn’t understand how he could be sent on his merry way. However, Volkmann’s departure came secondary to the shocking announcement that Jon Fitch had also been released despite having had a crack at Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title and holding a stellar 14-3-1 record in the UFC. If you ask Volkmann, he’ll tell you that it is because the UFC is looking to condition their fans into watching guys who stand and bang instead of crafty ground competitors.

“That was the biggest reason why I was released,” Volkmann says of his fighting strategy, which often sees him bringing fighters to the canvas rather than trading punches. With only one of his UFC victories coming by way of stoppage, Volkmann has often been labeled “boring” by the type of fans who prefer their MMA fights to look like bar brawls. And though Volkmann’s success should speak for itself, he says that the UFC prefers its fans to see mindless clubbing rather than a ground game of chess. “They are making their fans like the stand up fighters. They could put more ground fighters on the card but they are dictating who watches and what is considered [exciting]. The mainstream isn’t promoting the ground game.”

Whether Volkmann’s declaration is true depends on the viewer. But what most fans don’t understand is the disparity in pay between the UFC’s top-tier fighters and the rest of the bunch. Volkmann has fought on his fair share of main cards but says that the perception that the UFC takes care of its fighters financially is completely false.

“They don’t take care of their fighters all that well,” Volkmann says, while citing that he made $50,000 last year while going 3-0. But the money isn’t the entire issue. “I’m talking about benefits. Their health care is a joke. There is no retirement. If you get injured, you don’t get paid. I’d like to see you get paid something when you are injured.”

You may have heard about Volkmann’s idea of starting a fighters’ union as well to ensure that fighters are protected. “I’d like to see a two-year contract with two fights a year minimum, where the minimum pay is $15,000 for the fight and $15,000 to win,” Volkmann explained. “At least you get paid a minimum of $30,000 a year and I think the UFC can afford to pay their fighters that.”


(“[Beerbohm’s] not even close to being able to stop my takedowns. This is going to be a ground battle and I’m hoping to finish it.” / Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

By Andreas Hale

In case you haven’t heard, Jacob Volkmann is a disgruntled former employee of the UFC who is preparing to start a new chapter in his career when he faces Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm at World Series of Fighting 3 this Friday, June 14th, in Las Vegas. Of course, being a disgruntled ex-UFC fighter doesn’t make Volkmann unique, as everyone from former champions and title contenders like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Jon Fitch to lower-tier fighters like John Cholish have been airing their dirty laundry recently.

Volkmann was recently cut after a loss to Bobby Green at UFC 156 back in February despite having a 6-2 record in the Octagon as a lightweight, after starting his UFC career with an 0-2 run at welterweight. The walking papers came as a shock to Volkmann who couldn’t understand how he could be sent on his merry way. However, Volkmann’s departure came secondary to the shocking announcement that Jon Fitch had also been released despite having had a crack at Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title and holding a stellar 14-3-1 record in the UFC. If you ask Volkmann, he’ll tell you that it is because the UFC is looking to condition their fans into watching guys who stand and bang instead of crafty ground competitors.

“That was the biggest reason why I was released,” Volkmann says of his fighting strategy, which often sees him bringing fighters to the canvas rather than trading punches. With only one of his UFC victories coming by way of stoppage, Volkmann has often been labeled “boring” by the type of fans who prefer their MMA fights to look like bar brawls. And though Volkmann’s success should speak for itself, he says that the UFC prefers its fans to see mindless clubbing rather than a ground game of chess. “They are making their fans like the stand up fighters. They could put more ground fighters on the card but they are dictating who watches and what is considered [exciting]. The mainstream isn’t promoting the ground game.”

Whether Volkmann’s declaration is true depends on the viewer. But what most fans don’t understand is the disparity in pay between the UFC’s top-tier fighters and the rest of the bunch. Volkmann has fought on his fair share of main cards but says that the perception that the UFC takes care of its fighters financially is completely false.

“They don’t take care of their fighters all that well,” Volkmann says, while citing that he made $50,000 last year while going 3-0. But the money isn’t the entire issue. “I’m talking about benefits. Their health care is a joke. There is no retirement. If you get injured, you don’t get paid. I’d like to see you get paid something when you are injured.”

You may have heard about Volkmann’s idea of starting a fighters’ union as well to ensure that fighters are protected. “I’d like to see a two-year contract with two fights a year minimum, where the minimum pay is $15,000 for the fight and $15,000 to win,” Volkmann explained. “At least you get paid a minimum of $30,000 a year and I think the UFC can afford to pay their fighters that.”

For him, the pay is fair considering the amount of money that he has to shell out on everything ranging from training camps to medical expenses.

“They don’t pay our training bills,” Volkmann continued. “Last year alone I spent $16,000 on medical expenses and health care premiums. I pay $1,000 to my gym per fight. Then I pay my boxing coach so that varies. I pay for my own equipment. I pay for gas and travel as well.”

Volkmann says that his new deal with World Series of Fighting doesn’t pay as well as the UFC, but that is mainly because the organization is still new. He chose to fight for WSoF rather than Bellator because WSoF offered him a fight every 4-6 months, and the opportunity to compete for their inaugural lightweight title was appealing. As for the UFC, Volkmann says that he has no plans of returning regardless of whether he puts together enough wins for the leading fight organization to give him a call. He figures that he’s said more than enough to put him in the permanent doghouse but that won’t prevent him from working his ass off to ensure that a fighters, union will exist.

“Other sports leagues have them so it is only a matter of time before there is one in the UFC,” Volkmann says. “I’m hoping it happens within my lifetime. It would be nice to see it in the next ten years. The UFC is trying hard to fight it and anybody that speaks against them or says that they want to form a union, the get rid of like Jon Fitch.”

With all the talk of the UFC and unions, the battle Volkmann has to focus on is inside of the cage against Beerbohm. After all, if he is unable to win, he may have a hard time finding a place to fight in the first place.

“I’ve been working on my standup every day and getting more confident just in case somebody has the power to stop my takedown attempts,” Volkmann says of his approach to Beerbohm. While his strength has always been in his ground game, Volkmann knows that he needs to become more well rounded if he wants to be considered an elite fighter. However, the man who now calls himself “Dr. Feelgood” believes that Beerbohm won’t have much to offer when it comes to stopping Volkmann from what he does best.

“He’s not even close to being able to stop my takedowns,” he said when asked how the fight will end up. “This is going to be a ground battle and I’m hoping to finish it. He seems to give up his back pretty easily and that’s nice for me.”

Considering that Volkmann is one of those fighters who more often than not leaves the fight in the hands of the judges, he’s keenly aware that he needs to become a finisher in order to excel in the World Series of Fighting. And aside from the standup, the other thing Volkmann says that he has worked on is keeping the Obama slander out of his post-fight interviews.

“Unless somebody brings something up about Obama, I have nothing more to say,” Volkmann says. “I have had enough of that. Besides, I stopped saying stuff because he stopped forcing foolish policies. He has been doing pretty well at doing absolutely nothing.”

[EXCLUSIVE] UFC Heavyweight Brendan Schaub Takes on New Challenge at Metamoris II

Brendan Schaub UFC 134

By Elias Cepeda

There are two high-level and well known international MMA fighters competing on the June 9th Metamoris II card. One is Shinya Aoki, who takes on Kron Gracie in the main event.

Metamoris is a unique submission grappling event filled entirely with super-fights. No points are counted, the matches are twice as long as usual grappling competitions, and the only way to win is by submitting your opponent. Aoki, largely known as one of the most dangerous ground specialists in MMA, is a perfectly logical cross-over guy to bring in to Metamoris.

The other famous MMA fighter on the card is TUF 10 runner-up Brendan Schaub, and his placement doesn’t make nearly as much sense at first glance. Because of his success in the UFC, Schaub is surely one of the most well-known competitors on the card, however, none of the former college and professional football player’s MMA wins have come via submission. He’s young in the sport and is certainly not considered to be one of the best grapplers in the heavyweight division, let alone the UFC.

No, most of Schaub’s success has been achieved in the standup department, by knocking his opponents out silly, not by relying on “the gentle art.” But to the former TUF finalist, competing at Metamoris II against top Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling champion Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu no less makes all the sense in the world.

“A lot of people don’t know this,” Schaub tells CagePotato. “But, Jiu Jitsu is my passion. It was the first real thing I did in martial arts. For me, competing at Metamoris is a way for me to give back to Jiu Jitsu for all it’s done for me. Jiu Jitsu has changed my life.”

Brendan Schaub UFC 134

By Elias Cepeda

There are two high-level and well known international MMA fighters competing on the June 9th Metamoris II card. One is Shinya Aoki, who takes on Kron Gracie in the main event.

Metamoris is a unique submission grappling event filled entirely with super-fights. No points are counted, the matches are twice as long as usual grappling competitions, and the only way to win is by submitting your opponent. Aoki, largely known as one of the most dangerous ground specialists in MMA, is a perfectly logical cross-over guy to bring in to Metamoris.

The other famous MMA fighter on the card is TUF 10 runner-up Brendan Schaub, and his placement doesn’t make nearly as much sense at first glance. Because of his success in the UFC, Schaub is surely one of the most well-known competitors on the card, however, none of the former college and professional football player’s MMA wins have come via submission. He’s young in the sport and is certainly not considered to be one of the best grapplers in the heavyweight division, let alone the UFC.

No, most of Schaub’s success has been achieved in the standup department, by knocking his opponents out silly, not by relying on “the gentle art.” But to the former TUF finalist, competing at Metamoris II against top Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling champion Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu no less makes all the sense in the world.

“A lot of people don’t know this,” Schaub tells CagePotato. “But, Jiu Jitsu is my passion. It was the first real thing I did in martial arts. For me, competing at Metamoris is a way for me to give back to Jiu Jitsu for all it’s done for me. Jiu Jitsu has changed my life.”

The Colorado native moved to Los Angeles a year ago, where he’s been training with Metamoris I competitor and the brother of the promotion’s founder, Ryron Gracie, extensively. Schaub went and watched his instructor compete against Andre Galvao last year at Metamoris I and was inspired to give it a go himself, should the opportunity arise.

“A lot of guys in MMA say they are a purple belt, or brown belt or black belt. Really? What have you done? Have you ever gone against the top level of grappler? Have you ever competed against a true black belt?” he asks.

“The Hybrid” knew that if he got the chance, he’d jump at competing on the next Metamoris card, in order to challenge himself in such a way and to also just stay active. However, he didn’t think his UFC boss, Dana White, would let him.

“I didn’t think there was a chance in the world Dana would let me,” Schaub laughs. “[But] he said, ‘you know what, you can do it, just don’t get hurt.’ So, I’ve been training hard, I have no injuries and this is an incredible challenge for me.”

Schaub has been “training hard” because, in little more than a month after his Metamoris match against “Cyborg,” he has a schedule UFC bout with Matt Mitrione. That’s a bit nuts, if you think about it. The UFC is where Schaub makes his big money, so to risk injury and a muddled training camp by competing in a sport with different rules seems pretty…audacious, especially given his opponent at UFC on FOX 8. But fret not, for the fighter says his priorities and ego are all in check. And better yet, his lifestyle makes him well suited for this type of situation.

“The UFC number is my number one priority,” he insists. “And, there is no such thing as a ‘training camp’ for me. There is no such thing as focus on Matt Mitrione or ‘Cyborg’ Abreu. I train all year round. I’m in shape right now. I’d fight Matt Mitrione on two hour’s notice. Fighting is my lifestyle.”

That said, Schaub has benefited from additional attention and help from expert submission grapplers as he prepares, first, for Metamoris II and Abreu. In addition to Ryron Gracie, his brother Rener, and their cousin Kron spending time with Schaub, he says that world champions Dean Lister and Xande Ribeiro have been working with him as well.

“I’ve gotten world class champs reaching out to me, wanting to help,” he says.

The UFC heavyweight still gets his boxing and wrestling work in, though, as well as sparring his usual twice a week in MMA. As for the threat of injury against Abreu, Schaub just isn’t concerned.

“No, not really,” he maintains.

“My ego isn’t to the point where if ‘Cyborg’ were to catch me in a foot lock or some sort of arm manipulation where I’d let him break my arm before tapping. Fighting in the UFC is still my dream and being in the UFC is the only reason I got an invitation to Metamoris. I owe it all to the UFC. I wouldn’t do that to them or myself.”

That said, Schaub most certainly isn’t showing up Sunday to get his opponent’s autograph and then go home. He’ll be there to win.

“Something that people say that really bugs me is, ‘Oh, this is a win-win for Brendan. Abreu does BJJ for a living and Brendan splits his time because he’s a fighter.’ Listen man,” Schaub says, seriously.

“If I didn’t think I could beat this guy, I wouldn’t have taken the match. I don’t sign up for win-wins. A loss would sting. I’m here to fight for a win.”

Chuck Liddell Admits That Retirement Was The Right Choice For Him


(Liddell’s decision to retire involved sober discussions with those closest to him)

Our favorite corporate Zuffa desk jockey, Chuck Liddell, recently fielded questions in Brazil from fans and discussed his decision to retire in 2010. At that time, the former light heavyweight champion had lost three straight, all by TKO or KO, and five out of his last six fights.

UFC President, and Liddell’s one-time manager, Dana White publicly said that the legend should retire and since that time, it has been widely assumed and reported that White coerced or talked The Iceman into hanging up his gloves. However, Liddell told fans that when he met with White in the fall of 2010, he’d already decided on his own to quit.

“I talked to my family, my coaches, and then I went to Dana,” Liddell recounted for fans. “I talked to Dana. Dana and I actually went to dinner, and he thought I was going to ask him to fight again. I came to dinner, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m done.’ He was relieved.”

“I asked him to just hold off for about three months and give me some time to get adjusted to it before I have to talk to people about it because it was a hard decision for me,” Liddell went on.

While the decision to stop competing professionally was a tough one for the fighter, he says that he realizes that leaving when he did and not sustaining more damage was the right thing to do. “I love fighting, and I didn’t want to stop, but it was the right decision at the time between my coaches and my family,” Chuck said.


(Liddell’s decision to retire involved sober discussions with those closest to him)

Our favorite corporate Zuffa desk jockey, Chuck Liddell, recently fielded questions in Brazil from fans and discussed his decision to retire in 2010. At that time, the former light heavyweight champion had lost three straight, all by TKO or KO, and five out of his last six fights.

UFC President, and Liddell’s one-time manager, Dana White publicly said that the legend should retire and since that time, it has been widely assumed and reported that White coerced or talked The Iceman into hanging up his gloves. However, Liddell told fans that when he met with White in the fall of 2010, he’d already decided on his own to quit.

“I talked to my family, my coaches, and then I went to Dana,” Liddell recounted for fans. “I talked to Dana. Dana and I actually went to dinner, and he thought I was going to ask him to fight again. I came to dinner, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m done.’ He was relieved.”

“I asked him to just hold off for about three months and give me some time to get adjusted to it before I have to talk to people about it because it was a hard decision for me,” Liddell went on.

While the decision to stop competing professionally was a tough one for the fighter, he says that he realizes that leaving when he did and not sustaining more damage was the right thing to do. ”I love fighting, and I didn’t want to stop, but it was the right decision at the time between my coaches and my family,” Chuck said.

“I think I made the right decision in retiring. Unless something changes, I’ll stay retired.”

Liddell maintained that he’d come back to hit Tito Ortiz some more but otherwise, you know, he’ll just chill. It’s too bad that not all fighters, not even all famous former champions, have the means to retire when they should – or even some time after they should – as Liddell did.

We sure are glad that Chuck realized he didn’t have anything more to prove and is now making bank shooting beer commercials and doing whatever it is he does in his executive job for the UFC. ‘Taters, who are some of your favorite fighters that should hang it up for the sake of their health?

Elias Cepeda

[EXCLUSIVE] Metamoris II Headliner Kron Gracie Carries on Family Legacy


(Kron & Rickson Gracie | Photo via Moskova)

By Elias Cepeda

How do you ask a grown man to talk about a time you saw him cry? It can’t be easy, and maybe it’s not even polite. Surely an interviewer can think of other questions to ask someone — especially a fighter.

Unfortunately, in the day or so before speaking with Kron Gracie, that was the main thing I could think to ask, and to ask first. To be clear, I saw Kron cry when he was still a child, and then only from a distance.

Maybe I was mistaken and he wasn’t even truly crying.

Yeah, maybe that’s how you ask a man to talk about it — tepidly and with plenty of qualification. Probably not, but that’s how I broached the subject with the man.

It was the summer of 2000. Rickson Gracie, the champion of his family, was hosting an international Jiu Jitsu invitational. There were tournaments for every experience and ability level, as well as famous champions competing in super matches as well as milling around the arena as a part of the crowd.

And then there was little Kron Gracie. He had to have been just eleven or twelve.

Kron presumably could have chosen to enjoy the whole event as a child — that is, running around with family and friends, playing. Instead, he was in a gi and on the mats.

Kron’s older sisters were pretty and did fun demonstrations with their father. Kron’s older brother, Rockson, walked around the tournament with his head shaved, tattooed and an air of seriousness, the obvious heir apparent to Rickson Gracie’s fighting legacy.

Whatever pressures his siblings surely felt, Kron was the one on the mats that day, competing.

Kron competed that day and, when I saw him, he had just lost.

It couldn’t have been easy, and Rickson’s youngest child was visibly upset. Losing is never fun but when everyone is watching you because your dad is the best fighter in fighting’s first family, it has to be miserable. Rickson, walked over to Kron, put his arms around him and consoled his young son.


(Kron & Rickson Gracie | Photo via Moskova)

By Elias Cepeda

How do you ask a grown man to talk about a time you saw him cry? It can’t be easy, and maybe it’s not even polite. Surely an interviewer can think of other questions to ask someone — especially a fighter.

Unfortunately, in the day or so before speaking with Kron Gracie, that was the main thing I could think to ask, and to ask first. To be clear, I saw Kron cry when he was still a child, and then only from a distance.

Maybe I was mistaken and he wasn’t even truly crying.

Yeah, maybe that’s how you ask a man to talk about it — tepidly and with plenty of qualification. Probably not, but that’s how I broached the subject with the man.

It was the summer of 2000. Rickson Gracie, the champion of his family, was hosting an international Jiu Jitsu invitational. There were tournaments for every experience and ability level, as well as famous champions competing in super matches as well as milling around the arena as a part of the crowd.

And then there was little Kron Gracie. He had to have been just eleven or twelve.

Kron presumably could have chosen to enjoy the whole event as a child — that is, running around with family and friends, playing. Instead, he was in a gi and on the mats.

Kron’s older sisters were pretty and did fun demonstrations with their father. Kron’s older brother, Rockson, walked around the tournament with his head shaved, tattooed and an air of seriousness, the obvious heir apparent to Rickson Gracie’s fighting legacy.

Whatever pressures his siblings surely felt, Kron was the one on the mats that day, competing.

Kron competed that day and, when I saw him, he had just lost.

It couldn’t have been easy, and Rickson’s youngest child was visibly upset. Losing is never fun but when everyone is watching you because your dad is the best fighter in fighting’s first family, it has to be miserable. Rickson, walked over to Kron, put his arms around him and consoled his young son.

These days, Kron Gracie is a black belt international competitor — recognized as one of the best middleweights in the submission grappling world. I ask if he remembers that one match, an eternity ago and surely insignificant by now in the grand scheme of his career.

He does.

“I remember every moment of that match,” Kron tells CagePotato.

“I remember training for it, I remember everything he tried, everything I tried, and I remember losing.”

Kron had competed for years but says that his dad’s tournament was the first time he had trained with real focus. The let-down was rough.

“I felt pressure to do well. All eyes were on me,” Kron details.

If the young Gracie remembers vividly the hollow feeling of defeat, the memory of his father comforting him is equally as strong. “I remember every word he told me,” he says. “He just told me that it was alright and that I’d be ok.”

How Kron got from there to today, where he makes a living teaching and competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is respected as having one of the best pure styles in all of submission grappling is no doubt complex and layered. Having his father’s unconditional support and guidance must have been a big part.

It also seems possible that Kron learned to convert pressure and pain into hard work and excellence. Though he remembers every detail of that loss at his father’s tournament in 2000, one can only imagine how small that pain was in comparison to what he and his family went through later that same year.

Rickson’s oldest child Rockson died in December of 2000. Rickson never fought professionally again and has cited that moment as the lowest of his life.

“Deep down, you see a reason to shoot yourself in the head, to stop doing the right thing, to stop being a happy person. You may want to fools yourself, thinking ‘it’s bad, but I can take it,’ and that’s the kind of lack of honesty that will never cure the wound. I hit rock bottom and decided, deep down, whether I would come back to the surface or not,” Rickson told GracieMag in a 2010 interview.

Rickson clearly did go forward and, to this day, trains and teaches. Kron doesn’t talk to us about his brother’s death specifically but does say that shortly after the summer 2000 tournament, he began to see life and Jiu Jitsu a bit differently.

“I was raised around winning and championships so it was kind of always expected,” Kron says.

“Not long after that tournament, I began to take it more seriously and see myself having a future in Jiu Jitsu, in making it my career. Things happen in life and you decide it is time to step up and become a man.”

That is heady stuff for a kid to take on but Kron did — training and competing constantly. He dominated the ranks all the way through the brown belt class, before his father awarded him his black belt in 2008.

Thus far, he has yet to win a major world championship at black belt but has managed to stand out nonetheless. At the first Metamoris competition, last fall, Kron submitted the reigning middleweight Jiu Jitsu world champion, Otavio Sousa.

Ordinarily, matches are ten minutes long and points are scored to decide a winner if no one can finish with a submission. At Metamoris matches, there are no points and if you want to assure a win, you need to get a submission during the twenty minute matches.

Kron’s style fits the Metamoris format well because of the finality it requires for victory. Kron hardly ever uses a move that a first year Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student wouldn’t begin to learn.

He’s all substance and aggression, with no flash. The idea, his father’s idea that Kron has adopted, is to do the simple things right — with proper leverage and weight distribution applied to your opponent.

“If we spend doing techniques in Jiu Jitsu competition that wouldn’t work in a real fight, what is the point?” Kron asks.

That approach to Jiu Jitsu — to learn it as a fighting art, not just a pretty looking exercise without purpose or consequence, is all Rickson Gracie. Over the course of his career, Kron’s father fought in gis on the mats, speedos on the beach, shorts in packed arenas and in whatever he happened to be wearing when business needed to be settled on the street.


(Kron has been training MMA with Nate (left) and Nick (right) Diaz | Photo via GracieMag)

Kron seems in the midst of trying to prove he can become the best in the non-striking submission grappling world. Yet, the philosophy he’s adopted from his father and grandfather Helio Gracie that Jiu Jitsu is for fighting and fighting effectively, begs the question of whether he’d consider carrying on their fighting legacy himself.

I ask Kron if he thinks he will ever fight in MMA and his answer is to the point. “Yes,” he says, without doubt. “I will absolutely fight.”

At the Metamoris II Pro Jiu Jitsu Invitational on June 9th, Kron will take on one of the best Jiu Jitsu representatives in MMA, Shinya Aoki. Kron’s desire to fight MMA and his pairing with Aoki is no coincidence.

“Totally,” he says when asked if he expects grappling against Aoki to give him a taste of how he might fare against top MMA grapplers.

“That’s why I wanted this match up with Aoki. I have so much respect for his Jiu Jitsu game in MMA. He has submitted so many people at the top levels of MMA. I want to see what he feels like. I want to see how my Jiu Jitsu matches up against his. I believe in my Jiu Jitsu and that it will work in MMA, but I am not looking past Aoki at all. I think this match will give me an idea of what some of these guys feel like.”

Kron already has a decent idea of what it feels like to lock horns with some top MMA fighters. As he talks with CagePotato, Nate Diaz sits nearby. Diaz is helping Kron train for Metamoris II.

Kron says he’s been working with both Nate and brother Nick Diaz frequently, and not just on submission grappling. Kron was in Nick Diaz’ corner when he faced Georges St. Pierre earlier this year, in fact.

“Nate is here helping me prepare for Aoki,” Kron says. “I’ve gotten to work with him and Nick a lot now and it’s great.”

Kron says that he gets in MMA work with the Diaz brothers as well as grappling. “Oh yeah, for sure,” he says, sounding as if getting to spar MMA with elite fighters is much of the point of his training with the Diaz brothers.

“We do a lot of work and all types.”

Kron’s intensity leading up to matches is certainly that of someone who takes winning and losing seriously. However, the reckless abandon with which he competes suggests someone who doesn’t fear loss.

Many high level grapplers have unbearably boring matches when pitted against one another. Wary of making even the tiniest mistake which their opponent can seize on, many black belt matches are cautious, careful and horrible to watch.

Turn on a Kron Gracie match, any one, and you’ll see the furthest thing from that type of match. He drives, scrambles, pivots and spins, all in constant search of a submission win. Kron grapples with the sense of urgency of a man fighting for his life — which, he might say, is kind of the point.

Kron speaks as someone who not only carries the pressure of being the son of the greatest Jiu Jitsu fighter of all time, but also as one who possesses the confidence from a lifetime of personal instruction from that same master.

Beat me, if you can. And if you do, watch your back because I’ll get better and come back for you.

“It isn’t that I don’t care about losing,” Kron explains. “But all you can do is train the right way leading up to a fight, and then let go and go hard in the fight. The point of a fight is to see who the better guy is. I hate losing. But if I go out there, give it everything I have and lose, then the guy is better than me. If I don’t let it all out on the mat, I won’t ever know who truly was the better man that day.”

You’re born with pressure to be great when you’re born a Gracie. At the same time, putting that yolk around your neck and facing conflict and tests head-on is modeled for you.

Maybe that’s part of why Kron Gracie decided at an early age to run right into the fire, perhaps not unaffected or unafraid, but at least unflinching. And, if over time, Kron becomes one of the great ones, that decision will probably be why and how he got there.

CagePotato Interview: Cris Cyborg Discusses Invicta FC 6 Title Fight Against Marloes Coenen, Her Relationship With Tito Ortiz, And Why She Isn’t in the UFC

(Video via YouTube.com/CagePotato)

Fresh off her one-round devastation of Fiona Muxlow at Invicta FC 5 in April, former Strikeforce champion Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino Venancio will return to the cage against Marloes Coenen at Invicta FC 6 on July 13th, in a bout that will determine the first Invicta featherweight champion.

CagePotato.com reporter Brian J. D’Souza caught up to Cyborg at The Gym @ 99 Sudbury in Toronto, where they discussed her journey from handball player to dominant mixed martial artist, the contract terms that kept her from signing with the UFC, and her upcoming rematch with Coenen. Plus, Cyborg spoke out about her current relationships with her manager Tito Ortiz and her ex-husband Evangelista Santos, and the differences between sparring with men and women.

Subscribe to CagePotato on YouTube, and please visit BrianDSouza.com for more of Brian’s hard-hitting MMA reporting.


(Video via YouTube.com/CagePotato)

Fresh off her one-round devastation of Fiona Muxlow at Invicta FC 5 in April, former Strikeforce champion Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino Venancio will return to the cage against Marloes Coenen at Invicta FC 6 on July 13th, in a bout that will determine the first Invicta featherweight champion.

CagePotato.com reporter Brian J. D’Souza caught up to Cyborg at The Gym @ 99 Sudbury in Toronto, where they discussed her journey from handball player to dominant mixed martial artist, the contract terms that kept her from signing with the UFC, and her upcoming rematch with Coenen. Plus, Cyborg spoke out about her current relationships with her manager Tito Ortiz and her ex-husband Evangelista Santos, and the differences between sparring with men and women.

Subscribe to CagePotato on YouTube, and please visit BrianDSouza.com for more of Brian’s hard-hitting MMA reporting.

Pat Healy Admits to “Dumb” Decision That Cost Him UFC 159 Win, Tentatively Calls Bryan Caraway a “Good Guy”


(“We both see the green goblin dancing in the corner of the room, right Ariel?” Photo via MMAFighting.)

Without beating the dead horse that is the marijuana in MMA debate any further, it’s safe to say that Pat Healy’s positive test for marijuana following his UFC 159 win over Jim Miller was, at the very least, a costly mistake. The same can be said for Nate Diaz‘s response to the situation, albeit for entirely different reasons. But being the relatively straightforward guy that Healy is, he was quick to admit to his mistake in a recent interview with MMAFighting:

I wish I could go back in time and slap myself. It was a dumb thing to do. 

It was about three and a half, four weeks out. I was at a friend’s birthday party, just hanging out. To be honest I didn’t even think it would be an issue, you know? It was a huge mistake and I just didn’t even think.

While Healy’s admission of guilt is a bit of fresh air in today’s “take no responsibility” MMA landscape, we’re kind of left wishing he had been managed by Mike Kogan, if only so we could learn about how marijuana in the state of Oregon, which is where Healy is from, is considered an off-brand form of Advil.

As for all the controversy that spilled out of Healy’s positive test in the form of Bryan Caraway?


(“We both see the green goblin dancing in the corner of the room, right Ariel?” Photo via MMAFighting.)

Without beating the dead horse that is the marijuana in MMA debate any further, it’s safe to say that Pat Healy’s positive test for marijuana following his UFC 159 win over Jim Miller was, at the very least, a costly mistake. The same can be said for Nate Diaz‘s response to the situation, albeit for entirely different reasons. But being the relatively straightforward guy that Healy is, he was quick to admit to his mistake in a recent interview with MMAFighting:

I wish I could go back in time and slap myself. It was a dumb thing to do. 

It was about three and a half, four weeks out. I was at a friend’s birthday party, just hanging out. To be honest I didn’t even think it would be an issue, you know? It was a huge mistake and I just didn’t even think.

While Healy’s admission of guilt is a bit of fresh air in today’s “take no responsibility” MMA landscape, we’re kind of left wishing he had been managed by Mike Kogan, if only so we could learn about how marijuana in the state of Oregon, which is where Healy is from, is considered an off-brand form of Advil.

As for all the controversy that spilled out of Healy’s positive test in the form of Bryan Caraway?

I feel bad that my poor choices spawned more trouble for anybody, for Caraway and Nate.

Bryan’s a good guy. Sometimes, I think, you know, he got into some trouble with comments about Ronda Rousey in that past. Sometimes I think when he talks to the media he just doesn’t think about what he’s saying 100 percent through. I think it was a poor choice of words by him, but I know he’s a good guy and didn’t mean anything toward me personally. 

Healy has always come off as a stand up guy, but holding yourself personally responsible for the rants of an alleged woman-hitting steroid peddler and a semi-literate ignoramus who weren’t even involved in your situation to begin with? Do not test this man’s politeness.

J. Jones