Tag: Interview

Video Tribute: It’s Bruce Lee’s Birthday, So Watch Him Kick Some Ass


(Fighting, film, and Movember pioneer Bruce Lee)

Today would have been the birthday of martial artist and television and movie star Bruce Lee. Lee died tragically young, but still made an indelible mark on the world during his short life by demonstrating his unique abilities as a fighter, instructor and showman.

Part philosopher, part fighter and part entertainer, Lee did much to draw attention to martial arts in a more practical way as well as blow up stereotypes of Asian people around the world. As a practitioner and teacher, Bruce did not limit training to one set of dogmatic forms or a single style. Rather, he studied any and every style he could, from wing chun to western boxing to Judo and Jiu Jitsu. He took what worked from each and jettisoned what did not. He also was a pioneer in his emphasis on strength and conditioning.

To commemorate the man Dana White calls “the father of mixed martial arts,” we’re going to get out of the way and let you enjoy some videos of him tonight. One is a collection of grainy films showing Lee during demonstrations, a couple others are clips from films of his where he’s kicking butt in style and we’ve also included a couple full-length documentaries that we enjoy on the life and careers of Lee.

Enjoy and then get out there and train, like Bruce would have you do!


(Fighting, film, and Movember pioneer Bruce Lee)

Today would have been the birthday of martial artist and television and movie star Bruce Lee. Lee died tragically young, but still made an indelible mark on the world during his short life by demonstrating his unique abilities as a fighter, instructor and showman.

Part philosopher, part fighter and part entertainer, Lee did much to draw attention to martial arts in a more practical way as well as blow up stereotypes of Asian people around the world. As a practitioner and teacher, Bruce did not limit training to one set of dogmatic forms or a single style. Rather, he studied any and every style he could, from wing chun to western boxing to Judo and Jiu Jitsu. He took what worked from each and jettisoned what did not. He also was a pioneer in his emphasis on strength and conditioning.

To commemorate the man Dana White calls “the father of mixed martial arts,” we’re going to get out of the way and let you enjoy some videos of him tonight. One is a collection of grainy films showing Lee during demonstrations, a couple others are clips from films of his where he’s kicking butt in style and we’ve also included a couple full-length documentaries that we enjoy on the life and careers of Lee.

Enjoy and then get out there and train, like Bruce would have you do!

Beating up that no good O’Hara in Enter the Dragon:

Lee vs. Entire Japanese Dojo in The Chinese Connection:

Demonstrations:

Tale of The Dragon Documentary:

Path of The Dragon Documentary:

–Elias Cepeda

Don’t Be Scared, Homie: Nick Diaz Will Fight Anderson Silva If GSP Won’t, According to Cesar Gracie

(Diaz, seen here preparing the only gameplan that hasn’t been thwarted by Anderson Silva in the octagon yet. And no, that’s definitely not a hash pipe next to the dartboard. Props be to MiddleEasy.) 

Nick Diaz may be a shortsighted, virulent, pot smoking, press conference-skipping delinquent who didn’t go to college for buying houses, but damn it, we can’t help but love the guy’s “take on all comers” attitude when it comes to fighting. Blame it on the increased popularity of the sport, the ridiculous string of injuries, or whatever you want, but suffice it to say, the Diaz mentality of accepting fights is a fading one. It seems we can’t go a day without hearing that so and so turned down a fight with this guy, or that this champion will maybe fight this one under a ridiculous set of circumstances, and honestly, this prima donna nonsense has all but completely quelled our interest in seeing the “superfights” we would have killed for just a couple months ago.

But before you jump down our throats, we (or at least I) do not blame Georges St. Pierre for turning down the Anderson Silva fight. Because like GSP said, there are still several viable contenders in his division and he is just coming off an 18 month layoff. Plus, if Anderson wants to fight the smaller man, he should pony the fuck up and drop down to his weight class. And since Silva is (for whatever reason) dead set on fighting a smaller opponent next, Cesar Gracie recently threw Diaz’s name into the fold as a potential future opponent, because why the hell not at this point:

We’re pushing for the GSP fight. That’s what we’re going to push for, GSP or Anderson Silva. That’s the two fights that interest us the most, and that’s the one’s we’re going for.[Silva’s] people are into it. We’re into it. The fans, I think, would be into it. We’ve got convince Dana about it now. Obviously the fight that makes sense to them, and I don’t disagree, is Anderson-GSP, and like I said, I would watch that fight. That would be great to watch. But let’s get real. If GSP just absolutely says no, then what? You can’t make a guy fight. That’s the thing. And Anderson, if they want to promote a superfight and if the stars align, I think Nick would be into it.


(Diaz, seen here preparing the only gameplan that hasn’t been thwarted by Anderson Silva in the octagon yet. And no, that’s definitely not a hash pipe next to the dartboard. Props be to MiddleEasy.) 

Nick Diaz may be a shortsighted, virulent, pot smoking, press conference-skipping delinquent who didn’t go to college for buying houses, but damn it, we can’t help but love the guy’s “take on all comers” attitude when it comes to fighting. Blame it on the increased popularity of the sport, the ridiculous string of injuries, or whatever you want, but suffice it to say, the Diaz mentality of accepting fights is a fading one. It seems we can’t go a day without hearing that so and so turned down a fight with this guy, or that this champion will maybe fight this one under a ridiculous set of circumstances, and honestly, this prima donna nonsense has all but completely quelled our interest in seeing the “superfights” we would have killed for just a couple months ago.

But before you jump down our throats, we (or at least I) do not blame Georges St. Pierre for turning down the Anderson Silva fight. Because like GSP said, there are still several viable contenders in his division and he is just coming off an 18 month layoff. Plus, if Anderson wants to fight the smaller man, he should pony the fuck up and drop down to his weight class. And since Silva is (for whatever reason) dead set on fighting a smaller opponent next, Cesar Gracie recently threw Diaz’s name into the fold as a potential future opponent, because why the hell not at this point:

We’re pushing for the GSP fight. That’s what we’re going to push for, GSP or Anderson Silva. That’s the two fights that interest us the most, and that’s the one’s we’re going for.[Silva’s] people are into it. We’re into it. The fans, I think, would be into it. We’ve got convince Dana about it now. Obviously the fight that makes sense to them, and I don’t disagree, is Anderson-GSP, and like I said, I would watch that fight. That would be great to watch. But let’s get real. If GSP just absolutely says no, then what? You can’t make a guy fight. That’s the thing. And Anderson, if they want to promote a superfight and if the stars align, I think Nick would be into it.

Of course, there are several outside factors that come into play when addressing the likelihood of this fight, the least of which being Cesar’s statement that “he thinks Nick would be into it.” Because let’s be real, no one knows what is going through Diaz’s mind. Ever. (Author’s note: I imagine it’s something like this).

Another deterring factor in this potential “superfight” (which isn’t really a superfight at all, quite honestly) would be that of Dana White, who completely shot the idea down when discussing it with Bleacher Report:

Nick Diaz makes no sense. I know that it sounds fun ‘YEAH! Throw Nick Diaz in there!’ But if you really look at the thing, Nick Diaz just lost to Condit. You know what I mean? … at 170 so that gives him the opportunity to move up to 185 and fight the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world? In what f*cking universe does that make sense?

All good points Dana, except for the fact that mere weeks after making these statements, you did the exact same thing with Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, then declared that “fun fights are OK” when discussing Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar. So to answer your question: This universe, I guess.

I’m not saying Diaz should be rewarded for his past transgressions, but then again, when he appears to be the only guy willing to fight an invincible killing machine like Silva, how long can you turn him away? WILL SOMEONE JUST LET HIM BANG, BRO?!

It’s really too early to do anything but speculate, but I think the real question that comes out of all this is: If Anderson doesn’t get his superfight with GSP, then what’s next for him (aside from a string of cameos in shitty cop movies, that is)? He refuses to fight Jon Jones and he isn’t interested in the division he’s actually champion of, so where does he go from here?

–J. Jones

Blame Canada: Georges St. Pierre, Like, Really Does Not Want to Fight Anderson Silva Right Now


(You should have gotten after him when you had the chance, Anderson. / Photo via Ric Fogel @ ESPN)

It appears that Georges St. Pierre wants to fight Anderson Silva about as bad as ‘The Spider’ wants to fight Jon Jones. That is to say, not at all, right now. We were told by UFC Prez Dana White that should the welterweight champ beat Carlos Condit as he did at UFC 154, he would take on the Brazilian middleweight king next, but St. Pierre revealed all of that to be a cruel tease recently while on Radio-Canada’s Tout Le Monde en Parle, or, Everyone is Talking as we’d say here in civilization. MMA Fighting had the translation.

“[The Anderson Silva] fight is the cherry on the sundae,” St. Pierre explained. “[Silva] wants to fight me so he can then retire. I would like to fight him too, but after I fight him and win the fight, what happens next? These days, yeah, there’s a lot of money to be made, but I don’t fight for the money. My motivation is to be the best. Like we said, to be the Wayne Gretzky of my sport. So if I fight him, what happens next? It will be over. So yes, I want the fight, but I want to take it when I decide the time is right, not when he wants the fight to happen.”

St. Pierre doesn’t want to move at Silva’s schedule just because he’s champion of a lighter division, even though Silva would appear to be much closer to retirement at age 37 than St. Pierre is. Speaking of weight differences, St. Pierre has appeared to have gotten some specific intel on just how much heavier Silva is than him.

More on that, as well as the complete video interview with St. Pierre wearing sunglasses and sipping wine, you know, just to emphasize the whole French thing, after the jump.


(You should have gotten after him when you had the chance, Anderson. / Photo via Ric Fogel @ ESPN)

It appears that Georges St. Pierre wants to fight Anderson Silva about as bad as ‘The Spider’ wants to fight Jon Jones. That is to say, not at all, right now. We were told by UFC Prez Dana White that should the welterweight champ beat Carlos Condit as he did at UFC 154, he would take on the Brazilian middleweight king next, but St. Pierre revealed all of that to be a cruel tease recently while on Radio-Canada’s Tout Le Monde en Parle, or, Everyone is Talking as we’d say here in civilization. MMA Fighting had the translation.

“[The Anderson Silva] fight is the cherry on the sundae,” St. Pierre explained. “[Silva] wants to fight me so he can then retire. I would like to fight him too, but after I fight him and win the fight, what happens next? These days, yeah, there’s a lot of money to be made, but I don’t fight for the money. My motivation is to be the best. Like we said, to be the Wayne Gretzky of my sport. So if I fight him, what happens next? It will be over. So yes, I want the fight, but I want to take it when I decide the time is right, not when he wants the fight to happen.”

St. Pierre doesn’t want to move at Silva’s schedule just because he’s champion of a lighter division, even though Silva would appear to be much closer to retirement at age 37 than St. Pierre is. Speaking of weight differences, St. Pierre has appeared to have gotten some specific intel on just how much heavier Silva is than him.

More on that, as well as the complete video interview with St. Pierre wearing sunglasses and sipping wine, you know, just to emphasize the whole French thing, after the jump.

“On top of that, he weighs 234 pounds; I weigh 188. So there’s a big weight difference,” St. Pierre said. “I’ve fought guys who were bigger. I’m not scared of him, it’s just that I will take this fight when it makes sense for me. I just came back from an injury, there’s money to be made, there are fights in my weight class, other challenges out there, and if I fight him, I will have to gain weight, while he will have to lose weight, and then afterwards, I won’t be able to come back to my weight class.

“First and foremost, I have things to do at 170 pounds. When I am ready and when I want the fight, that’s when it will happen.”

Before you jump on St. Pierre for that “I have things to do in my own weight class even though everyone knows I really don’t have anything else to prove or anyone to beat in my weight class” statement, first remember how identical it is to how Silva has answered calls to move up and compete for the light heavyweight title. He, unlike St. Pierre, has fought in a higher weight class, but has so far refused to campaign for the title.

Video of the full interview below.

– Elias Cepeda

Rory MacDonald Wants Condit after Penn, Won’t Fight GSP But Will Fight at Middleweight

(Video via MMA Fighting)

There was a period of time, back around 2004-2005, when folks spoke about a young welterweight named Georges St. Pierre as if it were inevitable that the Canadian would one day be the welterweight champion of the world. These days, the same type of hype surrounds St. Pierre’s training partner Rory MacDonald.

Rory will be fighting BJ Penn next on the UFC on Fox 5 card but is so good and so young that he constantly has to answer the question of whether or not he’d fight his Tri-Star stablemate St. Pierre.

Before last week’s UFC 154 in his home town of Montreal, MacDonald answered questions from fans. If you hear past Rory’s dry delivery and watch the whole session (above) you’ll be treated to an earnest sounding kid, both full of confidence and hard on himself (for example, he refers to his loss to Condit as getting his ass kicked instead of losing at the very end of a fight he was previously winning).

MacDonald believes with certainty that he will become the welterweight champion one day but says that “me and Georges are not going to fight.”


(Video via MMA Fighting)

There was a period of time, back around 2004-2005, when folks spoke about a young welterweight named Georges St. Pierre as if it were inevitable that the Canadian would one day be the welterweight champion of the world. These days, the same type of hype surrounds St. Pierre’s training partner Rory MacDonald.

Rory will be fighting BJ Penn next on the UFC on Fox 5 card but is so good and so young that he constantly has to answer the question of whether or not he’d fight his Tri-Star stablemate St. Pierre.

Before last week’s UFC 154 in his home town of Montreal, MacDonald answered questions from fans. If you hear past Rory’s dry delivery and watch the whole session (above) you’ll be treated to an earnest sounding kid, both full of confidence and hard on himself (for example, he refers to his loss to Condit as getting his ass kicked instead of losing at the very end of a fight he was previously winning).

MacDonald believes with certainty that he will become the welterweight champion one day but says that “me and Georges are not going to fight.”

Their friendship and his ability to stay training at his gym make it an impossibility for Rory. “We are friends and we are very close training partners…I’m not in it for the money..I don’t want to sacrifice a friendship and my spot training at Tri Star.”

MacDonald also said that, though he has no trouble making the welterweight limit, he will fight at middleweight eventually. No doubt [I] will fight at middleweight at some point in my career.”

Rory also talks about BJ Penn’s hard on for TriStar gym fighters, how he’s fine with BJ comes in fat, the randomness of Penn calling him out and the guy he wants to fight after the Hilo kid.

– Elias Cepeda

Weird Charges Against ‘Mayhem’ Miller Dropped

MMA Fighting reports that charges against retired former UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller from an August arrest have been dropped in the Orange County Superior Court. You may remember the allegations as perhaps the most bizzare ones of Miller’s life, which is saying something.

“Miller was arrested Aug. 13 in Mission Viejo, Calif., on burglary charges after he allegedly broken into a church, sprayed a fire extinguisher and broke many items. According to a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Miller was found by police naked on a couch in the church. He was not intoxicated and was arrested without incident,” MMA Fighting recounts.

According to the news site, Miller said that the case against him was dropped and that the arrest has been removed from his criminal record. “God is good,” he was reported as saying.

Just as his long and accomplished fighting career is often ignored by newer fans in light of his recent UFC performances, the fact that Miller is a friendly and good guy can often be lost amidst all of his public antics and schtick.

He has a lot to offer, even as a retired fighter. Let’s hope that his days of allegdly breaking into churches and women’s houses are behind him.

Not too long ago Miller took a stroll through New York City’s Central Park with MMA Fighting and discussed the arrest and other issues. Check out the full video interview after the jump.

MMA Fighting reports that charges against retired former UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller from an August arrest have been dropped in the Orange County Superior Court. You may remember the allegations as perhaps the most bizzare ones of Miller’s life, which is saying something.

“Miller was arrested Aug. 13 in Mission Viejo, Calif., on burglary charges after he allegedly broken into a church, sprayed a fire extinguisher and broke many items. According to a spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Miller was found by police naked on a couch in the church. He was not intoxicated and was arrested without incident,” MMA Fighting recounts.

According to the news site, Miller said that the case against him was dropped and that the arrest has been removed from his criminal record. “God is good,” he was reported as saying.

Just as his long and accomplished fighting career is often ignored by newer fans in light of his recent UFC performances, the fact that Miller is a friendly and good guy can often be lost amidst all of his public antics and schtick.

He has a lot to offer, even as a retired fighter. Let’s hope that his days of allegdly breaking into churches and women’s houses are behind him.

Not too long ago Miller took a stroll through New York City’s Central Park with MMA Fighting and discussed the arrest and other issues. Check out the full video interview after the jump.

– Elias Cepeda

Sam Stout Has an Interesting Interpretation of His UFC 154 Loss to John Makdessi


(Can’t tell if trolling…)

A lot of fighters say that once the cage door closes, they enter a state of temporary hypnosis, not unlike sleepwalking, that more or less shuts their brain down until the fight is over. Hence why they often need to be reminded what round it is, whether or not they won the last round, etc. It’s a familiar feeling — the combination of nerves, adrenaline, and the tiniest bit of fear — to anyone who has ever spoke in public or performed on a stage, and an example of how our own psyche subconsciously protects us from harm whether we want it to or not.

Clearly, this is the case for Sam Stout, who was jibber-jabbed into oblivion by John Makdessi at UFC 154. Stout’s runaway locomotive-esque strategy of “forward, forward, FORWARD” was picked apart by Makdessi with sharp combinations and simple head movement, resulting in easily some of the greatest punch faces of the night. But if you were to ask Stout how things went down, you’d probably think he fought the reincarnation of Kalib Starnes that night (Author’s note: Kalib Starnes is dead, right? I vaguely recall hearing something about a jogger accidentally running right off a cliff and just assumed the worst).

Stout shared his feelings with MMAMania:

He wasn’t fighting. He was running the whole time. I wanted to fight, I came to fight and I didn’t get the fight I wanted. 

I usually like to come out and put on an exciting fight and it takes two guys to do that, to do those kinds of fights. And you know John, he ran, he kept on moving the whole time and I was expecting him to fight me a little more.

Sour grapes much, Sam?


(Can’t tell if trolling…)

A lot of fighters say that once the cage door closes, they enter a state of temporary hypnosis, not unlike sleepwalking, that more or less shuts their brain down until the fight is over. Hence why they often need to be reminded what round it is, whether or not they won the last round, etc. It’s a familiar feeling — the combination of nerves, adrenaline, and the tiniest bit of fear — to anyone who has ever spoke in public or performed on a stage, and an example of how our own psyche subconsciously protects us from harm whether we want it to or not.

Clearly, this is the case for Sam Stout, who was jibber-jabbed into oblivion by John Makdessi at UFC 154. Stout’s runaway locomotive-esque strategy of “forward, forward, FORWARD” was picked apart by Makdessi with sharp combinations and simple head movement, resulting in easily some of the greatest punch faces of the night. But if you were to ask Stout how things went down, you’d probably think he fought the reincarnation of Kalib Starnes that night (Author’s note: Kalib Starnes is dead, right? I vaguely recall hearing something about a jogger accidentally running right off a cliff and just assumed the worst).

Stout shared his feelings with MMAMania:

He wasn’t fighting. He was running the whole time. I wanted to fight, I came to fight and I didn’t get the fight I wanted. 

I usually like to come out and put on an exciting fight and it takes two guys to do that, to do those kinds of fights. And you know John, he ran, he kept on moving the whole time and I was expecting him to fight me a little more.

Sour grapes much, Sam?

Now we’re not going to sit here and belittle a seasoned veteran like Stout, but suffice it to say, he’s sounding a little bitter. The loss to Makdessi, who was dangerously close to getting the boot from the UFC, dropped Stout to 7-7 in the UFC career and just 2-2 in his last four. Considering his current 1-2 run came after the most impressive finish in his UFC career, one can imagine that he is growing quite frustrated trying to replicate that success. He continued:

He, you know, ran and ran and ran and then timed when he wanted to land a jab and wasn’t — he didn’t really do anything that I thought was very, nothing devastating. A couple jabs in the face, nothing that really hurt me. You know, obviously I got a little lumped up, but yeah. 

It takes two to fight and make an exciting fight. I’m disappointed that it wasn’t and you know, I wanted better for the fans

Although we’re sure Sam’s feeling disappointed in the fight, we have a feeling it’s for completely different reasons. We hate to even bring this up, but ever since Shawn Tompkins’ death, the three most well known and sucessful members of his team (Stout, Hominick, Horodecki) have gone 1-6-1 with 1 NC. It really shows what kind of influence Shawn had as both a trainer and a friend, and all the more heartbreaking to see how it has affected those close to him. The numbers don’t lie.

That being said, did anyone see this fight the way Sam saw it?

–J. Jones