Tag: Interview

Ferguson, MO Native Tyron Woodley Opens Up About Mayhem in Hometown, Says It’s “Like Iraq”


(Photo via Getty.)

It has been nearly two weeks since Michael Brown was shot dead by Ferguson, Missouri police, and the general public still knows next to nothing about the circumstances surrounding his death. No police report has been released, journalists have been detained, and clashes between police and protesters continue to erupt as the eyes of the world look on. Making things all the worse is the fact that some members of the community, whether out of outrage or plain selfishness, have taken to looting and destroying local stores in a misguided response to the overbearing incompetence being displayed by their police force.

The chaos in Missouri has weighed especially heavy on welterweight contender Tyron Woodley, a Ferguson native who has been forced to watch the destruction of his hometown from afar while preparing for his co-main event matchup against Dong Hyun Kim at this weekend’s Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le card in Macau. In an attempt to keep the distractions at a minimum, Woodley’s coach has banned him from accessing social media of any kind. Still, the turmoil is all too real for Woodley, who compared Ferguson to Iraq when speaking with FoxSports:

Woodley was in town last week and drove through his neighborhood one morning after an ugly night of unrest. He couldn’t believe what he saw: auto-parts stores, Walmarts, meat markets and beauty salons, all torn apart by looting.

“If I put this video on the Internet, you wouldn’t even believe it,” Woodley said. “It’s so horrible.

“It’s almost like they’re at war. It’s like Iraq. … The best thing I can do from this far away is support the positive. There’s nothing wrong with protesting, to peacefully assemble, but also be sure it’s peaceful.”


(Photo via Getty.)

It has been nearly two weeks since Michael Brown was shot dead by Ferguson, Missouri police, and the general public still knows next to nothing about the circumstances surrounding his death. No police report has been released, journalists have been detained, and clashes between police and protesters continue to erupt as the eyes of the world look on. Making things all the worse is the fact that some members of the community, whether out of outrage or plain selfishness, have taken to looting and destroying local stores in a misguided response to the overbearing incompetence being displayed by their police force.

The chaos in Missouri has weighed especially heavy on welterweight contender Tyron Woodley, a Ferguson native who has been forced to watch the destruction of his hometown from afar while preparing for his co-main event matchup against Dong Hyun Kim at this weekend’s Fight Night 48: Bisping vs. Le card in Macau. In an attempt to keep the distractions at a minimum, Woodley’s coach has banned him from accessing social media of any kind. Still, the turmoil is all too real for Woodley, who compared Ferguson to Iraq when speaking with FoxSports:

Woodley was in town last week and drove through his neighborhood one morning after an ugly night of unrest. He couldn’t believe what he saw: auto-parts stores, Walmarts, meat markets and beauty salons, all torn apart by looting.

“If I put this video on the Internet, you wouldn’t even believe it,” Woodley said. “It’s so horrible.

“It’s almost like they’re at war. It’s like Iraq. … The best thing I can do from this far away is support the positive. There’s nothing wrong with protesting, to peacefully assemble, but also be sure it’s peaceful.”

Days out from one of the biggest fights of his career, Woodley knows that there is little he can do to help the neighbors, friends, and family members involved in the protests. Rather than devote too much of his attention to the plight of his hometown and risk losing focus on Kim in doing so, Woodley says that all he can do is try to serve as a role model to the people of Ferguson in these unstable times:

The best thing I can do for my city this far away is go out and show that someone who’s from that environment is doing something with their life — has a college education, is a pro athlete, a stunt actor, a gym owner, an entrepreneur. I am all of those things, and I’m from Ferguson.

There’s no denying that the events transpiring in Ferguson have reached far beyond the city’s limits, which hasn’t exactly made it easy for Woodley to avoid reading up on the situation. As he told BloodyElbow:

I was all in to it, reading and following up. A lot of the people involved were people I’ve seen, are in my high school, my friends, or family members. I went to that gas station many times to fill up and my house is literally two minutes from there, so it hits very near at home.

Our world in general is pretty f-ed up right now, but you have to be able to put that away and be focused thinking of the task at hand.”

Filling in on short notice for an injured Hector “Showeather” Lombard, Woodley is facing a mountain of a task in Dong Hyun Kim, who is on the heels of a Knockout of the Year frontrunner over Jon Hathaway. But one thing’s for sure, win or lose, Woodley will be in for a whole new type of fight upon his return home.

–J. Jones

Wanderlei Silva Still Living in a World of Delusion, Calls Out Dan Henderson for Trilogy Match

(On second thought, we could probably watch this again.)

Poor Wanderlei Silva. In the past few months, the former PRIDE legend has engaged in a pattern of self-destructive behavior that saw him start a brawl with Chael Sonnen on the set of TUF Brazil 3, then refuse to actually fight Sonnen, then agree to fight Sonnen only to literally run away from his random pre-fight drug test, leading to the cancellation of the bout. Even his own country has turned its back on him, and Brazilians are nothing if not fiercely loyal motherf*ckers. Poor, poor Wanderlei Silva.

None of these missteps have had any impact on Silva himself, mind you. While we are *still* awaiting word as to the length of Silva’s suspension for said skipped drug test, “The Axe Murderer” has continued to call out guys like Luke Rockhold as if nothing has happened at all. But with Rockhold too busy tearing down Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort* at every possible opportunity, Wanderlei has been forced to shift his sights elsewhere. More specifically, to Dan Henderson, whom Silva split a pair of contests with in his PRIDE heyday:

It’s not news that I want to face Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen. But Dan Henderson is another guy that I want to fight, it’s a viable possibility. We’re 1-1 tied and it would be nice to have a tiebreaker of our score. In my last fight at PRIDE, I lost my belt to him and I couldn’t have a rematch because we left. If this fight happens, I’ll ask him to bring the belt so the winner can have it after the fight.


(On second thought, we could probably watch this again.)

Poor Wanderlei Silva. In the past few months, the former PRIDE legend has engaged in a pattern of self-destructive behavior that saw him start a brawl with Chael Sonnen on the set of TUF Brazil 3, then refuse to actually fight Sonnen, then agree to fight Sonnen only to literally run away from his random pre-fight drug test, leading to the cancellation of the bout. Even his own country has turned its back on him, and Brazilians are nothing if not fiercely loyal motherf*ckers. Poor, poor Wanderlei Silva.

None of these missteps have had any impact on Silva himself, mind you. While we are *still* awaiting word as to the length of Silva’s suspension for said skipped drug test, “The Axe Murderer” has continued to call out guys like Luke Rockhold as if nothing has happened at all. But with Rockhold too busy tearing down Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort* at every possible opportunity, Wanderlei has been forced to shift his sights elsewhere. More specifically, to Dan Henderson, whom Silva split a pair of contests with in his PRIDE heyday:

It’s not news that I want to face Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen. But Dan Henderson is another guy that I want to fight, it’s a viable possibility. We’re 1-1 tied and it would be nice to have a tiebreaker of our score. In my last fight at PRIDE, I lost my belt to him and I couldn’t have a rematch because we left. If this fight happens, I’ll ask him to bring the belt so the winner can have it after the fight.

“It’s not news that I want to face Vitor Belfort or Chael Sonnen.” That’s true, Wandy, but only because one is challenging for the title and the other is, you know, retired. Also, you refused to fight Sonnen on no less than three occasions, which removes some of the credence from that statement. I do like the idea of holding a fight in the UFC for a PRIDE belt, though, and can’t tell you how excited I am at the prospect of Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley II for the UFC Strikeforce Welterweight One-Round Championship.

Not that it matters, because again, Silva is likely facing an incredibly lengthy suspension whenever the NSAC gets its shit together, but Hendo is open to the idea of a trilogy fight:

So Nation, anyone interested in seeing Silva vs. Hendo III when the former returns from his stay on Planet Crazypants Bananas?

*Who responded with two of the most hilarious quotes of the year. 

–J. Jones

ICYMI: Vitor Belfort Just Lobbed Two “Quote of the Year”-Worthy Insults at Luke Rockhold


(Knockout via TRT. Photo via Getty.)

In addition to laying a physical beatdown on Luke Rockhold back at UFC on FX 8 (and earning himself the “Knockout of the Year” Potato Award in the process), Vitor Belfort has now doled out a verbal ass-whooping to the former Strikeforce middleweight champion in a recent interview with MMAFighting.

As you might’ve heard, Rockhold has been doing his damndest to discredit his loss to Belfort, and really, the entire revitalization of Belfort’s career, in recent weeks. That Belfort failed a random drug test back in February didn’t exactly hurt Rockhold’s case, but it hasn’t endeared the latter to a ton of fans, either. Now that Belfort has been relicensed to fight, Rockhold has decided to kick his trash-talking game into overdrive, rallying to replace Belfort against Chris Weidman at UFC 181 on Twitter and saying some really nasty (if not warranted) things about Belfort to the media.

But nobody puts an old lion in a corner, as the saying goes, so when Belfort chose to respond to Rockhold, he did so with concise, unforgiving brutality:

That playboy is still in shock from the kick. He’s in shock. People are in shock. That’s the word. Lions don’t apologize for being lions.


(Knockout via TRT. Photo via Getty.)

In addition to laying a physical beatdown on Luke Rockhold back at UFC on FX 8 (and earning himself the “Knockout of the Year” Potato Award in the process), Vitor Belfort has now doled out a verbal ass-whooping to the former Strikeforce middleweight champion in a recent interview with MMAFighting.

As you might’ve heard, Rockhold has been doing his damndest to discredit his loss to Belfort, and really, the entire revitalization of Belfort’s career, in recent weeks. That Belfort failed a random drug test back in February didn’t exactly hurt Rockhold’s case, but it hasn’t endeared the latter to a ton of fans, either. Now that Belfort has been relicensed to fight, Rockhold has decided to kick his trash-talking game into overdrive, rallying to replace Belfort against Chris Weidman at UFC 181 on Twitter and saying some really nasty (if not warranted) things about Belfort to the media.

But nobody puts an old lion in a corner, as the saying goes, so when Belfort chose to respond to Rockhold, he did so with concise, unforgiving brutality:

That playboy is still in shock from the kick. He’s in shock. People are in shock. That’s the word. Lions don’t apologize for being lions. I don’t. It is what it is.

For context: “Playboy” is a commonly used insult in Brazil meant to mock those who come from privileged backgrounds, because Brazil is such a backwards, impoverished place that actually having money and choosing to live there apparently warrants a tongue-lashing. But those weren’t even the best burns that Belfort went with. These were:

Eighteen years ago, I was in this game. I had to fight twice in one night. In 2004, I became the light heavyweight champion. I’m so glad that I’m still here, and I think that affects a lot of people, and give joy to a lot of people. A lot of guys, they are just mama’s boys with powder in their butts.

When you get knocked out, just shut your mouth, go to the gym and train. Eighteen years ago, all of these boys were in high school, and right now they think they are going to use me as a ladder? But the ladder is so high, the altitude is so high they cannot breathe. Hey bro, the altitude is too high.

There are literally dozens of gifs I could choose to describe the verbal pwnage I just witnessed (Kelso, victory dancing little girl, Spongebob chant) but I think this one adds a classy touch…

“Hey bro, the altitude is too high” just replaced “Where I come from, people like that get slapped” as my mantra, BTW.

–J. Jones

Today in Trolling: Josh Thomson Says Larger Fighters Are ‘One Dimensional’, ‘Not Mixed Martial Artists’


(Awww…who could stay mad at that face? / Photo via joshpunkthomson)

This Saturday, lightweight veteran Josh Thomson leads off the UFC on FOX 12: Lawler vs. Brown broadcast with a fight against Bobby Green, and naturally, “The Punk” decided to talk a little trash in the media to build some heat. The problem is, his insults weren’t directed at Green, or anybody else in his weight class. Instead, Thomson used a Fox Sports interview as a platform to bury the UFC’s three heaviest divisions.

Basically, Thomson was arguing that it’s harder to come by a finish at 155 pounds or below (which is true), because the fighters are much more talented and well-rounded (which is debatable). And sure, maybe it could have come out better:

“You hit 185, 205, and heavyweight, those guys are always just good at like one thing, two things, but they’re not great all the way around. There’s ways to finish them. So if you’re a well-rounded athlete, you can finish those guys. You can find ways to finish those guys.

“With 55-pounders and below, good luck, man. Everybody’s good all around — they’re good wrestlers, they’re good jiu-jitsu guys, they’re good standup guys, they’re game to throw down and they’re always in shape. 170 is kind of like the limbo — like there’s some well-rounded guys in there…

“You start getting in the 185’s, 205, heavyweight, they start being one-dimensional, two-dimensional fighters. They’re not mixed martial artists. They’re not as good as the 55-pounders and below. They’re just not. To me that’s just a fact.


(Awww…who could stay mad at that face? / Photo via joshpunkthomson)

This Saturday, lightweight veteran Josh Thomson leads off the UFC on FOX 12: Lawler vs. Brown broadcast with a fight against Bobby Green, and naturally, “The Punk” decided to talk a little trash in the media to build some heat. The problem is, his insults weren’t directed at Green, or anybody else in his weight class. Instead, Thomson used a Fox Sports interview as a platform to bury the UFC’s three heaviest divisions.

Basically, Thomson was arguing that it’s harder to come by a finish at 155 pounds or below (which is true), because the fighters are much more talented and well-rounded (which is debatable). And sure, maybe it could have come out better:

“You hit 185, 205, and heavyweight, those guys are always just good at like one thing, two things, but they’re not great all the way around.  There’s ways to finish them. So if you’re a well-rounded athlete, you can finish those guys.  You can find ways to finish those guys.

“With 55-pounders and below, good luck, man. Everybody’s good all around — they’re good wrestlers, they’re good jiu-jitsu guys, they’re good standup guys, they’re game to throw down and they’re always in shape.  170 is kind of like the limbo — like there’s some well-rounded guys in there…

“You start getting in the 185′s, 205, heavyweight, they start being one-dimensional, two-dimensional fighters. They’re not mixed martial artists. They’re not as good as the 55-pounders and below. They’re just not. To me that’s just a fact.

“So you want to tell me ‘don’t leave it in the judges’ hands’ but where am I supposed to take this fight where this guy isn’t good? He’s good at stopping submissions, he’s good at wrestling, he’s good as standup and he’s generally in great shape. Tell me how when we start talking 55 and below, these guy are phenomenal athletes and they’re almost impossible to finish. People knock us for it, but guess what? Our weight classes are so much harder than the guys that are above us.”

Thomson’s willingness to speak his mind can sometimes be refreshing. Other times, his lack of filter isn’t as well received. (Case in point: The time he decided to invoke incest and bestiality in a Facebook rant about gay marriage, then claimed his words were taken out of context when the backlash hit him.)

My problem with Thomson’s opinion about larger fighters is that there are just too many obvious exceptions to take the claim seriously. From the champions (Chris Weidman, Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez) to the top contenders (Fabricio Werdum, Daniel Cormier, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, among many others), the heavier divisions are loaded with athletes who can hurt you from any position and always show up in shape.

Thomson interprets the lower finishing rate in the lighter divisions as a sign that the talent pool is higher there, the fighters are more well-rounded. But you can look at the same evidence and come to the exact opposite conclusion — the heavier fighters are better because they’re actually finishing each other. Only one thing’s for certain: Josh Thomson is not here to make friends.

Related:
Josh Thomson Makes ‘Bitch Ass Lady Sounds’ When He Fights, According to Nate Diaz

Quote of the Day: Tim Kennedy Goes Nuclear on Vitor Belfort’s (Alleged) Drug Use, Says Belfort Won’t Be Able to Compete Clean


(We get it, dude, you’re scary. / Photo via gerbergear.com)

Despite failing a random drug test for elevated testosterone earlier this year, Vitor Belfort is the leading candidate to get the next crack at UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman‘s belt. What’s more, UFC president Dana White wants to hold the fight in Brazil, where Belfort competed through all of 2013 without incident, unhindered by random drug tests.

And yeah, that’s bullshit. Handing a title fight in a friendly jurisdiction to Belfort — who also tested positive for steroids in 2006 — would not be the best look, from a public relations standpoint, and one fighter is calling foul, as loudly as possible. On the latest episode of Submission Radio, middleweight contender Tim Kennedy argued once again for the increased usage of random drug testing in MMA (particularly blood-testing, which would detect HGH and EPO), and verbally assaulted Belfort in particular:

“Right now [Belfort is] down in Brazil, or back in you know California, training his butt off and injecting anything that he wants to and loving it, and nobody’s testing him, or like his doctor — when I say his, I’m making quotation fingers ‘doctor’ — so he’s like dripping testosterone out of his eyeballs right now. How old was he when he first failed a drug test, like 18? For anabolic steroids? So he’s being using for 20 years. Your body doesn’t function naturally now. He’s what, 37 or 38? So like 18 years…


(We get it, dude, you’re scary. / Photo via gerbergear.com)

Despite failing a random drug test for elevated testosterone earlier this year, Vitor Belfort is the leading candidate to get the next crack at UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman‘s belt. What’s more, UFC president Dana White wants to hold the fight in Brazil, where Belfort competed through all of 2013 without incident, unhindered by random drug tests.

And yeah, that’s bullshit. Handing a title fight in a friendly jurisdiction to Belfort — who also tested positive for steroids in 2006 — would not be the best look, from a public relations standpoint, and one fighter is calling foul, as loudly as possible. On the latest episode of Submission Radio, middleweight contender Tim Kennedy argued once again for the increased usage of random drug testing in MMA (particularly blood-testing, which would detect HGH and EPO), and verbally assaulted Belfort in particular:

“Right now [Belfort is] down in Brazil, or back in you know California, training his butt off and injecting anything that he wants to and loving it, and nobody’s testing him, or like his doctor — when I say his, I’m making quotation fingers ‘doctor’ — so he’s like dripping testosterone out of his eyeballs right now. How old was he when he first failed a drug test, like 18? For anabolic steroids? So he’s being using for 20 years. Your body doesn’t function naturally now. He’s what, 37 or 38? So like 18 years.

“But there’s no possible way that he could compete at a high level against the Chris Weidmans, the me’s, the Luke Rockholds without chemically enhancing himself. There’s no way. I don’t care if he’s like, drinking Jesus’ blood like he says he is or whatever, it doesn’t work that way. Like, he’s been using steroids for like 15 or 20 years, and he still is using them. If he ever tries to get clean, he can’t compete at this level.”

First off, let’s applaud Kennedy for his use of “the me’s” in a hypothetical list of people that Belfort might fight. I’ve never seen that done before, and Kennedy managed to pull it off.

Beyond that, this is some of the most effective trash-talk I’ve seen in recent memory. It gives Kennedy moral high ground while simultaneously serving as a devastating personal attack, accusing Belfort of using steroids for decades. (And loving it!) Plus, invoking Jesus’s name makes it personal. No matter what happens between Belfort and Weidman, the Phenom will likely want to fight Kennedy next — which is the whole point.

Belfort will apply for a fighter’s license in Nevada on Wednesday, and his immediate future will become a lot more clear depending on what happens. We already know that coming off of TRT after prolonged usage can be physically devastating; hopefully the UFC learned its lesson with Chael Sonnen that they should wait until a former TRT-user’s health is in order before booking him for a fight.

Kennedy takes on Yoel Romero at UFC 178: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2, September 27th in Las Vegas.

Quote of the Day: Floyd Mayweather Does Not Know Who Ronda Rousey Is, And Incorrectly Guesses Her Gender

(Props: David Greisman)

“I don’t even know who he is.” — Floyd Mayweather on Ronda Rousey

Guys, the MMA vs. boxing debate is over, and we lost. MMA is such an obscure freak show that boxing’s biggest star has never even heard of the UFC’s (allegedly) biggest star, but he assumes that “Ronda” is a man’s name because WHY IN THE FUCK WOULD ANYBODY ASK A MALE FIGHTER IF HE COULD BEAT UP A FEMALE FIGHTER? This Ronda person must be a man. The alternative would be preposterous. Some bad motherfuckers have girls names, you know?

So while UFC president Dana White, Joe Rogan, and various fans and media dumbasses have discussed the fantasy matchup of Rowdy vs. Money May, Floyd has just been living his life, blissfully unaware, hiring women to carry his money suitcases. But fighting women in a ring or cage, for money? How sick do you have to be to even come up with something like that?

Expendables 3 hits theaters on August 15th.

Update:

Indeed. The DeRousey Era is upon us.


(Props: David Greisman)

“I don’t even know who he is.” — Floyd Mayweather on Ronda Rousey

Guys, the MMA vs. boxing debate is over, and we lost. MMA is such an obscure freak show that boxing’s biggest star has never even heard of the UFC’s (allegedly) biggest star, but he assumes that “Ronda” is a man’s name because WHY IN THE FUCK WOULD ANYBODY ASK A MALE FIGHTER IF HE COULD BEAT UP A FEMALE FIGHTER? This Ronda person must be a man. The alternative would be preposterous. Some bad motherfuckers have girls names, you know?

So while UFC president Dana White, Joe Rogan, and various fans and media dumbasses have discussed the fantasy matchup of Rowdy vs. Money May, Floyd has just been living his life, blissfully unaware, hiring women to carry his money suitcases. But fighting women in a ring or cage, for money? How sick do you have to be to even come up with something like that?

Expendables 3 hits theaters on August 15th.

Update:

Indeed. The DeRousey Era is upon us.