In most high-profile professional sports it’s unheard of to hold down a day job while competing at the highest level, but it’s more common than you might think in mixed martial arts. That’s not to suggest that MMA fighters don’t require as much time to prepare as other athletes though. Far from it in fact,
In most high-profile professional sports it’s unheard of to hold down a day job while competing at the highest level, but it’s more common than you might think in mixed martial arts.
That’s not to suggest that MMA fighters don’t require as much time to prepare as other athletes though.
Far from it in fact, with mixed martial arts multi-faceted disciplines presenting a never-ending array of techniques to be learned, practiced and honed, while countless hours are invested in grueling conditioning workouts and sparring sessions to prepare fighters minds and bodies for one of the most demanding physical pursuits in all of sports.
However, compared to other leading sports, MMA is still the new kid on the block, and when many of today’s fighters took their first martial arts classes in their teens there was no guarantee that there would be able to make a career out of it.
Even today, with the sport having a stronger footing than at any time in it’s brief history, many of the UFC’s fighters still face challenges making ends meet and beyond a handful of major stars there’s not many who will be financially secure when they decide to hang up their gloves.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that some UFC fighters over the years have opted to retain a day job alongside their fighting careers, and in this article we’ll look at 10 who have done so successfully on the sports biggest stage.
The UFC’s first TUF season in China is over. Zhang Lipeng defeated Wang Sai to become the first-ever Chinese Ultimate Fighter winner.
But I’m sure most of you don’t really care too much about that. After all, TUF china was a show with a recruitment policy so lax that an 0-0 yoga instructor somehow made it into the cast.
Despite the questionable levels of talent present, there were a few important fights on the card—relevant matches and interesting clashes of styles. Which fights were those? We’re gonna recap them for you.
(Photo via Getty)
The UFC’s first TUF season in China is over. Zhang Lipeng defeated Wang Sai to become the first-ever Chinese Ultimate Fighter winner.
But I’m sure most of you don’t really care too much about that. After all, TUF china was a show with a recruitment policy so lax that an 0-0 yoga instructor somehow made it into the cast.
Despite the questionable levels of talent present, there were a few important fights on the card—relevant matches and interesting clashes of styles. Which fights were those? We’re gonna recap them for you.
Vaughan Lee decisioned Nam Phan. It was a fight in which Lee never lost control. His striking was too accurate and too quick for Phan to counter. Lee was able to shrug off Phan’s takedown attempts as well.
Kazuki Tokudome was on the wrong side of a split decision against Yui Chul Nam in what was a barn-burner. Nam nearly finished Tokudome in the first round, but punched himself out. This enabled a stunning comeback from Tokudome in the second round, where he returned the favor and nearly finished Nam. The match was decided in the third round, where Nam wobbled Tokudome with a right hand and landed two takedowns.
Hatsu Hioki vs. Ivan Menjivar kicked off the four-fight main card. This fight was pretty straightforward. Hioki was the superior grappler, and he let Menjivar know it throughout the first two rounds, taking him down and working for a variety of submissions. Menjivar had a glimmer of hope in the third round when he landed a right hand that had Hioki hurt, but Menjivar couldn’t capitalize on it. Hioki took home a unanimous decision win for his efforts.
The heavyweights came in for the next fight. Matt Mitrione and Shawn Jordan met in the center of the cage and threw leather. Mitrione managed to throw a bit more, however, and ultimately knocked out Jordan at the 4:59 mark of the first round. Here’s the GIF (via @ZProphet_MMA).
The co-main event featured TUF: China welterweight finalists Zhang Lipeng and Wang Sai. In a closely contested fight, Lipeng managed to edge past Sai by less than a hair’s width.
The night’s main event (or morning’s main event since the card began at around 6:30 am EST) was worth the price of UFC Fight Pass admission. John Hathaway and Dong Hyun Kim put on a show. Kim decided to abandon his grappling in favor of brawling. Hathaway was happy to oblige, which for him was a poor decision—a gorgeous spinning back elbow from Kim left him staring at the ceiling. Kim won the fight via KO at 1:02 of round 3. Check out the GIF (again via @ZProphet_MMA).
Here are the complete results:
Main Card
Dong Hyun Kim def. John Hathaway via knockout (elbow) – Round 3, 1:02
Zhang Lipeng def. Wang Sai via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Matt Mitrione def. Shawn Jordan via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:59
Hatsu Hioki def. Ivan Menjivar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Yui Chul Nam def. Kazuki Tokudome via split decision (29-27, 27-28, 29-28)
Vaughan Lee def. Nam Phan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Anying Wang def. Albert Cheng via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 1, 5:00
Mark Eddiva def. Jumabieke Tuerxun via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
(Kim’s Knockout of the Night-winning comeback KO of Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 29 in October. / Video via FoxSports)
Coming off three consecutive victories against Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurzada, and Erick Silva, South Korean welterweight Dong Hyun Kim is one of the most successful Asian fighters currently competing in the UFC. Naturally, the UFC has booked him to headline the TUF China Finale, which goes down March 1st at the CotaiArena in Macau. Kim will face British vet John Hathaway, who is riding his own three-fight win streak, although against somewhat weaker competition. Plus, Hathaway was inactive for all of 2013 due to ulcerative colitis, so yeah, this kind of feels like a squash match. The fight will be scheduled for five rounds; neither Kim nor Hathaway has ever competed in a five-rounder before.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the contender spectrum, TopMMANews is reporting that Hatsu Hioki and Ivan Menjivar will face off in a featherweight bout at the TUF China Finale that could end with the loser getting the axe. Once considered to be one of the greatest featherweights in the world, Hioki has struggled to find his footing in the UFC, and has lost three consecutive decisions to Ricardo Lamas, Clay Guida, and Darren Elkins. As for Menjivar, the “Pride of El Salvador” went 0-2 in 2013, dropping fights against Urijah Faber and Wilson Reis.
(Kim’s Knockout of the Night-winning comeback KO of Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 29 in October. / Video via FoxSports)
Coming off three consecutive victories against Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurzada, and Erick Silva, South Korean welterweight Dong Hyun Kim is one of the most successful Asian fighters currently competing in the UFC. Naturally, the UFC has booked him to headline the TUF China Finale, which goes down March 1st at the CotaiArena in Macau. Kim will face British vet John Hathaway, who is riding his own three-fight win streak, although against somewhat weaker competition. Plus, Hathaway was inactive for all of 2013 due to ulcerative colitis, so yeah, this kind of feels like a squash match. The fight will be scheduled for five rounds; neither Kim nor Hathaway has ever competed in a five-rounder before.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the contender spectrum, TopMMANews is reporting that Hatsu Hioki and Ivan Menjivar will face off in a featherweight bout at the TUF China Finale that could end with the loser getting the axe. Once considered to be one of the greatest featherweights in the world, Hioki has struggled to find his footing in the UFC, and has lost three consecutive decisions to Ricardo Lamas, Clay Guida, and Darren Elkins. As for Menjivar, the “Pride of El Salvador” went 0-2 in 2013, dropping fights against Urijah Faber and Wilson Reis.
(Darren Uyenoyama mocks Yamamoto after giving him the worst wet willy in MMA History at UFC on FOX 1.)
One of the more notorious UFC busts in recent memory, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto has yet to taste victory in three UFC bouts, dropping decisions to Demetrious Johnson (fair enough) and Darren Uyenoyama (understandable) before getting submitted by Vaughan Lee (COME ON!) in the first round of their UFC 144 scrap last February. Since then, we haven’t heard much from the former K1 star and could only assume that he was diligently working on his kata with headmaster Michael “Lightning Bolt!” Dealy.
His back now firmly planted against the wall, Yamamoto will be given one of his toughest tests to date in what is surely his do-or-die fight with the UFC. “Kid” will face Ivan Menjivar at UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson. TVA Sports was the first to announce the booking yesterday:
(Darren Uyenoyama mocks Yamamoto after giving him the worst wet willy in MMA History at UFC on FOX 1.)
One of the more notorious UFC busts in recent memory, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto has yet to taste victory in three UFC bouts, dropping decisions to Demetrious Johnson (fair enough) and Darren Uyenoyama (understandable) before getting submitted by Vaughan Lee (COME ON!) in the first round of their UFC 144 scrap last February. Since then, we haven’t heard much from the former K1 star and could only assume that he was diligently working on his kata with headmaster Michael “Lightning Bolt!” Dealy.
His back now firmly planted against the wall, Yamamoto will be given one of his toughest tests to date in what is surely his do-or-die fight with the UFC. “Kid” will face Ivan Menjivar at UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson. TVA Sports was the first to announce the booking yesterday:
On the heels of a first round submission via rear-naked choke loss to Urijah Faber at UFC 157 (his second loss in his past three fights), it’s safe to say that this could be a must win for “The Pride of El Salvador” as well. Although his UFC record currently stands at a respectable 4-3, you have to imagine that dropping a second straight contest to a winless (as far as the UFC is concerned) fighter like Yamamoto would spell disaster for the WEC veteran.
Who do you like for this bantamweight sure-to-be-slugfest, Nation?
Make no mistake, no matter how last night’s main event was going to end, it was going to be an important moment in UFC history. For the first time in the promotion’s history, two female athletes would be competing in the UFC. Squash match or not, the historical significance of the fight and the freshly minted UFC Women’s Bantamweight title were enough to bump the fight up to main event status.
I’ve seen dozens of writers today write about how “predictably” the main event ended, but I can’t help but feel that this does a severe injustice to the fight we were treated to. Yes, it ended in a first round armbar victory for Ronda Rousey, and no, literally nothing else about this fight was predictable.
This is in large part a credit to challenger Liz Carmouche. Few people gave Carmouche any sort of chance to win, as clearly reflected by the betting odds for the fight. Yet for the first time last night, Carmouche was able to expose holes in Rousey’s game, and make the women’s champion look beatable. She wasn’t Rousey’s slightly-resistant grappling dummy – she was a very worthy challenger who almost finished Rousey with a rear-naked choke, and has teeth marks on her arm to show for it. Let’s all stop and admit that none of us expected this from her.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
Make no mistake, no matter how last night’s main event was going to end, it was going to be an important moment in UFC history. For the first time in the promotion’s history, two female athletes would be competing in the UFC. Squash match or not, the historical significance of the fight and the freshly minted UFC Women’s Bantamweight title were enough to bump the fight up to main event status.
I’ve seen dozens of writers today write about how “predictably” the main event ended, but I can’t help but feel that this does a severe injustice to the fight we were treated to. Yes, it ended in a first round armbar victory for Ronda Rousey, and no, literally nothing else about this fight was predictable.
This is in large part a credit to challenger Liz Carmouche. Few people gave Carmouche any sort of chance to win, as clearly reflected by the betting odds for the fight. Yet for the first time last night, Carmouche was able to expose holes in Rousey’s game, and make the women’s champion look beatable. She wasn’t Rousey’s slightly-resistant grappling dummy – she was a very worthy challenger who almost finished Rousey with a rear-naked choke, and has teeth marks on her arm to show for it. Let’s all stop and admit that none of us expected this from her.
Let’s make sure to give Ronda Rousey her proper dues as well. Rousey responded to the stiffest test of her career the only way she knows how to: by cranking an arm until something taps or snaps. She managed to score her seventh victory by way of first round armbar in just as many professional fights, living up to the hype that she had been justifiably receiving. It may not have been her prettiest victory, but she survived the challenge and kept calm under pressure.
Above all else though, Rousey and Carmouche deserve respect for shattering not only the ceiling for women in the UFC, but the glass ceilings that fans placed on female fighters. Say what you want about women not being as strong or fast as men, or that the talent pool isn’t as deep (as opposed to the stacked men’s flyweight division), or keep talking about the ability to dunk a basketball like it even remotely matters*. Just don’t say that women don’t belong at our sport’s highest level of competition. If you value the quality of the fights over the sexes of the athletes, you walked away from last night’s main event excited about future women’s matchups.
Elsewhere on the card:
– I’ll admit that before the event, I thought a case could be made that Henderson vs. Machida was the real main event. On paper, Rousey vs. Carmouche was little more than a squash match designed to give Rousey the title. Meanwhile, on paper, Machida vs. Henderson was a legitimate fight for light-heavyweight number one contendership. Unfortunately, anyone who sat through Machida vs. Henderson was reminded that things rarely play out in real time the way that they should play out on paper.
If Rousey vs. Carmouche was everything fans can look forward to from the UFC’s newest acquisitions, then Machida vs. Henderson was everything fans were already sick of. A “too elusive to be interesting” fighter more concerned with winning rounds than putting on a show? Check. An aging fighter on testosterone replacement therapy? Check. A judge ignoring the things he’s supposed to be looking for and picking the winner of the fight based on a vague notion of “Octagon Control?” *sigh* Check. “Forgettable” barely describes this one.
– Yes, Machida is next in line for a shot at the light-heavyweight title, although Dana White didn’t exactly sound thrilled to be announcing it. “It wasn’t a barnburner,” said White about Machida vs. Henderson. “It wasn’t the most exciting fight you’ve ever seen. You won’t be writing stories about this fight until the end of time. But Lyoto won the fight. He beat the number one contender.”
– Urijah Faber knew he needed to put on an extra special performance against Ivan Menjivar if he wanted job security, and did exactly that. You don’t see too many standing crucifix-to-rear-naked choke finishes, but then again, you don’t see too many fighters as creative and athletic as Urijah Faber. When he’s matched up against the Ivan Menjivars of the division, the end result is something special.
– Court McGee was a tough-as-nails middleweight, is now a tough-as-nails welterweight, and continued to look solid against lower-end competition with his victory over Josh Neer. I don’t see a Demian Maia-esque resurgence at welterweight in McGee’s future, but then again, I didn’t see one for Maia, either.
– If Robbie Lawler knocking out Josh Koscheck isn’t at least an honorable mention for “Most Satisfying Beatdown of 2013,” then a lot of heels are going to get their asses kicked by old-school warriors this year. However, I was surprised to see how many people thought that the fight was stopped too early. It’s one thing not to like a fighter, it’s another thing to want him dead.
– Lawler rightfully took home the $50k Knockout of the Night bonus for his performance. Meanwhile, Koscheck may very well find himself unemployed. I’m sure Dana White likes Koscheck, just as I’m sure he likes Jon Fitch, too. By the way, Fitch not only made less money than Koscheck does per fight, but he also had a higher “ranking” when he was released.
– Submission of the Night honors did not go to Ronda Rousey, but rather, Kenny Robertson for his first round kneebar submission over Brock Jardine.
– Fight of the Night went to the three round war that was Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice. These two featherweightst absolutely stole the show with this fight. In the end, Bermudez won by decision.
Full Results:
Main Card:
Ronda Rousey def. Liz Carmouche via submission (armbar), 4:49 of Round 1
Lyoto Machida def. Dan Henderson via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Urijah Faber def. Ivan Menjivar via submission (rear-naked choke), 4:43 of Round 1
Court McGee def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Robbie Lawler def. Josh Koscheck via TKO, 3:57 of Round 1
Preliminary Card:
Brendan Schaub def. Lavar Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
Michael Chiesa def. Anton Kuivanen via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:29 of Round 2
Dennis Bermudez def. Matt Grice via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Sam Stout def. Caros Fodor via split decision (29-28 x 2, 28-29)
Kenny Robertson def. Brock Jardine via submission (kneebar), 2:57 of Round 1
Neil Magny def. Jon Manley via unanimous decision (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
Nah-Shon Burrell def. Yuri Villefort via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
* By the way, if dunking a basketball is the measuring stick of whether or not a person is a good athlete, then our sport’s most accomplished light-heavyweight is, well, you’ll see:
