At 39 Jeff Monson Has Had Enough of Fighting for Numerous Organizations and as a Heavyweight

 ("I can’t touch my head, see.")
Jeff Monson is getting too old for this shit and is ready to settle down.
"The Snowman," who turns 40 in January, tells the Miami Herald that at just 5′ 9" his chances of being a heavyweigh…

 
("I can’t touch my head, see.")

Jeff Monson is getting too old for this shit and is ready to settle down.

"The Snowman," who turns 40 in January, tells the Miami Herald that at just 5′ 9" his chances of being a heavyweight champion weren’t great, so the Olympia, Washington native made the decision to drop down to light heavyweight for the remainder of his career.

Following his final heavyweight fight last weekend — a win over Travis Fulton Saturday night at Fight Time Promotion’s event in Pompano Beach, Florida — Monson (38-11), who walks around at just over 230 pounds, will now drop down to fight at 205 where he says he will have a distinct size and strength advantage over his opponents.

"Losing the weight is difficult, but I used to lose a lot of weight when I wrestled in college,” he said. "Instead of me being the small guy at heavyweight, fighting the 265 guys, maybe I won’t be taller, but I’ll be one of the biggest 205-pounders out there. When I climb into the cage I’ll be 230 again with all my power behind me. This will be a new bonus for me.”

4-0 in his last four outings, Monson’s first fight in his new weight class will come tonight when he takes on 3-4 Sergey Shemetov at Israel FC: Genesis in Tel Aviv. A win over a sub .500 fighter like Shemetov likely won’t earn him an invite from Strikeforce or the UFC, but it will prove if the weight cut will affect Monson’s conditioning, which has been questionable in some of his recent fights.

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Trigg, Monson, Sokoudjou, Other UFC Vets Slated for Israel FC

Filed under: Fighting, NewsFrank Trigg, Jeff Monson, Ricco Rodriguez, Hermes Franca, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, Daniel Gracie and Shonie Carter are all slated to compete in Israel on Nov. 9 for the Israel Fighting Champio…

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Frank Trigg, Jeff Monson, Ricco Rodriguez, Hermes Franca, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, Daniel Gracie and Shonie Carter are all slated to compete in Israel on Nov. 9 for the Israel Fighting Championship group.

The matchups after the jump.

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(Joey Beltran predicts a slugfest against Matt Mitrione during the UFC 119 Spike TV Prelims, and explains the origin of his "Mexecutioner" nickname. Props: FightMagazine)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphe…

(Joey Beltran predicts a slugfest against Matt Mitrione during the UFC 119 Spike TV Prelims, and explains the origin of his "Mexecutioner" nickname. Props: FightMagazine)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– CSAC’s George Dodd Explains Why Chael Sonnen Was Allowed to Compete at UFC 117 (MMA Fighting)

– Chael Sonnen Plans To Appeal Drug Test + Jim Rome’s Take On Sonnen (MMA Convert)

– UFC 119: Frank Mir’s Last Run At Heavyweight Title? (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Dunham, Sherk Headed in Different Directions Leading Up to UFC 119 (Versus MMA Beat)

– This Is What Google Says About Your Favorite Fighter (MiddleEasy)

– Snowman’s Land: Jeff Monson Discusses Next Fight in Israel, Drop to Light-Heavyweight (LowKick)

– The Best Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante Highlight Reel Ever (MMA Scraps)

– Understanding Why Chael Sonnen Failed His UFC 117 Drug Test; a Procedural Look (Watch Kalib Run)

– Bas Rutten Comments on Steroid Use in Mixed Martial Arts (Five Ounces of Pain)

MMA’s Weird-Stomach-Tattoo Hall of Fame Picks Up a New Member [GALLERY]

(Photo courtesy of travisthehurricane.com)
Bellator announced yesterday that they have signed 14-2 prospect Travis "The Hurricane" Reddinger for their upcoming bantamweight tournament. You can’t miss him — he’s the guy with the enormo…

Travis Reddinger Bellator tattoo stomach mma
(Photo courtesy of travisthehurricane.com)

Bellator announced yesterday that they have signed 14-2 prospect Travis "The Hurricane" Reddinger for their upcoming bantamweight tournament. You can’t miss him — he’s the guy with the enormous "BELLATOR" tattoo on his stomach. So did Reddinger get the piece done in a fit of excitement after he learned of his signing? Nope. It turns out it was just a strange coincidence. As Travis explained, he got the tat four-and-a-half years ago, long before Bellator Fighting Championships even existed: 

"For me it just symbolizes perseverance and the never-say-die mentality that I strive for. I know that Bellator stands for the warrior mentality as well, so it’s a great honor for me to be a part of the organization.”


Makes sense to us, though it’s still going to to look strange when he gets picked up by the WEC. Reddinger’s Bellator-ink earns him a spot in MMA’s Weird-Stomach-Tattoo Hall of Fame. You can check out the other members after the jump…

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Barnett Beats That One Guy in Australia; Parisyan, Sokoudjou, Monson Also Win

("I’m sorry, what was your name again?" PicProps: Sherdog)
Thank God that Josh Barnett only did a couple of the things he threatened to do to Geronimo dos Santos at Impact FC in Brisbane last night.  Despite his threats to the contrary, …


("I’m sorry, what was your name again?" PicProps: Sherdog)

Thank God that Josh Barnett only did a couple of the things he threatened to do to Geronimo dos Santos at Impact FC in Brisbane last night.  Despite his threats to the contrary, reports from Sherdog’s Jordan Breen – who was cageside for the event — indicate that Barnett’s short-and-sweet win over dos Santos in the main event of the upstart Australian promotion went strictly according to the unified rules. And no, that is not a euphemism.

The former UFC heavyweight champion took his enormo Brazilian opponent down and achieved full mount twice during the 2 minute, 45 second contest and eventually used a barrage of strikes from behind dos Santos to force John McCarthy to call the fight. Dos Santos attempted to protest the stoppage, but reportedly failed the “What the fuck is your problem?” test with his unsure, rubbery legs.

Fellow UFC castoffs  Karo Parisyan, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Jeff Monson also recorded wins, while former champion Carlos Newton lost an ugly fight to Brian Ebersole.

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