Megumi Fujii, perhaps the greatest female mixed martial arts fighter of all time, lost her retirement fight Saturday night at Vale Tudo Japan 3rd against Jessica Aguilar in a second round stoppage. Fujii was twice poked in the eye by Aguilar in the first round and sustained a serious-looking injury because of them.
“Mega Megu” decided to fight on despite the injury but in the second round, Aguilar began to take control of the fight and hurt Fujii more. In between the second and third rounds, a ring side doctor inspected Fujii and decided to stop the fight. The fight between Fujii and Aguilar was a rematch of their 2012 Bellator bout which ended with a controversial decision win for Aguilar.
Fujii finishes her career with a record of 26-3, overall. After the fight, the promotion held a retirement ceremony for the pioneering fighter. Watch the fight and ceremony in the video above.
Megumi Fujii, perhaps the greatest female mixed martial arts fighter of all time, lost her retirement fight Saturday night at Vale Tudo Japan 3rd against Jessica Aguilar in a second round stoppage. Fujii was twice poked in the eye by Aguilar in the first round and sustained a serious-looking injury because of them.
“Mega Megu” decided to fight on despite the injury but in the second round, Aguilar began to take control of the fight and hurt Fujii more. In between the second and third rounds, a ring side doctor inspected Fujii and decided to stop the fight. The fight between Fujii and Aguilar was a rematch of their 2012 Bellator bout which ended with a controversial decision win for Aguilar.
Fujii finishes her career with a record of 26-3, overall. After the fight, the promotion held a retirement ceremony for the pioneering fighter. Watch the fight and ceremony in the video above.
(Go gentle into that good night, hot secretary. /Photo via Sherdog)
The writing’s been on the wall for a some time now — Bellator didn’t put on any women’s fights during their brief 2013 Summer Series, only featured three women’s bouts during all of Season 8, and hasn’t hosted a women’s tournament since 2010. Last night, Bjorn Rebney released a statement confirming that their last three contracted female fighters have been released, and that Bellator will no longer be promoting women’s MMA:
“Jessica Eye, Jessica Aguilar and Felice Herrig represent all that is good in women’s MMA. Both Eye and Aguilar are ranked No. 1 in the world in their respective divisions and carry themselves with class and distinction, elevating the women’s game. I’ve said many times that fighters need to fight, and fight often. Given our current focus, we are not in a position to provide these very deserving women regular and recurring fights on a large platform, and I felt it was best to let them go and secure options that did. I genuinely wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors and will be rooting for each of them wherever they fight.”
Since the arrival of Invicta FC last year, followed by the debut of female bantamweights in the UFC, the marketplace for women’s MMA has become much more competitive. Bellator’s early efforts to promote women’s fighting were admirable, but at some point they began to lose interest. Notably, Bellator virtually forgot about Zoila Frausto after she won the promotion’s inaugural strawweight tournament, and there’s been nothing resembling a long-term strategy for women in Bellator since then. Essentially, there are other promotions doing women’s MMA much better these days, and with bigger stars. (See: Rousey, Cyborg.) Seems like a good time to walk away.
(Go gentle into that good night, hot secretary. /Photo via Sherdog)
The writing’s been on the wall for a some time now — Bellator didn’t put on any women’s fights during their brief 2013 Summer Series, only featured three women’s bouts during all of Season 8, and hasn’t hosted a women’s tournament since 2010. Last night, Bjorn Rebney released a statement confirming that their last three contracted female fighters have been released, and that Bellator will no longer be promoting women’s MMA:
“Jessica Eye, Jessica Aguilar and Felice Herrig represent all that is good in women’s MMA. Both Eye and Aguilar are ranked No. 1 in the world in their respective divisions and carry themselves with class and distinction, elevating the women’s game. I’ve said many times that fighters need to fight, and fight often. Given our current focus, we are not in a position to provide these very deserving women regular and recurring fights on a large platform, and I felt it was best to let them go and secure options that did. I genuinely wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors and will be rooting for each of them wherever they fight.”
Since the arrival of Invicta FC last year, followed by the debut of female bantamweights in the UFC, the marketplace for women’s MMA has become much more competitive. Bellator’s early efforts to promote women’s fighting were admirable, but at some point they began to lose interest. Notably, Bellator virtually forgot about Zoila Frausto after she won the promotion’s inaugural strawweight tournament, and there’s been nothing resembling a long-term strategy for women in Bellator since then. Essentially, there are other promotions doing women’s MMA much better these days, and with bigger stars. (See: Rousey, Cyborg.) Seems like a good time to walk away.
Though Eye, Aguilar, and Herrig are all too small to find homes in the UFC’s bantamweight division, strawweight Felice Herrig has already signed a multi-fight contract with Invicta FC, and will make her debut later this year:
“I couldn’t be happier than I am now, after signing with Invicta FC,” said Herrig. “I have seen them do so much for women and really give them a chance to shine. I don’t think anyone realized how big Invicta FC would become, and I am truly proud to say I have found a home with them.”
Herrig, who went 3-0 under the Bellator banner — and quickly became the best reason to watch their weigh-ins — has won her last four fights by decision. Invicta features a stacked roster at 115 pounds, led by champion Carla Esparza, and featuring a pack of exciting contenders and prospects like Rose Namajunas, Bec Hyatt, Tecia Torres, Claudia Gadelha, and Joanne Calderwood. It’s the best place in the world for a female strawweight looking for bigger opportunities, and Herrig will make a great addition. Best of luck, Lil’ Bulldog.
I managed to catch up with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney after Bellator 69 at the L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Friday night. Bjorn touched on issues such as fighters who stuck out on the undercard, why the Asplund vs. Sparks fight didn’t happen, MMA in New York and much more. Come inside after the jump for the full interview, as well as fight videos from the fighters that Bjorn Rebney mentions.
I managed to catch up with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney after Bellator 69 at the L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana on Friday night. Bjorn touched on issues such as fighters who stuck out on the undercard, why the Asplund vs. Sparks fight didn’t happen, MMA in New York and much more. Come inside after the jump for the full interview, as well as fight videos from the fighters that Bjorn Rebney mentions.
Unfortunately, all the videos currently online of the Josh Quayhagen fight are actually of the Richard Hale vs. Josh Burns fight. But we do have Russian prospect Andrey Koreshkov’s brilliant performance against Derrick Krantz. By the way, Koreshkov and co. all had matching airbrushed shirts, which I totally dug.
When we last saw Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang in the cage with each other, the two nearly started brawling during a post-fight interview at Bellator 66. Anticipation for their main event clash at last night’s Bellator 69 from Lake Charles, Louisiana was high, even though Falcao initially missed weight for their bout. The dust has settled, and the event produced this season’s middleweight tournament champion, a close (borderline controversial) decision and much more.
The evening’s main event saw UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao dominate Swedish prospect Andreas Spang. Save for an early right cross that appeared to have Falcao in trouble, as well as an illegal knee from “Big Rig” that cost him a one point deduction on the scorecards, Maiquel Falcao controlled this entire fight. Already known for his Muay Thai prowess, Falcao utilized an ever-improving wrestling game on his way to the unanimous decision victory.
Immediately after winning this season’s middleweight tournament, Bjorn Rebney came to the cage to announce that Maiquel Falcao will be fighting Alexander Shlemenko, who was initially set for a rematch against Hector Lombard before he signed with the UFC, for the vacant middleweight title. Falcao vs. Shlemenko should be an interesting fight, especially if Falcao is healthy for it. At the post-event press conference, Maiquel Falcao revealed that he had been battling a flu leading up to his fight against Spang.
When we last saw Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang in the cage with each other, the two nearly started brawling during a post-fight interview at Bellator 66. Anticipation for their main event clash at last night’s Bellator 69 from Lake Charles, Louisiana was high, even though Falcao initially missed weight for their bout. The dust has settled, and the event produced this season’s middleweight tournament champion, a close (borderline controversial) decision and much more.
The evening’s main event saw UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao dominate Swedish prospect Andreas Spang. Save for an early right cross that appeared to have Falcao in trouble, as well as an illegal knee from “Big Rig” that cost him a one point deduction on the scorecards, Maiquel Falcao controlled this entire fight. Already known for his Muay Thai prowess, Falcao utilized an ever-improving wrestling game on his way to the unanimous decision victory.
Immediately after winning this season’s middleweight tournament, Bjorn Rebney came to the cage to announce that Maiquel Falcao will be fighting Alexander Shlemenko, who was initially set for a rematch against Hector Lombard before he signed with the UFC, for the vacant middleweight title. Falcao vs. Shlemenko should be an interesting fight, especially if Falcao is healthy for it. At the post-event press conference, Maiquel Falcao revealed that he had been battling a flu leading up to his fight against Spang.
The evenings co-main event, a welterweight tournament bout between David Rickels and Karl Amoussou, was a much closer fight. With the crowd expecting fireworks, the bout was paused after a low kick from Rickels caused Amoussou’s jock strap to tear. After attempting to find Amoussou a backup jock, officials decided to just tape the cup to “Psycho” and proceed with the fight. Seriously.
The first round was all Amoussou, who outstruck “Caveman” and displayed his impressive judo. Round two started off the same way, but Rickels managed to turn things around mid-round, and managed to nearly finish the fight with an armbar. Amoussou slammed his way out of the armbar attempt as the round came to a close. Round three saw Rickels thoroughly outclass Amoussou, taking him down and unloading some serious ground and pound for the remainder of the fight, including some two-handed “Caveman smash” by the end of the fight.
In the end, the judges saw the bout in favor of Karl Amoussou, who had to miss the post-event press conference due to a possibly broken orbital bone. Needless to say, David Rickels was not impressed with the decision (neither were the fans in attendance, for that matter). At the press conference, Rickels speculated that Pepe Le Pew must have been one of the judges, and paraphrased Chael Sonnen by asking in what parallel universe can a fighter break a guy’s orbital bone and have his opponent declared the winner. The loss marks the first in his career.
The top two women’s 115-pound fighters, Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar, were also booked for the evening. Throughout the fight, Aguilar used her superior striking to keep Fujii at bay. While Fujii did not attempt a single takedown in the second round, she managed to take Aguilar down in the final round, although it was too little too late. Jessica Aguilar improves to 14-4, and emerges as the top 115 pound fighter with the victory.
Also of note, Abe Wagner and Mark Holata led off the card with a heavyweight tournament qualifier bout. The short bout ended in confusion, as Abe Wagner was caught in a seemingly ineffective foot lock. Abe Wagner attempted one of his own before saying “Tap”, ending the fight. After the bout, Wagner called his loss “fucking embarrassing” and vowed to come back with a better performance next time.
Full Results:
Main Card:
Maiquel Falcao def. Andreas Spang via unanimous decision
Karl Amoussou def. David Rickels via split decision
Jessica Aguilar def. Megumi Fujii via unanimous decision
Mark Holata def. Abe Wagner via verbal submission (ankle lock), 2:24 of Round One
Preliminary Card:
Josh Quayhagen def. Cliff Wright, Jr via unanimous decision
Shanon Slack def. Booker Arthur via unanimous decision
Andrey Koreshkov def. Derrick Krantz via TKO (strikes), 0:51 of Round Three
Richard Hale def. Josh Burns via TKO (strikes), 0:38 of Round One
E.J. Brooks def. Kalvin Hackney via unanimous decision
Yes, friends and neighbors, there’s a fighter on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighterwho has done porn — and not the normal kind, either. Since it’s a slow news week, this TUF 15 sub-plot has blown up to monumental proportions on MMA forums, but let’s put this in perspective: Dakota Cochrane isn’t the first MMA fighter to pick up some extra cash by appearing in adult films, and he probably won’t be the last. Send the kids out of the room, and follow us on a journey through the porn/MMA continuum…
(Jenna Haze: Pound-for-pound G.O.A.T.)
Yes, friends and neighbors, there’s a fighter on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighterwho has done porn — and not the normal kind, either. Since it’s a slow news week, this TUF 15 sub-plot has blown up to monumental proportions on MMA forums, but let’s put this in perspective: Dakota Cochrane isn’t the first MMA fighter to pick up some extra cash by appearing in adult films, and he probably won’t be the last. Send the kids out of the room, and follow us on a journey through the porn/MMA continuum…
Maybe the most successful MMA fighter-turned-porn actor, UFC veteran Aaron Brink has been performing as “Dick Delaware” since 2003. Though a meth addiction temporarily threw his life into chaos, Brink entered rehab to clean himself up. Last year, he played the role of Electro in Spider-Man XXX: A Porn Parodyand went 2-2 in the cage.
Alright, so Kimbo is only here on a technicality. As a former bodyguard for the “Reality Kings” porn production crew, Slice appeared as a featured extra in several of their XXX videos, though never performed himself. For further viewing, here’s Kimbo lurking in the background during a totally legitimate “Money Talks” negotiation (SFW), and here’s Kimbo balancing a glass of champagne in a girl’s ass at the club (NSFW).
DAKOTA COCHRANE
Here’s the story: Before he became an MMA fighter and TUF 15 hopeful, Dakota Cochrane was a college student at the University of Nebraska-Kearney who earned about $80,000 as a gay-for-pay performer in some dude-on-dude porn flicks. Cochrane, who identifies himself as heterosexual, described the situation to MMAFighting: ”It’s definitely a decision I regret. If I would have known what would happen I definitely wouldn’t have done it. But I had money issues and I needed help. I went there to do pictures, and they started throwing pretty high numbers in front of me. I didn’t really think. It was a big mistake…I let [the UFC] know right away so it wasn’t anything that could come back and bite them in the butt. I think maybe they respected that a little bit. I think some people judge against it, some people will be OK with it. Some people will want me to get my butt kicked, and hopefully others will respect what I’m trying to do…People can be shocked, and people can say whatever they need to say, and then we can move on.”
Hit the “next page” button to see the last four. Come on baby, you know you want to.
Ronda Rousey is the next big thing in women’s mixed martial arts.
The undefeated Rousey, who beat Julia Budd on the Nov. 18 Strikeforce Challengers card, has been running through her competition like few fighters, male or female, we’ve ever seen: Rousey is 4-0, and incredibly all four of her wins have come in less than a minute, all by armbar. Before turning pro she had three amateur fights, and she won all three of those by armbar in less than a minute, too.
And so, although she’s still new to the sport and still hasn’t been tested against the best women Strikeforce has to offer, Rousey makes my Top 5 as we rank the top pound-for-pound fighters in women’s MMA. She looks that good.
What we don’t know yet is whether Rousey is more than just a one-trick pony: If she faces an opponent who’s able to keep the fight standing, will she be able to hold her own exchanging punches? And although she’s not going to face anyone who’s on her level as a judo player, will she be able to execute more than just her go-to arm bar if she faces an opponent who’s sophisticated enough on the ground not to let Rousey get her arm?
It remains to be seen. But I think she’s a future champion, and I think she deserves her place on the list of the top women in the sport, which is below.
1. Cris Cyborg (1): After more than a year away, Cyborg returns to defend her women’s 145-pound title against Hiroko Yamanaka. That’s an interesting matchup; Yamanaka has a 12-1 record and will have a height and reach advantage over Cyborg. But Yamanaka has never fought outside Japan before, and Cyborg has been so dominant that at this point it’s very tough to see anyone beating her.
2. Zoila Gurgel (2): It’s unfortunate that after Gurgel’s huge win over Megumi Fujii, she’s only been able to fight once. She’s currently nursing a torn ACL and won’t be back any time soon. It would make sense for Bellator to arrange another women’s tournament for the right to take on Gurgel, although it’s not clear whether that’s in the promotion’s plans.
3. Miesha Tate (7): Tate turned in a great performance against Marloes Coenen to win the Strikeforce 135-pound women’s championship. What really worked for her in the Coenen fight was her superior wrestling, and it’s her wrestling that would make her a favorite to beat almost any female fighter in the world.
4. Megumi Fujii (3): In the year since suffering her one and only loss to Gurgel, Fujii has gone back to Japan and won a couple of unanimous decisions. I’d like to see her back in the Bellator cage in 2012, and a rematch with Gurgel would be the biggest women’s fight Bellator could make.
5. Ronda Rousey (NR): Rousey has been calling out Tate, and although the next shot at Tate’s 135-pound title was supposed to go to Sarah Kaufman, Zuffa may decide that Rousey is too hot to hold off on right now. Rousey is an easy sell for promoters because she’s smart and articulate and an Olympic bronze medalist in judo, and putting her in the cage with Tate would be one of the most marketable female fights that Strikeforce could arrange.
6. Marloes Coenen (4): First Coenen lost her Strikeforce title to Tate, then she lost her contract when her management at Golden Glory feuded with Zuffa. Now it’s anyone’s guess when or where she might fight next; she’s with an organization called BlackEye Promotions, which has no events scheduled.
7. Sarah Kaufman (5): Kaufman’s only loss was to Coenen, and since then she’s won two in a row, supposedly earning a title shot against Tate, whom Kaufman beat in 2009. The question is whether Strikeforce will push Kaufman aside to put Rousey in the cage with Tate.
8. Jessica Aguilar (8): Aguilar looked great in her unanimous decision win over Lisa Ellis-Ward at Bellator 58. Aguilar has now won seven of her last eight fights, with the only loss coming by split decision to Gurgel.
9. Tara LaRosa (6): LaRosa has been inactive since her great heel-hook submission of Carina Damm in March, and as a result a couple of more active fighters have leapfrogged her in the rankings. LaRosa is one of the real pioneers for women’s MMA. Let’s hope she’s back in the cage soon.
10. Alexis Davis (NR): Davis has had a couple big wins since we last updated our women’s rankings, beating Julie Kedzie by unanimous decision in July and then beating Amanda Nunes by TKO in September. I hope Zuffa keeps Strikeforce’s 135-pound women’s division alive, because Davis could be a great opponent for Tate, Kaufman or Rousey.
Ronda Rousey is the next big thing in women’s mixed martial arts.
