Tag: Joe Vedepo

Bellator Middleweight Joe Vedepo Arrested Following Drunken Bar Brawl With Police

I’ve got a dilemma on my hands, Nation. I’m trying to think of the most hacky, Holland-esque series of puns to inform you that Bellator fighter Joe “The Doctor” Vedepo was arrested over the weekend for his eleventh alcohol-related offense, and I’m not sure which option to choose. Should it be Joe Vedepo Fills Iowa Officer’s Prescription for Head-Butts, or maybe something with more alliteration, like Buzzed Bellator Brawler Beats Bobby in Bloody Bar Battle? So many choices, but I think I’ll go with my original idea: “The Doctor” Is In, And He’s F*cking Sh*tfaced.

I should’ve gone with the second one. Aaaaaanyway, former UFC fighter turned Bellator fighter Joe “The Doctor” Vedepo has something you might call “an alcohol problem”, in that he’s been “arrested” “ten times” for “public intoxication” in his native Iowa and been deemed a “habitual line-stepper offender of the state intoxication law.” This all culminated last weekend when Vedepo, likely drinking off the sorrows of his third round TKO loss to King Mo Lawal at Bellator 131, decided to get into a drunken brawl with police outside an Iowa bar that left one officer hospitalized. The Gazette reports:

According to Iowa City police criminal complaints, officers responded to the Sports Column at 2:22 p.m. Friday for a report of a man inside who refused to leave. Responding officers encountered Jody “Joe” Vedepo, 31, of Columbus Junction.

Police said Vedepo told officers he “knew his rights” and was going back into the bar. Vedepo resisted the officers and head butted one officer in the chest, sending him to the hospital with injuries to his back. Officers took Vedepo to the ground and attempted to handcuff him, but he rolled his body and kicked his legs. Officers deployed a Taser in an attempt to subdue Vedepo, but it was ineffective, police said.

Ah, Vedepo went with the old “I know my rights” defense. Classic mistake.

I’ve got a dilemma on my hands, Nation. I’m trying to think of the most hacky, Holland-esque series of puns to inform you that Bellator fighter Joe “The Doctor” Vedepo was arrested over the weekend for his eleventh alcohol-related offense, and I’m not sure which option to choose. Should it be Joe Vedepo Fills Iowa Officer’s Prescription for Head-Butts, or maybe something with more alliteration, like Buzzed Bellator Brawler Beats Bobby in Bloody Bar Battle? So many choices, but I think I’ll go with my original idea: “The Doctor” Is In, And He’s F*cking Sh*tfaced.

I should’ve gone with the second one. Aaaaaanyway, former UFC fighter turned Bellator fighter Joe “The Doctor” Vedepo has something you might call “an alcohol problem”, in that he’s been “arrested” “ten times” for “public intoxication” in his native Iowa and been deemed a “habitual line-stepper offender of the state intoxication law.” This all culminated last weekend when Vedepo, likely drinking off the sorrows of his third round TKO loss to King Mo Lawal at Bellator 131, decided to get into a drunken brawl with police outside an Iowa bar that left one officer hospitalized. The Gazette reports:

According to Iowa City police criminal complaints, officers responded to the Sports Column at 2:22 p.m. Friday for a report of a man inside who refused to leave. Responding officers encountered Jody “Joe” Vedepo, 31, of Columbus Junction.

Police said Vedepo told officers he “knew his rights” and was going back into the bar. Vedepo resisted the officers and head butted one officer in the chest, sending him to the hospital with injuries to his back. Officers took Vedepo to the ground and attempted to handcuff him, but he rolled his body and kicked his legs. Officers deployed a Taser in an attempt to subdue Vedepo, but it was ineffective, police said.

Ah, Vedepo went with the old “I know my rights” defense. Classic mistake. Had Vedepo been watching the news lately instead of getting blackout drunk by 2 pm each day, he would know that police officers are well-aware that we “know our rights.” They know that, technically, they can’t frisk anyone they stop on the street, or arrest you for being black on a Tuesday. It’s just that they don’t care.

(*nails fadeaway three-pointer*)

Well, I’m pretty much out of jokes for this one. You got anything else for us, Gazette?

Vedepo had slow, slurred speech, was “very unsteady” on his feet and had difficulty speaking in complete sentences, police said. His post arrest breath test indicated he had a blood alcohol content of .241 percent or three times the legal limit to operate a vehicle in Iowa.

Vedepo was arrested and now faces one count of assault causing injury to a peace officer, an aggravated misdemeanor; two counts of assault on peace officers, a serious misdemeanor; and one count of public intoxication, a simple misdemeanor. He remains in custody on a $10,000 cash-only bond.

How to Tell That You Have a Drinking Problem, Pt. 1: Your blood alcohol percentage is a higher number than the f*cking time of day that you were arrested.

In response to the news of Vedepo’s arrest, Bellator President Scott Coker sent a text message to MMAJunkie stating that, “If everything is exactly what it says, we will be cutting him.”

If it weren’t for those taser burns, I’d say the fact that Vedepo was fired via text message must sting the most right about now.

–J. Jones

Bellator 131 Results and GIFs: Ortiz Decisions Bonnar, Brooks Weirdly KOs Chandler, Manhoef Gets KTFO


(Photo via Getty)

Bellator 131, the first of Bellator’s BIG events under Scott Coker was pretty god damn awesome.

Look, we know you’re busy and just want the GIFs, so we won’t burden your minds by making you read a painstaking punch-by-punch recap.

BUT FIRST, Bellator debuted a wicked new entrance ramp. Look at King Mo and Jo Vedepo’s entrance:

Check out the GIFs (via Zombie Prophet) from Bellator 131 below, and the card’s full results are written at the bottom of the post:


(Photo via Getty)

Bellator 131, the first of Bellator’s BIG events under Scott Coker was pretty god damn awesome.

Look, we know you’re busy and just want the GIFs, so we won’t burden your minds by making you read a painstaking punch-by-punch recap.

BUT FIRST, Bellator debuted a wicked new entrance ramp. Look at King Mo and Jo Vedepo’s entrance:

Check out the GIFs (via Zombie Prophet) from Bellator 131 below, and the card’s full results are written at the bottom of the post:

King Mo smothered Joe Vedepo in the first two rounds while landing some intermittent ground and pound. He finally managed to put Vedepo away in the third round:

In the next fight, Mike Richman FUCKING DESTROYED Nam Phan. We’re not exaggerating. Richman straight up punching bagged him, landing unanswered combo after unanswered combo. Don’t believe us? Look at the GIF?

Melvin Manhoef vs. Joe Schilling was perhaps the fight of the year…or at least the bar room brawl-in-a-cage of the year. It was a true back-and-forth contest that saw both men hurt at times, but ultimately it was Schilling who prevailed and put Manhoef out COLD.

In the co-main event, Will Brooks scored a BIZARRE TKO finish over Michael Chandler, and in doing so defended his Bellator lightweight title. The fight was close going into the fourth round, but then Brooks landed a punch so hard it made Chandler literally forget he was in a fight. Chandler backed away and tried to wave off the fight, which proved to be a bad idea. Brooks blasted him multiple times, ending the match.

And finally, the main event bbetween Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar. This fight wasn’t particularly good, but it could’ve been WAY worse. Ortiz won a split decision by smothering Bonnar and also bruising and cutting up his face with some of the slowest punches we have ever seen. Like the only thing slower than Ortiz’s punches were Bonnar’s attempts at evading them. Ugly stuff. Even better (or worse), both fighters continued their feud after the bell. Ortiz flipped off Bonnar and threw his water at him. Bonnar told Ortiz to eat a turd burger (ugh). Here are some GIF highlights from the fight:

The complete results:

Main Card

Tito Ortiz def. Stephan Bonnar via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Will Brooks def. Michael Chandler via TKO (punches), Round 4, 3:48
Joe Schilling def. Melvin Manhoef via knockout (punches), Round 2, 0:32
Mike Richman def. Nam Phan via knockout (punches), Round 1, 0:46
Muhammed Lawal def. Joe Vedepo via TKO (punches), Round 3, 0:39

Preliminary Card

Joao Faria def. Ian Butler via submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 1:58
A.J. Matthews def. Kyle Bolt via knockout (punches), Round 1, 1:39
Jonathan Santa Maria def. Ron Henderson via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Andy Murad def. Bubba Pugh via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Nick Garcia def. Matthew Ramirez via submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 0:56
Jordan Bailey def. Alex Higley via submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:27
Rolando Perez vs. Mark Vorgeas ruled split draw (29-27 Vorgeas, 26-30, 28-28)

The ‘Pogo Stick of Doom’ Is The Only Bellator 129 GIF Worth Watching

(“The Pogo Stick of DOOM” / via Zombie Prophet)

Bellator 129 was really terrible — easily the worst event they’ve put on in a long time. We kind of knew it’d be atrocious when we saw there were more catchweight bouts than non catchweight bouts.

So, in true CagePotato fashion, we cut out the bullshit and are telling you only what you need to know.

What happened at the event?

A whole lot of nothing, really. If you’re interested, get the complete results after the jump.


(“The Pogo Stick of DOOM” / via Zombie Prophet)

Bellator 129 was really terrible — easily the worst event they’ve put on in a long time. We kind of knew it’d be atrocious when we saw there were more catchweight bouts than non catchweight bouts.

So, in true CagePotato fashion, we cut out the bullshit and are telling you only what you need to know.

What happened at the event?

A whole lot of nothing, really.

Paul Bradley defeated Josh Neer via smothering lay-and-pray decision. Neer was apparently pretty pissed off about it.

Houston Alexander and Virgil Zwicker fought to a draw. Alexander would’ve won the atrociously boring fight had he not intentionally headbutted Zwicker and lost a point for the foul.

Andre Santos defeated James Terry in the most forgettable fight ever.

But the card opened up with a finish: Joe Vedepo TKO’d Davin Clark.

And what’s the story with the GIF above?

That’s from the 168-pound catchweight fight between Jozette Cotton and Holly Lawson. If you ask us, the GIF is the most (and only) entertaining one of the night.

Here are the complete Bellator 129 results:

Main Card

Paul Bradley def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Houston Alexander vs. Virgil Zwicker ruled majority draw (29-28 Alexander, 28-28, 28-28)
Andre Santos def. James Terry via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Vedepo def. Davin Clark via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:27

Preliminary Card

John DeVall def. Chris Lane via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:40
Eric Howser def. Tim Bazer via submission (elbows) – Round 1, 4:11
Michael McBride def. Kevin Morris via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:32
Martin Brown def. Bryan Corley via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 0:42
Jozette Cotton def. Holly Lawson unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Smith def. Brian Green via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-26)
Victor Moreno def. Marcos Marquez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bellator 84 Recap: Volkov Is New Heavyweight Champion, Lightweight Tournament Postponed

This season, Bellator’s heavyweight tournament ended in the same place where it began – The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana – but with far less fireworks than anticipated.

With Bellator fixture Richard Hale facing off against Alexander Volkov, a twenty-four year old Russian prospect who used to train with Fedor Emelianenko, fans anticipated a wild brawl would ensue for the heavyweight championship Cole Konrad vacated through his retirement. Hale would bring the fight to Volkov early, dropping the Russian with a right hook in the first round. However, that hook would end up being the only significant strike that Hale would land for the rest of the fight.

For the rest of the bout, the 6’7” Volkov was content to jab his way to a unanimous decision victory. It certainly wasn’t pretty, as the boos from those in attendance demonstrated, but it was enough for Volkov to take home $100,000 and the promotion’s heavyweight championship.

This season, Bellator’s heavyweight tournament ended in the same place where it began – The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana – but with far less fireworks than anticipated.

With Bellator fixture Richard Hale facing off against Alexander Volkov, a twenty-four year old Russian prospect who used to train with Fedor Emelianenko, fans anticipated a wild brawl would ensue for the heavyweight championship Cole Konrad vacated through his retirement. Hale would bring the fight to Volkov early, dropping the Russian with a right hook in the first round. However, that hook would end up being the only significant strike that Hale would land for the rest of the fight.

For the rest of the bout, the 6’7” Volkov was content to jab his way to a unanimous decision victory. It certainly wasn’t pretty, as the boos from those in attendance demonstrated, but it was enough for Volkov to take home $100,000 and the promotion’s heavyweight championship.

Elsewhere on the card:

– We already explained why that the Season 7 featherweight tournament final between Rad Martinez and Shahbulat Shamhalaev will happen sometime in Season 8, but now the lightweight tournament final will also happen next season. The tournament final was supposed to feature twenty year old Marcin Held battling against Dave Jansen. However, in Indiana an athlete has to be at least twenty-one years old to fight in a casino, so the fight was scrapped at the last minute. I hate to be Captain Hindsight here, but shouldn’t the local commission have noticed Held was only twenty before allowing him to weigh in on Thursday? And shouldn’t Bellator have noticed this law a long time ago?

– Middleweight protege of Joaquin Hansen Daniel Vizcaya wrestled his way to a split-decision over Norwegian Jack Hermansson. Hermansson completely took over the fight in the third round, but it was too little too late, as he was unable to put away Vizcaya.

– Felice Herrig wanted to put on a good show for Bellator, and delivered with a unanimous decision over late replacement Patricia Vidonic. Herrig was in complete control over Vidonic, demonstrating that she’s ready for the poster-girl position Bellator seemingly wants her to fill. It’ll be interesting to see who Bellator finds for her to fight next.

– Remember Joe Vedepo? The party animal who has the distinction (I guess?) of being the only 0-2 fighter in UFC history to lose both of his fights within the first two minutes? Yeah, he followed up a win at Bellator 80 by getting knocked out by Louis Taylor in the first round of last night’s fight. But he lasted 4:12, so there’s always that.

Full Results:

Main Card:

Alexander Volkov def. Richard Hale by Unanimous Decision
Daniel Vizcaya def. Jack Hermansson by Split Decision
Felice Herrig def. Patricia Vidonic by Unanimous Decision
Louis Taylor def. Joe Vedepo by KO (Punch), 4:12, Round One

Preliminary Card:

Christian Uflacker def. Cliff Wright by Technical Decision, 2:26, Round Three
Jerald Williams def. Joey Diehl by Unanimous Decision
Anthony Gomez def. Anton Talamantes by Submission (Rear Naked Choke), 3:30, Round One
Robert White def. Kenny Booker by Unanimous Decision

More Injuries Strike UFC 118 Lineup; ‘Godzilla’ Returns

(Sakara and Etim, the latest victims of the UFC’s brand-new curse.)
After losing Phil Baroni and Jorge Rivera due to injuries, UFC 118 (August 28, Boston) is inching towards "cursed" status with another pair of late withdrawals that have co…

Alessio Sakara UFCTerry Etim UFC
(Sakara and Etim, the latest victims of the UFC’s brand-new curse.)

After losing Phil Baroni and Jorge Rivera due to injuries, UFC 118 (August 28, Boston) is inching towards "cursed" status with another pair of late withdrawals that have completely re-arranged the Spike TV prelim broadcast. First off, Alessio Sakara has been forced out of his fight against Gerald Harris due to a knee injury. Harris, who was originally a replacement for Rivera, will now face the returning Joe Vedepo, who has won four straight fights by stoppage outside of the UFC since being released in April 2009. Unfortunately, the fight is no longer slated for the Spike broadcast, meaning that Harris will need another dramatic stoppage to get some TV time. At this point, it hasn’t been confirmed which fight will move up to the prelim broadcast in its place.

The injury fairy also paid a visit to Terry Etim, who bows out of his UFC 118 fight against Joe Lauzon due to a broken rib. Lauzon will instead meet — get this — Gabe "Godzilla" Ruediger, the TUF 5 contestant who became a national punchline due to his love of colonics and ice cream cake, and was eventually dismissed from the show for not making weight. More recently, Ruediger has built up a six-fight win streak competing in California, picked up the Tachi Palace Fights lightweight title, and has helped turn Paris Hilton into a killing machine.

We’ll let you know as soon as UFC 118’s lineup is finalized.

Alessio Sakara Out of UFC 118, Gerald Harris Likely to Face Joe Vedepo

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsA knee injury has forced surging Italian striker Alessio Sakara off the UFC 118 card, and the UFC middleweight who was scheduled to fight Gerald Harris is likely to be replaced by returning Joe Vedepo.

A sourc…

Filed under: , ,

A knee injury has forced surging Italian striker Alessio Sakara off the UFC 118 card, and the UFC middleweight who was scheduled to fight Gerald Harris is likely to be replaced by returning Joe Vedepo.

A source with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Fighting of the change.

Sakara had originally been scheduled to face Jorge Rivera, who himself had to withdraw from the event after breaking his arm. Harris replaced Rivera, and now Harris will likely face a replacement fighter himself.