(Gold Bond foot lotion: So soothing, it’ll knock you right off your motherfucking feet.)
Since we know how much you guys love a good old fashioned conspiracy theory, try this one on for size: Everyone in the middleweight division is still scared shitless of Uriah Hall and will do anything within their power to avoid fighting him. Yes, despite the fact that he dropped a unanimous decision to Kelvin Gastelum in his UFC debut, Hall seemingly cannot find an opponent brave (or healthy) enough to face him at UFC on FOX Sports: Shogun vs. Sonnen on August 17th.
First, Nick “mumblegumblemurglegurgle” Ring was scheduled to face Hall at the event. Then we posted this video, then Ring suspiciously went down with the first “blown asspussy” in UFC history. Ring was quickly replaced by Hall’s fellow TUF 17 alum, Josh Samman, and everything seemed to be back on track. Until yesterday, that is, when Samman likely realized that he would never be able to complete his Ethnography of Women and Violence in Post-war Guatemala thesis while comatose. Subsequently, Samman has also been forced to withdraw from his fight with Hall, paving the way for a certain UFC veteran (and Boston native) to reclaim the spotlight…
(Gold Bond foot lotion: So soothing, it’ll knock you right off your motherfucking feet.)
Since we know how much you guys love a good old fashioned conspiracy theory, try this one on for size: Everyone in the middleweight division is still scared shitless of Uriah Hall and will do anything within their power to avoid fighting him. Yes, despite the fact that he dropped a unanimous decision to Kelvin Gastelum in his UFC debut, Hall seemingly cannot find an opponent brave (or healthy) enough to face him at UFC on FOX Sports: Shogun vs. Sonnen on August 17th.
First, Nick “mumblegumblemurglegurgle” Ring was scheduled to face Hall at the event. Then we posted this video, then Ring suspiciously went down with the first “blown asspussy” in UFC history. Ring was quickly replaced by Hall’s fellow TUF 17 alum, Josh Samman, and everything seemed to be back on track. Until yesterday, that is, when Samman likely realized that he would never be able to complete his Ethnography of Women and Violence in Post-war Guatemala thesis while comatose. Subsequently, Samman has also been forced to withdraw from his fight with Hall, paving the way for a certain UFC veteran (and Boston native) to reclaim the spotlight…
That’s right, Taters, none other than John “Doomsday” Howard will make his long-awaited return to the UFC on short notice to face Hall at the TD Garden. Howard posted the above video to his Youtube account yesterday to break the good news (as well as guarantee a FOTN-worthy performance); now let’s just hope he can make it to fight night in one piece.
Since being ousted from the UFC in 2011 following three straight losses — bringing his promotional record to 4-3 overall — Howard has gone 6-1 with five stoppages and is coming off back-to-back first round knockouts. “Doomsday” has offered to fight on the Boston card for free in recent months and even broke Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsaranev’s nose once, so it was kind of DW’s patriotic duty to include him on this card.
Will Howard be able to score an upset in his UFC return? Or is Hall destined to receive an endless loop of opponents who will never actually fight him?
(Two years after this fight, Dennis Hallman would show up to UFC 133 wearing baby-blue man-panties. Crazy. It’s like everybody John Howard meets turns into one of humanity’s greatest villains. / Photo via Sherdog)
“The reason why he trained at my gym was because he was a good boxer. He wanted a good sparring partner, and most gyms he went to, a lot of guys couldn’t hang with his boxing. He was beating guys up. The reason why he came to Wai Kru was because you had me as a UFC fighter and you had other good strikers there who weren’t scared to take a beating or give one. That’s how I knew him.
“One day we was sparring and it got a little too physical. Me being an MMA fighter and him being a boxer, it was like a little rivalry thing and we were boxing and we kind of went kind of hard one time. I give him credit. He was a good boxer, but because of the power I possess, I could put anybody down, I believe. What happened was, he got a little cocky. He was touching me up. He was getting the best of me. We went at it, and I caught him with my left hook, my famous left hook, and broke his nose. When I broke his nose, he covered his face. His body was open, so I turned my angle and I hit him with a body shot — with my right hand, a body shot, and I dropped him. That was the end of the sparring match…
(Two years after this fight, Dennis Hallman would show up to UFC 133 wearing baby-blue man-panties. Crazy. It’s like everybody John Howard meets turns into one of humanity’s greatest villains. / Photo via Sherdog)
“The reason why he trained at my gym was because he was a good boxer. He wanted a good sparring partner, and most gyms he went to, a lot of guys couldn’t hang with his boxing. He was beating guys up. The reason why he came to Wai Kru was because you had me as a UFC fighter and you had other good strikers there who weren’t scared to take a beating or give one. That’s how I knew him.
“One day we was sparring and it got a little too physical. Me being an MMA fighter and him being a boxer, it was like a little rivalry thing and we were boxing and we kind of went kind of hard one time. I give him credit. He was a good boxer, but because of the power I possess, I could put anybody down, I believe. What happened was, he got a little cocky. He was touching me up. He was getting the best of me. We went at it, and I caught him with my left hook, my famous left hook, and broke his nose. When I broke his nose, he covered his face. His body was open, so I turned my angle and I hit him with a body shot — with my right hand, a body shot, and I dropped him. That was the end of the sparring match…
I did feel kind of bad. I was like, ‘Man, I went too far.’ But ever since the tragedy happened, I don’t feel bad. The only thing I regret is I didn’t keep hitting him and choke him out and put him out of his misery.”
(Full disclosure – one of the staff members of Wai Kru is a family member of mine)
By now, we have all seen the tragedy in Boston. We have all seen their faces on the news.And we have all seen the tremendous acts of heroism, patriotism, and humanitarianism that reminds us that when it comes to good vs. evil, good shall always prevail.I grew up in Massachusetts, so it’s safe to say this had a surreal effect over me.
As Seth’s piece pointed out (not that it matters) one of these d-bags had previously trained at Wai Kru in Allston Mass.While MMA gyms are popping up all over the country at an alarming rate, this one is something to note as it is where former UFC fighters, John Howard and Sean Gannon currently train.Head trainer, Kru John Allan, who is currently in Thailand, sent this statement out when reached for comment sent this statement via Facebook message:
(Full disclosure – one of the staff members of Wai Kru is a family member of mine)
By now, we have all seen the tragedy in Boston. We have all seen their faces on the news.And we have all seen the tremendous acts of heroism, patriotism, and humanitarianism that reminds us that when it comes to good vs. evil, good shall always prevail.I grew up in Massachusetts, so it’s safe to say this had a surreal effect over me.
As Seth’s piece pointed out (not that it matters) one of these d-bags had previously trained at Wai Kru in Allston Mass.While MMA gyms are popping up all over the country at an alarming rate, this one is something to note as it is where former UFC fighters, John Howard and Sean Gannon currently train.Head trainer, Kru John Allan, who is currently in Thailand, sent this statement out when reached for comment via Facebook message:
Wai Kru MMA would like to first take the time to say our hearts go out to the victims and their families of this horrible tragedy.Tamerlan Sarnayev was not now, or ever a member of the Wai Kru MMA facilities. He was a local golden gloves boxer who came into the gym to spar from time to time. Wai Kru has been working closely with the FBI & Homeland Joint Task Force all morning to provide them with any materials that might be useful to bring these people to justice for their heinous crimes.
Several employees of the school supported the statement when asked about his relationship with his gym.“He came in for cross-fit, mostly… And occasionally sparred.But he was not a member” stated one employee who asked for his name to be withheld.Another employee stated he had not been present for over 4 weeks and even then the employee wasn’t sure if Tamerlan really had much of a presence at the gym.
Most likely, the only reason why Wai Kru is even being mentioned in the conversation is because photos do exist of him wearing the school’s shirt.An employee of the gym explains that “he’s a good boxer and sometimes we give them free sh*t”.As far as his interaction with other members, that same employee stated that he “kept to himself” and reinforced that Tamerlan only appeared for the occasional sparring session.
Former UFC welterweight John “Doomsday” Howard recently took to his Facebook page to offer a similar message. While Howard remembers sparring with Tamerlan, he reiterates that neither one of the Tsarnaevs were regulars at the gym.
Julie Goldsticker, head of public relations for US Boxing, confirmed that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was registered as an amateur fighter at Summerville Boxing Gym in 2003, 2004, and 2008 and registered at South Boston Boxing Club from 2009-2010.However, when asked about any gyms he was currently registered, Ms. Goldsticker did not have any information that pertains to his current registration status and was unable to confirm or deny if he has updated his registration with any gym.
It looks like a few pictures of this BOXER surfaced on the web with him wearing some Wai Kru apparel and the certain websites were quick to associate the school and the terrorist because of it.Like Falvo said, so they trained in various forms of hand-to-hand combat.So did this guy … And he beat the terrorist… TWICE!
FACT: At some point tonight, someone will refer to this man as “Kongo Slice”, and consider him/herself incredibly clever for doing so. Props: MMAJunkie.com.
The UFC will be holding its fourth installment of live MMA on Versus Network tonight at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, headlined by Nate Marquardt versus Anthony “Rumble” Johnson Pat Barry versus Cheick Kongo. Eh, what are you going to do? Plus, Rick Story and Charlie Brenneman battle for welterweight contendership, Matt Brown and John Howard more than likely fight for their jobs and Matt Mitrione squares off with Christian Morecraft.
The prelims are currently happening on Facebook now, so why not check them out? We’ll be here when you get back with live updates starting at 9 PM, ET. And yes, we know you’ll be back. It’s a Sunday night, now’s not the time to start acting like you have other plans. Refresh this page every few minutes for the latest results.
FACT: At some point tonight, someone will refer to this man as “Kongo Slice”, and consider him/herself incredibly clever for doing so. Props: MMAJunkie.com.
The UFC will be holding its fourth installment of live MMA on Versus Network tonight at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, headlined by Nate Marquardt versus Anthony “Rumble” Johnson Pat Barry versus Cheick Kongo. Eh, what are you going to do? Plus, Rick Story and Charlie Brenneman battle for welterweight contendership, Matt Brown and John Howard more than likely fight for their jobs and Matt Mitrione squares off with Christian Morecraft.
The prelims are currently happening on Facebook now, so why not check them out? We’ll be here when you get back with live updates starting at 9 PM, ET. And yes, we know you’ll be back. It’s a Sunday night, now’s not the time to start acting like you have other plans. Refresh this page every few minutes for the latest results.
Whoa. Technical difficulties in the house. Quick recap…
Matt Mitrione completely handled Chistian Morecraft standing, scoring two knockdowns in the first round; Morecraft was clearly flash-KO’d during the second knockdown, but he managed to regain his senses when Mitrione pounced on him, and held on to the end of the round. Mitrione showed more of the same striking dominance in the second frame. Aside from a successful Morecraft takedown, it was all Meathead, who battered Morecraft until a very impressive three-punch walk-off knockout. Mitrione def. Morecraft via KO, 4:28 of round 2. Great performance.
– Matt Brown beats John Howard via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3) after a gritty grind of a fight that saw Howard opt for a (mostly ineffective) wrestling-based gameplan, and Brown win most of the standup and ground exchanges. Brown breaks his three-fight losing streak and saves his job.
Rick Story vs. Charlie Brenneman
Round 1: Brennerman comes forward to clinch, Story flips him to the mat, but Brenneman is quickly back on his feet. Brenneman separates and runs off to get some distance. Brenneman clinches. Story turns him against the fence and drops low, looking for a takedown. Brenneman defends and escapes. Now it’s Brenneman’s turn to shoot for a takedown. Story is briefly on the mat, but he recovers. Brenneman fires a straight right that lands flush, and immediately transitions into a takedown. Brenneman moves to side control. Story establishes guard and locks Brenneman down. Brenneman with punches to Story’s ribs. Story is content to just hang on while Brenneman racks up points. Brenneman shoulder-shrugs Story into the mat. Brenneman goes body/head from the top. Story does not get the standup he was looking for, and the round ends. 10-9 Brenneman.
Round 2: Brenneman gets a quick takedown. Story tries to scramble out, but Brenneman stay on him. Story grabs a guillotine and rolls to north/south on the bottom, but Brenneman escapes. Story flies forward with a knee that bounces off Brenneman’s chin. Brenneman swings a hook and comes in with another takedown that scores. Story works some rubber guard for a moment. Story heel-chopping Brenneman’s leg off his back. Story goes for a guillotine again. Brenneman tries to pass to side control but Story gets his guard back. Story loses the hold. Brenneman rides the round out on top. 10-9 for the Spaniard. Man, is Story’s six-fight win streak going to end like this?
Round 3: Both guys throwing uppercuts and looking for the takedown. Brenneman scores with the single leg. Story looking for a kimura. The referee breaks them and Joe Rogan blasts the standup. They start firing wild punches, and Brenneman grabs a leg in a scramble. Story manages to set up an inverted triangle. Brenneman lucks out when Story can’t finish it. But Story transitions to full mount and starts bouncing Brenneman’s head off the mat with short slams. Brenneman escapes and grabs Story’s legs. And that’s the fight. Wow. Nate Marquardt didn’t just fuck his own career, he fucked Story’s as well. And now Charlie Brenneman is a contender, I guess?
Charlie Brenneman def. Rick Story via unanimous deicision (29-28 x 3).
Cheick Kongo def. Pat Barry
Barry circles the Octagon, spitting water all over the mat. Kongo has Rampage Jackson with him for the walkout. Kongo has a 7.5-inch reach advantage, and a significant beard advantage. Big Dan Miragliotta whispers something to Pat Barry. Probably something like “watch your balls against this guy.” Pat Barry weighed in heavier, which is kind of crazy when you see them in the face-off.
Round 1: Barry with a leg kick. Barry shoots in, Kongo brushes him off and throws a leg kick. Hard leg kick from Kongo. And again. Ouch. More kicks from Kongo, and Barry is hesitant to return. Pat Barry throws a right hand that catches Kongo behind the ear and drops him. Barry fires down some ridiculous ground and pound, but Kongo stumbles to his feet. Barry overwhelms him with punches. Kongo somehow survives and escapes again. But he’s completely dazed. Barry comes in to finish the job, Kongo catches him with two hard right hands and Pat Barry is dead alseep.
Joe Rogan calls it the most amazing comeback he’s ever seen. Holy shit. Legendary.
A couple minutes later, Barry is still on his back. Hopefully he’s up by the time we return from commercial. Barry is on his feet for the result announcement. Kongo def. Barry via knockout, 2:39 of round 1.
UNDERCARD RESULTS
– Tyson Griffin def. Manny Gamburyan via majority decision (29–28 x 2, 29–29)
– Javier Vazquez def. Joe Stevenson via unanimous decision (30–27 x 2, 29–28)
– Joe Lauzon def. Curt Warburton via submission (kimura), 1:58 of round 1
– Rich Attonito def. Daniel Roberts via unanimous decision (29–27, 30–27, 29–28)
– Charles Oliveira def. Nik Lentz via submission (rear naked choke), 1:48 of round 2
– Ricardo Lamas def. Matt Grice via TKO, 4:41 of round 1
– Michael Johnson def. Edward Faaloloto via TKO, 4:42 of round 1
Kongo says he was never out, by the way. Likely story. Anyway, we’ll talk more tomorrow…
Filed under: UFC, NewsMatt Brown entered Sunday’s UFC Live event on a three-fight losing streak. John Howard entered on a two-fight losing streak. Both men were looking at a situation where they may have needed a win to keep their spots on the UFC rost…
Matt Brown entered Sunday’s UFC Live event on a three-fight losing streak. John Howard entered on a two-fight losing streak. Both men were looking at a situation where they may have needed a win to keep their spots on the UFC roster.
Which may mean Howard is out of a job.
Brown beat Howard by unanimous decision Sunday after 15 minutes of close, back and forth fighting, and although it wasn’t a thrilling fight, it was enough for Brown to save his job in the UFC. Howard will have to be anxious this week as he wonders if he’ll get another chance inside the Octagon.
“I just had fun,” Brown said afterward. “Mad props to Howard — what a f**king warrior he is,” Brown said before realizing he had just sworn on live television and asking not to be fined.
Whether Brown is fined or not, at least he can be confident that the win saved his job. Brown hadn’t won a fight since beating James Wilkes in 2009.
The win improves Brown’s record to 12-10. Howard falls to 14-7.
This is the UFC on Versus 4 live blog for Matt Brown vs. John Howard, a welterweight bout on tonight’s event at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
Brown (11-10) is looking to snap a three-fight skid. Howard (14-6) is on a two-fight losing streak and is coming off a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 124 last December.
Round 1: Brown managing the distance early with jabs. Howard catches a kick and looks to take Brown down, but he’s unsuccessful. Back circling each other now, Howard peppers Brown with leg kicks. Howard takes Brown to the mat midway through the round but Brown is back up in a flash. Howard continues holding on to the leg against the cage. Finally they break. Brown lands a shot and Howard falls backward. Brown lands on top. He looks for a D’arce. Howards pops free and slams Brown to the mat. Back up again. Brown with a succession of jabs to end the round. Several momentum shifts in the round, but we’ll score it for Brown 10-9.
Round 2: Howard spent an inordinate amount of time holding on to one of Brown’s legs trying to take him down, but he failed. Brown finally ended it by trying a standing guillotine. Howard pulled out. Brown tripped Howard down and took top position. Howard worked half-guard. Brown worked to improve position but Howard threatened submissions from the bottom to slow him down. Howard threatened a leg lock. Brown pulled out and Howard grabbed a leg and took him down. Brown tried a triangle but switched to an omoplata. Howard got out but Brown took the round 10-9.
Round 3: Leg kicks early from Howard, then a head kick. Brown flips the script and takes Howard down. Howard gets up and looks to take Brown’s back. He spends forever pushing Brown against the fence and trying to take him down. Nothing doing. He works free and Brown follows him across the cage throwing punches. Brown right back to another takedown try. The crowd is booing now. This was not the fight they were expecting, but both guys are on losing streaks and probably just want a win, no matter how ugly. Howard takes him down again. He’s looking for a kimura as the final horn sounds. Howard 10-9.
Winner: Matt Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brown to Rogan: “I was going to win this fight even if it was a decision. I don’t like that, but I got kids to feed.”
This is the UFC on Versus 4 live blog for Matt Brown vs. John Howard, a welterweight bout on tonight’s event at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
Brown (11-10) is looking to snap a three-fight skid. Howard (14-6) is on a two-fight losing streak and is coming off a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 124 last December.
Round 1: Brown managing the distance early with jabs. Howard catches a kick and looks to take Brown down, but he’s unsuccessful. Back circling each other now, Howard peppers Brown with leg kicks. Howard takes Brown to the mat midway through the round but Brown is back up in a flash. Howard continues holding on to the leg against the cage. Finally they break. Brown lands a shot and Howard falls backward. Brown lands on top. He looks for a D’arce. Howards pops free and slams Brown to the mat. Back up again. Brown with a succession of jabs to end the round. Several momentum shifts in the round, but we’ll score it for Brown 10-9.
Round 2: Howard spent an inordinate amount of time holding on to one of Brown’s legs trying to take him down, but he failed. Brown finally ended it by trying a standing guillotine. Howard pulled out. Brown tripped Howard down and took top position. Howard worked half-guard. Brown worked to improve position but Howard threatened submissions from the bottom to slow him down. Howard threatened a leg lock. Brown pulled out and Howard grabbed a leg and took him down. Brown tried a triangle but switched to an omoplata. Howard got out but Brown took the round 10-9.
Round 3: Leg kicks early from Howard, then a head kick. Brown flips the script and takes Howard down. Howard gets up and looks to take Brown’s back. He spends forever pushing Brown against the fence and trying to take him down. Nothing doing. He works free and Brown follows him across the cage throwing punches. Brown right back to another takedown try. The crowd is booing now. This was not the fight they were expecting, but both guys are on losing streaks and probably just want a win, no matter how ugly. Howard takes him down again. He’s looking for a kimura as the final horn sounds. Howard 10-9.
Winner: Matt Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Brown to Rogan: “I was going to win this fight even if it was a decision. I don’t like that, but I got kids to feed.”
This is the 
