(Daniel was expecting more trash talk, more mind games. Instead, Jon began whistling a melody so beautiful that Daniel felt his heart might fold in on itself. And for four-and-a-half minutes, all he could do was stand there listening. / Photo via Getty)
Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier is the greatest UFC title fight/rivalry in a long-ass time, and it’s finally going to happen tonight in Las Vegas. After a rough 2014, we MMA fans needed this. We deserve this. The time is actually now, for once.
Our man Mike Fagan will be dropping round-by-round results from the “Jones vs. Cormier” PPV after the jump, beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and follow us on twitter for additional commentary. Thanks for being here.
(Daniel was expecting more trash talk, more mind games. Instead, Jon began whistling a melody so beautiful that Daniel felt his heart might fold in on itself. And for four-and-a-half minutes, all he could do was stand there listening. / Photo via Getty)
Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier is the greatest UFC title fight/rivalry in a long-ass time, and it’s finally going to happen tonight in Las Vegas. After a rough 2014, we MMA fans needed this. We deserve this. The time is actually now, for once.
Our man Mike Fagan will be dropping round-by-round results from the “Jones vs. Cormier” PPV after the jump, beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and follow us on twitter for additional commentary. Thanks for being here.
UFC 182 Prelim Results
– Paul Felder def. Danny Castillo via KO (spinning backfist!), 2:09 of round 2
– Cody Garbrandt def. Marcus Brimage via TKO, 4:50 of round 3
– Shawn Jordan def. Jared Cannonier via KO, 2:57 of round 1
– Evan Dunham def. Rodrigo Damm via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)
– Omari Akhmedov def. Mats Nilsson via unanimous decision (29-28 x 3)
– Marion Reneau def. Alexis Dufresne via unanimous decision (30-26 x 2, 30-25)
The weekend is in the books, and although many of you were indulging in baseball playoffs and college football madness, there was plenty of MMA to equally boast and complain about. Apart from the always-vibrant regional circuit, which included MFC 41 and SFL 35 last Saturday night (watch a dude go through the cage door looking like he was on the wrong end of a Stone Cold Stunner right here), there were four major MMA shows taking place in 48 hours, two of which came from the same promotion that may or may not be ruining the sport with its inflated and overstressed schedule.
To top it all off, there were also a handful of stories outside the cage to boast about, some amusing and some downright miserable.
Here is the Cage Potato “Weekend Roundup,” and quite frankly, the only recap you need:
The weekend is in the books, and although many of you were indulging in baseball playoffs and college football madness, there was plenty of MMA to equally boast and complain about. Apart from the always-vibrant regional circuit, which included MFC 41 and SFL 35 last Saturday night (watch a dude go through the cage door looking like he was on the wrong end of a Stone Cold Stunner right here), there were four major MMA shows taking place in 48 hours, two of which came from the same promotion that may or may not be ruining the sport with its inflated and overstressed schedule.
To top it all off, there were also a handful of stories outside the cage to boast about, some amusing and some downright miserable.
Here is the Cage Potato “Weekend Roundup,” and quite frankly, the only recap you need:
Bellator vs. Battlegrounds MMA
It wasn’t exactly the showdown anyone anticipated, yet Bellator 127 went head-to-head against the hopeful Battlegrounds MMA, the upstart group that hired WWE legend Jim Ross and former UFC trash-talking guru Chael Sonnen to lead the way in the commentary booth for the return of the epic one-night tournament.
First, let’s get Bellator out of the way. These weekly Bellator shows will thankfully come to an end, and we can’t wait for Scott Coker to put on monthly shows better than the five UFC shows Zuffa runs per month, even though season 11 has owned so far.
In the main event, Daniel Straus blitzed past Justin Wilcox in under a minute, returning to winning ways after dropping his featherweight strap to Pat Curran back in March. Karo Parisyan’s comeback came to a stop at the hands of Fernando Gonzalez in a catchweight bout, after the latter dropped him and continued to deck him into oblivion. Another catchweight fight saw Rafael Silva defeat another UFC veteran, Rob Emerson, and Kendall Grove surprised the majority of his naysayers by choking out Christian M’Pumbu. Check out the highlights here.
As for Battlegrounds MMA, it was the perfect mix of sensation and shit show. The tournament format made a return, but we can sort of see why MMA can do without it. The show was a little long (not nearly as long as you-know-who), and with all due respect to the combatants participating, it would be hard to say the event would have acquired the same intrigue had it not been a one-night, eight-man welterweight tournament.
Since most of you care about the commentary team, they were a lot better than Mike Goldberg & Joe Rogan, Jon Anik & Brian Stann/Kenny Florian, generic English guy & Dan Hardy, and even Michael Schiavello & Pat Miletech. Both Ross and Sonnen offered something different in the booth, ranging from the “American Gangster’s” steroid jokes and ranking a ring girl, to Ross’ dry humor and still intact punch lines.
The unlikely winner of the whole shebang was Roan Corneiro, defeating three men in one night (including two finishes), and then stripped of $15,000 by the Oklahoma Athletic Commission for “showing up late” to a medical. Since the grand prize was a whopping $50,000, earning just $35,000 to topple three foes in one night is pretty atrocious. Other notable tournament highlights include Cody McKenzie making weight by donating a pint of blood and then losing to Brock Larson by submission, Joe Ray mauled Luigi Fioravanti, and Trey Houston upset Jesse Taylor with a slick first-round armbar.
UFC Sweden Actually Turned Out To Be A Good Show
UFC in the afternoon is a little odd. Depending on which coast you reside on, you have limited time when waking up in someone’s bed that you don’t recognize, and realize you’re about three ferry rides away from your home. Some of us would just keep chilling, but you know, their partner can turn out to be Leo Johnson.
Anyway, Twitter, the best social media app on the fucking planet, blew up with so-called MMA journalists and enthusiasts making fun of those watching the UFC Sweden prelims around noon without being paid for it. We tend to agree.
The UFC Fight Night 53 main card was pretty damn entertaining, mainly because all the Swedes and their affiliates lost. Rick Story shocked by emphatically defeating the overhyped Gunnar Nelson, and then completely blew his post-fight interview by not calling someone out. The co-main event saw Max Holloway knock out Akira Corassani, and the Wiki-less Ilir Latifi also fell to Jan Blachowicz due to a mean kick to the body. The action opened up with Mike Wilkinson upsetting Niklas Backstrom with a nasty knockout. The best part was when the latter walked up to Dan Hardy in the midst of talking to the Englishman and simply said, “that’s fucked up, man …(something else)…”
Donald Cerrone & Hapless Canuck Get Inked
After promising his boss he wouldn’t wakeboard or commit to other crazy shit on fight week, UFC lightweight Donald Cerrone got some pretty interesting ink on his foot. To be honest, there should be more instances of a blonde Bettie Page riding a rocket-penis in the sport.
Loading
WoW the feet hurt!! Would way rather take 30 unanswered uppercuts to the face lol @benguntattoo
If you thought that was bad, check out this moronic UFC-loving sap getting UFC Halifax inked on his freaking forearm, complete with the iconic Chuck Liddell pose.
UFC made its debut in Nova Scotia this past Saturday night with UFC Fight Night 54, showcasing the fight card on multiple backup platforms after FOX Sports 1 flipped them the bird and said, “we’re finishing baseball first, Mitch Gagnon.”
The event was pretty lackluster in general, minus Rory MacDonald’s official coming out party as the real Patrick Bateman. He finished Tarec Saffiedine in the third round via knockout, and there’s a good chance he’s next in line for the welterweight championship. Also on the card, Miesha Tate’s boyfriend lost to Raphael Assuncao in the co-main event.
As for the rest of the main card, check Wikipedia. If Dana isn’t doing post-fight scrums anymore, we aren’t either.
War Machine Is Back On Twitter
War Machine, real name John … you know what? Fuck War Machine. Up next …
UFC Newcomer Creates Go Fund Me Page
Every time the fighter pay issue is brought up in the media, the UFC brass (primarily) completely shuts down the remarks, citing backstage bonuses, unknown contract clauses, and general media stupidity to fight their cause.
In this instance, Nina Ansaroff, who makes her Octagon debut against Juliana Lima in a women’s strawweight bout at UFC Fight Night 56 in Brazil, has created a “Go Fund Me” page upon entering her first fight for the promotion hopeful of “world fucking domination.”
This has to be one of the saddest instances of fighter pay in the goddamn world. Not only did Cat Zingano’s paycheck raise a few eyebrows last week, but also that’s just another example of how flawed the pay system is. Ansaroff is an Invicta FC veteran, riding a five-fight winning streak, and fought both Carla Esparza and Barb Honchak early on in her career. As it stands, the fighter has raised $960, with a projected goal of $5,000.
The “People’s Warrior” claimed he threw his welterweight title fight against Steve Carl back in October 2012, just to get back into the UFC’s grace. It was a little hard to believe since the scrap was a back-and-forth battle that saw Burkman go out due to a triangle choke.
After some back-and-forth clowning with Ben Askren on Twitter, Burkman reiterated that he would never throw a fight, and was simply tooling the current One FC welterweight champion (as per his chat with MMA Fighting).
“The People’s Warrior” hasn’t competed in the Octagon since 2008, when he went on a three-fight losing skid, getting the boot after a unanimous decision loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90. But in recent years, Burkman revived his career in World Series of Fighting, where he went 4-1, earning impressive stoppage wins against UFC vets Jon Fitch and Aaron Simpson. Following his most recent win against Tyler Stinson in March, Burkman publicly asked for his release from the promotion, citing contractual shadiness, then renewed his contract with WSOF anyway. But before he could compete for them again, the UFC managed to snatch him out of his contract. As WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz explained:
“I said no [to releasing him] at first, but Burkman did a lot for us. I think we helped revitalize his career, but the UFC made him a very good offer. I talked to Dana and I think it’s good money for him and his family. I wish him the best of luck.”
“The People’s Warrior” hasn’t competed in the Octagon since 2008, when he went on a three-fight losing skid, getting the boot after a unanimous decision loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90. But in recent years, Burkman revived his career in World Series of Fighting, where he went 4-1, earning impressive stoppage wins against UFC vets Jon Fitch and Aaron Simpson. Following his most recent win against Tyler Stinson in March, Burkman publicly asked for his release from the promotion, citing contractual shadiness, then renewed his contract with WSOF anyway. But before he could compete for them again, the UFC managed to snatch him out of his contract. As WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz explained:
“I said no [to releasing him] at first, but Burkman did a lot for us. I think we helped revitalize his career, but the UFC made him a very good offer. I talked to Dana and I think it’s good money for him and his family. I wish him the best of luck.”
At this point, rumors of WSOF’s financial woes are public knowledge. Our own John S. Nash was able to compile a growing list of concerns from fighters and managers and their experiences dealing with WSOF. The most particular of these were that budget constraints seemed to be stopping WSOF from offering fighters fights at their agreed upon contract level, within their agreed upon contract period, often leaving fighters no choice but to take bouts for less money, just to keep fighting regularly.
Of course, those circumstances may have nothing to do with Burkman’s release, but along with the news of former WSOF featherweight champion Georgi Karakhanyan signing a contract with Bellator, it’s hard not to wonder if the promotion is being forced to release some of its higher salaried fighters. This may be the first step in an attempt to re-brand the promotion as a smaller, more prospect focused organization, or merely an opportunity that benefited all parties involved.
If only Josh had stuck it out with WSOF a little longer. I mean, everybody on the roster was about to get rich. Anyway, it’ll be nice to see Burkman back in the UFC, but “Showeather” isn’t exactly a warm welcome. Your thoughts?
Over the weekend, welterweight scrapper Josh Neerpicked up his third straight win since being ousted from the UFC for a third time back in February of 2013 with a first round armbar over Travis Coyle, capturing the VFC (so close!) welterweight title in the process. It was a victory that may very well earn “The Dentist” yet another chance in the octagon, where he may very well washout yet again in four or so fights.
With all due respect, that’s just the level of fighter Neer seems to be; a perpetual gamer with good enough skills to destroy anyone on the local circuit while never quite being able to establish himself in the big leagues — which is saying something for a guy who holds victories over the likes of Melvin Guillard, Duane Ludwig, and Mac Danzig. But while Neer may never be a title holder in the UFC or even a contender, it would be hard to deny that he’s one of the most dangerous guys competing outside of it today.
Here are five more of those guys, listed in no particular order.
A staple of the UFC’s welterweight division during the late aughts, Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman has had the most unexpected non TRT-induced career resurgence this side of Mark Hunt. After receiving his walking papers following a unanimous decision loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90 (with a 5-6 record overall), Burman all but vanished from the public eye. The reason behind his disappearance was similar to that of countless MMA veterans before him: Injury.
(Photo via Getty)
Over the weekend, welterweight scrapper Josh Neerpicked up his third straight win since being ousted from the UFC for a third time back in February of 2013 with a first round armbar over Travis Coyle, capturing the VFC (so close!) welterweight title in the process. It was a victory that may very well earn “The Dentist” yet another chance in the octagon, where he may very well washout yet again in four or so fights.
With all due respect, that’s just the level of fighter Neer seems to be; a perpetual gamer with good enough skills to destroy anyone on the local circuit while never quite being able to establish himself in the big leagues — which is saying something for a guy who holds victories over the likes of Melvin Guillard, Duane Ludwig, and Mac Danzig. But while Neer may never be a title holder in the UFC or even a contender, it would be hard to deny that he’s one of the most dangerous guys competing outside of it today.
Here are five more of those guys, listed in no particular order.
A staple of the UFC’s welterweight division during the late aughts, Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman has had the most unexpected non TRT-induced career resurgence this side of Mark Hunt. After receiving his walking papers following a unanimous decision loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90 (with a 5-6 record overall), Burman all but vanished from the public eye. The reason behind his disappearance was similar to that of countless MMA veterans before him: Injury.
Burkman spent the next year and a half recovering from back surgery, but when he reemerged, he did so as a completely changed fighter. A 5-1 win streak across various promotions would follow before Burkman would sign with the WSOF, where he would score upset wins over fellow UFC alums Gerald Harris, Aaron Simpson, and most impressively, Jon Fitch. Although Burkman’s meteoric rise would be halted in his WSOF title fight against Steve Carl, “The People’s Warrior” would bounce back from defeat with yet another brutal stoppage of Tyler Stinson at WSOF 9. And you better believe it was a walkoff KO.
Speaking of the WSOF, David Branch has built up quite a little streak of his own in the Ray Sefo-led promotion, notching back-to-back-to-back wins over Dustin Jacoby, whatever remains of Paulo Filho, and Daniel Villefort before capturing the middleweight title via a first round submission of Jesse Taylor (who himself has seen a good deal of success outside the UFC) at WSOF 10.
Branch’s last fight in the UFC saw him fall victim to the nightmare scenario that is a Paul Harris kneebar, yet somehow, he was not admitted to a psychiatric facility shortly thereafter and in fact has compiled a 6-1 record in the time since, with the lone blemish coming by way of decision to hulking light heavyweight Anthony Johnson. Not bad for one of the most infamous KO victims in UFC History.
We may rip on Rampage every now and again for being an annoying loudmouth with ever-deteriorating skills, but when it comes right down to it, the former UFC light heavyweight champion still has a lot of fight left in him. Now competing under the Bellator banner, Page has scored three straight victories for the first time since entering the UFC back in 2007 (a comparison we’re sure he’d appreciate), including a first round TKO of current/inexplicable title challenger Joey Beltran and a controversial decision over King Mo at Bellator 120: Dicks Be Ridden.
And while it’s almost certain that we’ll never see the 36-year-old back in the Octagon before he hangs ‘em up, we may very well see him rise to the respectable position of Bellator light heavyweight champion once Emanuel Newton sacrifices Joey Beltran to the MMA Gods. Have I mentioned how confused I am by that fight?
Although he may technically be considered a Bellator washout these days (which really doesn’t help prove our case), Ben Saunders has done a lot to separate himself from countless TUF washouts before him. He went 4-3 in the UFC following his stint on The Ultimate Fighter 6, picking up brutal stoppages of Brandon Wolff and Marcus Davis in the process, and has advanced to two Bellator welterweight tournament finals (and a third semifinal) via scorching knockouts of Raul Amaya and Brian Warren. He also likes to think that he helped get noted dog-killer Bjorn Rebney removed from his throne over at Bellator, which doesn’t exactly lower his stock in our book either.
(I am being told that this is not one of Daley’s recent highlights, but is in fact the lowest lowlight of his entire career. I apologize for the mistake.)
Paul Daley’s decision to cheap shot Josh Koscheck following their fight at UFC 113 has been discussed to the point of nausea (or as Tito Ortiz might put it, “ad museum”). Daley’s apologized for it, repented for it, and probably made a donation to The Human Fund in Koscheck’s name in a last ditch effort to get Karma back on his side. The unfortunate incident is mentioned in every article even tangentially related to him despite happening some four years (and a half dozen or so brutal KO’s) ago, and he’ll arguably never live it down, not even if he cures cancer while saving a baby from a building burning.
But to act as if the cheap shot never happened would be to revise the history of MMA to suit our needs, and we’ll be damned if that’s going to happen under our watch. So let’s talk about it some more.
Honestly, I’m of two minds about Daley’s decision. On one hand, Koscheck is a bit of a turd, and turds sometimes require an uncouth method of expulsion, lest they stick around too long and stink things up for everybody. On the other hand, striking an opponent after the bell is perhaps the most cowardly, punk-ass move in the book, and allowing Daley to return to the octagon would be all but rewarding his despicable behavior.
Oh right, Daley’s record. Since exiting the UFC, “Semtex” has gone 11-4 and 5-2 in the past two years across various organizations, with 7 of those wins coming via uber-violent knockout. A clean bill of (legal) health finally obtained, Daley re-signed with Bellator in July and will likely continue breaking jaws with tremendous aplomb for the foreseeable future.
(As long as Fitch agrees to be unconscious when the fight starts, you’ve got yourself a deal. / Photo via Sherdog)
For the third time in six weeks, Jon Fitch has lost his opponent for his World Series of Fighting 11 promotional debut. Yesterday, Josh Burkman tweeted that he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled rubber-match against Fitch at the July 5th NBC card, due to a hyperextended elbow, ligament damage, and a bone bruise. So, to briefly summarize:
May 2nd: Fitch gets booked in a stylistic nightmare fight against Jake Shields, a match that MMA fans around the world have been asking for, sarcastically.
(As long as Fitch agrees to be unconscious when the fight starts, you’ve got yourself a deal. / Photo via Sherdog)
For the third time in six weeks, Jon Fitch has lost his opponent for his World Series of Fighting 11 promotional debut. Yesterday, Josh Burkman tweeted that he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled rubber-match against Fitch at the July 5th NBC card, due to a hyperextended elbow, ligament damage, and a bone bruise. So, to briefly summarize:
May 2nd: Fitch gets booked in a stylistic nightmare fight against Jake Shields, a match that MMA fans around the world have been asking for, sarcastically.
June 11: Burkman pulls out of the fight due to severe masturbation injuries.
A replacement-replacement-replacement opponent has not been announced for Fitch yet, although I hear that Jason High dude is free these days. At this point, the promotion is probably better off re-booking Fitch against one of his first two opponents. Though if you can make 170 pounds by July 4th and don’t mind being smothered for three rounds, feel free to offer WSOF your services.
