The concept of quitting is a taboo subject in mixed martial arts.
But in the heat of the battle in the Octagon, even some of the toughest human beings on the planet can be brought to their physical and mental breaking point.
To prove it, in this article, we’ll tell the stories of 10 UFC fighters who came to the painful conclusion that they had no other option left but to cast the stigma aside and quit on their stool.
Chris Leben
Leben is one of the toughest fighters to have ever set foot in the Octagon, which made it all the most shocking when he waved the white flag following the first round of his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 168 in late 2013.
The already bloodied Leben, who had a reputation for possessing a granite chin and having the ability to take ungodly amounts of punishment, was attempting to take the fight to Hall in the dying seconds of the opening round when he suddenly ate a lightning-quick right hook flush to the face that floored him with a few more shots connecting cleanly on the mat before the bell saved him.
Leben rose back to his feet like a zombie afterwards and staggered back to his corner dazed and confused, asking his corner if the fight had been stopped.
They assured him that wasn’t the case, but that fact didn’t seem to put his mind at ease.
”I’m done man, I’m done,” Leben suddenly said. “Stop it.”
It was a poignant moment to see such a battle-hardened warrior admit that he had nothing left, and even more so in hindsight given that it would later emerge that Leben really was done.
After all the wars he’d been in over the years, both inside and outside of the cage, ‘The Crippler’s’ memorable career came to an end that night.
A photo posted by Kevin Casey (@kingkevincasey) on Oct 31, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT
Kevin Casey has signed a fight contract with Bellator MMA. “The King” is a former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter and is expected to debut with the promotion early in 2017.
Casey has previously fought for Strikeforce, which was run by current Bellator president Scott Coker. The 35-year-old went just 1-2-1 with a pair of no-contests with the UFC.
In 2015, Casey defeated Ildemar Alcantara via decision. Prior to competing inside the Octagon, he went 8-3, including a knockout of former TUF winner Andrew Sanchez.
A photo posted by Kevin Casey (@kingkevincasey) on Oct 31, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT
Kevin Casey has signed a fight contract with Bellator MMA. “The King” is a former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter and is expected to debut with the promotion early in 2017.
Casey has previously fought for Strikeforce, which was run by current Bellator president Scott Coker. The 35-year-old went just 1-2-1 with a pair of no-contests with the UFC.
In 2015, Casey defeated Ildemar Alcantara via decision. Prior to competing inside the Octagon, he went 8-3, including a knockout of former TUF winner Andrew Sanchez.
As noted, UFC heavyweight contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was released from the promotion this week.
Bigfoot joins a number of front office employees and management figures, including Tom Wright, Garry Cook and Marshall Zelaznik.
In terms of active fighters, Bigfoot wasn’t the only one to be released this week. According to a new report at MMAFighting.com, 12 additional fighters have also been cut from the promotion.
Below is the list of fighters reportedly released from the UFC this week:
* Shane Campbell
* Kevin Casey
* Cody East
* Glaico Franca
* Leonardo Augusto ‘Leleco’ Guimaraes
* Cory Hendricks
* Caio Magalhaes
* Enrique Marin
* Tamdan McCrory
* Kenny Robertson
* Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva
* Sean Spencer
* Alberto Uda
As noted, UFC heavyweight contender Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was released from the promotion this week.
Bigfoot joins a number of front office employees and management figures, including Tom Wright, Garry Cook and Marshall Zelaznik.
In terms of active fighters, Bigfoot wasn’t the only one to be released this week. According to a new report at MMAFighting.com, 12 additional fighters have also been cut from the promotion.
Below is the list of fighters reportedly released from the UFC this week:
* Shane Campbell
* Kevin Casey
* Cody East
* Glaico Franca
* Leonardo Augusto ‘Leleco’ Guimaraes
* Cory Hendricks
* Caio Magalhaes
* Enrique Marin
* Tamdan McCrory
* Kenny Robertson
* Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva
* Sean Spencer
* Alberto Uda
It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, August 27th, 2016) will come in the form of UFC on FOX 21. Headlining the card are Carlos Condit and Demian Maia, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.
It’s once again fight day here at LowKickMMA, and the talent on display tonight (Saturday, August 27th, 2016) will come in the form of UFC on FOX 21. Headlining the card are Carlos Condit and Demian Maia, but there’s a whole bunch of great fights also taking place on the preliminary section of the card.
Sam Alvey vs. Kevin Casey in a middleweight bout closes the preliminary card on FOX.
Enrique Barzola vs. Kyle Bochniak is next in a featherweight bout.
Alessio Di Chirico vs. Garreth McLellan is next in a middleweight bout
Shane Campbell vs. Felipe Silva in a lightweight bout opens the FOX preliminary bouts.
Thibault Gouti vs. Chad Laprise in a lightweight bout finishes off the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card.
Jeremy Kennedy vs. Alex Ricci in a lightweight opens the UFC Fight Pass prelims.
Today was Judgement Day for a trio of misbehaving UFC stars, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission held a disciplinary hearing today to address the infamous Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormiermedia day brawl in August, as well as Wanderlei Silva‘s equally-infamous dodging of a random drug test in May. Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first — the punishments:
– Jon Jones was fined $50,000 for his role in the brawl, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Cormier in January. He will also be required to complete 40 hours of community service in Las Vegas; Jones is not psychedabout that part, as he feels it will impact his training for the fight.
– Daniel Cormier was fined $9,000, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Jones. Cormier will be required to complete 20 hours of community service in his hometown of San Jose, CA. The Nevada Commission felt that Cormier had less responsibility in the brawl — despite the fact that Cormier made first contact — and gave DC a smaller community service requirement as a result.
Today was Judgement Day for a trio of misbehaving UFC stars, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission held a disciplinary hearing today to address the infamous Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormiermedia day brawl in August, as well as Wanderlei Silva‘s equally-infamous dodging of a random drug test in May. Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first — the punishments:
– Jon Jones was fined $50,000 for his role in the brawl, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Cormier in January. He will also be required to complete 40 hours of community service in Las Vegas; Jones is not psychedabout that part, as he feels it will impact his training for the fight.
– Daniel Cormier was fined $9,000, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Jones. Cormier will be required to complete 20 hours of community service in his hometown of San Jose, CA. The Nevada Commission felt that Cormier had less responsibility in the brawl — despite the fact that Cormier made first contact — and gave DC a smaller community service requirement as a result.
Here’s what else you missed, if you didn’t watch the Fight Pass stream…
Jon Jones claimed that his brawl with Cormier cost him a six-figure sponsorship with Nike, as well as another potential six-figure sponsorship that he and his lawyer wouldn’t name. Cormier said that some of the kids in his wrestling program left because of the brawl. Advantage: Jones.
Jones apologized to the commission, to the fans and to the sports of wrestling, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu and boxing as well as the “great sport of MMA.”
Jones told the commission that he had planned to make forehead to forehead contact with Cormier that he had made with other fighters Rashad Evans, Brandon Vera and others. He said that when Cormier touched his throat he felt he had to respond to show he was still champion.
Jones said his howl after the brawl was an instinctive, primal gesture, not a planned action. He said he was feeding off the excitement of the crowd and their enthusiasm for the brawl…
Another commissioner pointed out the absence of Dana White might have played a role and that the UFC learned that “a real presence” is required…
(Underhooks, Sholler! Like we did in practice!)
Commissioner Brady asked for mercy for Jones due to his having already lost one of his fights this year due to injury…
The commissioners said they are “pissed off” at the outcome of “the last time we tried to do something non-traditional” which presumably refers to attempts to use Chael Sonnen as an advisor on drug testing and testosterone replacement issues…
Cormier then appeared before the commission. His attorney said the NSAC was under pressure from the media due to the “non-sporting event actions of athletes” and he pointed out that “this is not a domestic violence situation, not a drunken driving situation and not a brawl between a professional athlete and a non-professional. Rather it was a brawl at an event designed to promote a fight.”
Cormier’s attorney says that he is standing by his filing that the brawl was a self-defense action on Cormier’s part and that his client is not at fault…
One of the commissioners asked Cormier what he could have done differently. Cormier said he could have taken a step back. [Ed. note: Like a punk?? Nah, son.]
Cormier told the commission that he was surprised by the intensity of the stare down because he and Jones had been cordial backstage before the stare down.
(And yet, this is still the most shameful thing that Kevin Casey has ever done.)
Drug testing at the UFC’s back-to-back events in Las Vegas earlier this month caught two more PED-cheaters, who will be facing fines, suspensions, and the overturning of their victories. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday evening.
We’ll begin with middleweight Kevin Casey, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone following his 61-second TKO of Bubba Bush in the curtain-jerking match at UFC 175. The fight represented a second chance in the UFC for “King” Casey, who bounced out of the promotion last year after a stint on TUF 17. Unfortunately, Casey has pissed all over that chance, and might find himself on the chopping block after this one.
And in “enough testosterone to choke a horse” news…
(And yet, this is still the most shameful thing that Kevin Casey has ever done.)
Drug testing at the UFC’s back-to-back events in Las Vegas earlier this month caught two more PED-cheaters, who will be facing fines, suspensions, and the overturning of their victories, pending a formal hearing. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday evening.
We’ll begin with middleweight Kevin Casey, who tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone following his 61-second TKO of Bubba Bush in the curtain-jerking match at UFC 175 on July 5th. The fight represented a second chance in the UFC for “King” Casey, who bounced out of the promotion last year after a stint on TUF 17. Unfortunately, Casey has pissed all over that chance, and might find himself on the chopping block after this one.
And in “enough testosterone to choke a horse” news, light-heavyweight jiu-jitsu phenom Robert Drysdale was caught with an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 12:1 following his first-round submission win over Keith Berish at the TUF 19 Finale on July 6th. The allowed ratio in Nevada is 6:1, which is already a much higher T/E ratio than any human being should have naturally.
Even though Drysdale’s appearance at the TUF 19 Finale marked his UFC debut, it’s actually the second drug test he’s failed for elevated testosterone. In 2013, Drysdale was denied a license to compete at UFC 167 after an out-of-competition drug test came back with a whopping 19.4:1 testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio. Following his first failed drug test, Drysdale claimed that he was only on TRT for a little over a month, and he wasn’t on it long enough to feel much of an effect. (“I will not take an ounce of blame for dishonesty, because there was no dishonesty on my part. I would take some blame for not understanding the process.”)
I wonder how much blame Drysdale will accept for this one. At any rate, having more failed drug tests than actual fights in the UFC is a bad look. We’ll keep you posted when punishments are officially handed down for Drysdale and Casey.
In the wake of this news, we’ve made a long-overdue update to our MMA and Testosterone Bust Timeline, which turned five years old yesterday. Time flies when you’re juiced to the gills.
