“I’m on my own chopping block. If I lose to him, I’m quitting! I don’t even deserve to be in there! There’s not an easy fight. In the UFC, there’s no easy fight. He doesn’t deserve to be in there with me, and I’ll prove it. I’ll prove it in under a round, because, we see…I tend to get tired in the second round. [laughs] We’re both in a similar spot in our career I guess. We’re both on the chopping block. That’s fine. I’m really happy with that.”
“I’m on my own chopping block. If I lose to him, I’m quitting! I don’t even deserve to be in there! There’s not an easy fight. In the UFC, there’s no easy fight. He doesn’t deserve to be in there with me, and I’ll prove it. I’ll prove it in under a round, because, we see…I tend to get tired in the second round. [laughs] We’re both in a similar spot in our career I guess. We’re both on the chopping block. That’s fine. I’m really happy with that.”
As we’ve seen recently in MMA, threats of retirement aren’t always written in stone (see: Pellegrino, Gonzaga), and sometimes it’s just a matter of being super-pissed-off at the time. The only guarantee is that if Mayhem gets his ass kicked at UFC 146, he’s going to get fired from the UFC, and at that point, he may as well be retired.
CB Dollaway has been knocked out in his last two fights by Mark Munoz and Jared Hamman, and carries an overall UFC record of 5-4; another bad loss would likely cost him his contract. But despite CB’s rough patch, is it fair for Mayhem to say that “he doesn’t deserve to be in there with me,” in light of the notoriously terrible performance that Miller turned in against Michael Bisping at the TUF 14 Finale? “Pride goeth before the fall,” homey.
(Does *this* look like the face of a man who might beat you to death with a large ceremonial hammer?)
You can all exhale now — Alistair Overeem‘s dust up at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel earlier this year, in which he allegedly shoved a woman, will not result in a jail sentence. This is good news for UFC fans who are salivating over his upcoming heavyweight title fight against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, and great news for the lucky bastard who just avoided becoming the Reem’s cell mate. (I’m just saying, he’s a big man, and he needs love.)
Overeem waived his right to a trial and did not appear in court for his misdemeanor battery hearing yesterday. While he was busy throwing out energy fields at the UFC 146 press conference, Overeem’s attorney David Chesnoff finalized a plea deal that will require the fighter to fulfill 50 hours of community service and to undergo anger-management counseling. Hopefully Alistair learns to channel his aggression into something positive, like party-rocking. Overeem also received a suspended 90-day jail sentence, but the matter will be dismissed as long as he meets the conditions laid out by the court.
Without sharing details of the case, Overeem described the situation as a lesson about the differences between Holland and America:
(Does *this* look like the face of a man who might beat you to death with a large ceremonial hammer?)
You can all exhale now — Alistair Overeem‘s dust up at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel earlier this year, in which he allegedly shoved a woman, will not result in a jail sentence. This is good news for UFC fans who are salivating over his upcoming heavyweight title fight against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 146, and great news for the lucky bastard who just avoided becoming the Reem’s cell mate. (I’m just saying, he’s a big man, and he needs love.)
Overeem waived his right to a trial and did not appear in court for his misdemeanor battery hearing yesterday. While he was busy throwing out energy fields at the UFC 146 press conference, Overeem’s attorney David Chesnoff finalized a plea deal that will require the fighter to fulfill 50 hours of community service and to undergo anger-management counseling. Hopefully Alistair learns to channel his aggression into something positive, like party-rocking. Overeem also received a suspended 90-day jail sentence, but the matter will be dismissed as long as he meets the conditions laid out by the court.
Without sharing details of the case, Overeem described the situation as a lesson about the differences between Holland and America:
“Being famous in the States is definitely different than being famous in Holland or anywhere else, and it comes with a lot of advantages and some disadvantages. You need to learn how to deal with it,” said Overeem, who is now employing a security detail. “In Holland, I can just go to the grocery store and buy my eggs and milk, and here you might be under attack. Some situation may come up and you’re drawn into it and suddenly it’s world news. We don’t have that in Holland.”
Assuming they don’t make Overeem pick up cans off the side of the highway like some common schmuck, how do you think he should spend his 50 hours of community service?
It is a little known fact that Jon Jones has a stipulation in his UFC contract that forbids him from appearing in any form of promotional media without viciously assaulting someone whilst doing so. That child innocently swinging at the playground? He’s getting the boots put to him. That co-worker complaining about shorter lunches? He’s getting choked the fuck out. Mr. Jones’ newest commercial is no different, but thankfully, no helpless bystanders were injured this time. In fact, the ad is nothing more than a slow-mo recap of his recent win over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Lyoto Machida. And it couldn’t be any cooler.
It is a little known fact that Jon Jones has a stipulation in his UFC contract that forbids him from appearing in any form of promotional media without viciously assaulting someone whilst doing so. That child innocently swinging at the playground? He’s getting the boots put to him. That co-worker complaining about shorter lunches? He’s getting choked the fuck out. Mr. Jones’ newest commercial is no different, but thankfully, no helpless bystanders were injured this time. In fact, the ad is nothing more than a slow-mo recap of his recent win over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Lyoto Machida. And it couldn’t be any cooler.
How cool is Jones’ newest commercial, you ask? Well, it has opted to take the Cialis approach to advertising ie. leaving the audience completely in the dark as to what the hell it is actually trying to sell them, because ambiguity is truly for the elite. If not for the “4.21.12″ that flashes briefly at the end of the ad, which we recognize to be the date of his upcoming UFC 145 showdown with long time rival Rashad Evans, this commercial would simply come across as a minute-long hype video for the current champ, which he is clearly in desperate need of. I mean, let’s not look into the fact that the UFC 145 poster doesn’t feature Evans whatsoever, or any other fighters for that matter. Apparently the UFC’s marketing department doesn’t think “Suga” stands much of a chance, so the question is, do any of you?
(“Hey Ryan. My wife saw a poster for your fight in the women’s bathroom at Macy’s. Cool, right”)
Ryan Couture is gearing up for the toughest fight of his career. When he meets Conor Heun in the cage on Saturday night, he’s almost assured a grueling brawl. Speaking this week with the son of UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture, who is blazing his own trail in MMA as one of the sport’s top prospects, the veteran-like confidence and focus he displayed was immediately evident. The grounded 29-year-old says he is not taking anything for granted in this fight, and that he has prepared himself to go the distance with a very formidable opponent.
Check out what the 3-1 well-rounded Strikeforce prospect had to say after the jump.
(“Hey Ryan. My wife saw a poster for your fight in the women’s bathroom at Macy’s. Cool, right”)
Ryan Couture is gearing up for the toughest fight of his career. When he meets Conor Heun in the cage on Saturday night, he’s almost assured a grueling brawl. Speaking this week with the son of UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture, who is blazing his own trail in MMA as one of the sport’s top prospects, the veteran-like confidence and focus he displayed was immediately evident. The grounded 29-year-old says he is not taking anything for granted in this fight, and that he has prepared himself to go the distance with a very formidable opponent.
Here’s what the well-rounded Strikeforce prospect had to say:
On Heun’s emotional investment in the fight:
“I know Conor’s a real intense guy, and he brings that intensity into the cage, so we knew we were in for a fight when we signed this one. Everybody’s different, but I know for me, personally, if I was fighting on that much emotion and aggression, it wouldn’t play out well for me, but it seems to have worked well for him. Obviously, he’s had a lot of success in his career, and it seems that’s the head space he needs to get into to perform his best. It’s working for him, so I wouldn’t criticize it.”
On the underestimation of his submission skills:
“People put a lot of weight on belt level, and the fact that he’s a high ranking guy under Eddie [Bravo], who’s so well respected. I have a lot of respect for that system, as well. Having fought Sean Bollinger — another one of Eddie’s black belts — as an amateur, I know those guys are no joke. I’ve got to be ready for that, but I train hard, and I’m very confident in my ground game. I think we match up well. From what I’ve been hearing, his plan is to try and drag me into a brawl and keep the fight standing, so it’ll be interesting to see how this thing plays out. I know I’m going to be exhausted at the end of that 15 minutes, but I’m planning to come out of it with my hand raised.”
On his fight expectations:
“I would always prefer to finish it quick. It minimizes the chance of me getting injured and having any kind of a layoff. It’s just nice to get in there and get it over with, but my expectation, just knowing how tough and durable and scrappy Conor is, is that we’re going to have to go the distance in this fight, and I’m ready for that, too. It’s almost more satisfying when you go deep into the fight and are able to come out and win the fight that way, even though physically, it’s really demanding, but there’s a certain sense of satisfaction that comes along with that. Given my choice between the two, I’d rather get the quick finish.”
On the respect he has for Heun:
“I’ve got nothing but respect for Conor. I’ve watched him fight for the last couple years, and always been impressed with that mentality and heart that he brings to the cage, and he seems to be a nice guy, although he can be a little out there sometimes. He’s into some different things than I am, but he seems to be a pretty likable guy, and I got no problem grabbing a beer with him after we finish beating each other up.”
On Strikeforce’s promotion of undercards:
“I think it would have maybe been wise to spend a little more time and effort on promoting some of the undercard fights, just because it’s such a stacked card. I think this card is just being known as this big women’s fight, but there are a lot of really good match-ups on the undercard. I think they could’ve gotten some mileage out of pushing the Thomson and Noons fight. That’s going to be a great fight. Even on the prelims, Pat Healy and Caros Fodor, and my fight, as well, are all compelling match ups that would draw some interest. I definitely wouldn’t criticize the way it’s been marketed. I think they did a really good job promoting that particular fight, but I think they had a lot more interesting match ups on the card that they could’ve used as well, to draw even more eyes to it. Sean Shelby did such a great job putting together this card, that it’s kind of a bummer to not see the whole card, top to bottom, get as much attention as that one fight.”
Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun goes down this Saturday, March 3, in Ohio, and will be broadcast on Showtime Extreme. The match-up has all the markings of Fight of the Night, and should set the pace leading into the rest of the stacked card. Hopefully it meets expectations and brings the undercards more buzz in the not-to-distant future like they deserve.
(This punch-face that Bendo gave Frankie Edgar? Good *and* ugly.)
By Mark Dorsey
Inspired by the 1966 Spaghetti Western film about three gunmen who set out to find a hidden fortune during the American Civil War, this post-event wrap-up is dedicated to the moments that may have slipped through the cracks or deserve a little bit more analysis. Before we bid adieu to the resounding success that was UFC 144, join us for a look back at the event with a solid, squinty-eyed gaze that would make a macho legend like Clint Eastwood proud.
The Good
• The Japanese crowd. As expected, the Japanese crowd was politely engaged in the fights throughout the entire event. There were long periods of respectful silence during most of the action, prompting Joe Rogan to urge Mike Goldberg to take off his headphones in order to soak in the eerie quiet in the arena. Rogan is a stand-up comic who doesn’t often get the opportunity to crack jokes during the fights but it was funny when he said that event was akin to watching “a cagefight in a church.” Despite the reverent atmosphere, the crowd also had its moments of vocal fervor, erupting into chants of Hioki’s name and random “UFC” chants, while also scolding Ryan Bader with boos when he tried to tie-up Rampage from the bottom. The Japanese fans showed a lot of support to non-native fighters such as Vaughan Lee after his impressive armbar victory over Kid Yamamoto, and Tim Boetsch after his shocking comeback win over Yushin Okami. The vibe in Japan was markedly different from the UFC’s amazing shows in Toronto and Rio, but anytime there’s an event when the fans become one of the main talking points, it speaks to their passion.
• Referees. Referees usually only get the spotlight if they make a mistake or controversial decision, but sometimes they should get mentioned simply because they did a solid job. That was certainly the case at UFC 144 which saw some great stoppages. Particularly noteworthy was Herb Dean’s reaction time, jumping in to stop Mark Hunt and Issei Tamura from inflicting more damage after their devastating knockouts of Cheick Kongo and Zhang Tiequan, respectively. In a similar vein, during the Lauzon/Pettis fight, referee Marc Goddard was right on top of the action, quickly stepping in to prevent follow-up damage after Lauzon was KO’d.
(This punch-face that Bendo gave Frankie Edgar? Good *and* ugly.)
By Mark Dorsey
Inspired by the 1966 Spaghetti Western film about three gunmen who set out to find a hidden fortune during the American Civil War, this post-event wrap-up is dedicated to the moments that may have slipped through the cracks or deserve a little bit more analysis. Before we bid adieu to the resounding success that was UFC 144, join us for a look back at the event with a solid, squinty-eyed gaze that would make a macho legend like Clint Eastwood proud.
The Good
• The Japanese crowd. As expected, the Japanese crowd was politely engaged in the fights throughout the entire event. There were long periods of respectful silence during most of the action, prompting Joe Rogan to urge Mike Goldberg to take off his headphones in order to soak in the eerie quiet in the arena. Rogan is a stand-up comic who doesn’t often get the opportunity to crack jokes during the fights but it was funny when he said that event was akin to watching “a cagefight in a church.” Despite the reverent atmosphere, the crowd also had its moments of vocal fervor, erupting into chants of Hioki’s name and random “UFC” chants, while also scolding Ryan Bader with boos when he tried to tie-up Rampage from the bottom. The Japanese fans showed a lot of support to non-native fighters such as Vaughan Lee after his impressive armbar victory over Kid Yamamoto, and Tim Boetsch after his shocking comeback win over Yushin Okami. The vibe in Japan was markedly different from the UFC’s amazing shows in Toronto and Rio, but anytime there’s an event when the fans become one of the main talking points, it speaks to their passion.
• Referees. Referees usually only get the spotlight if they make a mistake or controversial decision, but sometimes they should get mentioned simply because they did a solid job. That was certainly the case at UFC 144 which saw some great stoppages. Particularly noteworthy was Herb Dean’s reaction time, jumping in to stop Mark Hunt and Issei Tamura from inflicting more damage after their devastating knockouts of Cheick Kongo and Zhang Tiequan, respectively. In a similar vein, during the Lauzon/Pettis fight, referee Marc Goddard was right on top of the action, quickly stepping in to prevent follow-up damage after Lauzon was KO’d.
• Rampage Jackson. There were many disappointing aspects of Rampage’s performance at UFC 144, but he should also get some credit for providing a lot of interest in this card. Although he couldn’t pull off a win, Rampage did his best to entertain with a great entrance in which he came out to the Pride FC opening theme song and provided the crowd with a couple of his signature howls. His Japanese homecoming clearly meant a lot to an emotional Rampage who fought through a knee injury and showed a lot of maturity in many of the interviews he gave before and after the event. Also, the slam/spike on Bader was thrilling and a reminder of the potentially fight-ending techniques that Rampage still possesses.
The Bad
• Late fights and timing issues. As the UFC continues to expand into different overseas markets, there will be some growing pains regarding how to satisfy both the live crowds and the North American television audience. Let’s be honest, it’s nice that we can watch the UFC at its regular time slot here in North America, but I’m not sure that catering to the PPV numbers is the best way to build a strong UFC following in Japan, especially when it means starting the fights at 10AM on a Sunday. Also, it may seem like a strange thing to complain about, but a 4-hour PPV is just way too long. The average major league sporting event is only 2.5 to 3 hours long; this was a 4-hour PPV with 2 hours of preliminary fights. It’s great that there are so many fights being shown but hopefully it’s not at the expense of waning interest by the time the main event rolls around.
• The state of Japanese MMA. Japanese fighters did not fare very well on this card as a whole. When it came down to all of the high-profile matches of Japanese versus foreign fighters, the Japanese contingent didn’t do well, with Yushin Okami, Kid Yamamoto and Yoshihiro Akiyama each suffering definitive losses. Yushin Okami dominated Tim Boetsch for two rounds, but for a guy constantly hyped as the best Japanese fighter in the UFC, he quickly fell apart after getting stormed in the third round. Aside from Hatsu Hioki’s impressive win over rising contender Bart Palaszewski, the Japanese fighters who did secure victories (Riki Fukuda, Takanori Gomi, and Issei Tamura) did so against less-than-stellar opposition (Steve Cantwell, Eiji Mitsuoka, and Tiequan Zhang).
The Ugly
• Rampage Jackson. As a fan of Rampage, it’s easy to want to give him some leeway for fighting through a knee injury, but the truth is, this was an ugly event for him in the context of his entire career. After missing weight and giving up some of his purse, Rampage appeared to be mentally checked out. It seems he was looking past Bader and didn’t really take him seriously. During the fight, Rampage didn’t throw his hands much, and other than his slam, he showed very little of the dynamism that has marked some of his more famous fights. For a guy who has expressed a desire to fight Jon Jones again, this was a big setback.
• Rogan and Goldie. There were a couple head-smacking moments from the commentary during the Cheick Kongo and Mark Hunt fight. First, during the walk-in, Mike Goldberg stated that Hunt “brutalized” Fedor for eight minutes in their fight at Pride Shockwave 2006. While it’s true that Hunt had Fedor in some legitimate trouble, stating that Fedor was “brutalized” is disingenuous and reeks of Zuffa-inspired revisionist history. Second, during the fight itself, Joe Rogan talked about Kongo’s improved grappling, especially in the Ben Rothwell fight. After Goldie chimed in with “He even attempted an armbar” Rogan got confused and began talking about Hunt’s grappling instead of Kongo’s, saying of the armbar, “Well, he also did that in the Fedor fight. He almost caught Fedor in an Americana, or was it a Kimura, at some point.” Unlike Goldie’s misnomer, Rogan’s was obviously an accident. Plus, did Rogan really describe Tim Boetsch’s win over Okami as the greatest comeback win he’s ever seen in MMA?
• Mangled limbs. Yushin Okami’s left leg collapsed after he got KO’d by Tim Boetsch and it was reminiscent of Cro Cop’s mangled-looking leg after his loss to Gonzaga. On a similar note, during his fight against Rampage, Bader stupidly put his arm down to try and stop from being slammed. Luckily, it didn’t cause any major damage to his arm.
Admit it: When Mark Hunt first caught Cheick Kongo with a counter left, you were excited. When Hunt chased Kongo down and dropped him with a series of fight-ending straight rights, you cheered. No matter how much money you bet on Kongo to win, you couldn’t help but buy into the feel-good story that has been Mark Hunt’s UFC run. To see the same Mark Hunt who only earned a shot in the UFC due to the PRIDE buyout- the guy who Dana White offered to pay to just walk away from the UFC before being submitted by Sean McCorkle- thoroughly outclass one of the heavyweight division’s best kickboxers is a testament to his newfound dedication to the sport. The fact that he’s thirty seven years old only makes it all the more remarkable.
Mark Hunt improves to 8-7, marking the first time he’s had a winning record in the sport since his record was 5-4 in 2008. Although his hopes for either a title shot or a fight on next week’s Australia card are both pretty optimistic (to put it mildly), Hunt clearly demonstrated that he’s ready for stiffer competition. As for Cheick Kongo, this loss shouldn’t hurt his standing with the UFC- he was already a gatekeeper to begin with. We already knew that he wasn’t a serious contender for the heavyweight championship- the way he was outclassed by Mark Hunt’s striking and his inability to get Hunt on the ground proved it.
Admit it: When Mark Hunt first caught Cheick Kongo with a counter left, you were excited. When Hunt chased Kongo down and dropped him with a series of fight-ending straight rights, you cheered. No matter how much money you bet on Kongo to win, you couldn’t help but buy into the feel-good story that has been Mark Hunt’s UFC run. To see the same Mark Hunt who only earned a shot in the UFC due to the PRIDE buyout- the guy who Dana White offered to pay to just walk away from the UFC before being submitted by Sean McCorkle- thoroughly outclass one of the heavyweight division’s best kickboxers is a testament to his newfound dedication to the sport. The fact that he’s thirty seven years old only makes it all the more remarkable.
Mark Hunt improves to 8-7, marking the first time he’s had a winning record in the sport since his record was 5-4 in 2008. Although his hopes for either a title shot or a fight on next week’s Australia card are both pretty optimistic (to put it mildly), Hunt clearly demonstrated that he’s ready for stiffer competition. As for Cheick Kongo, this loss shouldn’t hurt his standing with the UFC- he was already a gatekeeper to begin with. We already knew that he wasn’t a serious contender for the heavyweight championship- the way he was outclassed by Mark Hunt’s striking and his inability to get Hunt on the ground proved it.
It’s disappointing to say this, but I think we can all agree that the “Sexyama in the UFC” experiment is officially a bust. Jake Shields, with his subpar striking and inclination to grapple, was about as handpicked of an opponent as Yoshihiro Akiyama could get for his welterweight debut. Yet for three rounds last night, Shields outpointed Akiyama on his way to a unanimous decision victory. While Akiyama did manage to stuff Shields’ takedown attempts throughout the fight, he offered nothing in return. Save for a beautiful throw in the second round, Akiyama never had Jake Shields out of his element in this fight- let alone actually in danger. And even though Jake Shields didn’t come close to finishing Akiyama until the final minute of the fight, he was clearly in control throughout the bout. Yoshihiro Akiyama has now lost four straight fights (or five, depending on how you feel about the Alan Belcher decision), and although he has shown flashes of greatness, the thirty six year old’s UFC run has been overwhelmingly unremarkable.
There may not have been a bigger surprise from last night than Tim Boetsch’s victory over Yushin Okami. Not only because Boetsch was such a heavy underdog, but also because of how he won. “The Barbarian” failed to live up to his nickname for most of their fight, being outgunned by Yushin Okami’s jab heavy offense in the first round and nearly punched out by Okami’s ground and pound after a failed guillotine in the second. When Tim Boetsch realized that nothing short of a finish would get him a victory, he threw caution to the wind and put everything behind his strikes. And it actually worked, as Okami found himself out cold fifty four seconds into the third round. While Okami seemed to be back to normal throughout the fight, once he got caught by “The Barbarian” he resorted to the same gunshy ”Thunder” we watched get picked apart by Anderson Silva. Okami needs to shake his fear of getting caught- something much easier said than done after back-to-back knockout losses.
As for the evening’s end of the night bonuses, which were all worth $65k, Submission of the Night went to Vaughan Lee for his armbar against Kid Yamamoto. Lee survived Yamamoto’s early onslaught and transitioned to the armbar after a failed triangle choke during the prelims on FX. Knockout of the Night went to Anthony Pettis for his brutal head kick against Joe Lauzon. It’s being rumored that Pettis has earned a rematch with Benson Henderson for the title. Don’t ask me how knocking out a gatekeeper like Lauzon earns a guy a title shot, but we’ll keep you posted if the rumor turns out to be true. As we mentioned earlier, Fight of the Night went to Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson for their five round main event title fight.
Also of note, the UFC has decided to give Takeya Mizugaki his win bonus, even though he lost a unanimous decision to Chris Cariaso. Mizugaki earned takedowns and stayed on top of Cariaso for the entire fight, but Cariaso’s submission attempts, elbows from the bottom and sweeps earned him the victory in the eyes of the judges. Admittedly, I thought Mizugaki was going to be the victor while watching the fight, but only because top control usually wins, regardless of whether the guy on top is actually attacking or not.
Full Results:
MAIN CARD (PPV)
Ben Henderson def. Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision- UFC Lightweight Championship
Ryan Bader def. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson via unanimous decision
Mark Hunt def. Cheick Kongo via TKO (strikes) at 2:11 of Round One
Jake Shields defeats Yoshihiro Akiyama via unanimous decision
Tim Boetsch def. Yushin Okami via TKO (strikes) at :54 of Round Three Hatsu Hioki defeats Bart Palaszewski via unanimous decision
Anthony Pettis def. Joe Lauzon via KO (head kick) at 1:21 of Round One
PRELIMINARY CARD
Takanori Gomi def. Eiji Mitsuoka via TKO (strikes) at 2:21 of Round Two
Vaughn Lee def. Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto via submission (armbar) at 4:29 of Round One
Riki Fukuda def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision
Chris Cariaso def. Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision
Issei Tamura def. Tiequan Zhang via KO (punch) at 0:32 of Round Two
