Tag: miesha tate

The 10 Best UFC Post-Fight Press Conference Sadfaces


(“I am not impress wit my performance” – Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)

By Ryan Harkness

Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.

Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.

While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”

The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…


(“I am not impress wit my performance” – Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)

By Ryan Harkness

Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.

Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.

While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”

The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…

Kenny Florian

After three failed runs at the lightweight title, Kenny dropped down to 145 for one last attempt at a UFC belt. Unfortunately he ran into the buzzsaw that was prime Jose Aldo and lost the fight 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards. I’m pretty sure he would have shed a few tears if his body had the moisture to spare after cutting down to featherweight.

BJ Penn

It seemed pretty damn obvious to everyone except BJ Penn that he was gonna get tool time’d by Frankie Edgar in their third fight. It wasn’t until the post-fight conference that the reality of his situation hit BJ in the face harder than anything Frankie threw in the cage. “I shouldn’t have come back.” Welcome to everyone’s conclusion from nine months ago, BJ.

Georges St. Pierre

Georges is the only winner to make it onto this list for the epic sadface he pulled after his ‘victory’ over Johny Hendricks. First off, you know a guy as OCD as GSP was aware he didn’t exactly perform to his typical flawless standard. Secondly, he not only had those ‘personal problems’ to deal with, his awkward out of the blue retirement in the cage went over about as well as a fart in church. That all led to St Pierre giving us a little glimpse of what things are like in his dark place.

Lyoto Machida

(Photo via Dave Mandel/Sherdog)

For all the hype and accolades Lyoto got out of this fight, he knows the score: he’s 36 years old, and only managed to secure this title shot by default because the rest of the middleweight division turned out to be on steroids. Unless he’s willing to push his career into Randy Couture territory, we probably just witnessed his last kick at the title shot can.

Chael Sonnen

Here’s a twofer that proves the only thing worse than choking and losing a title fight with two minutes remaining is choking and losing a title fight in the second round. Not pictured: the sad face Chael has now as he sits on his couch with his withered testicles in one hand and a lifetime prescription for TRT in the other.

Ediane Gomes: ‘To Be in the UFC, You Have to Show Your a–‘

Invicta FC women’s featherweight contender Ediane Gomes is less than impressed with the overall talent level of her counterparts in the UFC and is even more critical of the way the company promotes some of these matchups. 
Gomes told Brazilian mag…

Invicta FC women’s featherweight contender Ediane Gomes is less than impressed with the overall talent level of her counterparts in the UFC and is even more critical of the way the company promotes some of these matchups. 

Gomes told Brazilian magazine Tatame that the UFC, for the most part, is more concerned with putting attractive women inside the Octagon, as opposed to talented fighters (translation per MMA Fighting).  

The (female) fighters in the UFC are more worried about showing their a—s than actually fighting. MMA has become a new thing because of Ronda, but she’s actually one of the few real fighters. To be in the UFC, you have to show your a–. They should just put some strippers to brawl in there, it would be better.

I don’t see any fighter to beat her (Rousey). The only one that could give her some trouble is Amanda Nunes. Nobody else can take her title. She’s good in what she does. The others are terrible. A bunch of cans…Miesha is good, but she should stay as a model so she can make more money.

Gomes boasts a 10-2 record overall inside the cage and, as it turns out, her only two losses came against Rousey and Nunes. 

The American Top Team product is set to meet Invicta FC women’s featherweight titleholder Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino in a championship bout next month, but stated in the same interview that she would cut to 135 if she had the opportunity to join the ranks of the UFC.

Nunes, who defeated Gomes via TKO in February 2010, has gone 4-2 since then and is ranked No. 8 in the UFC’s official women’s bantamweight rankings. 

She has been on the sidelines since scoring her second straight TKO inside the Octagon over Germaine de Randamie at UFC: Fight for the Troops 3 in November.

Meanwhile, Rousey, the UFC champ, is 9-0 as a professional mixed martial artist (all finishes) and is going to make her third title defense in just over six months when she takes on Alexis Davis at UFC 175 on July 5.

In her first professional fight in March 2011, Rousey, a former Olympic bronze medalist in Judo, submitted Gomes with her signature armbar in just 25 seconds. 

Finally, Tate is just 2-3 in her past five contests, though two of those losses came to Rousey and the other was a debatable stoppage against Cat Zingano. 

Both Rousey and Tate cracked the Maxim Hot 100 List this year, with Rowdy coming in at No. 42, while Cupcake cracked the list at No. 58, per Maxim. 

Is Gomes accurate in stating that the UFC women’s bantamweight division is not as talent-rich as it could be, or do her claims come off as a bitter outsider looking in?

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Miesha Tate vs. Rin Nakai in the Works for UFC Fight Night Japan in September


(…everything else is virtually identical. / Image via McKinley Noble)

In a matchup straight out of our darkest, most deranged fantasies, a fight between UFC bantamweight contender Miesha Tate and Japanese muscle-fetish sex symbol Rin Nakai is reportedly in the works for UFC Fight Night Japan: Hunt vs. Nelson, September 20th in Saitama. MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani first reported the bout on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight, but clarified that it hasn’t been finalized yet.

Tate (14-5) recently earned her first win in the UFC, out-pointing Liz Carmouche at UFC on FOX 11 in April. Nakai (16-0-1) is an undefeated Queen of Pancrase — although the promotion has occasionally had to bend the rules to keep her impressive record intact. Random fact: Nakai’s height is listed at 5’1″, which makes her even shorter than John Dodson. We can’t wait for her first post-fight interview with Helwani.

Does anybody else feel like Tate vs. Nakai is a direct response to Bellator’s latest moves? I picture Joe Silva huddled on his laptop saying, “Oh, you think you can beat us on freak show fights, huh? We can do this all day, homie.”

After the jump: Videos of Rin Nakai working out topless — tastefully shot from behind — and bouncing on an exercise ball while giggling. #fitnessmotivation


(…everything else is virtually identical. / Image via McKinley Noble)

In a matchup straight out of our darkest, most deranged fantasies, a fight between UFC bantamweight contender Miesha Tate and Japanese muscle-fetish sex symbol Rin Nakai is reportedly in the works for UFC Fight Night Japan: Hunt vs. Nelson, September 20th in Saitama. MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani first reported the bout on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight, but clarified that it hasn’t been finalized yet.

Tate (14-5) recently earned her first win in the UFC, out-pointing Liz Carmouche at UFC on FOX 11 in April. Nakai (16-0-1) is an undefeated Queen of Pancrase — although the promotion has occasionally had to bend the rules to keep her impressive record intact. Random fact: Nakai’s height is listed at 5’1″, which makes her even shorter than John Dodson. We can’t wait for her first post-fight interview with Helwani.

Does anybody else feel like Tate vs. Nakai is a direct response to Bellator’s latest moves? I picture Joe Silva huddled on his laptop saying, “Oh, you think you can beat us on freak show fights, huh? We can do this all day, homie.”

After the jump: Videos of Rin Nakai working out topless — tastefully shot from behind — and bouncing on an exercise ball while giggling. #fitnessmotivation


(konichiwa!)

Miesha Tate Defends Boyfriend Bryan Caraway from Fish-Hooking Claims

Former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Miesha Tate is adamant that her boyfriend Bryan Caraway fought a clean fight at UFC Fight Night 42 on Saturday, despite a controversial illegal move that many felt was blatant. 
On her Facebook fan …

Former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Miesha Tate is adamant that her boyfriend Bryan Caraway fought a clean fight at UFC Fight Night 42 on Saturday, despite a controversial illegal move that many felt was blatant. 

On her Facebook fan page, “Cupcake” explained that the notion that Caraway used a fish hook to set up the fight-ending rear-naked choke against Erik Perez is completely absurd. 

Tate also posted a video from the Facebook group MMA Overdose, which shows a 58-second clip of the end of the fight. 

The clip certainly appears to show a clean finish, though certain angles where Perez’s neck is being cranked are obscured by the camera. 

However, this clip posted by YouTube user, “piatraelfa,” does indicate that at least one instance of the fish hook, where someone controls the head by sticking their fingers into an opponent’s mouth and pulling, occurs in the first round. 

The question remains if this move, sometimes seen in amateur wrestling, occurred more than once in this bout. 

Earlier in the week, also on Facebook, Caraway said he apologized to Perez when he was told of the fish hook, but maintains it was an accident and had no role in the way the fight concluded. 

Whether one agrees with the explanation or not, Caraway has now won five of his past six fights via submission and is now No. 10 in the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings.  

On the other hand, Perez is now 4-2 in his last six Octagon appearances, though he is just 1-2 in his past three matchups. 

Additionally, Tate, a former Strikeforce champ, awaits her next fight pairing after winning a hard-fought decision over fellow ex-title challenger Liz Carmouche at UFC on Fox 11 in April.

Does the fish hook explanation from the Caraway-Tate camp hold water or was the illegal move an obvious, intentional and flagrant foul?

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Miesha Tate: ‘I Want to Be Paid More’

With free agency rapidly approaching, Miesha Tate is actively pursuing a more lucrative UFC contract.
The UFC women’s bantamweight star was in New York on Thursday attending the “Protect Yourself” campaign, a UFC public awareness camp…

With free agency rapidly approaching, Miesha Tate is actively pursuing a more lucrative UFC contract.

The UFC women’s bantamweight star was in New York on Thursday attending the “Protect Yourself” campaign, a UFC public awareness campaign aimed at stressing the importance of safe sex and HIV testing.

After a press conference for the event, Tate revealed to MMAFighting.com that her next fight would be the last on her current four-fight UFC contract. She also mentioned that she would rather forgo free agency and go ahead and get a new deal done before stepping back into the Octagon.  

But first, there is the issue of dollar signs.

According to Tate, her current pay is still reflective of her old Strikeforce contract, which the UFC picked up when it purchased the San Jose-based promotion in 2011:

“I do want to get paid more, of course. I think my stock’s gone up a lot since fighting in the UFC. I think the contract that transpired when I was still in Strikeforce, transitioning to the UFC, doesn’t reflect what I feel like I’m worth. So that’s a whole process that has to happen.”

Tate’s stock certainly has risen since joining the UFC.

Outside of UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, she is easily the most recognizable face in all of women’s MMA.

With that said, it would be a major surprise if the UFC rushes to get a new deal done. Despite her immense popularity, Tate is only 1-2 in the UFC, and her only win came in a nail-biting decision over Liz Carmouche less than a month ago.

The more likely course of action is for the UFC to sit back and see how Tate performs in her next fight, which could come against a familiar face. Former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champ Sarah Kaufman recently took to Twitter and called Tate out for a rematch of their May 2009 bout.

Tate, who is admittedly not a fan of verbal sparring on social media, expressed interest in avenging her loss to Kaufman:

I haven’t responded to it because I don’t want to get involved with the childish cattiness of Twitter back-and-forth. I feel like she’s trying to suck me into that.

She’s definitely someone that I’m interested in fighting because I did lose a 29-28 back in the day when women’s MMA was still only allowed to fight three, three-minute rounds. Definitely, she’s someone I have on my radar. I’m just not looking to make a quick turnaround and fight next month, for instance.

A win over a bona fide contender like Kaufman would go a long way toward landing that lucrative UFC contract. Tate would be in a much better position to get her Johnny Manziel on and force the UFC to show her the money.

 

Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Sarah Kaufman Rips Miesha Tate over Gina Carano Criticism

Former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman has a bone to pick with Miesha Tate in light of her recent criticism of women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano. 
Tate has called a potential Carano vs. Ronda Rousey UFC championship bout “a m…

Former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman has a bone to pick with Miesha Tate in light of her recent criticism of women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano. 

Tate has called a potential Carano vs. Ronda Rousey UFC championship bout “a mockery of women’s MMA” since Carano hasn’t fought since August 2009, per MMA Junkie. 

Well, in Kaufman’s mind, that scenario is eerily similar to the one “Cupcake” was in when she got a shot at Rousey‘s belt at UFC 168 in December. 

How’s carano getting a title shot after long layoff any different than @MieshaTate getting one after getting KOd? UFC wants to sell, miesha

— Sarah Kaufman (@mmasarah) May 6, 2014

Tate got a second crack at the “Rowdy” one at the end of last year despite suffering a TKO loss to Cat Zingano at The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale in April 2013. 

Zingano was supposed to coach TUF 18 opposite Rousey as a result of the victory, but she had to withdraw from the show and the subsequent title fight after suffering an ACL tear, per USA Today. 

Tate was pegged as a last-minute replacement, and although she is the only fighter to push Rousey past the first round, she still succumbed to the champ’s patented armbar in the third frame. 

Kaufman, the No. 5 women’s fighter in the UFC’s official rankings, is riding a three-fight unbeaten streak and awaits an opponent for her next assignment in the cage. 

Meanwhile, Tate is the No. 3 female women’s bantamweight in the world, according to the UFC, despite just a 2-3 mark in her past five fights. 

In all fairness, two of those losses came to Rousey, and she scored a big win over fellow former UFC title challenger Liz Carmouche at UFC on FOX 11 last month. 

Given the current landscape of the UFC women’s bantamweight division, would it make sense to have Kaufman and Tate settle their differences inside the Octagon sometime this fall?

 

John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com