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Dana White On UFC Fighter Pay: Trust Me, We Are On Par With NBA & NFL

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There’s been a lot of talk lately, especially in light of the heavily reported UFC sale, about fighter pay under the largest mixed martial arts banner today. The world’s premier combat sports organization has received criticism from many current and former employees over working conditions and remuneration, this includes a lawsuit against Zuffa headed b ex-fighters Nate Quarry, Jon Fitch, Cung Le and others. The ongoing effort to have the Muhammad Ali act, designed to help with stomping out corruption and potentially bringing to reality a fighter’s union, is currently being lobbied against by the UFC.

Of course there could be a number of reasons for their stance against the Ali act, and as a privately owned business the UFC is well within their rights to essentially do what they like. Fighters are individually contracted employees, but more and more athletes are beginning to vocalise their feelings about being underpaid and undervalued. This last week alone has seen two high profile complaints, one of which was brutally shot down by UFC president Dana White.

Jun 18, 2016; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Patrick Cote (blue gloves) fights Donald Cerrone (red gloves) in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at TD Place Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

After dominating and finishing Patrick Cote during the UFC Fight Night 89 co-main event, Donald Cerrone went on record during the post fight presser by saying ‘according to my pay, I don’t mean sh*t to the UFC.’ The statement was later dismissed by Dana White, who claimed Cerrone was ‘inconsistent’ and needed to ‘win them all’ if he wanted a better rate of pay. ‘Cowboy’ is notorious for fighting anyone, anytime, and has a promotional record of 17-4, has the most ever post-fight bonuses of any UFC fighter and is the fist man to be awarded knockout, performance, submission and fight of the night bonuses.

Another fighter on the UFC Ottawa card, Jo Calderwood, made a big splash in smashing Valerie Letoruneau by TKO. After the vicious win in Canada ‘Jo Jo’ declared she was too broke to afford her next fight camp, and would have to work another job to be able to fund her next training period. Dana White’s response was a little different to Calderwood, as he stated ‘she’d get bonused for that fight.’

With the promotion (reportedly) highly likely to change owners (officially) around the time of UFC 200, massive change could be coming in both the way production is handled, but also how fighters are paid. Right now we have the answers to neither of these intriguing concerns, but White tries to clear up some confusion during this recent interview…

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MMA Fighter Found Dead After Game Of Russian Roulette, Report Says

More shocking news in the mixed martial arts community… It’s been a pretty rough few months in the mixed martial arts world, as we’ve dealt with the losses of multiple stars in 2016. Former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman passed suddenly in February, rising Bellator MMA prospect Jordan Parsons died following a harrowing hit-and-run incident,

The post MMA Fighter Found Dead After Game Of Russian Roulette, Report Says appeared first on LowKick MMA.

More shocking news in the mixed martial arts community…

It’s been a pretty rough few months in the mixed martial arts world, as we’ve dealt with the losses of multiple stars in 2016. Former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman passed suddenly in February, rising Bellator MMA prospect Jordan Parsons died following a harrowing hit-and-run incident, boxing great Muhammad Ali left us aged 74 years old, and of course Kimbo Slice died of heart failure in the same week.

But the tragedies in 2016 just keep coming, as we learn of Dallas-based Bellator and Legacy FC veteran Ivan Cole’s accidental death yesterday (June 11, 2016). The official police report states the death is currently under investigation, and is classified as unexplained while the facts are gathered. CBS later reported that his untimely death was as a result of a game of Russian roulette gone wrong. He was 25 years old and is survived by a four year old daughter.

CBS reported the following: Mixed Martial Arts fighter Ivan “J.P.” Cole killed himself while reportedly playing roulette with gun in Dallas apartment. CBS 11 has reached out to the Dallas Police Dept. for further details, and has a crew heading to the scene.

The official Dallas police report stated:

On June 11, 2016, at approximately 7:31 a.m., officers responded to a shooting in the 13700 block of Montfort Drive. Officers found Ivan Robert-Earnest Cole, B/M 25-years-old, deceased. The death of Mr. Cole will be classified as an unexplained death pending the results of the autopsy. This incident is documented on case number 140985-2016.

‘J.P.’s’ wife Kymberli Cole has opened a GoFundMe page to raise funds for funeral costs and childcare in the wake of this tragic accident:

“I lost my husband to gun play,” Kymberli Cole wrote on a GoFundMe page one day after the couple celebrated their second year of marriage.

“He made a bad decision that cost him his life,” added Cole’s widow, pleading for money to pay for the fighter’s funeral and help raise their 4-year-old daughter.

RIP Ivan ‘J.P.’ Cole, our thoughts go out to you, your family, friends, fans and team at this sad time.

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UFC Fighting To Keep Muhammad Ali Act Out Of MMA

The post UFC Fighting To Keep Muhammad Ali Act Out Of MMA appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been remembered fondly recently, as his tragic passing rocked the combat sports world this past June 3. After fighting Parkinsons disease for 32 years, the 74-year old sports icon and social activist died surrounded by family in Arizona. His legacy lives on in many forms, including his thrilling trilogy of fights with Joe Frazier, his amazing win over George Foreman in Zaire, holding the world heavyweight title three times and also his influence on modern society.

Ali grew up in a time of racism and prejudice in the United States, and fought hard for the rights of the down trodden man. His reach far exceeded that of any other sports personality in human history, and he’ll forever be remembered as a kind soul who fought for justice and equality in a world that was yet to accept this moral values.

The Muhammad Ali boxing reform act was introduced in 1999 and enacted on in 2000 by the 106th congress, and serves to reduce corruption in boxing, aid commissions in overseeing the sport and also promotes fair treatment of fighters as well as maintain sportsmanship and integrity. The Ali act amended the 1996 boxing safety act and received massive support when finally introduced in hopes of ending rigged matches and corruption that had plagued the sport for a century.

The Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association has lobbied for the Ali act to be expanded to include fighters from various other combat sports, which would include MMA. In May this was brought to congress in the form of H.R. 5365, the Muhammad Ali expansion act, which has brought stern opposition from, yep you guessed it, the UFC.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship paid tribute to the legend Muhammad Ali with a touching video that aired during the live broadcast of UFC 199, but they clearly disagree with the morals that underlie the act named after the deceased boxing great. As per a report on Odwyerpr.com, the Zuffa owned organization has sought the expertise of a law firm in helping foil the expansion of the Ali act:

Mixed martial arts promoter the Ultimate Fighting Championship has retained Washington, D.C. firm Farragut Partners for lobbying help on Capitol Hill in response to a House resolution aimed at regulating full-contact combat sports.

According to June lobbying registration documents, Las Vegas-based UFC, which is the world’s leading promoter of mixed martial arts and generated a record-breaking $600 million in 2015, has launched a lobbying effort to communicate with Congress its position on the Muhammad Ali Act, which is currently facing amendments.

The fair treatment of fighters and the business ethics in the UFC have been under fire for some time now. The promotion has a number of complainants including Cung Le, Jon Fitch, Nate Quarry and others who are embroiled in a law suit following allegedly unsavoury happenings during their employment with Zuffa. More on the UFC’s resistance:

The UFC, in particular, has for years resisted Congressional efforts to expand the regulations of the Muhammad Ali Act to MMA. UFC parent company Zuffa in 2008 retained lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck to lobby on Capitol Hill in opposition to Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) now-failed Professional Boxing Amendments Act of 2007, which would have further amended the 1996 Professional Boxing Safety Act and strengthened the oversight of the Muhammad Ali Act by standardizing new health and safety requirements as well as establishing a new commission to oversee the sport.

Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma congress rep and former MMA fighter, said the following to ESPN:

“fighters are treated not as an asset, but as a commodity,” and said the amendment “isn’t about going after an organization,” but “is to make sure that both fighters and organizations are in it for the long run.”

“It can’t be slanted one way, and right now, it’s slanted towards promoters,”

This writer won’t comment either way on the UFC’s stance against the Muhammad Ali act, but will say one thing; Is there any way the expansion of the act in to mixed martial arts could be a bad thing for fighter welfare and safety?

Let’s just think about that for a second.

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Joe Rogan & Brendan Schaub React To Garbrandt vs. Almeida Knockout

UFC Fight Night 88 went down in Las Vegas, Nevada last night (Sunday May 29, 2016) with a highly underrated line up of promising prospects. The headline bout featured two fighters that represent the future of the 135-pound division, as Thomas Almeida looked to keep his 21-fight unbeaten streak going against 8-0 Cody Garbrandt. Turns

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The fight itself didn’t even make it out of the first round, as Garbrandt just proved to be way too much for Almeida. As many of us had thought, it was more about the footwork and defense, or lack thereof in the case of ‘Terminator’ that would prove crucial in this scrap.

May 29, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Cody Garbrandt (blue gloves) punches Thomas Almeida (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

The destructive force of Almeida’s striking was met with superior defensive skills, and much better footwork and timing from the Team Alpha Male prospect Garbrandt. In case you didn’t catch it last night, here’s the savage finish from the UFC on FOX Facebook page:

So it was a swift and dominant performance from Garbrandt, who improves to 9-0, but what was missing from the event? Yep, you guessed it, commentary from Joe Rogan.

Fortunately Rogan was watching live with Brendan Schaub and Bryan Callen and their reaction’s were caught on a live stream broadcast.

Podcast recording with Joe Rogan’s reaction on page 2…

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LowKick MMA’s ‘Bum of The Month’ Awards

Mixed martial arts is a tough sport to succeed in, perhaps the hardest of all combat sports given it’s top heavy payscale and ruthless nature. More fighters try and fail than we’ll ever know about, chasing a dream that to some seems far fetched and unrealistic, but it’s passion that drives these would be champions

The post LowKick MMA’s ‘Bum of The Month’ Awards appeared first on LowKick MMA.

That said, as with pretty much all other walks of life, it’s important to maintain an element of humour when discussing the sport we all know and love, hence the subject of today’s article.

If we can’t all sit back and laugh a little about life and death and everything in between, well we’ll all just end up going crazy. So we’ve gathered up some notable MMA fighters who have either dropped the ball in a big way, been involved in some scandal, lost rather terribly or just generally had some bad luck over the last month or so, and put a humorous spin on their stories.

Ed note: ‘Bum of the month’ originated when Joe Louis defended his heavyweight boxing title 13 times between January 1939-May 1941. The somewhat suspicious calibre of his opponents mixed with the frequency and ease in which he beat them led to this rather hilarious collective nickname. The article means no disrespect or offense, it’s just a humorous way at looking in to current events, so untwist your panties and relax, bro.

So let’s get things started in the heavyweight division:

Bigfoot Silva

Brazilian heavyweight Antonio Bigfoot Silva was looking like a new man coming in to the fight with Stefan Struve at UFC Rotterdam, but it turns out it was only his haircut that had been revamped. Taking the stage and hoping to break his recent pattern of knockout losses, Silva got splattered by ‘The Skyscraper’ in just 16 seconds.

It was Silva’s fifth knockout loss in his last seven fights, of which he’s only won one. To make things worse, and to really earn his spot on this list, Bigfoot went on a nutty rant to UFC fans in Brazil, calling his own nation a ‘shithole’ and asking his followers to sit on a large vegetable and ‘f*ck themselves.’

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Tim Johnson Defeats Marcin Tybura After Three Round War

After two great fights on the main card so far, it was time for the UFC Fight Night 86 to go heavy. The first of four heavyweight fights in a row on the main card featured Timothy Johnson and Marcin Tybura, in the lead up to the main event between Junior dos Santos and Ben

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Johnson rocking the old time weightlifter moustache here, very vintage, these guys look like they aren’t going to go for that judge’s decision. Grant Waterman of the UK is the referee in charge of the octagon and here we go. They touch gloves, Johnson in southpaw, Tybura in orthodox. Right jabs by Johnson, straight right down the middle for Tybura. Johnson with a nice right hook and Tybura looking a little gun shy if you ask me. They measure each other and now Tybura unleashes some big rear hooks.

Lovely uppercut to the body from Tybura, and now they clinch. Johnson weighing down on his man here, some dirty boxing and shoulder strikes, elbow from Tybura, and a hard knee to the belly too, Waterman rightly separates them. Nice 1-2 combo from Tybura, a couple wiffed replies from Johnson. Nice front kick from Tybura, Johnson throws from outer space and hits air. Round ends, 10-9 Tybura. There seems to be some sound errors as the corner cut scenes play out. Round two begins.

They touch gloves and Johnson lands a few, Tybura isn’t bothered by the awkward southpaw though, remaining very composed in the exchanges. Nice jab by Marcin now, slips the counter too, but now Johnson rips a right hook that cuts Tybura. They exchange and it leads to a clinch. Now the fight cuts out and rewinds to the prelims, and we’re back again more punches from both men but nothing clean. Tybura looking a bit flat now, Johnson landing some better punches. A straight left send Tybura back, and again, but a nice front kick gets Johnson’s attention. Johnson responds with a wild storm of punches, Tybura lasts out the round. 10-9 Johnson.

Round three begins, Johnson moving well, looks to be the fresher man but Tybura lands a takedown and gets the back. Johnson could shake Tybura off from this high position though, he escapes and they stand again. Uppercut grazes the forehead of Tybura, and they clinch again. Johnson winning the fight from position here but it’s not much fun, Waterman intervenes again, just as we rewind again to the prelims. Come on UFC get this sorted out please. Tybura rocks Johnson now with a kick, moving in for the kill and now whips an elbow to the head. They clinch again. Nice knee for Tybura, Johnson has a badly swollen eye now, one minute left. That left eye is brutally swollen, Johnson can’t see from that side surely. Right hand from Tybura, Johnson wings some counters but hits air. Fight over. 10-9 Tybura.

29-28 x 3 victory for Tim Johnson

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