Last week’s fight-picking contest took in over 120 entries — or about six, when you filter out all the entries that predicted Edgar vs. Maynard and Sonnen vs. Stann would both go to decision, and that Jose Aldo would knock out Kenny Florian. Since none of that happened, it kind of made our jobs easier.
Of the commenters who picked all three winners correctly, first-place accolades go to commenter smackemyakem, who predicted that Edgar would finish Maynard by fourth-round TKO. Well done, buddy. Second place goes to Yuri4980 who also called a TKO win for Edgar, plus a decision victory for Aldo. Sabourcc and Cro Cop Glory Days round out the winners’ circle by being at least somewhat correct on the victory-method for one of their picks. Congrats guys, you’re all getting copies of UFC Encyclopedia by Thomas Gerbasi. E-mail [email protected] with your name and mailing address to claim your prize. Thanks to everybody who played!
Last week’s fight-picking contest took in over 120 entries — or about six, when you filter out all the entries that predicted Edgar vs. Maynard and Sonnen vs. Stann would both go to decision, and that Jose Aldo would knock out Kenny Florian. Since none of that happened, it kind of made our jobs easier.
Of the commenters who picked all three winners correctly, first-place accolades go to commenter smackemyakem, who predicted that Edgar would finish Maynard by fourth-round TKO. Well done, buddy. Second place goes to Yuri4980 who also called a TKO win for Edgar, plus a decision victory for Aldo. Sabourcc and Cro Cop Glory Days round out the winners’ circle by being at least somewhat correct on the victory-method for one of their picks. Congrats guys, you’re all getting copies of UFC Encyclopedia by Thomas Gerbasi. E-mail [email protected] with your name and mailing address to claim your prize. Thanks to everybody who played!
Zuffa Editorial Director Thomas Gerbasi has just given us a stack of his upcoming book UFC Encyclopedia, a slick and meticulously detailed reference guide to the promotion’s 18-year history — perfect for your coffee table or the crapper. And we want to give away three copies to the savviest fight-pickers in the Potato Nation.
This Saturday, UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III goes down at the Toyota Center in Houston, featuring the conclusion (we hope) of MMA’s grittiest lightweight rivalry, Jose Aldo‘s latest title featherweight defense against Kenny Florian, and Chael Sonnen‘s love-fest with Brian Stann. Submit your predictions for these three fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:
Zuffa Editorial Director Thomas Gerbasi has just given us a stack of his upcoming book UFC Encyclopedia, a slick and meticulously detailed reference guide to the promotion’s 18-year history — perfect for your coffee table or the crapper. And we want to give away three copies to the savviest fight-pickers in the Potato Nation.
This Saturday, UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III goes down at the Toyota Center in Houston, featuring the conclusion (we hope) of MMA’s grittiest lightweight rivalry, Jose Aldo‘s latest title featherweight defense against Kenny Florian, and Chael Sonnen‘s love-fest with Brian Stann. Submit your predictions for these three fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:
– Gray Maynard def. Frankie via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
– Jose Aldo def. Kenny Florian via TKO, 4:10 of round 4
– Chael Sonnen def. Brian Stann via submission (brabo choke), 0:13 of round 1
Please include the judges’ scores if you think a fight will end in a decision, in case we need them for a tie-breaker. The three most accurate predictions win a copy of the book. Entries must be in by Saturday at noon ET, and we’ll announce the winner on Monday. One entry per person, please. Any other questions, let us know in the comments section. Good luck.
Somewhere in the back your mind is a Mt. Rushmore of MMA, one for fighter and one for non-fighters. On the latter, you’d undoubtedly have Dana White in addition to your pick of Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr., Bruce Buffer, or Joe Rogan. However, you only get to pick two of the guys I’ve listed because the second spot on the mountain is reserved for the most recognized referee in all of MMA, “Big” John McCarthy.
No one has had a bigger impact on the sport of mixed martial arts without having actually fought someone or having the last name of Fertita or White. Few have stepped inside the Octagon more times than McCarthy and almost no one has helped grow the sport from birth to the dark ages and into the mainstream arena that it is in today. And you thought he just asked the fighters if they were ready and raised the winner’s hand?
“Big” John McCarthy was kind enough to sit down with CagePotato recently to discuss his new book ‘Let’s Get It On!‘ which can be purchased on Amazon. The book is 50% MMA history lesson, 50% autobiography, and 100% worth every penny spent to own a copy and every minute spent reading. So, without further adieu, let’s get it on!
Somewhere in the back your mind is a Mt. Rushmore of MMA, one for fighter and one for non-fighters. On the latter, you’d undoubtedly have Dana White in addition to your pick of Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr., Bruce Buffer, or Joe Rogan. However, you only get to pick two of the guys I’ve listed because the second spot on the mountain is reserved for the most recognized referee in all of MMA, “Big” John McCarthy.
No one has had a bigger impact on the sport of mixed martial arts without having actually fought someone or having the last name of Fertita or White. Few have stepped inside the Octagon more times than McCarthy and almost no one has helped grow the sport from birth to the dark ages and into the mainstream arena that it is in today. And you thought he just asked the fighters if they were ready and raised the winner’s hand?
“Big” John McCarthy was kind enough to sit down with CagePotato recently to discuss his new book ‘Let’s Get It On!‘ which can be purchased as of yesterday on Amazon. The book is 50% MMA history lesson, 50% autobiography, and 100% worth every penny spent to own a copy and every minute spent reading. So, without further ado, let’s get it on!
CagePotato: Can you tell us how you got the nickname “Big”? Was someone you know a big fan of Big John Stud or something?
Big John McCarthy: (Laughing) No, you know what – my mother used to call me that for a while but Art Davie is the one that put that out there. There was an incident where I was joking around with him and I picked him up over my head. He started screaming. “Big John put me down!” From that point he always called me that and people just got used to it so it stuck.
CP: Why did you decide to write this book? Was it because you wanted to share the history of the UFC?
BJM: It was exactly that. You know if it weren’t for Loretta Hunt bugging me to death about writing the book it never would have been written. The one thing she told me that really convinced me to go ahead with this is that there is a huge history within the sport of MMA that people don’t know. There are a lot of things that have gone on, and basically people look at MMA from the year 2005 when The Ultimate Fighter series came out and think that’s how it all got started. But there’s a lot of people that deserve credit for getting it to that point.
Lorenzo Fertita – I think he deserves a ton of credit. He really put his money where his mouth is and took on a lot of personal debt to help see this thing survive and get people to buy into MMA. At $40 million in debt he still kept going.
Bob Meyrowitz – He did much of the same thing – invested a lot of his own money. He kept trying to keep this thing going even though he wasn’t making any money.
Jeff Blatnick – This is a guy people need to know about. The sport borrowed his credibility, he was an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and came to UFC 4 and fell in love with MMA.
There are a ton of people who helped get the sport where it is today — some at the beginning, others at the end — that people just don’t know about. That’s why I decided to write the book.
CP: You copyrighted your catchphrase “Let’s get it on!” much in the same way that Michael and Bruce Buffer did with “Let’s get ready to rumble!” and “It’s time!” respectively. Was that really necessary and have you ever had to pursue legal action against someone using your phrase without permission?
BJM: Is it necessary? I don’t think so. It’s one of those things where people force you into things because they want to take part in something, or be part of something. It forces you into doing something – but have I ever sued anyone? No. I’ve told people, “Hey, don’t do that.” That’s something I have to do to keep this thing copyrighted. I know Michael has sued people over using his line and won because you can’t do it without permission, but no, I’ve never done that.
CP: You followed in your dad’s footsteps and joined the LAPD at a young age. With such a busy career nabbing bad guys, how did you get involved with the UFC?
BJM: I got involved in the UFC because of the association I had with Rorion Gracie. I started working out with the Gracie’s before there was a UFC and when it came about, I was Royce’s sparring partner for the fights getting him ready and then it was the very first fight in the UFC between Gerard Gordeau and Teila Tuli that got me the position to be the referee. It was supposed to be that the referee could not stop the fight; the fighter was to tap out or the corner was to throw in the towel. Well then Tuli gets kicked in the mouth and punched in the face and he’s down. Then [referee] Joao [Alberto Barreto] came in and stopped it and said he couldn’t continue fighting. Then there was a conference of sorts between the Joao and Rorion who was upset because he didn’t want refs stopping fights. That’s how I got my job, because you have to have compassion for another person and they needed a steady guy.
CP: Alright, I have to ask and I’m crossing my fingers hoping you’ll tell me. Which fighter crapped themselves and who did you tell to go back to the locker room and take a shower?
BJM: You know what? That’s gonna stay with me. I’m sorry but I owe it to the fighters not to do that to them. As I was doing the book, I did not want to infringe upon the relationships I had with fighters or put them in a position where they felt like they couldn’t trust me. Stuff happens all the time in fights and back in the locker room and it’s embarrassing for that person. If they want to share it, they can share it, but I’m not gonna.
CP: Of all the people you’ve met, who are you the most grateful for knowing? Who do you wish you never met?
BJM: (Laughing heartily) Oh wow! You know I don’t think I could put one person down that I’m most grateful for knowing. There are several people who have been in the martial arts for a long time that I take great pride in the fact that I know them and I respect everything they’ve done in the martial arts.
Helio Gracie is somebody I felt honored to meet, spend time with and roll with. To me, he’s an incredible man who lived an incredible life and did incredible things. So that’s a special person on my list.
Chuck Norris is someone else; Chuck Norris is the real deal at everything he does in life. The way he’s gone about representing the martial arts throughout his life is something that I hold in high esteem. Another person that I just love as a human being is Gene LeBell. He’s been a friend of mine for a long time. Gene’s a super tough guy, but one of the nicest and most generous guy you’ll ever find.
When it comes to people I don’t like, I don’t worry about those things. That’s not what life’s about. If you know someone who you don’t like or they don’t treat you right, just move on.
CP: During the Tito Ortiz – Ken Shamrock feud, you detail an incident that occurred at a weigh-in where Ken threw a chair at Tito only to have it snatched out of the air by Dana White. You made the remark that it was a pretty good catch for a guy who didn’t know it was coming. Are you implying that White staged the altercation or am I just reading into it?
BJM: Yeah, it was awesome! No, he didn’t know it was coming; you’re reading into it. Dana didn’t know Ken was going to kick that chair and he caught it without ever expressing surprise. I mean, Ken stepped back and kicked that chair and it popped up and Dana stuck his hand out and grabbed ahold of it. It was a moment I thought was very funny and I thought he handled it very well.
CP: I guess Shamrock wasn’t training kicks with Steven Seagal or else that chair would’ve hit the mark.
BJM: HAHAHA! You’re probably right!
CP: Speaking of staged events, you’ve seen a few fixed fights over the years. Have you seen any recently, UFC or otherwise?
BJM: No – I want to make it clear to people when they hear that. There have been promotions that have put out fake fights. It’s what we call a work. It’s wrong and it should never happen. The UFC has never done that. When it did happen in the UFC, it was early on because we had tournaments where the two guys fighting were managed by the same guy. He’d say, “This guy has a very good chance of winning it and this guy doesn’t so I want him to throw the fight.” That’s when it happened. The first one I put in the book was Oleg Taktarov vs. Anthony Macias; they both had the same manager named Buddy Albin. Buddy’s the one that put them up to it and the UFC had no idea. When it happened I went to the owner, Bob Meyrowitz, and told him that [Macias] threw that fight and gave up on purpose and that he had no intention of fighting.
CP: What does C.O.M.M.A.N.D. stand for and what should fans know about it?
BJM: Certification of Officials of Mixed Martial Arts National Development. Our goal is to bring awareness to both judges and referees as far as the way the sport of MMA is evolving and what they should know about it. If they’re a judge, the way they should look at it to credit fighters for good technique. We want them to know what it looks like if a fighter’s stalling a fight. The main thing is to get everyone involved in the officiating process to be looking at things the same way and doing things the same way. We want everyone in everywhere to be on the same page because it’s good for the fighters; it’s good for the promoters; it’s good for the fans, and everyone gets accustomed to seeing the same thing. We want fights officiated and judged with consistency across the board.
CP: It’s been well documented that you and Zuffa/Dana White had a falling out a few years back. How are things now between you and the UFC and why did you feel compelled to accept full responsibility for all that transpired?
BJM: Life is about learning from your experiences. Some things you do are good or bad, or they work for you or they don’t. If I do something, I’m going to take responsibility for it. I’m not going to dwell on the past, nor do I harbor any ill feelings towards Dana White at all. If he’s gonna have hard feelings towards me, then that’s him and that’s the way it will be; it’s up to him. But I don’t think I’ve done anything bad towards Dana. I absolutely respect everything he’s done in this sport and I that he helped build and take this sport to the mainstream forefront. I love the UFC and all the fights they put on and if I’m not refereeing the fights, I’m watching them.
CP: Some fans may not know, but you helped write the first rules in the early days of the UFC and later went on to help draft the Unified Rules as well. What, if any, rules do you wish were added or done away with altogether?
BJM: HAHAHA! You know there’s rules that I don’t like or that I know are there but aren’t really doing a lot but you know what? They’re not going to change. The athletic commission is a government body and they’re going to look at a rule that’s been around for basically twelve years and find that in those twelve years it’s been working for them, we haven’t had any problems with it, so why change it?
That’s understandable because if you change something then somebody gets hurt because the rule was changed then you’re looking at a liability issue, which means someone could go and sue the state because the rule was changed which led to them getting hurt. I’m not saying it would happen, just that it could. I don’t see the rules changing much. There’s nothing really to add or take away and the ones we’ve got are working.
CP: What has been the scariest moment you experienced in the cage?
BJM: I haven’t really had any scary moments. Let’s break it down into fighting: The scariest thing that can happen in fighting, if you understand fighting and injuries, is the thing you don’t see and that is concussions. You see a guy get knocked out and the fans say,”Ohh, he’s knocked out,” or whatever, but when that happens it can have a lasting effect on someone. Concussions and brain trauma are the scariest things that can happen and it’s what I worry about the most.
*** There you have it, the one and only “Big” John McCarthy, ladies and gents. I seriously recommend you buy yourself an early Christmas present and get this book. In my opinion, it’s the best MMA book since ‘Blood in the Cage‘. ***
…”steveno_3,” who specifically predicted that Barnett would win by arm-triangle choke in the second round. (Like many others, he also predicted that Overeem would smash Werdum in round 1.) Steveno, e-mail [email protected] with your address and shirt size, and we’ll get a CagePotato t-shirt to you for your troubles. Thanks to everybody who played; come back Thursday to flex your pickin’ abilities for Marquardt vs. Story.
This Saturday night, Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum goes down in Dallas, featuring two more bouts from the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:
This Saturday night, Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum goes down in Dallas, featuring two more bouts from the promotion’s heavyweight grand prix: Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:
Alistair Overeem def. Fabricio Werdum via TKO, 2:53 of round 3
Josh Barnett def. Brett Rogers via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Please include the judges’ scores if you think a fight will end in a decision, in case we need them for a tie-breaker. The most accurate prediction wins the book, straight up. Entries must be in by this Saturday at noon ET, and we’ll announce the winner by Monday; one entry per person, please. Any other questions, let us know. Thanks for playing, and visit VictoryBelt.com for more great instructional books and DVDs.
“The bottom line: I don’t talk about my personal life with strangers. This one time, and this one time only. You are invited to join me in my private world for a few hours. Just don’t ever expect another invitation.” – back cover of Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival, Brock Lesnar’s autobiography
By Brian J. D’Souza
Harper Collins provided me with an opportunity that comes too infrequently in MMA — a chance to talk to Brock Lesnar one-on-one, to discuss his new book, while he’s in a good mood. The truth about Lesnar? He came from a small town, worked extremely hard, and utilized a wrestling persona to become the number one MMA draw. Does he hate the media? How much money does he make? And what does he think of promoters like Vince McMahon who pull all the strings? Read our three-part interview series with the controversial UFC heavyweight contender and find out…
BRIAN D’SOUZA: Death Clutch is your story, it’s your autobiography, it’s written in conjunction with Paul Heyman. First of all, tell us a little bit about your relationship with Paul, when you first met him? BROCK LESNAR: I met Paul back in 2001, working for the WWE, and Paul was working as a writer for Vince McMahon, and I met Paul one day, he came up, and introduced himself. The next thing I knew, we were working together, and he was my onscreen manager and we became friends throughout the process, and stayed in contact over the years, and it was a delightful process for him and I to get together and reminisce and put this book together.
So of course, he had a lot of writing experience. I noticed the book is well-written.
Yeah, the main reason I decided to do this with Paul is because I felt comfortable having a conversation with him about all the subjects. Between him, the publisher, and my attorneys, I believe it’s a well-written book.
Can you tell me a little about your relationship with Erik Paulson, one of your trainers?
Erik is a Minnesota guy, and I met Erik through Greg Nelson. Greg was one of the first guys that started training me for Mixed Martial Arts and throughout the process, I was able to meet Erik Paulson; being fellow Minnesotans and Erik having a plethora of knowledge in the sport he’s been a mentor of mine throughout the full process.
I heard a rumor — maybe true, maybe not — that before the Shane Carwin fight you stopped working with him and concentrated on other trainers. Is that true?
“The bottom line: I don’t talk about my personal life with strangers. This one time, and this one time only. You are invited to join me in my private world for a few hours. Just don’t ever expect another invitation.” – back cover of Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival, Brock Lesnar’s autobiography
By Brian J. D’Souza
Harper Collins provided me with an opportunity that comes too infrequently in MMA — a chance to talk to Brock Lesnar one-on-one, to discuss his new book, while he’s in a good mood. The truth about Lesnar? He came from a small town, worked extremely hard, and utilized a wrestling persona to become the number one MMA draw. Does he hate the media? How much money does he make? And what does he think of promoters like Vince McMahon who pull all the strings? Read our three-part interview series with the controversial UFC heavyweight contender and find out…
BRIAN D’SOUZA: Death Clutch is your story, it’s your autobiography, it’s written in conjunction with Paul Heyman. First of all, tell us a little bit about your relationship with Paul, when you first met him? BROCK LESNAR: I met Paul back in 2001, working for the WWE, and Paul was working as a writer for Vince McMahon, and I met Paul one day, he came up, and introduced himself. The next thing I knew, we were working together, and he was my onscreen manager and we became friends throughout the process, and stayed in contact over the years, and it was a delightful process for him and I to get together and reminisce and put this book together.
So of course, he had a lot of writing experience. I noticed the book is well-written.
Yeah, the main reason I decided to do this with Paul is because I felt comfortable having a conversation with him about all the subjects. Between him, the publisher, and my attorneys, I believe it’s a well-written book.
Can you tell me a little about your relationship with Erik Paulson, one of your trainers?
Erik is a Minnesota guy, and I met Erik through Greg Nelson. Greg was one of the first guys that started training me for Mixed Martial Arts and throughout the process, I was able to meet Erik Paulson; being fellow Minnesotans and Erik having a plethora of knowledge in the sport he’s been a mentor of mine throughout the full process.
I heard a rumor — maybe true, maybe not — that before the Shane Carwin fight you stopped working with him and concentrated on other trainers. Is that true?
Well no, I’ve cycled a lot of different people through. At one time, I brought Peter Welch in. I’ve never really quit working with anybody. I just didn’t have the opportunities or enough time throughout my weeks when I needed to fit people in and all these guys, [I] kept an open relationship with all these people. I’ve used them for one day in a training camp, or an entire training camp. Sometimes our schedules — because they’re off doing seminars, or what not — sometimes our schedules never work out. But these guys — I attribute a lot of my success to being coached by these guys.
What’s your philosophy in sparring? Do you go all-out, or do you go very light like they do in Thailand to preserve themselves?
To get the general feel — there’s days when we have [light] sparring, and there’s days when we have full-out sparring. For me to get the feel, there’s days when we’re going full-out, and I think you have to, because if you don’t gain the experience in the training room, you can’t have it in the octagon.
Going back to the book, you talk about the influence of your parents putting you in many sports, like many parents do here in Canada, here in North America. What do you think the psychological effect of not hearing a lot of praise was? Did it affect you a little bit?
Well no, there was a lot of positive energy around me. My mom — it might have come across in the book where all my mom wanted me to do was win, but it was an energy she wanted me to understand that I’m in this to win this. Both my mom and dad were very supportive. My mom just didn’t want to hear any whining if I lost.
I can see that. We do have something in Canada like hockey parents or soccer parents — I can only draw on my own experiences — not everyone’s a natural athlete or very gifted, as you obviously were. Psychologically, sometimes people have different talents, too. It’s pretty common, don’t you think?
Oh, absolutely. They want their children to succeed, but I believe there’s a thing of over-coaching and over-parenting. You can’t force anybody to do anything, and me being a parent, I understand that very well. If my children don’t want to participate in an activity, I don’t think it’s right for me to force them to do anything.
It can be a problem with some coaches, too. Early on, some would threaten me — some couldn’t make it themselves — even to the point of [threatening] physical violence. That can be very uncomfortable. In wrestling circles, there’s [high school] players who’ve died, football players who’ve died of dehydration, wrestlers who’ve died of dehydration. It’s completely unnecessary in my opinion.
There are coaches out there that shouldn’t be coaches. And there’s parents out there that shouldn’t be parents. But what are you going to do about it? Nothing.
Moving on, you went to Lassen Community college [in California] and you mention not having a lot of money, having to struggle a lot. Where did you stay? I don’t think that that’s completely explained [in the book], to pick up a couple credits.
I stayed with the wrestling coach there. He was kind enough to rent me a room in his house there for little or nothing, and that was an experience that I’ll never forget: driving out to California to a junior college [when] at the time I had never been out of South Dakota or Minnesota or North Dakota, so it was quite the adventure for a young lad.
That’s exciting, because you leave home once, and you find yourself constantly leaving and jetting off to different places.
Yeah, unexpected places. It made life interesting, that’s for sure.
You talk a little about media attention. It starts off during your [college] wrestling career because you’re winning, you’re being successful, you talk about your dislike for it. Were you proud when you were profiled by GQ in 2010, in July?
Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t say that I really dislike the media, I don’t. It’s just that when it’s time for me to isolate myself and to stick to a job where it’s just me or a family man, I’ve been very private in those areas. Anytime that I have something to legitimately talk about, I’ve got no problem dealing with the media.
Come back tomorrow for the next installment of our interview with Brock Lesnar.
