“Ask Gary” #4: Defending GSP, Crying Over Leg Kicks, and Losing Via ‘No Apparent Reason’

Gary Goodridge Don Frye UFC MMA photos
(The good old days — when men were men and briefs were shiny.)

Hello to all of my Cage Potato friends and thanks again for your interest and questions. It’s been a busy 2011 so far and things are only looking better from here. Thank you for the wonderful night before UFC 129 in Toronto. To those who missed it, there was a Cage Potato: Banned party that week and I had the opportunity to meet many loyal readers and Cage Potato “Big Wigs.” As you may know, I’ve reached a different stage in my career and I hope to provide you with more honest insights into many of the things that I’ve learned. I’m pleased to be black by popular demand. Ask away for my next column. Also, add me on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog www.bigdaddyfightteam.com.

All the best and Happy Humping,
Gary Goodridge

‘Bob Villa’ asks: How do you feel about all the lay and pray we’ve been subjected to lately? What do you think about guys like GSP who seem to fight not to lose and never go for the finish?
You’re asking the wrong guy because I always went for the finish. I think just lying on top of somebody is just crap and ridiculous. However, when fighters start doing that they pay the price because the promotions are not going to bring you back. You already know I like Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben; I also like a lot of the U.K. fighters like Dan Hardy because they always provide entertaining fights.

GSP is a different animal though. He is a champion. He doesn’t have to finish these guys. They have to finish GSP. His job is to keep his belt any way that he can because the belt means prestige and, more importantly, money. If I were him I would use every fibre in my body to walk away with the belt. I never won a championship beyond the International Vale Tudo Championship so I was never in a position to have to try and retain my belt. I was the guy who tried to shatter the myths of others fighters as champions.

People need to understand that guys like GSP are facing the top competition in the world every fight. There is no room for a mistake. It may not look like he’s doing much but trust me, he is.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: At PRIDE 11, you gave Yoshiaki Yatsu one of the most savage beatings I’ve ever seen in my life. Why did PRIDE book a rematch of that fight the next year? Did you feel bad accepting it?

Gary Goodridge Don Frye UFC MMA photos
(The good old days — when men were men and briefs were shiny.)

Hello to all of my Cage Potato friends and thanks again for your interest and questions. It’s been a busy 2011 so far and things are only looking better from here. Thank you for the wonderful night before UFC 129 in Toronto. To those who missed it, there was a Cage Potato: Banned party that week and I had the opportunity to meet many loyal readers and Cage Potato “Big Wigs.” As you may know, I’ve reached a different stage in my career and I hope to provide you with more honest insights into many of the things that I’ve learned. I’m pleased to be black by popular demand. Ask away for my next column. Also, add me on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog www.bigdaddyfightteam.com.

All the best and Happy Humping,
Gary Goodridge

‘Bob Villa’ asks: How do you feel about all the lay and pray we’ve been subjected to lately? What do you think about guys like GSP who seem to fight not to lose and never go for the finish?
You’re asking the wrong guy because I always went for the finish. I think just lying on top of somebody is just crap and ridiculous. However, when fighters start doing that they pay the price because the promotions are not going to bring you back. You already know I like Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben; I also like a lot of the U.K. fighters like Dan Hardy because they always provide entertaining fights.

GSP is a different animal though. He is a champion. He doesn’t have to finish these guys. They have to finish GSP. His job is to keep his belt any way that he can because the belt means prestige and, more importantly, money. If I were him I would use every fibre in my body to walk away with the belt. I never won a championship beyond the International Vale Tudo Championship so I was never in a position to have to try and retain my belt. I was the guy who tried to shatter the myths of others fighters as champions.

People need to understand that guys like GSP are facing the top competition in the world every fight. There is no room for a mistake. It may not look like he’s doing much but trust me, he is.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: At PRIDE 11, you gave Yoshiaki Yatsu one of the most savage beatings I’ve ever seen in my life. Why did PRIDE book a rematch of that fight the next year? Did you feel bad accepting it?
No, I didn’t feel bad about accepting it at all. Why would I feel bad? If he wanted to take the fight again, who am I to turn him down? I will say that nobody can ever question Yatsu’s heart. In fact, it you ever see a Yatsu watch next to a Timex, pick the Yatsu because guaranteed it’ll take a licking and keep on ticking.


(Goodridge vs. Yatsu, 10/31/00. The brutal finish begins around the 9:40 mark.)

‘RWilsonR’ asks: What injury have you sustained that has hurt the worst? Randy Couture said he has never felt pain like a broken orbital bone. Do you have an especially painful injury story?
I have never felt pain like I did when Musashi gave me my first taste of a legitimate leg kick. If you watch the fight you can see that I can’t even stand. My nerves weren’t used to receiving those types of strikes and I didn’t know how to defend against them. After that fight, I went straight to the dressing room and cried for a long time. I didn’t even know why I was crying because it didn’t stop the pain. But I had never felt anything like the leg kicks in K-1.

‘NotReadyStatus’ asks: I have seen you listed as repping Canada and/or Trinidad-Tobago. Which Country do you feel is more “Big Daddy’s”?
This is an odd question for me because I don’t consider myself very patriotic. I say I’m Canadian though because I’ve been here for over 40 years of my life. Canada is my home. All of my family is here expect one of my sisters who lives in Jamaica. My mother is very patriotic. She chose to bring her family here for a better life. I know she’s similar to other immigrants in that she sees herself as more Canadian than many people who were born here. Out of all of the places in the world, this is where she chose to come. As far as I’m concerned, promoters can say I’m from wherever they want me to be from. That type of stuff never bothered me.

‘RWilsonR’ (again) asks: What’s the story behind your fight with Mario Neto? It says you lost via Submission (No Apparent Reason) on Sherdog.
I have a hard time remembering this fight and a lot of people tend to bring it up. All I can say is that I was exhausted. It was early in my career and I didn’t know how to train properly. People ask me how I didn’t know that I needed cardio…I just didn’t know. None of us knew anything. At that point I didn’t have the mental fortitude that fighters need in order to surpass that point of exhaustion. I was exhausted and I couldn’t defend myself so I didn’t want to stay in there and take more damage.

‘LOKI’ asks: Did you ever turn down a fight for any reason that in retrospect you wish you had taken?
No I never turned down any fights in my life. Only when I got married. Take that as you will ;)

UFC 131 Injury Curse Continues; Pokrajac Latest to Withdraw

Igor Pokrajac James Irvin UFC photos Versus MMA
(Pokrajac chokes out James Irvin at UFC on Versus 2, but contracts the Sandman Curse in the process. Props: Francis Specker)

UFC 131 was never going to be remembered as the most stacked event of the year, but it did have a lot of crowd-pleasing names on it. Then, Brock Lesnar fell ill with a flare-up of diverticulitis, TUF 11 winner Court McGee tweaked his knee in training, and Mac Danzig’s chest injury snubbed out a compelling bang-up with Donald Cerrone. Throw in injury withdrawals from supporting players Anthony Perosh and Rani Yahya, and you’re left with a ghost-ship of a card that’s making Joe Silva work double-shifts.

Now, just days before the third UFC event in three weeks, the card continues to lose bodies. Due to an undisclosed injury*, Croatian light-heavyweight Igor Pokrajac has been forced to withdraw from his fight against Krzysztof Soszynski, and will be replaced on short notice by Mike Massenzio. (Pokrajac was already an injury replacement for Anthony Perosh, which means that this UFC 131 injury curse has affected K-Sos as much as anybody.)

Igor Pokrajac James Irvin UFC photos Versus MMA
(Pokrajac chokes out James Irvin at UFC on Versus 2, but contracts the Sandman Curse in the process. Props: Francis Specker)

UFC 131 was never going to be remembered as the most stacked event of the year, but it did have a lot of crowd-pleasing names on it. Then, Brock Lesnar fell ill with a flare-up of diverticulitis, TUF 11 winner Court McGee tweaked his knee in training, and Mac Danzig’s chest injury snubbed out a compelling bang-up with Donald Cerrone. Throw in injury withdrawals from supporting players Anthony Perosh and Rani Yahya, and you’re left with a ghost-ship of a card that’s making Joe Silva work double-shifts.

Now, just days before the third UFC event in three weeks, the card continues to lose bodies. Due to an undisclosed injury*, Croatian light-heavyweight Igor Pokrajac has been forced to withdraw from his fight against Krzysztof Soszynski, and will be replaced on short notice by Mike Massenzio. (Pokrajac was already an injury replacement for Anthony Perosh, which means that this UFC 131 injury curse has affected K-Sos as much as anybody.)

Best known as a middleweight, Massenzio was released by the UFC last year following consecutive stoppage losses to CB Dollaway and Brian Stann. He last competed on April 29th, scoring a 2nd round TKO over Nate Kittredge at a Combat Zone MMA event in New Hampshire.

In related news, a training injury has forced welterweight contender Martin Kampmann out of his scheduled bout against John Howard at UFC on Versus 4 (June 26th, Pittsburgh). Replacing him will be TUF 7 vet Matt Brown, who was slated to face Rich Attonito on the same card; Daniel Roberts will now come in to face Attonito. It’s a do-or-die fight for Brown, who has lost his last three fights — all by second-round submission.

* It’s nice to see that Sherdog has become as lazy as CagePotato, referring to Soszynski as ‘K-Sos‘. Add it to the list of phrases that we’ve popularized and then run into the ground.

Previously: The 10 Most Cursed MMA Events of All Time

Anthony Johnson Injured; Rick Story Steps Up to Face Nate Marquardt at ‘UFC on Versus 4?

Rick Story UFC MMA photos
(Get used to this mug. Props: MMARatings.net)

Anthony Johnson was slated to welcome Nate Marquardt to the welterweight division at this month’s UFC Live event (June 26th in Pittsburgh), but due to a rotator cuff injury suffered in training, ‘Rumble’ won’t be able to make that date. Coming in on short-notice against Marquardt will be rising welterweight star Rick Story, who was in action just last weekend at UFC 130, picking up his sixth-consecutive win against Thiago Alves.

It’s a gamble for Story, but taking out a longtime middleweight contender like Marquardt would earn the Washington native even more respect in the crowded contender pool at 170. Will Story be able to use his wrestling to stifle Marquardt in the same way that Chael Sonnen did at UFC 109, or is Nate going to put the welterweight division on notice, starting with Rick?

The current lineup of UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story (aka ‘UFC on Versus 4’) is after the jump…

Rick Story UFC MMA photos
(Get used to this mug. Props: MMARatings.net)

Anthony Johnson was slated to welcome Nate Marquardt to the welterweight division at this month’s UFC Live event (June 26th in Pittsburgh), but due to a rotator cuff injury suffered in training, ‘Rumble’ won’t be able to make that date. Coming in on short-notice against Marquardt will be rising welterweight star Rick Story, who was in action just last weekend at UFC 130, picking up his sixth-consecutive win against Thiago Alves.

It’s a gamble for Story, but taking out a longtime middleweight contender like Marquardt would earn the Washington native even more respect in the crowded contender pool at 170. Will Story be able to use his wrestling to stifle Marquardt in the same way that Chael Sonnen did at UFC 109, or is Nate going to put the welterweight division on notice, starting with Rick?

The current lineup of UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story (aka ‘UFC on Versus 4′) is after the jump…

Main Card
Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story
Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
Martin Kampmann vs. John Howard
Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft

Preliminary card
Tyson Griffin vs. Manvel Gamburyan
Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez
Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton
Matt Brown vs. Rich Attonito
Charlie Brenneman vs. TJ Grant
Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice
Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto

By the Way, Jon Jones Won’t Be Having That Surgery on His Hand After All


(“What has two relatively healthy thumbs and just screwed with Rashad Evans’s career? This guy!” Photo courtesy of Francis Specker.)

Well, this isn’t going to help the credibility of that swagger-jackin’ Jon Jones. Bones’s manager Malki Kawa took to twitter today with a revelation that will only give more ammunition to the haters who found it a little suspicious that the UFC light-heavyweight champion postponed a fight against Rashad Evans to fix a thumb injury that “doesn’t affect [his] punching or grappling“:

I guess its time to put out the truth. @Jonnybones suffered a tear in his thumb in 2 different spots… Every dr he saw said to have surgery. We went to meet with the surgeon on wed and after he looked at @Jonnybones he thought that surgery was a bit [invasive] and bones didn’t have To have if he didn’t want to. @Jonnybones decided against surgery, and we immediately met with dana and lorenzo the next day to get his next fight scheduled.


(“What has two relatively healthy thumbs and just screwed with Rashad Evans’s career? This guy!” Photo courtesy of Francis Specker.)

Well, this isn’t going to help the credibility of that swagger-jackin’ Jon Jones. Bones’s manager Malki Kawa took to twitter today with a revelation that will only give more ammunition to the haters who found it a little suspicious that the UFC light-heavyweight champion postponed a fight against Rashad Evans to fix a thumb injury that “doesn’t affect [his] punching or grappling“:

I guess its time to put out the truth. @Jonnybones suffered a tear in his thumb in 2 different spots… Every dr he saw said to have surgery. We went to meet with the surgeon on wed and after he looked at @Jonnybones he thought that surgery was a bit [invasive] and bones didn’t have To have if he didn’t want to. @Jonnybones decided against surgery, and we immediately met with dana and lorenzo the next day to get his next fight scheduled.

For the record, every doctor @Jonnybones saw was a @ufc referred doctor. The very last one on the day before surgery thought against it…And to be quite frank, @Johnnybones never wanted to have surgery, the doctors advice all along was to have the procedure done. No @Jonnybones is not fighting rashad. Rashad is fighting phil davis. I’ll let you know who or when jon will fight real soon.

Do we think Jones ducked Rashad because he’s afraid of his former training partner? Of course not. Judging from the flawless beatings Jones has inflicted on guys like Mauricio Rua and Ryan Bader, that’s a ludicrous suggestion. Unfortunately, perception is reality, and Rashad can now hijack the narrative with the talking point that Jones pulled out of their fight with a fake injury, just to avoid fighting him. (Look, he’s already doing it!) At this point, turning public sentiment against Jones is probably as important to Evans as beating him in a fight. Get ready for a whole lot of mud to be slung…

Video: Hey, Who Wants to See 15 Minutes of Awful Hematomas?

(Props: ix3623vault)
Think of it as a necessary cool-down after those ring girl videos. Starring: Dwayne Lewis, Mark Hominick, Kazushi Sakuraba, and a bunch of lumpy boxers. Gross.


(Props: ix3623vault)

Think of it as a necessary cool-down after those ring girl videos. Starring: Dwayne Lewis, Mark Hominick, Kazushi Sakuraba, and a bunch of lumpy boxers. Gross.

Jason ‘Shotgun’ Young to Step Up Against Dustin Poirier at UFC 131 in June

(The Shotgun in action. Props: 000BHVids000)

The UFC announced yesterday that featherweight veteran Rani Yahya — who most recently scored an upset decision over Mike Brown at Fight for the Troops 2 — has suffered an injury, and will not be able to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 131 (June 11th, Vancouver). Filling in for him will be Octagon first-timer Jason “Shotgun” Young (8-3), a former Cage Rage lightweight champion based in London, England. Last month, Young competed at Ontario’s first sanctioned MMA event, where he scored a unanimous decision over Jorge Britto. (You can see Jason talk about that match here, if you want to get a sense of the dude’s vibe.)

Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier is riding back-to-back wins over Zach Micklewright and Josh Grispi. He’s poised to become one of 2011 breakout fighters — especially since the documentary about his life, Fightville, was just picked up by Showtime Networks.


(The Shotgun in action. Props: 000BHVids000)

The UFC announced yesterday that featherweight veteran Rani Yahya — who most recently scored an upset decision over Mike Brown at Fight for the Troops 2 — has suffered an injury, and will not be able to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 131 (June 11th, Vancouver). Filling in for him will be Octagon first-timer Jason “Shotgun” Young (8-3), a former Cage Rage lightweight champion based in London, England. Last month, Young competed at Ontario’s first sanctioned MMA event, where he scored a unanimous decision over Jorge Britto. (You can see Jason talk about that match here, if you want to get a sense of the dude’s vibe.)

Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier is riding back-to-back wins over Zach Micklewright and Josh Grispi. He’s poised to become one of 2011 breakout fighters — especially since the documentary about his life, Fightville, was just picked up by Showtime Networks.