Tag: MMA vs. boxing

Bold Statement of the Day: Junior Dos Santos Could Beat Both Klitschkos — In Boxing! — With a Four-Month Camp


(Dos Santos went on to claim that Hayden Panettiere “could get it.” / Photo via Getty)

It’s no big mystery why MMA fighters from Anderson Silva to Quinton Jackson have voiced their desires to transition into boxing. For one thing, the potential paydays are bigger. (In theory at least, though not necessarily for guys like Silva and Rampage, who aren’t draws in boxing.) Also, there’s no chance that a half-feral Brazilian will tear your knee off in a boxing match. I’m not saying that boxing is easier than MMA, but you don’t have to worry about takedown defense, and nobody expects you to cut 25 pounds of water to be “competitive.” Sounds like a vacation compared to what MMA fighters have to go through.

But of course, boxing and MMA are completely different sports, being great at one doesn’t mean you’d be great at the other, blah blah blah, etc. I mean you’d have to be a total fucking moron to think you can just cross the combat sports Mason-Dixon line and start beating champions, right? Right?? Well somebody needs to send that memo to UFC heavyweight title contender Junior Dos Santos, who just threw down the gauntlet in facepalm-worthy fashion, claiming that he has the skills to beat Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko at their own game.

“I think if they give me four months to get prepared, I can beat them,” Dos Santos said on The MMA Hour yesterday. “In the beginning of my all my camps, I do just boxing. I love to train boxing and I think I have enough skills in boxing. I know how to see a good fight. Four months, that’s what I need.”


(Dos Santos went on to claim that Hayden Panettiere “could get it.” / Photo via Getty)

It’s no big mystery why MMA fighters from Anderson Silva to Quinton Jackson have voiced their desires to transition into boxing. For one thing, the potential paydays are bigger. (In theory at least, though not necessarily for guys like Silva and Rampage, who aren’t draws in boxing.) Also, there’s no chance that a half-feral Brazilian will tear your knee off in a boxing match. I’m not saying that boxing is easier than MMA, but you don’t have to worry about takedown defense, and nobody expects you to cut 25 pounds of water to be “competitive.” Sounds like a vacation compared to what MMA fighters have to go through.

But of course, boxing and MMA are completely different sports, being great at one doesn’t mean you’d be great at the other, blah blah blah, etc. I mean you’d have to be a total fucking moron to think you can just cross the combat sports Mason-Dixon line and start beating champions, right? Right?? Well somebody needs to send that memo to UFC heavyweight title contender Junior Dos Santos, who just threw down the gauntlet in facepalm-worthy fashion, claiming that he has the skills to beat Wladimir Klitschko and Vitali Klitschko at their own game.

“I think if they give me four months to get prepared, I can beat them,” Dos Santos said on The MMA Hour yesterday. “In the beginning of my all my camps, I do just boxing. I love to train boxing and I think I have enough skills in boxing. I know how to see a good fight. Four months, that’s what I need.”

Dos Santos mentioned that he’s already mentioned this to Dana White, and plans on bringing up the subject to his boss again, because he’s serious about it. (“Now everybody is saying this, everybody wants to fight with boxing guys. It’s become not sincere. When I say that, I’m sincere.”)

As some of you may know, there’s a self-promoting heavyweight boxer out there named Tyson Fury who claims he can beat Cain Velasquez in an MMA fight. He’s full of shit. So is Junior Dos Santos if he really believes he can hang with boxing’s elite. At least Kimbo Slice has the right idea: Beat up some absolute nobodies for a while, and maybe, if things go right, you can one day set up a superfight against Butterbean. That’s a man who knows his limitations, and I respect him for it. Anybody else think JDS should just stick to what he’s good at?

MMA vs. Boxing, Chapter DXXIV: In Which Adrien Broner Attacks Our Sport Using Good Science [UPDATED]

What’s that, you say? An arrogant, classless boxer trashing MMA using the logic of a medieval squire? Surely you must be mistaken.

When we last checked in on undefeated boxer Adrien Broner, he was casually flushing 20 dollar bills down a Popeye’s toilet. So clearly, the man is a well-studied, soft-spoken individual whose opinion should carry a lot of weight in this world. Take for instance, the argument he presented when recently questioned about whether or not he interacts with MMA fighters.

“No. It’s just, I really don’t look at it as a real sport,” said Broner through his double set of platinum grills, “Cause anybody can come into MMA and learn that. You can’t just come over in boxing and be a world champion. You gotta be born with it.”

Broner then told the interviewer that, “You right now can go to MMA and learn all the submission moves and be a world champion. It don’t matter how long it would take. I don’t give a fuck what you do, you could try to come over here in boxing and you won’t EVER be a world champion.”

What’s that, you say? An arrogant, classless boxer trashing MMA using the logic of a medieval squire? Surely you must be mistaken.

When we last checked in on undefeated boxer Adrien Broner, he was casually flushing 20 dollar bills down a Popeye’s toilet. So clearly, the man is a well-studied, soft-spoken individual whose opinion should carry a lot of weight in this world. Take for instance, the argument he presented when recently questioned about whether or not he interacts with MMA fighters.

“No. It’s just, I really don’t look at it as a real sport,” said Broner through his double set of platinum grills, “Cause anybody can come into MMA and learn that. You can’t just come over in boxing and be a world champion. You gotta be born with it.”

Broner then told the interviewer that, “You right now can go to MMA and learn all the submission moves and be a world champion. It don’t matter how long it would take. I don’t give a fuck what you do, you could try to come over here in boxing and you won’t EVER be a world champion.”

Hey guys, at least Broner attacked our sport using some solid reasoning (and refrained from calling us “a bunch of skinhead homosexuals“). We all know that MMA is really a single-discipline sport and once you learn all the moves of said discipline, becoming a world champion is as easy as pie. Just ask third degree BJJ black belt and Pan American black belt champion Giva Santana, who recently retired from MMA with an undefeated record and 14 straight UFC title defenses.

Becoming a boxing champion, on the other hand, is a matter of birthright, not a combination of commitment, training and heart like every other sport. It’s like Broner has never even *seen* A Knight’s Tale, you guys. 

If you will excuse me, I’m going to go trane some UFC on my lunch break real quick. See you soon, Dana!

[UPDATED] 

Broner has since apologized for hurting our feelings/brains via his Twitter:

To me, the war between Boxing and MMA is kind of like the one between South Park and Family Guy-HEAR ME OUT FOR A SECOND. In one corner, you have the (for the sake of argument) original, more highly-praised and universally accepted sport/show (Boxing/SP). In the other, you have the offshoot, the outcast, the bastard amalgamation of the former and several other entities (MMA/FG). While the latter often praises the former for its longevity and grace, the former has a seemingly endless supply of haterade to dump on the latter for being a cheap knockoff performed/written by hacks, jobbers and bums. But what the majority of the former and a decent percentage of the latter fail to realize is that one can coexist (and even co-promote, in some cases) with the other. Both have their positive and negative aspects, both are unique to some degree and both can be viewed by the same person without their brain imploding due to a conflict of interest.

Man, this Alabama Trampoline is having some interesting effects on my mind. To summarize: WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?!

–J. Jones

Report: Rampage Jackson vs. Roy Jones Jr. Slated for Year-End Boxing Match


(“…and as part of your signing bonus, we’re going to hook you up with a tricked-out, 2014 stretch Winnebago.” Photo props: Bellator MMA via mmanytt.se)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is becoming quite the utility player for Viacom. With his Bellator MMA debut looming in the future and his TNA wrestling career already underway, Rampage is about to add boxing to his list of duties. And we’re not talking about beating up some random cans in Oklahoma — the former UFC/PRIDE star will reportedly be fighting none other than multi-divisional boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., as part of a pay-per-view event targeted for the end of the year. As MMAJunkie reports:

Viacom is expected to announce plans to go head-to-head with pay-per-view juggernaut Zuffa LLC and its UFC 168 offering at next week’s Bellator 97 event on Spike TV.

An unveiling of Bellator fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s plans with the promotion will likely include a pay-per-view boxing match with former multi-division boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., multiple sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The fight is expected to take place at the end of the year, though a date and weight class for the bout could not immediately be confirmed. It’s also unclear how the event will be branded given Bellator and parent company Viacom’s focus on MMA.

“We’ve been talking to Roy and his people over a potential ‘Rampage’ vs. Roy fight for over seven months,” a representative from Jackson’s longtime team, Wolfslair MMA, told MMAjunkie.com. The rep requested anonymity due to the ongoing negotiations related to the matchup.

“If it happens, it would be an incredible fight,” the rep said. “Boxing and MMA have both been discussed, and (Bellator Chairman and CEO) Bjorn (Rebney) has been in these discussions every step of the way. I can’t say much more than that. We’ll see what happens.”

Bellator MMA officials declined to comment on the possible event.

Alright, two things…


(“…and as part of your signing bonus, we’re going to hook you up with a tricked-out, 2014 stretch Winnebago.” Photo props: Bellator MMA via mmanytt.se)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is becoming quite the utility player for Viacom. With his Bellator MMA debut looming in the future and his TNA wrestling career already underway, Rampage is about to add boxing to his list of duties. And we’re not talking about beating up some random cans in Oklahoma — the former UFC/PRIDE star will reportedly be fighting none other than multi-divisional boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., as part of a pay-per-view event targeted for the end of the year. As MMAJunkie reports:

Viacom is expected to announce plans to go head-to-head with pay-per-view juggernaut Zuffa LLC and its UFC 168 offering at next week’s Bellator 97 event on Spike TV.

An unveiling of Bellator fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s plans with the promotion will likely include a pay-per-view boxing match with former multi-division boxing champ Roy Jones Jr., multiple sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The fight is expected to take place at the end of the year, though a date and weight class for the bout could not immediately be confirmed. It’s also unclear how the event will be branded given Bellator and parent company Viacom’s focus on MMA.

“We’ve been talking to Roy and his people over a potential ‘Rampage’ vs. Roy fight for over seven months,” a representative from Jackson’s longtime team, Wolfslair MMA, told MMAjunkie.com. The rep requested anonymity due to the ongoing negotiations related to the matchup.

“If it happens, it would be an incredible fight,” the rep said. “Boxing and MMA have both been discussed, and (Bellator Chairman and CEO) Bjorn (Rebney) has been in these discussions every step of the way. I can’t say much more than that. We’ll see what happens.”

Bellator MMA officials declined to comment on the possible event.

Alright, two things…

– Although the Junkie report suggests that the Rampage vs. RJJ match could go head-to-head with UFC 168, it would be promotional suicide to put this stunt-fight up against a UFC event that features the Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman rematch and Ronda Rousey’s next appearance against Miesha Tate. Viacom is crazy — crazy enough to hire Rampage Jackson, at least — but surely they’re not that crazy. At the moment, the latest 2013 date without a fight event already scheduled is December 7th.

– I’ll just state the obvious: The only purpose of this boxing match is to screw with the UFC. Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr. have been going back and forth about a potential boxing match for over five years, and Jones even flew out to Las Vegas for UFC 162 to discuss it with UFC president Dana White. But now that Silva torpedoed every UFC super-fight possibility by losing to Weidman, Bellator is locking RJJ down for a boxing match on their turf. Well played, you devious bastards.

Until we hear Rampage Jackson and Roy Jones announcing that they’ve signed contracts for a certain date, we’re just looking at this as a weird possibility for now. But don’t act like you wouldn’t watch this freak show.

MMA vs. Boxing, Chapter CXVII: In Which Conor McGregor and Adrien Broner Challenge Our Perceptions of What is Baller

(We may give DW a lot of shit around here but, damn, this sure beats the hell out of casual Friday.)

Although closed-minded enthusiasts on both sides of the fence would scoff at the idea of being compared to the other, there’s no denying the sibling rivalry that exists between Boxing and MMA. Like brothers, we bicker, we call each other “homos,” we even butt heads a time or two. But at the end of the day, we look at each other with a mutual sense of respect, if not admiration…for the most part. Still, that blood feud friendly sense of competition is ever-present.

With that in mind, we come to yet another crossroads in the Boxing vs. MMA debate: “Which sport’s athletes know how to celebrate in style MORE BETTER?”

The only reason we ask is because former welfare recipient turned UFC star and 50’s Ice Cream Shoppe owner, Conor McGregor, recently posted the above video depicting himself and UFC President Dana White touring the streets of Vegas in The Baldfather’s Ferrari. According to a tweet sent out by DW, the duo were celebrating McGregor’s birthday and looked to be having a smashing good time (*fires up trumpet, shimmies off stage*). Considering McGregor’s humble beginnings, it’s great to see the kid racking up KOTN bonuses in the UFC worth more than my annual salary. It just…sooo…great.

And while there’s no denying how baller custom tailored suits and Ferraris are, do they match up with, say, the antics of WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner? Join us after the jump to see what we mean.


(We may give DW a lot of shit around here but, damn, this sure beats the hell out of casual Friday.)

Although closed-minded enthusiasts on both sides of the fence would scoff at the idea of being compared to the other, there’s no denying the sibling rivalry that exists between Boxing and MMA. Like brothers, we bicker, we call each other “homos,” we even butt heads a time or two. But at the end of the day, we look at each other with a mutual sense of respect, if not admiration…for the most part. Still, that blood feud friendly sense of competition is ever-present.

With that in mind, we come to yet another crossroads in the Boxing vs. MMA debate: “Which sport’s athletes know how to celebrate in style MORE BETTER?”

The only reason we ask is because former welfare recipient turned UFC star and 50′s Ice Cream Shoppe owner, Conor McGregor, recently posted the above video depicting himself and UFC President Dana White touring the streets of Vegas in The Baldfather’s Ferrari. According to a tweet sent out by DW, the duo were celebrating McGregor’s birthday and looked to be having a smashing good time (*fires up trumpet, shimmies off stage*). Considering McGregor’s humble beginnings, it’s great to see the kid racking up KOTN bonuses in the UFC worth more than my annual salary. It just…sooo…great.

And while there’s no denying how baller custom tailored suits and Ferraris are, do they match up with, say, the antics of WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner? Join us after the jump to see what we mean.


(Skip to the 1:20 mark for the punchline.) 

Speaking of fighters living large, here is the eloquently titled, “Adrien Broner takes a shit in Popeyes.” Uploaded by none other than Broner himself, the video depicts Adrien Broner…taking a shit in a Popeyes. I know, not exactly baller, right? Well, at least not until Broner turns the eye of his camera around to show us what we would expect to be a fiery, Bayou Buffalo-fueled shit. However, in a moment rivaling any M. Night Shyamalan movie before he simply gave up, Broner informs us that he is so rich, he literally defecates upwards of $80 every time he sits down. And rather than collect that butt money, he chooses to flush it down the toilet. Pretty classy, but true ballers let their dookie twinkle, baby.

To see if McGregor can score another one of those end-of-the-night bonuses that the UFC is definitely not eliminating (our shocked face can be seen here), make sure to check out his fight with Max Holloway on the preliminary card portion of UFC on FOX Sports 1.

–J. Jones

Like Many of Us, Oscar De La Hoya Wonders Why Rory MacDonald Didn’t Just Finish BJ Penn [VIDEO]

(Props: YouTube.com/fighthub)

FightHubTV recently got in front of boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, and asked him for his thoughts on the Rory MacDonald vs. BJ Penn fight at UFC on FOX 5, which De La Hoya was apparently live-tweeting. It seems that De La Hoya enjoys that MMA stuff once in a while, although he was a little confused by Rory’s performance:

“Well I wondering like, ‘why don’t you just go finish him?’ Because [MacDonald] looks like he has talents, he looks like he has that little ‘it’ factor…just keep on working on it, keep on working on it. You have to feel that killer instinct. Feel it! And go after it. Grab it, get it…I would love to see him use that jab to the body. If I was in there with that opponent he was fighting against, that jab to the body would have just paralyzed him. I mean, it would have. You could see it. I mean, obviously you could see things from outside, but he’s a talented fighter, my hat goes off to him.”

Dang, I kind of feel bad that Oscar referred to UFC legend BJ Penn simply as “that opponent [Rory] was fighting against,” and I’m sure it would break Penn’s heart to hear that. But honestly, I wondered the same thing during the fight. Particularly in the second round, when Penn was doubled up from body shots, with only his pride and otherworldly toughness keeping him on his feet — could MacDonald have turned it up a notch and beaten Penn to the ground? In the third round, when Rory was, ahem, “trying to mix it up [with] different distances” — what if McDonald just threw more strikes instead of showing off his totally sweet Muhammad Ali shuffle-step impression?


(Props: YouTube.com/fighthub)

FightHubTV recently got in front of boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, and asked him for his thoughts on the Rory MacDonald vs. BJ Penn fight at UFC on FOX 5, which De La Hoya was apparently live-tweeting. It seems that De La Hoya enjoys that MMA stuff once in a while, although he was a little confused by Rory’s performance:

“Well I wondering like, ‘why don’t you just go finish him?’ Because [MacDonald] looks like he has talents, he looks like he has that little ‘it’ factor…just keep on working on it, keep on working on it. You have to feel that killer instinct. Feel it! And go after it. Grab it, get it…I would love to see him use that jab to the body. If I was in there with that opponent he was fighting against, that jab to the body would have just paralyzed him. I mean, it would have. You could see it. I mean, obviously you could see things from outside, but he’s a talented fighter, my hat goes off to him.”

Dang, I kind of feel bad that Oscar referred to UFC legend BJ Penn simply as “that opponent [Rory] was fighting against,” and I’m sure it would break Penn’s heart to hear that. But honestly, I wondered the same thing during the fight. Particularly in the second round, when Penn was doubled up from body shots, with only his pride and otherworldly toughness keeping him on his feet — could MacDonald have turned it up a notch and beaten Penn to the ground? In the third round, when Rory was, ahem, “trying to mix it up [with] different distances” — what if McDonald just threw more strikes instead of showing off his totally sweet Muhammad Ali shuffle-step impression?

As De La Hoya mentioned himself, it’s easy to judge a fighter from outside the cage, and identify the things they could have done. (By the way, Oscar, if you ever want a blogging gig at CagePotato, just say the word.) Still, the fact that DLH cares enough to share his opinion is a nice change from the MMA vs. Boxing cold war that we’re usually subjected to.

MMA vs. Boxing Chapter MXVII: In Which Dana White Calls Bob Arum “A Moron” and Somehow Doesn’t Die From the Irony


(And another thing that bugs me about the guy is his insistence on using curse words so often. It’s like, for fuck’s sake Bob, our fucking children are watching this shit.) 

When it comes to picking sides in a fight between Dana White and Bob Arum, it often feels like we’re simply choosing the lesser of two evils. Don’t get us wrong, aside from his stance on marijuana in combat sports, Bob Arum comes off as a chode for the most part, especially when he decides to open his mouth about how MMA fans are all a bunch of homosexual skinhead racists. But every now and again, The Baldfather says something so pants-shittingly stupid and drenched in irony that it makes us wonder whether or not he has been completely blinded by his own power. Take the following for example, in which DW calls Arum “the dumbest promoter in the history of the world” for allowing Manny Pacquiao to fight Juan Manuel Marquez a fourth time:

Dumbest fight in history. Bob Arum is a moron. You don’t take that fight, you idiot. Why would you do that fight? It’s all about the money, that’s why. That was a money fight, that’s what that fight was done for. He should have fought Bradley. Bradley’s the fight they should have done. He would have knocked Bradley out, he would have got his belt back and now he’s back in the position he should have been in. [Pacquiao’s] one of the best fighters in the world. He goes out and fights Marquez again? Bob Arum is the dumbest promoter in the history of the world.

Right…but Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen and Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz are somehow not “money fights.” In case you’re wondering, this is where I’d normally insert a Scanners headsplosion gif, but I’m too busy trying to nurse the puppy I just kicked after reading this quote back to life.


(And another thing that bugs me about the guy is his insistence on using curse words so often. It’s like, for fuck’s sake Bob, our fucking children are watching this shit.) 

When it comes to picking sides in a fight between Dana White and Bob Arum, it often feels like we’re simply choosing the lesser of two evils. Don’t get us wrong, aside from his stance on marijuana in combat sports, Bob Arum comes off as a chode for the most part, especially when he decides to open his mouth about how MMA fans are all a bunch of homosexual skinhead racists. But every now and again, The Baldfather says something so pants-shittingly stupid and drenched in irony that it makes us wonder whether or not he has been completely blinded by his own power. Take the following for example, in which DW calls Arum “the dumbest promoter in the history of the world” for allowing Manny Pacquiao to fight Juan Manuel Marquez a fourth time:

Dumbest fight in history. Bob Arum is a moron. You don’t take that fight, you idiot. Why would you do that fight? It’s all about the money, that’s why. That was a money fight, that’s what that fight was done for. He should have fought Bradley. Bradley’s the fight they should have done. He would have knocked Bradley out, he would have got his belt back and now he’s back in the position he should have been in. [Pacquiao’s] one of the best fighters in the world. He goes out and fights Marquez again? Bob Arum is the dumbest promoter in the history of the world.

Right…but Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen and Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz are somehow not “money fights.” PLEASE Dana, go on about how Chael “Coming off a loss and hasn’t fought at LHW since 2005″ Sonnen vs. the most dominant LHW champion since Chuck Liddell is something other than a money fight. Or how the man coming off both a loss and a marijuana suspension who threw away his first opportunity to fight the champ vs. said champ is just matchmaking 101. Because, as we all know, Jones and Sonnen (or GSP and Diaz for that matter) have fought to three incredibly close decisions before and there was a public outcry for some closure. WAIT A MINUTE, NONE OF THAT HAPPENED. Pot, meet kettle.

Meanwhile, Mark Sanchez has been quoted as saying that Tim Tebow “Needs to learn how to throw the fucking football to right team.” Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go correct someone on their grammatically incorrect blog post.

–J. Jones