Recently, we saw a great Octagon warrior and a true legend walk away from the sport. It was the right time and it was the right place. The Rogers Centre was jammed with over 56,000 people. It was very fitting that “The Natural” Randy Couture woul…
Recently, we saw a great Octagon warrior and a true legend walk away from the sport. It was the right time and it was the right place. The Rogers Centre was jammed with over 56,000 people. It was very fitting that “The Natural” Randy Couture would save his biggest for last. Randy will never be forgotten. His legacy in the UFC will stay very much intact.
Randy was a man who defied Father Time since he entered the UFC in 1997. He never backed down from anyone and he never quit in a fight. A person can look at a 19-11 record and be confused if they did not see him fight or know the context of those affairs. His career can be summed up in one word: Legendary.
UFC 130 was supposed to feature the third and decisive battle between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edger and Gray Maynard. Because of injuries both men have during training camp, we’re left with former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Quinton &…
UFC 130 was supposed to feature the third and decisive battle between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edger and Gray Maynard.
As I watched the new episode of the Ultimate Fighter on a hot and humid night in Tennessee, something I rarely see caught my eye. The main event for UFC 130 has been changed to the Quinton Jackson and Matt Hamill match-up, yet the promos for the event …
As I watched the new episode of the Ultimate Fighter on a hot and humid night in Tennessee, something I rarely see caught my eye. The main event for UFC 130 has been changed to the Quinton Jackson and Matt Hamill match-up, yet the promos for the event have not changed.
It seems odd that the UFC or Spike would make such a simple error.
There very well could be thousands of people who, at this moment, do not know that Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard have both had to withdraw due to injury. It is not a huge deal to me or anyone who follows the sport constantly, but it could leave a bad taste in the mouth of the casual fan.
Hopefully, by tomorrow the mistake has been corrected and the people who see the replays will know of the change. Not everyone follows the news like hardcore fans do and that was very misleading.
In the end it probably won’t matter all that much because there are three weeks remaining to do damage control for the hiccup but in an era when the UFC President is touting that they can compete with the NFL, NBA and MLB nothing can be spared to scratch their way to the top.
Competition is steep at the highest levels of the mixed martial arts game. In the UFC, it is just downright wrong how competitive it is. Job security can come and go as fast as a Machida crane kick to the jaw, no matter who taught it to him. There…
Competition is steep at the highest levels of the mixed martial arts game. In the UFC, it is just downright wrong how competitive it is. Job security can come and go as fast as a Machida crane kick to the jaw, no matter who taught it to him.
There are fighters in every division and on every card this summer who are in danger of being released by the UFC if they lose, bore or stink the joint out, in their respective matches. Here is a look at the top 10.
As a mixed martial artist, Manny Gamburyan has one simple—albeit ambitious—goal; before he calls it a career, the man they call “The Anvil” dreams of owning a championship belt in the UFC’s featherweight division. Coming off a loss at…
As a mixed martial artist, Manny Gamburyan has one simple—albeit ambitious—goal; before he calls it a career, the man they call “The Anvil” dreams of owning a championship belt in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Coming off a loss at the hands of Jose Aldo at WEC 51 in September of last year—Gamburyan’s first title-shot as a professional mixed martial artist—“The Anvil” is now looking to work his way to the top of the UFC’s featherweight division.
In a little more than six weeks, in what will mark the end of near nine month lay-off from professional competition, Gamburyan will face Tyson Griffin at UFC LIVE: Marquardt vs. Johnson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Manny Gamburyan about his goal in the sport, his upcoming bout with Griffin, and the prospect of taking a run at the UFC’s featherweight championship.
What were your goals when you started in this sport?
To be a champ.
Any other goals?
Nope; to be a champ.
Why is that?
Growing up and being in the sport for many years, I realize that if you’re a true fighter, your only goal should be to be the champ.
Was there ever a time when that wavered in your mind?
Nope.
You always believed in your goal?
I was believed in my goal and I still believe in my goal.
How do you feel about what you were able to accomplish in the WEC?
I feel really good. I feel really good dropping from 155 to 145. It was a good trade, but now it’s even better; we’re back in the UFC and we have our own division at 145.
How does it feel to be back in the UFC at a division that better suits you?
It feels better. I should be more focused now, I should be more prepared, and I’m ready to make it to the top again and fight for the belt, again.
How did you find out that the WEC had been absorbed by the UFC?
I thought that it would happen—sooner or later—but I didn’t think it was going to be this early and it is what it is. For me, it doesn’t matter where I fight—the WEC or the UFC—but now that I’m back in the UFC, it’s even better.
How did you react to the news?
Normal, you know? I got really happy and I called my manager and asked him if it was true or if it was a rumour and he said it was true.
Do you feel like you’re coming home to the UFC?
Most definitely. I fought with the UFC, went to the WEC, and now I’m back home.
How confident are you this time around?
Very confident—I’m very confident. I train very hard—I put hours into it every day to prepare myself for upcoming challenges.
How are you feeling going into your upcoming challenge in six weeks?
I’m feeling very great; I’m feeling very confident. I believe that he is a gamer; he has what it takes, and he’s coming out of a good camp, so I’m getting ready for that fight, trying to get a ‘W’, and move on.
What problems do you feel Tyson poses to you?
To be honest with you, he’s not going to do anything that I haven’t seen before. I’ve rolled with him—not as my training partner—but I’ve trained with him a couple times. He’s durable; he’s got good stand-up, he’s got good wrestling—but so do I. We’re going to go out there and bang.
Do you feel training with Tyson gives you any type of advantage going into your match?
Not really, because training doesn’t mean anything, you know? Somebody can get dominated during training, but this is fighting—this is real. I’m looking forward to this fight. I’m very excited for this fight.
What do you think Tyson’s game-plan will be going into this fight?
I don’t know. Whatever his game-plan is, I don’t think he’s going to stick with it—I’m sharp everywhere. That’s my game, man; if I have to stand with him and box in the Octagon then I’m down with throwing them. He’s got a good camp, so I know he’s going to be ready. I expect—100 per cent—to see the best Tyson Griffin … He’s a very good fighter. He has a lot of good fights in the UFC, but now he’s been having some problems; he’s been losing lately and he decided that 145 is his weight-class. It’s not an easy cut, though; it’s not even an easy cut for me, either—I’m going to be pretty heavy for him, so let’s see how he’s going to respond. I’m going to go out there and put on a clinic.
Do you have a prediction for how it’s going to end?
I’m really bad with predictions, but at the end of the day, my hand is going to be raised and I’m going to have a ‘W’, I’m going to come back home and have a rest and start looking forward to the next one.
What would a win over Tyson in June mean to you?
It’s not like I’m fighting for the belt or anything; it’s just another fighter—and that’s how I look at it. He’s got a big-name, he’s got some good fights, and he’s a good fighter, he can impose his will, he’s got power, but we’ll see how he responds to me. I’m a different type of fighter than I was one year ago or two years ago—I’ve improved a lot and I’m trying to improve more and more.
How much better do you feel you are now than when we last saw you in the Octagon?
I’m a lot better, you know? I understand the stand-up game better now, I know how to control myself, my wrestling is getting way better, and my take-down defence and my submissions have improved dramatically.
Assuming you win, where do you see yourself in the UFC’s featherweight division?
There are a lot of good guys out there, like I said. There are a lot of top-guys, and nobody knows who the next contender is. Right now it’s Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes, but there are a lot of good guys out there; Erik Koch, Kenny Florian, and there are a lot of up-and-coming fighters—you can name them all day. The division is pretty stacked and I’m not looking past anyone; my next opponent is Tyson Griffin and I’m going to start from there and move on.
What do you feel you can accomplish in the UFC?
Like I said, my goal is to fight all of the best fighters and take on tough-fights—I never look for an easy-fight or anything like that—and I think I can be a champ in 2012. I want to improve myself, get that belt, and feel like a king for a while.
I guess it might be hard to put a number on it, but how close to you think you are to getting another shot at Jose’s featherweight championship?
It all depends on Dana White and Joe Silva and the UFC organization. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting to get the title-shot in the WEC; Josh Grispi was next in line, but I got the call for the title-fight, so I don’t know. One or two fights, maybe? We’ll see. Maybe one more fight and then I’ll get another title-shot again.
What would that featherweight championship belt mean to you at this point in your career?
It would be the best thing in the world; it’s like winning the gold medal in the Olympics [laughs]—there’s no other way that I could explain it to you. That’s my dream; to have that belt around my waist and feel like a king inside the Octagon and be happy.
Have you thought about how much longer you’d like to compete?
Well, I don’t know. I just turned 30, so I’m not saying that I’ve got another 10 years to go—I don’t know. Hopefully I have another four or five good years to go. As long as I’m healthy and training the way that I want to train, I can go. I’m not going to say that I want to be the next Randy Couture—because you know what? That’s a given. If I’m feeling it and feeling that I’m improving, I feel that I’m still capable of fighting—I’ll fight. Because of that, I can’t give you a prediction about how much longer I’d like to fight.
Have you thought about what you might like to do when you’re done fighting?
I don’t know, man. I’ll probably open up my own school and give my talent and knowledge to other kids to help them improve. I’m not the best teacher or anything like that, but I’ve got years and years of experience, so I could probably be a pretty good teacher and help other people be good fighters also.
What do you feel the future holds for you?
I don’t know—fighting, still. I can’t tell my future from a year or two from now, so we’ll see. We’ll see how it goes.
Is there anything that you’d like to say to your fans while you have this opportunity?
I, first of all, want to thank all of my training partners, my coaches, my family, and my fans out there. Watch me fight on June 26—it’s going to be on Versus and hopefully I’ll be on the televised card. It’s going to be a great fight; expect fireworks. I’m going to go out there and do my thing.
Nostalgia can be a funny thing.It plays with the senses, confounds reason, and clouds memory. Like a drug, it impairs proper judgement and good sense in favour of a high that’s progressively harder and harder to achieve.In combat sports, nostalgia is a…
Nostalgia can be a funny thing.
It plays with the senses, confounds reason, and clouds memory. Like a drug, it impairs proper judgement and good sense in favour of a high that’s progressively harder and harder to achieve.
In combat sports, nostalgia is a fun, almost vital part of the fan experience. No sport fosters an emotional fan connection like one-on-one fighting, and that’s a connection that can stay strong in the face of time’s cruel onward march. Time and again, we forget the obvious realities of the fight game while we rally once again around a beloved fight or fighter.
Most of the time, when it comes to fighting, nostalgia is like pissing your pants: sure, it feels all warm and fuzzy while it’s happening, but once it’s over you’re left with a big mess, and an even bigger embarrassment.
Recently, there’s been a lot of talk surrounding a possible rematch between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira at UFC 134 in Brazil. That isn’t really a surprise to me as both men are some of the most legendary figures in all the sport. Their names in a headline will, for good or ill, get fans talking.
No, what surprises me is that the reaction has been largely positive. As in, people actually want to see this fight happen.
So I’m going to go ahead and throw a cold glass of water on those (potential) plans before the sport of MMA finds itself once again with a spreading stain on its pants and an embarrassed look on its face.
I can already hear the howls of the MMA faithful as they pour out of the woodwork to burn me in effigy. How dare I desecrate the names of two of PRIDE’s greatest legends! In fact, if MMA hardcores had a “holy trinity” it would be these two men along with Wanderlei Silva (Fedor having been excommunicated to the M-1 underworld).
But beyond rabid fandom, there is a legitimate argument being put forward for making this fight.
“Both guys are old and past their moment,” the argument goes, “so why not have them square off now in a fun, just for the hell of it fight? What’s the harm?”
It’s ironic, because just last weekend MMA fans were railing against the perceived pointlessness of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley fight. And now, within the space of a few days, here they are calling for a fight that has “pointless” written all over it.
I realize the analogy isn’t a perfect one. Manny Pacquiao is by no means over the hill, and any PPV with his name on it—be it Pacquiao vs. Jose Canseco, Pacquiao vs. Zulu, even Pacquiao vs. His inner doubt—is a cultural event.
But Shane Mosley certainly is. And the perception of this fight from fans top to bottom was that it was a “keep busy” fight, a filler fight for Pac-Man in lieu of a serious, actual, Floyd Mayweather-inclusive fight.
In other words, barring a fluke Mosley win, it was utterly pointless. Boxing fans accepted it, but MMA fans were livid. To paraphrase Gus Johnson, such things don’t happen in MMA.
Yet here we are, talking about dragging a bell-rung and injury plagued Nogueira out for another dance with Mirko Cro Cop’s ghost. I think a large part of this has to do with how unbelievably awesome their first fight was, back in the halcyon days of PRIDE. If you’ve never seen it, then for God’s sake stop reading this article and go watch it! Few fights in all of combat sports have ever been so emotional and dramatic.
In fact, if you had to judge based on this fight alone, you’d be forced to to conclude that Antonio Nogueira is one of the baddest men who ever lived.
And he is. So is Mirko, for that matter. But their moment has passed, and the magic of their first clash will never be duplicated.
Look at what made their first fight so exciting: Mirko’s incredible striking and Antonio’s cast iron chin.
Today, Mirko’s striking consists of high-fiving Pat Barry and absolutely refusing to pull the trigger, while Nog’s iron chin is a thing of the past. In two of his last three, “Minotauro” has been knocked cold by guys who had a reputation for “pillow-fists” BEFORE their fight with him.
Call me crazy, but that doesn’t exactly seem like a recipe for a fun rematch. Instead, it looks like the makings of a classic fistic disaster.
My grandfather served in the air force in the Second World War. My friend’s grandfather served in a similar position in the German Luftwaffe. If they ever actually fought, I guarantee their battle was dramatic, emotional, scary, and pulse-pounding every single second.
If they fought again today, it would be two old men circling each other, tentatively poking each other with their canes.
That’s not a fight I want to see. And neither is Mirko Cro Cop vs. Minotauro Nogueira II.
