According to Fighters Only Magazine, Anderson Silva has decided to add a new coach to his camp for his rematch with Chris Weidman: Chuck Norris.
“I had a nightmare with Weidman, but I don’t fear him. He is determined, but has two arms …
According to Fighters Only Magazine, Anderson Silva has decided to add a new coach to his camp for his rematch with Chris Weidman: Chuck Norris.
“I had a nightmare with Weidman, but I don’t fear him. He is determined, but has two arms and two legs just like me,” Silva said. “Now I’ll bring Chuck Norris [to my camp]. I’ll bring both, Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal.”
It is a curious move in light of Silva’s recent loss at UFC 162. One would have assumed he would want to bring in an Olympic wrestler or otherwise-qualified ground fighter. Instead, Silva has chosen another celebrity martial artist to complement his use of Steven Seagal.
BloodyElbow.com quoted Damian Maia in a July interview on Brazilian television, as the former contender stated that he and others in the MMA community saw the Seagal and Silva connection as a sort of publicity stunt.
It’s a lie. It’s marketing. Like every actor from Hollywood, when Seagal saw Anderson’s success, he glued himself to him. He was down on his career and made it up again. It worked because he appeared in the media again. He never taught Silva anything … For everyone who knows about it, it’s a joke.
If Maia is correct, then Silva appears to be doubling down on the joke.
To be fair, Norris is accomplished in his own martial arts career. In 1968 he defeated Louis Delgado to win the Professional Middleweight Karate title. Norris held the title for six years. He is also the first Westerner to hold an eighth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Silva utilizes the style in his fights, so it is possible Norris will be able to assist the middleweight in his already extensive striking game.
Time will tell if Silva’s interest is genuine. For now, the move will likely perplex MMA fans more than endear Silva to them.
UFC veteran Wanderlei Silva (35-12) is in the twilight of a remarkable 17-year mixed martial arts career.
“The Axe Murderer” has fought the best in the world, including incredible battles with the likes of Brian Stann, Rich Franklin, Cung L…
UFC veteran Wanderlei Silva (35-12) is in the twilight of a remarkable 17-year mixed martial arts career.
“The Axe Murderer” has fought the best in the world, including incredible battles with the likes of Brian Stann, Rich Franklin, Cung Le, Quinton Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, Mirko Filipovic, Mark Hunt, Tito Ortiz and VitorBelfort.
According to the UFC, Silva is not a current top-10 ranked combatant. However, the Brazilian’s popularity in the world of MMA is profound, with his fame stemming from his time as world champion in Japan. Regarding retirement, Silva’s recent destruction of a highly-respected Brian Stann at UFC on Fuel TV 8 all but postponed these talks.
At 37 years old, Silva still possesses tremendous knockout power and is a force with which to be reckoned. It is more than feasible for Silva to regain his standing among the middleweight’s elite fighters.
A victory over key combatants within the 185-pound division could have the former Pride middleweight champion fight for a world title one last time.
It was yet another exciting round of fights at UFC 163 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as some of the top fighters in the world clashed inside the Octagon.
Jose Aldo once again impressed, as expected, but there were also some surprises on the ni…
It was yet another exciting round of fights at UFC 163 on Saturday in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, as some of the top fighters in the world clashed inside the Octagon.
Jose Aldo once again impressed, as expected, but there were also some surprises on the night. In fact, a couple of fighters who lost actually were praised when all was said and done.
Here’s a look at the developments from Saturday’s bouts in Brazil, as well as projections moving forward.
Phil Davis Won’t Get Jon Jones Just Yet
Phil Davis may have defeated LyotoMachida via unanimous decision in Rio deJaneiro, but it’s unlikely that he will shoot straight to the top to fight Jon Jones at light heavyweight.
The reality is, many believed Machida deserved to win the fight on Saturday night, and some are calling it one of the biggest robberies of the year. Davis may have technically won the fight, but he certainly didn’t dominate, and some would question whether he even should have won.
It’s more likely that Glover Teixeira gets a title shot next against Jones after Jones fights Alexander Gustafsson in September.
In some respect, I feel that Davis’ controversial win over Machida took away from the significant progress that he has made as a fighter. On the other hand, I don’t believe he deserves an instant title shot with Jones based on that performance.
Jose Aldo Will Remain at 145 Pounds for Now
There’s been a lot of chatter about Jose Aldo potentially moving up to lightweight after disposing of Chan Sung Jung on Saturday, but he’s not adequately positioned to make the move just yet.
Not only are there plenty of intriguing rematches at 145 pounds that Aldo could take part in (Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar, Chad Mendes), the 26-year-old Brazilian also has been handed a 90-day medical suspension after fracturing his right foot, according to MMAJunkie.com.
Moving straight up to lightweight after such an injury wouldn’t be prudent. It’s looking like Aldo will hang around the featherweight division before eventually transitioning to a higher weight class.
Chan Sung Jung Will Bounce Back
Chan Sung Jung lived up to his nickname of “The Korean Zombie” against Aldo, even if he eventually lost via a fourth-round technical knockout.
At this point, Jung’s heart is unquestioned. He sustained a separated shoulder in the fourth round against Aldo, but he continued to fight before Aldo took advantage. For now, he has been handed an 180-day medical suspension by the MMA unless he’s cleared by a doctor first, via MMAJunkie.com, but don’t think the 26-year-old is just going away.
Jung had won his first three fights in the UFC before falling to Aldo on Saturday.
It wasn’t that long ago that Travis Browne was being called the next big thing in the heavyweight division. One of Greg Jackson’s standout fighters and training partner to the likes of Jon Jones, he stood undefeated in April 2012—stea…
It wasn’t that long ago that Travis Browne was being called the next big thing in the heavyweight division. One of Greg Jackson’s standout fighters and training partner to the likes of Jon Jones, he stood undefeated in April 2012—steadily making his way through the UFC’s 265-pound division.
But his momentum was decidedly slowed down last October after getting TKO’d at the hands of Antonio Silva in his first headline event at UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot.
Overeem is another fighter who tasted defeat in his last fight against Silva. Both fighters, who’ll face each other on August 17, are fighting for relevancy in the division.
However, for Browne, the Dutch fighter is undoubtedly his toughest contest yet. Overeem is a veteran of the sport, a former Strikeforce heavyweight champion and a winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix—the biggest kickboxing event in the world.
And for all his achievements, Browne has never looked as good in his fights as Overeem. It’s true, Browne’s loss to Silva came after an injury sustained in the opening seconds of the match, leading to his eventual TKO in the first round. But even before that, his career was yet to be defined by head turning wins.
His win over Gabriel Gonzaga in his last fight came from clearly illegal elbows to the back of the Brazilian’s head, as Browne struggled to prevent a takedown. Prior to that, we see a submission win for Browne over the UFC’s two-fight wonder, Chad Griggs (released from his contract in January). And before that was a lacklustre decision win over another two-fight wonder in the UFC, Rob Broughton.
Add a draw against mediocre talent Cheick Kongo, in a fight he was losing but for a point deduction against Kongo, and it’s clear that Browne has yet to stamp his mark on the heavyweight division.
That could all change when he meets Overeem, returning to the Octagon for the first time since February. A win over him would, without doubt, signal that Browne can contend for heavyweight gold.
But that’s a tall order. If we see the same Overeem who demolished the likes of Brock Lesnar inside the first round—and that’s a big “if”—then it could be a short night for Browne.
As things stand, with Cain Velasquez’s dominant reign, and with the UFC’s No. 2 heavyweight, Daniel Cormier, indicating a drop down to the light heavyweight division, the race for a title shot is still wide open.
Browne will make his case for that shot when he faces his next opponent at UFC Fight Night 26 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts in a little over two weeks.
It was just over a year ago that Tito Ortiz packed up his bags, hung up his gloves, and called it a career after a loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 148.
Ortiz’s retirement was planned well before the fight ever took place, and the UFC even inducted him i…
It was just over a year ago that Tito Ortiz packed up his bags, hung up his gloves, and called it a career after a loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 148.
Ortiz’s retirement was planned well before the fight ever took place, and the UFC even inducted him into their Hall of Fame just hours before his final fight with Griffin.
It came with some shock then that last week Ortiz returned to the cage after signing a multi-fight deal with Bellator Fighting Championships, the first of which will take place on November 2 when he meets fellow former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
12 months ago, Ortiz was content in retirement after putting 15 years of his life towards MMA, and he was now driven by new goals—namely his management group where he quickly picked up former Strikeforce champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos as well as continuing to build his Punishment Athletics clothing brand.
Before he signed with Bellator, Ortiz teased his potential return on Twitter, which prompted a response from his former boss UFC president Dana White, who said a return to the cage for the once great champion could only mean one thing.
On Monday, Ortiz joined his first media conference call for Bellator where he was asked that very question—was his motivation to come back to fighting purely out of financial need?
How do you feed your children or your family? I was smart enough to save my money, Ortiz responded. I invest, and the biggest thing you can invest is something they don’t make much of and it’s called land and I own a lot of it. I’m smart with my money. Right now it’s about making history, it’s about making another brand, it’s about a company that I put my hard work of 15 years into that just pretty much shut me out and turned me down.
Now I’m with another one and I’m going to do exactly the same thing with a positive environment around me. I think fighters in general need another opportunity instead of just answering to one man. To be able to have an opportunity to look somewhere else. People want to be treated right as fighters, we should be respected as fighters. Fighters that want to be treated right they come to Bellator.
Throughout the entire one-hour plus call, Ortiz refused to ever mention White by name, but he referenced the UFC president several times when talking about the toxic environment he left behind when the Octagon door closed behind him for the final time.
Ortiz and White’s relationship was always rocky, and it even got to the point during one contract negotiation where the two of them were going to spar in a boxing match, although it never happened. Ortiz says that White just dragged him down with all the negativity, and once he got rid of that he was able to get his body healthy and just focus on fighting and not all the other baggage that came with being in the UFC.
I’m healthy, my mind is in a good place, I have a boss that I no longer have to fight with that has my back. I have a company that has my back. I don’t want a relationship that drags me down, Ortiz stated. I have a great family that has my back. I’m in a good place mentally, physically, emotionally, like no other.
I’ve been thinking (about returning) for a long time. I think it was after my last surgery when I bounced back only a month after surgery. Then I got knee surgery and I bounced back after three weeks. I was like ‘why is my body healing so fast?’ and then I realized what was around me, all the negative was gone. I had nothing but positive around me, it was a positive mindset, you can achieve a lot of things.
“Yes, I’ve got a big head and I’ve got a big brain and when it’s used in a positive limelight and positive surroundings, I can be a scary man.”
Ortiz’s final fight in the UFC happened on July 7, 2012 and he says exactly one year later his “handcuffs” came off, undoubtedly referencing a matching period the UFC had to sign him to a new deal before he became an unrestricted free agent. He says it didn’t take long for Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney to pick up the phone once he was free to see if Ortiz was interested in getting back in the cage.
“On July 7, I got a call from Bjorn (Rebney), the contract was done July 8, we came and we met,” Ortiz said. “Dave Thomas (his manager) brought it in, we sat down, we hashed it out in a week, got it done.”
With his new Bellator deal in hand, Ortiz is all about his new employers, talking them up because of their dedication to build fighters and not their own company brand. It was a similar situation when Jackson exited the UFC and signed with Bellatorearlier this year.
Bellator isn’t about the brand—they’re about making stars., Ortiz said. Making people as they should be. We go in there and we kill ourselves practically, and you want to be a superstar, you’ve got to put in the time, you’ve got to put in the work, and you’ve got to put on good fights. Bellator wants to support guys who do that. It’s not about the brand of Bellator, it’s going to always be there. It’s about fighters, about making superstars and Bjorn understands that.
While the contract, fight announcement and reasons for returning are all well and good, Ortiz still has to stay healthy and get ready for a fight on Nov 2. Despite his argument to the contrary, it can’t be ignored that Ortiz is 1-7-1 in his last nine fights overall.
There’s no doubt he faced some of the stiffest competition in the division, but Ortiz struggled in many of those fights to keep his head above water much less convince the world that he was still an elite light heavyweight.
Ortiz promises, however, that the fire is back in his belly especially after the way his last fight in the UFC ended. He also attributes part of the losses on the way he was mired in mudslinging with his former employer, and his attitude reflected his performances.
My last fight left a bad taste in my mouth and I thought I won the fight. When you drop someone twice, and take them down four times, and you smash their face and they go running out of the cage, I don’t understand how I lose a fight. You’re only as good as your last fight,” Ortiz stated. We’re still here to fight, we’re going to put on a show.
When I want to fight and I don’t have someone behind me talking smack, it’s great to have a boss that’s going to have your back, who is going to support you in a great way. To have a company that has your back and supports you in a great way. When I have that feeling of graciousness of being here, it makes me want to do it. When I’m sitting there and I have someone barking at me, and yelling at me and talking s—t the whole time, I don’t want to be around that.
Ortiz is no longer around White or the UFC any longer, so judging by his statements he expects to be back to championship form by Nov 2. The jury will remain out until after Ortiz faces Jackson at the first ever Bellator pay-per-view to render a verdict on whether that last statement is true or not.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Never a week seems to go by without fighter pay hitting the headlines, with MMA athletes—current and retired—voicing their opinion on the subject.
Dana White has had to routinely defend the UFC, the biggest promotion in the sport, against a…
Never a week seems to go by without fighter pay hitting the headlines, with MMA athletes—current and retired—voicing their opinion on the subject.
Dana White has had to routinely defend the UFC, the biggest promotion in the sport, against accusations that it’s exploiting its fighters and not paying them what they are due.
Just last week, the UFC president was telling fighters to “go get the money,” arguing that it’s up to them to prove that they’re worth getting paid more.
According to reports, the UFC spent $2,108,000 on fighter pay at last weekend’s UFC 163 event. Although that isn‘t an official figure, it’s the best estimate we have based on past purses the UFC has released. But those numbers show a huge disparity between what the fighters at the top end of the scale are making compared to those on the preliminary card.
The almost quarter of a million that Jose Aldo made in the main event is an eye-watering sum when you consider fighters at the bottom of the card—the majority of them—made anywhere between $6,000-$8,000.
Considering that the maximum they will likely fight in a year is four or five times, a $40,000 per year salary is hardly a livable income. Especially since it’s extremely competitive maintaining a career in the UFC and fighters can spend considerable sums on their training camps.
With that in mind, Tim Kennedy, who spoke out against low pay in MMA back in June, is likely vocalising what many fighters are thinking deep down.
But there’s also another argument that White isn’t afraid of making. At a media scrum two weeks ago, he told reporters, “Believe me, we pay the guys that deserve more money. We pay the guys that make a difference.”
That’s the harsh reality of capitalism and one that some fighters agree with. Tom Watson, who fought on last Saturday’s card, said in a July 30 interview on the MMA Hour that fighters who want more money need to earn it with consistent performances in the cage.
That was easy for him to say a week ago, since in his last match in February he came away with a generous $50,000 Fight of the Night and $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus after defeating StanislavNedkov. But it’s a sentiment he might be reconsidering after he lost his match against Thales Leites on Saturday, leaving him with a paycheck likely to be between $6,000 and $8,000.
Whether that’s fair or not, being a professional MMA fighter, even at the top of the sport, is clearly a difficult career to sustain.
According to Fighters Only Magazine, Anderson Silva has decided to add a new coach to his camp for his rematch with Chris Weidman: Chuck Norris.