(Time to make the donuts. / Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)
GracieFighter.com makes it official — and we can forget this nonsense about Jake staying at middleweight:
Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170lbs weight division in the UFC. After…
(Time to make the donuts. / Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)
Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170lbs weight division in the UFC. After careful consideration and consulting with UFC representatives it was determined Jake would be finally going back to his original fighting weight. Jake’s opponent is one of the UFC’s top contenders and will be announced shortly.
It’s obviously the best way to go. If Shields can run through one or two prominent welterweights by the time Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck finish their little lover’s spat on TUF 12 (and subsequent title fight), he’ll be nicely set up for a shot at the belt. Any guesses as to who he’ll draw first?
(Leave it to the professionals, Andy…)
A couple weeks ago, I stumbled across a Bleacher Report article titled "The Top 10 Questions Every MMA Fighter Should Be Asked." It was written by a teenage contributor named Dale De Souza who, at th…
(Leave it to the professionals, Andy…)
A couple weeks ago, I stumbled across a Bleacher Report article titled "The Top 10 Questions Every MMA Fighter Should Be Asked." It was written by a teenage contributor named Dale De Souza who, at that point, had only done one interview with an MMA fighter, but still felt like he’d accumulated enough wisdom to put together a guide for aspiring MMA journalists. Isn’t that adorable? For the most part, De Souza’s question suggestions are pretty standard fare if you’re interviewing an up-and-comer that fans don’t know much about, and you don’t mind being unoriginal. (i.e., "How did you get into the sport?" "Which team are you training with in preparation for your next bout?" "Do you like to stand with your opponents or take them to the ground?")
As the founding editor of CagePotato.com, I’ve been interviewing MMA fighters for nearly three years, and through trial and error, I’ve learned a lot about what not to ask during fighter interviews. Dale will learn this stuff in time, but to save him (and others like him) a lot of heartbreak, uncomfortable silences, and dull articles, I’ve put together a list of my own. Read on, and avoid these interview questions at all costs…
1. Will you choke me out?/Will you kick me in the leg? Don’t do it. It’s been done, and you might end up in the hospital. You’ll have to find another way to make your name by humiliating yourself. (By the way, barfing on camera has also been done.)
2. What’s your gameplan for [opponent’s name]? As it turns out, very few fighters are willing to publicly reveal what they’re planning to do to their opponents, in specific detail; go figure. So don’t expect a satisfying response to this question. Most of the time, you’ll get some variation of "I’m just gonna focus on what I do best, and try to show everybody what I’m capable of." Boooooooring.
