At UFC 129, I heard Mike Goldberg say the strangest thing: he called Vladimir Matyushenko a “legend.” Now, I understand that Mike has been prone to say many dubious things, like the time he described Travis Lutter’s Jiu-Jitsu as “Mich…
At UFC 129, I heard Mike Goldberg say the strangest thing: he called Vladimir Matyushenko a “legend.” Now, I understand that Mike has been prone to say many dubious things, like the time he described Travis Lutter’s Jiu-Jitsu as “Michael Jordan-esque.” I also understand that the man is simply trying to hype up fights. But calling Matyushenko a legend? Hold your horses, buddy.
Listen, I have absolutely no problem with Vladimir Matyushenko. The man has a great record (26-5) and has been through some tough fights in his long career. He has had several good battles against the likes of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, and Andrei Arlovski, among others. And to continue being competitive at his age? Remarkable.
Still, those achievements are not enough to earn the title of “legend.” His most notable accomplishments are winning the IFL Light Heavyweight championship from someone you’ve never heard of and defending said championship against someone you’ve never heard of.
Let me get to my point: Matyushenko is not a legend, he is a veteran. He’s a veteran the same way Yuki Kondo is a veteran, or Matt Serra (GSP upset withstanding), or even the beloved Fedor’s younger sibling.
To become a legend, you would need to have done something incredible for the sport. Royce Gracie very arguably sowed the roots of MMA to become what it is today. The Shamrock brothers are not just pioneers, they also brought the sport much needed exposure and were incredibly successful during their prime years.
Kazushi Sakuraba was one of the most exciting fighters to watch in Pride, and his victories over notable opposition made him a national hero in Japan. Chuck and Wanderlei held on to their UFC and Pride belts, respectively, for so long we thought they’d never lose them. Today, Anderson Silva’s legacy is secure as we wait for his next move.
Vernon White was a great fighter in his day. Carlos Newton won the UFC welterweight championship once. Renzo Gracie has had some really exciting fights over the years. These men are not legendary. They have been in the sport a long time, have had good success, and, well, that’s it.
To be sure, I don’t believe any of the veterans I have described would call themselves legendary. Aside from Frank Shamrock, most legends are humble and wouldn’t describe themselves as such either. Still, a distinction has to be made between the two. 50 years from now, what will MMA fans be remembering the most: BJ Penn winning belts in two divisions, or Luiz Azeredo’s three fight win streak in the early 2000s? Let’s not give the future something to laugh about when they recall the past and its tendency to bestow titles on the undeserving.
Brock Lesnar’s meteoric rise to MMA superstardom seems like something that happened overnight. The former WWE superstar transitioned immediately from the entertainment business to professional fighting. After an impressive victory in his MMA debut at D…
Brock Lesnar‘s meteoric rise to MMA superstardom seems like something that happened overnight.
The former WWE superstar transitioned immediately from the entertainment business to professional fighting.
After an impressive victory in his MMA debut at Dynamite!! USA against Min-Soo Kim, Lesnar quickly found himself in a UFC octagon staring across from former heavyweight champion Frank Mir.
The UFC is the pinnacle of MMA. Some fighters amass over 20 fights before ever seeing the big stage. Lesnar didn’t only see the big stage in a short amount of time, but his bout with Mir also served as the co-main event to the interim heavyweight championship bout between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Tim Sylvia.
Mir walked out the fortunate victor in that fight, but two bouts later, Lesnar found himself competing for a world title against UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
How does a fighter ascend to the apex of his career in just four bouts?
After defeating Couture for the heavyweight title, Lesnar was successful in his first two defenses against Shane Carwin and Frank Mir, but he was thoroughly handled in October 2010 by undefeated American Kickboxing Academy standout Cain Velasquez.
A month away from his showdown with Junior Dos Santos, it’s interesting to ponder what Lesnar’s MMA career would’ve been like if things were approached differently.
Would we have seen a much better fighter?
Here’s how being fast-tracked to the title hurt Lesnar’s development.
Earlier today, MMA Junkie reported the overnight release of promising now-former UFC Middleweight prospect Maiquel Jose “Big Rig” Falcao Gonclaves, better known to us all as Maiquel Falcao.The release comes as a shock to the MMA World, who last heard F…
Earlier today, MMA Junkie reported the overnight release of promising now-former UFC Middleweight prospect Maiquel Jose “Big Rig” Falcao Gonclaves, better known to us all as Maiquel Falcao.
The release comes as a shock to the MMA World, who last heard Falcao’s name when talked had risen about a spot on the UFC 134 fight card opposite Tom Lawlor, with the consensus pointing to a 2002 assault charge as the primary motivation behind the release.
Supposedly, the charge—coupled in with fan demand for the fight with “The Filthy Mauler”of The Ultimate Fighter 8 variety—eventually led to the release of the prospect and has now made the once-promising UFC Middleweight a free agent.
Some might agree with it, but for those who do agree with this fully, there is a question to answer, and that question is this:
Why is this the correct move?
If anything, this move is a downright ridiculous move fueled by the resurrection of an issue that should have been laid to rest in 2004 when Falcao debuted.
Falcao admitted that there indeed was an argument at a nightclub with some people, a girl did get injured in the lips as a result, he and his friends were taken to court, and of course, there’s also the charge of aggression—assault, in other terms.
He admitted to that and was given two years of house arrest, and he did admit that eight years later when he moved from his old house, he was advised by his legal counselors that the rest of the remaining sixteen months of house arrest could be finished in the new home.
Nobody can quote Falcao as saying anything to the contrary.
He admitted to his sins, but he did his time—his MMA career didn’t start until April of 2004, which is the year when the charges should have been dropped.
The charges should have never been spoken of again after Falcao began his MMA career, but somehow they magically reappeared after the win over Gerald Harris.
Now if the release really was because of Falcao not accepting the Lawlor fight, then maybe the release is understandable because that might just lead to Dana thinking Falcao doesn’t “want to be a f**king fighter.”
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
There are only two remotely negatively things that Falcao has done since he signed on to face Gerald Harris, lest we forget.
The first one was coasting through round three of the fight with Harris, which caused the bout to be one of the most panned non-title fights in the sport, and the other—depending on whose side you take—was the brief war of verbal body hooks between him and Sakara.
This “2002 assault charge” nonsense, however?
I cannot classify it as anything more than just that without coming across as more overly-vulgar than I normally am, because “nonsense” is exactly what this is.
When you consider the horrible reviews that the latest Manny Pacquiao fight is receiving due to its predictability and boredom, you’d think the UFC would be having a good week. Though they surely are happy to see their rival of violence continue to see…
When you consider the horrible reviews that the latest Manny Pacquiao fight is receiving due to its predictability and boredom, you’d think the UFC would be having a good week. Though they surely are happy to see their rival of violence continue to see its sport go down the toilet, the UFC was forced to cancel yet another main event just weeks before the fight was to take place.
Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gary Maynard took part in a thrilling title fight on New Year’s Day that ended in a draw. Obviously, UFC’s Dana White had to schedule a rematch, which was slated for UFC 130 on May 28. However, not one, but both fighters sustained injuries in recent weeks that have forced the postponement of this fight until the summer, possibly as late as September.
It was just the latest case of a big UFC fight being postponed due to injuries incurred during a training camp. The notion of athletes getting injured during training is nothing new. Every year in the NFL, we see several big stars sustain season ending injuries before they ever take the field.
But the rate of UFC fighters dropping out due to injury and constantly forcing the organization to alter their pay-per-views is a growing issue that is angering fans and could cause the great wave of momentum the UFC has created over the past six years to come crashing down if they’re not careful.
It would be one thing if the Edgar/Maynard postponement were something new. But it’s just another example of a growing trend of big pay-per-view fights being put off due to injuries. It would be one thing if it were affecting bouts that didn’t have title implications, but these are occurring most noticeably to those fighting for a title, or for a chance to be the number one contender.
Just look at the crazy road former champion Rashad Evans has had to lead since he beat Rampage Jackson nearly one year ago at UFC 114.
With that win, Evans was slated to take on the then-champion, Shogun Rua. Due to a shoulder injury though, the fight was put off until UFC 128 in March. However, several weeks prior to the fight Evans sustained a knee injury while training, forcing the UFC to put camp teammate Jon Jones into a title fight many feel he had not yet truly earned.
However, Jones systematically destroyed Rua en route to a third-round TKO. Immediately following the fight, it was announced the two one time friends would fight, and was later announced that they’d go at it in August at UFC 133.
But now it was diagnosed that Jon Jones was injured (in fairness this was during his fight), forcing Evans to now take on Phil Davis in a number one contender fight. What does this all mean for Evans? He won a title shot just about one year ago, has not yet fought for a title, and will now have to “defend” his number one contender spot nearly 17 months from when he last fought.
The case of Evans may be the worst we’ve seen in the UFC, but it’s far from the only one. A rematch between BJ Penn and Jon Fitch was scrapped when both fighters got hurt training. Chris Leben famously replaced Wanderlei Silva to take on Yoshioro Akiyama due to the Axe Murderer’s numerous camp injuries. Leben did this despite fighting just one month prior.
UFC 126 was another shining example. Anderson Silva finally fought Vitor Belfort in a title fight that was originally supposed to take place at UFC 108 but both fights sustained, guess what, injuries prior to the fight. Kenny Florian also stepped out due to injury in a fight against Evan Dunham.
At the upcoming UFC 130, three additional fights to the postponed Edgar/Maynard fight have been altered due to training camp injuries. If you glance at Wikipedia, you’ll see this occurs almost every pay-per-view.
This situation, which is growing worse by the month is something that must be addressed. Altering three to four fights ever pay-per-view is not good business. Dana White, who has overseen the rapid rise of the UFC, should realize this.
As bad as the sport of boxing is right now, you don’t see fighters routinely go down to injuries in training camps. In a business where the top stars make up to $10 million or in Pacquiao’s case, $20 million per fight, you train but you also stay healthy.
The question is what to do? Dana White needs to speak with fighters and trainers and work together to come to one of two conclusions. The first is more logical: lighten up the load at these camps. Don’t have as much hands on sparring that leads to injuries.
The other option is put these guys in the octagon more than three or four times a year. If these fighters are so eager to go at it to the point of injuring themselves in a camp, then let them do it in the bright lights of a pay-per-view or Spike TV show.
Whether they lighten the load in camp, or fight more, something has to give here. There are only so many times you can advertise a product and not deliver to those shelling out $50 at home or spending money at the local sports bar. As it stands, the UFC is going to have to showcase one of the weaker pay-per-views in recent memory in a few weeks due to this growing issue.
As a fan of the UFC, I hope this issue gets fixed. It’s grown increasingly frustrating to see big fighters go at it once a year due to his personal injuries, or that of his opponent. One can hope this situation gets resolved before it is too late.
It has been a few months now since Zuffa, the parent company that owns the UFC, purchased the Strikeforce promotion. Dana White, president of the UFC, has stated numerous times that the two organizations would remain separate, with only minor cha…
It has been a few months now since Zuffa, the parent company that owns the UFC, purchased the Strikeforce promotion. Dana White, president of the UFC, has stated numerous times that the two organizations would remain separate, with only minor changes behind the scenes affecting Strikeforce.
But how long will this separation last?
As fighters and fans alike clamor for superfights between champions like Dan Henderson and Jon Jones or Gilbert Melendez and Frankie Edgar, it seems that cross promotion is already on the horizon.
But if history has taught us anything, a merger may come sooner than most people will expect.
The brand new main event of UFC 130, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill, might have some heavy shoes to fill with Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard sidelined, but even with no title being on the line for UFC 130, the card still packs e…
The brand new main event of UFC 130, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill, might have some heavy shoes to fill with Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard sidelined, but even with no title being on the line for UFC 130, the card still packs enough of a punch to create some intrigue.
On paper, it would seem that Hamill is in an uphill battle against a tough legend of the sport and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, but Rampage can still be defeated by any percentage of fighters, and Hamill is no exception.
The question now is, can Hamill hand Rampage defeat in what is arguably the biggest fight of his career?
Edgar and Maynard are sharing a shelf right now, and it’ll be close to the end of the estimated six-to-eight-week time of rehabilitation before we hear about whether the rematch of the UFC’s first main event (and “Fight of The Night” bonus winner, and title fight, and “Fight of The Year” candidate) of the calendar year 2011 will headline the upcoming UFC 133 card or the UFC 135 card that is slated to have Matt Hughes-Diego Sanchez on it, but for now, it’s Hamill and Rampage we’re all taking about.
Without further ado, it’s time to go to schoolhere are five of the reasons why Hamill WILL upset Rampage in about two weeks.
