Most sports leagues have embraced the power of social media only tentatively, scared perhaps of even the slightest hint of negativity or controversy. Not so the UFC, the cagefighting behemoth with the take-no-prisoners attitude, which has offered undercard fights on Facebook and tweets by the thousands before, during and after every major event. The UFC, […]
Most sports leagues have embraced the power of social media only tentatively, scared perhaps of even the slightest hint of negativity or controversy. Not so the UFC, the cagefighting behemoth with the take-no-prisoners attitude, which has offered undercard fights on Facebook and tweets by the thousands before, during and after every major event. The UFC, […]
UFC 142 in Rio was a great UFC card, and it produced many great fights and moments. Belfort vs. Johnson produced controversy, and I’d like to know why so many blatant bad stand-ups took place. This fight was set up to be a very entertaining conte…
UFC 142 in Rio was a great UFC card, and it produced many great fights and moments. Belfort vs. Johnson produced controversy, and I’d like to know why so many blatant bad stand-ups took place. This fight was set up to be a very entertaining contest. Both fighters are vicious strikers, and have the ability […]
Former Strikeforce welterweight champion and challenger to Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, is set to make his return to the UFC next weekend at UFC 137 against B.J. Penn. Diaz’s fight with Penn has all the makings of what could be one of the best f…
Former Strikeforce welterweight champion and challenger to Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, is set to make his return to the UFC next weekend at UFC 137 against B.J. Penn. Diaz’s fight with Penn has all the makings of what could be one of the best fights of the year. Diaz though, has never really cared much […]
For those Bleacher Report loyalists, you may remember a piece last year when I broke down the highest paid fighters in the UFC in 2009. Well, now it’s 2011, the figures are all over the place, so it’s time to find out which fighters were ba…
For those Bleacher Report loyalists, you may remember a piece last year when I broke down the highest paid fighters in the UFC in 2009. Well, now it’s 2011, the figures are all over the place, so it’s time to find out which fighters were ballin’ in 2010. If you want to check out all […]
After Jacob Volkmann defeated Antonio McKee at UFC 125 on Jan. 1 of this year, he told Ariel Helwani with a smirk that he wanted Barack Obama as his next opponent. Volkmann also called the President of the United States, “an idiot.” Volkman…
After Jacob Volkmann defeated Antonio McKee at UFC 125 on Jan. 1 of this year, he told Ariel Helwani with a smirk that he wanted Barack Obama as his next opponent. Volkmann also called the President of the United States, “an idiot.” Volkmann’s remarks earned him a visit from the United States Secret Service. They […]
(Somehow, screwing this guy over in a business deal would never cross our minds. PicProps: Top MMA News)A couple years ago I interviewed UFC and Pride vet and all-around good guy Gary Goodridge as part of a project I was working on for another publicat…
(Somehow, screwing this guy over in a business deal would never cross our minds. PicProps: Top MMA News)
A couple years ago I interviewed UFC and Pride vet and all-around good guy Gary Goodridge as part of a project I was working on for another publication. At the beginning of our conversation I think I asked something innocuous like, “Hey Gary, how you doing?” to which Goodridge responded with an audible sigh and said: “Man, I’m broke as a joke and looking for a job.” I laughed. Nervously. During the course of our talk it became clear that “Big Daddy” wasn’t kidding. After nearly 50 MMA fights and 40 kickboxing bouts, the 15-year fight vet was pretty much at loose ends. He’d morphed into a cautionary tale – and a particularly heartbreaking one because he is such a nice dude – for all the young fighters out there who are living like they think those paychecks are just going to keep coming forever.
For obvious reasons, it was not at all surprising when Goodridge agreed to take on Gegard Mousasi at K-1’s New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! 2009 show on kind of ridiculously short notice, was further depressingly predictable that he lost that fight by ugly TKO inside of two minutes and unbelievably ridiculous that FEG took more than a year to send Gary his paycheck. Since this was so clearly an example of an aging fighter taking a fight he had no business taking simply because he needed a payday, the whole “getting paid” stage was a pretty important part of the equation. So, it warms even the blackest heart to report that Goodridge finally got his bread this week. Well, most of it.
