From time to time, allegations of fight fixing have reared their ugly head in mixed martial arts (MMA) over the years, but in the vast majority of occasions, it’s been little more than wishful thinking. After all, you only need to look at the medical suspension lists after any major event to see that the […]
From time to time, allegations of fight fixing have reared their ugly head in mixed martial arts (MMA) over the years, but in the vast majority of occasions, it’s been little more than wishful thinking.
After all, you only need to look at the medical suspension lists after any major event to see that the only fixes going on are to the broken bones and other assorted ailments that are part of a full-contact sport that lives up to the mantra of being ‘As Real As It Gets’.
That being said, particularly in the early years of the sport, and more often than not in Japan, there have been serious allegations of fight fixing that go beyond the realms of just baseless speculation.
In this article we’ll home in on 10 instances of such scandals, seeking to avoid guesswork where possible by focusing on firsthand accounts of shameful behind-the-scenes corruption that led to the line between reality and fiction becoming distorted and threatened to tarnish the sport’s credbility.
Ken Shamrock vs. Minoru Suzuki II
In 1995, Ken Shamrock was the ‘King Of Pancrase’ titleholder, but was also about to fight Dan Severn for the UFC 6 superfight championship title.
Rumors suggest that Pancrase’s head honcho’s were concerned that it would reflect badly on their promotion if he lost in the Octagon while still being their champion as so asked him to throw his next fight with Pancrase co-owner Minoru Suzuki.
In the fight at Pancrase: Eye Of The beast 4, Suzuki miraculously escapes a fully extended armbar, gets on top and then submits Shamrock soon after with a kneebar just 2:14 minutes into the fight.
There’s no official proof that the fight was fixed, but when asked point-blank to confirm long-standing rumors that it was a fix during an interview by ugo.com, Shamrock’s non-answer told fans all they needed to know.
”I can’t really talk about those things because of agreements and things that were set down by the organization,” Shamrock stated.
Invicta FC has been losing fighters left and right to the UFC over the past several months. Now, Shannon Knapp’s promotion has reached out to land some talent back. Invicta FC announced recently a talent-sharing agreement with the Japanese promotion Pancrase that will allow fighters to compete in both organizations. “It’s an honor to be […]
Invicta FC has been losing fighters left and right to the UFC over the past several months. Now, Shannon Knapp’s promotion has reached out to land some talent back. Invicta FC announced recently a talent-sharing agreement with the Japanese promotion Pancrase that will allow fighters to compete in both organizations. “It’s an honor to be […]
The folks at UFC Fight Pass have worked tirelessly to put together an extensive library of MMA action.
Starting Friday night, though, live fights will take over the digital service.
…
The folks at UFC Fight Pass have worked tirelessly to put together an extensive library of MMA action.
Starting Friday night, though, live fights will take over the digital service.
Beginning with Titan FC 41 this evening, a total of five live fight cards are planned through Sunday night. The Titan FC card includes Carina Damm vs. Kalindra Faria for the female bantamweight title, along with Andre Harrison defending his featherweight belt vs. Alexandre Bezzara.
GLORY 33 joins Titan FC 41 on the service tonight with a title fight, while Cage Warriors 78, Pancrase 280 and the Eddie Bravo Invitational 8 follows. Cage Warriors and Pancrase are set for Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning, while EBI 8 goes down Sunday night.
Middleweight champion Simon Marcus defends his title against Jason Wilnis in the main event of GLORY, while lightweight champion Chris Fishgold puts his belt on the line against Jason Ponet at Cage Warriors.
There will also be UFC 203 prelims Saturday evening on UFC Fight Pass.
I’ve been saying that more MMA fighters should start incorporating professional wrestling moves into their arsenal from the very moment that Anthony Pettis channeled Rey Mysterio Jr. to kick Ben Henderson in the face. Mixed martial arts is sports entertainment at the end of the day, and who among us wouldn’t pay to, even three times as much for a ticket if there was even the slightest chance of seeing a knockout via The Worm?
Goldy: “Scotty Too Hotty-esque in his fluidity is Demetrious Johnson, Joe.”
Rogan: “UN-BE-LIEV-A-BLE!!”
Thankfully, it appears that former Bellator bantamweight Luis Nogueira has been listening to my impassioned cries for change and delivered just that in the form of MMA’s first ever Rock Bottom KO.
I’ve been saying that more MMA fighters should start incorporating professional wrestling moves into their arsenal from the very moment that Anthony Pettis channeled Rey Mysterio Jr. to kick Ben Henderson in the face. Mixed martial arts is sports entertainment at the end of the day, and who among us wouldn’t pay to, even three times as much for a ticket if there was even the slightest chance of seeing a knockout via The Worm?
Goldy: “Scotty Too Hotty-esque in his fluidity is Demetrious Johnson, Joe.”
Rogan: “UN-BE-LIEV-A-BLE!!”
Thankfully, it appears that former Bellator bantamweight Luis Nogueira has been listening to my impassioned cries for change and delivered just that in the form of MMA’s first ever Rock Bottom KO.
Video after the jump.
On the undercard of last weekend’s Pancrase event, Nogueira effortlessly dispatched his journeyman opponent, Yuki “Brave Devil” Baba, with a hellacious slam that would’ve made Dwayne Johnson shed a tear and then wipe it up with a $1000 bill. Check out the finish below.
Now, I suppose you could *technically* write this off as just another run-of-the-mill slam KO, but I’d like to think that Nogueira had just finished watching a WWE Ultimate Rock Bottom Compilation in the locker room and decided to put theory to practice.
In any case, the win improved Nogueira to 20-4 overall and dropped Baba to 11-7. Now if Nogueira can go ahead and figure out a way to chokeslam his next opponent into a flaming casket, we’ll finally be making some progress with this while MMA thing.
UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock announced through a press release on his website that he’ll be duking it out against James Quinn in a bare knuckle boxing match, scheduled to take place sometime this April in the United Kingdom.
Here is an excerpt from the statement:
“Shamrock is in great health and feels invigorated by this opportunity to continue to compete and to continue giving back to his fans. Shamrock is going back to his roots as a fighter. Knowing his body well, Shamrock knows that his decision to re-enter the ring for the love of this sport is a sound decision. Shamrock adamantly believes that age should never be a restriction to any athlete. People can do amazing feats past their prime, if it’s a priority to them.
“Shamrock knows that bare-knuckle boxing is a sport with great potential to grow well beyond where the sport is today. His involvement in this sport is to show support and help its success.”
Now, apart from the hilariousness that is Shamrock building his entire website to announce this news, complete with sections devoted to limited merchandise, “Youth Outreach,” and “Shamrock’s Businesses” (including sections like Yes. I Am Learning The Stock Trade, the Shamrock Slam: Technical Fitness Drink, and Profit 101: Self-Defense & Fitness, all under the “Get Stuff” tab, we’re hoping this does happen (because at this point, who the hell cares anymore), yet we’re not exactly holding out for our hero…
(“We’re thinking of broadcasting it on PPV for the low-price of $109.95, including satellite fees … this is for the poster, right?”/ Photo via Getty)
UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock announced through a press release on his website that he’ll be duking it out against James Quinn in a bare knuckle boxing match, scheduled to take place sometime this April in the United Kingdom.
Here is an excerpt from the statement:
“Shamrock is in great health and feels invigorated by this opportunity to continue to compete and to continue giving back to his fans. Shamrock is going back to his roots as a fighter. Knowing his body well, Shamrock knows that his decision to re-enter the ring for the love of this sport is a sound decision. Shamrock adamantly believes that age should never be a restriction to any athlete. People can do amazing feats past their prime, if it’s a priority to them.
“Shamrock knows that bare-knuckle boxing is a sport with great potential to grow well beyond where the sport is today. His involvement in this sport is to show support and help its success.”
Now, apart from the hilariousness that is Shamrock building his entire website to announce this news, complete with sections devoted to limited merchandise, “Youth Outreach,” and “Shamrock’s Businesses” (including sections like Yes. I Am Learning The Stock Trade, the Shamrock Slam: Technical Fitness Drink, and Profit 101: Self-Defense & Fitness, all under the “Get Stuff” tab, we’re hoping this does happen (because at this point, who the hell cares anymore), yet we’re not exactly holding out for our hero.
Shamrock is infamous for no-showing fights, and other ventures he promotes. The former Pride, Pancrase, and WWE superstar is a repeat offender when it comes to ripping off promoters, like that time he was supposed to fight Ian Freeman, amongst countlessothermishaps.
Truth be told, we still think he cut himself backstage with a Mach 3 Turbo before his bout against Kimbo Slice at EliteXC: Heat back in 2008. There was slight hope when Shamrock last resurfaced on Canada’s Off The Record, as he and Tito Ortiz were supposed to dish out dirty secrets stemming from the UFC’s business practices. Instead, it was like going out with your two friends that dated the same person six years ago, and one of them is still complaining about how they never got back that ultra-rare The Jesus & Mary Chain sweater.
Also, it seems like “The World’s Dangerous Man” isn’t guarding 50 Cent anymore, presumably because Shamrock actually doesn’t know who he is, or tried to belly-to-belly suplex Tony Yayo in the studio when he tried to pass the dutch to Fitty.
Ok, that’s enough …. on to James Quinn …
Revered as a bare knuckle boxing legend in Europe, Quinn is a fighter and author, and he’s been in his fair share of WTF moments himself. Below is a fight against another well-travelled slugger, Paddy Joyce, presumably taking place where Jim Gillespie shot I Know What You Did Last Summer (check out the backstory on the fight and the rivalry between Quinn and the Joyce family provided by The Irish Mirror):
We’re sorry for showing you the same kind of unfair assault you’d find on World Star Hip Hop, but this is journalism, after all.
On that note, pretty sure this is going to be extremely depressing. We’re waiting on another MMA website that will be previewing the contest and providing a detailed breakdown of the fight.
(“What was your question? Are we looking to buy the entire Internet? I mean, yeah, we’ll see what happens.”/Photo via Getty)
UFC’s digital subscription service, Fight Pass, has its fair share of pros and cons. The cost isn’t all that damaging to the wallet, but it’s not exactly the game-changer promotion officials thought it would be.
Without knowing too much about subscriber info and profits, the network allows you to watch free UFC cards, including FOX Sports 1 events, preliminary fights, and exclusive Fight Pass broadcasts that usually take place outside of North America. It also has an extensive UFC library, containing an abundance of full main cards from UFC, Pride, WEC, EliteXC, and those two Affliction MMA cards that were surprisingly fun.
(“What was your question? Are we looking to buy the entire Internet? I mean, yeah, we’ll see what happens.”/ Photo via Getty)
UFC’s digital subscription service, Fight Pass, has its fair share of pros and cons. The cost isn’t all that damaging to the wallet, but it’s not exactly the game-changer that promotion officials thought it would be.
The network allows you to watch free UFC cards, including FOX Sports 1 events, preliminary fights, and exclusive Fight Pass broadcasts that usually take place outside of North America. It also carries an extensive UFC library, containing an abundance of full main cards from UFC, as well as Pride, WEC, EliteXC, and those two Affliction MMA cards that were surprisingly fun, among others.
UFC Chief Content Officer Marshall Zelaznik announced the news in a press conference on Saturday, revealing that over 13,000 individual bouts are slated to be added to Fight Pass this upcoming spring. The content comes from the brain of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who apparently made his own list of what promotions he wanted to see on the digital service (according to MMA Fighting).
After news broke that hackers stole login info and credit card numbers from tens of thousands of subscribers a few days ago (which really speaks volumes about the lack of security), fight fans were met with a better announcement, as Zuffa announced hours before UFC 182 it has acquired eight fight libraries from renown and regional promotions, including legendary Japanese promotion Pancrase (complete library), King of The Cage, HookNShoot, TKO, Cage Rage, Extreme Challenge, Ultimate Challenge MMA (UCMMA), and XFO.
But there’s still a lot to complain about, after the jump:
(“What was your question? Are we looking to buy the entire Internet? I mean, yeah, we’ll see what happens.”/ Photo via Getty)
UFC’s digital subscription service, Fight Pass, has its fair share of pros and cons. The cost isn’t all that damaging to the wallet, but it’s not exactly the game-changer that promotion officials thought it would be.
The network allows you to watch free UFC cards, including FOX Sports 1 events, preliminary fights, and exclusive Fight Pass broadcasts that usually take place outside of North America. It also carries an extensive UFC library, containing an abundance of full main cards from UFC, as well as Pride, WEC, EliteXC, and those two Affliction MMA cards that were surprisingly fun, among others.
UFC Chief Content Officer Marshall Zelaznik announced the news in a press conference on Saturday, revealing that over 13,000 individual bouts are slated to be added to Fight Pass this upcoming spring. The content comes from the brain of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who apparently made his own list of what promotions he wanted to see on the digital service (according to MMA Fighting).
Now, the Pancrase library certainly gets us giddy, seeing that their current events are pretty difficult to find, without the availability to download those events after they take place. The rest is a nice treat, yet we’re still holding out for Yamma and Rhode Island Vale Tudo. With that said, Fight Pass is starting to shape up as definitive library of MMA fights from the most important promotions, and it’s apparently still growing.
This comes not too long after UFC’s inclusion of Invicta FC events, providing streaming of live events and past showcases from the leading all-female MMA promotion. We could really do without exclusive shows like The Ultimate Fighter: Whatever Country We’re In and MMA Mindset, but variety is never a bad thing.
On the other hand, this also means a boatload of free content will likely be pulled from YouTube and other free streaming sites. Zuffa legal teams will be out in full force and prohibiting fans from watching some old Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock Pancrase fights because they now own that material.
In spite of that, it still feels like Fight Pass is “under construction,” since the search tool is fairly problematic; you’d think the service could at least rank the bouts you’re looking for in chronological order. It’s also incredibly glitchy, with a lot of complaints about getting bounced out of a live broadcast, only to have to sign back in. There are rewind functions, but it’s kind of annoying to be asked to log in again after the site freezes and have to reenter your password during the critical moments of a fight.
Also, for those that think pro wrestling isn’t direct competition to MMA, think again. Fight Pass was overshadowed by the WWE Network days after its launch, which isn’t doing so good itself, according to pundits. The reason WWE stole the glory was their inclusion of the 12 PPV events they put on a year (including WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series), not to mention countless hours of WCW and ECW footage. By comparison, the UFC didn’t even have their complete fight library posted at first (nor did they have as much Pride material, which is sort of a deal-breaker if you’re going to monopolize the online MMA world). For what it’s worth, Japan’s top wrestling promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling, launched its own digital network a few weeks ago, called NJPW World. The cost is similar, and since Puroresu is rising in North America, it’s a lot more compelling to watch old Antonio Inoki contests from decades ago, instead of an Ultimate Bigfoot Silva collection.
If that’s not enough, there’s no indication the new additions will help generate more subscribers. It’s a nice bonus for the MMA diehards who are already staying up all night to watch international UFC cards on the Internet, but is it a true selling point for those who are still on the fence? If the UFC was willing to take a little bit of a pay cut to include a couple of PPV events on the network, then the service would be a must for your typical UFC enthusiast. But apparently, PPV isn’t dead, despite more and more people cancelling their cable subscriptions in favor of laptops and HDMI wires.
