UFC 160 may have been the bloodiest, ugliest UFC event since “Fight for the Troops” in 2008. MMAJunkie has a gallery of gory photo-highlights that you should check out if you have the stomach for that sort of thing, but we wanted to pass along a couple gruesome shots in particular.
Above, you’ll see the destroyed toe of Mark Hunt, who says he broke the piggy during the first round of his co-main event fight against Junior Dos Santos. As Hunt wrote on his Facebook fan page: “Thanks for the support apologies about the result junior was to slick for me. Got a broken toe first round and had no movement, but like i said before if i am going out i am out on my back thanks again 1luv.”
After the jump:Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone shows off the literal aftermath of figuratively breaking his elbow off in KJ Noons‘s ass.
UFC 160 may have been the bloodiest, ugliest UFC event since “Fight for the Troops” in 2008. MMAJunkie has a gallery of gory photo-highlights that you should check out if you have the stomach for that sort of thing, but we wanted to pass along a couple gruesome shots in particular.
Above, you’ll see the destroyed toe of Mark Hunt, who says he broke the piggy during the first round of his co-main event fight against Junior Dos Santos. As Hunt wrote on his Facebook fan page: “Thanks for the support apologies about the result junior was to slick for me. Got a broken toe first round and had no movement, but like i said before if i am going out i am out on my back thanks again 1luv.”
“Pezao” absolutely earned the title shot he received Saturday night – he has a list of victims that include two former UFC heavyweight champions, former long-time pound for pound kingpin Fedor Emelianenko and, most recently, Alistair Overeem – but Velasquez once more proved that the combination of his quickness, relentless pace and striking power are very hard to beat. In the post fight press conference, Silva objected to the stoppage by referee Mario Yamasaki, saying it was premature and that he allowed Velasquez to hit him to the back of the head illegally.
“I do agree the fight was stopped too early,” the Brazilian said.
“It’s clear watching it that I took several illegal blows to the back of my neck.”
It was also clear that Silva was out of the fight altogether before he hit the ground, after Velasquez clipped him with a left and hammered him with a right. Strikes to the back of the head being illegal is one of the least clearly defined, hard to enforce and altogether counterproductive to realistic sport fighting rules that exists in MMA, besides. At the least, fighters should not be allowed to hide behind the rule while laying prone, face down.
Yamasaki did his job and protected Silva from taking more damage by stopping the bout after it was clear Antonio could not move himself out of danger but before the brave fighter was beaten senseless.
Grant vs. Maynard Goes On Too Long
The referee officiating TJ Grant and Gray Maynard’s lightweight contender’s bout can’t say he did the same. Grant dropped Maynard with flush punches and knees to the chin multiple times and delivered more clean punishment to a defenseless Maynard while on the ground before the referee stepped in all too late and called a halt to the bout.
Maynard was out of the fight from the first nasty jaw shot that he took and did nothing to avoid or mount his own offense during many, many shots afterwards from Grant. It all happened quickly but when a fighter does nothing but fall over and over again, he’s been done for awhile and the referee should have recognized this earlier than he did.
The “stakes” of a fight, whether it is a number one contender’s fight like Maynard’s and Grants, or a title bout, shouldn’t matter when it comes to deciding how long a fighter should be allowed to take a beating.
“Pezao” absolutely earned the title shot he received Saturday night – he has a list of victims that include two former UFC heavyweight champions, former long-time pound for pound kingpin Fedor Emelianenko and, most recently, Alistair Overeem – but Velasquez once more proved that the combination of his quickness, relentless pace and striking power are very hard to beat. In the post fight press conference, Silva objected to the stoppage by referee Mario Yamasaki, saying it was premature and that he allowed Velasquez to hit him to the back of the head illegally.
“I do agree the fight was stopped too early,” the Brazilian said.
“It’s clear watching it that I took several illegal blows to the back of my neck.”
It was also clear that Silva was out of the fight altogether before he hit the ground, after Velasquez clipped him with a left and hammered him with a right. Strikes to the back of the head being illegal is one of the least clearly defined, hard to enforce and altogether counterproductive to realistic sport fighting rules that exists in MMA, besides. At the least, fighters should not be allowed to hide behind the rule while laying prone, face down.
Yamasaki did his job and protected Silva from taking more damage by stopping the bout after it was clear Antonio could not move himself out of danger but before the brave fighter was beaten senseless.
Grant vs. Maynard Goes On Too Long
The referee officiating TJ Grant and Gray Maynard’s lightweight contender’s bout can’t say he did the same. Grant dropped Maynard with flush punches and knees to the chin multiple times and delivered more clean punishment to a defenseless Maynard while on the ground before the referee stepped in all too late and called a halt to the bout.
Maynard was out of the fight from the first nasty jaw shot that he took and did nothing to avoid or mount his own offense during many, many shots afterwards from Grant. It all happened quickly but when a fighter does nothing but fall over and over again, he’s been done for awhile and the referee should have recognized this earlier than he did.
The “stakes” of a fight, whether it is a number one contender’s fight like Maynard’s and Grants, or a title bout, shouldn’t matter when it comes to deciding how long a fighter should be allowed to take a beating. Many of these guys and girls are too brave, too well trained to stop moving, even if only flailing, even when their brains have already been shut down by strikes.
They need corners and ref who understand in the moment far better than they themselves do when they are done. Reffing is a hard job – one that I’m not qualified to do – but it needs to be said that Maynard took too much damage for too long last night.
The Tyson Effect
None of that is a poor reflection on either fighter’s performance. Grant has come out of nowhere to make a great case for himself as the most dangerous challenger to Benson Henderson’s lightweight title reign. Grant proved that he could hang with the best at welterweight (including number one contender Johny Hendricks) before dropping down to lightweight. Now, he’s got five fight win streak and just finished the perennial #1 lightweight contender in Maynard, and he’s even got Mike Tyson’s stamp of approval.
After last night’s event, UFC President Dana White told the media that he was set to give Junior Dos Santos the KO of the night bonus but Mike Tyson, who was UFC 160’s guest of honor, it seemed, told him that it should go to Grant. White went with “Iron Mike” and Grant is $50,000 less poor now.
White also said that Grant may get to fight for Henderson’s belt as early as August in Boston at the first Fox Sports 1 card. With his size and power, he may be the man to push Henderson to the limit.
Dos Santos Prevails Over K-1 Level Striking
Two-time heavyweight champion Velasquez now has his first successful title defense out of the way and looks towards a rubber match with Junior Dos Santos. “Cigano” earned another shot at the belt he once took from Cain by knocking Mark Hunt out in the UFC 160 co-main event.
Early in the first round, television analyst Joe Rogan remarked at how Hunt’s striking abilities were on a whole other level compared to Dos Santos. Moments later, Dos Santos sent the former K-1 World Grand Prix kickboxing champion careening to the canvas, face-first with an over hand right.
The moment, and much of the rest of the fight – Hunt survived until the third round when a spinning heel kick from JDS floored him and a right hand taken to the jaw while on his back knocked him out – demonstrated once more what a bad idea basing MMA match up assessments on resumes in different fight sports instead of using actual analysis of skills, tendencies and mechanics can be.
There was no particular reason to believe that Hunt was a “better” striker than Dos Santos, leading into their fight simply because he was a former kickboxing champion anymore than there was reason to assume that JDS was the “better athlete” because he has a six pack. I would argue that Hunt’s success as a fighter, and striker in particular, are not due to being far more slick and technical than his opponents, but rather to his incredible athletic gifts and mental toughness.
Anyone with eyes and a memory knows that Hunt doesn’t knock people out with technical combinations. He throws one strike at a time but when you pack the natural power he does, one strike at a time can be enough. Hunt doesn’t avoid getting knocked out by using great head movement or tight footwork – he simply absorbs ungodly amounts of punishment without going down, giving his power shots a chance to do their magic.
The former UFC champ took advantage of predictable technical mistakes that Hunt always makes, not in wrestling or ground work, but in the stand-up striking department.
Hunt often shoulder rolls and turns his head away with his lead hand down to avoid punches. His sense of distance and durable block head allowed him to do this without devastating consequences until last night. Dos Santos continually hammered away at Hunt’s exposed jaw and back of the head with the punch that won him the UFC heavyweight belt – his over hand right. All of Hunt’s big punches, even those that landed, left him out of position to follow up.
The best strikers are not the ones in boxing rings, where referees break fighters up if they grab one another. The best strikers are not in kickboxing rings, where they can kick without fear of being taken down and put on their backs.
The best strikers are in the Octagon – where more realistic fighting takes place. The value of a punch, kick, knee or elbow isn’t in it’s prettiness – fighting isn’t a Wu Shu Kung Fu forms demonstration or Capoeira dance – it is in its efficacy. The guys that manage to land strikes on opponents who are not only also striking, but trying to take them down, choke them out or tear a limb a up, are the ones I want to learn from.
Hunt’s rise through the MMA ranks has been amazing, considering all this. He began fighting the very best MMA fighters nearly a decade ago with virtually no other skills other than his limited kickboxing ones yet managed to win early and often.
After his career took a downturn and the UFC bought his employer, Pride, they offered to let the New Zealander cash out and walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars without having to fight any longer. He rejected the offer, saying he wanted to fight for his money.
He proved everyone wrong by beating some of the best heavyweights in the world and coming one fight away from a shot at the title. Heck, he came within a breath a number of times against Dos Santos.
There is no objective reason why some of the leaping left hooks that Hunt hit Dos Santos with flush on the jaw, shouldn’t have knocked out the former champion. They didn’t, but that is no fault of Hunt.
He came in and fought as advertised – violently, effectively and with valor. After the fight the rest of the world discovered that Hunt suffered a nausea-inducing toe break in his right foot in the first round. Yet, he fought on and went out on his shield like the soldier he is.
Dos Santos and Hunt earned fight of the night honors for their brutal clash. They earned it. Hunt has also more than earned that Pride money that he insisted on fighting for instead of being given.
“Mini-IceMan” Lives Up To The Hype
Glover Teixeira nabbed his 19th consecutive win and submission of the night honors with a first round guillotine choke win over James Te Huna. The Chuck Liddell protégé is one well-rounded light heavyweight and even if he falls into the same category as every other 205 pound contender out there (not having much of a chance against champion Jon Jones) Glover has already done something nearly as difficult as beating “Bones” – living up his pre-UFC hype.
Glover had a ton of expectations placed on him when he entered the UFC a year ago. Others, like Hector Lombard, have had similar pushes and not been able to justify them in the Octagon.
Teixeira, however, has taken the light heavyweight division by storm, winning four times in a year, including multiple finishes and a win over former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Who knows how far he can go but Glover has already accomplished a lot.
If we weren’t supposed to be talking about Fallon Fox until her next fight took place, then today the unofficial ban has been lifted. Last night, Fox defeated then 2-1 fighter Allana Jones by way of modified north-south choke at CFA 11. Fox improved her record to 3-0 with the victory, and will now fight Ashlee Evans-Smith for the CFA featherweight tournament championship.
Other than that, there really isn’t much to see here. Believe it or not, a bout between two inexperienced minor-leaguers that was bumped to co-main event status due to the transgender status of one of the participants didn’t produce a memorable scrap.
The video of the fight and commentary are available after the jump.
Video after the jump.
If we weren’t supposed to be talking about Fallon Fox until her next fight took place, then today the unofficial ban has been lifted. Last night, Fox defeated then 2-1 fighter Allana Jones by way of modified north-south choke at CFA 11. Fox improved her record to 3-0 with the victory, and will now fight Ashlee Evans-Smith for the CFA featherweight tournament championship.
Other than that, there really isn’t much to see here. Believe it or not, a bout between two inexperienced minor-leaguers that was bumped to co-main event status due to the transgender status of one of the participants didn’t produce a memorable scrap.
The video of the fight and commentary are available after the jump.
– If Allana Jones was a significant step up in competition for Fallon Fox, then I can only imagine how hapless the first two cans she fought were. Jones can take a punch – and opted to take many throughout the fight – but has little else to work with at this point in her career. Make no mistake, just because you can be a professional fighter doesn’t mean that you should be.
– After watching Fallon Fox fight, it’s impossible to disagree with Peggy Morgan when she wrote that Fox “definitely didn’t display the sort of technical mastery she claims to possess.” While Fox – a jiu-jitsu purple belt – looked comfortable on the ground, her stand-up left a lot to be desired. From constantly leaving her chin up and hands down to the lack of head movement she displayed, her striking needs a lot of work.
– Whether or not Fox holds a competitive advantage over the women she is competing against is still open for debate, but it’s safe to officially kill the idea that Fox is at a disadvantage competing against women for the two, maybe three people who actually believed it. If Allana Jones looked timid throughout the fight, it was out of respect for Fox’s strength. And yes, I’m well aware that this entire paragraph may be one of the most “No shit, Sherlock” moments in CagePotato.com’s history.
– Did anybody tell the referee that he’s supposed to be watching for eye pokes? I counted three that went completely ignored.
– Speaking of which, the fans booed Fox in the first round when she attacked Jones after Jones appeared to be poked in the eye. While there is absolutely nothing cheap about continuing to fight when the referee doesn’t stop the fight (also known as that thing you’re supposed to be doing in the first place), Fox goes on to throw a punch at Jones in the second round when Jones tries to touch gloves with her. Not exactly a great way to earn fans when there are already whispers that you’re kind of an asshole.
– Heading into the bout, Fox felt that a victory would put her “only four or five fights away from the UFC.” No comment.
Based solely on her skills and opponents, should we go back to not talking about Fallon Fox after her fight against Ashlee Evans-Smith? Let us know how you feel. Keep it civil.
You know, in a world where even female fighters are valued for their sex appeal as much as their actual abilities, you’d think that an undefeated sexpot like Rin Nakai would be getting a lot more press. The similarities between Nakai and current UFC women’s champion Ronda Rousey are astounding, yet their career trajectories as of late could not be more different. Undefeated bantamweight submission specialists? Check. Willing to fall back on their sex appeal to promote a fight? Check and…uh…check, I guess. Showed up to their last weigh-in wearing bunny-themed lingerie, complete with ears and a thong? Point Nakai.
Anyway, join us after the jump to check out a video of Nakai rocking an outfit straight out of Final Fantasy or some shit and strangling Brenda Gonzales at Pancrase 247 over the weekend.
You know, in a world where even female fighters are valued for their sex appeal as much as their actual abilities, you’d think that an undefeated sexpot like Rin Nakai would be getting a lot more press. The similarities between Nakai and current UFC women’s champion Ronda Rousey are astounding, yet their career trajectories as of late could not be more different. Undefeated bantamweight submission specialists? Check. Willing to fall back on their sex appeal to promote a fight? Check and…uh…check, I guess. Showed up to their last weigh-in wearing bunny-themed lingerie, complete with ears and a thong? Point Nakai.
Anyway, join us after the jump to check out a video of Nakai rocking an outfit straight out of Final Fantasy or some shit and strangling Brenda Gonzales at Pancrase 247 over the weekend.
As was the likely the case with her date at her senior prom, things started off slowly and with much trepidation for Nakai yesterday, with absolutely zero exchanges of note coming in the first 3 or so minutes of her fight. But if Auditiontaught us anything about the Japanese people, it’s that they appreciate suspense — a good “slow burn” if you will — followed by brief interludes of violence that will scar you for life. Also, people bags. They seem to enjoy keeping people in bags as well.
Although Nakai wasn’t able to bag and tag her opponent in the traditional Japanese fashion, she was able to nearly put Gonzales in a body bag (I AM A WORDSMITH) with a particularly impressive slam at the 9:55 mark, which was followed shortly thereafter by the fight ending rear-naked choke. And a goddamn vicious rear-naked choke at that. All I gotta say is book this woman against Miesha Tate next and you sure as hell won’t hear any stories about Bryan Caraway trying to cheap shot her backstage.
Not to continue comparing Nakai to Rousey (That’s a lie. I love it.), but Rin also appears to have a fetish for elbow dislocations and managed to mangle Gonzales’ without even once attempting an armbar. So…your move, Ronda. Bunny suit or GTFO.
Aside from a genuine, non-ironic “talk to the hand” that I had no idea people still said, that was all that Vitor Belfort had to say to reporters during the post-fight press conference last night about the elephant in the room. And frankly, I’m not going to add much else about it, either. You couldn’t talk to many fans – or even the fighters involved – about this fight without engaging in a lengthy discussion about drug usage. Naturally, Belfort winning the fight only intensified these discussions, as though there should be an asterisk next to the W on his record.
I won’t write that Belfort’s chemical wizardry is completely meaningless in a fight; if it was, he wouldn’t bother with it. But attributing the absolutely brilliant spinning kick that ended this fight – and made a strong case for Knockout of the Year for this year’s Potato Awards – to a loaded syringe is just as laughably misinformed. Belfort was Rockhold’s first true test, and The Phenom simply proved to be too much for him.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
“Can somebody beat him up for me, please?”
Aside from a genuine, non-ironic “talk to the hand” that I had no idea people still said, that was all that Vitor Belfort had to say to reporters during the post-fight press conference last night about the elephant in the room. And frankly, I’m not going to add much else about it, either. You couldn’t talk to many fans – or even the fighters involved – about this fight without engaging in a lengthy discussion about drug usage. Naturally, Belfort winning the fight only intensified these discussions, as though there should be an asterisk next to the W on his record.
I won’t write that Belfort’s chemical wizardry is completely meaningless in a fight; if it was, he wouldn’t bother with it. But attributing the absolutely brilliant spinning kick that ended this fight – and made a strong case for Knockout of the Year for this year’s Potato Awards – to a loaded syringe is just as laughably misinformed. Belfort was Rockhold’s first true test, and The Phenom simply proved to be too much for him.
Still, I wouldn’t be as optimistic about the idea of Belfort taking on the winner of Silva vs. Weidman as some people are being. Does Belfort deserve to fight the winner? Absolutely. But there’s a reason the UFC danced around the issue during the post-fight press conference, and yes, that reason is related to the same elephant in the room that overshadowed this fight. I’ll put it this way: If Silva wins, hosting a rematch against Belfort in Brazil makes sense. If Weidman wins? Not so much, and hosting Weidman vs. Belfort in the United States is playing with fire, as far as NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer is concerned.
Elsewhere on the card…
– The co-main event pitted former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza against last-minute replacement Chris Camozzi. Most of us dismissed this fight as little more than a bump in the road for Jacare, and most of us were correct in doing so.
Okay, that might be a little too harsh. Camozzi deserves a ton of credit for even accepting this fight on short notice, let alone for putting up the fight that he did. But Jacare is just that much better than Camozzi, and without much time to prepare, Camozzi was little more than a slightly-resistant grappling dummy. It’s a thrill to watch Jacare’s ground game, and hopefully we’ll get to see him test it against the deep end of the division soon.
– Here goes nothing: Did I think Dunham won? Yes. But did he get “ROBBED!!!!” in an unforgivably biased decision? No. This fight wasn’t under Stockton Rules – the blood on the face of dos Anjos shouldn’t affect your opinion on who won the fight. I personally think dos Anjos won round one, Dunham won round two, and the third round – although I gave it to Dunham – could have gone either way. It wasn’t a robbery, it was a very close fight that arguably deserved Fight of the Night honors. There’s a big difference between the two.
– Rafael Natal defeated Joao Zeferino. Zerefino was completely spent by the second round, and Natal couldn’t have given less of a fuck while in the cage with him. Not in the fun “I’m going to throw a bunch of spinning stuff because whatever you can’t stop me” way, but in the “Mir vs. Cro Cop: someone has to win, I guess” way. Move along people, there’s nothing to see here.
– I’m willing to bet that you didn’t watch the Fight of the Night winning scrap between Lucas Martins and Jeremy Larsen that kicked off the Facebook preliminaries. That’s a shame, because you missed a great fight. This wasn’t a technical masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it was a downright brawl that saw Larsen control the first two rounds before walking into a devastating punch from Martins just thirteen seconds into the final round. It sucks to lose like that, but the $50,000 both fighters took home probably numbs the pain a bit.
– Submission of the Night went to Jacare, and Knockout of the Night went to Belfort. All bonuses were worth $50,000.
Full Results:
Main Card:
Vitor Belfort def. Luke Rockhold via KO (spinning heel kick and punches), 2:32 of Round One
Ronaldo Souza def. Chris Camozzi via technical submission (arm triangle choke), 3:37 of Round One
Rafael dos Anjos def. Evan Dunham via Unanimous Decision
Rafael Natal def. Joao Zeferino via Unanimous Decision
Preliminary card:
Nik Lentz def. Hacran Dias via Unanimous Decision
Francisco Trinaldo def. Mike Rio via submission (arm triangle choke), 3:08 of Round One
Gleison Tibau def. John Cholish via submission (guillotine choke), 2:34 of Round Two
Paulo Thiago def. Michel Prazeres via Unanimous Decision
Yuri Alcantara def. Iliarde Santos via TKO (punches), 2:31 of Round One
Fabio Maldonado def. Roger Hollett Unanimous Decision
John Lineker def. Azamat Gashimov via TKO (punches), 1:07 of Round Two
Jussier Formiga def. Chris Cariaso via Unanimous Decision
Lucas Martins def. Jeremy Larsen via KO (punch), 0:13 of Round Three
From prologue to epilogue, It’s Time! My 360° View of the UFC is a highly entertaining story of BSC: Balls, Skill, and Confidence. From his early childhood in Pennsylvania to his global fame as “The Veteran Voice of the Octagon,” Bruce Buffer‘s success is a direct result of those three things. Without that braggadocious trifecta, I can’t imagine we’d enjoy the same high-octane fighter introductions we do now. Between the hardback covers, you’re treated to an inside look at how Buffer was first introduced to the UFC, what happened when he realized he had a long, lost half-brother who turned out to be famed boxing announcer Michael Buffer, and the brawls that happened outside of the Octagon.
Most fight fans will pick up a copy of this book for one of two reasons, either because they’re a huge Bruce Buffer fan, or they have a particular fondness for any and all backstage dirt and behind-the-scenes access they can get, such as the time Bruce threatened to “beat the living hell” out of a fan. (That’s on page 183, by the way.) If you happen to fit into both categories, boy are you in luck. Buffer’s storytelling style, combined with the fact that you can’t help but read every word in his famous voice, is reminiscent of throwing back a few cold ones with an old friend as you catch up on the highlights of life since you last saw one another.
Of the two dozen chapters, five are dedicated to fighters, one to UFC President Dana White, and one to all the girls he’s loved before. The rest of the autobiography covers his family, early career, what it’s like to be the VVotO™ in general. While I can appreciate Buffer’s desire to communicate his deep love for his family and close friends, I was more excited to hear about the infamous brawl involving Tito Ortiz and Lee Murray and what it was like to find kickboxer Pat Smith “on his knees, tearing up and making sounds like a wounded banshee” after being cold-cocked upon exiting the elevator by one of Tank Abbott’s goons cornermen.
(Why there’s no Hallmark card-esque recording of Buffer shouting his trademarked catchphrase when you open the front cover is beyond me.)
From prologue to epilogue, It’s Time! My 360° View of the UFC is a highly entertaining story of BSC: Balls, Skill, and Confidence. From his early childhood in Pennsylvania to his global fame as “The Veteran Voice of the Octagon,” Bruce Buffer‘s success is a direct result of those three things. Without that braggadocious trifecta, I can’t imagine we’d enjoy the same high-octane fighter introductions we do now. Between the hardback covers, you’re treated to an inside look at how Buffer was first introduced to the UFC, what happened when he realized he had a long, lost half-brother who turned out to be famed boxing announcer Michael Buffer, and the brawls that happened outside of the Octagon.
Most fight fans will pick up a copy of this book for one of two reasons, either because they’re a huge Bruce Buffer fan, or they have a particular fondness for any and all backstage dirt and behind-the-scenes access they can get, such as the time Bruce threatened to “beat the living hell” out of a fan. (That’s on page 183, by the way.) If you happen to fit into both categories, boy are you in luck. Buffer’s storytelling style, combined with the fact that you can’t help but read every word in his famous voice, is reminiscent of throwing back a few cold ones with an old friend as you catch up on the highlights of life since you last saw one another.
Of the two dozen chapters, five are dedicated to fighters, one to UFC President Dana White, and one to all the girls he’s loved before. The rest of the autobiography covers his family, early career, what it’s like to be the VVotO™ in general. While I can appreciate Buffer’s desire to communicate his deep love for his family and close friends, I was more excited to hear about the infamous brawl involving Tito Ortiz and Lee Murray and what it was like to find kickboxer Pat Smith “on his knees, tearing up and making sounds like a wounded banshee” after being cold-cocked upon exiting the elevator by one of Tank Abbott’s goons cornermen.
Surprisingly, I found myself scared for Buffer during the section discussing his knee injury. Even as a regular listener of his radio show It’s Time with Bruce Buffer, I never actually realized just how serious it was. Somewhere near the middle of the book, Buffer talks about Dana White and the Fertitta brothers revamping the UFC from top to bottom after they purchased it in 2001, including the entrance ramp. If the knee surgery didn’t go as well as it did, they might have had to re-install it so Burt Watson could roll Buffer to the cage in a wheelchair.
If I’m going to shower praises upon It’s Time!, I’m also going to drop the hammer when necessary. On page 164, Buffer mistakenly writes that Anderson Silva fought Chael Sonnen at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. This is false. The middleweight champion did fight at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, but it was against Demian Maia, not the gangster from West Linn. That fight took place at UFC 117 in Oakland California, but whatever — if you watched Silva vs. Maia live, you’d try to forget it too.
Even after this book enters the championship rounds, you’re still hooked. You keep reading because you’re genuinely enthralled with this man’s story. He’s lived the life most can only dream of. Movie references abound as one ballsy, skillful, confident man retells how he took life by the horns and chased his dream as passionately as any man ever could. To break up the sometimes serious tone, Buffer has tossed in a handful of “Bufferisms” like “Big cheers and no fears forever,” followed by a brief explanation on what it means and how to apply it to your life. But the part your Cracked addicted mind will enjoy the most are his top ten lists like 10 Tips for Surviving a Street Fight and 10 Ways to Bring Class Back to Fighting. God knows we can never have enough lists.
