Last night’s Bellator middleweight title fight between ever-twirling Russian Alexander Shlemenko and hard-sluggin’ Brazilian Maiquel Falcao didn’t disappoint. After an evenly-pitched first round that featured both men making statements with their striking — and Falcao mixing in a couple takedowns — Shlemenko focused his attacks on the body in round 2, hurting Falcao with a liver punch then dropping him with a short right hand. Shlemenko fired down a few more body shots from above before KO’ing Falcao with a precision head-shot. Shlemenko earns the vacant middleweight title in impressive fashion, and will now take a break until the Season 8 middleweight tournament produces his first challenger.
Also on the Bellator 88 card, the featherweight tournament quarterfinals were highlighted by returning contender Mike Richman, who scored his third knockout under the Bellator banner with a head-kick-and-punches stoppage of Mitch Jackson — pretty much the same thing he did to Jeremy Spoon last October, only this time with Dan Miragliotta doing his lovable late-stoppage thing. You can watch the Richman/Jackson KO after the jump, along with five more stoppages from the event. Full results are below.
Main Card
– Alexander Shlemenko def. Maiquel Falcao via KO, 2:18 of round 2
– Marlon Sandro def. Akop Stepanyan via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27) – Stepanyan was docked a point in round 2 for fence-grabbing
– Mike Richman def. Mitch Jackson via TKO (head-kick and punches), 4:57 of round 1
– Alexandre Bezerra def. Genair Da Silva via submission (armbar), 1:40 of round 1
Preliminary Card
– Frodo Khasbulaev def. Fabricio Guerreiro via submission (arm triangle), 1:15 of round 2
– George Hickman def. Stephen Upchurch via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:19 of round 1
– Clay Harvison def. Ururahy Rodrigues via KO, 3:34 of round 3
– Ronnie Rogers def. Shane Crenshaw via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
– Joe Elmore def. Jerrid Burke via KO, 4:11 of round 2
(The Shlemenko vs. Falcao stoppage)
Last night’s Bellator middleweight title fight between ever-twirling Russian Alexander Shlemenko and hard-sluggin’ Brazilian Maiquel Falcao didn’t disappoint. After an evenly-pitched first round that featured both men making statements with their striking — and Falcao mixing in a couple takedowns — Shlemenko focused his attacks on the body in round 2, hurting Falcao with a liver punch then dropping him with a short right hand. Shlemenko fired down a few more body shots from above before KO’ing Falcao with a precision head-shot. Shlemenko earns the vacant middleweight title in impressive fashion, and will now take a break until the Season 8 middleweight tournament produces his first challenger.
Also on the Bellator 88 card, the featherweight tournament quarterfinals were highlighted by returning contender Mike Richman, who scored his third knockout under the Bellator banner with a head-kick-and-punches stoppage of Mitch Jackson — pretty much the same thing he did to Jeremy Spoon last October, only this time with Dan Miragliotta doing his lovable late-stoppage thing. You can watch the Richman/Jackson KO after the jump, along with five more stoppages from the event. Full results are below.
Main Card
– Alexander Shlemenko def. Maiquel Falcao via KO, 2:18 of round 2
– Marlon Sandro def. Akop Stepanyan via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27) – Stepanyan was docked a point in round 2 for fence-grabbing
– Mike Richman def. Mitch Jackson via TKO (head-kick and punches), 4:57 of round 1
– Alexandre Bezerra def. Genair Da Silva via submission (armbar), 1:40 of round 1
Preliminary Card
– Frodo Khasbulaev def. Fabricio Guerreiro via submission (arm triangle), 1:15 of round 2
– George Hickman def. Stephen Upchurch via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:19 of round 1
– Clay Harvison def. Ururahy Rodrigues via KO, 3:34 of round 3
– Ronnie Rogers def. Shane Crenshaw via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
– Joe Elmore def. Jerrid Burke via KO, 4:11 of round 2
(“I’LL ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME, JAY, WHO TATTOOED THIS AFFLICTION SHIRT TO YOUR BACK?!”)
If the first month is any indication, 2013 is going to be a good year for MMA. There hasn’t been a significant injury in weeks (sorry Patricky), title fights are almost starting to make sense, and on top of it all, the UFC’s primetime ratings are slowly beginning their climb out of the abyss. Throw in the fact that Bruce Buffer’s upcoming autobiography is all but a shoe-in for a Pulitzer and we are left with little to complain about. It feels…good.
So before we jinx ourselves, let’s get to the great news regarding the preliminary portion of UFC 156, which was able to pull in record numbers during its run on FX last Saturday despite the fact that it featured several debuting fighters and not a lot of name power. As MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer reports:
Saturday’s UFC 156 prelims drew 1,897,000 viewers, topping the previous UFC on FX record of 1,860,000 viewers set two weeks earlier for the Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping card from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The number was a huge increase from the prelims on FX on Jan. 26 before the FOX network special from Chicago’s United Center which did 1,208,000 viewers.
The largest previous audience on FX for prelims before a big show came on July 7 when theUFC 148 prelims did 1.8 million viewers. But that was to be expected, since there was more interest in UFC on that day with the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen middleweight title rematch than any day over the past two years.
After almost ten minutes of research, we have determined that there are only two real explanations for the UFC’s sudden viewership jump:
(“I’LL ASK YOU ONE MORE TIME, JAY, WHO TATTOOED THIS AFFLICTION SHIRT TO YOUR BACK?!”)
If the first month is any indication, 2013 is going to be a good year for MMA. There hasn’t been a significant injury in weeks (sorry Patricky), title fights are almost starting to make sense, and on top of it all, the UFC’s primetime ratings are slowly beginning their climb out of the abyss. Throw in the fact that Bruce Buffer’s upcoming autobiography is all but a shoe-in for a Pulitzer and we are left with little to complain about. It feels…good.
So before we jinx ourselves, let’s get to the great news regarding the preliminary portion of UFC 156, which was able to pull in record numbers during its run on FX last Saturday despite the fact that it featured several debuting fighters and not a lot of name power. As MMAFighting’s Dave Meltzer reports:
Saturday’s UFC 156 prelims drew 1,897,000 viewers, topping the previous UFC on FX record of 1,860,000 viewers set two weeks earlier for the Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping card from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The number was a huge increase from the prelims on FX on Jan. 26 before the FOX network special from Chicago’s United Center which did 1,208,000 viewers.
The largest previous audience on FX for prelims before a big show came on July 7 when theUFC 148 prelims did 1.8 million viewers. But that was to be expected, since there was more interest in UFC on that day with the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen middleweight title rematch than any day over the past two years.
After almost ten minutes of research, we have determined that there are only two real explanations for the UFC’s sudden viewership jump:
1) Americans were riding the violence-fueled high that only the anticipation of the Super Bowl can bring.
2) Jacob Volkmann‘s cult of survivalist troglodytes has gained a far greater following than we previously thought possible. This is probably the correct answer.
Unfortunately, not all is well in the land of UFC ratings…
Granted, these numbers aren’t even in the same ballpark as the shameful lows last season brought, but it kind of makes you wonder how an episode that received so much more publicity failed to stir up the same amount of interest. Any ideas as to this drop in ratings, Taters?
(Hey, you can’t blame Vitor for following in the footsteps of his lord and savior.)
File this one under “News that absolutely no one should be surprised about.”
We knew something had to be up from the moment Vitor Belfort gave his incoherent, rambling, Animal Farm-esque response when questioned about whether or not he had hopped on the TRT bandwagon currently sweeping through MMA. Either Belfort just really, really feared being ostracized from his future bridge group at the UFC retirement home — the Ultimate Fusspot CareCenter — or he was simply feeding the interviewer whatever thoughts he could string together whilst trying to find the nearest exit. And now that the drug test results for UFC on FX 7have come back, the UFC would like you to know that Belfort was definitely doing the latter.
Earlier today, UFC officials confirmed that Belfort did in fact receive a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy in the weeks leading up to his main event bout against Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7. But fret not, for his post-fight test “did not indicate the presence of any prohibited substance for increasing performance improvement.” Thank de Jesus for that.
(Hey, you can’t blame Vitor for following in the footsteps of his lord and savior.)
File this one under “News that absolutely no one should be surprised about.”
We knew something had to be up from the moment Vitor Belfort gave his incoherent, rambling, Animal Farm-esque response when questioned about whether or not he had hopped on the TRT bandwagon currently sweeping through MMA. Either Belfort just really, really feared being ostracized from his future bridge group at the UFC retirement home — the Ultimate Fusspot CareCenter — or he was simply feeding the interviewer whatever thoughts he could string together whilst trying to find the nearest exit. And now that the drug test results for UFC on FX 7have come back, the UFC would like you to know that Belfort was definitely doing the latter.
Earlier today, UFC officials confirmed that Belfort did in fact receive a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy in the weeks leading up to his main event bout against Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7. But fret not, for his post-fight test “did not indicate the presence of any prohibited substance for increasing performance improvement.” Thank de Jesus for that.
Belfort, who tested positive for 4-Hydroxytestosterone in the aftermath of his unanimous decision loss to Dan Henderson at PRIDE 32, was fingered as suspect #1 when it was first announced that someone had pissed dirty at UFC on FX 7. And while that dishonor that later went to Thiago Tavares, you can expect a snide response from “The Count” to hit the web at any moment in light of this news. Honestly, we wouldn’t blame the guy. Bisping’s last three losses have now come to fighters who all but publicly endorse the stuff, and for once we could see where he’s coming from should he decide to respond. I know, I threw up when I typed that too.
Look, we’ve covered pretty much every angle of the TRT debate around here and we don’t mean to retread old ground, but Keith Kizer truly hit the nail on the head when he said TRT was being likened to “the new Viagra” by MMA fighters and athletes everywhere. And while fighters like Forrest Grffin, Frank Mir, and countless others have been quick to declare their sudden need for the treatment, we haven’t exactly jumped on board yet, if only because the information regarding the rules and regulations of TRT usage in MMA is scant at best.
We hate to sound old fashioned, but it’s these kind of exploited loopholes that make us yearn for the days when a beer-bellied Chuck Liddell would knock out any fool on the block without once complaining that his old man balls needed a boost to get him in fighting mode. Anyone else share this nostalgia?
(Don’t worry, it’s the guy on the bottom. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)
Relax, Potato Nation, we can all rest assured knowing that Vitor Belfort did in fact beat the colon cannonballs out of Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 without needing a banned substance to do so (Author’s note: Not that we would judge him if he did. Because when you judge someone, it sounds like you are a God. And we live in a freedom country, where you are either a Republican or a Democrat. Who is right?). And while that’s all well and good, one of the tests from the event did come back positive, as Dana White had mentioned earlier this week.
According to Brazilian news outlet Tatame, the fighter who pissed dirty at UFC on FX 7 was…Thiago Tavares:
After many rumors, the results of doping tests UFC Sao Paulo left [Note: Fucking Google translate, I tell you]. According to TATAME, the name of the athlete caught is Thiago Tavares. Our sources, however, need not know the substance used for light weight. His suspension will be nine months.
Yep, the guy we last saw eating Khabib Nurmagomedov’s elbows like they were acarajes is the one who got popped for what we can only assume is some kind of steroid. It kind of makes sense when you realize that Tavares regularly drops 20 pounds in between fights to fulfill his double life as salsa artist Marc Anthony.
(Don’t worry, it’s the guy on the bottom. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)
Relax, Potato Nation, we can all rest assured knowing that Vitor Belfort did in fact beat the colon cannonballs out of Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 without needing a banned substance to do so (Author’s note: Not that we would judge him if he did. Because when you judge someone, it sounds like you are a God. And we live in a freedom country, where you are either a Republican or a Democrat. Who is right?). And while that’s all well and good, one of the tests from the event did come back positive, as Dana White had mentioned earlier this week.
According to Brazilian news outlet Tatame, the fighter who pissed dirty at UFC on FX 7 was…Thiago Tavares:
After many rumors, the results of doping tests UFC Sao Paulo left [Note: Fucking Google translate, I tell you]. According to TATAME, the name of the athlete caught is Thiago Tavares. Our sources, however, need not know the substance used for light weight. His suspension will be nine months.
Yep, the guy we last saw eating Khabib Nurmagomedov’s elbows like they were acarajes is the one who got popped for what we can only assume is some kind of steroid. It kind of makes sense when you realize that Tavares regularly drops 20 pounds in between fights to fulfill his double life as salsa artist Marc Anthony. Thankfully, his karmatic punishment was delivered in the swiftest fashion possible via 27 unanswered shots to the dome. Big Dan DOES NOT allow that kind of insolence in his octagon.
The five year UFC veteran has yet to comment on his positive test, but feel free to start speculating what his excuse will be in the comments section. Personally, I’m going to go with the old “tainted supplements” defense, which seems to be the popular rebuttal amongst Brazilians. It’s all the acai berries if you ask me. Those damn stanozolol drostanalone-filled acai berries.
[UPDATE]
According to MMAJunkie, the mystery substance Tavares tested positive for was drostanalone, the weight-cutting steroid of choice for such MMA fighters as King Mo Lawal and Hermes Franca. Chalk up another entry in the CagePotato Steroid Bust Timeline.
(Rashad’s best days as a fighter may be behind him, but the man has mastered the art of walking away from fictional explosions.)
Despite what the title implies (or outright states, whatever), I don’t honestly think that Rashad Evans is making more than he is worth at this point in his UFC career. The man is a TUF winner, a former champion, and a relatively marketable draw who consistently resides in the upper-echelon of the division. That being said, when I came across the salary figures for UFC 156 and noticed that Evans had walked away from his unanimous decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira with an event high 300K, that was the first thought that entered my mind. I apologize for deceiving you and will see myself out.
But before I go, I’ll say this: The figures for UFC 156 were pretty standard, with everyone not named Chico Camus and oddly enough Ian McCall clearing five figures. I guess it’s hard to consider “Uncle Creepy” a UFC bust when the poor bastard’s making less than the average TUF alum to fight.
The full list of salaries is after the jump, along with our whimsical analysis, so check them out and let us know what you think in the comments section. Per usual, these numbers are void of any locker room bonuses, PPV cuts, training expenses, licensing fees, etc.
(Rashad’s best days as a fighter may be behind him, but the man has mastered the art of walking away from fictional explosions.)
Despite what the title implies (or outright states, whatever), I don’t honestly think that Rashad Evans is making more than he is worth at this point in his UFC career. The man is a TUF winner, a former champion, and a relatively marketable draw who consistently resides in the upper-echelon of the division. That being said, when I came across the salary figures for UFC 156 and noticed that Evans had walked away from his unanimous decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira with an event high 300K, that was the first thought that entered my mind. I apologize for deceiving you and will see myself out.
But before I go, I’ll say this: The figures for UFC 156 were pretty standard, with everyone not named Chico Camus and oddly enough Ian McCall clearing five figures. I guess it’s hard to consider “Uncle Creepy” a UFC bust when the poor bastard’s making less than the average TUF alum to fight.
The full list of salaries is after the jump, along with our whimsical analysis, so check them out and let us know what you think in the comments section. Per usual, these numbers are void of any locker room bonuses, PPV cuts, training expenses, licensing fees, etc.
Overpaid: Overeem…more like OVER-GREEN, AMIRIGHT?! Seriously though, I’ve got one foot out the door.
I can’t really say that anyone on this list deserves the “overpaid” label (however, the Blackzilians might want to consider lowering their gym fees), although I sure hope Ben Henderson was able to get some of that Frankie Edgar money when he inked a new eight fight deal last month. Dude has been making less than 40K to show until now, and I need to complain about something here to satisfy my blogger-mandated quota. I’d also like to congratulate Tyron Woodley for pulling in damn near 50K to show despite nearly being decapitated in his last fight. Throw in his first exciting finish in over two years and it was a pretty good night for “The Chosen One,” which is apparently his nickname now.
Underpaid: What can I say about Ian McCall that everyone isn’t already thinking? On one hand, “Uncle Creepy” is 0-2-1 since entering the UFC, but at just 9K to show, how much can you really expect from the guy? Hard times, indeed. Speaking of hard times, let’s talk about Jay Hieron. Poor, poor Jay Hieron. “The Thoroughbred” netted just 12K to join the ranks of Tiki Ghosn and Seth Petruzelli on our list of the worst fighters in UFC history. If it’s any consolation prize, he’s probably the best fighter of that particular subcategory. Probably.
Wow. We all knew that the fallout from Randy Couture’s deal with Bellator would be swift and harsh, but if Dana White’s words during the UFC 156 post-fight media scrum were any indication, the UFC HOFer might find himself SOL (Author’s note: I get paid by the acrostic) when his son makes his promotional debut as well.
But before we get into that, lets talk about what went down during the UFC 156 post-fight press conference first (video above). Following his parlay-destroying victory over Alistair Overeem earlier in the evening, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was not afraid to add insult to injury when questioned on his strategy heading into the third round, stating almost matter-of-factly that Overeem lacked heart:
I work a lot in the gym and I had a good strategy, because we know Overeem [doesn’t] have good cardio and no heart. When he punches, he’s a lion, but when [you] punch him, he’s a cat, you know?
That’s right, Antonio freaking Silva just used the power of metaphor in English to call Ubereem a pussy. Might I direct you to this Scanners gif?
For obvious reasons, Dana White remained noncommittal to the idea of a Silva/Velasquez rematch, but simply stated that he “wouldn’t be opposed to that.” While it’s a decent idea in theory considering Silva’s most recent win, putting a guy who got taken down by Overeem on multiple occasions against the best wrestler in the division — one who practically killed Silva when they first fought, by the way — does not exactly scream “necessary matchup.” Then again, crazier things have happened in heavyweight rematches.
Now, let’s move on to Dana White pretty much banishing Randy Couture from all future UFC events…
Wow. We all knew that the fallout from Randy Couture’s deal with Bellator would be swift and harsh, but if Dana White’s words during the UFC 156 post-fight media scrum were any indication, the UFC HOFer might find himself SOL (Author’s note: I get paid by the acrostic) when his son makes his promotional debut as well.
But before we get into that, lets talk about what went down during the UFC 156 post-fight press conference first (video above). Following his parlay-destroying victory over Alistair Overeem earlier in the evening, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was not afraid to add insult to injury when questioned on his strategy heading into the third round, stating almost matter-of-factly that Overeem lacked heart:
I work a lot in the gym and I had a good strategy, because we know Overeem [doesn’t] have good cardio and no heart. When he punches, he’s a lion, but when [you] punch him, he’s a cat, you know?
That’s right, Antonio freaking Silva just used the power of metaphor in English to call Ubereem a pussy. Might I direct you to this Scanners gif?
For obvious reasons, Dana White remained noncommittal to the idea of a Silva/Velasquez rematch, but simply stated that he “wouldn’t be opposed to that.” While it’s a decent idea in theory considering Silva’s most recent win, putting a guy who got taken down by Overeem on multiple occasions against the best wrestler in the division — one who practically killed Silva when they first fought, by the way — does not exactly scream “necessary matchup.” Then again, crazier things have happened in heavyweight rematches.
Now, let’s move on to Dana White pretty much banishing Randy Couture from all future UFC events…
To be fair, Dana White was forced to wade through a shitty selection of topics in the post-fight scrum — everything from Vitor Belfort’s positive test rumor to Stephan Bonnar’s totally positive UFC 153 test was covered — but to see the look that comes across DW’s face when he’s asked about Randy Couture at the 8:43 mark is downright hilarious. You can literally see the gears of war turning in The Baldfather’s head, as if he’s trying to express all his pent up rage and frustration by forming a completely new curse word (Cuntangular-pumpionfucker!), before calming down and declaring that Couture “is only a man when he steps into the octagon.” And if Dana White isn’t completely bullshitting the details of Couture’s signing with Bellator (and that’s an Emmanuel Yarborough-sized “if”), then it seems our beloved Captain America is a little more like Two-Face than we’d like to imagine. I’m not great with superhero puns.
However, it wasn’t until the subject of Randy’s son, Strikeforce veteran Ryan Couture, came up that things really got interesting (emphasis mine):
Interviewer: So how might this affect Ryan’s future?
Dana: So (sighs)…the day after I talked to you guys, I called Ryan Couture and I said ‘Ryan, let me put it to you this way, this is probably the weirdest conversation you’re ever going to have. [Author’s note: Oh God, I know how this ends.] You signed a deal with us in the UFC. I want you to be here. But I need you to understand this: me and your dad are not good, me and your dad are never going to be good, ever, ever again, as long as I walk this fucking planet.‘
[Randy’s] not cornering him. Randy Couture can’t buy a ticket to this motherfucking event. So I said, ‘He’s not going to be around and I just want to be upfront with you’…and he said to me, ‘Every kid who’s ever strapped on a pair of gloves is dreaming about fighting in the UFC, and if they say they’re not than they’re either lying or stupid.’ He said, ‘This is my dream. I want to fight with you guys.’
We’re not exactly sure which “motherfucking event” White was talking about, but there you have it: the most literal case of “out with the old, in with the new” that MMA has ever witnessed. No pressure, Ryan.
