Lightweight veteran Yves Edwards announced his retirement last night, after a career that spanned 17 years, 66 fights, and 21 appearances in the UFC. Edwards also competed for PRIDE, Strikeforce, Bellator, King of the Cage, MFC, Shooto — pretty much every promotion that mattered in the last two decades. Here’s what the “ThugJitsu Master” had to say on Facebook yesterday:
I’ve thought about how to say this for a week now, but there’s no better way than to just do it. So here goes; 1st I’d like to say thank you to all the people that I’ve met through and because of fighting, friends, training partners, coaches, fight fans, doctors and even some promoters/matchmakers. A lot of you guys have always shown me nothing but love and I really appreciate that.
Fighting has been a part of my life ever since I was 17 and that makes this a hard pill to swallow but it’s time for me to end this chapter and move on to the next part of my life. So thank you again to all the people that have supported me through this, whether it was through cheers, training, coaching or anything else at all.
The 38-year-old retires with a professional MMA record of 42-22-1 with one no-contest. Honor his work by watching some classic Yves Edwards videos after the jump…
Lightweight MMA veteran Yves Edwards announced his retirement last night, after a career that spanned 17 years, 66 fights, and 21 appearances in the UFC. Edwards also competed for PRIDE, Strikeforce, Bellator, King of the Cage, MFC, Shooto — pretty much every promotion that mattered in the last two decades. Here’s what the “ThugJitsu Master” had to say on Facebook yesterday:
I’ve thought about how to say this for a week now, but there’s no better way than to just do it. So here goes; 1st I’d like to say thank you to all the people that I’ve met through and because of fighting, friends, training partners, coaches, fight fans, doctors and even some promoters/matchmakers. A lot of you guys have always shown me nothing but love and I really appreciate that.
Fighting has been a part of my life ever since I was 17 and that makes this a hard pill to swallow but it’s time for me to end this chapter and move on to the next part of my life. So thank you again to all the people that have supported me through this, whether it was through cheers, training, coaching or anything else at all.
The 38-year-old retires with a professional MMA record of 42-22-1 with one no-contest. Honor his work by watching some classic Yves Edwards videos after the jump…
(Yves Edwards finishes three opponents in a row, in a gymnasium back in 1998. He chokes out the first two, then scores a leg-kick TKO over the third guy, who’s maybe a little too tough for his own good.)
(The potato chip faceoff with Cody McKenzie, before UFC: Fight for the Troops 2…)
(…and the finish of their wild fight.)
(“I Am a Fighter” promo from Showtime.)
(Another old-school battle: Yves Edwards vs. Tim Horton at World Shoot Wrestling in Pasadena, Texas, 6/12/98.)
MMA mans might want to tune into Bobby Green’s showdown with Edson Barboza this Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 57, because it may be the last time Green steps inside the Octagon. Posting on his Facebook page (h/t to Bloody Elbow, r/mma), the surging lightweight contender hinted he might be walking away from the sport. “This might be my last fight […]
MMA mans might want to tune into Bobby Green’s showdown with Edson Barboza this Saturday night at UFC Fight Night 57, because it may be the last time Green steps inside the Octagon. Posting on his Facebook page (h/t to Bloody Elbow, r/mma), the surging lightweight contender hinted he might be walking away from the sport. “This might be my last fight […]
It would be hard to name a fighter who has had a more difficult path to the UFC than Bobby Green. A foster kid who traveled between some 50 homes until the age of 20 in California’s notoriously rough Inland Empire, Green has beared witness to the absolute worst that humanity can offer. Even worse is the fact tha despite all his efforts and his recent success in the UFC, he still can’t seem to escape his troubled past.
Last May, Green lost his younger brother, Mitchell Davis Jr. (23), in a gang-related shooting. In the aftermath, a hit was allegedly put out on Green himself. Then in September, Green’s older brother was shot in a non gang-related incident. Thankfully, he survived. That Green was able to not only fight 4 times over the span of these tragedies, but win all 4 contests, speaks a lot to his character, as well as how far he could really go in this sport.
But it’s hard to account for the mental toll the past year in particular has taken on Green, and unfortunately, it looks like we could possibly be seeing the end of “King” in the octagon come this weekend. In a Facebook post last night, Green lamented that he was “tired” and considering retirement following his Fight Night 57 co-main event scrap with Edson Barboza this weekend.
“Think this might be my last fight thinking about retirement,” Green wrote.
(Photo via Getty.)
It would be hard to name a fighter who has had a more difficult path to the UFC than Bobby Green. A foster kid who traveled between some 50 homes until the age of 20 in California’s notoriously rough Inland Empire, Green has beared witness to the absolute worst that humanity can offer. Even worse is the fact tha despite all his efforts and his recent success in the UFC, he still can’t seem to escape his troubled past.
Last May, Green lost his younger brother, Mitchell Davis Jr. (23), in a gang-related shooting. In the aftermath, a hit was allegedly put out on Green himself. Then in September, Green’s older brother was shot in a non gang-related incident. Thankfully, he survived. That Green was able to not only fight 4 times over the span of these tragedies, but win all 4 contests, speaks a lot to his character, as well as how far he could really go in this sport.
But it’s hard to account for the mental toll the past year in particular has taken on Green, and unfortunately, it looks like we could possibly be seeing the end of “King” in the octagon come this weekend. In a Facebook post last night, Green lamented that he was “tired” and considering retirement following his Fight Night 57 co-main event scrap with Edson Barboza this weekend.
“Think this might be my last fight thinking about retirement,” Green wrote.
While his performance this weekend will undoubtedly play a big part in his decision, let’s all just remain hopeful by placing as much emphasis on “thinking” as possible. I mean, Mirko Cro Cop said he was “worn out” and considering retirement after his UFC 103 loss to Junior Dos Santos, and 5 years later, that old SOB is still swingin’ for the fences.
And not to turn this into a slight against the UFC, but I’m just sayin’, if Uncle Lorenzo can afford to turn welfare rat Conor McGregor into Irish Scarface in a little over a year, why can’t he afford to move Green and his family halfway across the country and maybe take out a few gangbangers in the process?
Remember Martin Kampmann, Potato Chips (that’s what we call our fans now).
Seeing as he hasn’t fought in over a year, we kind of almost forgot he existed.
If you’re struggling to remember, Kampmann hasn’t fought since a 2013 TKO loss to Carlos Condit. Before that, he was knocked out by Johny Hendricks at UFC 154 in 2012.
Despite the inactivity and two-fight losing streak, Kampmann isn’t done (yet). He told MMA Fighting the following…
Remember Martin Kampmann, Potato Chips (that’s what we call our readers now).
Seeing as he hasn’t fought in over a year, we kind of almost forgot he existed.
If you’re struggling to remember, Kampmann hasn’t fought since a 2013 TKO loss to Carlos Condit. Before that, he was knocked out by Johny Hendricks at UFC 154 in 2012.
Despite the inactivity and two-fight losing streak, Kampmann isn’t done (yet). He told MMA Fighting the following (emphasis added):
I’m still signed with the UFC, but I’m on an indefinite hiatus. I’m semi-retired, you might say. I’m taking a break and focusing on coaching, stuff like that. I’m still signed with the UFC, I still have a contract with the UFC, but I just don’t have any fights lined up and I don’t plan on having any fights lined up in the future, either. I’m focusing on coaching right now. I still love fighting so I’ll never say never, but I can’t see myself fighting anytime in the future right now. I’ve had my share of concussions and it’s not always fun. I took some fights where I shouldn’t have taken them, but I pushed through it and that was a mistake in retrospect. Can’t change that now, but now I’m trying to watch out for my health better than I’ve done in the past.
Someone might want to let Kampmann know the bolded parts of his speech are pretty much the definition of retiring from MMA.
But for real, good for Kampmann. He’s prioritizing his health–which more fighters should do–and he’s got a great coaching gig over at Team Alpha Male. We wish him the best.
Earlier this week, a report surfaced out of Montreal that former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was spotted in a restaurant with UFC president Dana White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta. At this point, no one is saying what the meeting was about. Maybe it was just one rich dude and two wealthy dudes sitting down for a lunch of Venison Haunch and Saucisson or Suckling Pig Rack and Flank (offered on the restaurant’s lunch menu at $36 and $42 respectively), or maybe it was a meeting to gauge St-Pierre’s interest in a return to the Octagon.
My sincere hope, for both the UFC and St-Pierre is that it was the former, not the latter. However, if the conversation was about a St-Pierre return to the UFC, I would advise both sides to stop right now because it will not help either in the long run.
Let’s start with why St-Pierre — in the immortal words of Burgess Meredith as Mickey in Rocky — should, “Down, down, stay down.”
When St-Pierre decided to step away from the UFC after defeating Johny Hendricks in November 2013 he was one of the most popular fighters in the UFC. Well, at least until the moment that he told Joe Rogan he was stepping away from the sport for a bit. Once UFC president Dana White heard those words, White went into full meltdown mode.
In the post-fight press conference, White said of St-Pierre, “You owe it to the fans, you owe it to that belt, you owe it to this company, and you owe it to Johny Hendricks to give him that opportunity to fight again, unless you’re gonna retire…There’s no ‘Hey listen I’m gonna go on a cruise and be gone for two years.’”
It was an impassioned speech; too bad none of it happened to be true. St-Pierre, a man that made the UFC millions of dollars didn’t (and doesn’t) owe anyone anything. White’s public reaction to his cash cow walking away was ugly, nasty and served as a reminder of how quickly he is willing to throw a fighter under the bus, even if that fighter is recognized as one of the greatest combatants ever to set foot in the Octagon.
Earlier this week, a report surfaced out of Montreal that former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was spotted in a restaurant with UFC president Dana White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta. At this point, no one is saying what the meeting was about. Maybe it was just one rich dude and two wealthy dudes sitting down for a lunch of Venison Haunch and Saucisson or Suckling Pig Rack and Flank (offered on the restaurant’s lunch menu at $36 and $42 respectively), or maybe it was a meeting to gauge St-Pierre’s interest in a return to the Octagon.
My sincere hope, for both the UFC and St-Pierre is that it was the former, not the latter. However, if the conversation was about a St-Pierre return to the UFC, I would advise both sides to stop right now because it will not help either in the long run.
Let’s start with why St-Pierre — in the immortal words of Burgess Meredith as Mickey in Rocky — should, “Down, down, stay down.”
When St-Pierre decided to step away from the UFC after defeating Johny Hendricks in November 2013 he was one of the most popular fighters in the UFC. Well, at least until the moment that he told Joe Rogan he was stepping away from the sport for a bit. Once UFC president Dana White heard those words, White went into full meltdown mode.
In the post-fight press conference, White said of St-Pierre, “You owe it to the fans, you owe it to that belt, you owe it to this company, and you owe it to Johny Hendricks to give him that opportunity to fight again, unless you’re gonna retire…There’s no ‘Hey listen I’m gonna go on a cruise and be gone for two years.’”
It was an impassioned speech; too bad none of it happened to be true. St-Pierre, a man that made the UFC millions of dollars didn’t (and doesn’t) owe anyone anything. White’s public reaction to his cash cow walking away was ugly, nasty and served as a reminder of how quickly he is willing to throw a fighter under the bus, even if that fighter is recognized as one of the greatest combatants ever to set foot in the Octagon.
More recently, White further downplayed St-Pierre’s contributions to the UFC’s coffers. In a moment of hyperbole that no one was buying (except for maybe White and the man he was talking about), White made the audacious and wholly untrue claim that Conor McGregor was bigger than both Georges St-Pierre and Brock Lesnar. That’s right, White is claiming that a man who has headlined exactly zero UFC PPV’s and fought on exactly two UFC main cards is bigger than the two biggest PPV draws in the history of the UFC.
When St-Pierre was sitting down with White and Fertitta and looking into their smiling faces, I hope he remembered both of these incidents because they serve to point out the fact that St-Pierre is nothing more than a commodity to the UFC, a commodity it needs to boost its sagging PPV buy rate.
Another related reason that St-Pierre should stay out of the game is his legacy. He left the sport as one of the top five (or better) fighters of all time. If he comes back and loses, not only will his legacy be tarnished, but it’s entirely feasible that the UFC would use that loss to further step on what St-Pierre has contributed to the promotion. The UFC machine would undoubtedly use a victory over St-Pierre as the launching point of a media campaign for whatever fighter defeated the mid-30’s version of St-Pierre.
Plus, St-Pierre doesn’t need to fight. He’s made his millions; he’s appearing in movies, he has sponsorship deals. He’s doing exactly what (almost) every professional fighter dreams of doing: making money without getting punched in the head by the likes of Johny Hendricks or Nick Diaz.
Barring any late onset Michael Jordanitis (defined as the need to always be in the spotlight no matter how much one’s skills have deteriorated), St-Pierre should quietly allow his time away to morph into full retirement.
Now onto the UFC.
It’s understandable that the promotion would want St-Pierre to return to the fold, after all, when he walked away the average number of PPV buys for a St-Pierre headlined card hovered in the 700,000 range.
You want to know how many UFC PPV’s have come close to that number since St-Pierre announced his break? That number is one, and that event (which eclipsed the one million PPV sales mark) was headlined by the rematch between former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman at UFC 168. In fact, in 2014, only one PPV event has broken the 500,000 buy barrier (UFC 175).
Yes, a St-Pierre return would boost the UFC’s bottom line, but it will only do so temporarily. The man is 33-years old now, and even if he does return, how long will he fight for the UFC? Not long, because if you know anything about St-Pierre, you know he’s not going to step into the Octagon as a “remember when he was great?” type of athlete. So, while the promotion would get a temporary reprieve from its PPV buys being in the doldrums, when St-Pierre steps away for good they will most likely be right back where they are today.
Instead of hoping for a St-Pierre return, the UFC should take this time to try and build on their current roster. They need to push Chris Weidman, Cain Velasquez, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, Jose Aldo, and the rest of the UFC title holders. They need to get those fighters the mainstream coverage that will help bring in PPV buys and Fight Pass subscriptions from the casually interested fans. They need to look to the future, not the past. And if that means going all in on someone like Conor McGregor, yes, do that too, but do it with some decorum if possible.
The UFC will surely see a boost to its PPV buys in January when Anderson Silva returns to the Octagon to face Nick Diaz at UFC 183, but again, that also qualifies as looking into the past, as both of those fighters are proven commodities with limited time left in the game.
Sports teams enter rebuilding phases all the time. Now is the time for the UFC to do the same, and Georges, next time you meet with the UFC, at least let them take you to a multi-course dinner.
What made it worse–or better depending on your perspective–is that Silva trashed the UFC in his 13-minute retirement video (which, by the way, he says “isn’t a goodbye,” for whatever that’s worth).
Here are some of his most poignant lines:
Wanderlei Silva has retired after a storied career in mixed martial arts dating back to 1996.
Unfortunately, this organization took away my desire to fight. I can’t do this anymore. With a heavy heart, I come here today to declare I am stepping down from the ring. After today, Wanderlei Silva will not fight again. My career is over because I don’t have a stage to perform where the athletes get the proper respect.
Fair enough. Let’s see what else he said:
They told me I had to fight on that date [at UFC 175] and offered me a bunch of money. They would pay me extra to fight on that date. So I asked myself, if they had the money, why didn’t they offer it to me before? They always hold on to the money, so they always underpay the athletes. But they do have the money. I said, ‘Sorry, but I won’t take this money because I won’t be in a condition to perform the way my fans expect of me.’ We had another meeting after that and they kept pressuring me. I said I could only fight at the end of the year. They opened their eyes wide: ‘Only at the end of the year?’ I was not in the physical condition to fight on the July card.
Then Silva went on a bit of a tangent. He cited the UFC’s treatment of Renan Barao at UFC 177 (read: not paying him a cent) as yet another reason he was upset. He said the UFC over-worked Barao and made him train every day for six months due to the way he was booked. He said they “bashed and mocked” Barao once his body collapsed after all the training. He also took issue with the fact that Dana White and “the media” allegedly called Barao a “kid” (which he’s right to complain about; it annoys the shit out of us too). Here’s some more of his rant:
This makes me angry and makes me look at the sport in a different way. They are taking away my desire to fight. I don’t feel like fighting anymore when I hear these statements. … That’s the minimum a fighter deserves. If you’re not going to give them money, you should at least give them respect. The few fighters who have a name are forced to fight all year long, because they want to make 50 events a year.
Furthermore, he charged the UFC of “wearing down the athletes” and that there was a terrible binary in the UFC: Accept every fight the UFC gives you, even if you’re hurt, or you’re “worthless” to the company. He said the UFC is making “rivers of money” while only giving “crumbs” to the athletes.
So, yeah. He’s definitely on Dana White’s shit-list now.
Silva makes some good points in his rant, but it’s all just a veneer. He ran from a drug test, and now he’s trying to run from any form of punishment. And burying the UFC during the video, while understandable, just seems like a cheap way to retire on some kind of non-existent moral high ground.
“I’m not retiring because of drug test reasons. I’m retiring because the UFC is EVIL!”
It’s unfortunate to see one of the greats go out like that. It’s even more unfortunate that the UFC will likely respond with erasing Silva from MMA history.
Silva retires with a 35-12-1 (1) record. Hopefully his legacy as one of MMA’s most aggressive and exciting fighters (as opposed to merely athletes) will survive the further ugliness that’s sure to come.
But even if it doesn’t, look on the bright side: When all of Silva’s fights are deleted from Fight Pass, you can still watch him wreck people in IVC.
