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CagePotato PSA: If This Is the End, Then Let It Come

Greetings, Nation.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed by the absolute lack of content we’ve posted in the past couple of weeks, things have taken a sharp downturn behind the scenes here at CagePotato. I won’t bother you with the grimy details, but suffice it to say, it looks like our lowbrow, profanity-laced shenanigans may finally be coming to an end, all but confirming what many of you predicted would happen some 7 years ago when Old Dad left.

The thought of being the person who finally takes CP behind the proverbial woodshed is a surreal one for a number of reasons, the biggest being the long, crazy way in which I came to be a member of the CagePotato crew in the first place…

The post CagePotato PSA: If This Is the End, Then Let It Come appeared first on Cagepotato.

By Jared Jones

Greetings, Nation.

I first stumbled upon CagePotato just a few months after it had been launched back in 2007. I was a high school senior at the time and had been following the sport for a good 4 years by then, occassionally getting my rounds in at a local gym crammed into the basement of a children’s dance studio in Upstate New York, and was looking for a website that would both keep me informed on the daily goings-on of MMA and do so in a way that was a little more entertaining than the haiku-length, glorified press releases offered by most of the outlets covering the sport at the time (no offense, you guys).

Thanks to articles like “Ben vs. Ben,” offbeat listicles like “Top Ten Japanese Freak Show Fights That Were Actually Good,” the regular “Fight of the Day” pieces, and of course, the Hot Potato galleries, I instantly fell in love with CagePotato’s uncompromising style of what could be loosely defined as “reporting.” In a time where MMA was just beginning its second life and in need of all the positive press it could get, here you had a website that was not only willing to call out the sport’s many hypocrisies, but tangle with the boss and any fighter who annoyed/pissed them off, really, in the pursuit of making you laugh and mayyybe teaching you a thing or two. It may not have been the most “professional” or “journalistically integritous” route of doing things, but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t a joy to read.

But aside from the articles themselves, CagePotato also had a comments section that was every bit as vile and despicable (you know, in a good way) as the loonies running the asylum — a community full of abrasive, trollish, yet occassionally like-minded characters like fatbellyfrank, FriedTaco, Armfarmer, cecils_pupils, Viva Hate, and of course, CAPSLOCKHAL, with personalities as unique as their names might suggest. I signed up for an account almost instantly — DangadaDang, named after the iconic war chants oft bellowed by the greatest UFC champion/street fight sensei of all time — and spent the next 4 years engaging in flame wars, invoking Godwin’s law, and winning the occasional “Comments of the Week” contest along the way (though I could never really take an interest in the forums).

After college, I quickly realized that a career building foundations and repairing septic tanks with my father’s construction company, though admirable, was simply not meant for me. “No, making dick and fart jokes about a sport that roughly 2% of the country has even heard of is a more stable, HONEST way to make a living,” I said to myself in the first in a series of self-destructive decisions that would plague my young adult life for years to come. And so, I sent an email to Ben Goldstein inquiring if CagePotato happened to be in need of new, completely underqualified writers, or knew of someone who was.

Ben responded to my email within the day, as generous, truly thoughtful guys of his ilk are wont to do, and graciously offered to publish the very first thing I had ever written for public consumption. People seemed to like it alright, so I continued sending in my nuance-free taeks on the sport and silently plotting for the day in which I would rise to power by taking out one of CP’s staff writers in a Showgirls-style “accident.” That moment came when fellow commenter-turned-staffer Doug Richardson (aka ReX13) chose to step away from CagePotato (I believe his reasoning was “to spend more time with his family” or some other such nonsense), forcing Ben to call upon the only other now-at-least-half-qualified guy in his arsenal to take his place. It was an incredible moment for me, being brought on as a member of the website that I had been a daily consumer of since its inception…and the first in a series of self-destructive decisions that would plague both Ben’s young adult life and the life of this website for years to come.

The first year or so here was difficult — watching the same commenters you once joked alongside relentlessly critique and trash everything you hold dear, while not a unique experience to anyone who has worked in online media, is never an easy thing to deal with — but I eventually found something resembling an audience and even got our resident pornstar, Carmen Valentina, to tolerate me. In a website run by Old Dads and New Dads, I’d like to think that I served as a Drunk Cousin of sorts, stepping into the impossible-to-fill shoes of Ben Fowlkes, then ReX, then BG, and attempting to rekindle the magic that made CagePotato such a distinct and fun place to begin with.

While I may have never penned a magnum opus on the level of BG’s “The 50 Worst Fighters in UFC History” or his and Saccaro’s “95 Theses of MMA,” I did once preview a Fight Night event using dog gifs that I thought turned out pretty funny, create the CagePotato Roundtable, and start a conspiracy about the Nate Diaz/Ben Henderson fight that BG once called “a piece of insanity that there aren’t enough scannersheadexplode.gifs in the world to do justice to” (in an email that I framed and hung in my office almost immediately thereafter). Between that and the time I attempted to translate the philosophical musings of James Toney into the King’s English, delivered one of the most unnecessarily cruel, 1 paragraph takedowns of Ken Shamrock ever committed to paper (or screen), and combined the worlds of MMA and reality cooking competitions into a 10-to-1 bit of fanfic, I’d like to think that I contributed at least some good to this site. Getting the chance to speak with the likes of Josh Burkman, Danny Castillo and Felice Herrig and endure an absolute dumpster fire of an interview with Rampage Jackson (though admittedly, it could have gone much, much worse) was just a bonus, I guess.

I’ll spare you all a written history of CagePotato, which I think BG did a pretty stellar job of in his own farewell piece, but if this truly is the end of CagePotato — which all signs seem to be indicating is the case — there are a few people I’d like to thank:

First, obviously, is Ben Goldstein: My employer, my mentor, and truly one of the most laid back, generous, and understanding people that I have ever met (via Skype). Beyond all that he’s done for me by bringing me onboard the CagePotato staff (as well as the Screen Junkies, HolyTaco, and Escapist crews), Ben was an integral part of why I became obsessed with this sport in the first place. As hyperbolic as it might sound, he created something with this site that will forever hold a place in the sport’s history (CP neva die!!), and one that also served as a jumping-off point for some of its most talented writers over the years. I wish things could have ended, so, so much differently, Ben, and I hope that we can actually meet face-to-face one day and get that band off the ground.

Next, I’d like to thank my parents, Ron and Karen Jones, for supporting my wishes to pursue a career that they didn’t have the slightest understanding of at first, and doing whatever they could to help ensure that I succeeded (or at least stayed busy) from there on out. After six years spent covering a sport that caters almost exclusively to skinheads and homosexuals, I think I’m finally ready to admit that I probably should’ve become an engineer like you said. I love you both so, so much.

Doug “ReX” Richardson, the man who not only stepped aside to give me a shot in the big time, but continuously supported me as I was getting my sea legs in one of the most vicious online communities this side of 4chan.

Seth Falvo, easily the person I contributed with most in my time here, and someone I’d follow into the fiery pits of Hell if he promised to ship me a bottle of booze 6 months after the fact for doing so. You’re a good man, Seth, and an even greater bartender (or so I’m told).

Matt Saccaro, a modern day philosophizer, the human manifestation of white man’s guilt, and the mastermind behind the greatest tweets in CagePotato history. I never got to know you all that well in your time here and I’m not sure if we’ll ever truly see eye-to-eye on anything, but there’s no denying the unique perspective that you brought to CP. Never choose the path of the wicked, friendo.

Mike Russell, who came and went with such vigor that I barely got time to thank him for all he did for this site. I hope all is well with you up in the Great White North, MRuss.

Elias Cepeda, one of the first guys I was given the privilege of editing here at CagePotato and one of the only guys with both the brains write about this sport and the balls to actually participate in it. You’ve obviously gone on to better things by now, but I wish you the best of luck all the same.

Jason Moles, Perhaps the only member of the CP crew who actually went out on his terms. His MMA Stock Market pieces were always the best event aftermaths out there.

Nathan Smith, The 12 oz Curls. Possibly the most eager and passionate contributor we’ve ever had. I really wish we could’ve given you a more expanded role here at CP, but in a different life, maybe.

Ben Fowlkes and Chad Dundas: You guys may not know me, like, at all, but you’ve had more of an influence on me as a (hack MMA/film/comedy) writer than you could ever know — I still watch Fowlkes’ Christmas message whenever I’m in need of a laugh. That you even stuck your neck out and supported our disastrous Patreon campaign just goes to show how far CP will forever be ingrained into your DNA, no matter how much you try to deny it while working at far more “respectable” and “still operating” publications now. (Oh, and buy Chad’s book, you guys.)

To Asaph Bitner, Nasir Jabbar, David Golden and all the guys who contributed to this site in our darkest hour asking nothing in return, to all the MMA writers out there keeping the damn thing alive — Zane Simon, Connor Ruebusch, Marc Raimondi, Luke Thomas, Jonathan Snowden, Chuck Mindenhall, Mookie Alexander, Stephie Haynes, the list goes on — and to any and all of you Taters who stuck with this site until the very end, thank you. This has been one of the most fulfilling, depressing, profound, incredible, messed up, and unforgettable times of my life.

If you’re still looking to keep up with us out there on the Interwebs, continue to follow both CagePotato and myself on Twitter and keep an eye out for my stuff over at Uproxx MMA. Thanks again, Nation.

The post CagePotato PSA: If This Is the End, Then Let It Come appeared first on Cagepotato.

Kimbo Slice Dead At 42. World Definitively Less Awesome. Sadness Reigns Supreme.

(Father. Fighter. Undercover cowboy. Legend. via Getty.)

There are a dozen or more ways I could describe my feelings as I write this post, but I think “heartbroken” says it best. Kimbo Slice is dead, and I’m honest-to-God heartbroken to be delivering this news to you.

It may sound overly dramatic considering how tangential of a connection we shared with the guy, but to hear that the street fighting legend has passed away at just 42 years of age and just three months after his last appearance in the cage is so sudden, so bewildering, that it seems to hit with a greater weight than many of the unfortunate deaths we’ve reported on over the years.

Details after the jump.

The post Kimbo Slice Dead At 42. World Definitively Less Awesome. Sadness Reigns Supreme. appeared first on Cagepotato.

(Father. Fighter. Undercover cowboy. Legend. via Getty.)

Details after the jump.

Of course, a huge part of my sadness can be attributed to the content of Kevin Ferguson’s character. To many, he may have looked like your run-of-the-mill street thug (which is understandable, given how he made his name in the first place), but beneath that glorious beard and do-rag was a kind and genuine human being with a surprisingly perceptive head on his shoulders. Ferguson was a family man, a humble man — someone who truly captured the American dream that we so often find ourselves chasing. He started with nothing and carved his own path to success, becoming one of the most recognizable and universally beloved figures in the sport despite having less actual training in it than 90% of his peers. How do you sum up a person like that?

Bellator President Scott Coker attempted to do as much last night via an official statement released through Bellator, which you can read below.

We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family.

One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.

Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man. His loss leaves us all with extremely heavy hearts, and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Ferguson family and all of Kimbo’s friends, fans, and teammates.

No official cause of death has been listed as of this write-up, but some reports seem to indicate that Slice suffered a heart attack late last night and was unable to be revived after being rushed to a Florida hospital. He is survived by his six children and his fiance, Antionette Ray.

R.I.P Kimbo. You taught us that tapping was for bitches, so here’s hoping that you’re tapping bitches in heaven now.

The post Kimbo Slice Dead At 42. World Definitively Less Awesome. Sadness Reigns Supreme. appeared first on Cagepotato.

Urijah Faber on Fighting Scott Jorgensen: ‘Rip the Band-Aid off vs. Peel It Off

Urijah Faber had less than a week to celebrate being the first fighter to submit Ivan Menjivar in over 11 years—with his rear naked choke victory at UFC 157—before deciding to agree to terms for his next fight. It was one he looked at with some trepidation before ultimately deciding to go forward with it. […]

Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine Aftermath — The Awkward Goodbyes

I’ll be completely honest: I didn’t watch Strikeforce’s farewell card live last night. I recorded it, and watched it when I was done watching football. Am I just that dedicated of a 49ers/Packers fan? Not quite; last night was the first time I watched either team play all season. Rather, my mentality was that I haven’t been changing my schedule to accommodate Strikeforce events for the past two years now [Author Note: Damn, was the buyout really two years ago already? Time flies when you’re watching something die.], so why start now for the promotion’s ~~grand~~ finale.

Reading through the collection of Strikeforce tributes online, it’s obvious that I’m not the only one feeling this way. Articles and tweets about the demise of Strikeforce have been respectful, but not overly-sentimental, and the comments sections of various liveblogs covering the event didn’t exactly blow up for the occasion. There were none of the regrets, what-nows and what-could-have-beens that usually come along with failed business ventures – just a few awkward goodbyes as Zuffa prepared to pull the plug on the machine that no longer served any purpose.

And honestly, why would anyone other than Strikeforce’s employees, fighters and Scott Coker feel any differently? The death of Strikeforce doesn’t mark the end of a promotion that has been pumping out relevant fights for the past two years. It isn’t the death of an alternative option for fighters not wanting to sign with Zuffa. It isn’t the even the end of free MMA on basic cable.

I guess it would be different if this card was stacked with the fighters who made Strikeforce Strikeforce, such as Cung Le, Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, Ronda Rousey, Gilbert Melendez and Luke Rockhold, but they’ve either been assimilated into the UFC by now or they’ve pulled out of the event due to injury/apathy. Instead, this card served as one final night of squash fights – one of which actually ended differently than you may have expected.

So let’s talk about the upset on the main card. Tarec Saffiedine shocked us all not simply by defeating Nate Marquardt, but rather, by how easily he managed to do so. Saffiedine made effective usage of his crisp striking by absolutely battering Nate the Great throughout the bout, peppering Marquardt with leg kicks until his leg resembled Junior Dos Santos’ face. Saffiedine felt he needed to win in order to get an offer from the UFC, and it showed in his effort. Saffiedine’s conditioning, game plan and overall performance was far more convincing than Marquardt’s output last night, plain and simple.

And for those of you preparing for MMA Jeopardy, yes, Tarec Saffiedine is officially the final welterweight champion in Strikeforce history.

As for the rest of the card, there isn’t much to honestly say. We knew Cormier was going destroy what’s his name, and he did. Cormier may have been too ambitious with his callouts of both Frank Mir and Jon Jones after the fight, but if he gets past Frank Mir, I know I’m not the only person who is curious to see how he would do at 205. The fact that Josh Barnett was sick throughout fight week, yet still utterly dominated the big, scary-looking Nandor Guelmino was a testament to both Barnett’s skills and the lopsided nature of this matchup. Don’t get too excited about seeing Barnett back in the UFC though; it doesn’t sound like he’s in a rush to sign back on. Gegard Mousasi choked Mike Kyle into retirement in a little over four minutes, while Jacare Souza kicked off the night by locking UFC-loaned jobber Ed Herman in a kimura in just three minutes and ten seconds.

It wasn’t exactly the most glamorous way for Strikeforce to have gone out – and it certainly wasn’t the preferable way – but Strikeforce went out on the highest possible low note. The fights may have been squash matches of little significance, but damn it, they were at least fun to watch, so that has to count for something. Fun fights that don’t really matter in the long run – if that’s not Zuffa-owned Strikeforce in a nutshell, then what is?

Farewell, Strikeforce. You did what you could with what you had to work with, for the few people who still cared in the end. Now, back to business as usual.

Full Results

Main Card:

Tarec Saffiedine def. Nate Marquardt via unanimous decision
Daniel Cormier def. Dion Staring via TKO (punches), 4:02 of Round Two
Josh Barnett def. Nandor Guelmino via submission (arm-triangle), 2:11 of Round One
Gegard Mousasi def. Mike Kyle via submission (rear-naked choke), 4:09 of Round One
Ronaldo Souza def. Ed Herman via submission (Kimura), 3:10 of Round One

Preliminary Card:

Pat Healy def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision
Roger Gracie def. Anthony Smith via submission (arm-triangle), 3:16 of Round Two
Tim Kennedy def. Trevor Smith via sumission (guillotine), 1:36 of Round Three
Ryan Couture def. K.J. Noons via split decision
Adriano Martins def. Jorge Gurgel vie unanimous decision
Estevan Payan def. Mike Bravo via TKO (strikes), 4:01 in Round Two

@SethFalvo

Boxing Legend Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho Dies at 50 Years Old

Camacho (white trunks) famously knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard in 1997. Leonard retired after the fight.

Puerto Rican boxing champion Hector “Macho” Camacho, famous for his aggressive style and flamboyant behavior in and out of the ring, was declared dead earlier today in San Juan, four days after he and his friend were shot in a parked car in the city of Bayamon. Hector Camacho, who was taken off of life support earlier this morning, died of a heart attack shortly afterwards, according to Dr. Ernesto Torres of the Centro Médico trauma center. His friend, Adrian Mojica Moreno, died immediately.

Details regarding the shooting are still being kept quiet. However, police have confirmed that Mojica had nine bags of cocaine on him when he was shot and that a tenth bag was found open in the car. No arrests have been made, and according to police spokesman Alex Diaz, neither man was expecting the attack.

Inside the ring, ‘Macho’ Camacho was one of the greatest to lace up the gloves. After winning three Golden Gloves titles as an amateur, he turned pro and quickly became a contender due to his aggressive, albeit cocky style of fighting. With Don King promoting him, Camacho would go on to win his first world title, the WBC Super Featherweight Championship, on Aug. 7, 1983. He would vacate the title to move up to lightweight two years later, capturing the WBC lightweight title by defeating Jose Luis Ramirez on August 10, 1985.

Camacho (white trunks) famously knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard in 1997. Leonard retired after the fight.

After taking a beating while defending his title against Edwin Rosario, Camacho toned down his aggressive style in order to fight more defensively. This would lead to his first loss, a close split-decision to Greg Haugen in 1991. This defensive style would ultimately lead to his downfall, as Camacho would drop a lopsided decision to lightweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez in 1992 and be widely criticized for his lack of action in the fight. From that point on, Camacho would stay around the top of the division, but would mostly be used as a litmus test for other contenders.

Overall, Camacho’s career spanned three decades and saw him win titles at three weight classes – super featherweight, lightweight and light welterweight. Aside from Julio Cesar Chavez, he has notably fought against Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad and Roberto Duran. His last major title fight was a loss against Oscar De La Hoya in 1997. He would continue to box until 2010, where he would drop a forgettable decision to Saul Duran in Kissimmee, Florida at forty-eight years old.

As exciting as Hector Camacho was to watch in the ring, Macho certainly had his share of demons outside of it. Former featherweight champion Juan Laporte described Camacho as “a little brother who was always getting into trouble.” As he told ESPN:

“He’s a good human being, a good hearted person,” Laporte said as he waited with other friends and members of the boxer’s family outside the hospital in San Juan after the shooting. “A lot of people think of him as a cocky person but that was his motto … inside he was just a kid looking for something.”

Laporte lamented that Camacho never found a mentor outside the boxing ring.

“The people around him didn’t have the guts or strength to lead him in the right direction,” Laporte said. “There was no one strong enough to put a hand on his shoulder and tell him how to do it.”

Camacho notoriously struggled with drug and alcohol problems after the prime of his career. His former wife, Amy, obtained a restraining order against him in 1998 after he threatened her and their two children. The two would later get divorced. In 2005, he was arrested in Mississippi after attempting to rob a computer store, possessing ecstasy when he was arrested. Although Camacho was sentenced to seven years in prison, a judge suspended all but one year of the sentence and gave Camacho probation. However, Hector Camacho would serve two weeks in jail after violating that probation. Camacho was also tried for child abuse by Florida authorities earlier this year. The trial was pending at the time of his death.

Let’s remember ‘Macho’ Camacho for the good times, though. We’ve compiled some of his best moments for you to enjoy:

Still Macho. We’d like to emphasize that we did not pick the music for this.

Macho’s title defense against Edwin Rosario.

Camacho ending the career of Sugar Ray Leonard

@SethFalvo

Shawn Tompkins: ‘The Coach’ Was One of The Good Guys

By Mike Russell

I first met Shawn Tompkins six years ago while I was working for The Fight Network in Toronto, Canada. I’d been a fan of his work for a while, having watched Mark Hominick and Sam Stout climb the Canadian rankings under his tutelage, but didn’t get the opportunity to shake the hand of the London, Ontario coach, who was considered by many to be the top trainer in Canada until late 2005. He was one of the good guys in the sport, always eager to talk shop and would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it.

I last spoke to “The Coach” a week ago for a story I was working on for Fighters Only Magazine about his brother-in-law and longtime protégée Sam Stout. In spite of the fact that he was on vacation (the first one he’d taken in years) and was in the midst of celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife Emilie, Shawn promptly responded to the text I sent him asking if he had time to talk that week with a familiar reply: “I’ve always got time for you, Mike.”

It didn’t surprise me when he told me that day that he and Sam had never had a disagreement.

By Mike Russell

It didn’t surprise me when he told me that day that he and Sam had never had a disagreement.

Back in 2007 I talked to Shawn about how the transition to California was going since he had recently moved to Temecula to take over as head coach for Dan Henderson’s Team Quest gym. I asked him what he had on his plate the coming weeks and typical of Shawn, he answered for the team.

“We’ve got Dan Henderson fighting Wanderlei Silva in PRIDE and Matt Lindland is getting ready for Fedor in Bodog,” he explained.”

When I posted the story, Shawn called me to let me know that he never meant that he was training Lindland and asked me to correct the piece to reflect the truth, as he didn’t want to take credit for someone else’s work. That was him. He wasn’t mad, he just wanted the story done right the same way he wanted his team’s training and he wanted credit to go where it was due.

Last week, in the same humble way he told me that he’s only partially responsible for the success of the team that bears his name.

“I truly think that Mark, Sam and Chris and myself — the four of us are who built the Team Tompkins brand together by the way that we fight and the style we’re known for. It’s great that it’s my name, but I’ll always give them credit when credit is due. We’ve been together since the beginning, we’ve done this together and it’s something that just wouldn’t be right if it wasn’t the four of us doing it together. We’re the original four who built the foundation of Team Tompkins together,” he pointed out. “Now the new guys who come along and want to be part of it because they see the relationship we have; it’s a great thing. I think one of the biggest things of bringing on some of the newer fighters to the team is that it’s something they really want. People love the idea being of being mixed martial arts fighter, but they want more now. They want to be a part of what we have and it’s truly an awesome thing I wouldn’t trade for the world. It’s something I’ve been blessed with throughout my life and my career to be able to put together a team and family that’s as tight as it is. I don’t think I’ve seen him a team as close as we are. The ones who are like ours are the successful ones in mixed martial arts or any sport or business that they’re involved in.”

Team Tompkins to Shawn wasn’t just a group of fighters who trained in the same gym. They were and will continue to be a family who had each other’s backs through thick and thin, better or for worse. At the core of the brotherhood were Shawn’s original three students: Stout, Mark Hominick and Chris Horodecki. Each of them counted the others as his best friends. All three were in Tompkins’ wedding and Shawn was Hominick’s best man in his. “The Coach” prided himself in keeping his Team Tompkins family together by treating them like his family, because to him they were. They were the siblings he never had.

They had their own rooms in his house in Las Vegas and would often stay with Shawn and Emilie for a month or two at a time when training for upcoming bouts. Last month prior to Horodecki’s most recent bout at Bellator 47 in July in Ontario Shawn’s wallet and passport were stolen and being the optimist that he is, after being granted access back into Canada from the Canadian consulate and being put on the waiting list for new identification, he shrugged the misfortune off and chalked it up as an extended vacation at home. That was Shawn.

While staying with Sam and Emilie’s parents in London, Shawn woke up at four in the morning to discover a drunken intruder had entered the house and passed out in the basement. Instead of dragging him out of the house, he calmly woke the man up asked him his name and whether or not he may be in the wrong residence. When he determined the guy was in the wrong place, he led him outside and pointed him in the right direction of his house. That was Shawn.

Having honed his craft as a marquee trainer under the guidance of Bas Rutten and his fighting system, Shawn’s heart was always in developing fighters from the ground up. That’s where his roots were and that’s where he knew he had to go back to. In spite of having worked with a who’s who of the MMA world from Dan Henderson to Randy Couture to Vitor Belfort, Tompkins decided to leave Xtreme Couture two-and-a-half years ago to take the helm of the recently opened TapouT Training Center where he could do what he loved doing – training young inexperienced fighters to one day become champions.

“All the success in the world and the Vitor Belforts and the Randy Coutures and the Dan Hendersons were awesome to train, but I wouldn’t trade what I have with Team Tompkins any day,” Tompkins admitted.”

At the end of our conversation last week, Shawn asked me what I had been up to since the last time we spoke and I told him that besides working in MMA full-time — something he knew was an aspiration of mine as long as we’d known each other — I had been editing a book written by a mutual friend about his recently deceased father who was an Olympic wrestler and a coach and mentor like him named Harry Geris from Shawn’s hometown.

“We actually run the Harry Geris wrestling club out of the Adrenaline Training Centre/Team Tompkins gym in London. He was a great man. I never got to train with him, but I did get to meet him a few times,” he said. “There isn’t a wrestler from London who Harry didn’t help in some way. I hope I can touch as many lives as he did.”

Judging by the tremendous outpouring of support his family has received since the news broke last night, I think it’s safe to say he did.

Knowing many of the back stories of the team and its members having spoken to the guys almost every week for a weekly Canadian MMA column I penned for TFN, I asked Shawn if he had ever thought about doing a book on Team Tompkins, even though such a bio is usually reserved for the twilight of fighters’ careers.

“I did some instructional stuff a little while ago and I’ve been asked about doing a book, but like you said, there’s so much more to add to the story I think it’s something that will be done way down the road. I think we’re at about chapter three now and we’ll have fifty more chapters to add,” he said. “Maybe when it comes time you can write the Team Tompkins story, Mike. You know as much about us as anybody. “

Unfortunately for those of us who like myself counted Tompkins as a friend and a member of our close-knit MMA family, Shawn’s story ended without reaching the climax he was destined to reach. He passed away overnight Saturday after watching some of his up-and-coming Team Tompkins fighters compete in Hamilton, Ontario. He was 37.

Unfortunately many in the MMA media did not respect his family enough to allow them to grieve, and instead flocked to their phones and computers to try to squeeze a quote from them. Sadly, when reached for comment, some had yet to hear the news and were taken aback by the breathless, devastating disclosure that their mentor was gone.

To Sam, Chris, Mark, Emile, Mr. and Mrs. Stout and Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins:
I am sorry for your loss. Shawn was always a stand-up guy. You should all be proud of him. He will be missed.

It was a pleasure to know him.

Thanks for everything, Shawn.

It was great to be able to call you my friend.

Mike Russell

Tag: RIP