McCorkle has confirmed with MMAFighting that he’ll be fighting Pudzianowski in a rematch at KSW 24, which is slated for September 28th in Warsaw, Poland. Of course, KSW and Pudzianowski have a reputation for this sort of thing. When the Pudz was submitted by James Thompson at KSW 16 back in May 2011, the promotion set up an immediate rematch at its next event, where Pudzianowski got the nod from the judges despite clearly getting his ass beat. That fight was later overturned to a no-contest due to “judge’s error” (yeah, no shit), but the fact remains — if you beat Poland’s most beloved MMA star on his own turf, they will keep re-booking you until you lose, one way or another.
So how will Pudzianowski get his revenge on Big Sexy? Our prediction: food poisoning.
McCorkle has confirmed with MMAFighting that he’ll be fighting Pudzianowski in a rematch at KSW 24, which is slated for September 28th in Warsaw, Poland. Of course, KSW and Pudzianowski have a reputation for this sort of thing. When the Pudz was submitted by James Thompson at KSW 16 back in May 2011, the promotion set up an immediate rematch at its next event, where Pudzianowski got the nod from the judges despite clearly getting his ass beat. That fight was later overturned to a no-contest due to “judge’s error” (yeah, no shit), but the fact remains — if you beat Poland’s most beloved MMA star on his own turf, they will keep re-booking you until you lose, one way or another.
So how will Pudzianowski get his revenge on Big Sexy? Our prediction: food poisoning.
(Looks like he is training hard for…oh god that was awful. I’ll show myself out now. -SF)
Alright, so we’re being dicks in calling these fights “freakshows,” yes. Only one of them included a former World’s Strongest Man champion swinging his ham hocks around wildly, after all – the other had a legit top Polish prospect against a very good kick boxer – and both of them included guys with the guts to glove up and man-up.
Still, there’s something wonderfully faux-epic/Euro-trashy about KSW shows and Maruiusz Pudzianowski both so we’re going with “freak show.” Not that you shouldn’t watch the videos after the jump – you totally should.
UFC veteran and certified internet troll nut bag Sean McCorkle appears to wilt under Pudzi’s initial strong-man onslaught before getting on top and finishing with a Kimura shoulder lock.
For a few moments in the bout between Mamed Khalidov and Melvin Manoef, the two tried kicking the crap out of each other. Then, Mamed thought better of exchanging with the K-1 veteran and promptly guillotine choked Melly-Mel.
Check out both vids after the jump. Don’t pretend you have something better to do.
(Looks like he is training hard for…oh god that was awful. I’ll show myself out now. -SF)
Alright, so we’re being dicks in calling these fights “freakshows,” yes. Only one of them included a former World’s Strongest Man champion swinging his ham hocks around wildly, after all – the other had a legit top Polish prospect against a very good kick boxer – and both of them included guys with the guts to glove up and man-up.
Still, there’s something wonderfully faux-epic/Euro-trashy about KSW shows and Maruiusz Pudzianowski both so we’re going with “freak show.” Not that you shouldn’t watch the videos after the jump – you totally should.
UFC veteran and certified internet troll nut bag Sean McCorkle appears to wilt under Pudzi’s initial strong-man onslaught before getting on top and finishing with a Kimura shoulder lock.
For a few moments in the bout between Mamed Khalidov and Melvin Manoef, the two tried kicking the crap out of each other. Then, Mamed thought better of exchanging with the K-1 veteran and promptly guillotine choked Melly-Mel.
Check out both vids after the jump. Don’t pretend you have something better to do.
(McCorkle’s most recent performance: A first round submission via kimura loss to Satoshi Ishii at IGF – Genome 24 via Youtube user Sohc Honda.)
Ladies and gentlemen of the Potato Nation, the creme de la creme of freak show MMA fights has just been booked. No, we’re not talking about Canseco vs. O’Neal or Zimmer vs. Martinez II (the latter of which is as elusive as the great white buffalo). We’re talking about McCorkle vs. Pudzianowski, the SHW showdown years in the making that has finally become a reality. Now, you might be asking yourself, “Danga, how is this the aforementioned pinnacle of freak show fights, you good for nothing piece of hyperbolic human garbage?” Well first ask yourself the three prerequisite questions necessary to determine any great freak show fight, you cold-hearted son of a bitch.
2. Will at least one of the participants show up to the fight weighing no less than 300 pounds? You bet your fat ass!
3. How about the organization; is it shady bordering on incompetent? Brother, don’t even get me started.
(McCorkle’s most recent performance: A first round submission via kimura loss to Satoshi Ishii at IGF – Genome 24 via Youtube user Sohc Honda.)
Ladies and gentlemen of the Potato Nation, the creme de la creme of freak show MMA fights has just been booked. No, we’re not talking about Canseco vs. O’Neal or Zimmer vs. Martinez II (the latter of which is as elusive as the great white buffalo). We’re talking about McCorkle vs. Pudzianowski, the SHW showdown years in the making that has finally become a reality. Now, you might be asking yourself, “Danga, how is this the aforementioned pinnacle of freak show fights, you good for nothing piece of hyperbolic human garbage?” Well first ask yourself the three prerequisite questions necessary to determine any great freak show fight, you cold-hearted son of a bitch.
2. Will at least one of the participants show up to the fight weighing no less than 300 pounds? You bet your fat ass!
3. How about the organization; is it shady bordering on incompetent? Brother, don’t even get me started.
While a quick gander over Pudzianowski’s MMA record would give the average MMA fan freak show withdrawal (looking at you, Christos Piliafas), a fight with McCorkle would represent a significant step up in competition for the former “World’s Strongest Man,” quite honestly. McCorkle may find himself on a three fight skid, including a first round submission loss to Satoshi Ishii — who seems to have taken a shining to outclassing UFC heavyweights in the twilights of their careers — in his last appearance, but he poses a hell of a bigger threat than Bob Sapp or Butterbean ever did. At least for the first two minutes.
And on the off chance you find yourself tuning into a KSW event for reasons other than morbid curiosity, you should know that KSW 23 will also feature the likes of Kendall Grove and Maciej Jewtuszko on the card, as well as a headlining middleweight fight between Mamed Khalidov and Melvin Manhoef. As in the case of McCorkle vs. Pudz, the probability that the main event ends inside the first round is higher than Josh Rosenthal.
KSW 23 goes down from the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland on June 8th.
(Not pictured: Anything Fallon Fox has actually done in the cage.)
Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: I’m not trying to say that it wasn’t newsworthy — even inspirational — when Fallon Foxfirst came out as a transgender MMA fighter. Transgender individuals are extremely prone to harassment, discrimination, violence and bigoted stereotyping — all tragically evident by looking at the Facebook posts and tweets that have been directed at Fox since she came out roughly one month ago. I am in full support of her rights to be socially acknowledged and treated as any other woman would be treated outside of the cage.
Yet during this past month, Fallon Fox has received more attention for simply existing (she’s 0-0 since coming out) than most professionals have received for actually fighting. We’ve seen numerous fighters come forward to offer their opinions on whether or not Fox should be allowed to compete against women. Some have managed to do so in a reasonable, intelligent manner. Others have spoken about “it” as if she isn’t even human. For that matter, even people who aren’t MMA fighters have expressed a willingness to compete against her.
Mind you, this was all before Matt Mitrione called Fox “a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak” on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” earning him an indefinite suspension from the UFC.
Despite the punishment, UFC fighters are still willing to discuss Fallon Fox — who, let’s remember, doesn’t even fight in the UFC — with reporters. Yesterday, The New York Post published an interview with one of the most talented, popular, and accomplished female fighters of all time, Ronda Rousey. A total of zero questions had anything to do with Rousey’s own future in the sport, instead focusing on how she feels about potentially fighting Fallon Fox:
“She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it’s still the same bone structure a man has,” Rousey told The Post. “It’s an advantage. I don’t think it’s fair.”
(Not pictured: Anything Fallon Fox has actually done in the cage.)
Let me make one thing clear from the very beginning: I’m not trying to say that it wasn’t newsworthy — even inspirational — when Fallon Foxfirst came out as a transgender MMA fighter. Transgender individuals are extremely prone to harassment, discrimination, violence and bigoted stereotyping — all tragically evident by looking at the Facebook posts and tweets that have been directed at Fox since she came out roughly one month ago. I am in full support of her rights to be socially acknowledged and treated as any other woman would be treated outside of the cage.
Yet during this past month, Fallon Fox has received more attention for simply existing (she’s 0-0 since coming out) than most professionals have received for actually fighting. We’ve seen numerous fighters come forward to offer their opinions on whether or not Fox should be allowed to compete against women. Some have managed to do so in a reasonable, intelligent manner. Others have spoken about “it” as if she isn’t even human. For that matter, even people who aren’t MMA fighters have expressed a willingness to compete against her.
Mind you, this was all before Matt Mitrione called Fox “a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak” on Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour,” earning him an indefinite suspension from the UFC.
Despite the punishment, UFC fighters are still willing to discuss Fallon Fox — who, let’s remember, doesn’t even fight in the UFC — with reporters. Yesterday, The New York Post published an interview with one of the most talented, popular, and accomplished female fighters of all time, Ronda Rousey. A total of zero questions had anything to do with Rousey’s own future in the sport, instead focusing on how she feels about potentially fighting Fallon Fox:
“She can try hormones, chop her pecker off, but it’s still the same bone structure a man has,” Rousey told The Post. “It’s an advantage. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Rousey said Mitrione worded his views “extremely poorly” and believes the UFC was justified in suspending the heavyweight fighter. But she thinks his sentiments came from the right place. In Rousey’s opinion, Mitrione believes Fox is still a man, who wants to beat up women for a living.
“I understand the UFC doesn’t want to be associated with views like that,” Rousey said. “I’m also glad they didn’t straight cut him.”
Speaking of questionable word choices, I can’t help but feel that her usage of the word “pecker” is going to create an overreaction among the mainstream media outlets. But I digress.
It’s right around now — when accomplished athletes such as Ronda Rousey and Alexis Davis are fielding questions about Fallon Fox instead of their own careers — that we in the MMA media need to stop and ask ourselves what we’re actually doing. Are we really respecting a woman’s right to be treated as any other female, or are we treating Fallon Fox like a sideshow and milking her transgender status for as many page views as we can get?
Because — let’s be honest — if we’re truly concerned with treating Fallon Fox the way that we’d treat any other woman, we wouldn’t continue to force her name into interviews and conference calls. As Jonathan Snowden recently argued, Fox is a thirty-seven year old fighter competing in a small-time, regional promotion that even most hardcore MMA fans wouldn’t recognize. She is 2-0 in her professional career, but has yet to fight an opponent who has actually won a professional bout. She has not been offered a contract by the UFC, Invicta, or Bellator. This is all to say that she hasn’t accomplished anything yet that justifies the non-stop media attention that she has received for the past month.
Giving Fox undue attention over her transgender status isn’t embracing her so much as it’s exploiting her. Forcing her into conversations with UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez isn’t being tolerant, it’s being a carnival barker — we’re emphasizing what makes her different in hopes of generating reactions from other people. Emphasizing her reputation over her skills and accomplishments wades into Kimbo Slice territory; that’s bound to make the fans’ reactions that much more harsh when she actually loses. Also, when former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle starts looking for ways to involve himself in this story by taking credit for Mitrione’s suspension-earning jokes, it’s safe to say that we’re no longer coming from a place of acceptance.
This doesn’t mean it’s wrong to make the distinction between Fallon Fox the woman and Fallon Fox the fighter. As of now, there is no conclusive evidence that transgender females do not have unfair competitive advantages over their opponents. There is research that suggests that unfair advantages exist. There is also research that suggests they do not. Another “MMA fighter says Fox has/doesn’t have a competitive advantage” article isn’t going to bring anything new to the discussion.
But you know what will bring something new to the discussion? The result of her fight against Allana Jones on May 24th. After that we might be able to gauge what kind of future — if any — she has in our sport. We’ll be able to publish a story about Fox that’s actually pertinent to what she has been doing in the cage. And if we’re truly concerned with treating her as an equal, we can hold off on cramming her into our headlines until then.
(Palelei puts a twelve-second beating on Bob Sapp, then visibly regrets accepting the fight in the first place.)
Way back in 2007, a towering Australian slugger by the name of Soa Palelei made his UFC debutat UFC 79: Nemesis. In what would turn out to be Palelei’s lone appearance in the organization, the Aussie engaged in a tepid, horrendously sloppy clinchfest with fellow future-castaway Eddie Sanchez. It was easily the worst fight of the night — marred by long stretches of inactivity, a pair of low blows, and an equally anticlimactic ending in which Soa basically called it quits due to some swelling around his eye — and ranked among the worst of the year.
Sanchez, having narrowly avoided being fired by virtue of winning the fight, would lose his next two fights before receiving a mercy execution from the promotion. Palelei, on the other hand, would not be given a second shot in the UFC (perhaps rightfully so) and would spend the next five years compiling a 10-1 record in the hopes that he could someday earn a chance at redemption and Zuffa glory.
Well, according to Palelei’s management team (Paradigm Sports Management), the heavyweight KO artist will finally be given that chance, as he has inked a four-fight deal with the UFC. Palelei stated the following in an official press release that was sent out yesterday:
I’m thankful to Dana White and Joe Silva for giving me this opportunity to come back to the UFC to showcase my skills. With determination, hard work and a great team, I’m happy to say that today I have signed with the UFC. I look forward to competing in the best organization in the world.
(Palelei puts a twelve-second beating on Bob Sapp at CFC 21, then visibly regrets accepting the fight in the first place.)
Way back in 2007, a towering Australian slugger by the name of Soa Palelei made his UFC debutat UFC 79: Nemesis. In what would turn out to be Palelei’s lone appearance in the organization, the Aussie engaged in a tepid, horrendously sloppy clinchfest with fellow future-castaway Eddie Sanchez. It was easily the worst fight of the night — marred by long stretches of inactivity, a pair of low blows, and an equally anticlimactic ending in which Soa basically called it quits due to some swelling around his eye — and ranked among the worst of the year.
Sanchez, having narrowly avoided being fired by virtue of winning the fight, would lose his next two fights before receiving a mercy execution from the promotion. Palelei, on the other hand, would not be given a second shot in the UFC (perhaps rightfully so) and would spend the next five years compiling a 10-1 record in the hopes that he could someday earn a chance at redemption and Zuffa glory.
Well, according to Palelei’s management team (Paradigm Sports Management), the heavyweight KO artist will finally be given that chance, as he has inked a four-fight deal with the UFC. Palelei stated the following in an official press release that was sent out yesterday:
I’m thankful to Dana White and Joe Silva for giving me this opportunity to come back to the UFC to showcase my skills. With determination, hard work and a great team, I’m happy to say that today I have signed with the UFC. I look forward to competing in the best organization in the world.
Palelei’s lone loss since leaving the UFC came by way of first round submission via punches to future Strikeforce heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in 2010. And while Soa hasn’t exactly been taking on world beaters as of late — his past two victories have come over the all-too-TKOable Bob Sapp and famed UG troll Sean McCorkle – it’s hard to claim that anyone riding an eight-fight win streak hasn’t earned another shot in the UFC. Unless that person is Jason Reinhardt, in which case you should probably just exit whatever room you are negotiating contracts in before you get crabs.
[UPDATE]
According to Fight News Australia, Palelei has drawn Croatian Stipe Miocic for his first fight back with the promotion. The two are rumored to meet at UFC 161, which goes down on June 15th in Manitoba, Canada:
A source also revealed to Fightnewsaustralia.com that Palelei is touted to appear on the UFC 161 card in June with 30 year-old Stipe Miocic (9-1, UFC 3-1) slated as an potential opponent. UFC executives have yet to formally announce the event or the fight.
(Palelei vs. McCorkle, as reenacted by The Incredible Hulk and the mythical God Loki, respectively. The actual video is after the jump, but this is basically what happened.)
When we last checked in on Sean “Big Sexy” McCorkle, he had just lost a cardio battle to an amorphous blob and vowed to retire from the sport if he ever gave such a pathetic showing again. Unfortunately for Sean, his next scheduled fight was against Soa “The Hulk” Palelei — a fellow UFC veteran who was far more dangerous than the tomato cans McCorkle has padded his record with over the years — at AFC 4 last weekend. Fortunately for Sean, his piss poor cardio had absolutely nothing to do with his downfall this time out, so at least he won’t have to go back on his word. It’s a small victory, sure, but one that most of us would probably cherish if we flew all the way to Australia to land roughly zero punches and get smashed through the canvas by Palelei’s megaton fists of fury like McCorkle did.
Video after the jump.
(Palelei vs. McCorkle, as reenacted by The Incredible Hulk and the mythical God Loki, respectively. The actual video is after the jump, but this is basically what happened.)
When we last checked in on Sean “Big Sexy” McCorkle, he had just lost a cardio battle to an amorphous blob and vowed to retire from the sport if he ever gave such a pathetic showing again. Unfortunately for Sean, his next scheduled fight was against Soa “The Hulk” Palelei — a fellow UFC veteran who was far more dangerous than the tomato cans McCorkle has padded his record with over the years — at AFC 4 last weekend. Fortunately for Sean, his piss poor cardio had absolutely nothing to do with his downfall this time out, so at least he won’t have to go back on his word. It’s a small victory, sure, but one that most of us would probably cherish if we flew all the way to Australia to land roughly zero punches and get smashed through the canvas by Palelei’s megaton fists of fury like McCorkle did.
In the past two years, Palelei has scored eight straight victories via TKO, with only one of those victories making it out of the first two minutes. Granted, he hasn’t exactly been fighting any world-beaters, but still, his penchant for obliterating dudes in a hurry is pretty gosh darn impressive. Unfortunately, there are no heavyweights competing at next weekend’s UFC on FX: Sotiropolous vs. Pearson card in Queensland, Australia, so unless Palelei can get himself down to 205 in time to replace one of the LHW’s that will inevitably suffer some sort of last second, debilitating freak accident, it looks like it will still be awhile before we see Soa in the UFC. Personally, I’d say he’s earned another shot, so let’s hope it won’t be too long.
And in case you’re wondering, one of the announcers definitely said “It’s time to shut up and BRO down” at the 35 second mark. Say what you want about Mike Goldberg’s many, many shortcomings as a commentator, but I don’t think he’d ever purposely drop a line as garbage-ass as that one on us. Please don’t prove me wrong on this one, Mike.
