UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and former women’s bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey befell similar fates in the last six months. Although ‘The Notorious’ rose to prominence at the same time ‘Rowdy’ fell off her perch, it wouldn’t be long before Nate Diaz would step in and hand McGregor his first UFC loss. Where the two
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and former women’s bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey befell similar fates in the last six months. Although ‘The Notorious’ rose to prominence at the same time ‘Rowdy’ fell off her perch, it wouldn’t be long before Nate Diaz would step in and hand McGregor his first UFC loss. Where the two differ is how they initially dealt with their first losses under the Zuffa banner.
Although McGregor has become entangled in drama with his bosses since his UFC 196 loss to Diaz, it pales in comparison to the crisis of identity that Rousey went through after UFC 193. After being hailed as the most dominant athlete of her time, ‘Rowdy’ suffered one of the most sudden and brutal downfalls in MMA history.
Holly Holm’s monster head kick not only separated Rousey from her consciousness, but it took away the essence of’Rowdy.’ The unbeatable image was shattered and the consequential backlash from fans on the internet led to a very dark stage in her life.
For McGregor it’s been more of a beef with the UFC themselves that’s been highly publicized recently, along with the wild rumours of a potential boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. Either way, without a return date set for either of the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view draws, the similarities are apparent.
There’s a lot to be said of the UFC’s style of promotion, and it’s clear when they want certain fighters to become popular. So what happens when a fighter falls off that so called ‘hype train?’ Perhaps it’s even harder for these types of names to bounce back from a loss.
One former UFC heavyweight who was popular for his heavy handed knockouts believes it’s best to fly under the UFC’s promo radar, and carve the path on your own terms…
41-year-old former UFC heavyweight slugger Shane Carwin retired from the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) a few years back and hasn’t competed since 2011 after suffering a series of injuries that would force him out of the cage. At the time, however, the former title challenger was a force to be reckoned with in
41-year-old former UFC heavyweight slugger Shane Carwin retired from the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) a few years back and hasn’t competed since 2011 after suffering a series of injuries that would force him out of the cage.
At the time, however, the former title challenger was a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division, compiling a 4-2 UFC record with four stoppage victories as well as a 12-2 overall record.
Five years later, Carwin may not be done yet.
Apparently healthy, Carwin recently spoke with getmoresports.com, admitting that he’s been ‘pondering a comeback’. And if he were to make a return, the knockout artist knows exactly what he wants: the UFC heavyweight title, or a rematch with ex-champion and professional wrestler Brock Lesnar:
“I am rehabbing and pretty much recovered,” Carwin said. “I am pondering a comeback. I just need the right motivation or opponent. I’d like to get the belt and retire after defending it. Or just beat up Brock again.
“I still compete with the best of them and could beat any of them.”
Lesnar and Carwin faced off back at UFC 116 in July 2010 with Lesnar’s then held heavyweight strap hanging in the balance. Carwin actually dished out quite a beating on Lesnar in the first round, sending a bloodied champion back to his corner before unfortunately suffering a submission loss to Lesnar in the second stanza.
Clearly confident that he could still compete with the best, what do you make of Carwin contemplating a potential return to action? Is it realistic? Can he still hang with the elite at this stage of his career?
The situation for UFC 197 got a little complicated on April 1, and it was no fool’s day joke, as light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was forced off the card. Due to an undisclosed injury, ‘DC’ dropped out of the first card in his professional career, and quite possibly the biggest. He was set to face
The situation for UFC 197 got a little complicated on April 1, and it was no fool’s day joke, as light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was forced off the card. Due to an undisclosed injury, ‘DC’ dropped out of the first card in his professional career, and quite possibly the biggest. He was set to face his old rival and ex-champion Jon Jones, in the first fight for ‘Bones’ since being stripped and temporarily exiled for his part in the New Mexico hit-and-run last year.
Then we received the news that Jones had a new opponent, after various light-heavy and heavyweights had thrown their names in to the mix. Ovince St Preux would step in on three weeks notice to take the biggest step up in competition possible, facing arguably the greatest (albeit technically former) UFC light-heavyweight champion of all time. It’s certainly going to be a huge test for OSP, who has gone 3-2 in his last five, with losses to Ryan Bader (decision) and Glover Teixeira (submission). But as we know, styles make fights, and St Preux may just have the length and power to hurt Jones.
We haven’t heard a great deal from Jon Jones since his release from custody following another traffic blunder, but he took to Twitter to react to the news that OSP is replacing the injured Daniel Cormier at UFC 197.
Check it out:
Hey @003_OSP just wanted to thank you for stepping up and taking this fight last minute. Grateful for the opportunity to compete with you
Whether it’s the UFC, Bellator, World Series of Fighting, Invicta FC, or old school Pride, mixed martial arts (MMA) referees dictate the ensuing action. Paid to do their jobs, many of them do not. From early stoppages to late stoppages, from not deducting a point to not issuing a warning, their blunders have helped create some
Whether it’s the UFC, Bellator, World Series of Fighting, Invicta FC, or old school Pride, mixed martial arts (MMA) referees dictate the ensuing action.
Paid to do their jobs, many of them do not. From early stoppages to late stoppages, from not deducting a point to not issuing a warning, their blunders have helped create some of the worst endings in MMA history.
While a few good ones like Herb Dean and “Big” John McCarthy stand out from the Kim Winslows and Steve Mazzagattis of the world, all in-cage zebras make wrong calls at one time or another.
In accordance with their failures, and with undying condolences to those fighters involved in the chaos, here are the top 10 worst referee mistakes in MMA history.
Retired former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin came within inches of unifying the heavyweight titles when he faced Brock Lesnar back in July 2010, and he’d be more than willing to put the gloves back on for a part two.
In an intervi…
Retired former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin came within inches of unifying the heavyweight titles when he faced Brock Lesnar back in July 2010, and he’d be more than willing to put the gloves back on for a part two.
In an interview with Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports, the 39-year-old stated he would agree to one last hurrah in the cage if it was against Lesnar again—even though he admits the scenario is pretty unlikely.
I’m all in [for a Lesnar rematch]. All the pain would be worth that. … I basically almost died in that fight. In the second round, anybody could have tripped me and landed on me. … I should have let him up and kept punching him in the head. Lesson learned. Cain learned it. If I didn’t make it obvious what to do to that guy, the next guy did. … He’s not coming back. I don’t even know why he would have the desire. … The guys these days are too far ahead. You can’t be one-dimensional. This isn’t the early ’90s.
After recording three straight first-round knockouts inside the Octagon between May 2008 and March 2009, Carwin got a shot at the interim UFC interim heavyweight title against Frank Mir at UFC 111.
Another brutal stoppage later, Carwin was the interim champ in March 2010 and waited in the wings for Lesnar to return from his first bout with diverticulitis, an intestinal disease.
After a year on the shelf, Lesnar returned to face Carwin at UFC 116. Despite eating a brutal onslaught of punches for the better part of the opening frame, the champ somehow managed to survive.
The former NCAA Division I wrestling champion scored a quick takedown early in the second round and managed to lock up an arm triangle choke to secure a stunning come-from-behind submission victory.
Lesnar then lost the title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 in October 2010 and retired after a second battle with diverticulitis that culminated in a quick TKO loss to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 in December 2011.
After the loss to The Demolition Man, Lesnar said he’d never set foot in the Octagon again, though rumors are running rampant about a possible return, as the WWE heavyweight champion’s contract is up in the first quarter of 2015, per Raimondi.
Meanwhile, Carwin hasn’t competed since UFC 131 in June 2011, where he suffered a lopsided loss to Junior dos Santos in a brutal, bloody affair.
In the event that Lesnar does decide to make another run at the UFC heavyweight title, would a rematch with Carwin make sense?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
Following Anderson Silva’s devastating leg-break against Chris Weidman at UFC 168, many observers hoped that one of the greatest fighters of all time would decide to retire in order to spend time with his family and count all of the “Anderson Silva money” he’s earned from fighting. Hell, even Silva’s son was hoping he would hang his gloves up. But following successful surgery, Silva has expressed his desire to return to the cage. Hopefully this is not the case. Silva has nothing left to accomplish in the sport, and at 38 years old, he would be facing a steep uphill battle to recover and earn back his belt.
Choosing to walk away from a long, fruitful MMA career is not an easy decision. Most fighters continue to compete long after they should have walked away. Nevertheless, every once in a while, an astute fighter realizes that their best days are behind them, and they decide to leave the sport for greener pastures. The following list is a tribute to five fighters who decided to leave MMA at the right time.
(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
Georges St-Pierre recently decided to leave the sport of MMA for an undetermined amount of time. The reason why GSP’s decision to vacate his welterweight title is so incredible is because it’s so rare to see athletes leave at the top of their game. We’re used to dominant athletes staying too long, unable to give up the roar of the crowd and the lure of the paycheck. The list of accomplishments on GSP’s resume is long, varied and practically unparalleled in the sport of MMA. His in-cage achievements make him a legitimate candidate for the greatest of all time, with only fighters like Anderson Silva and Fedor Emeliananko even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.
Following Anderson Silva’s devastating leg-break against Chris Weidman at UFC 168, many observers hoped that one of the greatest fighters of all time would decide to retire in order to spend time with his family and count all of the “Anderson Silva money” he’s earned from fighting. Hell, even Silva’s son was hoping he would hang his gloves up. But following successful surgery, Silva has expressed his desire to return to the cage. Hopefully this is not the case. Silva has nothing left to accomplish in the sport, and at 38 years old, he would be facing a steep uphill battle to recover and earn back his belt.
Choosing to walk away from a long, fruitful MMA career is not an easy decision. Most fighters continue to compete long after they should have walked away. Nevertheless, every once in a while, an astute fighter realizes that their best days are behind them, and they decide to leave the sport for greener pastures. The following list is a tribute to five fighters who decided to leave MMA at the right time.
(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
Georges St-Pierre recently decided to leave the sport of MMA for an undetermined amount of time. The reason why GSP’s decision to vacate his welterweight title is so incredible is because it’s so rare to see athletes leave at the top of their game. We’re used to dominant athletes staying too long, unable to give up the roar of the crowd and the lure of the paycheck. The list of accomplishments on GSP’s resume is long, varied and practically unparalleled in the sport of MMA. His in-cage achievements make him a legitimate candidate for the greatest of all time, with only fighters like Anderson Silva and Fedor Emeliananko even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.
During his career, GSP won the belt off the previous “most dominant Welterweight on the planet” and then went on to face every single 170-pound challenger to his belt. To borrow a phrase from Joe Rogan, St-Pierre faced a “murderer’s row” of contenders including Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, BJ Penn, Thiago Alves, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, and Johny Hendricks. And it’s not as though he left the sport with a slew of guys who hadn’t yet had the chance to try and beat him. He gave all comers their opportunity and beat them all. Whether you like it or not, he even won his final match. He may have been clearly beaten up, but he won 3 of the 5 rounds and, according to the 10-point must system, that makes him the winner.
The reason why vacating the title is the right move for GSP is because he left the sport on his own terms. The multiple-time Canadian Athlete of the Year has done nearly everything any mainstream athlete ever could to maximize his earnings outside of the court of play. He has appeared on reality TV — as a coach on TUF — has already appeared in two films, and will portray the villain in the new Captain America movie. He also has huge endorsements, is a best-selling author, a fitness guru, and a certified ladies man. That, my friends, is why GSP is not only one of the greatest fighters ever…he is also one of the smartest.
(Lytle slugs it out with fellow recent-retiree Paul Taylor. / Photo via MMAWeekly)
Throughout his long career, Chris “Lights Out” Lytle was a technically proficient fighter but he employed a fan-friendly style of brawling that pleased both fans and the UFC brass alike. Lytle ended his career in the UFC having won five of his last six fights, so when he announced his retirement in 2011 — prior to his main-event fight against Dan Hardy at UFC on Versus 5 — many fans were shocked. That night, Lytle submitted Hardy, something that even then-champion GSP couldn’t do. The performance earned him Fight of the Night and Submission of the night bonuses and he celebrated the moment by bringing his kids into the Octagon. It was an emotional ending to an incredible 54-fight career that saw him earn 10 “Of the Night” bonuses, including an unofficial 11th one for his submission over Matt Brown (the actual bonus went to the Brock Lesnar).
Lytle fought for many of the top MMA promotions around the world including Cage Rage, Pancrase, IFL, WEC, and UFC. Incredibly he was never submitted or knocked out in his entire 54-fight career. When Lytle was cast on The Ultimate Fighter 4: The Comeback season, he was already well-known to hardcore fans, but it was the reality show that introduced him to mainstream fans and earned him a reputation as a gritty fighter and all-around good guy. In the final, Lytle lost a decision to Matt Serra, but it was close and one judge even gave him the fight 30-27. Even though he lost that fight, he did manage to beat Serra in a rematch.
Part of Lytle’s blue-collar appeal can be attributed to the fact that while training and fighting he also worked full-time as a firefighter at the Indianapolis Fire Department. He was also highly involved in the local community, running for the Indiana State Senate in 2012 and establishing a charity for at-risk youth. In late 2013, Lytle indicated that he could be lured back to the UFC — with his wife’s approval no less — for a big paycheck so that his family could finally “get that lake house.” Still training and sparring, Lytle said he’d be willing to come back for a short notice fight against a Nick Diaz-type fighter, as long as it didn’t require a long, arduous and time-consuming training camp. Whether or not a comeback ever happens, Lytle had a storybook ending to his illustrious MMA career. His decision to retire wasn’t about chronic injuries or declining ability; it was about other obligations and wanting to spend more time with his family. It’s a lesson that up-and-coming fighters should take note of.
(Photo via Getty)
Brian “All-American” Stann may have ended his career going 1-3, but this isn’t a list about fighters who ended on a winning streak; it’s about fighters who realized they had nothing left to prove and left the sport for longer-lasting pursuits, which is exactly why Stann deserves to be on this list. Besides, it’s not as though Stann’s final losses were against scrubs; they were against some of the best middleweights to ever enter the Octagon, including Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, and Michael Bisping.
Stann was the type of fighter who struggled against top-10 fighters but easily disposed of the mid-tier fighters. Personable and a favorite of the UFC brass, he certainly could have competed in the UFC for a long time as a gatekeeper for the middleweight division. But Stann was too smart to fall into that life. He has more going on outside of the fight game than most fighters, and he chose to capitalize on his non-fighting skills rather than being resigned to “perennial contender” status. As far as a life outside of fighting, Stann is best known as being a Silver Star U.S. Marine who served in Iraq. Currently, he runs a non-profit, called Hire Heroes, for U.S. military veterans to find work, and acts as a commentator for both the UFC on Fox and Atlantic Coast Conference football games. He has also authored a book about his life in and out of the cage.
Stann is now retired, focusing on broadcasting, his charitable endeavors and family. When he announced his departure from MMA, Stann stated it was because he has three young daughters and he didn’t want to risk brain injury after years of football, MMA and explosions in combat. He left the game with some hardware — he won the WEC Light Heavyweight Championship — and his final bout against Wanderlei Silva was one of the most thrilling UFC fights of all time. Silva called their two-round war, at the UFC’s return to Japan in March 2013, one of the best fights of his career, which is incredible considering the wars that Silva has been in. Stann may not have ended his career on a win but that fight cemented his legacy as a warrior who will be fondly remembered by fight fans.
On the next page: The first “Face of WMMA,” the “Engineer of Pain,” and five honorable mentions…
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