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Renowned sports personality Stephen A. Smith came to the defense of mixed martial arts (MMA) during a recent heated discussion with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. Despite still being in its relative infancy, MMA has grown rapidly since the creation…
Renowned sports personality Stephen A. Smith came to the defense of mixed martial arts (MMA) during a recent heated discussion with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. Despite still being in its relative infancy, MMA has grown rapidly since the creation of the UFC in 1993. Now, the developing sport is the fastest growing financially, with a…
Continue Reading Stephen A Defends MMA Against “Mad Dog” Russo’s Attacks at MMA News.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has spoken out in defense of former ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith, who has been a polarizing figure when it comes to the coverage of mixed martial arts. Smith has established himself as one of America’s most well-known sports television personalities. Through his SportsCenter appearances and analysis of sports like basketball,…
Continue Reading Helwani Defends Stephen A. Smith Against “Silly” MMA Criticisms at MMA News.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has spoken out in defense of former ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith, who has been a polarizing figure when it comes to the coverage of mixed martial arts.
Smith has established himself as one of America’s most well-known sports television personalities. Through his SportsCenter appearances and analysis of sports like basketball, the 54-year-old has amassed a large following, including close to four million on Instagram and over 5.5 million followers on Twitter.
But if there’s one sport that Smith has struggled to find a place in when it comes to the fanbase, it’s MMA.
Since ESPN became the exclusive broadcast partner of the UFC in January 2019, Smith has become a more active pundit in the sport, which has included appearances at some high-profile pay-per-views. Perhaps most notable was his work at UFC 246 in January 2020.
Following Conor McGregor’s dominant and fast victory over Donald Cerrone, Smith suggested that “Cowboy” quit inside the Octagon, a comment that was disagreed with by color commentator Joe Rogan, sparking a brief social media feud between the two analysts.
While his appearances on UFC broadcasts have remained scarce, they still get fans talking, many of whom do so negatively, as was evident last July at UFC 264 when Smith joined Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping at the ESPN desk.
But one of Smith’s former ESPN peers believes that he receives underserved slack.
During a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani, who departed ESPN last year, praised Smith for his kindness and positive attitude. The Canadian also branded the controversy over Smith’s Cerrone comments as “silliness.”
“Stephen A isn’t a bad dude. Stephen A actually would come up to me — like, are his takes off? No, we could debate that. That’s all inconsequential crap,” said Helwani. “Stephen A, for me personally, every time I would see him at the Seaport, on campus, he would go out of his way to be kind to me, to give me props, text me, shout me out — why would I hate that man?
“As far as I’m concerned, Stephen A was a good teammate. Like what? So he spoke about Donald Cerrone, oh wow! Silliness,” concluded Helwani.
Interestingly, Cerrone later came out and admitted that he simply didn’t want to be inside the cage that night against McGregor, seemingly giving credence to Smith’s comments.
Do you agree with Ariel Helwani? Does Stephen A. Smith receive unnecessary criticism from MMA fans?
Continue Reading Helwani Defends Stephen A. Smith Against “Silly” MMA Criticisms at MMA News.
Former Bellator lightweight contender, Josh Thomson and current promotional color commentator, John McCarthy have both taken umbrage with recent comments from analyst, Stephen A. Smith following UFC 272, urging the ESPN reporter to revert to covering basketball rather than mixed martial arts. Smith, who has received his fair share of criticizm since his transition to […]
Former Bellator lightweight contender, Josh Thomson and current promotional color commentator, John McCarthy have both taken umbrage with recent comments from analyst, Stephen A. Smith following UFC 272, urging the ESPN reporter to revert to covering basketball rather than mixed martial arts.
Smith, who has received his fair share of criticizm since his transition to analysing mixed martial arts, infamously received major flak after he claimed Donald Cerrone quit and turned in an “atrocious performance” during his UFC 246 loss to former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor in January 2020.
Reacting to last weekend’s UFC 272 headliner between former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington, and Jorge Masvidal – Stephen A. Smith claimed Masvidal’s lack of wrestling defense was “inexplicable” as he eventually gave up six total takedowns over the course of five rounds en route to his loss to Covington in a unanimous decision display.
Sharing their thoughts on Smith’s comments, former referee, McCarthy, and former UFC lightweight contender, Thomson both criticized Smith’s take on Masvidal’s performance.
“The reason you (Stephen A. Smith) don’t understand, is because you never wrestled a day in your f*cking life,” John McCarthy said on Weighing In. “And to not understand – Jorge (Masvidal) was ready for the wrestling, it’s just that – hey, Colby (Covington) brings a pressure that wore him down. Go back to basketball.”
“Yeah, go back to covering sports where you think you know so much about,” Josh Thomson said. “Countless, countless other athletes have just talked sh*t about you. And this is why – it’s ‘cause you’re clickbait. You are the epitome of what it wrong with social media right now, and the news, and sports talk and all this other crap. Your show, ‘First Take’ all this other sh*t that you guys do, is f*cking trash. It’s always been trash. And ESPN continues to tell you guys you’ve been doing a good job, it’s garbage. You guys are all clickbait, you and all the other guys that you work with, it’s all trash.”
Thomson further claimed that Smith should not cover the sport anymore in tandem with the UFC and their broadcast partners, ESPN.
“It’s really sad that the UFC has to use you (Stephen A. Smith), because you work for ESPN,” Josh Thomson said. “And it’s a slap in the face to our athletes and our fighters. It’s embarrassing and I think, I honestly believe they need to get rid of your ass, working with the UFC at all. ‘Cause everytime, you put your foot in your mouth and say sh*t like this – it adds to the clickbait material you are used to doing from your other shows, and it’s trash…”
Former teammates turned enemies went to battle this past weekend when Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covingtons squared off at UFC 272. The grudge match didn’t go as most fans hope it would. Covington was able to do what he does well and that’s put the pace and pressure on Masvidal essentially wearing him out over […]
Former teammates turned enemies went to battle this past weekend when Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covingtons squared off at UFC 272.
The grudge match didn’t go as most fans hope it would. Covington was able to do what he does well and that’s put the pace and pressure on Masvidal essentially wearing him out over 25 minutes. Masvidal had no answer for the wrestling onslaught that he had to deal with and it looked like he had cardio dump in the early going of the fight.
He talked about how he worked tirelessly on his wrestling coming into this matchup, training with the likes of Bo Nickal. At the end of the fight, however, Masvidal said that he felt “flat”. Stephen A. Smith had some thoughts on Masvidal after those remarks.
“I saw Masvidal gutsy and survive the five rounds, but while he was waving Covington on to come on, ‘Let’s get some more.’ He was literally using two security personnel to lean on because that’s how exhausted he was,” Smith said on The First Take.
“Masvidal admitted that his wrestling was flat. How was it flat coming into this fight knowing this guy as well as you know him and knowing what he was going to try to do to you, and how much you supposedly hate him? How you were not ready for a wrestling match, I don’t understand. It’s inexplicable.”
Even though the fight is done and over with, it doesn’t look like this rivalry will die anytime soon. Both fighters hate each other if not more after their fight. With Masvidal bitter after a loss, it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. He has been talking about getting back into training, who do you think should be next for Masvidal?
Stephen A. Smith is not buying what UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal is selling following his loss to Colby Covington. Covington defeated Masvidal via unanimous decision in their welterweight grudge match after months of back-and-forth banter. Covington dominated with his wrestling and also out-landed Masvidal with his standup. After the fight, Masvidal claimed that he was…
Continue Reading Stephen A. Smith Rips Jorge Masvidal For Post-UFC 272 Comments at MMA News.
Stephen A. Smith is not buying what UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal is selling following his loss to Colby Covington.
Covington defeated Masvidal via unanimous decision in their welterweight grudge match after months of back-and-forth banter. Covington dominated with his wrestling and also out-landed Masvidal with his standup.
After the fight, Masvidal claimed that he was “flat” with his wrestling, which he feels was a major reason for the loss. Covington has always been known to be a wrestler by nature but has also shown improved standup over time.
During a recent segment of ESPN’s First Take, Smith gave his thoughts on Masvidal’s approach to the fight with Covington and his post-fight comments.
“I’m a huge, huge Masvidal fan,” Smith prefaced. “I think he’s great for the sport because he’s got knockout power in both punches, he can obviously use that knee very well and he has improved his wrestling. But Colby Covington showed that he’s on a different level from a wrestling standpoint, and from a stamina standpoint.
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“One of the things that I paid attention to coming into this fight is something that Colby Covington said. Because he knew him and they were former best friends and roommates turned enemies, Covington said, ‘Masvidal trains for his fights; I live this.’ What he was talking about is he is always in shape. He’s never out of shape. He’s renowned for his condition and the pressure he’s able to apply and how he never lets up because he keeps on coming.”
Smith went on to point out how fatigued Masvidal looked as the fight came to a close.
“I saw Masvidal gutsy and survive the five rounds, but while he was waving Covington on to come on, ‘Let’s get some more.’ He was literally using two security personnel to lean on because that’s how exhausted he was. Covington looked like he was just starting. He was that energized. The guy is in phenomenal shape, he’s an outstanding wrestler and Masvidal admitted that his wrestling was flat.
“How was it flat coming into this fight knowing this guy as well as you know him and knowing what he was going to try to do to you, and how much you supposedly hate him? How you were not ready for a wrestling match, I don’t understand. It’s inexplicable.” (h/t MMA Junkie)
Masvidal has now lost three straight bouts and hasn’t won since his BMF title victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 244. He’s anticipating a return later this year to work his way towards a potential rematch against Covington down the line.
Smith has had a complicated relationship with the MMA community. In addition to his criticisms of Masvidal, he also came under fire after attacking Donald Cerrone on the ESPN post-fight show for his quick loss to Conor McGregor.
What are your thoughts on how Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington played out?
Continue Reading Stephen A. Smith Rips Jorge Masvidal For Post-UFC 272 Comments at MMA News.
Jake Paul and Stephen A. Smith had a light back-and-forth about Paul’s career progression as a boxer and his ambitions of stepping into the ring with Canelo Álvarez. Love him or hate him, there is no question that Jake Paul has taken the combat sports world by storm since bursting onto the arena two years […]
Continue Reading Jake Paul & Stephen A. Smith Spar Over Career Progress & Canelo at MMA News.
Jake Paul and Stephen A. Smith had a light back-and-forth about Paul’s career progression as a boxer and his ambitions of stepping into the ring with Canelo Álvarez.
Love him or hate him, there is no question that Jake Paul has taken the combat sports world by storm since bursting onto the arena two years ago. What began as a dip into the celebrity boxing pool evolved into headlining cards against accomplished MMA fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. Through it all, the irreverent YouTuber has continued to make headlines and land KOs as his star has continued to rise.
Nonetheless, after Paul defeated Askren and was booked to face Woodley, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had already seen enough of the YouTuber’s self-matchmaking.
“Let me say this. I am not impressed, not one bit,” Smith began in a soliloquy last year on his Stephen A’s World last year. “While Logan Paul is taking fights way over his head, getting in the ring with boxing royalty like Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, risking a beatdown for the ages, by the way, Jake Paul is going the opposite direction…the complete opposite direction, fighting non-boxers.”
Smith went on to lay out why neither Askren nor Woodley were appropriate matchups for Paul in his opinion and stated that the former Disney actor should be facing actual pro boxers.
After Smith’s comments came to his attention, Paul killed Stephen A. with kindness, merely expressing that he ‘loves his fans’ in response to the renowned sports personality.
Earlier this week, Jake Paul made an appearance on ESPN’s First Take starring Smith, and the outspoken figure took the liberty to restate his criticism straight to the YouTuber’s virtual face.
“My problem with you, Jake—because we gotta be real here—I know you heard my position about this—my problem is: You are beating up on dudes that don’t box. They’re not boxers. Nate Robinson was a basketball player. Ben Askren came out there with a pose looking like he’s Jake LaMotta, he was 19-1 in (MMA), but he was never a boxer. He was a grappler. And Tyron Woodley’s a striker. What was that?!”
Paul would then issue the following prompt response.
“Meanwhile, I was on Disney Channel while these guys were winning UFC championships. I was playing with Mickey Mouse while these guys were throwing armbars and winning UFC championships. So I’ve been training for the same amount of time as them.
“And look, I’ve always gone against people where the odds are even. Canelo just fought Caleb Plant as like a -1400 favorite. Gervante Davis in his eighth fight fought a guy who was making his professional boxing debut. Floyd, in his fourth fight, fought a guy who was making his professional boxing debut.
“So everybody’s analyzing my career, critiquing it, paying attention to it from day one, but you can’t tell me who was Mike Tyson’s first fight. You can’t tell me, Muhammad Ali, who was his first fight. No one knows. But everyone’s seen all of my fights. And I’m gradually progressing and increasing my level of opposition as I get better (in) the gym.”
Paul also invoked the name of Tommy Fury as an example of his wilingness to fight a professional boxer as well as doubling down on his interest in fighting veteran second-generation slugger Julio César Chávez.
Another name Paul has expressed an interest in fighting down the line is none other than boxing superstar Canelo Álvarez. Being well aware of these lofty goals, Smith had to hear it straight from the YouTuber’s mouth to believe it.
“Now you say ‘line ‘em up, knock ‘em down’ and there was rumors about you and Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson basically put that to bed. And I’m sure you’re not trying to fight somebody in their mid-50s, but you did mention the name Canelo Alvarez,” Smith said. “And I want you to know, as much as I like you, Jake, you’re going into deep waters there! Now you’re getting out of control! Because you know Canelo is not the one to mess with! You know you’re not ready for that! Seriously, you do know that, right? This is Canelo we’re talking about!”
Paul’s response served as a reaffirmation of his own confidence and perhaps an incidental installation of confidence in viewers worldwide about striving beyond others’ limitations.
“That’s what other people think,” Paul said. “Other people try to place limits on what is possible for you when you are a unicorn doing something different. Other people try to place limits on what’s possible for you and on what you can accomplish because of their mindset and what they think they can accomplish as a human being. But for me, I can accomplish anything I set my mind to
“And I know I can get after Canelo. I know I can go rounds with him. And the guy he fought the other time, ‘Turkish Warrior,’ quit after three rounds. He didn’t throw one punch. I’m bigger than Canelo, I’m faster than Canelo, I’m more athletic than Canelo. Can I box better? Probably not. But give me three years, and that’s gonna be a big fight. The two biggest names in boxing going after each other. Why not?”
You can view the clip from Paul’s appearance on ESPN’s First Take below.
Continue Reading Jake Paul & Stephen A. Smith Spar Over Career Progress & Canelo at MMA News.