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Trash-Talking Roundup: Pettis Responds to Cerrone, Fitch Meets Kettle

“Did I stutter?! I said you’re a lay-and-pray artist who will NEVER beat Georges St. Pierre!”

It appears we weren’t the only ones surprised by Donald Cerrone’s recent comments for UFC lightweight Anthony Pettis. Anthony Pettis, who claims that he’s always been cordial with Cerrone in the past, recently attempted to make sense of the whole ordeal on “The MMA Hour.” Spoiler alert: He ain’t too keen on being told to “grab his purse and dance,” brother.

As transcribed by MMAMania.com:

“It’s comedy. This is the first news to me that I have heard of Cerrone calling me out or that he has been calling me out or he wanted to fight me. I talked to my manager about it and I think it’s just him trying to get his name out there and trying to get to my spot, trying to get to that title shot, to try and get closer to a title shot. But, for him to do it the way it did, just pissed me of, so. If he gets passed with his fight with Melvin, and it makes sense for me to fight him and then fight for a title shot, then I will do it. If he is in my way, I will take him out. (I’m)100 -percent (pissed off). I am super pissed. I am not the guy to talk or the type of guy to be out there and talk shit about anyone, but for him to call me out and put it the way he put it, pretty much saying that I am afraid to fight somebody, that is never the case. I am never afraid to fight anybody. I want to be the best lightweight in the world and if he is in my way, then I will take him out too. He wanted to fight in August, I wasn’t going to be ready until October or November and I openly said it on Twitter and I openly said it everywhere, so it’s not a matter of me ducking him, if he wants to fight in November, let’s do it, I will gladly take that fight and I will be so motivated to whoop his ass.”

“Did I stutter?! I said you’re a lay-and-pray artist who will NEVER beat Georges St. Pierre!”

As transcribed by MMAMania.com:

I never understood the “What’d I do?” or “It’s not what was done but how it was done” responses to trash talk, which are essentially what we’re seeing here. What’d you do? You’re a professional fighter who is further up the totem pole than the other professional fighter below you. Cerrone wants a future title shot, and consecutive victories over Melvin Guillard and yourself can possibly give him one. He’s already booked to face Guillard, and is now trying to do whatever he needs to do to get a fight against you. If it offends you that much, maybe something can be arranged where you two can fight over it, possibly for some money, fame and a title shot against the …wait, never mind. Well played, Cerrone.

As for the latter issue, I’m with Rasheed Wallace: As long as parents, wives and kids are left out of the equation (and life-threatening illnesses, Kevin), then who cares? I just hope that Melvin Guillard hasn’t been spending time with Chick with Huge Cans, because Cerrone vs. Pettis appears to have Fight of the Year written all over it.

In “How did the irony not explode your head?” news, Jon Fitch is still tied to the tracks of the Erick Silva hype-train, pleading desperately to anyone who will listen to leave the “Dastardly” Achievement locked. And I mean anyone. Yesterday, Fitch used a Nuvo TV conference call attempting to push AKA’s new reality series to be far more urgent in calling out BJ Penn. Via MMAFighting:

“Here at AKA, we’ve got fighters who come out to fight, fighters who will face anyone and don’t hide from any opponents. You’ve also got cowards out there like B.J. Penn who say they want to fight people, but then they run and hide.”

I guess that statement wasn’t direct enough for two, maybe three people on the planet, because Fitch was asked to clarify if he thought Penn was a coward. His response?

“Yes. He’s a coward. He wouldn’t be welcomed here.”

I bet Erick Silva finds your “running and hiding” comment hilarious, considering that’s exactly what you’re attempting to do with him. And not to create an MMA conspiracy theory on the spot, but if Fitch gets injured and has to pull out of his fight against Silva, I’m sure a lot of fans will think that the injury is “suspiciously convenient.” But who knows?

Does Fitch have a point about Penn waiting for Rory MacDonald instead of looking for another fight? Does anyone have any interest in watching Fitch and Penn do the man dance again? And how excited will you be about Cerrone vs. Pettis? Let us know, and keep it civil.

@SethFalvo

Michael Bisping Literally Cannot Decide Who He Wants to Call Out Next, Chooses Chris Weidman This Time

(*dial tone* Alcohol affects the memory.)

Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Over the past few months, everyone from Tim Boetsch to Alan Belcher to Brian Stann have called out soft-spoken middleweight Michael Bisping, and we honestly can’t understand why. The man is a kind, yet misunderstood human being with great taste in music who has never come off as anything but respectful for as long as we’ve known him. As it goes in prison, they always seem to pick on the nice guy who doesn’t really belong there.

Recently, however, it appears that Bisping has had enough, and has turned the tables on the bullies that simply wont let him be, threatening to kick not only Stann’s ass, but calling out Hector Lombard (sort of), then Anderson Silva, and now Chris Weidman as well. Apparently fed up with all of the “respect” Weidman was receiving for “finishing” a fight against a “top” contender, Bisping took to Twitter to vent his frustrations:

Weidman looked great last night. But no1 contender? If that’s the case I want to fight him and prove I’m the number 1 contender. Let’s do it.

(*dial tone* Alcohol affects the memory.)

Weidman looked great last night. But no1 contender? If that’s the case I want to fight him and prove I’m the number 1 contender. Let’s do it.

Now, we understand that Bisping may very well think that he’s the number one contender, despite the fact that his last win against a top or even upper-tier middleweight dates back to, you know, never, but this is getting a little redundant at this point, is it not? Bisping has called out everyone within eyeshot of a title over the past few weeks, and we think we’ve finally gotten to the root of “The Count’s” problems — multiple personality disorder. For each embittered d-bag that lies within his soul, he calls out one fighter, and it appears that even he is beginning to lose track of his preposterous claims. Why else would Bisping be seen giving Silva mad drunken props backstage at UFC 148 just moments before telling Ariel Helwani that he thought Silva’s knee was illegal and that he could do way better against him than Chael Sonnen, a.k.a the last man he lost to?

(Skip to the 47 second mark.)

Respect: It’s an acquired skill.

To be fair, Bisping also did state that he thought Andy was “amazing,” so perhaps we’re being a little harsh on the Brit, as we are apt to do. But that still doesn’t explain why Bisping had to essentially kick Mark Munoz while he was down in a recent interview with FightersOnly:

And now Chris Weidman is calling me out. Well, he’s on a roll but I don’t think a win over a fat Mark Munoz makes you a contender. Especially when Munoz has bounced into the Octagon like he’s at a Take That concert and with a haircut that looks like Belcher’s tattooist has switched careers. Did that distract him? It distracted me. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. What was it supposed to be, do you know? Everyone’s talking about Weidman today but I tell you what, we were on the same card in January and I had to switch his fight with Maia off. I was trying to warm up backstage and the fight was putting me to sleep. I wanted to get hyped up and it was like watching paint dry. He looked good last night – or did Munoz look awful?

Jesus Christ, Michael. First off, Weidman did not call you out. He called out Anderson Silva. YOU just called HIM out. And as for his fight with Demian Maia, perhaps you have forgotten that Weidman took the fight on just eleven days notice. It appears we can throw a little early onset dementia into the mix of potential mental diseases Bisping is suffering from as well.

All we’re saying is, if Bisping wants to fight Belcher, Boetsch, or Stann, because they actually did call him out, then he should stick with one of those fights and just shut the hell up. You’d have to be crazy to think he deserves a shot at Anderson, but if he wants to take on Weidman to prove that he does (granted you feel that Weidman is the true #1 contender), then he should simply stick to that theory and shut the hell up. His solution to all of this, of course, is to fight all of these bums in one night:

Yeah it seems like I am the man of the moment right now doesn’t it? That’s fine by me, I’m a professional fighter and I’ve not been busy enough lately to be honest so, I will happily fight all three of them – Stann, Weidman and Belcher can all have it. I’ve got no problem fighting and beating all three of them, either on three consecutive cards or all on one night if they want. Listen, Belcher’s getting on my nerves. He keeps saying he has got the style to beat me – what style? No man with a tattoo like that can talk to anyone about style! He’s been calling me out for a while now so I’d say to him, when you beat someone other than a pure jiu jitsu guy then call me. Brian Stann I respect, fine, I think we are on collision course and we can have that fight. I’ll win.

They all seem like nice guys, good luck to them – except Belcher, he’s been getting on my nerves so lets not include him [in the good luck wishes] – but I will happily fight them all, no problem. I want to be the champion and I think I am one more win away from a title shot. And any of these guys can be my first defences.

So wait, none of these guys have earned a shot against Silva, but once you become champion (lolz), then they can fight for the title?

–J. Jones

Tim Kennedy Offers to Fight Michael Bisping for the Good of Mankind

(Guess if they’re gonna let *somebody* fight Bisping, it might as well be somebody we like.)

When last we heard from Tim Kennedy, he’d just completed the MMA equivalent of sinking a two-foot putt by choking out Melvin Manhoef in Strikeforce, then went public with his lament that he hadn’t been the one to administer an in-home eye exam to Osama bin Laden. Y’all know we’ve always liked Kennedy. Seems like a super cool dude and admittedly there’s something fascinating about a guy whose typical day might just as easily include either choking out a Dutch-Surinamese kickboxer or smoking the world’s top terrorist. Give or take.

It’s exactly that admiration that led us to be a bit disappointed this week when we heard about Kennedy offering to fight Michael Bisping over at MMA Weekly. Calling out Bisping is one of the more played-out moves a well-known middleweight can make, after all. When we saw Kennedy saying it, we assumed it was just another case of a guy trying to make his bones off Bisping’s inflated reputation and general overratedness. Truthfully, there probably is some of that at work here. But then we started digging into Kennedy’s quotes and realized that A) He’s offering to fight “The Count” basically for free (PR bump notwithstanding) and B) He seems driven to do it out of moral obligation, more than anything else. As far as we’re concerned that – as long as he’s not just bullshitting us – is pretty cool.

(Guess if they’re gonna let *somebody* fight Bisping, it might as well be somebody we like.)

Kennedy, it turns out, is still kind of pissed about Bisping’s tainted win over friend and Ranger-Up stablemate Jorge Rivera back at UFC 127. He and the Brit have already had words about it on Twitter – yawn – and now that Chael Sonnen has been remanded to purgatory for his all-around untrustworthiness, Kennedy is offering to take his place in any sort of athletic endeavor against Bisping. Preferably one that involves punching him in the face.

“I haven’t lost sight of where I am and who I’m looking at realistically in Strikeforce,” Kenneday says. “I knew that Chael (Sonnen) was going to be in a bad position, and if Chael and Bisping are kind of the No. 1 and 2 guys, and Chael is out, I’ll fight the No. 2 guy in a heartbeat. I know they don’t have anybody lined up for him, so I’ll step up to the plate.”

Now, all that seems like standard boilerplate call-out material, but then Kennedy launches into a stirring indictment of the illegal knee Bisping landed en route to his victory over Rivera and essentially makes the case that he’ll fight the former “TUF” winner to strike a blow for the powers of good and decency against cheaters, liars, swindlers, hustlers, backbiters and evil-doers everywhere.

“I don’t like trash talking, but I hate people that don’t fight fair,” he says. “I hate cheaters. I hate people that use steroids. I hate people that hide their urine samples. I hate people that grease their bodies. I hate people that manipulate judges. I hate it all. Just go out there and fight. It disrespects everything this sport is about …

“He walks away with a win, a TKO, from blasting the dude in the face, illegally. Just drives me insane, like it’s the worse (sic) thing that can happen in the sport. As a fellow athlete, I think somebody has to hold him responsible for that … If the promotion won’t do it, let’s let the other athletes do it.”

In our minds eye, we imagine Kennedy delivering these words from the back of a truck on a makeshift airfield, surrounded by a ragtag band of misfits, as smoke swirls around him and some emotive music plays in the background. You know, like Bill Pullman in Independence Day. Unfortunately, it probably didn’t go down that way, but that doesn’t stop Kennedy from saying if he got to fight Bisping, he’d donate his entire purse to charity.

“Without a moment’s hesitation,” he says. “I love fighting, I love this sport, I love the competition of fighting, and I’m still a military guy through and through. I don’t fight for the money. So my fight purse I would give to a military-based non-profit. I have some in mind. I’m waiting for this fight to happen before I said who it was, but they already know who it would be.”

So, in summation, does calling out Michael Bisping make you look like a guy who’s looking for a winnable fight that will further your career? Yeah, it does. But if you’re absolutely 100 percent committed to calling out Michael Bisping, we guess, this is the way to do it.

Jake Ellenberger Hasn’t Forgotten About You, Jake Shields

(Does this look like a dude who should be deprived of what he wants? Pic: Sherdog)

As avid readers of our keen, in-depth statistical analysis, we know that you know that we know that Jake Ellenberger is currently riding a four-fight win-streak in the UFC. After going to Toronto and knocking out short-notice opponent Sean Pierson (just like we told you he would) last month Ellenberger remains undefeated since his split decision loss to Carlos Condit in his Octagon debut (a fight he appeared to be on his way to winning before gassing out) way back in September, 2009. Now that he’s home in Nebraska rehabbing the hand he broke on Pierson’s face, Ellenberger is going back to basics, returning to a strategy he adopted some months ago: Trying to trash-talk his way into a fight with Jake Shields.

Except here’s the difference: If not for that original loss to Condit at UFN 19, people might just be talking about a 5-0 (in the UFC) Jake Ellenberger as a potential top candidate to get a welterweight title shot one of these days soon. So now that Ellenberger is soaring and the Shields hype-wagon has been slowed a bit by his do-nothing performance against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129, maybe this booking wouldn’t seem so crazy. Hmmmm?

(Does this look like a dude who should be deprived of what he wants? Pic: Sherdog)

In fact, Ellenberger strikes us as sort of a perfect opponent for Shields at this point. Shields has long been considered one of the top welterweights (and maybe one of the top middleweights) on the planet, but before coming to the UFC he spent the last couple of years feasting on lesser competition in Strikeforce. Since his arrival in the Octagon, he frankly hasn’t seemed all that spectacular. Meanwhile, Ellenberger has been steadily climbing the ranks. We’re seeing a classic litmus-test situation for both fighters here.

As for Shields’ recent loss to GSP, Ellenberger tells Sherdog.com this week that he hasn’t even watched it yet. He says he will, but it sounds like he’ll do it more out of professional obligation than anything else.

“Will I watch it? Probably,” he said. “But I bet it’s going to go exactly the way that I thought. If they do make that match and me and Jake get to fight, he’s not a hard guy to figure out. I feel like I can beat him right now.”

You may remember that Ellenberger began singling out Shields as far back as November of last year, immediately following the former Strikeforce champ’s underwhelming promotional debut against Martin Kampmann. Ellenberger took his beef with Shields to (we mean, where else) Twitter and bombed away with such gems as: “Jake Shields, you’re as exciting as watching a bowl of mash potatoes get cold …Your days are numbered” and “Jake Shields’ cardio won’t be a factor if he fights me next. I won’t keep him around long enough to get tired.”

It’s too bad the UFC wasn’t offering cash bonuses for creative tweeting last year, are we right? Are we right?

Anyway, instead of giving Ellenberger (then just 2-1 in the UFC) what he wanted, the UFC teased him with a bout against Jon Fitch – only to give Fitch a chance at BJ Penn instead — before ultimately allowing him to whoop up on Carlos Eduardo Rocha and then Pierson (as an injury replacement for Brian Foster). Somewhere in there, Ellenberger reportedly lost his job as an assistant wrestling coach when the University of Nebraska-Omaha announced it would cut that sport while making the jump to Division I. It’s unknown if Ellenberger will be one of the coaches retained as most of the program (including the head coach and many of the athletes) decamps for Maryville University in St. Louis.

Signs point to no, since he’s talking like a guy who’s looking for a big pay day. Either way, it’s pretty clear what he really wants. Now it just remains to be seen if he gets it.