Former The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 contestant Doug Sparks found himself locked in a county jail in Indiana on Saturday after allegedly committing several crimes in Bloomington, per a report by Yahoo Sports.
Sparks reportedly forced an unkn…
Former The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 contestant Doug Sparks found himself locked in a county jail in Indiana on Saturday after allegedly committing several crimes in Bloomington, per a report by Yahoo Sports.
Sparks reportedly forced an unknown woman to stay with him while he sexually assaulted her for several days.
Sparks was detained in the Monroe County Jail on Thursday on preliminary charges of rape, criminal confinement, battery with bodily harm and theft. Sparks is being held on a $250,000 surety-only bond.
The 32-year-old light heavyweight competed on the opening episode of The Ultimate Fighter Season 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn, where he lost via a first-round kimura to Patrick Walsh in a preliminary-round fight.
Following his tryout for TUF Season 19, Sparks, wearing a pair of novelty polar bear ears, talked about what drew him to MMA during an interview with Indianapolis Star Sports.
“I always wanted to fight,” Sparks said. “I was born with an innate drive to violence. … I was getting in trouble, when I was around 18 or so, (but) once I saw the UFC…I just saw some highlights like on Sherdog and stuff, and I was like, ‘Now I know what I (want to) do.’ It was the easiest decision I ever had to make.”
Sparks, a resident of Bloomington, went unbeaten in nine amateur fights before turning pro in November 2006. Sparks lost by second-round TKO to UFC veteran Anthony Lapsley in his pro debut at Extreme Combat Challenge: Season’s Beatings.
Sparks followed his loss to Lapsley by reeling off seven straight wins. During that span, Sparks finished every opponent (five submissions and two TKO’s).
In his last bout, Sparks fell to once-beaten middleweight Shaun Asher via unanimous decision at TWEF: Turf Wars 8 in 2012.
Less than a month after scoring their first UFC wins, grappling aces Robert Drysdale and Kevin Casey each failed drug tests administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Drysdale improved to 7-0 when he won via first-round submission over Keith…
Less than a month after scoring their first UFC wins, grappling aces Robert Drysdale and Kevin Casey each failed drug tests administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Drysdale improved to 7-0 when he won via first-round submission over Keith Berish at The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale on July 6. The day before, Casey notched his fourth straight win by recording a first-round KO of Bubba Bush at UFC 175.
Drysdale failed his test due to an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio of 12-to-1, according to Deputy Attorney General Christopher Eccles, per a report by MMAJunkie.com. The NSAC allows a (T/E) ratio of 6-to-1.
Casey, meanwhile, tested positive for drostanolone, an anabolic steroid.
Update: Kevin Casey apologies for his actions via Twitter.
—end of update—
Both wins will likely be deemed no contests, and Casey and Drysdale could receive suspensions and fines. It’s yet to be scheduled, but both fighters will stand before the NSAC in a future hearing.
No other competitor from UFC 175 or The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale tested positive for any banned substances or elevated (T/E) ratios. The NSAC used blood and urine tests for UFC 175. Only urine screens were utilized for The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale.
The 33-year-old Drysdale has struggled personally since signing with the UFC in 2013. Drysdale had to pull out of his first scheduled bout with the company at UFC 163 due to a staph infection. The submission wizard was then denied at license by the NSAC following a pre-fight drug screen for UFC 167 that showed his testosterone-to-epitestosterone (T/E) ratio at 19.4-to-1.
Casey, also 33 years old, failed a drug test for the first time in his seven-year career. Casey dropped his promotional debut to Josh Samman via TKO (knees) at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.
It’s hard to leave behind seats so close you can literally reach out and touch the fighters as they walk out of the UFC Octagon. But leave them I did, abandoning press row for the long hike up to section 205 at the very top of the Mandalay Bay Events C…
It’s hard to leave behind seats so close you can literally reach out and touch the fighters as they walk out of the UFC Octagon. But leave them I did, abandoning press row for the long hike up to section 205 at the very top of the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Most of the time I’m able to keep my journalist face on, especially when sitting among my peers. I admit that mine isn’t as good as some others—Fox’s Michael Chiappetta, for example, never seems to change expressions over the course of five hours. I admire that restraint but could never replicate it.
My relationship with this sport will always be that of a fan. This isn’t a vocation. It’s a passion—and Penn is one of my early favorites. As I’ve watched this sport grow into the behemoth it is today, he’s been there, a constant presence, a steady rock in an industry of constant change.
I don’t know BJ Penn. I don’t want to. He’s from a time before I had to put a mask on and pretend I didn’t care who won or lost, before I had ever met an athlete and had any illusions of heroism shattered by real-life human flaws. Together we’ve shared the pain and joy of a tumultuous career.
And so I made my trek to 205. My friend Jeremy Botter was there to meet me. He understood, though we didn’t really discuss it. I had been with him in Atlanta where his friend Miguel Torres met an awful end at the hands of Michael McDonald. I had seen his own mask fall off as we sat together in the press box. So I knew there would be no judgments.
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel much as Penn was annihilated by Frankie Edgar. Hope can be a cruel poison, but I don’t know that I ever got mine up. Even when a fat man took his shirt off to lead loud cheers for the pride of Hawaii, I never really believed.
In my heart? Maybe. But my head has seen too many older fighters try to tap into a well that has long run dry. As soon as Penn stood up on his tippy toes, looking more like a ballerina than a boxer, I knew it was over. Both his career and the last link to my time before this was my profession, when I was allowed to hoot and holler to my heart’s content.
Penn retired after the fight, admitting he should have probably never come back—but needed to know that in his bones before he called it a career.
“The biggest regret would be if I didn’t get in the ring tonight,” Penn told reporters after the fight. “I’d always kick myself in the butt and complain to Dana White and complain to everybody ‘Man, I could have done it again.’ Now I know for sure I can’t.”
One day, likely soon, Penn will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Future generations will look at his pedestrian 16-10-2 record and wonder why we held him in such high regard. But we’ll know.
It’s for the way he sprinted from the cage after knocking out CaolUno in a matter of seconds at UFC 34.
For the way he walked into the ring against an enormous LyotoMachida, fear nowhere to be found.
For the time he answered a pedestrian post-fight interview question with the simple command “If you wanna know more, go to BJPenn.com.”
For the way he rearranged Diego Sanchez’s face, making his mean mugging all the more comical.
One by one the icons of a simpler time are leaving us. All of our ties to the sport’s formative years will soon be gone. Penn was among the last of the old guard still standing. His void will never be filled.
In a world of corporate sponsors, podcast guest spots and Fan Expos, BJ Penn never really quite fit in. He loved the fans, but the glitz and glamour was clearly not his style.
BJ Penn wasn’t meant for modern mixed martial arts. He was exceptionally athletic but never an athlete. Never one for the gym, he wasn’t the best at exercising. He was a fighter. Who but a fighter would lick an opponent’s blood from his gloves with such glee?
It’s moments like that, when we are both repelled and amazed, that made Penn so special. Moments like that compelled me to get up from my seat. And I’m glad that I did—so I could stand up and cheer BJ Penn one last time.
For the bulk of their main event fight at The Ultimate Fighter season 19 finale, it appeared painfully obvious that Frankie Edgar had an answer for everything in BJ Penn’s arsenal.
In their third fight (each of which Edgar has won), Edgar tagged P…
For the bulk of their main event fight at The Ultimate Fighter season 19 finale, it appeared painfully obvious that Frankie Edgar had an answer for everything in BJ Penn‘s arsenal.
In their third fight (each of which Edgar has won), Edgar tagged Penn at will from the opening bell until the bout’s violent finish late in the third round.
Edgar outstruck Penn 159-60, including 90-16 in the significant strikes department.
“The Answer” also outgrappled Penn, a fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Edgar landed each of his three takedown attempts and passed Penn’s notoriously tricky guard three times.
BJ Penn says fighting at featherweight had no effect on his performance. “It’s neither here nor there” #TUFFinale
Edgar ran his record to 8-1 in non-title fights in the UFC with the win. The former lightweight champ has won back-to-back bouts since losing three straight title fights between February 2012 and February 2013.
Penn, conversely, lost for the third consecutive time and for the fifth time in his last seven outings. The former lightweight champ has won just once since losing his first bout with Edgar at UFC 112.
On Sunday night in Las Vegas, Frankie Edgar moved to 3-0 against BJ Penn in his career. That win came as a result of a TKO on the ground, where Edgar battered Penn with big ground-and-pound.
The win keeps Edgar in the top part of the featherweight divi…
On Sunday night in Las Vegas, Frankie Edgar moved to 3-0 against BJ Penn in his career. That win came as a result of a TKO on the ground, where Edgar battered Penn with big ground-and-pound.
The win keeps Edgar in the top part of the featherweight division, as the former lightweight champ is now 2-1 as a featherweight, with his only loss coming to current champ Jose Aldo. He has to be around the title picture, especially given his credentials.
So, what’s next for Mr. Edgar at 145? Here are three fights Edgar could take next.
Urijah Faber
UFC 176 needs a main event. Urijah Faber fought Saturday night. Frankie Edgar fought Sunday night.
Perhaps these two could make a quick turnaround for that main event.
Faber would have to move up from bantamweight to take this fight. But as a former featherweight world champion, he would likely jump at the opportunity. It’s also a great stylistic matchup, as both men are boxing wrestlers.
It’s a sort of “superfight” that could draw interest. Faber is a definite draw, and Edgar is no slouch himself.
Of course, both men will have to come out of their fights without injuries, so this may be a pipe dream.
Chad Mendes
Chad Mendes was set to fight Jose Aldo in the UFC 176 main event. If he wishes to still headline, maybe Edgar could be his opponent.
It could be a top contender’s bout between the two. It could eliminate a challenger to Aldo while presenting the outright No. 1 contender.
Edgar’s speed versus Mendes‘ power would be a nice contrast. It could be an entertaining fight that saves a main event that needs bodies right now.
Cub Swanson
Cub Swanson is probably next in line for a title shot after Mendes. If he wishes to stay busy, a top contender’s fight with Edgar could be awesome.
Swanson is a devastating striker who has been on a huge run lately. He would present a fun challenge to Edgar, as Edgar is quick and tough. It would be crazy to see him try to use his chin against Swanson’s power.
It’s a fight that could headline a Fox show or co-headline a pay-per-view card. It’s also a lock for a Fight of the Night for any card it would be on.
The end of The Ultimate Fighter 19 came Sunday night, as TUF 19 Finale came live from Las Vegas. It was an entertaining night of fights with knockouts and submissions aplenty.
The card was headlined by a third fight between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar. E…
The end of The Ultimate Fighter 19came Sunday night, as TUF19 Finale came live from Las Vegas. It was an entertaining night of fights with knockouts and submissions aplenty.
The card was headlined by a third fight between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar. Edgar took the bout via TKO, pushing his record to 3-0 against Penn.
Who were the three stars of the event? Let’s take a look now at who were the performers of the night.
1. Derrick Lewis
In looking at who boosted his stock the most Sunday night, Derrick Lewis is definitely in contention. Between his drubbing of GutoInocente and post-fight awesomeness, Lewis probably picked up a few fans in the process.
Lewis is a large heavyweight with a great amount of power. When he gets on top, his ground-and-pound is aimed to break bones and steal consciousness.
Following his massive beatdown of Inocente, which saw several huge ground strikes that put Inocente out, Lewis had a crazy post-fight celebration with gorilla chest bumps and the throat slash gesture. He also called out Cain Velasquez.
With Matt Mitrione reportedly yelling to fight Lewis from the crowd and Lewis’s all-around greatness Sunday night, it’s hard not to be intrigued by this new UFC heavyweight.
2. Corey Anderson
TUF 19 was panned by fans for boring fights and a lack of finishes. Corey Anderson must have heard the complaints, because he didn’t work for long Sunday night.
Taking on a striker in Matt Van Buren, Anderson came into the fight as purely a wrestler in most people’s eyes. However, it was his boxing and power that brought a stop to the fight early in the first round.
Anderson is now a very intriguing prospect at 205, a division that lacks a lot of new blood and prospects. He is a powerful guy who rapidly improved from the first day of TUF.
It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
3. Eddie Gordon
As stated, TUF 19 was a disappointing season that fans reviewed negatively. Eddie Gordon, like Anderson, must have received that memo because he came out looking to knock Dhiego Lima’s head off.
Despite a couple of shots to the back of the head, which were probably accidental, Gordon bullrushed through Lima with power hooks and beat him up bad.
Gordon, who works with trainers Matt Serra and Ray Longo, is a training partner of Chris Weidman. He made things a great weekend for that team, as Weidman retained his title at UFC 175 and Gordon gained the title of Ultimate Fighter winner.
Gordon is well-rounded and a huge middleweight. He is now an exciting fighter to keep your eye on.
Former The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 contestant Doug Sparks found himself locked in a county jail in Indiana on Saturday after allegedly committing several crimes in Bloomington, per a report by Yahoo Sports.