“He can’t even fight until January. He’s got something wrong with his back or sciatica, something is wrong with him right now,” UFC president Dana White said last week. “He’s seeing a doctor.”
“He can’t even fight until January. He’s got something wrong with his back or sciatica, something is wrong with him right now,” UFC president Dana White said last week. “He’s seeing a doctor.”
So, in this fantasy-world that Chael has constructed, his hypothetical fight against Rashad Evans would get top billing over Georges St. Pierre, the UFC’s reigning pay-per-view king. You can’t argue with that kind of logic. We’ll let you know as soon as Sonnen’s next dance-partner is finalized.
Well, it looks like the Conor McGregor hype train has pulled into the station for extensive repairs. Though the Irish featherweight was originally reported to have suffered a minor ACL sprain during his decision victory over Max Hollaway last weekend, an MRI has revealed that McGregor actually sustained an ACL tear, an MCL strain, and a posterior horn meniscal tear. (Aye…da dreaded O’Donoghue’s triad.) He will be out of action for approximately 10 months.
So no, he won’t be fighting Diego Brandao — or anybody else — at UFC 168. It’s a shame, because McGregor was on a roll, in terms of trash-talking other fighters on Twitter. A couple of nights ago, he dissed the majority of the UFC’s featherweight contenders, calling them boring (Guida, Lentz), old (Swanson, Siver), undersized (Mendes, Edgar), or unpopular (Lamas, Koch). And then, he got into a twitter-beef with Diego Sanchez, telling The Dream “You’re the fattest, sloppiest, slowest Martial Artist i’ve ever laid eyes on. I’d go up to 170 to whoop your fat ass. EASY.”
McGregor won’t be able to back up any of his words until next summer. Still, he tried to put a brash spin on his knee injury this morning, writing: “I celebrate adversity. Congratulations. Your favourite fighter is safe. For 10 months. #AintNothing I’ll do it on my back. EASY!!!!”
Well, it looks like the Conor McGregor hype train has pulled into the station for extensive repairs. Though the Irish featherweight was originally reported to have suffered a minor ACL sprain during his decision victory over Max Hollaway last weekend, an MRI has revealed that McGregor actually sustained an ACL tear, an MCL strain, and a posterior horn meniscal tear. (Aye…da dreaded O’Donoghue’s triad.) He will be out of action for approximately 10 months.
So no, he won’t be fighting Diego Brandao — or anybody else — at UFC 168. It’s a shame, because McGregor was on a roll, in terms of trash-talking other fighters on Twitter. A couple of nights ago, he dissed the majority of the UFC’s featherweight contenders, calling them boring (Guida, Lentz), old (Swanson, Siver), undersized (Mendes, Edgar), or unpopular (Lamas, Koch). And then, he got into a twitter-beef with Diego Sanchez, telling The Dream “You’re the fattest, sloppiest, slowest Martial Artist i’ve ever laid eyes on. I’d go up to 170 to whoop your fat ass. EASY.”
McGregor won’t be able to back up any of his words until next summer. Still, he tried to put a brash spin on his knee injury this morning, writing: “I celebrate adversity. Congratulations. Your favourite fighter is safe. For 10 months. #AintNothing I’ll do it on my back. EASY!!!!”
You might recall that, in the weeks before his UFC 163 bout with Anthony Perosh, TUF 8 finalist Vinny Magalhaes told anyone who would listen that his 40 year old opponent “sucked” (not that he was trying to talk shit, he also reminded us) and that if he lost to Perosh, he “deserved to be cut.” Fourteen seconds and a big helping of humble pie later, Magalhaes laid down his gloves in the octagon, a universal symbol in the fight world for retirement.
While most of us were waiting for an official retirement announcement from Magalhaes any day now, it seems that Vinny is already recanting his retirement before it could even begin. Well, sort of. He recently spoke with MSN Brazil (via BJPenn.com), essentially changing his stance to “If the UFC cuts me, then I’ll retire.”
I have one more fight left in my contract, but we all know that it doesn’t mean much and there’s a chance that I get cut. Before this fight I said I deserved to get cut if I didn’t win. I’m waiting for UFC’s decision, anything can happen, but I really don’t care, man.
(Perosh saves his trash talking for the post-fight interview — it’s a strategy that Vinny should probably consider in the future.)
You might recall that, in the weeks before his UFC 163 bout with Anthony Perosh, TUF 8 finalist Vinny Magalhaes told anyone who would listen that his 40 year old opponent “sucked” (not that he was trying to talk shit, he also reminded us) and that if he lost to Perosh, he “deserved to be cut.” Fourteen seconds and a big helping of humble pie later, Magalhaes laid down his gloves in the octagon, a universal symbol in the fight world for retirement.
While most of us were waiting for an official retirement announcement from Magalhaes any day now, it seems that Vinny is already recanting his retirement before it could even begin. Well, sort of. He recently spoke with MSN Brazil (via BJPenn.com), essentially changing his stance to “If the UFC cuts me, then I’ll retire.”
I have one more fight left in my contract, but we all know that it doesn’t mean much and there’s a chance that I get cut. Before this fight I said I deserved to get cut if I didn’t win. I’m waiting for UFC’s decision, anything can happen, but I really don’t care, man.
People say that the UFC doesn’t pay much to their fighters, but if you look to the other events it’s even worse. So if they cut me, I don’t see why I should keep fighting in other events. I’d rather open my own gym than fight for little money. I stopped fighting in Jiu-Jitsu because of the financial part, so it would make no sense for me to return now. If the UFC doesn’t renew my contract, I’ll stop.
Meanwhile, Anthony Perosh is currently the greatest UFC fighter over 35 not undergoing testosterone replacement therapy (suck it, Vitor!). Let this be a lesson to all you up-and-coming fighters out there: Experience > arrogance.
In typical Chael Sonnen fashion, the outspoken whateverweight recently issued a challenge to Wanderlei Silva with a 24-hour expiration date. Apparently Sonnen’s ability to lose fights yet subsequently talk himself into main events has confused him to the point that he believes he is a UFC matchmaker. Sure, Silva is coming off of an impressive knockout win and yes, Sonnen has lost two in a row. But when has being on a career downturn ever stopped the “American Gangster” from getting fights with more famous fighters who are actually winning before?
“I gave him the timeline…if he doesn’t answer, I’m done and I’ll move on,” Sonnen said from his Fuel TV analyst’s seat this week.
Wanderlei finally responded to Sonnen’s challenge yesterday, and thankfully not on Twitter. Silva told Ariel Helwani that he’s never been offered the Sonnen fight by, you know, the people who offer fights in the UFC. Sonnen also apparently didn’t realize that the communication medium of choice for twelve year old girls would mean little to Wanderlei.
When Fuel TV called up Silva for comment on Sonnen’s challenge, Wanderlei took things from the world of Twitter to a much weirder and more frightening place. First off, Helwani said that Silva “laughed uncontrollably” — which, if you’ve ever heard him laugh, is scary enough — before adding that, “Jon Jones and Anderson Silva have been too nice to Chael. I want to suck his blood. I want to smell it. Not just fight. Not just fight. I want to hurt him…”
In typical Chael Sonnen fashion, the outspoken whateverweight recently issued a challenge to Wanderlei Silva with a 24-hour expiration date. Apparently Sonnen’s ability to lose fights yet subsequently talk himself into main events has confused him to the point that he believes he is a UFC matchmaker. Sure, Silva is coming off of an impressive knockout win and yes, Sonnen has lost two in a row. But when has being on a career downturn ever stopped the “American Gangster” from getting fights with more famous fighters who are actually winning before?
“I gave him the timeline…if he doesn’t answer, I’m done and I’ll move on,” Sonnen said from his Fuel TV analyst’s seat this week.
Wanderlei finally responded to Sonnen’s challenge yesterday, and thankfully not on Twitter. Silva told Ariel Helwani that he’s never been offered the Sonnen fight by, you know, the people who offer fights in the UFC. Sonnen also apparently didn’t realize that the communication medium of choice for twelve year old girls would mean little to Wanderlei.
When Fuel TV called up Silva for comment on Sonnen’s challenge, Wanderlei took things from the world of Twitter to a much weirder and more frightening place. First off, Helwani said that Silva “laughed uncontrollably” — which, if you’ve ever heard him laugh, is scary enough – before adding that, “Jon Jones and Anderson Silva have been too nice to Chael. I want to suck his blood. I want to smell it. Not just fight. Not just fight. I want to hurt him…”
When that kind of statement comes from someone with as much blood on his hands as Wanderlei, it rings a little too true for comfort. Silva doesn’t deal with Twitter beefs, only lifelong blood feuds. Chael’s best lines are stolen from professional wrestlers and said far away from his foes, usually on Twitter or during awkward Sportscenter interviews. Wandy’s words go straight into folklore, much like his vicious KO’s fill countless tribute videos, while Sonnen basically fights big bouts for the sole purpose of bolstering his opponent’s’ highlight reel. Simply put, if Chael Sonnen is a gangster in the movie of his life, Wanderlei Silva is Jason fucking Voorhees. Not that I have a dog in this fight or anything.
What do you say, nation? Do you want to see Chael talk himself into yet another rematch with someone who made him say uncle the first time around? And if so, aren’t there other rematches that Sonnen should get to first, before taking on and getting demolished by MMA royalty?
Personally, I think a rematch better suited for Sonnen is Terry Martin. Yes, thatTerry Martin. Sonnen may have been beaten, exhausted and unable to stand on his own two feet without support after losing to Martin back in 2004, but at least it was a much more competitive exchange than his first showdown with Wanderlei.
[UPDATE] We have received reports that Jeremy Horn was in Los Angeles yesterday and, by virtue of being within thirty miles of the Fuel TV studio, forced Sonnen into submission. Sonnen screamed out in pain for all to hear and then denied having given up to the unknowing Horn, who was enjoying a hot dog on the Venice Beach boardwalk at the time of the win, the 90th of his career. Horn’s fourth career stoppage win over Sonnen is being listed via triangle choke at :59 of the third round.
After burying most of the UFC middleweight division in his last Yahoo! Sports column — including that poor, poorChris Weidman, who has done nothing to deserve such rough treatment — angry MMA blogger Michael Bisping returned last night with his latest missive, which attacks pretty much every aspect of Vitor Belfort‘s character, from the Brazilian’s physical appearance, to his controversial history of rabbit-punching, to his Rex Ryan-esque affection for his wife’s feet. (Meanwhile, Belfort claims that talking trash is dangerous because it can infect the person doing the talking as much as it can hurt the target. Pffft, whatever!)
On embarrassing fetishes:
“A fan tweeted me a link to Vitor in some Brazilian reality TV show, a clip where he’s in a bath kissing someone’s feet. [Ed. note: In case you’ve somehow never seen this clip before, those feet belonged to Vitor’s wife, Joana Prado.] It was pretty fruity stuff but, if he enjoyed sucking toes, he’s going to have the time of his life on January 19 because I’m going to kick him in the face all night long.” [Ed. note: You son of a bitch.]
On TRT and illegal punches:
“I’m thinking of asking Randy Couture if I can use him old nickname ‘the Natural’ just to make it clear I’m not one of these guys who is on TRT or any of that junk. Whenever someone asks me if I am on it, I give them a straight answer and if they ask me what I think of TRT I always say: ‘I think it is legalized cheating’…I don’t think it has a place in our sport and wish my opinion — and I think the majority of fans’ opinion — was shared by certain other fighters and the people who regulate our sport.
I was disappointed Vitor Belfort started talking in tongues when asked about TRT recently. He had a little more to say on Monday when he was asked directly about my concerns that all his recent UFC fights were won by illegal punches to the back of the head. In between lengthy references to the New Testament, Belfort basically said he doesn’t care if he hits opponents behind the head…
After burying most of the UFC middleweight division in his last Yahoo! Sports column — including that poor, poorChris Weidman, who has done nothing to deserve such rough treatment — angry MMA blogger Michael Bisping returned last night with his latest missive, which attacks pretty much every aspect of Vitor Belfort‘s character, from the Brazilian’s physical appearance, to his controversial history of rabbit-punching, to his Rex Ryan-esque affection for his wife’s feet. (Meanwhile, Belfort claims that talking trash is dangerous because it can infect the person doing the talking as much as it can hurt the target. Pffft, whatever!)
On embarrassing fetishes:
“A fan tweeted me a link to Vitor in some Brazilian reality TV show, a clip where he’s in a bath kissing someone’s feet. [Ed. note: In case you’ve somehow never seen this clip before, those feet belonged to Vitor’s wife, Joana Prado.] It was pretty fruity stuff but, if he enjoyed sucking toes, he’s going to have the time of his life on January 19 because I’m going to kick him in the face all night long.” [Ed. note: You son of a bitch.]
On TRT and illegal punches:
“I’m thinking of asking Randy Couture if I can use him old nickname ‘the Natural’ just to make it clear I’m not one of these guys who is on TRT or any of that junk. Whenever someone asks me if I am on it, I give them a straight answer and if they ask me what I think of TRT I always say: ‘I think it is legalized cheating’…I don’t think it has a place in our sport and wish my opinion — and I think the majority of fans’ opinion — was shared by certain other fighters and the people who regulate our sport.
I was disappointed Vitor Belfort started talking in tongues when asked about TRT recently. He had a little more to say on Monday when he was asked directly about my concerns that all his recent UFC fights were won by illegal punches to the back of the head. In between lengthy references to the New Testament, Belfort basically said he doesn’t care if he hits opponents behind the head.
How he’s gotten away with this in his career is a mystery to me, and I hope we have a strong referee who has the balls to do something about it — if it happens — with thousands of Belfort supporters screaming in the stands. And of course it is down to me to make sure I’m not put in a position where he can unloaded these kinds of shots.”
On chicken legs and chicken hearts:
“I’m looking forward to going to Brazil. I was there for just a few days before Christmas doing PR for this fight. I shook Vitor’s hand and we had a laugh about how at UFC 152 we were around each other quite a lot and got along great — and now we are fighting. It happens a lot in the UFC but it’s always a little strange.
I noticed he looked HUGE. Massive arms, chest and shoulders – a body for posing down at the beach – but then I noticed these little chicken legs sticking out of his arse. I thought: ‘He has the upper body of a lion but the legs of a chicken’.
And – now we are this close to the fight – I will say that he has heart of a chicken, too. He’s a professional bully. If you let him have his way he will rip you apart in short order, but if you fight back and get him tired, he backs down and does basically nothing.”
On back-stabbing:
“In Brazil, we didn’t do a formal press conference but, instead, I was in one room talking to Brazilian media and Belfort was in the next room doing interviews at the same time. I’d just given interviews talking about what a great challenge this was when one media guy said: ‘Wait, Vitor just described you as a hooligan and a thug.’
I didn’t believe him at first — sometimes media people, knowing my hard-earned reputation for embarrassing myself when I get emotional — will tell me stuff like that hoping for a reaction and a nice quote. But everyone in the room confirmed Vitor was sitting in the other room bitching me out like he was on ‘Real Housewives’ or something.
I was very surprised to be honest, because just a couple weeks before he’d been really cool about me training in a gym owned by his sponsors. I really appreciated that but after bitching me out he then sent me a text message saying: ‘Sorry, just hyping the fight.’
Now, I am all about hyping fights but don’t be two-faced. I prefer to fight and train emotionally. If I like an opponent or respect him, I tend not to do as well as I would if I felt I owed them a beating. I was already motivated, but now I want to really put on a show.”
Final predictions:
“Vitor has one or two rounds to beat me – or try to hit me behind the head – and then his gas tank will be empty and the fight will look like Rocky vs. that dead cow.
I’m going to force him to fight at a pace he couldn’t even fight at in his early 20s. He’s going to be miserable in there.”
With her Strikeforce title defense against Sarah Kaufman coming up this weekend, Ronda Rousey’s latest bit of fight-hype was so violently over-the-top that it made Frank Mir look downright sportsmanlike in comparison. Here’s what Rowdy told reporters during yesterday’s Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman press conference:
“Sarah Kaufman should be thanking her lucky stars that MMA is properly regulated in California. I respect her so much that I’m not taking any chances: If i get her in an armbar I’m going to try and rip it off and throw it at her corner, if I get her in a choke I’m going to hold it until she’s actually dead. And if I get a knockout I’m going to actually try and pound her face into the ground. She’s relying on the competence of the California athletic commission to walk out of that cage alive. That has nothing to do with whether I like her or respect her, she seems like a nice chick, but I go into every fight like my little sister’s life is depending on it. And in that kind of situation, no one can ever beat me.”
Wow. If this fighting thing doesn’t work out, Ronda might have a future as an artist signed to Psychopathic Records. Luckily, Kaufman was relatively cool and insightful about the whole thing, saying:
With her Strikeforce title defense against Sarah Kaufman coming up this weekend, Ronda Rousey’s latest bit of fight-hype was so violently over-the-top that it made Frank Mir look downright sportsmanlike in comparison. Here’s what Rowdy told reporters during yesterday’s Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman press conference:
“Sarah Kaufman should be thanking her lucky stars that MMA is properly regulated in California. I respect her so much that I’m not taking any chances: If i get her in an armbar I’m going to try and rip it off and throw it at her corner, if I get her in a choke I’m going to hold it until she’s actually dead. And if I get a knockout I’m going to actually try and pound her face into the ground. She’s relying on the competence of the California athletic commission to walk out of that cage alive. That has nothing to do with whether I like her or respect her, she seems like a nice chick, but I go into every fight like my little sister’s life is depending on it. And in that kind of situation, no one can ever beat me.”
Wow. If this fighting thing doesn’t work out, Ronda might have a future as an artist signed to Psychopathic Records. Luckily, Kaufman was relatively cool and insightful about the whole thing, saying:
“She’s gonna try and kill me, which is kinda mean, but that’s alright….That’s great, it’s a fight. And that’s what you wanna do, you don’t want to come in and play patty-cake, that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to show up and do everything we possibly can to win. I mean, hopefully no one dies in the process, but again, it’s a fight and anything can happen. So it’s great, it gets people excited, and people want to see two athletes showing up and fighting, and not just trying to out-score the other person. They want to see someone decisively finish a fight.”
Be sure to catch CagePotato’s liveblog of the Rousey vs. Kaufman Showtime main card right here beginning at 10 p.m. ET this Saturday. If anybody dies, we’ll let you know as soon as it happens.
