(Cheick Kongo had never seen Deliverance before, yet in that moment, he somehow knew what was coming. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)
We know, we know, it’s probably not a good idea to solely base someone’s employment status with the UFC on the existence of their UFC.com profile, but speculation is the hamster that keeps the wheels of intellectual transcendance and creative spontaneity spinning here at CagePotato. That, and a shitload of coke. For the hamster.
Aaaaanyway, word was passed along this morning that longtime heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo no longer has a fighter profile on UFC.com, which can only mean one thing in today’s UFC economy: BANISHMENT.
In all honesty, anyone who noticed how much money Kongo was making even in defeat probably could’ve seen this coming. His legendary come-from-behind KO over Pat Barry aside, Kongo has looked like a shell of himself ever since Frank Mir made good on his promise to change him as a fighter at UFC 107. Once a feared striker, the Frenchman seemed like a fish who had intentionally leaped out of water in his pair of grappling-heavy snoozer decisions over Matt Mitrione and Shawn Jordan, the latter of which we dubbed the worst fight of 2012. Kongo would find no relief in his once-adored striking game, either, suffering two first round knockout losses (to Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson at UFC 144 and 159, respectively) in his past three contests.
While it would be easy to take pot shots at a guy who has subtly threatened us with physical violence before, we are going to take the high road here. So join us after the jump for look back at some of Kongo’s greatest hits.
(Cheick Kongo had never seen Deliverance before, yet in that moment, he somehow knew what was coming. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)
We know, we know, it’s probably not a good idea to solely base someone’s employment status with the UFC on the existence of their UFC.com profile, but speculation is the hamster that keeps the wheels of intellectual transcendance and creative spontaneity spinning here at CagePotato. That, and a shitload of coke. For the hamster.
Aaaaanyway, word was passed along this morning that longtime heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo no longer has a fighter profile on UFC.com, which can only mean one thing in today’s UFC economy: BANISHMENT.
In all honesty, anyone who noticed how much money Kongo was making even in defeat probably could’ve seen this coming. His legendary come-from-behind KO over Pat Barry aside, Kongo has looked like a shell of himself ever since Frank Mir made good on his promise to change him as a fighter at UFC 107. Once a feared striker, the Frenchman seemed like a fish who had intentionally leaped out of water in his pair of grappling-heavy snoozer decisions over Matt Mitrione and Shawn Jordan, the latter of which we dubbed the worst fight of 2012. Kongo would find no relief in his once-adored striking game, either, suffering two first round knockout losses (to Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson at UFC 144 and 159, respectively) in his past three contests.
While it would be easy to take pot shots at a guy who has subtly threatened us with physical violence before, we are going to take the high road here. So join us after the jump for look back at some of Kongo’s greatest hits.
After a seven-year run that included 18 fights in the organization, veteran heavyweight Cheick Kongo is a UFC fighter no more.His management team today made the announcement.
It takes more than two consecutive ass-kickings to keep a good Gangster down. As I [*cough cough*] PREDICTED, Chael Sonnen has no plans to retire following his recent title-fight loss to Jon Jones, and the American Gangster even has a name in mind for his rebound fight: Wanderlei Silva.
Bruised but in high spirits, Sonnen returned to the UFC Tonight studios yesterday where he discussed the experience of fighting Jones (“like getting into a bear cage”), the slightly-controversial stoppage (Sonnen says he was still defending himself when the referee stepped in), and the prospect of winning the light-heavyweight championship on a toe-related technicality (“I’d have walked out of there to the boos…and I’d never look back!”).
Later in the segment, Kenny Florian asked Sonnen the question on everyone’s mind — is this the end for our hero? Sonnen had this to say…
It takes more than two consecutive ass-kickings to keep a good Gangster down. As I [*cough cough*] PREDICTED, Chael Sonnen has no plans to retire following his recent title-fight loss to Jon Jones, and the American Gangster even has a name in mind for his rebound fight: Wanderlei Silva.
Bruised but in high spirits, Sonnen returned to the UFC Tonight studios yesterday where he discussed the experience of fighting Jones (“like getting into a bear cage”), the slightly-controversial stoppage (Sonnen says he was still defending himself when the referee stepped in), and the prospect of winning the light-heavyweight championship on a toe-related technicality (“I’d have walked out of there to the boos…and I’d never look back!”).
Later in the segment, Kenny Florian asked Sonnen the question on everyone’s mind — is this the end for our hero? Sonnen had this to say…
“I will definitely continue, and at 205 pounds, unless they come up with a catchweight — and they have a couple of guys they let do that. I know Rich Franklin’s fought at catchweights a bunch, it’s very rare that you do that. But I’m not going to be in contendership any time soon, and neither is Rich Franklin or a pool of other guys. So there is a little bit of room where we could meet in the middle. And now that I’ve dropped Rich’s name, this wasn’t my way of challenging Rich, I was speaking to the point of the catchweight situation. So yeah, I’m going to stick around. I keep getting asked the retirement question…I’m 36 years old, and at that age and this point of your career, you’re just going to get asked that question. I have a lot of goals I want to achieve still, and retirement won’t help me get that done…
“My problem at 185 [pounds] is there was no one left to fight. I had fought everybody in the top ten including the champion a couple of times, and I just wasn’t going to get that opportunity again, and I didn’t want to be one of the guys. So I move up to 205 to get a fresh coat of paint and start over. Well now I got a problem there too, as I fought the champion, it wasn’t a competitive enough match to warrant doing it again. So what do I do? And the thing for me at this point, it was just a lot better experience not having to get that weight off. I’d rather give up the size but have a smile on my face. I could be talked into going back down a weight class — if that’s where the fights are, that’s where the fights are. But you know, the landscape changes quickly, so my opinion and my answer to you could change quickly too, but let’s see what happens. I think there’s gonna be a big shakeup July 4th weekend when Weidman gets his hands on Anderson.”
On the topic of who his next opponent could be, Florian floated the names Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, and it was clear which way Sonnen was leaning:
“As far as Wanderlei goes, he’s called me out before, and I’ve called him out, but the fight never really made sense — I was a contender, and he was just a guy on the card — and now I think the fight does make a little bit more sense. I’m not leaving this sport. Whenever I get asked about retirement, I never say it, but I always think it: I’m not going anywhere until me and Wanderlei straighten this thing out once and for all…
Wanderlei pulled a real dirtbag move on me one time. We’re in a van together, he mutters something at me, I can’t understand what he’s saying for the life — you know, truly, I can’t understand it. He then puts it on YouTube, with subtitles, because he knows that I can’t understand him. So he puts it in these subtitles, I don’t know if that’s what he said or not, but essentially he tells me off and it looks as though I’m conceding to him. If you’re a fighter, that doesn’t fly. If a guy calls you out, it doesn’t matter if it’s in a van or not, you must respond to him. I’m ready to respond, Wanderlei.”
Wanderlei Silva most recently won Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night honors for his frenzied brawl against Brian Stann at UFC on FUEL 8 in March, where he competed as a light-heavyweight — and the Axe-Murderer’s next dance partner hasn’t been determined yet. So yes, the matchup would make a lot of sense. But would you want to see it? And how would that fight shake out?
On Saturday night in Newark, N.J. British fighter, Michael Bisping won a technical decision against Alan Belcher. The contest went to the cards when in the third round “The Count” struck Belcher in the eye. The fight was anti-climatic and s…
On Saturday night in Newark, N.J. British fighter, Michael Bisping won a technical decision against Alan Belcher. The contest went to the cards when in the third round “The Count” struck Belcher in the eye. The fight was anti-climatic and showed, once again, that Bisping never lives up to his first round knockout promises. It also showed, once again, that eye-poking is out of control.
The strategy of ignoring the issue has proven ineffectual. The fact that referees almost never take a point for it and issue an infinite amount of warnings shows how little is being done to curtail this epidemic.
The Unified Rules of MMA rules clearly state that when a fighter commits a foul that renders their opponent unable to continue, they lose via disqualification. Here is the rule as posted on the UFC website:
“If an injury sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul, as determined by the referee, is severe enough to terminate a bout, the contestant causing the injury loses by disqualification.”
There are numerous fighters who consistently strike with an open hand. Josh Koscheck is an excellent example of that. At what point can we say this is no longer an accident? Bisping threw a left hook and then released his index finger as his fist reached Belcher‘s face and as a result it extended into the eye.
The Zombie Prophet provided another one of his excellent gifs.
I do not know that Bisping intentionally poked Belcher in the eye. I do believe that he is responsible for his own fingers. I also believe that he knew very well that throwing punches with his outstretched fingers could potentially injure his opponent’s eye. Fighters are taught to punch through their target. It is technically unsound to stretch out the finger as the hand reaches the face. It should be ruled as an intentional foul as he is accountable for his own fingers.
This is the definition of an accident:
Noun
1. An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
It is most obviously expected that one would be struck by a finger to the eye when it is thrown at someone’s face. However, not only are points not being deducted, but these fouls are being classified as accidental. In some cases, they are not even being called. Kevin Burns infamously defeated Anthony Johnson in such a manner.
Often fighters say they are OK to continue and compete with a disadvantage for the remainder of the contest. Again, benefiting the one breaking the rules.
GSP had to defend his title with one eye after Jake Shields eye-poked him in a horrifically blatant eye strike. The interpretation of the rules by referees is definitely favoring those who break the rules.
If an injury sustained during competition as a result of an accidental foul, as determined by the referee, is severe enough for the referee to stop the bout immediately, the bout shall result in a technical decision awarded to the contestant who is ahead on the score cards at the time the bout is stopped only when the bout is stopped after two rounds of a three round bout, or three rounds of a five round bout have been completed.
Bisping, in all probability, would have won the fight regardless of the bout going to the cards for a Technical Decision but it does not make it right. It also does not do anything to help Alan Belcher who had just returned to MMA after retina surgery to repair his eye.
These are intentional strikes. Nobody is slipping on banana peels and having their fingers randomly end up in someone’s eyes. These are the best martial artists on the planet. They are jabbing their fingers at their opponent’s face against all coaching and they are benefiting from it.
People have suggested modifications to the gloves. This is logical but they must not be designed to hinder the grappler who depends on using their fingers for grips. Some have suggested soft-shelled goggles. I believe that referees deducting points and issuing disqualifications are the place to start.
It would also seem prudent for the UFC and other organizations to impose penalties on fighters who eye-poke. Suspensions and banning for repeat offenders would be logical steps to protect fighters and promote safety. Referees need to begin deducting points consistently and early in the fight and rule the pokes as intentional. Until then, the advantage shall remain with the eye-pokers.
Chael Sonnen is many things.He’s a successful mixed martial artist and has risen to the mountaintop in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He’s enjoyed some of the greatest business and financial successes of which any fighter can dr…
ChaelSonnen is many things.
He’s a successful mixed martial artist and has risen to the mountaintop in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He’s enjoyed some of the greatest business and financial successes of which any fighter can dream. Yet, something is still missing.
That something happens to be a major MMA championship.
Thus far in his career, Sonnen has always finished in second place. He nearly completed the unthinkable when he beat down Anderson Silva for nearly 25 minutes, only to fall victim to a triangle choke. He lost to Paulo Filho in the WEC prior to that, and now Sonnen was simply demolished by Jon Jones at UFC 159.
Even though he joins the ranks of guys like Kenny Florian and Michael Bisping, who’ve choked in big-time fights, Sonnen is still a widely popular fighter. Fans have grown tired of his “Chael P. Sonnen” persona as time wears on, but the UFC’s bank account isn’t noticing—the pay-per-view buy-rates continue to rise by putting Sonnen on the card.
It’s that ability to generate interest no matter the opponent that has placed Sonnen in the position he finds himself in now. When the Oregon native entered the UFC for a second time, he became an instant highlight reel victim, as Demian Maia used a trip to secure a triangle. It seemed as if Sonnen was headed back down the midcard path until someone stuck a microphone in his face.
Sonnen went off on the UFC middleweight champ Silva in a way that few had seen before. Most fighters seemed in awe of Silva’s greatness in the Octagon, while Sonnnen wanted to test “The Spider” and see just how invincible he really was.
But it wasn’t just words that earned Sonnen a title shot; it was two very impressive showings against Nate Marquardt and YushinOkami. In the weeks leading up to Silva-Sonnen I at UFC 117, few believed Sonnen stood a chance and merely laughed at his feeble attempts to promote the fight.
But then Sonnen shocked the world by not only surviving but taking the fight to Silva for the better part of the bout. The performance gained Sonnen more fans than any of his trash-talking had done before.
What followed would be a slow downward spiral that saw Sonnen go from top of the MMA world in 2010 to where we are today. He was popped for elevated testosterone levels and suspended, and he even ran into some legal trouble.
The name Sonnen became the punchline in a number of MMA jokes, but he changed that by taking out Brian Stann and Bisping upon his return. His climactic rematch with Silva reached new heights of fight promotion and became one of the most successful UFC events in terms of revenue.
Despite not emerging victorious against Silva, Sonnen still was able to secure a title shot at light heavyweight and an Ultimate Fighter coaching gig due to his ability to generate interest. With Jones’ dominance at 205 pounds, interest is something the division desperately needed.
Once again, Sonnen failed to capitalize on a title fight and seems to be leaning towards retirement. Although Sonnen has been regularly competing since 2002, it will be the past three years that will be remembered about Sonnen‘s career.
He practically changed the hype game in MMA and showed that the ability to promote a fight was just as valuable as the fight itself. We all knew that it was just pre-fight hype, yet we all still tuned in for the show.
That will be the legacy Sonnen leaves behind. He’s obviously a talented fighter, but fans will forever remember him as “The Oregon Gangster, Chael P. Sonnen.”
If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few days, then you know Jon Jones has a bit of a boo-boo on his toe. The compound fracture went unnoticed by Jones until Joe Rogan pointed it out in the post-fight interview.For anyone that hasn’t se…
If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few days, then you know Jon Jones has a bit of a boo-boo on his toe. The compound fracture went unnoticed by Jones until Joe Rogan pointed it out in the post-fight interview.
For anyone that hasn’t seen the GIF of the toe breaking, I highly recommend staying away if you have a weak stomach.
Although the injury appears to be gruesome, it actually shouldn’t keep the champ out of action for very long. He’ll likely be on the sidelines for a few weeks, as his toe will be immobilized, but given his youth and recovery times of other fighters with similar injuries, I’d expect Jones to fight before 2013 is finished.
The champion has already stated his intentions regarding his career moving forward, in that he wants to break Tito Ortiz’s records in the light heavyweight division prior to moving up to heavyweight. That leaves one opportunity for any potential title challengers to try and take down the seemingly invincible champion.
LyotoMachida has already been guaranteed a title shot after defeating Dan Henderson, and Alexander Gustafsson was promised one after his defeat of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua back in Dec. of 2012.
While it would make sense in terms of rankings for Machida and Gustafsson to fight one another, it appears as if Machida and his camp want nothing to do with it. That leaves the UFC in a bit of a predicament as to who will face Jones in his next bout.
The champion said he was interested in fighting Gustafsson next during the UFC 159 post-fight press conference, but who knows if the UFC is willing to give the Swede that kind of opportunity, after the UFC on Fuel 9 debacle that saw Gustafasson forced off the card only days prior to the event.
The major effect it will have on the division is that it keeps Jones in the division for a bit longer than he anticipated. Few title matches will have much anticipation behind them due to Jones’ dominance, which likely forces the UFC’s hand in picking Gustafsson to face Jones as the champion.
Jones’ injury may slow the process of his moving up to heavyweight a bit, but it’s an inevitable change that is still on the horizon.
MMA’s Great Debate Radio returns for Tuesday’s show with plenty of fallout from last weekend’s UFC 159 show, and one of the biggest winners from the weekend, Pat Healy, joins us as our guest. Healy had to sit and wait like a lot of Strikeforce fighters…
MMA‘s Great Debate Radio returns for Tuesday’s show with plenty of fallout from last weekend’s UFC 159 show, and one of the biggest winners from the weekend, Pat Healy, joins us as our guest.
Healy had to sit and wait like a lot of Strikeforce fighters for most of 2012, although he did finally get a fight in early 2013 before the promotion closed its doors for good.
He made the most of that moment before making his debut against the always tough Jim Miller at UFC 159 over the weekend.
What resulted was Healy picking up a victory over Miller, while also capturing two bonuses netting him an extra $130,000.
On today’s show, Healy will talk about the long road back to the UFC from Strikeforce, and his impressions of the fight that took place with Miller.
Today’s debate topics include:
—Did anything surprise you in the Jon Jones vs. ChaelSonnen fight at UFC 159?
—Has Jon Jones surpassed Anderson Silva as the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA?
—Who should Jon Jones face next?
—Should ChaelSonnen consider retirement?
—More impressive debut runs—WEC fighters or Strikeforce fighters in the UFC?
This is MMA’s Great Debate Radio for Tuesday, April 30, 2012
(If the embedded player does not work please click here to listen to the show. Also don’t forget to subscribe to the show via iTunesor listen on Stitcher Radio)
