In an interview with Sherdog.com, Fira Zahabi talked about Rory MacDonald’s recent underwhelming victory over Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fox 8.
The co-main event did not please fans or UFC President Dana White, with MacDonald sticking to a snapping jab…
In an interview with Sherdog.com, FiraZahabi talked about Rory MacDonald’s recent underwhelming victory over Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fox 8.
The co-main event did not please fans or UFC President Dana White, with MacDonald sticking to a snapping jab and good movement rather than attacking his opponent. Zahabi, while aware of the frustration, was clear that Rory had the right plan.
“I think Rory neutralized the wrestling well and outboxed him,” said Zahabi. “Jake had to roll the dice and step in hard. Rory was controlling the distance well and did what he had to do to win.”
When asked if MacDonald was being overly cautious, the coach was blunt in stating “If you watch a lot of Jake Ellenberger fights, you would be cautious too.”
Zahabi noted that when training for an opponent like Ellenberger, the approach has to be different than with other fighters.
“[Jake] doesn’t just knock people out, he breaks their bones when he hits them. This is a very dangerous guy. You’re fighting a Tyson. You’ve got to fight him smart, you have to fight him calculated. It is not the same fight you would have if you fight a guy with normal human strength.”
Zahabi was willing to admit that MacDonald did have room to improve his stand-up game.
“There are so many things we need to fix. I think there are a lot of shots he could have landed. When you hesitate it is because you are not sure and you haven’t done it enough. He needs to be limited on the combinations he does in sparring, and focus on these combinations that should have come out but didn’t come out in this fight.”
There had been rumors that MacDonald and gym-mate Georges St-Pierre may be on course to face one another for the welterweight belt. With the lacking performance at UFC on Fox 8, MacDonald is likely in line for another contender bout. Meanwhile, Zahabi will focus his own attention on GSP’s upcoming bout with Johnny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November.
The last time Georges St-Pierre fought outside of Canada was March 27, 2010. Following that fight, a unanimous decision over Dan Hardy, St-Pierre fought four times in Canada. All four of those fights ended in the same manner—St-Pierre holding ont…
The last time Georges St-Pierre fought outside of Canada was March 27, 2010. Following that fight, a unanimous decision over Dan Hardy, St-Pierre fought four times in Canada. All four of those fights ended in the same manner—St-Pierre holding onto his UFC welterweight title via unanimous decision. St-Pierre’s run of fights in his home country will end on November 16, when he puts his title on the line against Johny Hendricks in Las Vegas at UFC 167. It’s a move that St-Pierre is actually looking forward to.
Three of St-Pierre’s Canadian bouts took place in front of crowds at Montreal’s Bell Centre. Some would say that fighting in his home province of Quebec would be an advantage for the UFC champ, not so, said St-Pierre. “Vegas takes a lot of pressure off me,” St-Pierre told the National Post.
When asked to expand on his comment, St-Pierre pointed to his promotional role when he fights in Canada, “When I fight here, I do it in English and French, so I do twice what my opponent does. And the last one, my opponent [Nick Diaz] did nothing at all. So that will give me a little bit of a break.” Diaz no showed the open workouts for the event.
It’s a valid point. When St-Pierre spoke to the media following his UFC 158 open workout, he had four media scrums to contend with, English audio and video, and French audio and video. Most of the other fighters that took part in the open workouts had to contend with just two media scrums. Extrapolate that out over the course of fight week, and that’s a lot of time St-Pierre spent doing promotional work.
The last time St-Pierre fought in Las Vegas was UFC 100. That July 2009 bout, against ThiagoAlves ended with a St-Pierre unanimous decision win. That victory began a six-fight streak of decision victories for St-Pierre. St-Pierre’s last stoppage win came at UFC 94, where BJ Penn did not answer the bell to start the fifth round. That fight took place in Vegas.
St-Pierre has fought 10 times in Vegas, winning all of those fights. St-Pierre has five decisions, three knockouts and two submissions in those bouts.
UFC 167 will take place on November 16 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Johny Hendricks is the No. 1 contender to George St-Pierre’s crown.
They will meet in November in a highly anticipated bout between two of the best fighters in all of MMA today.
GSP has been able to use his wrestling to dominate opposition, but Hendric…
Johny Hendricks is the No. 1 contender to George St-Pierre’s crown.
They will meet in November in a highly anticipated bout between two of the best fighters in all of MMA today.
GSP has been able to use his wrestling to dominate opposition, but Hendricks may be able to test that notion. It will force GSP to stand with his power.
We have already seen one pound-for-pound great fall in 2013. Will Hendricks be able to add to that list in November? Time will tell, but here are five reasons you should be rooting for Hendricks to take the title.
Upcoming UFC welterweight title challenger Johny Hendricks didn’t hesitate in accepting champion Georges St-Pierre’s invitation to participate in Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) drug testing ahead of their November 16 showdown.
GSP made the suggest…
Upcoming UFC welterweight title challenger Johny Hendricks didn’t hesitate in accepting champion Georges St-Pierre’s invitation to participate in Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) drug testing ahead of their November 16 showdown.
GSP made the suggestion last Saturday, July 6, while Hendricks accepted the challenge with open arms on Thursday, according to Sportsnet.
“I believe VADA testing. I’m up for it, and I invite my opponent to do the VADA testing for the championship fight,” St-Pierre told UFC Central host Showdown Joe Ferraro. “I invite, if possible, all the high-profile athletes in the UFC to do the same. I believe it’s a good thing. It’s a bit of a pain in the butt sometimes, but … I’m ready to do it to set a good example.”
Hendricks, a four-time Division I All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, has absolutely no problem being drug tested any time, any place and anywhere.
“The worst thing that they’re going to find is a little bit of protein in my diet. If eating wild hogs and organic deer meat and a little bit of glutamine is bad for the ol’ system, then I might fail,” Hendricks joked during an appearance on UFC Central Radio on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “It doesn’t matter. Today, tomorrow, three months from now, I’ll gladly take a test for anything.”
“Rush” enters the fall championship bout on the strength of an 11-fight win streak, which includes eight title defenses.
His most recent outing inside the cage was a lopsided unanimous decision over former Strikeforce titleholder Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in March.
Meanwhile, “Bigg Rigg” earned his shot at the gold by rattling off six straight victories at 170 pounds, including knockouts over perennial contenders in Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann.
Hendricks most recently became a “Fight of the Year” candidate when he out-pointed former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit, also at UFC 158 in March.
GSP and Hendricks clash at UFC 167, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Will VADA drug testing become the norm for UFC championship fights, or is the UFC still a ways off from imposing those measures?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
(Skip to 2:25 for the start of the VADA conversation..)
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has been accused of steroid use more times than any other fighter who’s never failed a drug test. BJ Pennfirst painted him as a cheater in 2009, saying that St. Pierre “doesn’t play by the rules when it comes to steroids and growth hormones and that stuff,” and pointed to his physique as proof. (“He looks like that every day…The rest of us, we get fat, then we train and get skinny and the cycle goes over and over again. He looks the same way all the time. Come on.”)
So for once, St. Pierre is going to beat these jackasses to the punch. In a new interview with Sportsnet’s Joe Ferraro, St. Pierre invited his UFC 167 opponent Johny Hendricks to subscribe to pre-fight drug-testing with him through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), which would provide random, unannounced testing during the eight weeks before their fight. Here’s what St. Pierre had to say:
“I believe the sport has a problem now. When I first started fighting in mixed martial arts, it didn’t have any money. So, now more money got involved, more ways are there to be cheating to take a shortcut and I believe VADA testing I’m up for it and I invite my opponent to do the VADA testing for the championship fight.
(Skip to 2:25 for the start of the VADA conversation..)
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has been accused of steroid use more times than any other fighter who’s never failed a drug test. BJ Pennfirst painted him as a cheater in 2009, saying that St. Pierre “doesn’t play by the rules when it comes to steroids and growth hormones and that stuff,” and pointed to his physique as proof. (“He looks like that every day…The rest of us, we get fat, then we train and get skinny and the cycle goes over and over again. He looks the same way all the time. Come on.”)
So for once, St. Pierre is going to beat these jackasses to the punch. In a new interview with Sportsnet’s Joe Ferraro, St. Pierre invited his UFC 167 opponent Johny Hendricks to subscribe to pre-fight drug-testing with him through the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), which would provide random, unannounced testing during the eight weeks before their fight. Here’s what St. Pierre had to say:
“I believe the sport has a problem now. When I first started fighting in mixed martial arts, it didn’t have any money. So, now more money got involved, more ways are there to be cheating to take a shortcut and I believe VADA testing I’m up for it and I invite my opponent to do the VADA testing for the championship fight.
I invite if possible all the high-profile athletes in the UFC to do the same. I believe it’s a good thing. It’s a bit of a pain in the butt sometimes but I believe to make the sport (better)…I’m ready to do it to set a good example.”
When Penn did it, it seemed like a cross between self-promotion and preparing an excuse in advance. For St. Pierre, it has a different tenor. This is not about hype — it’s about taking control of the common narrative (among his opponents, at least) that he’s a drug-cheat.
Will VADA-testing actually come to pass for his title-defense against Hendricks? Probably not. UFC president Dana White has bristled in the past when his fighters bring up the idea of additional drug testing for their fights, claiming that drug-testing should only be the responsibility of the athletic commissions. (“When fighters start talking about other guys being drug tested? Shut up. Worry about you.”) But hopefully this will prevent GSP’s future opponents from dragging out the same unfounded attacks about St. Pierre and PEDs. And just in case Johny Hendricks was planning to do the same thing? Well, he can’t now. In fact, he has to say that he’d be down with VADA testing too*, or else he looks suspicious.
Of course, if you’re a Nick Diaz/BJ Penn nuthugger, you probably think that the UFC has already paid off VADA to falsify any drug-test results that GSP might submit in the future, in order to help their golden-boy PPV king keep winning fights and maintain his year-round six-pack. I can’t help you guys. The truth is out there.
* Update:And he has. “Heck ya!” Hendricks told UFC Central Radio on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “The worst thing that they’re going to find is a little bit of protein in my diet. If eating wild hogs and organic deer meat and a little bit of glutamine is bad for the ol’ system then I might fail…It doesn’t matter. Today, tomorrow, three months from now, I’ll gladly take a test for anything.”
Upcoming UFC welterweight title challenger Johny Hendricks is oozing with confidence leading up to his showdown with champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167 in November.
In an interview with MMA Fight Corner, “Bigg Rigg” says fans have yet to see h…
Upcoming UFC welterweight title challenger Johny Hendricks is oozing with confidence leading up to his showdown with champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167 in November.
In an interview with MMA Fight Corner, “Bigg Rigg” says fans have yet to see him show his true potential inside the Octagon and he is completely confident he has the tools to beat his French-Canadian counterpart.
I want to knock him out, but I want his hands to be up. I want to punch people’s hands and I wanna lay him out the right way … The only people who know my true power are people that I’ve wrestled and that’s about it. That’s what I’m excited to bring out is that kind of intensity, that kind of power that I haven’t shown the world yet, and I plan to do that in November … That’s the hardest part is stepping in against a guy who’s had the belt since forever ago. The most important thing is that I believe that’s my belt. He’s just holding onto it for me.
Hendricks made it clear that he wants a victory over GSP, who enters the bout on an 11-fight win streak, to be decisive and without controversy, unlike Chris Weidman‘s shocking upset over Anderson Silva this past Saturday.
While Weidman knocked out the legendary Silva with a left hook in the second round, naysayers believe “The All-American” doesn’t stand a chance in a potential rematch if Silva cuts back on the showboating.
Following the loss by the Brazilian pound-for-pound great, St-Pierre currently holds the longest active win streak in the UFC.
Additionally, he has a realistic chance of tying Silva’s record of 10 consecutive title defenses. GSP currently boasts eight title defenses in a row.
Hendricks, who has won six fights in a row in his own right, sounds like he has other plans and will bring the fight to the long-time 170-pound kingpin.
Will Hendricks be able to make good on his word and dethrone St-Pierre this fall or will the face of the Tristar Gym once again prove to be too much to handle?
JohnHeinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA Editor for eDraft.com and contributes MMA videos to The Young Turks Sports Show.
In an interview with Sherdog.com, Fira Zahabi talked about Rory MacDonald’s recent underwhelming victory over Jake Ellenberger at UFC on Fox 8.