(Can you not see the hydrochlorothiazide COURSING THROUGH HIS VEINS??? / Photo via Getty)
Louis Gaudinot‘s 73-second submission win over Phil Harris at UFC Fight Night 37 has been overturned into a no contest. This comes off the back of Gaudinot’s drug test failure; he tested positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. As the event took place in the UK, it was the UFC that handed him a six month suspension rather than an athletic commission.
Gaudinot issued a statement not long after the news of his drug test failure and suspension broke…
(Can you not see the hydrochlorothiazide COURSING THROUGH HIS VEINS??? / Photo via Getty)
Louis Gaudinot‘s 73-second submission win over Phil Harris at UFC Fight Night 37 has been overturned into a no contest. This comes off the back of Gaudinot’s drug test failure; he tested positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide. As the event took place in the UK, it was the UFC that handed him a six month suspension rather than an athletic commission.
Gaudinot issued a statement not long after the news of his drug test failure and suspension broke:
I have great respect for the UFC, the sport of MMA, and my opponent. I would never do anything to disrespect any of them. I would also never do anything to tarnish my name, my teammates, and family. While I deny any wrongdoing, I will respect the decision of the UFC and look forward to getting back in the cage in pursuit of the UFC flyweight championship. I thank my family, teammates and fans for their support.
A bit of a bummer, we were hoping for Dennis Siverlevels of palpable guilt but instead we just got a generic “I didn’t do it but I’m not gonna fight it because I actually did do it” answer. Gaudinot, a flyweight, is now 6-3 (1) in his MMA career. Before fighting Harris, he was coming off a disappointing decision loss to Phil Harris. With the suspension, Gaudinot won’t be able to grace the Octagon again until September. Harris now has a sterling record of 22-11 (2). The had UFC justifiably shit-canned Harris after the fight, but have apparently brought him back to face Neil Seery at UFC Fight Night 46 next month. As Nick Diaz would say, “It’s whatever.”
(Gustafsson’s post-fight interview and fight highlights, via YouTube.com/UFC)
Alexander Gustafsson took care of business today at UFC Fight Night 37 in London, England, destroying Jimi Manuwa with a barrage of strikes in the second round and retaining his spot at the top of the light-heavyweight contender ladder. Considering that Manuwa wasn’t even ranked in the top ten going into this fight, things played out the way they were supposed to, pretty much. Still, the ease in which Gustafsson ran through his previously-undefeated opponent reminded everyone how dangerous “The Mauler” can be.
After the fight, Gustafsson didn’t mince words about what he wanted:
“Jon Jones, I want my title shot again. I’m ready, here. Whenever you want, man. Whenever you want.”
(Gustafsson’s post-fight interview and fight highlights, via YouTube.com/UFC)
Alexander Gustafsson took care of business today at UFC Fight Night 37 in London, England, destroying Jimi Manuwa with a barrage of strikes in the second round and retaining his spot at the top of the light-heavyweight contender ladder. Considering that Manuwa wasn’t even ranked in the top ten going into this fight, things played out the way they were supposed to, pretty much. Still, the ease in which Gustafsson ran through his previously-undefeated opponent reminded everyone how dangerous “The Mauler” can be.
After the fight, Gustafsson didn’t mince words about what he wanted:
“Jon Jones, I want my title shot again. I’m right here. Whenever you want, man. Whenever you want.”
Jones, of course, has to get past Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 next month in Baltimore. But assuming he does, Gustafsson has just helped set up a massive title-fight rematch with Bones for later this year. It’s just a shame that the only fans who got to see Gus’s victory/call-out on this side of the Atlantic were Fight Pass subscribers.
Gustafsson and Manuwa earned $50,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night, and Gustafsson got an additional $50,000 for Performance of the Night. Gunnar Nelson nabbed the event’s other $50k Performance of the Night bonus for his first-round guillotine choke of Omari Akhmedov, which kicked off the main card. Complete results from UFC Fight Night 37 are at the end of this post.
MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas tweeted the following yesterday:
A reasonable sentiment, especially in an age where the UFC is going to put on two events in the same day, though the tweet was not specifically directed at the UFC. It was tweeted two minutes after a jape at Bellator’s expense. Dana White ignored such nuances. He took the tweet personally, and responded with 140-character artillery fire this morning:
MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas tweeted the following yesterday:
A reasonable sentiment, especially in an age where the UFC is going to put on two events in the same day, though the tweet was not specifically directed at the UFC. It was tweeted two minutes after a jape at Bellator’s expense. Dana White ignored such nuances. He took the tweet personally, and responded with 140-character artillery fire this morning:
Hilariously, Dana White didn’t know Luke Thomas—one of the most well-known figures in the MMA media—was a media member. Once White found out how accomplished Thomas was, specifically that he was on an episode of UFC Countdown, White brought the hammer down. But there’s something more concerning about White’s behavior. He doesn’t care about legitimate criticism that’s offered politely and eloquently. White’s intransigence in the face of disagreement is nothing new, however, but it’s starting to wear thin; he’s been more churlish than usual lately. He went mental when the always-reasonable Georges St-Pierre announced his retirement. More recently, he behaved questionably at a media luncheon, and buried Alistair Overeem and Jose Aldo after fantastic performances.
“Dana is gonna Dana” is no longer a valid excuse for such behavior. Lorenzo Fertitta has proven that you can respond to criticism courteously while maintaining the UFC’s “as real as it gets” image. Dana White needs to do the same or be yanked off stage with a Vaudeville hook. We understand he’s used to hearing whatever he wants from the media, but acting in a hyper-emotional, immature manner when writers offer their take on issues in the sport (which is their job) is unacceptable. More unacceptable than that is intentionally telling fans not to watch your product and disregarding their opinions, as White did on twitter this morning too.
The UFC’s product is clearlydiminishing in value. Fans are getting restless. While White is to be commended for his accessibility on social media, hurling insults that read like they were written by a 14-year-old as well as telling fans to not watch the UFC’s product is harmful. Instructing potential customers to not buy what you’re selling is a terrible practice, but to Dana White it’s business as usual. In case you don’t understand why that’s a bad idea, check out this exchange between MMA firebrand Front Row Brian and famed MMA historian Jonathan Snowden. Telling fans to ignore your product has disastrous results. Words of apathy become acts of apathy. There are fights on tonight? Meh, who cares? Instead of fostering behavior like that, Dana White should be trying to demolish it root and stem. But White will do no such thing. If you don’t watch every single card, and shell out more cash than any other sports fan, your’e not a real fan, dummy!
By the way, here are the complete results for UFC Fight Night 37, a card some of you might not been real enough fans for:
Main Card
Alexander Gustafsson def. Jimi Manuwa via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 2, 1:18
Michael Johnson def. Melvin Guillard via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Brad Pickett def. Neil Seery via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Gunnar Nelson def. Omari Akhmedov via submission (guillotine) – Round 1, 4:36
Preliminary Card
Ilir Latifi def. Cyrille Diabate via submission (neck crank) – Round 1, 3:02
Luke Barnatt def. Mats Nilsson via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:24
Claudio Henrique da Silva def. Brad Scott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Igor Araujo def. Danny Mitchell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Louis Gaudinot def. Phil Harris via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 1:13
I know what you’re thinking: Does this mean that Ilir Latifi vs. Cyrille Diabate gets bumped up to the UFC Fight Night 37 co-main event? LOL, of course not. Luckily, the UFC has already found a replacement for Pearson — Michael Johnson, who’s coming off an impressive knockout of Gleison Tibau at UFC 168, and has been calling out Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov since then in an attempt to land a big fight. And while those call-outs may have been slightly premature, a decisive win against Guillard could go a long way in making Johnson’s case as a contender worthy of top competition.
Johnson vs. Guillard has a personal hook to it as well. The two hard-hitting 155’ers were Blackzilian training partners for a while, until Guillard left the crew. A few months later, Guillard took some shots at Johnson on Twitter for no apparent reason. Your predictions for this one, please.
I know what you’re thinking: Does this mean that Ilir Latifi vs. Cyrille Diabate gets bumped up to the UFC Fight Night 37 co-main event? LOL, of course not. Luckily, the UFC has already found a replacement for Pearson — Michael Johnson, who’s coming off an impressive knockout of Gleison Tibau at UFC 168, and has been calling out Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov since then in an attempt to land a big fight. And while those call-outs may have been slightly premature, a decisive win against Guillard could go a long way in making Johnson’s case as a contender worthy of top competition.
Johnson vs. Guillard has a personal hook to it as well. The two hard-hitting 155′ers were Blackzilian training partners for a while, until Guillard left the crew. A few months later, Guillard took some shots at Johnson on Twitter for no apparent reason. Your predictions for this one, please.
(Clad in a ragged fedora and suspenders, ‘One Punch’ is the first sub-boss you encounter in the “England” level of Super UFC Bros. / Image via @MleegArt)
Though Pickett was never able to put together a long winning streak in the Octagon, his fan-friendly style has earned him four Fight of the Night bonuses and one Knockout of the Night bonus since 2011, totaling $270,000 in extra cash. His last appearance resulted in a triangle-choke loss to Michael McDonald, in a bout that won the FOTN award for UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen. Of course, McCall is no slouch himself when it comes to bonuses, with two Fight of the Night bumps in his four UFC appearances. So yeah, should be fun.
Also on the card…
(Clad in a ragged fedora and suspenders, ‘One Punch’ is the first sub-boss you encounter in the “England” level of Super UFC Bros. / Image via @MleegArt)
Though Pickett was never able to put together a long winning streak in the Octagon, his fan-friendly style has earned him four Fight of the Night bonuses and one Knockout of the Night bonus since 2011, totaling $270,000 in extra cash. His last appearance resulted in a triangle-choke loss to Michael McDonald, in a bout that won the FOTN award for UFC Fight Night 26: Shogun vs. Sonnen. Of course, McCall is no slouch himself when it comes to bonuses, with two Fight of the Night bumps in his four UFC appearances. So yeah, should be fun.
Once thought to be a serious threat in the welterweight division, Nelson’s long injury layoff and Akhmedov’s tendency to destroy people could make this a tough one for the emotionless Icelander. Your predictions, please.
It’s not a booking that suggests the UFC has long-term plans for Latifi. Though Diabate is coming off a loss to Jimi Manuwa via injury TKO (mind bullets) in February, “The Snake” has racked up a respectable 4-3 record in the UFC overall, including first-round stoppages of Luiz Cane and Chad Griggs. In other words, Diabate should be a heavy favorite in this one, and Latifi’s permanent status as a trivia answer/punchline will likely be secure.
UFC Fight Night 37 will take place at London’s O2 Arena, and will mark the first event in the promotion’s 2014 European Tour.
(Ilir’s the blurry guy getting punched. / Photo via Getty)
It’s not a booking that suggests the UFC has long-term plans for Latifi. Though Diabate is coming off a loss to Jimi Manuwa via injury TKO (mind bullets) in February, “The Snake” has racked up a respectable 4-3 record in the UFC overall, including first-round stoppages of Luiz Cane and Chad Griggs. In other words, Diabate should be a heavy favorite in this one, and Latifi’s permanent status as a trivia answer/punchline will likely be secure.
UFC Fight Night 37 will take place at London’s O2 Arena, and will mark the first event in the promotion’s 2014 European Tour.
