UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem kicked off its fan frenzied pre-fight press conference in front of a packed lobby at the MGM Grand. Fans waited for hours for the presser to begin and well, it.
UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem kicked off its fan frenzied pre-fight press conference in front of a packed lobby at the MGM Grand. Fans waited for hours for the presser to begin and well, it didn’t necessarily start with a bang, as media members were less than eager to fire off questions, for it had only been a day since we’d bombarded Brock Lesnar, Alistair Overeem, Nate Diaz, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone with our challenging inquiries at the open workouts. Lesnar kept things colorful with tossing out a few curse words in his answers, Overeem kept a steady smile, Nate kept his composure, and Cowboy…well, he kept his hat on…that is, until Nate knocked it off. You can watch the entire press conference here or just check out our exclusive photos by Silton Buendia below.
MMA Fix brings you our exclusive UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem Open Workouts photo gallery featuring Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Nate Diaz. Photos by Silton Buendia.
MMA Fix brings you our exclusive UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem Open Workouts photo gallery featuring Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Nate Diaz. Photos by Silton Buendia.
Georges St. Pierre tweeted out this picture today, as he began his first phase of rehab, less than one week after his ACL patellar tendon autograft (knee surgery). GSP wrote: That’s a pretty crazy looking.
Georges St. Pierre tweeted out this picture today, as he began his first phase of rehab, less than one week after his ACL patellar tendon autograft (knee surgery). GSP wrote:
That’s a pretty crazy looking device on his bed, but I couldn’t help looking at the rest of the picture and wondering if GSP really had a chaise sofa bed in his room, ’cause that’s kind of… well, not the style I thought he’d have. Then I noticed that black phone with all the buttons and the alarm clock and I said, that’s not his room. That’s a hotel room, right? And someone needs to adjust the lamp shade. And where the hell is his left leg? This whole picture freaks me out, but it’s also very entertaining. Right now, I’m looking for Waldo.
Miguel Torres must have thought he was cleverly supporting the FX network by tweeting out this line from the hit show, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: “”If a rape van was called a surprise van.
Miguel Torres must have thought he was cleverly supporting the FX network by tweeting out this line from the hit show, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: “”If a rape van was called a surprise van more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them.” Torres later deleted the direct quote and posted a more politically correct revision: “If a windowless van was called a surprise van more people wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.”
But by then the Twitter damage was done and Dana White immediately released Torres from the UFC telling SI.com:
“There’s no explanation for that. There’s absolutely nothing I could say to make any sense of that. And the fact that he even thinks that’s funny or that’s a joke, it disturbs me. It bothers me.
Is this fair? Well, for an organization handing out Twitter bonuses for most creative tweets, maybe the UFC earns the right to punish you for tweets, as well. But it sure is a shame Torres made a stupid mistake. It was probably the absolute worst line he could have tweeted in the wake of the Forrest Griffin backlash to his misunderstood rape tweet and Rashad Evans‘ reference to Jerry Sandusky which was in awfully poor taste, though at the time, he believed it to be a witty insult against Penn State alum, Phil Davis. And all these ridiculous rape comments are coming at the worst possible time, when the UFC is just entering the world of mainstream television. Granted, Torres was quoting a Fox related network show; but the quote was unnecessary to even tweet out. And damn it, if he’d only initially posted the “window less van” version, he might still have a job.
Bottom line, our fighters are going to need PR teams checking their 140 characters or less before they hit the tweet button. Should White reconsider and relent on his decision to let go of Torres? I hope he does. I am a female with a pretty open sense of humor and I thought it was super super stupid that Torres tweeted that line. The context just wasn’t there to support him like it is when you see it spoken in the episode, “The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis”. But, I think his reputation precedes him. Regardless, these fighters need to shelve their burgeoning rape comments and remember they are role models, whether they like it or not. It’s part of the athlete’s job when he/she is publicly representing an organization that pays his/her bills. Nobody cares what the Average Joe writes, but a professional athlete is no longer anonymous or average, so people take notice.
At the very least these fighters should consider, when it comes to tweets, if you have to explain yourself past the allotted 140 characters, there’s a chance someone may not get it, so don’t tweet it. This is our sports’ time to shine and when you’re paid to be in the public eye, you have a responsibility for the sh*t you say. Leave the offensive lines to those brave keyboard warriors out there.
Tito Ortiz announced he has 2 fights left in him, which includes his match-up this Saturday with Antonio “Lil Nog” Rogerio Nogueira. The last fight Ortiz would like is a rubber match with Forrest Griffin..
Tito Ortiz announced he has 2 fights left in him, which includes his match-up this Saturday with Antonio “Lil Nog” Rogerio Nogueira. The last fight Ortiz would like is a rubber match with Forrest Griffin. Ortiz told MMA Weekly:
“I think me and Forrest Griffin, we got some unfinished business, just because they gave him the last fight and I thought that was BS. That really annoys me a lot about it. But, of course, Rich Franklin calls me out, it’s like take a number dude. Stand in line with the rest of the people that’ve been calling me out. Everybody wants to get famous by fighting Tito Ortiz and I think the people who really deserve it are people who already fought me or are fighting for a title.”
Of course, many fans these days question the heart of Forrest Griffin when it comes to the sport as he very openly admitted he was no longer evolving as a fighter, leading up to his almost expected loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 134. Griffin said in his blog:
It quit being fun when I realized I wasn’t getting better. I’m plateauing or almost getting worse sometimes. One of the essential elements to have in this is your perceived expectation of the future, and I’m a painful realist, so I realized that I’m not going to get better; this is it. It’s only gonna get worse from here on and you fight as much as you can, you fight until you don’t have it anymore, and then you fight a couple more times after that.”
Maybe Griffin’s words are echoing sentiments of Tito Ortiz right now. Regardless of current or passing frames of mind, both of these fighters have held titles and bolstered the sport and the UFC above and beyond their call of duty. Give respect to both men and here’s to an epic trilogy, I hope we get to see.
