Tag: UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs Sonnen

Despite Actually Losing the TUF 17 Finale, Everyone is Still Terrified of Uriah Hall


(Gold Bond foot lotion: So soothing, it’ll knock you right off your motherfucking feet.) 

Since we know how much you guys love a good old fashioned conspiracy theory, try this one on for size: Everyone in the middleweight division is still scared shitless of Uriah Hall and will do anything within their power to avoid fighting him. Yes, despite the fact that he dropped a unanimous decision to Kelvin Gastelum in his UFC debut, Hall seemingly cannot find an opponent brave (or healthy) enough to face him at UFC on FOX Sports: Shogun vs. Sonnen on August 17th.

First, Nick “mumblegumblemurglegurgle” Ring was scheduled to face Hall at the event. Then we posted this video, then Ring suspiciously went down with the first “blown asspussy” in UFC history. Ring was quickly replaced by Hall’s fellow TUF 17 alum, Josh Samman, and everything seemed to be back on track. Until yesterday, that is, when Samman likely realized that he would never be able to complete his Ethnography of Women and Violence in Post-war Guatemala thesis while comatose. Subsequently, Samman has also been forced to withdraw from his fight with Hall, paving the way for a certain UFC veteran (and Boston native) to reclaim the spotlight…


(Gold Bond foot lotion: So soothing, it’ll knock you right off your motherfucking feet.) 

Since we know how much you guys love a good old fashioned conspiracy theory, try this one on for size: Everyone in the middleweight division is still scared shitless of Uriah Hall and will do anything within their power to avoid fighting him. Yes, despite the fact that he dropped a unanimous decision to Kelvin Gastelum in his UFC debut, Hall seemingly cannot find an opponent brave (or healthy) enough to face him at UFC on FOX Sports: Shogun vs. Sonnen on August 17th.

First, Nick “mumblegumblemurglegurgle” Ring was scheduled to face Hall at the event. Then we posted this video, then Ring suspiciously went down with the first “blown asspussy” in UFC history. Ring was quickly replaced by Hall’s fellow TUF 17 alum, Josh Samman, and everything seemed to be back on track. Until yesterday, that is, when Samman likely realized that he would never be able to complete his Ethnography of Women and Violence in Post-war Guatemala thesis while comatose. Subsequently, Samman has also been forced to withdraw from his fight with Hall, paving the way for a certain UFC veteran (and Boston native) to reclaim the spotlight…

That’s right, Taters, none other than John “Doomsday” Howard will make his long-awaited return to the UFC on short notice to face Hall at the TD Garden. Howard posted the above video to his Youtube account yesterday to break the good news (as well as guarantee a FOTN-worthy performance); now let’s just hope he can make it to fight night in one piece.

Since being ousted from the UFC in 2011 following three straight losses — bringing his promotional record to 4-3 overall — Howard has gone 6-1 with five stoppages and is coming off back-to-back first round knockouts. “Doomsday” has offered to fight on the Boston card for free in recent months and even broke Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsaranev’s nose once, so it was kind of DW’s patriotic duty to include him on this card.

Will Howard be able to score an upset in his UFC return? Or is Hall destined to receive an endless loop of opponents who will never actually fight him?

–J. Jones

(Not) Coming to America: Massachusetts State Law Threatening to Derail ‘UFC on FOX Sports 1:1? [UPDATED]

Not to give any of you Massachusetts-based Taters a full-blown, Buster Bluth panic attack, but UFC on FOX Sports 1: Shogun vs. Sonnen is currently facing some legal issues that could throw a wrench into the plans of several foreign fighters hoping to compete on the Boston card in August, including headliner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

The Boston Herald first passed along word of a potential issue, which relates to temporary Social Security numbers that must be attained by foreign-born fighters before they are allowed to compete in Massachusetts:

“This law has been in existence since we legalized mixed martial arts in the commonwealth of Mass­achusetts,” said Terrell Harris, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, which regulates prize fighting.

“It’s been brought to the attention of the UFC more than a few times since we legalized the fighting here. But they’ve chosen basically to ignore the law and hope that they could skirt it somehow,” Harris said. 

When they bring in fighters that are not American citizens, there are exceptions that allow them to obtain a Social Security number,” Harris said.

“The Social Security Administration will issue a temporary work visa but it’s up to them to do their due diligence…the law is the law. The law doesn’t allow us to make exceptions.”

“Indeed it does not.” – Chad Johnson. “Occasionally it does.” – Lindsay Lohan

Not to give any of you Massachusetts-based Taters a full-blown, Buster Bluth panic attack, but UFC on FOX Sports 1: Shogun vs. Sonnen is currently facing some legal issues that could throw a wrench into the plans of several foreign fighters hoping to compete on the Boston card in August, including headliner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

The Boston Herald first passed along word of a potential issue, which relates to temporary Social Security numbers that must be attained by foreign-born fighters before they are allowed to compete in Massachusetts:

“This law has been in existence since we legalized mixed martial arts in the commonwealth of Mass­achusetts,” said Terrell Harris, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety, which regulates prize fighting.

“It’s been brought to the attention of the UFC more than a few times since we legalized the fighting here. But they’ve chosen basically to ignore the law and hope that they could skirt it somehow,” Harris said. 

When they bring in fighters that are not American citizens, there are exceptions that allow them to obtain a Social Security number,” Harris said.

“The Social Security Administration will issue a temporary work visa but it’s up to them to do their due diligence…the law is the law. The law doesn’t allow us to make exceptions.”

“Indeed it does not.” – Chad Johnson. “Occasionally it does.” – Lindsay Lohan

The Herald article also states that applying for said SS numbers requires a ten day grace period, but thankfully…

[UPDATE]

Suckerpunch managing partner Shu Hirata has shed some light on the issue (via Hirata’s twitter):

Shu Hirata ?@ShuHirata
if u don’t live in US then u can no longer get ss #. Only tax ID # and u have to send in actual passport to IRS to get this.

Shu Hirata ?@ShuHirata 
fill out form W7 and send in with passport, then u can get tax ID # in like a month so for Boston UFC show still got time.

Shu Hirata ?@ShuHirata
I do tax filing for all my foreign clients so I am an expert in this topic :) But sending in passport makes everyone nervous.

According to other reports, the UFC is already in the process of addressing these legals snags. So crisis averted for now, we guess…

–J. Jones

UFC Booking Roundup: These UFC on Fox Sports 1 Cards Are Downright Stacked


(Stacked enough to mandate a *formal* paisley vest.)

If you somehow still aren’t excited about the UFC on Fox Sports 1 cards, then perhaps this new batch of fight booking announcements will be enough to change your mind. Let’s start off with what is reportedly the co-main event of UFC on Fox Sports 1: Condit vs. Kampmann (aka UFC on Fox Sports 1:2). It appears that top lightweights Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos have been booked for that honor.

After a rough start to his UFC career, dos Anjos will be riding a four fight win streak into this bout. His last fight was just over two weeks ago, where he edged out Evan Dunham in a very close fight at UFC on FX 8. Likewise, Cerrone last competed almost two weeks ago at UFC 160, where he absolutely dominated KJ Noons on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

This looks like a great fight that will have a direct impact on the UFC lightweight division. If you disagree, well, just realize that not every fight can be Fitch vs. Askren. Sometimes, people like to watch fights because they’ll be fun and entertaining.

Speaking of UFC on Fox Sports 1 booking updates…


(Stacked enough to mandate a *formal* paisley vest.)

If you somehow still aren’t excited about the UFC on Fox Sports 1 cards, then perhaps this new batch of fight booking announcements will be enough to change your mind. Let’s start off with what is reportedly the co-main event of UFC on Fox Sports 1: Condit vs. Kampmann (aka UFC on Fox Sports 1:2). It appears that top lightweights Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos have been booked for that honor.

After a rough start to his UFC career, dos Anjos will be riding a four fight win streak into this bout. His last fight was just over two weeks ago, where he edged out Evan Dunham in a very close fight at UFC on FX 8. Likewise, Cerrone last competed almost two weeks ago at UFC 160, where he absolutely dominated KJ Noons on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

This looks like a great fight that will have a direct impact on the UFC lightweight division. If you disagree, well, just realize that not every fight can be Fitch vs. Askren. Sometimes, people like to watch fights because they’ll be fun and entertaining.

Speaking of UFC on Fox Sports 1 booking updates…

– UFC on Fox Sports 1: Condit vs. Kampmann will have yet another top ten showdown on the card, as it has been announced that undefeated female bantamweight Sara McMann will take on former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman at the event. McMann won her UFC debut by first round TKO back at UFC 159, while Kaufman recently got back in the W column by picking up a split-decision over Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 5 this past April. I’d write that the winner is in line for a title shot, but with Cat Zingano getting the next title shot when she returns from her knee injury, who the hell knows for sure?

– As for UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs Sonnen (UFC on Fox Sports 1:1), bantamweight contests Brad Pickett vs Michael McDonald and also Urijah Faber vs. Yuri Alcantara have both been added to the already strong card. If you thought Dana White was just hyping up the launch of Fox Sports 1 when he promised us a “SICK card” to celebrate it, then this is his way of walking towards the coffee pot and declaring that he is not fucking with you.

Here’s a list of the announced bouts for UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs. Sonnen, which goes down on August 17th from the TD Garden in Boston:

Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne
Urijah Faber vs. Yuri Alcantara
Matt Brown vs. Thiago Alves
Uriah Hall vs. Nick Ring
Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson
Brad Pickett vs. Michael McDonald
Mike Brown vs. Akira Corassani
Daniel Pineda vs. Diego Brandao
Andy Ogle vs. Conor McGregor
Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick

The only questions that remain are, will Fox Sports 1:1 be as good as it looks on paper? And when both cards fill up, which card will have the better fights? Let us know in the comments section what you think.

@SethFalvo