Filed under: UFC, NewsThe result of Charles Oliveira vs. Nik Lentz is now officially a no contest.
The Pennsylvania state athletic commission on Wednesday determined that an illegal knee by Oliveira set up his submission win at this past Sunday’s UFC …
The Pennsylvania state athletic commission on Wednesday determined that an illegal knee by Oliveira set up his submission win at this past Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 in Pittsburgh.
“After review of the tape of this contest and after consultation with the referee the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission has ruled that the results of this match will be changed to a no-contest,” Executive Director Gregory Sirb said in a statement provided to MMAFighting.com. “This change is a direct result from an accidental kick to the head by Mr. Oliveira to a grounded Mr. Lentz.”
In the second round of the preliminary lightweight fight, Oliveira landed a knee to the head of a grounded Lentz and proceeded to tap out Lentz with a rear-naked choke at one minute and 48 seconds. The knee, while accidental, was clearly illegal and noticed by the live audience watching and the UFC commentators. However, there was no call from the one person who could have made a difference that night, the referee.
“All the other referees were jumping up, guys from the commission were jumping up, I was jumping up. A lot of people were wondering what was going on, why the fight wasn’t being stopped, because it was so blatant,” Lentz’s coach Greg Nelson told MMAFighting.com Tuesday, adding that Lentz suffered an injury to his eye socket due to the knee.
Despite the controversial finish, the match was exciting enough that it was awarded Fight of the Night by the UFC and both fighters walked away each with a $50,000 bonus.
With the result change, Lentz (21-3-2) remains undefeated in his UFC run with five wins, a draw and a no contest. Meanwhile, Oliveira (14-1) will have to try again to bounce back from the first loss of his career last December against Jim Miller.
Matt Mitrione may be a little conflicted about the type of opponent he’d like to fight next. But he’s not at all conflicted about wanting one particular dream grudge match, even if it’s not a highly realistic probability.
Ortiz fights Ryan Bader on Saturday at UFC 132, and UFC president Dana White said in January that if the former light heavyweight champion loses his next fight, he is likely to be cut from the UFC. Mitrione predicted a win for Bader and a pink slip for Ortiz shortly afterward.
“I say Bader (wins) by sending that giant planet of (Ortiz’s) head straight into the atmosphere,” Mitrione said before launching into a short diatribe at Ortiz. “I’m so glad that d—–bag spent all that money sponsoring Christian Morecraft and then lost again. Just like your pride was lost, the person representing your company lost.
“You’re gonna lose again and get cut from the UFC. If for some reason you don’t get cut from the UFC, I already talked to (Joe) Silva. I would love to fight you. I’ll fight you at a catch weight. I will pull myself back to Ethiopian standards from back in the day and be as thin as possible, and I will punch you in that planet-sized dome of yours and send you packing finally and for good. Mr. Jameson, that was directed toward you.”
Mitrione came under fire from Ortiz for comments he made on his “Mitrione Minute” segment on “The MMA Hour,” and elsewhere, that were critical of Ortiz and his wife, former adult entertainment actress Jenna Jameson. The two exchanged words in a now-famous moment caught on video by Roy Nelson at the UFC’s Fighter Summit in Las Vegas.
Ortiz co-hosted “Inside MMA” on HDNet earlier this month and said Mitrione crossed the line by bringing up his family.
“You don’t talk about another man’s woman,” Ortiz said on the show. “This guy was a d—–bag by saying what he said and then he tried to come up and kiss my butt, shake my hand. I never met the guy. I don’t know who the guy is. … And then he goes on to say he will cut weight to fight me. Come on dude, what fight? … Respect the fighters that paved the way for you to be here. I have been doing this for 14 years.”
Mitrione is a heavyweight who weighed in at 261 pounds for his fight on Sunday; Ortiz fights at light heavyweight. Ortiz has not won a fight since a TKO win over Ken Shamrock in October 2006. Since then, he has four losses and a draw. His UFC 121 loss to Matt Hamill last October was the only won that didn’t come against a champion, former champion or future champion.
Though a fight against Ortiz may be just a daydream scenario right now, Mitrione isn’t certain where he fits in the UFC’s heavyweight landscape. Four of his five UFC wins have come by knockout or TKO, and the fifth was a Fight of the Night performance against Joey Beltran in his home city of Indianapolis last September. But Mitrione believes his win over Morecraft on Sunday was not up to snuff.
“To be totally honest, I think this was probably my worst fight next to (my debut win over) Marcus Jones,” Mitrione said. “I made so many mistakes. I got taken down on a horrible double. I didn’t defend my wall takedowns at all. I’m glad my striking hands are heavy. He ended up brawling with me, which I didn’t expect him to do. His hand positioning threw me off a little bit. I was doing so many different styles of jabs against him, because I was trying to figure out what was going to land against him.”
Mitrione said he believes he still has work to do to improve – and he spent much of his training camp for Morecraft training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and said he plans to return there. But if he were matched up against a veteran, he isn’t sure how he would fare if his performance was on par with how he judged himself Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I want to fight a top guy,” Mitrione said. “I like and respect Frank Mir. He and I are cool, and I think it would be a really fun fight. (But) I made so many mistakes (Sunday). I wonder if anyone else who fights feels the way I do after they fight. If I would have made those mistakes against Cheick Kongo or Frank Mir, I would’ve lost. It makes me wonder what the right step is next. My hands, I can scrap with anybody. Technique wise, ehh …”
But one thing Mitrione said he is sure of, other than wanting that dream fight with Ortiz, is that he puts plenty of pressure on himself to be better each time out.
“The only way to be perfect is to expect it of yourself,” Mitrione said. “I feel like there’s a level of professionalism I owe to the fans, and they should see the best me possible.”
Matt Mitrione may be a little conflicted about the type of opponent he’d like to fight next. But he’s not at all conflicted about wanting one particular dream grudge match, even if it’s not a highly realistic probability.
Ortiz fights Ryan Bader on Saturday at UFC 132, and UFC president Dana White said in January that if the former light heavyweight champion loses his next fight, he is likely to be cut from the UFC. Mitrione predicted a win for Bader and a pink slip for Ortiz shortly afterward.
“I say Bader (wins) by sending that giant planet of (Ortiz’s) head straight into the atmosphere,” Mitrione said before launching into a short diatribe at Ortiz. “I’m so glad that d—–bag spent all that money sponsoring Christian Morecraft and then lost again. Just like your pride was lost, the person representing your company lost.
“You’re gonna lose again and get cut from the UFC. If for some reason you don’t get cut from the UFC, I already talked to (Joe) Silva. I would love to fight you. I’ll fight you at a catch weight. I will pull myself back to Ethiopian standards from back in the day and be as thin as possible, and I will punch you in that planet-sized dome of yours and send you packing finally and for good. Mr. Jameson, that was directed toward you.”
Mitrione came under fire from Ortiz for comments he made on his “Mitrione Minute” segment on “The MMA Hour,” and elsewhere, that were critical of Ortiz and his wife, former adult entertainment actress Jenna Jameson. The two exchanged words in a now-famous moment caught on video by Roy Nelson at the UFC’s Fighter Summit in Las Vegas.
Ortiz co-hosted “Inside MMA” on HDNet earlier this month and said Mitrione crossed the line by bringing up his family.
“You don’t talk about another man’s woman,” Ortiz said on the show. “This guy was a d—–bag by saying what he said and then he tried to come up and kiss my butt, shake my hand. I never met the guy. I don’t know who the guy is. … And then he goes on to say he will cut weight to fight me. Come on dude, what fight? … Respect the fighters that paved the way for you to be here. I have been doing this for 14 years.”
Mitrione is a heavyweight who weighed in at 261 pounds for his fight on Sunday; Ortiz fights at light heavyweight. Ortiz has not won a fight since a TKO win over Ken Shamrock in October 2006. Since then, he has four losses and a draw. His UFC 121 loss to Matt Hamill last October was the only won that didn’t come against a champion, former champion or future champion.
Though a fight against Ortiz may be just a daydream scenario right now, Mitrione isn’t certain where he fits in the UFC’s heavyweight landscape. Four of his five UFC wins have come by knockout or TKO, and the fifth was a Fight of the Night performance against Joey Beltran in his home city of Indianapolis last September. But Mitrione believes his win over Morecraft on Sunday was not up to snuff.
“To be totally honest, I think this was probably my worst fight next to (my debut win over) Marcus Jones,” Mitrione said. “I made so many mistakes. I got taken down on a horrible double. I didn’t defend my wall takedowns at all. I’m glad my striking hands are heavy. He ended up brawling with me, which I didn’t expect him to do. His hand positioning threw me off a little bit. I was doing so many different styles of jabs against him, because I was trying to figure out what was going to land against him.”
Mitrione said he believes he still has work to do to improve – and he spent much of his training camp for Morecraft training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and said he plans to return there. But if he were matched up against a veteran, he isn’t sure how he would fare if his performance was on par with how he judged himself Sunday in Pittsburgh.
“I want to fight a top guy,” Mitrione said. “I like and respect Frank Mir. He and I are cool, and I think it would be a really fun fight. (But) I made so many mistakes (Sunday). I wonder if anyone else who fights feels the way I do after they fight. If I would have made those mistakes against Cheick Kongo or Frank Mir, I would’ve lost. It makes me wonder what the right step is next. My hands, I can scrap with anybody. Technique wise, ehh …”
But one thing Mitrione said he is sure of, other than wanting that dream fight with Ortiz, is that he puts plenty of pressure on himself to be better each time out.
“The only way to be perfect is to expect it of yourself,” Mitrione said. “I feel like there’s a level of professionalism I owe to the fans, and they should see the best me possible.”
Man, I’ve been waiting like four days to find out why Nate Marquardt was not medically cleared to fight in UFC on Versus 4 and was subsequently fired from the UFC. I even woke up.
Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen. What do these 2 men have in common?
Man, I’ve been waiting like four days to find out why Nate Marquardt was not medically cleared to fight in UFC on Versus 4 and was subsequently fired from the UFC. I even woke up early here on the west coast to make sure I didn’t miss anything or see if another media outlet got a jump on the story before Ariel Helwani today. And then there it was, Marquardt’s hour long explanation on The MMA Hour of how he had low testosterone levels and was under Hormone Replacement Therapy and blah blah blah… And I felt like Ralphie in A Christmas Story when he finally deciphered Little Orphan Annie’s decoder ring secret message: “Don’t forget to drink your Ovaltine.” I thought, “A crummy testosterone aid? Son-of-a-bitch!”
I mean surely, we were all expecting much more to be the case when Dana White exclaimed on Versus during the live fights:
“Nate Marquardt is going to have to man up and tell the world why he didn’t pass his medicals. When he does that, I think everyone will understand why he was cut from the UFC.”
And here we are…a vast majority of us, I think, that remain pretty unclear as to exactly why he was cut. I mean, Thiago Silva and Chael Sonnen are still listed as fighters in the UFC. Did I miss something? And is it pretty messed up that we’ve become kind of jaded to learning that these fighters are caught taking PEDs for whatever medical issues they have? I remember being so pissed when I learned Sonnen’s stellar performance against Anderson Silva was tainted by a failed piss test. Now, I’m just bored that Marquardt’s story wasn’t more intriguing. I was calculating the days it takes for marijuana to leave the body and thinking, “hey maybe he has a disease and requires medical marijuana usage. Poor fella! Yeah, that’s it. He doesn’t smoke for recreation.” Then I thought…”STD?” …Because that would have been a fun revelation. “Hey, is he pregnant?” I admit that one crossed my mind for a second, but more for my own amusement.
None-the-less, here we are facing another fighter who has failed his drug test due to elevated levels of testosterone in his system. I, for one am disappointed in Nate for taking a substance so close to his fight, because his wife couldn’t stand his mood swings, thereby risking how his pre-fight drug test would be determined. After all, he’s failed drug tests before, so of course you’re going to get tested beforehand. But I’m even more disappointed that this was the big story I’ve been waiting to hear. Thanks for wasting my time and eager anticipation, Nate. Dana White was right about one thing, Nate needed to “man up” and tell us why he failed. Maybe that was a hint from Dana and maybe we were made to wait because Marquardt’s “man up” levels had fallen too low.
Filed under: UFC, NewsWithin a span of five days, Charlie Brenneman experienced the self-described feeling of devastation upon learning of his preliminary fight cancellation to the joy of beating a top 10 welterweight in his live television debut.
Within a span of five days, Charlie Brenneman experienced the self-described feeling of devastation upon learning of his preliminary fight cancellation to the joy of beating a top 10 welterweight in his live television debut.
On an appearance Monday on MMAFighting.com’s The MMA Hour, Brenneman detailed this past weekend’s UFC on Versus 4 “rollercoaster” ride in Pittsburgh, one that should limit the teasing from fans for his lower standing within the UFC.
“I can proudly say, after this weekend, [Dana White] knows who I am,” Brenneman said.
Last Wednesday, Brenneman received the unfortunate news of his scheduled opponent T.J. Grant suffering a case of mono that put their welterweight bout on the shelf. But for some reason, Brenneman was told by matchmaker Joe Silva to stay on weight to earn his show money. Looking back, Brenneman says he doesn’t know if he was positioned then as a potential reserve.
“I thought [Silva] was making me do it to do it,” Brenneman said. “… I was grumpy. I was very upset with the situation.”
Following orders, Brenneman continued to cut weight and even doing so in proximity with the fighter he would end up replacing, Nate Marquardt.
By Friday, Brenneman was informed of the possibility he would fight Rick Story and by then Brenneman said he was able to stay level-headed after having already gone through tremendous stress.
“I had high highs and low-lows in the last 48 hours,” Brenneman recalled. “I wouldn’t have been surprised by anything.”
Brenneman was not without possessing a hint of anxiety, however, having to repeatedly ask his team if the fight with Story would actually happen. Still, Brenneman was aware harassing the UFC with questions wasn’t going to help.
So he waited.
Then on around 3:15 to 3:20 p.m. the day of the weigh-ins Saturday, Brenneman received the official green light. At that point, Brenneman’s name still wasn’t on the call sheet to show up for the weigh-ins and had to speak with UFC coordinator Burt Watson to find out which bus to take in order to attend the weigh-ins.
It was an opportunity of a lifetime for Brenneman. But on the other side, he was stepping into a spot taken away from someone else. Brenneman and his camp did their best to be respectful when approaching Marquardt and Brenneman initially wanted to offer his sympathy, eventually holding back.
“I didn’t know if he wanted anything to do with me,” Brenneman said. “I felt for him.”
Brenneman was a huge underdog heading into the fight against Story, but after three rounds, his wrestling prowess became the factor on the scorecards. On scores of 29-28 three times, Brenneman earned the biggest win in his career in front of a supportive hometown crowd.
And from that point on, not only is White well aware of who Brenneman is, Brenneman might become a regular on the “main cards.”
“Hopefully my next fight you’re going to see me at this time on this channel,” Brenneman said.
Filed under: UFC, NewsFive fighters from Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 card in Pittsburgh have been hit with medical suspensions following their fights, three of them for 60 days.
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission released the post-fight suspensi…
Five fighters from Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 card in Pittsburgh have been hit with medical suspensions following their fights, three of them for 60 days.
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission released the post-fight suspensions to MMA Fighting on Tuesday.
Most notably, main event heavyweight Pat Barry was suspended for 60 days and will need clearance from a neurologist before returning. Barry looked to be on his way to a win over Cheick Kongo after dropping him twice, and it looked as if referee Dan Miragliotta was close to stopping the fight.
But Kongo rallied back, still wobbly on his feet, and delivered a massive right hand that put Barry on his back. Kongo’s win is already being discussed as one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history.
And the damage he took from an illegal knee by Charles Oliveira will have Nik Lentz out for 60 days, as well. He also must have his right eye cleared before returning. Lentz said Monday on Twitter that he had broken bones around his eye that will likely require surgery, and his coach, Greg Nelson, told MMA Fighting on Tuesday his fighter has a broken eye socket.
After an exciting first round – one that led to a Fight of the Night bonus – Lentz took a knee to the head in the second that the referee didn’t see. Lentz’s right knee was grounded, and Oliveira went on soon after to secure a fight-ending rear naked choke. The PSAC has confirmed the result of the fight is under review. It is possible Oliveira’s win could be overturned to a no contest.
And Christian Morecraft, who ate a three-punch combination from Matt Mitrione that knocked him cold, also was hit with a 60-day suspension. The win by Mitrione, who will appear on Tuesday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” to talk about the fight with host Ariel Helwani, improved his record to 5-0 in the UFC with four wins by TKO or knockout.
Additionally, Matt Grice, who suffered a first-round TKO loss to Ricardo Lamas in the fighters’ featherweight debuts, will be on the shelf for 45 days. And Edward Faaloloto, who opened UFC on Versus 4 with a first-round TKO loss to Michael Johnson, Season 11 runner-up on “The Ultimate Fighter,” will be shut down for 30 days.
None of the fighters involved in unanimous decisions were issued suspensions, and only one fighter involved in a stoppage loss was spared a suspension – Curt Warburton. Warburton tapped to a kimura just 1:58 into the first round against Joe Lauzon, and it appeared that his right arm might be damaged. But Warburton said Monday on Twitter that his arm and shoulder were OK after the fight.
Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, NewsNate Marquardt remains on suspension from the state of Pennsylvania after failing to receive medical clearance prior to the weekend’s UFC on Versus event. In the aftermath of the shocking development, which…
Nate Marquardt remains on suspension from the state of Pennsylvania after failing to receive medical clearance prior to the weekend’s UFC on Versus event. In the aftermath of the shocking development, which included Marquardt’s firing from the promotion, many questions have arisen.
Which part of the medical review did Marquardt fail to clear? How did six weeks go by without a resolution? And how did Pennsylvania suspend Marquardt when it appeared he’d never been licensed in the first place?
While most of the situation is still shrouded in mystery, at least one of those questions can be answered.
Gregory Sirb, the executive director of the state’s athletic commission told MMA Fighting on Monday that Marquardt had indeed been granted a license to fight, pending medical clearance.
“He was licensed. He completed all his paperwork for licensing probably a week before,” Sirb said.
But Sirb said that regardless of whether or not the license had been granted, Marquardt would have faced the same possible outcome for failing to clear his medical issue.
“He knew full well what the ramifications were, whether licensed or not,” Sirb said. Sirb told reporters on Sunday that Marquardt had six weeks to resolve an outstanding issue, but would not divulge what it was. Neither would UFC president Dana White. Sirb has also said that Marquardt will be taken off suspension once he clears the issue.
According to the commission’s website, while in the course of applying for a license, a professional fighter must provide a negative HIV, Hepatits C and Hepatitis B surface antigen exam. They must also provide the results of an annual medical exam. That exam is wide-ranging and covers potential issues related to vision, lungs, heart rate, the nervous system, coordination and more that could disqualify a fighter from competition. In addition, there is language in the regulations that offers the commission the latitude to request other exams. The stated medical requirements are similar to those of other states, including fight hubs Nevada and New Jersey.
All of the aforementioned test results are considered the fighter’s private medical information and kept confidential under federal HIPAA laws. Federal or Pennsylvania state law does not, however, prohibit disclosure of a positive drug test result, nor the type of drug which led to a confirmed positive test.
Sirb confirmed that if Marquardt had failed a drug test, the commission would have released those findings.
“I’ve been here 22 years and we do not embarrass anybody,” he said. “But we would have said, ‘drug test.'”
To date, Marquardt and his team have said little regarding the situation. On Saturday, his team released a statement to MMA Fighting which read, “I was looking forward to my welterweight debut. I’m sorry I let everyone down.” On Sunday, he tweeted, “I’m sorry to all my fans and the UFC for not passing the medicals for tonight’s fight. I’m heart broken I couldn’t fight, but I will b (sic) back.”
Marquardt is expected to make his first extended statements about the matter on Tuesday’s edition of The MMA Hour, which airs at 1 pm on MMAFighting.com.
The result of Charles Oliveira vs. Nik Lentz is now officially a no contest.
Matt Mitrione
Within a span of five days, 
Five fighters from Sunday’s 