(Cejudo’s decision win against Ryan Hollis from Legacy FC 24 in October.)
As the youngest Olympic wrestling gold-medalist in U.S. history, Henry Cejudo kicked off his MMA career last year with a ton of hype behind him. And so far he’s lived up to it, winning five straight fights including four by first-round stoppage. But Cejudo has hit a rough patch lately due to weight and “illness” (which might just be a code-word for “weight”).
In November, Cejudo no-showed the weigh-ins for Legacy FC 25, where he was scheduled to compete in the co-main event against Saul Elizondo. According to his manager, Cejudo was suffering from nausea and light-headedness, and was later diagnosed with a stomach flu. The fight against Elizondo was scrapped.
Yesterday, Cejudo showed up late to the weigh-ins for tonight’s Legacy FC 27 card at Houston’s Arena Theatre — where he’ll be facing 4-0 prospect Elias Garcia — and hit the scales at 128.5 pounds for the flyweight contest. As a result, Cejudo has forfeited half of his fight-purse, and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation is expected to suspend him between 90 and 180 days for being a late arrival to weigh-ins.
Cejudo has had no problem outclassing his opponents at bantamweight in the past, and his drop to flyweight seems somewhat unnecessary, at least at this stage of his career. While a 90-day suspension wouldn’t make a difference to your average UFC fighter, Cejudo fought at a breakneck frequency last year in order to build experience; for him, a three-month suspension might actually sting. It’s a tough break — but perhaps a good indication that 135 is where he belongs right now.
(Cejudo’s decision win against Ryan Hollis from Legacy FC 24 in October.)
As the youngest Olympic wrestling gold-medalist in U.S. history, Henry Cejudo kicked off his MMA career last year with a ton of hype behind him. And so far he’s lived up to it, winning five straight fights including four by first-round stoppage. But Cejudo has hit a rough patch lately due to weight and “illness” (which might just be a code-word for “weight”).
In November, Cejudo no-showed the weigh-ins for Legacy FC 25, where he was scheduled to compete in the co-main event against Saul Elizondo. According to his manager, Cejudo was suffering from nausea and light-headedness, and was later diagnosed with a stomach flu. The fight against Elizondo was scrapped.
Yesterday, Cejudo showed up late to the weigh-ins for tonight’s Legacy FC 27 card at Houston’s Arena Theatre — where he’ll be facing 4-0 prospect Elias Garcia — and hit the scales at 128.5 pounds for the flyweight contest. As a result, Cejudo has forfeited half of his fight-purse, and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation is expected to suspend him between 90 and 180 days for being a late arrival to weigh-ins.
Cejudo has had no problem outclassing his opponents at bantamweight in the past, and his drop to flyweight seems somewhat unnecessary, at least at this stage of his career. While a 90-day suspension wouldn’t make a difference to your average UFC fighter, Cejudo fought at a breakneck frequency last year in order to build experience; for him, a three-month suspension might actually sting. It’s a tough break — but perhaps a good indication that 135 is where he belongs right now.
“I get a lot of flack from people who are like ‘oh she’s not serious about fighting’ and that’s not it at all…I’m not just a fighter…I’m a bunch of things, I have a lot of interests…I’m really looking forward to after this fight just sticking to a routine and a program. I’m just getting a handle on it, I think that’s why I’ve slipped up in certain areas, missing weight, I’ve been all over the place, cause I didn’t have any stability or anything.”
That’s former WMMA star Gina Carano defending herself after missing weight by nearly 5 pounds prior to her bout against Kaitlin Young at EliteXC: Primetime. And indeed, many fans were questioning Carano’s “Conviction” after her weigh-in blunder, but those questions would quickly turn into cheers when Carano was forced to drop trou to make weight for her next bout with Kelly Kobold at EliteXC: Heat — five years ago today.
Of all the “On This Day in MMA History” posts we have ever done, this is the only entry in which we almost got to see a naked Gina Carano, and that’s kind of what MMA is all about, is it not? While Carano would defeat both Young and Kobold despite missing weight, she would be chased right out of the sport by Cyborg Santos (who is looking pretty good herself these days, all things considered) in their August 2009 Strikeforce title fight. While we would try to replace Carano with Ronda Rousey some three years later, WMMA would truly never be the same again.
These days, Carano is enjoying a budding film career, with a starring role in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywireand a supporting role in Fast & Furious 6already under her belt, as well as an upcoming role in an all-female version of The Expendables on the horizon. Carano is also set to star in the action-thriller In the Blood, which according to The Hollywood Reporter, will see Carano play, “A wife whose husband disappears while they’re on their honeymoon in the Caribbean. She takes matters into her own hands and pursues the men who took him, uncovering a deeper conspiracy.”
(Photo via Esther Lin/Combat Lifestyle.)
“I get a lot of flack from people who are like ‘oh she’s not serious about fighting’ and that’s not it at all…I’m not just a fighter…I’m a bunch of things, I have a lot of interests…I’m really looking forward to after this fight just sticking to a routine and a program. I’m just getting a handle on it, I think that’s why I’ve slipped up in certain areas, missing weight, I’ve been all over the place, cause I didn’t have any stability or anything.”
That’s former WMMA star Gina Carano defending herself after missing weight by nearly 5 pounds prior to her bout against Kaitlin Young at EliteXC: Primetime. And indeed, many fans were questioning Carano’s “Conviction” after her weigh-in blunder, but those questions would quickly turn into cheers when Carano was forced to drop trou to make weight for her next bout with Kelly Kobold at EliteXC: Heat — five years ago today.
Of all the “On This Day in MMA History” posts we have ever done, this is the only entry in which we almost got to see a naked Gina Carano, and that’s kind of what MMA is all about, is it not? While Carano would defeat both Young and Kobold despite missing weight, she would be chased right out of the sport by Cyborg Santos (who is looking pretty good herself these days, all things considered) in their August 2009 Strikeforce title fight. While we would try to replace Carano with Ronda Rousey some three years later, WMMA would truly never be the same again.
These days, Carano is enjoying a budding film career, with a starring role in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywireand a supporting role in Fast & Furious 6already under her belt, as well as an upcoming role in an all-female version of The Expendables on the horizon. Carano is also set to star in the action-thriller In the Blood, which according to The Hollywood Reporter, will see Carano play, “A wife whose husband disappears while they’re on their honeymoon in the Caribbean. She takes matters into her own hands and pursues the men who took him, uncovering a deeper conspiracy.”
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about Carano’s nude weigh-in — and really, the EliteXC: Heat weigh-ins in generals (video below) — was that it served as precursor to the batshit insanity that would take place the following evening.
One thing led to another on fight night and before Kimbo knew what hit him, ROCKY WAS HERE!! Unfortunately for EliteXC, “Rocky” later informed several media outlets that he was more or less (more) paid to stand and trade with Kimbo, leading to the eventual collapse of the promotion altogether.
While you could argue that the blame for EliteXC’s undoing rests solely on the shoulders of $kala, we’d like to think that the events which transpired on the weekend of October 3rd, 2008 were all thanks to the otherworldly power of Gina Carano’s awesome boobage. We’re cup half full kind of guys.
(Things start to get interesting around the 2:15 mark.)
(You can’t place all the blame on Polley. He learned Beer Gut MMA from the master. Photo via MMAInterviews.)
Over the weekend, Bellator veteran Lew “The Titan” Polley showed up to the World Series of Fighting 4 weigh-ins some 32 pounds over the light heavyweight limit (insert scathing Anthony Johnson fat joke). His fight with Hans Stringer was cancelled almost immediately thereafter and Polley was quick to offer a heartfelt if not incredibly vague apology on his Twitter account, the background photo of which ironically depicts Polley weighing in.
Although no specific reasons for Polley’s Weigh-In Failure Leaderboard-topping effort have yet to be given, WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz assured MMAFighting and therefore the world yesterday that yes, Polley had been fired. The details he did reveal about Polley’s weight cut, however, were bewildering to say the least:
He told me he was cutting from 289 [at the beginning of camp]. I don’t know what his motive was to be 289 six weeks out. But he cost us a lot of money and his opponent was coming in from Holland and I think it’s disrespectful to his opponent to go into it like that.
(You can’t place all the blame on Polley. He learned Beer Gut MMA from the master. Photo via MMAInterviews.)
Over the weekend, Bellator veteran Lew “The Titan” Polley showed up to the World Series of Fighting 4 weigh-ins some 32 pounds over the light heavyweight limit (insert scathing Anthony Johnson fat joke). His fight with Hans Stringer was cancelled almost immediately thereafter and Polley was quick to offer a heartfelt if not incredibly vague apology on his Twitter account, the background photo of which ironically depicts Polley weighing in.
Although no specific reasons for Polley’s Weigh-In Failure Leaderboard-topping effort have yet to be given, WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdel-Aziz assured MMAFighting and therefore the world yesterday that yes, Polley had been fired. The details he did reveal about Polley’s weight cut, however, were bewildering to say the least:
He told me he was cutting from 289 [at the beginning of camp]. I don’t know what his motive was to be 289 six weeks out. But he cost us a lot of money and his opponent was coming in from Holland and I think it’s disrespectful to his opponent to go into it like that.
But fret not, Potato Nation, for this story has only begun to dip its toes into the waters of Pitiful Pond. It turns out that Polley, realizing he wouldn’t be able to negotiate his way into a catchweight bout with Stringer, basically threw his hands in the air and said “fuck it.” And by “threw his hands in the air,” we mean “threw his hands into the nearest bag of Corn Nuts, the official snack of UFC cornermen.”
His manager said let’s do a catchweight 220. The other camp was willing to go to 215. But he weighed [Thursday] at 225. The weigh-in day he comes in at 234. He gained weight. I’m going to cut him. I’m the last guy who should cut somebody, but if you’re going to be that disrespectful to your opponent, yeah, I’m going to cut you.
And the price Polley must now pay for his disrespectful, embarrassing weigh-in disaster? How about a fight booked at heavyweight this Friday?! Against an undefeated Olympian with a much bigger name no less! (Via MMAJunkie):
Polley (12-4) didn’t officially weigh in for his WSOF 4 bout with Hans Stringer, but he tipped the scale at 237 pounds. He’s now replaced James Wilson (2-0), whom RFA officials said broke his hand, and meets NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and Olympian Steve Mocco (2-0) at Friday’s RFA 9 event.
RFA 9 takes place at StubHub Center in Los Angeles, and the main card, including Mocco vs. Polley, airs on AXS TV.
The moral of this story: If you show up to a contracted fight hideously overweight, you can use your lack of discipline as the launching point for your new career at a higher weight class. Gluttony is truly the path of the righteous. Case in point:
The prelims, however, were a friggin’ nightmare. We’ll go from most crazy to least crazy:
– Featherweight knockout-machine Veronica Rothenhausler has been pulled from the event after being declared medically unfit to compete. According to reports on the scene, Rothenhausler passed out due to a bad weight cut and had to be hospitalized. Needless to say, her fight against Mollie Estes was canceled. Get well soon, Veronica.
– Former strawweight Livia Von Plettenberg’s attempt to drop down to atomweight was botched to a Anthony Johnson-esque degree. Von Plettenberg weighed in at 113 pounds for her 105-pound contest against Cassie Robb, and since there was no way she’d be able to drop seven pounds on short notice, that fight has been removed from the card as well. Cripes. Will Invicta have to pull random women from the crowd in order to fill out the lineup? Because I’d totally watch that. UPDATE:Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron has stepped in on a day’s notice to fight Von Plettenberg at 125 pounds.
The prelims, however, were a friggin’ nightmare. We’ll go from most crazy to least crazy:
– Featherweight knockout-machine Veronica Rothenhausler has been pulled from the event after being declared medically unfit to compete. According to reports on the scene, Rothenhausler passed out due to a bad weight cut and had to be hospitalized. Needless to say, her fight against Mollie Estes was canceled. Get well soon, Veronica.
– Former strawweight Livia Von Plettenberg’s attempt to drop down to atomweight was botched to a Anthony Johnson-esque degree. Von Plettenberg weighed in at 113 pounds for her 105-pound contest against Cassie Robb, and since there was no way she’d be able to drop seven pounds on short notice, that fight has been removed from the card as well. Cripes. Will Invicta have to pull random women from the crowd in order to fill out the lineup? Because I’d totally watch that. UPDATE:Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron has stepped in on a day’s notice to fight Von Plettenberg at 125 pounds.
– Ediane Gomes was originally scheduled to face Tamikka Brents at a catchweight of 150 pounds, after Brents took the fight on three days’ notice as an injury replacement for Charmaine Tweet. Brents showed up today weighing 155.1 pounds. Invicta and Gomes threw their hands up and decided that the fight would still proceed at lightweight.
– Ashley Cummins and Emily Kagan actually hit the strawweight limit. Yes, both of them. Amazing.
Full Invicta FC 6 weigh-in results are below, via MMAJunkie…
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 9 p.m. ET)
Marloes Coenen (145) vs. Cristiane Santos (144.9) – for inaugural featherweight title
Claudia Gadelha (114.5) vs. Ayaka Hamasaki (115.3)
Sarah D’alelio (134.8) vs. Lauren Taylor (134.8)
Jennifer Maia (124.6) vs. Leslie Smith (125.1)
Jessica Penne (106.) vs. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (105.7)@
Joanne Calderwood (115.7) vs. Norma Rueda Center (115.8)
Bec Hyatt (115.5) vs. Mizuki Inoue (113.3)
Miriam Nakamoto (135.5) vs. Duda Yankovich (134.7)
Rose Namajunas (114.7) vs. Tecia Torres (115.6)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Ustream, 7 p.m. ET)
Tamikka Brents (155.1) vs. Ediane Gomes (149)*
Ashley Cummins (115.9) vs. Emily Kagan (115.3)
Mollie Estes (144.7) vs. Veronica Rothenhausler ()**
Cassie Robb (105.8) vs. Livia Von Plettenberg (113)***
* Fight will proceed at lightweight.
** Fight canceled due to Rothenhausler being medically ineligible to compete.
*** Fight canceled due to Von Plettenberg being unable to make weight. Von Plettenberg will now face Kathina Catron in a flyweight bout.
BONUS PIC: Thug Rose at the weigh-ins, shot by Esther Lin. I got chills. Click for full-size version.
(No, Tim, we do not know where they keep the rest of the honey. Photo via Sherdog.)
You guys, this might come as a Scanners.gif to you, but Tim Sylvia — best known around these parts as Fatty Boom-Boom — failed to make weight for his scheduled contest with Tony Johnson at ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ tomorrow. Tipping the scales at a hefty-yet-slimmed down 271 pounds (perhaps The Maine-Iac 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge works after all!), Sylvia missed the heavyweight limit by 6 pounds earlier today. While some of you may accuse of us going after the low hanging fruit here, let us not forget that this is the same Tim Sylvia who just weeks ago was informing us of his desires to finish his career in the UFC. This is not a great start.
To be fair, Sylvia wasn’t the most egregious offender at today’s weigh-ins, not by a long shot. That dishonor would be bestowed upon Ryan “The Lion” Diaz, the 13-13 Strikeforce and KOTC veteran who had not competed in nearly three years before agreeing to face Yusup Saadulaev in a bantamweight contest. Weighing in at 144.8 pounds, Diaz surpassed the limit by nearly ten pounds. Somewhere, Anthony Johnson is eating his second straight double fudge ice cream sundae and smiling for completely unrelated reasons.
Sylvia and Diaz, along with Andrew Leone and Lowen Tynanes, will all face penalties for missing weight in the form of purse deductions, although just how much they will lose has yet to be disclosed by ONE FC officials. Thankfully, the scheduled title fights in Honorio Banario vs. Koji Oishi (featherweight) and Bibiano Fernandes vs. Koetsu Okazaki (bantamweight) will actually make it to fruition, as all four fighters successfully made weight.
The entire ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ fight card can be purchased for just $9.99 through ONE FC’s official website. Featuring the likes of Phil Baroni, Kamal Shalorus, Masakatsu Ueda, and Eduard Folayang, the card is set to kick off tomorrow morning starting at 6:30 a.m. EST.
The full weigh-in results and a video preview of ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ are after the jump.
(No, Tim, we do not know where they keep the rest of the honey. Photo via Sherdog.)
You guys, this might come as a Scanners.gif to you, but Tim Sylvia — best known around these parts as Fatty Boom-Boom — failed to make weight for his scheduled contest with Tony Johnson at ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ tomorrow. Tipping the scales at a hefty-yet-slimmed down 271 pounds (perhaps The Maine-Iac 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge works after all!), Sylvia missed the heavyweight limit by 6 pounds earlier today. While some of you may accuse of us going after the low hanging fruit here, let us not forget that this is the same Tim Sylvia who just weeks ago was informing us of his desires to finish his career in the UFC. This is not a great start.
To be fair, Sylvia wasn’t the most egregious offender at today’s weigh-ins, not by a long shot. That dishonor would be bestowed upon Ryan “The Lion” Diaz, the 13-13 Strikeforce and KOTC veteran who had not competed in nearly three years before agreeing to face Yusup Saadulaev in a bantamweight contest. Weighing in at 144.8 pounds, Diaz surpassed the limit by nearly ten pounds. Somewhere, Anthony Johnson is eating his second straight double fudge ice cream sundae and smiling for completely unrelated reasons.
Sylvia and Diaz, along with Andrew Leone and Lowen Tynanes, will all face penalties for missing weight in the form of purse deductions, although just how much they will lose has yet to be disclosed by ONE FC officials. Thankfully, the scheduled title fights in Honorio Banario vs. Koji Oishi (featherweight) and Bibiano Fernandes vs. Koetsu Okazaki (bantamweight) will actually make it to fruition, as all four fighters successfully made weight.
The entire ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ fight card can be purchased for just $9.99 through ONE FC’s official website. Featuring the likes of Phil Baroni, Kamal Shalorus, Masakatsu Ueda, and Eduard Folayang, the card is set to kick off tomorrow morning starting at 6:30 a.m. EST.
The full weigh-in results and a video preview of ONE FC ‘Rise to Power’ are below.
-Honorio Banario (144.7) vs. Koji Oishi (144.8) – for featherweight title
-Bibiano Fernandes (134.4) vs. Koetsu Okazaki (134.4) – for interim bantamweight title
-Kevin Belingon (134) vs. Masakatsu Ueda (134.6) – bantamweight grand-prix final
-Rey Docyogen (124.7) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (124.7)
-Phil Baroni (169) vs. Nobutatsu Suzuki (169.4)
-Eduard Folayang (154.4) vs. Kamal Shalorus (154.2)
-Geje Eustaquio (124.7) vs. Andrew Leone (127.7)
-Ryan Diaz (144.8) vs. Yusup Saadulaev (134.4)
-Felipe Enomoto (153.1) vs. Lowen Tynanes (155.2)
-Tony Johnson (264.2) vs. Tim Sylvia (271)
We were not happy to read a report from MMA Weekly that TUF 9 vet Frankie Lester allegedly hit female fighter Cassie Crisano [Ed. Note: And former Hot Potato] while in a scuffle between her and his girlfriend, fighter Shanie Rusth Saturday night after the two women weighed in opposite one another for an amateur MMA card in Virginia. Come to think of it, we’re incensed by the possibility that a large, professional male fighter may have hit Crisano in the face, and it has nothing to do with the fact that her face is particularly pleasant to look at. That stuff just ain’t cool.
According to MMA Weekly ‘s Damon Martin, “The situation unraveled during a weigh-in between two women’s competitors, Cassie Crisano and Shanie Rusth. Lester was there supporting Rusth, who is his girlfriend.
We were not happy to read a report from MMA Weekly that TUF 9 vet Frankie Lester allegedly hit female fighter Cassie Crisano [Ed. Note: And former Hot Potato] while in a scuffle between her and his girlfriend, fighter Shanie Rusth Saturday night after the two women weighed in opposite one another for an amateur MMA card in Virginia. Come to think of it, we’re incensed by the possibility that a large, professional male fighter may have hit Crisano in the face, and it has nothing to do with the fact that her face is particularly pleasant to look at. That stuff just ain’t cool.
According to MMA Weekly ‘s Damon Martin, “The situation unraveled during a weigh-in between two women’s competitors, Cassie Crisano and Shanie Rusth. Lester was there supporting Rusth, who is his girlfriend.
“According to several sources, a heated exchange took place between Crisano
and Rusth at the scales, after which Rusth spit on Crisano, and seconds later a
fight broke out between the participants. In the melee, Lester allegedly struck
Crisano before the participants were broken apart by others at the weigh-in.”
So far, no video or photos of the incident have emerged, and we don’t know if any criminal charges have been filed by anyone. But a statement from the owner of the promotion, Spartan promotions, makes it sound like he saw Rusth spit and Lester hit.
“Spartan Promotions strives to bring exciting amateur fights in a manner of class, integrity and sportsmanship,” James Jones, the owner, write.
“We are in the business of promoting events to showcase the talent and spirit behind Mixed Martial Arts. We do not, in any way, condone the actions that took place tonight at the weigh-ins for Battle of the Spartans IV.
“Spitting or striking of an opponent outside the cage does not hold to our core values. We thank those that intervened to stop the situation from escalating. We will be cooperating with the authorities as they move forward in their investigation.”
Let this be a cautionary tale, guys. Go and support your girl at her things, ie. a weigh in if she’s a fighter. But if she starts some shit with another chick, maybe you should just let her finish it for herself.
