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Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

Dana White on booking Fedor: “It’s like having your promotion carried by Kimbo Slice”

By Zach Arnold | August 5, 2011

Thursday turned out to a remarkable day for the media in terms of psychoanalyzing UFC management, especially Dana White. Dana White managed to give the Golden Glory story more oxygen that you would think it would deserve and he managed to channel his inner Vince McMahon and trash Fedor (again) the same way McMahon rants about Hulk Hogan.

Oh, and if you wondered whether or not Dana was interested in women’s MMA…

“There’s not enough good women out there to create a competitive division.”

In other words, he isn’t going to spend time building up women’s MMA. Henceforth, he’ll say there’s not enough talent, and end it there.

During a gaggle session (with the media), Dana White sounded off.

DANA WHITE: “Listen, I don’t want to talk bad about [Fedor] because I like him. But you know what it’s like? It’s like having your promotion carried by Kimbo Slice. If you got a guy as hyped and… he’s going to carry your promotion? No, what do you do is you put the best fighters in the world against the best fighters in the world and whoever wins, wins. Now, that guy hasn’t been fighting the best fighters in the world throughout his entire career. Now, if you want to go head-to-head, I don’t have the stats on this… I mean, no, no, seriously though, people talk shit.

“Let’s talk about Brock Lesnar, okay? The guy comes in with one fight… then he fights Frank Mir, former world champion Frank Mir. He fights Heath Herring, he fights Randy Couture, he fights Cain Velasquez. I mean, look at the guys that he’s fought in his short career. And people want to, you know, talk shit about Brock and laugh. At least Brock has fought real guys and came in and fought the best in the world.”

JOE SILVA: “We’re not saying that there’s not good fighters in other places. What we’re saying is the only place where the best fighters fight the best all the time is UFC. That’s what we’re saying. There’s talented fighters, a lot of people come into the UFC from somewhere else but they’re going to fight their toughest competition here. With Akiyama, how great his record was, hasn’t done as well. He’s having great fights, he’s a great fighter, but it’s a tougher road in the UFC. There’s no gimme fights.”

DANA WHITE: “It’s true, though. The thing is that I see all this stuff about Fedor and it’s so crazy, fucking go online and read it. I mean, read the facts. It’s ridiculous! It’s insane.”

What was remarkable about the comments made by both men is the insecurity & paranoia reeking from both men. Fundamentally-speaking, I don’t totally disagree with their points on merit. However, the way they talk and act when it comes to any fighter that wasn’t raised, created, and promoted from cradle-to-grave in the UFC ‘system’ is so scarily similar to how Vince McMahon views his talent. Vince McMahon, as Dave Meltzer once noted, views his wrestlers like ‘children’ and the ones that grew up nationally in WWE from day one are viewed as his creations, therefore they are ‘real wrestlers’ as opposed to guys who became names for themselves outside of WWE before joining Vince’s operation.

Look at this way — Hideki Matsui has 500 HRs combined from his Japanese and MLB stints. When people in MLB talk about Matsui reaching the 500 HR mark, you don’t hear them trash Japanese baseball and get so personally worked up about it. Yes, they don’t put Japanese baseball on the same level as MLB, but you don’t hear the venomous vitriol coming out of anyone’s mouth like you do when Dana White talks about the Fedors and Overeems of the world. I don’t understand this complex he has.

Continue reading this article here…

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 30 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

MMA Link Club: On a 1-10 scale, how excited are you for #UFC 133?

By Zach Arnold | August 5, 2011

Member sites of the MMA Link Club

This week’s MMA Link Club featured stories

Five Ounces of Pain: UFC 133 press conference highlights

“I love watching Akiyama fight. He always come to bring it. (Even) if you look at Akiyama’s losses they’ve all been barnburners. I think his style matches up great with Vitor. Vitor is incredibly talented, has great hands, and Akiyama is gonna make him use them on Saturday night.”

MMA Fighting: ‘Business as usual’ means death of Strikeforce

Showtime has to see what the rest of us can see: Strikeforce is going in the direction of Pride and Affliction before it: A promotion that put on a lot of great fights, but was ultimately swallowed whole by the UFC.

NBC Sports: Mike Chiappetta’s UFC 133 primer

A 24-year-old Swede, Gustafsson struggled mightily in his one fight against a wrestler, Phil Davis. Realizing his weakness, Gustafsson joined forces with the former collegiate national champ Davis to round out his game. In Hamill, he faces another seasoned wrestler. Proving he can stop a takedown will be a good forward step as the talented fighter progresses up the division.

Cage Potato: Josh Koscheck plays asshole bully character named ‘Josh Koscheck’ in new reality show

MMA Mania: UFC 133 video preview and more on MMA Live

5th Round: Michael Bisping unleashes Twitter tirade regarding TRT

“steroid use reduces your natural levels of testosterone, so if fighters need TRT, its because there ass was like a pin cushion in the past!”

Bleacher Report: Which promotion will Fedor fight for next? (article’s summation is BAMMA)

Middle Easy: If you missed Tim Kennedy on Deadliest Warrior, don’t fret — we have the entire episode right here

Lowkick: UFC announces two-year agreement with Fox Sports Latin America

The Ultimate Fighting Championship and FOX Sports today announced an exclusive two-year distribution agreement to air UFC programming in Latin America. The deal gives FOX Sports the rights to air UFC content in 18 countries in Latin America, excluding Brazil.

The Fight Nerd: ‘Supremacy MMA’ video game has a new trailer sweet enough to break your teeth

The game will feature a roster of fictional and real fighters, including Jens Pulver, Shane Del Rosario, and Jerome Lebanner. “Supremacy MMA” will be officially launching on September 20, 2011 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 available in stores nationwide.

MMA Convert: UFC 133 Evans/Ortiz preview

Akiyama/Belfort – The smart money is on the Brazilian winning (KO or TKO, take your pick) and this bout being way more exciting than the main event.

Belfort is nearly a 3-to-1 favorite on the sportsbooks.

MMA Payout: 571,000 viewers for Fedor/Henderson — good number or bad number?

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Scott Coker on Golden Glory cuts: ‘There’s only so many TV spots until the middle of next year’

By Zach Arnold | August 4, 2011

I thought about transcribing the audio of the two interviews Mauro Ranallo did with Martijn de Jong & Scott Coker yesterday about what happened with Zuffa cutting Golden Glory fighters, but I can largely summarize what was said in a few words. GG said that Scott told them there might be an opening for Alistair to fight in November, Scott says that he can’t get into any details but that ‘I listen to a lot of things,’ and that was that. I will say that you should go out of your way to listen to Scott talk and just how hard he was spinning. The amount of ‘uhs’ and ‘you knows’ reminded me of his interview sessions when he was promoting Strikeforce. Once he sold SF to Zuffa, all of a sudden his interview style changed quite a lit and he was a lot more direct, blunt in his commentary on various issues.

The bottom line is this. There are reports that Zuffa wanted to pay Golden Glory fighters directly as opposed to paying the camp the money. (Similar to how M-1 and others like Brazilian Top Team operated in the past.) In the Japanese & world MMA landscape, generally promoters will pay the teams and the teams handle the fighter payouts. There was the legendary story of how Fedor was aligned with RTT (Russian Top Team) and PRIDE had a contract with RTT, which allowed the creation of the Red Devil fight team and hence allowed Fedor to fight outside of the PRIDE ring for New Year’s Eve 2003 for Antonio Inoki. So, I’m not surprised at the moves that UFC made yesterday. The fight teams know that they are operating with MMA’s version of Vince McMahon, so adjust your business practices accordingly.

However, last week I wrote an article that I thought was fairly obvious in laying out a possible reason as to why things went helter skelter between Zuffa and Golden Glory.

I used the phrase ‘elephant in the room’ when describing TRT in relation to Dan Henderson after his win last Saturday over Fedor. Well, I’ll use the elephant phrase this time around for Ishii in relation to Golden Glory. Golden Glory (and Alistair Overeem, in particular) had huge plans for becoming household names in Japan. They had signed a deal with talent agency Yoshimoto and everything seemed on track. Then, Golden Glory abruptly left the K-1 scene and Alistair headed to the States. Golden Glory and Zuffa working together, naturally, seemed like oil and water from the onset. So, it’s no surprise to me that Golden Glory would be interested in getting back into the Japanese scene in a big way. After all, they would likely be the top matchmaker and talent client for Ishii should he be able to get a K-1 revival going again. Alistair being able to do MMA occasionally and kickbox most of the time is what he’s always wanted to do in his career. You can’t change a leopard’s spots and that’s always been the case with both Alistair and Golden Glory.

Zuffa is playing hardball here with Golden Glory and, when I first heard the story, I didn’t blink. They are the monopoly play right now in MMA on a large scale. The only way you do not acquiesce to their deamnds is if you are promoting your own shows or if you have a promoter to work with. The only promoter who possibly down the line could have money or make the kinds of enticing financial promises to convince Golden Glory to stay firm would be Kazuyoshi Ishii (despite Alistair’s reported financial problems with FEG). For Lorenzo Fertitta, cutting off Golden Glory was rather painless for him. He knows that most UFC fans and writers in the media will side with them and turn on the fighters & Golden Glory, so what does he have to worry about?

Finally, if it wasn’t already clear to begin with then it’s clear now that Zuffa is not interested in promoting the ladies on a full-time basis. It’s just not in the cards. At this point, I think Miesha Tate holding up a ring card would have a longer future under the Zuffa banner than her actually performing as a fighter for them. Zuffa views women’s MMA the same way Vince McMahon always viewed ‘legitimate’ women’s pro-wrestlers — with a mixture of disgust, disdain, and disinterest. As for where the landscape is headed for women’s MMA, it’s all about Europe and Asia at this point. I would suspect Europe will be the #1 destination, and that’s not a bad thing. I’d rather see the market for women’s MMA be smaller in exchange for the people involved in growing it actually give a 100% effort in making things right & making things better. UFC half-assing any sort of promotion for women’s MMA will end up being like the way the NBA promotes the WNBA — and that’s not a good comparison.

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 33 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Elephant in the room: Dan Henderson’s win over Fedor builds momentum for TRT usage/acceptance

By Zach Arnold | August 2, 2011

I’m not here to debate the usage of Testosterone Replacement Therapy in MMA. My thoughts on the issue have long been loud & clear. However, for anyone in the media to ignore the issue of TRT after Dan Henderson’s over Fedor last Saturday night in Strikeforce would be a mistake.

Testerone Replacement Therapy doesn’t help you become an automatic winner. If there was a TRT MMA Hall of Fame for the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Dan Henderson would be considered by many fans to be in the ‘good’ category. (Nate Marquardt & Chael Sonnen would respectively be in the ‘bad’ & ‘ugly’ categories.) Henderson is still a successful fighter at a high level in his 40s. That is an anomaly in the MMA business where plenty of young stars flame out in a few years and fans debate on just how long top MMA names/legends can last in the business (see: the 9-year rule).

When I use terms like ‘momentous’ or ‘momentum’ for TRT usage/acceptance in MMA, I’m not referring to the fans. I’m referring to administrators (regulars), fighters, & promoters.

Whether you support the allowance of TRT by MMA fighters or not, the truth is that it has the capability of altering the MMA landscape in both good and bad ways. For fighters like Dan Henderson, TRT has a positive impact because it allows older fighters to not only hang around and not retire early but to also maintain physical strength that simply would not happen if someone was not on Testosterone. The longer someone is on TRT, the more experience they gain if they are able to fight more frequently. This will most certainly alter the way we look at veteran MMA fighters in the near future.

The bad, of course, is that testosterone is, well… testosterone and plenty of steroid users who have damaged their endocrine systems now see a very easy loophole to exploit in order to stick around a while longer as an active MMA fighter. TRT will also give some hope to fighters who should actually retire due to injuries, concussions/head trauma, and overall general body health. Fighting is still a young man’s game and older fighters accumulating brain injuries is not a good trend to see in this sport.

TRT usage, just like steroid & other PED usage, does not guarantee victory for any fighter. What it does do, however, is leave the door open for some fighters who simply wouldn’t be around the business today to be active. Whether you think that’s a good or bad development, that’s up to you.

There seemingly is an increasing amount of momentum to go all-in for TRT acceptance. The landscape of the business as we know it is going to be altered in a significant manner. Dan Henderson’s victory over Fedor last Saturday was not only a victory for himself but a victory for proponents of TRT usage in the sport. For us in the media to ignore this big-picture development is rather short-sighted.

YAHOO! SPORTS’ Iole and Cofield talk Fedor’s future from Steve Cofield on Vimeo.

Earlier in this post, I wrote about brain trauma/concussions. Here’s Steve Cofield & Kevin Iole from Cagewriter.com/Yahoo Sports talking about why the referee stoppage in the Fedor/Henderson fight was appropriate & why Dana White celebrates Fedor losing.

STEVE COFIELD: “The fight itself, did you think the stoppage was warranted?”

KEVIN IOLE: “No question, 100%. Here’s the thing that I think people forget. You know, the argument that people are making in favor of allowing it to continue was that Fedor has great recuperative powers and in fights in the past he’s come back after being in a lot of trouble. The problem is that we’ve learned more about the brain and concussions and injuries in the last 10 years and so we understand that there’s something called the Second Impact Syndrome and it’s potentially fatal. It’s like your brain get wracked around inside your head the first time and if you take another big shot immediately after that, it potentially could be fatal and that’s what we don’t want in this sport. And I’m not saying that Fedor was on the verge of going but that’s what happens when you allow fights to go on. You know, he went limp and whenever a guy goes limp, he went face-first to the mat and he went limp, and Henderson undoubtedly woke him back up with one of the ground-and-pound shots that he hit him with. But you have to think of the fighter’s safety and you can’t say, well, because Fedor is a great fighter we’re going to allow him to take more shots because the fight’s more important. Safety is safety and when the fighter is out, the fight is over, period.”

STEVE COFIELD: “Where does Fedor go from here?”

KEVIN IOLE: “I tell you, if I’m advising Fedor and unless he’s really in financial difficulty, I say retire because, you know, he’s one of the great fighters in the early days of Mixed Martial Arts, clearly not at that point right now. If he’s in the Top 10, it’s right at the bottom of the Top 10 and I have to think after losing three in a row to three guys, none of whom would be in the Top 5 Heavyweights, I don’t think anybody would consider Werdum or Henderson or Bigfoot Silva Top 5, you know maybe Bigfoot Silva #5. You know, Fedor got beat pretty handily by all three of those guys, so where is he as a heavyweight right now? I just don’t see him beating the top guys. Are you just going to hang around to fight and collect paychecks?”

(later on)

STEVE COFIELD: “How do you think [Dana White] feels in this whole thing? Yeah, I mean, is he really rooting against [Fedor]? Does this kind of go to the argument that he had the last couple of years and prove him right?”

KEVIN IOLE: “Dana just, I think, is very frustrated by people who will not give Anderson Silva credit. You know, he came out starting in probably 2008, 2007, 2008 saying Anderson Silva’s the best fighter in the world and he was looking at the guys Fedor was fighting at that time, the Mark Colemans and the Mark Hunts and those kinds of people and he’s comparing that to the people that Anderson Silva was fighting. I think tit’s interesting, Steve, that if you take 2001 through 2006 Fedor and then 2006 through 2011 Anderson Silva and there’s a lot of similarities. They both fought all the top contenders, they both beat them most of the time in dominating fashion. But, you know, Fedor is living off that 2001-2006 run until now and that’s bothering Dana who’s trying to promote the modern guys who are now fighting the elite guys and I think that’s where his frustration is from and he’s never shy about sharing his opinions, as we know.”

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 54 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Mike Schmitz: Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve, a UFC fight where someone truly will get KO’d

By Zach Arnold | August 1, 2011

Although he was on the losing end, stout heavyweight Pat Barry (6-3) may never be part of a fight quite like his last bout against Cheick Kongo at UFC on Versus 4. But if there’s one matchup with the potential to rival UFC’s frontrunner for fight of the year, it’s Barry’s upcoming matchup with Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve (21-5). Two exciting fighters with completely different sizes and skill-sets coming to blows make this a must-see matchup.

Gigantic vs. vertically challenged, striking vs. submissions – grab your popcorn, this one could end quickly. Standing at 5-foot-11, Barry represents the shortest UFC heavyweight. He overcomes his size and reach disadvantage with his lethal leg kicks developed during his K-1 days.

Barry’s knockout potential and larger-than-life personality has made him one of UFC’s most popular fighters, despite his 3-3 record with the promotion. The 6-foot-11 Struve, on the other hand, is by far the tallest fighter in the heavyweight ranks. The 23-year-old Skyscraper makes his money on the ground, with 14 of his 21 total wins coming by way of submission. He’s known for his submission prowess, but Struve (83-inch reach) holds a dominant reach advantage over every fighter he faces, especially the shorter Barry (74-inch reach).

Despite their height discrepancies and differences in style, both fighters are looking to bounce back from losses after Kongo stunned Barry and UFC newcomer Travis Browne knocked out Struve in the first round of UFC 130. Kongo stopped Barry cold with two right hands after HD had the Frenchman all-but out. But although Barry let a big win slip away, Struve was dominated from start to finish by a less-experienced Browne who was fighting in only his second UFC bout.

As far as records are concerned, Barry is more so on the hot seat because a loss would put HD at 1-3 in his last four fights. Although Dana White called his performance against Kongo the best of his career, he still needs to get back into the win column to back up his popularity with performance. A loss certainly wouldn’t force him out of the UFC due to his exciting fighting style and likability, but a win is necessary if he wants to be a contender, not just an entertainer.

The Dutchman, on the other hand, is 5-3 at the UFC ranks but still hasn’t shown he can hang with upper tier fighters thanks to losses to Junior dos Santos and Roy Nelson, neither of which left the first round. Before his last bout, Struve had his hand raised in five of his last six fights. But in his losses, Struve’s looked underwhelming considering his physical tools, letting his opponents get inside of him rather than using his length to his advantage.

This is where Barry can capitalize. He holds a striking advantage over the lanky Skyscraper, and if he can eliminate Struve’s length by getting inside of him, this one could be over early. But that’s not Barry’s only opportunity for stoppage. Due to Struve’s massive height, Barry can use his tree trunk leg power to chop down Struve with low leg kick after low leg kick. His leg kicks are by far his biggest strength, and he has a ton of room to operate given Struve’s height. If Barry defeats Skyscraper, he’ll have overcome one of the most bizarre matchups in UFC history, while getting back on track in the win column. Struve could use a win to show he’s not just a 6-foot-11 pushover who won’t reach his crazy potential.

While both fighters could use a win, I’d give the nod to Barry in this one. If he can avoid Struve’s ground game and reach advantage, he should have his hand raised and avenge the Kongo loss. Barry would then move back up to the Kongo, Matt Mitrione, Nelson range. Whether Barry chops down Struve with his leg kicks or Struve uses his superior reach to get to Barry, one thing is certain – this will undoubtedly be the single most awkward staredown ever.

Train with Pat Barry at TapouT VTC

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TapouT VTC is the number-one source for on-demand MMA training from the top fighters and coaches in mixed martial arts. With over 400 high-quality videos and counting all at your fingertips, TapouT VTC is your ultimate training destination.

Barry teaches 10 TapouT VTC courses:

Here’s a sample video below:

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Tim Kennedy on Robbie Lawler’s fight strategy: “That’s a dumb way to fight”

By Zach Arnold | July 31, 2011


Click on the image to watch his interview with Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com

ARIEL HELWANI: “Tim, earlier in the week you were telling us you expected this fight to go all over the place and it kind of did. What did you think of the fight and how it played out?”

TIM KENNEDY: “Robbie is so athletic. He’s fast, he’s explosive, you know, I said he’s an amazing wrestler. He was really defensive and tentative the whole fight which made it kind of frustrating, you know, for me to get in he was just waiting to counter and he has a chin, too. I blasted him a couple of times. There were some crazy-ass scrambles, you know, I don’t even know where they went or how we ended up in some of the positions that we did. It was like I was on a bloody slippery slide in that second round. So, yeah, it was all over the place.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “How surprising was that? Especially in the third round, I thought he would kind of go for broke and he didn’t.”

TIM KENNEDY: “Yeah! He was doing the same thing, it was just that tentative, counter, just waiting for me to come in. You know, that’s a dumb way to fight… not to Robbie, just you know it’s like… it was my fight to lose. He knew I was two rounds ahead, I knew I was two rounds ahead, so I don’t know… yeah, I thought he’d be coming forward. I was waiting for it, I was waiting to just blast my way in, but he was just tentative the whole time.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Obviously, it takes two to tango. Is it a little disappointing, I know you got the win, but that it wasn’t a very exciting one and maybe a dominant one on your part in terms of finishing him?”

TIM KENNEDY: “Absolutely, I’m real frustrated right now. I know my coach is like, ‘hey, great job! you did exactly what we wanted you to.’ But I didn’t do what I wanted to. I want to go out there and finish fights. I hate going to decision. Fans hate me going to decisions, so, yeah, I’m pretty bummed right now. Disappointed, frustrated. I know there’s, I had some vets in the crowd that I really wanted to go out there and go for it but I’ll just work harder next time.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Any serious injuries, though?”

TIM KENNEDY: “No, it’s but a flesh wound, it’s but a flesh wound. Nah, it’s just cuts, I’ll go back there and get cleaned up, I’ll be good to go.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “What would you like to do next? Is there someone in particular you’d like to fight?”

TIM KENNEDY: “I want the title, whoever [the champion] is. I got 25 minutes with Jacare. I don’t want 25 more minutes, I want 5 more minutes with him. I just want the title.”

Click the image of Dan Henderson to find out why he thinks a) Fedor should continue to fight & be motivated to learn new techniques and b) why he wants to represent Strikeforce as the Light Heavyweight champion against the winner of Jon “Bones” Jones/Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in a Strikeforce/UFC two-crown championship unification match.

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 48 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Blake Northcott’s new fighter-themed eBook delivers the goods

By Zach Arnold | July 30, 2011


Promotional genius Blake Northcott wants you to pay attention… to her new book

Hey there – my name is Blake Northcott. I am a long-time Fight Opinion reader, and it probably goes without saying that like you, I’m also a rabid MMA fan.

Living in Canada, there isn’t much to do for nine months of the year besides shovel snow and plan trips to warmer climates (although some who are much more coordinated and athletic than myself like to ski). So, during the long winter months I decided to combine my passion for comics, action movies and mixed martial arts, writing a novel for the Amazon Kindle.


Click on the image to preview & order Vs. Reality

(Keep reading to find out more details on the book & to view wallpaper images).

Continue reading this article here…

Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

What role will Kazuyoshi Ishii’s new attempt to revive K-1 play in Alistair Overeem’s career?

By Zach Arnold | July 30, 2011

This is the video that set off a firestorm of reaction online yesterday.

KENNY RICE: “Ron Kruck now we get ready to join him with some news that has been breaking this week and it’s some big about the big man that maybe used to be in Strikeforce, Ron.”

RON KRUCK: “That’s right, Kenny. More shocking news concerning Strikeforce HW champion Alistair Overeem. Inside MMA has learned that Overeem has received a cut letter and has been released from the promotion.

“Sources close to the situation have told Inside MMA that the company has exercised it right to eliminate his one remaining fight on his contract, effective July 22nd. Overeem will fight next in October in Russia for the promotion United Glory. No word on who his opponent will be.

“Also, according to the source, Overeem has been dealing with more serious injuries than originally reported, including a broken toe and rib & elbow problems. Overeem fought through the nagging injuries against Fabricio Werdum and was told that he wouldn’t have to fight again until late Fall. The semi-finals are scheduled to take place on September 10th in Cincinnati and Overeem has stated that he needs more time to recover.

“Another issue that Strikeforce officials had regarding Overeem’s participation in the tournament is he had only one fight left on his current contract and he would have had to fight twice to win the Grand Prix.

“Guys, the situation surround Alistair Overeem keeps getting stranger. We will continue to follow this huge story. Back to you.”

KENNY RICE: “All right, Ron, thank you. Good stuff and that is surprising about Overeem & Zuffa but, you know, I think that maybe he… … the last fight on the contract, I mean, you know, they don’t mess around. They don’t have to mess around.”

BAS RUTTEN: “No, they don’t, and apparently they didn’t like what happened now. You know? They’re going to go, okay, so what is it, a toe injury? Can’t fight with a toe? You don’t know their way of thinking, but I’m pretty sure I’m sure it had something to do with it. Some game has been played there, I don’t know from whom or what.”

KENNY RICE: “What I think it shows as much as anything, for anybody that’s had great success no matter where in the world, it’s still the UFC. And if you come in now under their umbrella Strikeforce or whatever, you better be prepared to bring it.”

After this video was released, when Dana White stated that he was not involved in discussions with Golden Glory over Overeem’s status with Strikeforce. However, he claimed that Golden Glory management contacted him and said that they wanted to work out a deal.

There is one additional to throw into the mix that has not been discussed heavily and that’s Dan Herbertson’s report of K-1 brands being sold to Tokyo real estate operation Barbizon, which has a lot of real estate in night life spots like Roppongi. Given Kazuyoshi Ishii’s past track record and his notoriety for the night life, I said the other day that I wouldn’t give further comment on the story. However, with Golden Glory being so active in Japanese circles for so many years, the development of Alistair Overeem getting cut by the Zuffa family has to be taken into further consideration in regards to Ishii attempting a revival.

It was less than 8 months ago that Alistair Overeem was priming the pump to make a major run in Japan. As Tony Loiseleur elaborately detailed last year in this Sherdog article, Overeem was ready to focus entirely on Japan while still being the Strikeforce HW champion. He had just won the K-1 tournament in Tokyo at Ariake Colosseum (broadcasted on Fuji TV). He was set to fight Todd Duffee at K-1’s Dynamite event, an event that predictably was a train wreck (I called it the anatomy of a public execution) because of lack of major support from Tokyo Broadcasting System. After destroying Duffee in mere seconds, Overeem had been ready to go all-in with his attempt to become a true ace in the Japanese fighting scene.

It all looked great for Alistair, as he was enjoying his Nikkan Sports award. Two months later, Overeem was singing a different tune about fighting in Japan.

Continue reading this article here…

Topics: Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

MMA Link Club: Who gets put into retirement first, Fedor or Dan Henderson?

By Zach Arnold | July 29, 2011

Member sites of the MMA Link Club

This week’s MMA Link Club featured stories

Five Ounces of Pain: Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans express excitement, humility in anticipation of UFC 133

You’d be humble, too, if you crashed your Rolls and needed a win bonus coming up here shortly.

MMA Fighting: Even after expensive wreck, Tito Ortiz never considered pulling out of UFC 133

“You’ve got to understand, I did the Long Beach Grand Prix and I crashed four times. I was hitting walls. …On my honeymoon in my first marriage I got hit by a bus doing 30, and I fought and defended my world title against Yuki Kondo literally four months later. Stuff like that doesn’t hurt me. I think what hurts is just the repetition of training.”

NBC Sports: Rich Franklin’s life – a KO on the silver screen?

Double E Pictures announced on Wednesday that they had optioned the life rights to the former UFC middleweight champion and hired David Gardner, whose film credits include The Cleaner and The Guardian, to write a script about Franklin’s career. The name of the film will be entitled “American Fighter.”

Cage Potato: Arianny Celeste banana penis caption contest — the winners

MMA Mania: History in the making — Dan Henderson ends Wanderlei Silva’s reign of terror in Las Vegas

Seconds later, the two enter into an exchange that saw “Dangerous Dan” land that right hook that we fans and a few of his opponents — ahem, Bisping — know oh so well. The punch froze Silva. It seemed like he just stood there for the second it took a left hook to crash into his jaw. “The Axe Murderer” immediately collapsed onto the mat and the fight was over.

5th Round: Practice makes perfect for JZ Cavalcante

Bleacher Report: Dan Henderson will knock out Fedor

If Rampage Jackson, one of the greatest American Light Heavyweights in MMA besides Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, and Tito Ortiz, was unsuccessful in knocking Dan Henderson out, and if Anderson Silva could not knock out Dan Henderson, then what chance does Fedor have of knocking Henderson out?

Middle Easy: Greg Jackson really wants to see Nate Marquardt back in the UFC

Lowkick: Tim Kennedy — I’m going to have to trade with Robbie Lawler

I just want to fight the best guys. I don’t look back, I only look forward. I know the fight with Jacare was close, it was controversial. It was a close fight, but I don’t care, I just want to fight the best. I think Robbie’s the next best guy, if I can beat him; I want to move on to the next guy. I don’t know if UFC guys will be coming over, me going over there, or me fighting the Strikeforce champion I don’t care. I just want to fight the best.

The Fight Nerd: “Ip Man” movie review

MMA Convert (Jim Genia): Fedor vs. Henderson Strikeforce event preview

Fear not for the heavyweight legend, though; given that Fedor’s career has been spent crushing men much bigger, he should have no problem getting Henderson down and smooshing him.

MMA Payout: Anderson Silva signs a whopper of an endorsement deal with Burger King

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 37 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

At the crossroads: TRT acceptance & women’s MMA in America

By Zach Arnold | July 29, 2011

The TRT discussion rages on. Earlier in the week, we talked about some possible new drug testing options that Victor Conte and others have suggested in order to increase the amount of dope cheaters getting caught by athletic commissions. Fighters like BJ Penn have come publicly against TRT usage in MMA. You can throw in additional names like Ben Askren and some MMA writers (wonder who?) into that category as well.

However, it appears that the tide is swinging the other way. As Josh Gross wrote on ESPN Thursday, Dan Henderson (and many other fighters/athletic commissioners) are looking to implement widespread standardized protocols to allow Testosterone Replacement Therapy usage by boxers & MMA fighters.

Tim Kennedy, in this recent MMAFighting.com interview with Ariel Helwani, laid out why he has no sympathy with the sob stories we have been hearing from fighters using TRT who want your public sympathy.

ARIEL HELWANI: “In an article on our site written by Ben Fowlkes, he interviewed you and you talked about TRT and how that’s a big problem and how you’re against it. Interesting comments considering the fact that Nate Marquardt is involved in this story and he’s essentially a teammate of yours. I mean, did you have to think twice about making those comments? Did that create any rift between you guys? Just curious to get your take on that.”

TIM KENNEDY: “I’m a big Nate Marquardt fan, you know, he’s a teammate of mine and a training partner. But I’m very clear, everything’s black and white to me, you know, I don’t know if that’s the military in me but like there’s right and wrong. I never get anywhere near the line of what could be even gray, so you know the… like I said, this sport is based on martial arts. Martial arts is based on honor, integrity so when guys are out there doing any PEDs, it’s just wrong. There shouldn’t be any question. We should be going out there to fight as clean athletes, representing our fans, the sport. So, there’s no rift. If he’s getting ready with a fight, I’ll be with him in a second to help him train. I’m only responsible for what I put into my body and I know what that is.”

ARIEL HELWANI: “Medically cleared or not, you are against TRT usage in this sport?”

TIM KENNEDY: “I don’t think it’s… it falls into that gray area. It’s too hard to control, balancing every month of…”

He’s exactly right. The most obnoxious development to come out of the recent TRT debate in the media is the position of fighters acting like they are victims of a medical condition and that they need TRT to be ‘normal’ as a fighter. Listen, I’m not a compassion-less person. If you need some sort of drug to function as a normal human being in your every day life, then that’s fine. However, if you need a drug like testosterone in order to be ‘normal’ as a fighter, sorry, but you lose. Watching fighters act as if it’s their God given or constitutional right to have a license to fight is absurd. When someone gets busted for multiple DUIs for prescription drug abuse (or marijuana or other recreational drugs), the driver’s license gets yanked. It’s a privilege, not a right to drive a car — something that can be used as a hell of a weapon to hurt & kill someone if the driver is impaired.

Same deal here in the fight game. I don’t want to hear the sob stories from fighters saying they need TRT to fight and compete. You know what? I’ll make you a deal. Let’s call this my version of a standardized protocol. I’ll let you take your TRT/HRT in exchange for you not having a fighter’s license while using such medical ‘treatment.’ As Victor Conte appropriately stated last week, the fight game is a ‘hurt sport.’ Your job is to inflict punishment on the other person. Why should athletic commissions allow testosterone usage but, at the same time, go after fighters who test positive for steroids?

Furthermore, ask yourself this question — if you don’t trust athletic commissions as it is to currently do their job managing basic urine drug testing programs, why would you have any sort of confidence in the same commissions regulating and overseeing the usage of TRT by fighters? It’s ridiculous.

We are entering a very dangerous stage here with athletic commissions considering the allowance of TRT by fighters. It makes the sport look like a joke in the eyes of many observers and it makes the regulators look like completely incompetent stooges for promoters in the eyes of the medical community over the allowance of TRT usage in such a competitive, cutthroat industry. There will be a moment where someone gets seriously injured or killed in an MMA fight and the minute it’s discovered by the mass media or by the authorities that the person who inflicted the punishment is doping (EPO, HGH, TRT, you name it), it is going to be a stain that will be extremely hard to erase from the public’s consciousness.

On a separate side note, Tim talked about recently losing his sponsor Ranger Up due to the infamous “Zuffa sponsorship tax.” He claims that he has lost 80% of his sponsorship money due to the decision.

The other hot topic de jour online heading into this weekend’s Strikeforce event is the future of women’s MMA under the Zuffa umbrella. I’m very bearish about whether or not the ladies will have a place at the Zuffa table in a couple of years, so right now is (in the eyes of female fighters) a make-or-break period in regards to whether or not Zuffa will book female MMA fights in the future.

This media session Marloes Coenen (@MarloesCoenen on Twitter) did is excellent. She gave the right answers in regards to what needs to be done and what needs to be proven in order for the women to have any sort of shot with Zuffa. As I’ve advised a couple of female fighters recently, Zuffa is unlikely going to promote women’s MMA on a large scale. I suspect they will promote the Flyweights (125 pounders) before they go all-in on women’s MMA. Dana White doesn’t like women’s MMA the same way Vince McMahon never liked/likes legitimate women’s pro-wrestling (which is how the public has ended up with whatever it is they for an excuse for women’s wrestling on TV every Monday night.) More and more, it seems like Canada, Europe, and Asia will be the places for the women to get booked and do so on a stage where promoters will promote them 100% of the way as opposed to half-assing it.

Bonus article

David Williams on why Fedor will beat Dan Henderson and how Henderson, who has defied MMA’s ‘9 year rule’, is about to lose the hard way.

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

The mouths that roar: Frank Shamrock on Fedor/Henderson & Chael Sonnen on Rampage

By Zach Arnold | July 28, 2011

Headline of the Day

K-1 sold to Japanese real estate firm Barbizon

A Tokyo real estate company buying fighting trademarks & brands? Your initial reaction to the sale and to whom the trademarks got sold to is probably the correct one. No further comment needed (on the sale).

In the larger picture, the state of the fight game in Japan is in real deep trouble on a large scale. The Sumo match-fixing scandal and the yakuza scandal involving PRIDE basically killed off any sort of legitimate corporate or fan interest in the marketplace. As one insider described it to me, the remaining fans who go to shows are viewed as naive marks and idiots (similar to how the masses in America look down on wrestling fans). The best discussion on the state of the Japanese scene can be found here.

MMA Training: Upside Down Guard Sweep with Matt Mitrione (and Pat Barry).

Mr. TRT channeling his inner Andy Kaufman on Anderson Silva and wanting to fight win regardless if he wins or loses to Yushin Okami in Brazil: “I got no problem slapping Anderson around again just for fun, just for laughs, just to entertain myself.”

He accused Anderson of being afraid of Okami and cheating with a kick in their previous encounter. “He acted like it was an L.A. gang riot as opposed to Mixed Martial Arts.”

And a word for Rampage after Rampage made fun of him at a recent presser: :Well, basically I couldn’t understand a word he just said without an interpreter, but by the tone of it I’d say he’s got a problem with me, so… we can settle that. If he wants to introduce us, we can do that. We got a forum for that, it’s called The People’s Octagon. I’ll be there.”

Frank Shamrock talks Fedor vs. Henderson

“I think stylistically, you know, the match favors Dan Henderson. If Henderson can make this an inside-fighting game and can use that Olympic-calber clinch wrestling and Greco Roman wrestling, I think he can tire out Fedor and get him n compromising positions, beat him up real good, and hit him with the H-Bomb (overhand right).

“I think [Fedor would] have an advantage on the ground in the submission ability, in particular on his back, but you’re talking about Dan Henderson, you know, he’s an Olympic-calber Greco Roman guy. He’s the strongest guy I’ve ever tied up with my life, it’s like grabbing an oak tree and I just think that if he can evade the strikes, keep his hands clean, and get on the inside and pummel Fedor, tire him out, get him into round one and get him into round two and then get him on his back and pound on him, I just think it’s a different story. Now, if he catches strikes early on, you know that what Fedor’s does, he’s going to knock him out.”

Sherdog survey of fighters says Fedor is viewed as a slight favorite to win. Dana White on Fedor:

If I’ve got to still give Fedor his digs, my dig would be, “Dude, you’re fighting a 185-pounder.” Henderson’s got a great chin, he’s durable, he’s got good wrestling, he can stay out of submissions, and all the great things I can say about Henderson, but Henderson weighs 185 pounds. So I actually think this fight, as far as Fedor is concerned, it’s a lose lose for him.

Dana also says that Zuffa hasn’t ran enough shows and that there’s ton of international demand for live events.

David Williams on why Marloes Coenen should beat Miesha Tate. Are these two ladies competing to become the next face of women’s MMA?

Latest fight lines for UFC 133

Topics: Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 56 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Gambling on upcoming big Strikeforce fights & TRT usage

By Zach Arnold | July 27, 2011

Video courtesy of MMAFighting.com

We’ll get to the latest TRT developments in a minute.

First, the final odds (for informational purposes only) heading into this weekend’s Strikeforce event in Chicago (that will air on Showtime):

Keep your eye on Twitter for Nick Kalikas and his thoughts on the fights. Geno Mrosko asked why no one is considering Fedor’s current mental state heading into the fight.

If I had to make picks: Henderson (I think his conditioning is excellent heading into the fight), Coenen (feel like she’s being undervalued here and Tate, despite size/strength advantage, has had a big layoff), Kennedy (though I’m not entirely confident given the power Lawler possesses striking), Woodley (should be able to grind a decision though I’m not confident in his chin here), and Tarec (time for Scott Smith to retire for his own health & safety).

Speaking of Dan Henderson, did you catch a recent interview he did on Sherdog radio? He was asked about TRT and was not a happy camper that this information became public. He blamed it on someone from UFC leaking it to the media. Henderson looks in top shape.

Which leads us to Chael Sonnen, who told Dave Meltzer that he has no plans on stopping TRT usage. Given that the athletic commissions aren’t stopping him from doing so, we’re back to where we were before he got suspended.

On an additional TRT-related note, our friend Keith Harris has caught Nate Marquardt having some trouble keeping his stories straight in recent media interviews. The evidence? Keith read our transcripts. Well worth your time reading Keith’s article.

Here’s the risk for UFC. On a large public scale, the TRT scandals is not every-day water cooler talk. However, as Kevin Iole correctly pointed out, if there is a major accident or death in a UFC fight and the fighter in question is using TRT or doping, this will be a major black mark on the credibility of the sport. Furthermore, what happens if such an accident takes place in a state/country with a weak or non-existent athletic commission and the person in charge of the TRT allowance is UFC’s own doctor, Dr. Jeff Davidson? Zuffa does not need another TRT scandal or a Dr. George Zahorian-type scandal happening.

It’s easy to throw a fighter and their mark doctor under the bus, but it’s a whole different story if it’s your own company doctor involved in overseeing such medical matters amongst fighters booked on your cards.

Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 19 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

SnagFilms documentary video: Walking to the Cage

By Zach Arnold | July 25, 2011

Watch more free documentaries

The documentary’s home page is here.

Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

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