Behavior at UFC 130 exposes fault lines for sycophantic media socializing, homophobia, & sexism
By Zach Arnold | June 2, 2011
What became a sideshow at UFC 130 this past weekend in Las Vegas has now turned into a full-blown media circus on a lot of levels. If you have not read my post on what happened in Vegas over the weekend, read it. I am referring to the two media incidents that have drawn a lot of internal fire. The first and most publicly known controversy is the interview Karyn Bryant posted online featuring Rampage Jackson flirting with her. The second controversy is drawing a lot of mockery in various quarters because an MMA writer was bragging about going to fighter after-parties after the UFC 130 event.
Both controversies are now increasing tensions amongst different constituencies.
First, let’s focus on the Karyn Bryant matter. It’s ridiculous on all levels. After the video of her interview with Rampage played on Jimmy Kimmel, it has become the talk in female journalistic circles. To try to clarify her stance on various matters related to the interview, Karyn did an interview with Steve Cofield of ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas/Cagewriter.com.
“Well, certainly I understand the point that, you know, a woman shouldn’t be put in a position to feel uncomfortable when she’s interviewing a male athlete, I totally understand. But I think we’re supposed to be allowed to set our parameters and boundaries and what those are and my comfort level might be very different from another woman. Doesn’t make me right and her wrong or vice versa. I understand that, you know, I understand when people say, hey, an athlete shouldn’t cross this line and be suggestively suggestive because the person is just trying to do their job and find out about, you know, the game or whatever. But in the case of somebody like Rampage, we all know Rampage loves to bust and do jokes and that’s why everybody lines up to interview him because everybody wants those funny, crazy sound bytes from him because people enjoy them. You know what has made that guy so popular is also, I guess, what makes him ‘dangerous’ in an interview sometimes.”
Suffice to say, this answer has not gone over well with fellow female journalists online.
“I don’t think we should all be treated so preciously. I mean, I have a couple of issues because now I feel like there’s certain, you know, female reporters who are offended by this and who completely are entitled to be so, but now it’s like there’s this unwritten rule that I was supposed to be really offended because I’m a female journalist and, you know, there’s rules and, you know, I’m not supposed to be okay with that because we women have fought real hard to get into the locker room and if you stop for a minute to be okay with that kind of joke, well, now you’re bringing us all down and I just don’t think that’s fair, you know.”
What’s interesting about this response is that Bryant & Rampage continued to… flirt?… on Twitter a few days after the interview. Karyn told Rampage that she was a married woman but that if her man would let her ‘creep’ that maybe Rampage could date her. Imagine the kind of shitstorm an ESPN female reporter would get for saying that on Twitter.
By the way, don’t think that Karyn isn’t drawing legitimate heat for the interview and the aftermath. She is and, right now, that pressure isn’t very comfortable.
“It’s really odd because… I don’t try to speak for other women and stuff like that and for fear of this being like opening the floodgates for me to just get, you know, truly assaulted in an interview, I hope that doesn’t really happen but in this case I thought it was a playful joke, he never touched me and I was okay with it.
“I thought it was funny, you know. It’s a really odd position to be in because I don’t, um, you know I don’t want to draw the fire of other female reporters because certainly some awful things have happened to them and that’s not fair and it’s not okay and by me saying this interview is okay it certainly does not condone it for everybody and every situation, but in this case… I don’t think it was a big deal.”
If you don’t believe that there is big concern that the Rampage interview re-enforced some stereotypes about whether or not women should be covering MMA (or be ‘put in their place’), well… yeah, there is growing concern.
“Certainly a lot of people say that, yeah, you know the women aren’t supposed to be there any way… I haven’t done Playboy spreads, there are no pictures of me with a tramp stamp in a bikini doing whatever, I have done nothing but act in a credible manner throughout my career and I’ve had some great jobs at some very, you know, well-respected places and so it is kind of shocking to me that some people are saying in this one fell swoop, you know, there goes all my credibility and all this stuff and I’m bringing it down and, yeah, just proving that, you know, women shouldn’t be doing this kind of thing. It’s really unbelievable to me.”
If you want an interesting side note about the Rampage interview, here’s one for you. Karyn told Steve that her husband is the one who shoots the video interviews and that if her hubby had gotten angry & stepped in to stop the interview during Rampage’s antics that she would would (figuratively-speaking) torched her man for interfering in the interview process.
I bring all of this up because there are two interesting developments tonight that I want you to read closely.
- Brent Brookhouse: Rampage Jackson and the MMA Community’s attitude towards women
- Cage Potato: So I guess we’re not going to talk about Joe Rogan calling a female MMA writer ‘Cunty’?
Rogan’s comments are out of line, period. What makes them stupid is that The UG is a forum that UFC has lots of sway with now. This is not some media site where the UFC can claim plausible deniability in regards to their fighters and employees posting on. Of course they post there.
Not only did Rogan make that dumb remark, but he did it against someone who works for Yahoo. Now, don’t get me wrong — Yahoo is UFC central and we know the politics. With that said, you can’t expect an outlet like that to sit idly by and eat the proverbial turd sandwich. If they do, then: a) shame on them and b) it shows how little respect they have for a female writer they employ. In either scenario, someone ends up a big loser. I would think for Yahoo’s sake, in terms of self preservation, that they will step up and defend their writer from Rogan’s dumb remark.
Ann Gaffigan of WomenSportsTalk.com reacts:
Think about the slurs that have been hurled at female journs by UFC men. If they used racial slurs as regularly would they still have jobs?
The crazy part about the Loretta video was that he made a public apology for using the anti-gay slur but not for using anti-female slurs and he was talking to a WOMAN.
When I go running & a guy yells a slur at me, I flip him off & move on. When they’re in a position of power & making a lot of $ & still allowed to act like this, there is something wrong with society.
But wait, there’s more. A lot more.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 53 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The state of MMA journalism in 2011 & GSP/Diaz officially announced
By Zach Arnold | June 1, 2011
This video (Jimmy Kimmel aired this interview on his ABC show), the profound piece of art that it is, led to a debate about ‘motorboating’. Yes, because as Rampage eloquently put it, she’s “Jamaican me horny.” I am old and out of touch in terms of using words like ‘motorboating’ in that manner. Then again, I already felt that way after hearing word on Twitter that an MMA writer, partier, social scenester was reportedly doing this after UFC 130:
@ULTMMA I like my #UFC credentialed media to be active in the pool party & UFC post event after party scene w/ fighters #WaitWhat #MMA
So, after Rampage had a good time in Las Vegas this past weekend, he decided to have a good time on Twitter. With UFC’s new Twitter policy, why wouldn’t he have an incentive to be active?
RAMPAGE JACKSON: @KarynBryant u got it going on,we should go on a date one day,show u how a Alpha gets down
@KarynBryant I can make u do other things as well,I know how 2 treat a woman good and show her a good time
KARYN BRYANT: To: @Rampage4real I KNOW u would b a fun date! But I’m married 2 a good guy, not lookin 4 side action. If he sez I can creep tho I’ll holla! LOL
RAMPAGE JACKSON: To: @KarynBryant lucky guy! Hahaha great let down,I’ve had worst
So, while the socializing and schmoozing (if you want to call it that) continues, UFC announced within the last hour that Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz will fight at UFC 137 on October 29th at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. According to an interview Cesar Gracie did with USA Today, Nick Diaz has signed a new 8-fight contract with Zuffa that will allow him to fight in both UFC & Strikeforce but not in boxing. MMA Supremacy:
In other words, what Cesar Gracie & Nick Diaz did to negotiate a new deal w/ Zuffa & get tons of $$$ by using boxing as leverage worked.
Guess the schmoozing at the pool parties didn’t produce the goods on this news for some writers. GSP is still a 4-to-1 favorite on the sportsbooks to beat Diaz when the fight happens.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 38 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dan Henderson on fighting Fedor: “I feel pretty confident that I’m going to beat him up”
By Zach Arnold | June 1, 2011
KENNY RICE: “So it breaks down this way, Henderson and Fedor, of course two of the greats in the sport going at it, head-to-head. Dan, this is really an interesting match-up. How does this come out? Why did you decide to go to Heavyweight once again as the Light Heavyweight champ for this fight?”
DAN HENDERSON: “Well, I don’t think Fedor was prepared to cut down to 205 and, you know, it doesn’t matter to me. he’s not a huge heavyweight. He’s not somebody that’s, you know, take me down and hold on and hang onto me either on top, so for me, you know, it’s been a match-up that I think the fans have been wanting to see ever since I signed with Strikeforce. You know, the media and the fans have been asking if I’m going to fight him and, you know, for me it was more of I had other guys to fight at the time and, right now, at Light Heavyweight in Strikeforce there’s not really a clear opponent for me with, you know, some of the guys getting injured and some of the guys losing and (Gegard) Mousasi not having the best performance in his last fight, either. You know, I think Fedor made the most sense for Strikeforce to have right now, you know, he’s coming off a couple of losses but I think that might motivate him to really get in shape and I hope that he comes in at his best, you know, that was kind of a… for me, I want to fight the guy and challenge myself against the guy when he’s at the top of his game.”
TITO ORTIZ: “Well, time and time again you’ve always wanted to step up to the biggest (stage) possible. I remember back in PRIDE days you fought heavyweight a few times, fought Minotauro and lost a decision but I thought you won the decision. At the same time I really see the factor now of you stepping into fighting Fedor and giving the fans want they want to see, so you’re a (fan-friendly) fighter and I look up to you stepping up against him at Heavyweight. I thought it would be at Light Heavyweight and it would be a better fight, either way, but just seeing you at Heavyweight I think you’re going to expose him because, like I say, his confidence is not what it used to be so, you know, I wish you luck with this fight.”
DAN HENDERSON: “Well, thank you. For me, it was… it’s not, even though, I know the fans wanted to see this but this is more for me as well, you know. I want to challenge myself and see how I am against someone at his caliber and his level with certain things and, you know, I feel pretty confident that I’m going to beat him up.”
On the issue of when an MMA fighter should retire…
DAN HENDERSON: “I think it all depends on how you’re losing, really, and it depends on how you’re losing against what opponent(s), too. I mean if you’re losing, getting knocked out by guys that shouldn’t be knocking you out, you know, it could be time to think about it. But, you know, for me I know that I’ve been asked that a few times just because I’m 40-and-up now, you know, I just turned 40 this last year and if I’m still able to compete at the top level then I’m nowhere near done, you know. I feel great, my body’s feeling good, I’ve gotten smarter with my training and, you know, I’m ready to keep going and, you know, there’s a lot of guys that are a lot younger that probably should retire.”
At BetOnFighting, Henderson is a +210 underdog (Fedor is a -260 favorite). A rough translation of the math means Fedor is a 2-to-1 favorite. Do you agree with the betting line? Check out my new article on boxing vs. MMA action at the sportsbooks and why MMA has become such a favorable sport for the ‘books lately.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Marriage with more upside: Jenna/Tito or Roy Nelson/Dolce diet?
By Zach Arnold | May 31, 2011
We have a big fight between Clay Guida & Anthony Pettis coming up on Saturday (Spike TV) that UFC has basically forgotten to promote. And in addition to forgetting to promote the fight, even if Pettis wins he is still not guaranteed a #1 contendership slot to face the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III (which will probably happen in early August in Philadelphia).
So, we are left with some soap opera-ish story lines. Like… Anderson Silva not amused by Yushin Okami training with Chael Sonnen or whether or not Rampage Jackson was ‘motorboating’ Karyn Bryant during a video interview. That, along with Tony Loiseleur of Sherdog catching Gary “Jerry” Millen at this weekend’s DREAM event and Millen reportedly running/hiding from the press so his presence at the event wouldn’t be leaked out on the Internet.
But those stories are largely appetizers compared to an old drama with a new twist and the drama surrounding Roy Nelson’s job security in the UFC.
First, the old drama with a new twist. The OC Weekly brings you a great wrap-up of the latest drama in the relationship between Tito Ortiz & Jenna Jameson, which includes dirt flying between the two media-craving lovebirds about cheating/not cheating and why Tito helped bail out someone in Las Vegas. Once you read the OC Weekly piece, then the following Twitter chatter from both Tito and Jenna makes some sense (as much as it can, anyways).
@FreakyFella no sick of being treated like
shitwith no support. U get to read half the shit I go though.Lol coming from a hooker from the HBO show cathouse! Thats funny. Shut up and sell your snatch. RT @ExpensiveBlonde: Seriously! @jennajameson Has been 100 percent faithful to @titoortiz ! Stop already
bitches!@pink_cashmere she done nothing but stolded and tried to break us up. She can have jenna now
Not nuts just done with the lies and deceit. The hand I was holding was bring me down now a will let go.
Not whem my friend call and tell me. RT @Anghays: @schaefdaddy @jennajameson @titoortiz @wardski21 tons of girls were wearing dresses w/high heels. why u tryin’ to make trub for this couple?
Ok im done talking about this
shit. I found some shit out that happen from a few friends. First time my bad ,second her bad ,third I should of believe the first time. Will find someone who respects and supports me. Life will go on! I will stay strong.
I am perfect, saying mean lies on twitter is wrong. I am a mother, and I love Tito and my children.
I love him, and he is angry. I stand behind him no matter how much he lashes out at me
I love @titoortiz and will fight for him forever. No matter what he sais
My children are my main priority, lies about fatherhood is yucky. Just be a dad and stop partying and train…your fight is soon.
I love @titoortiz and I would never disrespect him with another man. I’m a good girl, and mommy!
I was in Vegas for 2 days with my gay make assistant. Tito is my man, so all you losers trying to be dumb,
fuckyouOnce again, I love my kids and they are my main priority. Talking smack on twitter seems insane when life is more important
I want the real @titoortiz back. He used to be loving, I get how a lot of you think I’m garbage, but he’s me babies daddy, and I love him
Tito is a +365 underdog (at BetOnFighting) in his upcoming July fight against Ryan Bader, which translates to the book giving him about a 20% shot of winning.
A 20% success ratio sounds low, but is it higher or lower than the potential success rate of Roy Nelson should be take up Mike Dolce’s offer of getting on The Dolce Diet? This idea is surfacing after Dana White, the UFC Godfather, announced that he would have a meeting with Roy later this week to discuss his future with the company. Translation: Get your fat ass in shape or get cut. Mr. Dolce says that he met up with Roy at UFC 130 and offered his services should Roy want them. Mike thinks he can make Roy a healthier Heavyweight or even a Light Heavyweight.
As Jonathan Snowden discovered in the past, talking about Roy Nelson’s weight situation has always been a controversial subject that drew fire from both sides. After Nelson’s UFC 130 performance against Frank Mir, no one is debating what needs to be done in order for Roy to step up his game as a fighter. Except for Robert Joyner, who points out the following:
Roy Nelson gasses after one round, folks wanna cut him….. Shane Carwin gasses after one round… gets to fight #1 contender… whatever.
Dana gonna meet with Big Country Fri? Imagining some A&E Intervention shit: “Roy, I don’t like what Whoppers have done to our relationship…”
Even with a reported case of ‘walking pneumonia,’ Roy doesn’t have many excuses for getting beat as badly as he was by Frank Mir. Could The Dolce Diet help save Roy’s UFC career and improve his quality of life?
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 50 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Scott Coker’s foot-in-mouth disease stirs up hornet’s nest over Fedor/Henderson
By Zach Arnold | May 29, 2011
(Click the picture to watch the video interview)
In what was supposed to be a largely mundane interview by Scott Coker with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com, Mr. Coker managed to stir up a hornet’s nest with these comments about the upcoming Fedor/Dan Henderson fight on July 30th.
ARIEL HELWANI: “You announced several big announcements (on Saturday), the first one being the biggest one, Fedor vs. Dan Henderson July 30th in, just outside of Chicago, Sears Center. How hard was it to put that fight together, especially given the catch weight at 220 pounds?”
SCOTT COKER: “Well, I tell you, you know, anything with Fedor sometimes can be difficult, right? But, um, you know, a lot of that is just, they’re not here, you can’t just pick up the phone and call ’em and, you know, they can come over and have a meeting with you, face-to-face. I mean, it’s a long-distance thing and then you have a language barrier and you have to have a translator and… it’s nice to say that it’s done, so that’s put behind us, so, you know, I don’t have to worry about that anymore. But it was quite a little task to get this thing done.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Why didn’t you just have teh fight at 205 and for the belt?”
SCOTT COKER: “Um…. you know, we never really had a conversation with Fedor about dropping down to 205, because he’s a heavyweight, you know, I think it’s a little bit disrespectful and Dan said, look, you know what? I’ll come up and fight him, I don’t care what weight, I’ll fight him at, you know, 250. But I knew that Dan would not be fighting at 250 and Fedor really fights at, you know, 225, so… That’s, 220 was the uh… was the uh… compromise that Jordan Fagan (Dan’s lawyer/agent) felt comfortable with and the M-1 side felt comfortable with.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Has the relationship changed at all since the purchase between you and M-1? Has it made any more, uh, tricky, difficult, anything like that?”
SCOTT COKER: “You know what? Not really. Not really. It’s still the same. They’re still great guys over there.”
After the video interview was published early Saturday evening, Dan Henderson took to Twitter to rebut the premise of a catch weight fight and Ariel started taking (unjustified) heat for what was said.
This incident could simply be a miscommunication where Strikeforce and Mr. Fagan agreed upon a deal but Dan wasn’t kept in the loop on negotiations… or someone is lying, because Scott Coker’s comments left no room for ambiguity. In Washington D.C. politics, a ‘Kinsleyian gaffe’ is when a politician accidentally tells the truth. Is that the case here?
Is it really a big deal that the fight would be a catch weight bout at 220 as opposed to a standard heavyweight fight? No, not in the grand scheme of things. With that said, the fact that this ‘big announcement’ was rolled out on Saturday and something still got screwed up is just a friendly reminder of what has been missing since Zuffa purchased the assets of Strikeforce.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 130: Night of the one-sided main-events
By Zach Arnold | May 28, 2011
Dark matches/Spike TV bouts
- Bantamweights: Michael McDonald defeated Chris Cariaso after 3R by split decision.
- Lightweights: Gleison Tibau defeated Rafaello Oliveira in R2 in 3’28 with a choke sleeper hold.
- Middleweights: Tim Boetsch defeated Kendall Grove after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Bantamweights: Renan Barao defeated Cole Escovedo after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Bantamweights: Demetrious Johnson defeated Miguel Torres after 3R by unanimous decision (29-28).
Main card
- Welterweights: Rick Story defeated Thiago Alves after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Middleweights: Brian Stann defeated Jorge Santiago in R2 in 4’29 by KO.
- Heavyweights: Travis Browne defeated Stefan Struve in R1 in 4’11 with a superman punch.
- Heavyweights: Frank Mir defeated Roy Nelson by unanimous decision.
- Light Heavyweights: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated Matt Hamill after 3R by unanimous decision. (30-27 all the way around.)
Random thoughts
Biggest news of the day wasn’t even UFC 130-related. From Josh Gross:
“Sources: Fedor takes home $1.5 M while Henderson makes $800k for their fight in July. Huge purses. Zuffa will have hard time making money.”
That fight on July 30th at Sears Center.
Best person to follow on Twitter tonight during UFC 130: MindofGoldberg. Simply great. Even Mike & Joe (Rogan) had no energy and were flat for the pre-fight hype tonight. You could just feel the flatness. Dana didn’t even scream on TV tonight as he is wont to do. The empty seats on camera and on display tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was quite a sight.
Judging controversy of the day: The judging for the Demetrious Johnson/Miguel Torres fight. What’s the point of having the Unified Rules if no one wants to go by the letter of the law? Torres was active off his back, was far more aggressive on offense, went for submissions, and did several reversals. DJ ended up getting rewarded because he was on top for two rounds. Position. Being on top. I like both fighters and I picked Torres to win a razor-thin decision, but the 29-28 unanimous decisions across the board was … something.
Did you know that Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis is happening next weekend on Spike TV? Don’t worry, nobody else does at this point, either.
Who should Brian Stann fight next? One idea – he fights the winner of Mark Munoz/Demian Maia (which takes place at UFC 131 in Vancouver in two weeks). Lots of fans online very apprehensive about idea of booking Maia against Stann, however.
Cain Velasquez was busy getting married while Rick Story was taking it to Thiago Alves and Stefan Struve was getting blitzed with a superman punch by Travis Browne.
Jon Jones is a -305 favorite early on the sportsbooks to beat Rampage Jackson (should they fight). In other words, 75/25 favorite.
Topics: All Topics | 47 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Searching for answers, a perspective on the Japanese MMA landscape by Tony Loiseleur
By Zach Arnold | May 26, 2011
There’s a DREAM show on the 29th at Saitama Super Arena. It’s being configured to seat 7,000 spectators. I don’t know if there will be 7,000 fans (paid or papered) but I know a show will be happening. I’m not sure who will be fighting on the card, since that seems to be the one common storyline on this card. I guess we will see Rich Clementi fighting Shinya Aoki, but we won’t see Darren Uyenoyama. As for the card itself, there’s nothing wrong with the card if you head into the event with no expectations of star power or real importance on the overall global landscape of the MMA scene. As a stand-alone card, it’s kind of wacky and may be entertaining. Of course, you won’t see it on broadcast TV in Japan and delayed broadcasts are the norm elsewhere.
And then there’s whole debate about exactly how much money is really going to charity… to which Kevin Marshall responded, “Hey, be fair. There’s no way they can know ahead of time how much money the Yakuza’s taking.” He was joking…
Jokes aside about the current health of Japanese MMA, Jordan Breen had a timely interview with Tony Loiseleur of Sherdog.com fame to talk about the upcoming DREAM card and where things stand. Although I don’t agree with everything Tony says about Japan (you will not be shocked by this), it is a great 35-minute interview that I would strongly recommend you go out of your way to listen to. Tony does have the grapefruits to piss in the proverbial punch bowl at Japanese MMA press conferences when it comes to asking real questions that the promoters just don’t want to hear. Sometimes he even asks questions at these pressers that makes me think Japanese bodyguards will drag him out of the room and hit him in the head with a baseball bat.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: DREAM, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Brock Lesnar on Carwin/JDS UFC fight: It’s Carwin’s to win wherever he takes it
By Zach Arnold | May 25, 2011
Brock is doing the media rounds and one stop on the media tour was this interview he did with Mauro Ranallo yesterday to promote his brand new book, Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival. In the 20-minute interview, Brock was largely calm & respectful. He was being himself and while the interview in general was not one that set the world on fire, he did make some interesting observations.
First, about his current medical condition and where things are heading:
MAURO RANALLO: “What is the plan for you, Brock? Are you scheduled to go to the doctor this week, I understand, or what’s the future hold for Brock Lesnar as a Mixed Martial Artist?”
BROCK LESNAR: “Yeah, I’m very disappointed. This has not only mentally but this has been very physically strenuous on me, you know, since my first bout with Diverticulitis in 2009. Having to back away from a fight is not something that I think anybody likes to do, surely me, you know, the first time it happened to me and to fall under the same circumstances, I thought I had this thing beaten and I’m very disappointed but getting past that and understand that, you know, my health is very important and I got another doctor’s appointment on Thursday and a consultation where we’re going to go over and just try to figure out the best approach to try to handle this and it may be surgery and it may be not. We’re reviewing other options here to try to help me but, you know, I want to get back into the Octagon sooner than later.”
MAURO RANALLO: “So, obviously you, as you stated during the conference call when this first was released, you stick by your guns that your MMA career is not over?”
BROCK LESNAR: “No, it’s not over. I mean, I don’t, you know, even talking with the doctors about the possibility of surgery, there’s really, uh, it’s not a career-ending surgery by any means so I just got to weigh out all my options at this time and see if that is the right thing to do or is there’s any other medication that I can be on or any other thing, I don’t know how I can change my diet any more than I have but we’re looking down all avenues right now and I foresee, you know, in the near future that I’ll be able to step back in the Octagon.”
Mauro, to his credit, asked Brock about the low ratings for The Ultimate Fighter this season. In a respectful manner, Brock said that it’s the 13th season of the show (his words) and that Junior dos Santos is not a house hold name. He did mention the time slot being an issue, but only in passing. In regards to the upcoming fight between JDS & Shane Carwin, Brock picked Carwin all the way to win and by ‘wherever he wants to take the fight.’ As for whether or not he will watch UFC 130 this weekend featuring Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson… not so much.
MAURO RANALLO: “Do you hate Frank Mir?”
(laughter for 10 seconds)
BROCK LESNAR: “We’re not going fishing tomorrow, I’ll leave it at that.”
MAURO RANALLO: “What about his fight with Roy Nelson on Saturday? I mean, how do you think that fight will unfold? Actually I’ll ask you now, Brock, because I know that you… are you a fight fan, like do you like to watch the fights? Will you still continue to watch PPVs or is the family and everything else first and foremost, like will you be watching the event this Saturday?”
BROCK LESNAR: “Um, you know, there’s a good chance, maybe so, but it’s not my priority list but there are fights that I have watched and I have rented before but it’s not very often. I mean, I’m usually outside, we’re usually doing something in the yard or, you know, I’ve got two young boys that take up a lot of my time, you know, right now, you know, between getting them ready for bed and fighting them to get them in bed, so our hands are pretty full.”
As for how Brock sees his legacy in the UFC so far, he’s relatively satisfied.
MAURO RANALLO: “So, you got the doctor’s appointment on Thursday, the book has come out today. Again, having had a little taste of your MMA career, did you think it would be this fast, this soon? I mean, you were thrown to the wolves and, uh, like I say in your fourth fight, just like Randy Couture, you’re a champion. How do you put into perspective what’s happened so far in your MMA career?”
BROCK LESNAR: “Well, it really has been rather overwhelming. I mean, I’ve been very gratified and it’s been a great time. The company and Dana (White) and Lorenzo (Fertitta), they’ve all been very good to me in putting my health first and foremost and so I’m really happy with my career thus far in the UFC and I look forward to continuing my fight career and facing and hopefully one day becoming the UFC Heavyweight champion again.”
His new book is Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival and is currently available for purchase. (The Kindle book price is not that much lower than the print edition, though.)
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White’s comments breathe new life into the Chael Sonnen media controversy
By Zach Arnold | May 25, 2011
Now that he has come out and said that the athletic commissions (California/Nevada) are punishing Chael Sonnen as harshly as Nevada punished Mike Tyson when he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear, I think it’s safe say that the discussion on this matter will continue. Bottom line: If UFC wants to book Chael Sonnen in Texas (ala Antonio Margarito), they can and they will. This whole situation is now on UFC’s door step. If they want to book Chael Sonnen, they can. If they think he’s finished and will have to fight in a state where he’ll run into problems with that state’s drug testing policy, then they won’t book him. The UFC, at this point, will not be able to hide under a commission’s ruling if they want to book Sonnen. They may as well get used to it, anyways, with Josh Barnett fighting on the Zuffa-run Strikeforce event in Dallas on June 18th.
Speaking of negative reaction towards Keith Kizer and the California State Athletic Commission, here’s round two from Marika Taylor. She accuses Mr. Kizer of conspiracy in relation to destroy Mr. Sonnen’s career. I don’t know if that, in and of itself, is a libelous statement but she has made the charge publicly.
Let’s see if she’ll go to Las Vegas and approach Mr. Kizer face-to-face.
“While Kizer and CSACs plot to end Chaels career entirely was intercepted, they still managed to keep him from making a living on TUF. I hope Chael sues the CSAC and includes Kizer in the lawsuit since he orchestrated the plan and got the CSAC to carry out his dirty work. The same day Chael submitted an application for a license in Nevada, CSAC created new suspension from thin air. Coincidence? I think not.
“Don’t understand what CSAC stood to gain by carrying out Kizer wishes or why Kizer has such a hard on for Chael. But I’ll expose everything. Kizer job description: go on radio do personal interviews, illegally talk and mock someones private medical condition imply wrongdoing, then boldly create a fake suspension in California so he doesn’t have to look like a douche bag for not giving Chael a Nevada license. Kizer got his panties in a knot when he thought Chael misquote him at December CSAC hearing. Chael clarified he had never spoken to Kizer about testosterone replacement therapy but that he believed his manager did. Keith denies ever speaking to either of them only to change his story under oath last Wednesday when faced with phone records between him and lindland Kizer squirmed around and completely changed story. Repeatedly at that same hearing that his manager spoke to Kizer re TRT disclosure not him personally. There was no ambiguity.
“The whole fake suspension was based around what Kizer told CSAC was inconsistent statements..even tho they were clarified in December. And even though Kizer was never at the hearing. when Kizer went on the radio and branded Chael a liar, they all had a meeting to clear thing up. Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana Chael and lindland all sat down with Kizer to clear the air. Kizer flat out refused to license Chael, then called CSAC, made up this suspension and then arrogantly told the press he wouldnly license Chael until he resolved his issues with CSAC. Chael had already resolved his issues with CSAC and had served his suspension for what CSAC believed was improper disclosure of medication. Chael Sonnen was moving on with his life and excited to be on TUF and go back to earning a living. Kizer single handedly stopped that.
“At the Hearing last Wednesday Kizer swore under oath. Actually he instead of saying so help me God Kizer arrogantly said “so help Me.” Pretty appropriate since Kizer has absolute power and is clearly playing God. Under kizers version of a solemn oath Kizer changed his story. Chael is branded a liar for one statement he made in December that he repeatedly clarified. Kizer goes out of his way waaaaaay out of his across state lines to nail Chael, when Kizer himself was inconsistent. Only when faced with phone records and after speaking with lindland Keith Kizer admitted that his memory was jogged. He does remember speaking to lindland about TRT. Who’s the liar now? Oh but Kizer wanted to pipe in that he never told Lindland that he didn’t have to disclose TRT. Oh That part he remembers. How convenient. Kizer is childish, petty and unprofessional. He’s an attention whore. Hes a wanna be gangster, a bold faced liar and as corrupt as can be. Kizer prevented Chael from making a living, defamed his character, disclosed a private medical condition publicly and is a disgrace to NSAC.
“CSAC maintains Chaels license expires June 29th, even though it actually expired last September.”
I’ll end this post by bringing up some comments that were made by Steve Cofield of Yahoo’s Cagewriter.com site on ESPN1100 radio when he was hosting an MMA segment with Roy Nelson and Adam Hill (of the Las Vegas Review-Journal). The subject of Chael Sonnen’s suspension came up and they were critical of the way the athletic commissions are handling the matter…
STEVE COFIELD: “Chael Sonnen. So he goes and speaks in front of, he testifies in front of the California State Athletic Commission. They say, no, 4-1, you’re not getting your license back. Now, we’re looking ahead, he’s officially banned until the middle of 2011. … Which effectively says, I guess you can go somewhere else and fight and get a license in another state but is the UFC going to go against the California commission and allow Chael Sonnen to fight? Is two years too severe for what he did?”
ROY NELSON: “Um… the way I look at it is… first they gave him, it’s like if you go to a court case and if you get a sentence for six months, you can’t go back and go, well, you know what? Now we’re going to do a year, two years. I mean, they already gave him a sentence of six months, they reduced it to six months, so stick it. And now they’re just mad because they either look stupid or they’ve got a little peeve.”
STEVE COFIELD: “It’s like double jeopardy. They found out afterwards that he may have, you know, was playing his character, so we’re going to get you.”
ROY NELSON: “So, they want to penalize him but I mean there’s blatantly guys where they’re like, yeah, I cheated, I did this, I did that. I mean, he told them before even the tests came out, so it really is on them. So, but you know, I mean, I’ve seen guys go, ‘yeah, I cheated’, and then they go, ‘OK, don’t do it again,’ ‘okay,’ and then they give them a year. Now, they’re just doing two years, I mean, I don’t think Chael should be penalized that way. I think he should just go ahead and fight outside California.”
ADAM HILL (LVRJ): “It was extremely harsh what they did and I think some of the reasons they did it are complete unfair. First of all, they brought up his money laundering case, which… I don’t know what’s going on, boxers all the time… We talked off the air about it, there’s boxers coming out of jail and going out to fight, how is that not harming the sport yet Chael Sonnen’s money laundering charge is? That’s crazy. And they also use statements he made in the media to disprove things he said on the record to the commission. That’s insane. He can say whatever he wants to the media. I want guys to be honest to be but they don’t have to be, they’re not under oath when they’re talking to the media. You can’t use what he says in interviews to discredit what he says in the commission hearing, that’s insane.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 31 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White says that Chael Sonnen has been punished harder than Mike Tyson
By Zach Arnold | May 25, 2011
If the video doesn’t load for you here on the embed, click this link to go to the Heavy.com web site.
MEGAN OLIVI: “A lot of people have been talking about GSP & Nick Diaz possibly being coaches (on The Ultimate Fighter). But besides that, is that fight a done deal? Is that something you want to see happen?”
DANA WHITE: “That fight is not a done deal and I guarantee you that those two will not be coaches, not even close. All this stuff that’s out there about that fight and the meeting that we had here is all bullshit.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “All right, fair enough. So we will not be seeing that at UFC 140 in Montreal?”
DANA WHITE: “No.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “Okay. Now how are these hurdles that you have to go through to create fights between UFC guys and Strikeforce guys? Is it a difficult process if you would even want to?”
DANA WHITE: “Yeah, it’s all still a work in progress, I mean we don’t know, we don’t know how we’re working this whole thing out. Obviously, we’re still running Strikeforce fights and, you know, we have this deal with Showtime but we don’t know how we’re going to handle that type of a situation. Listen, we want to put on fights that people want to see but we got to figure out.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “A lot of people have been talking about your comments regarding Strikeforce when you said ‘we’ll see if we can keep Strikeforce alive.’ What exactly did you mean by that? Will it have the same fate as, say, the WEC?”
DANA WHITE: “I have no idea. I mean, obviously we have a deal with Showtime. We want to continue to put on fights, um… with Strikeforce. The question is, can we make it work? It has to make business sense. It didn’t make business sense for the old owners, we have to make sense of it.”
(Later on in interview…)
MEGAN OLIVI: “If Anthony Pettis defeats Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter finale, where does this leave him? Is he still next in the line and whoever wins Frankie (Edgar) or Gray (Maynard), he will get them?”
DANA WHITE: “Absolutely, no he’s definitely in line and the thing is for a guy like Pettis and I say this about guys all the time… bad things happen every day and people fall out and lots of things happen, but you have to stay active, you have to keep fighting. That kid jumped right in and took a tough fight against (Clay) Guida. It’s what you’ve got to do.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “With Frankie Edgar being injured, three other of your champions are also injured. How do you go about creating interim titles, if that’s something you want to do?”
DANA WHITE: “The only time we do an interim title is when we’re unsure how long a guy’s going to be out and a guy we don’t want to strip, you know, he’s got something unfortunate that happens to him… you know, we just don’t throw interim titles just because somebody broke their hand or something.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “A guy that has been talked about a lot is Jon Jones, who is also injured. What do you kind of think about that drama between him and Rashad (Evans)?”
DANA WHITE: “Yeah, um… you know, they went from not fighting each other because they were good friends to, you know, ready to fight each other anywhere they bump into each other. Funny how that turned around so quick. Heh heh.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “Do you think you’ll still make that fight, even if Rashad loses to Phil Davis?”
DANA WHITE: “I don’t know, we’ll see. To predict what we’ll do if this guy wins, if that guys loses, I never know. We gotta to see what happens.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “All right, let’s talk about Chael Sonnen. What’s his kind of status in the UFC right now?”
DANA WHITE: “I’m pretty bummed out about the Chael Sonnen thing and the way that the whole thing was handled. You know, this guy… I don’t know if there’s ever been a penalty laid down, I mean Tyson, I think when Tyson bit the ear, Tyson got a year. Um… it’s pretty crazy.”
MEGAN OLIVI: “You know, he said that you told him if he can’t licensed, he has to retire. Is there any truth to that?”
DANA WHITE: “Um… listen, it’s not that he’d have to retire, but right now was his opportunity. This kid had the opportunity to coach The Ultimate Fighter, he had the opportunity to get a big fight set up, should he win that fight… everybody knows what happened with Anderson Silva, this was a key moment in this kid’s career and me, personally, you know, you’ve heard me say it for the last almost 11 years, we always support whatever the athletic commission says… This kid got, this kid got it stuck to him, man. He paid his dues in every way shape and forum and, uh… I think he’s been treated a bit unfairly.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Jose Aldo reportedly injured again; Punk’d on Ricardo Mayorga twitter
By Zach Arnold | May 23, 2011
Chad Mendes is not a happy man tonight and for good reason.
When we’re wrong, we’re wrong
And we owe Mr. Mayorga a retraction and public apology for this. Reason: When other fighters (and a certain promoter) responded to the Tweets in kind, due diligence was ignored. Bad mistake and we are sorry to all parties involved.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The forgotten UFC June 2011 non-PPV fight cards
By Zach Arnold | May 23, 2011
Ultimate Fighter Finale (TUF 13) 6/4 Las Vegas (The Pearl at The Palms)
- Bantamweights: Reuben Duran vs. Francisco Rivera
- Lightweights: Danny Downes vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Bantamweights: Scott Jorgensen vs. Ken Stone
- Featherweights: Josh Grispi vs. George Roop
- Middleweights: Ed Herman vs. Tim Credeur
- Light Heavyweights: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado
- Lightweights: Clay Guida vs. Anthony Pettis
UFC Live on Versus 6/26 Pittsburgh (CONSOL Energy Center)
- Welterweights: Charlie Brenneman vs. TJ Grant
- Lightweights: Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto
- Lightweights: Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice
- Lightweights: Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
- Welterweights: Matt Brown vs. Rich Attonito
- Lightweights: Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton
- Lightweights: Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez
- Featherweights: Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan
- Heavyweights: Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft
- Welterweights: Martin Kampmann vs. John Howard
- Heavyweights: Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
- Welterweights: Nate Marquardt vs. Anthony “Rumble” Johnson
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Urijah Faber expects UFC title fight against Dominick Cruz to have the same result as first encounter
By Zach Arnold | May 23, 2011
RON KRUCK: “How’s training going?”
URIJAH FABER: “Training’s been going great. I’ve been real busy, mixing the training along with everything else, that’s part of the game here in the UFC, so… I feel great. My weight’s under control, my body feels incredible and I can’t wait to get in there and fight.”
RON KRUCK: “Your thoughts now that you’ve now got one fight under your belt in the UFC and now that you’re the main event for an event?”
URIJAH FABER: “Yeah, I mean, I’m just honored to be main event. I feel like I’ve been in that position since I started in this game, ever since my third fight it’s been some sort of main event, you know, whether it be on a tiny little show or now the UFC so I just feel really fortunate, man. I can’t wait to put on a show and get that belt.”
RON KRUCK: “For people who don’t know why is it that you and Dominick (Cruz) just don’t get along?”
URIJAH FABER: “It’s been a number of different things, you know, it started way back when we fought the first time, him being disrespectful and kind of immature and then me beating him up and him continuing, you know. So, it’s like… you know, there’s not many people who get on my nerves like that but there’s, you know, a little more incentive, you know, this is like the old-school, meet-at-the-park and those are the best kind of fights and so it’s rare for me to have a real enemy, and I’m lucky in this one.”
RON KRUCK: “You got the victory over (Cruz), it was several years ago but is there anything that you can look at from that first meeting that can benefit you this time around or is this ancient history?”
URIJAH FABER: “We’re both very different fighters but I think there’s a little bit to learn from that fight, you know, and I’ve got a great game plan and I feel like in all aspects of the game I’m the better fighter, so… His thing is he’s real elusive and he’s got an unorthodox style but it’s a not real scary style, he’s not a big finisher and he frustrates people, he, you know, frustrator, irritator, but not The Dominator.”
RON KRUCK: “Recently, there’s been some big retirements in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, you know, Chuck going back a little bit further but most recently Randy Couture hanging up the gloves. Urijah, you’ve been in this sport for a long time, your thoughts about a pioneer like Randy going out?”
URIJAH FABER: “Um… you know, it’s been cool to watch Randy because I was there, you know, a fan since the beginning of his career and I remember the old comb over balding hair and, you know, the little Speedo and I just watched the whole thing change over time and he’s a real, he’s really a guy that’s helped out a ton of fighters and I’ve learned from that, the way he carried himself so it’s pretty amazing to see what he did in the sport, not only as a fighter but as an ambassador and somebody that paved the way for a lot of guys to represent the sport well, so… Can’t believe he lasted so long, man, and competitive, so it was pretty neat, man, to see guys like Chuck and Randy and, you know, Mark Coleman and even guys, you know, Tito Ortiz, he’s still fighting and that’s a guy that I looked at in the beginning and was the first guy I felt that came with some charisma and, you know, it’s neat to see how these things have changed and the sport’s so new but it’s got such a great history and every year, something new happens.”
RON KRUCK: “Looking at the way that Randy went out, you know, of course, he would have preferred to go out with a victory. But to go out on his own terms, you know, a lot of athletes, it doesn’t matter what the sport is, they don’t have that opportunity. Your thoughts about that to be able to say, hey, I’m feeling good and this is the time to leave?”
URIJAH FABER: “Yeah, I mean, basically what it comes down to is can you still beat some people up? And he believe he could so it’s cool to see someone who believes in himself and given that opportunity because there’s been a lot of times where guys are like, oh, man, what’s he doing, and all of a sudden he takes out Tim Sylvia and then he takes out Cheick Kongo or whoever it is, he’s taking out these monsters and it’s all about the mind, man, you know, everything is in the mind. You know, the age thing, there’s of course, you know, Mother Nature that has a hand in it, but… bottom line is, do you believe in yourself? And it’s good to see that age is just another factor that your mind has control of.”
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