My Fighter’s Need To Stop Whining “Rant”

I am so sick of fighters complaining ALL the damn time.  You would think that if a fighter has fought in one of the major organizations(UFC, WEC, EliteXC, DREAM, PRIDE) etc…they would have a damn clue as to how shit works.  But no, most of these fighters have their heads so far up their damn ass it’s pathetic.  The sad part is, besides Tito Ortiz and a couple of veterans, it’s LARGELY fresh on the scene fighters bitching.  How the hell you gonna have like 3 fights on the big stage and demand a 6 figure contract or ask to make more than the champion is making?  Yes, I’m talking about Roger Huerta.

How can you not understand how to negotiate a contract?  Why on GOD’s green earth would you talk shit about the company you work for, before the BIGGEST fight of your life?  Especially considering that if you win this particular fight, you have ALL the POWER when it comes to negotiating a new contract.  Why are all these stupid ass fighters clamoring to goto an organization that’s about as stable as two elephants trying to have sex on a tight rope?  YOU SIGNED THE CONTRACT TO BEGIN WITH…IT’S YOUR FAULT…NOBODY PUT A GUN TO YOUR HEAD TO SIGN THE DOTTED LINE.

Ok, you’ve seen what happened to Randy Couture for being an idiot.  Why not learn from that situation and just keep your mouth shut and do your damn job?  Yes, I know fight promotions are full of shit sometimes…but, you already knew that beforehand.  YOU decided to be a MMA fighter, if you don’t like how the system works…fulfull the contract you signed and THEN say what you wanna say afterwards.

I like Roger Huerta…he’s got MADD heart…and is exciting in EVERY fight.  Hell I wouldn’t mind seeing him win this weekend at UFC 87.  But for Christ’s sake, don’t take the emotion you fight with…and let it come out in your frustrations with whom you work for.  Not in an interview for a magazine at least.

Randy Couture: A Legacy Tarnished

During the short history of MMA in America, few fighters have exhibited the “IT” factor.  The brashness of Tito Ortiz, the knockout power of Chuck Liddell, the trash talking of Phil Baroni, or the chiseled physique of GSP.  Yet, one fighter in particular had IT without displaying many of the above attributes.  His style was not overly exciting, nor was he ever thought to be invincible.  However, the one thing he did more than anyone else was win when he wasn’t supposed to.  Just as the Japanese love to see David and Goliath matches, American’s love to root for the underdog, thus aptly naming Randy Couture “Captain America”.

Couture has always been articulate, soft spoken, honorable, and respectful.  All qualities that endeared him to some of MMA’s most hardcore fans.  However, in October 2007 a big chink was put in that armor when he abruptly resigned from the UFC.  It wasn’t the fact the he resigned, it was how and why he chose to do so.  Couture resigned from the very contract in which he signed less than a year earlier via fax machine.  Couture held a press conference later in which he cited money issues, lack of respect, and the inability of the UFC to sign Fedor Emelianenko to justify his decision.  However, the UFC countered with a conference of their own.  Thus proving that some of the information Couture provided was not factual, in terms of the amount he was awarded per fight.  The other conditions were simply beyond their control(they tried to sign Fedor).

Not only was Couture not truthful, he failed to keep his obligations in fulfilling a contract that he signed.  Just last week he lost a court decision which basically put the ball in Zuffa’s court as to what they want to do with him.  They could renegotiate a new contract, or have him fulfill the contract he resigned from.  It has been almost a year since Couture took his stance against the UFC, and quite frankly he doesn’t have anything to show for it. 

He still has not been able to fight Fedor, and he’s went a whole year without fighting.  Thus, costing him monies lost from court costs as well as not fighting.  Not to mention the luster of the Fedor/Couture fight not being the same now, as it would have been had he fought Nogueira and won(he would not have won IMO). 

All the years he spent doing the right thing was torn down by one act of selfishness…tarnishing a legacy that had the potential to be even more legendary.

Why Carlos Condit Belongs In The UFC

If you missed last night’s WEC 35 event…as a MMA fan…you lost.   A tough opponent and near exhaustion couldn’t break “The Natural Born Killer”, and that performance alone was enough to justify him fighting in the crowded WW division of the UFC.  Carlos Condit displayed the heart of a champion as he defended his WEC WW belt for the third time.  That is a scary thought, but that’s just the tip of his resume at the ripe age of twenty four.

Condit is largely unknown to the casual fan, as he has fought in primarily smaller shows throughout his career such as the WEC, Pancrase, and Rumble On The Rock.  While he hasn’t faced the upper echelon of fighters at 170lbs, he has faced some formidable opponents.  Jake Shields, Frank Trigg, Renato Verissimo, and Carlo Prater just to name a few.  Physically, Condit doesn’t look like much…but he’s well versed in all facets of the game which reflects in his win/loss record.  He has 9 wins by KO/TKO, and 13 wins via submission.  Which means he has finished his opponent in all 22 of his wins.  The #1 ranked WW(GSP) in world can’t even say that.

So I’ve given you examples of why Condit is qualified to fight in the UFC, which is only half of the story.  The fact of the matter is, there’s no one left in the WEC to challenge Condit at WW.  He has basically cleaned out that division, and the remaining relavent welterweights all reside in the UFC.  

In fact, the UFC has seen somewhat of a decline in that division within the last year.  We’ve all witnessed Matt Hughes fall from grace, and Karo Parisyan’s lackluster efforts as of late.  While there are some credible opponents in the bottom half of that division.  I think Condit beats most of them, and in fact could give someone like Diego Sanchez a run for his money.  I’d pay to see that one!

All in all, if Condit did make the move to the UFC…the WEC wouldn’t be at a loss.  Better yet, the UFC could send some of their lower tier WW’s like Josh Burkman over to the WEC.  I’m all for the best fighting the best, and I don’t think Condit is any different.

Rampage Could Face More Charges

From Dailypilot:

“Huntington Beach woman who was more than 16 weeks pregnant and who police said was injured in a hit-and-run crash with mixed martial artist Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson on the 55 Freeway two weeks ago has had a miscarriage, her fiance said Friday.

Holli Griggs, 38, was driving her 2007 Cadillac Escalade in the left lane on the southbound 55 Freeway just south of Bay Street on July 15 when Jackson’s gray-and-green pick-up truck sideswiped her as he drove along the median lane at about 45 mph, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Prosecutors have yet to file charges against Jackson, a former light heavyweight champion for the Ultimate Fighting Championship who remains free on $25,000 bail. Prosecutors would not comment on any potential charges due to Griggs’ miscarriage.”

Right now there is no evidence of the miscarriage being a result of the accident. However, the former UFC LHW Champion will more than likely face a civil suit…if they can’t prove the accident caused the miscarriage. Which I don’t think they’ll be able to prove since the lady only suffered minor injuries, plus it’s been over 2 weeks since the accident. Nevertheless, a civil lawsuit would cripple Jackson financially so things are not looking good on the home front for him.

Being a new parent myself, my prayers go out to the couple that lost their unborn child.

“Becoming The Natural” On The Best Seller’s List

MMApayout with the scoop:

Becoming the Natural” by Randy Couture and Loretta Hunt hit book stores July 22nd and judging from the resulting sales, the book looks to be quite a success. The book will debut on the New York Times bestseller list on the Expanded list at #33 on August 10th.

“Becoming the Natural” details the life of Randy Couture in and out of the cage. The book covers his childhood, his time in the army, his quest to make the Olympic wrestling team, and his career inside the Octagon.

Randy Will be doing in-store book signings in the following locations over the next several days:

Thursday, July 31st – Las Vegas / Barnes & Noble (7:00 PM)
Monday, August 4th – Chicago / Borders in Schaumberg (7:30 PM)
Tuesday, August 5th – Cincinnati / Joseph-Beth Booksellers (7:00 PM)

Congrats on the success Randy, but just think…had you stayed in the UFC and honored your contract(like you were supposed to) you probably would have placed much higher than 33rd.  Then again,  you probably would have lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and then faded into oblivion…or make straight to DVD movies like you are currently doing.

The Real On Fighter Pay

This is in light of Roger Huerta complaining about how much fighters get paid in a recent interview with Fight! magazine.

Fighters must realize that they are basically getting paid based on three criteria:

1. How Marketable You Are As A Fighter
2. How Exciting You Are(You must win as well)
3. How Many People Will Pay To See YOU Fight

In Huerta’s case…he is marketable and exciting to watch fight…and hasn’t lost in the UFC.  He’s complaining about his current contract(which he signed)…but let’s look at the numbers for a second.  Huerta fought 5 times in 2007 against pretty weak competition in my opinion and here’s how it stacks up:

1. UFC 67-$12,000
2. UFC 69-State Of Texas Didn’t report the fighter salaries
3. Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale-$24,000
4. UFC 74-$34,000
5. Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale-$38,000

That’s $108,000 dollars not counting what he made for UFC 69…nor what he collected from sponsors EACH fight or other undisclosed bonuses.  Actually, you could look at this from a different perspective and indicate how many times the UFC let Huerta fight last year.  He fought 5 times, where most fighters fight 2-3 times max each year.  Six figures per year is pretty good for a 25 year old part time college student.

In contrast, Urijah Faber…a champion and the face of the WEC only made $44,000 for his last title defense against Jens Pulver. 

So Roger…your time will come….the sport is still VERY young and quite frankly you still have quite a bit left to prove.  Which starts with beating Kenny Florian next week…I would suggest concentrating on that moreso than worrying about how much you are getting paid or what the next man makes.  Make yourself the best fighter possible, market yourself so paying you what you feel you deserve is justified.

Report: Jesse Taylor Axed By UFC

According to the print edition of the wrestling observer.

This is the dude that made it to the finals of season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter…only to piss his chance of winning the show away by doing some dumb shit.  Luckily for him, Dana White gave him another shot and let him come back and fight in the UFC.  He was submitted in the first round by C.B. Dollaway via Peruvian Necktie(it was dope too!).  Not only did he lose, he also said some distasteful comments in light of Rampage Jackson after Jackson’s run in with authorities.

The word is that the UFC was not to happy about that…couple that with him getting his ass kicked and voila.  Also, I’m sure him being a very one dimensional wrestler with little to ZERO standup skills factored into it all as well.  I mean it’s not like he could beat anyone worth mentioning in the relatively weak MW division of the UFC.

Making The Case For Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar had the MMA world a buzz in February of this year.  Making his UFC debut against former UFC HW Champion Frank Mir, everyone was asking…is Lesnar for real?  Lesnar battered Mir all but about 20 seconds of the minute and a half fight…and one mistake cost him the match…a submission loss.  Now Lesnar returns at UFC 87 against savvy MMA veteran Heath Herring, and has said that this match is do or die for him.

This match up is an interesting one…Herring likes to keep the fight standing…and obviously Lesnar is primarily a wrestler.  During his UFC tenure, Herring has had problems avoiding the takedown against good wrestlers…hell even against not so good wrestlers.  Jake O’Brien took Herring down at will and Nogueira took Herring down when he wanted to.  So if those are any indications of anything…it’s that Lesnar will be able to do it as well.  While Herring does have submission wins…he does not have the submission acumen of Frank Mir.

There are some unknowns in this fight.  What is Lesnar’s stamina like…can he go the distance?  My guess is yes, as wrestlers are known for there work ethic and word is Lesnar is training extremely hard for this fight.  Can Lesnar take a punch?  I would think so…plus add to the fact that Herring doesn’t possess one punch KO power.

Word is that Herring is in phenomenal shape for this fight…and he’ll need all of that and then some.  I don’t see him being able to KO Lesnar standing, and I definitely don’t see him stopping the takedown.  I don’t see him being able to sweep Lesnar from his back nor submit him from his back ala Mir.  What I do see is Lesnar taking Herring down and grinding out a decision and solidifying himself as the next big thing.  If he wins this fight, they’ll probably match him up with someone like Cheick Kongo, someone with zero takedown defense.

My Problems With Japanese MMA

 

Dave Meltzer speaks on the MMA perils in the land of the rising sun:

The leading promotion, Dream, which has network coverage of its shows, has struggled in the ratings and has struggled to create new stars since the heyday. A torn ACL suffered by Kid Yamamoto, the country’s most popular MMA fighter, couldn’t have come at a worse time. Current hardcore favorite Shinya Aoki, one of the world’s best pound-for-pound grapplers, could not carry the ratings on the July 21 show, and his two tournament matches ended up outdrawn by a one-sided of hated judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama against former pro wrestling star Katsuyori Shibata.

Dream’s back isn’t up against the wall like Elite XC, but it faces a similar situation to the company for the next show on September 23. Under the gun to draw ratings, the company is attempting to put together middleweight Akiyama against heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop, the country’s most popular foreign fighter.

While for the most part I like Japanese MMA…as there have been some absolute classics in Japan.  The DREAM LW GP was dope.  There are certain aspects of it that I just simply can’t stand..such as the following:

1. Never finalizing a card until like a couple of days before the fights are supposed to take place.  I understand that injuries happen and replacements have to be found but damn…give us the card so we as fans will have something to discuss.  Mark Hunt should not have to fight Alistair Overeem on 3 days notice.  I know short notice stuff happens in America…but it’s out of necessity more times than not.
2. Freak Show Match Ups…I absolutely can’t stand them…I know it’s a cultural difference and the Japanese like to see the David vs. Goliath stuff but come on.  How is Royce Gracie/Akebono or Genki Sudo/Butterbean intriguing in the least?
3. This ties in with #2…but mis-matches….I understand they need good TV ratings…but a Heavyweight in Cro Cop against a Middleweight in Akiyama?  I mean I understand they want to see Akiyama get his face ripped off…but if you can’t find another middleweight to do it…tough shit.  Especially when both Cro Cop and Alistair Overeem have agreed to fight one another.  Oh what potential that fight has…and it would be important in the HW grand scheme of things as well…..Arrggh!!!

What are your thoughts on Japanese MMA.?  But please…don’t start any old UFC vs. PRIDE stuff…that subject is tired.

Report: Rampage Update!

Josh Gross of Sports Illustrated has the scoop. 

Rampage’s seismic shift from an idolized mixed martial artist began after he relinquished his title on points to Forrest Griffin UFC 86 on July 5. The decision to fire Juanito Ibarra, his trainer, manager and occasionally spiritual mentor, came shortly thereafter. A lack of food and sleep compounded unsettling behavior, and TMZ photos of Jackson face down in the street at the rear of his Bigfoot-inspired truck — its left front tire shredded — documented the result of a dangerous chase with police..

“Mentally he wasn’t there,” said the source. “It was almost as if he was possessed. He heard voices. He thought he was a God.”

Talk amongst people in the house turned to the need for medical help. At first, they tried convincing Rampage to head for the hospital. That failed, tempers flared and police, thankfully, intervened. Several hours later, the fighter was under psychiatric hold…

Everything, save the pact between Jackson and Ibarra. With defeat as the impetus, Jackson responded to rough terrain by relieving the trainer of his duties, though “bottom line, somehow, someway it all involves money,” said the fighter’s friend.

My friend over at fightlinker has the synopsis:

After losing to Griffin, Jackson fired Juanito Ibarra
Both White and Ibarra showed up to bail Jackson out
The religious insanity angle was confirmed, with Jackson talking of “people aligned with the devil” and friends saying he seemed ‘possessed’ and that he was hearing voices.
Friends telling him he needed help lead to the altercation that resulted in the police forcing Rampage under psychiatric hold.
After his release, he’s much better but still throwing around some wierd shit
Rampage WASN’T at the Affliction show as some reported
Rampage is aware that he had a mental breakdown
The UFC is considering a November return against Wanderlei Silva

Oh sweet Jesus…it’s also been unconfirmed rumor that Ibarra was stealing money from Rampage…which would explain the sudden firing of his manager. Ibarra HAS been relatively silent up to this point so I guess we’ll have to hear from Rampage himself.

So let’s see…he suffers a loss to Griffin(I still don’t think he lost)…suffers a mental breakdown…and his first fight back is against a guy that has destroyed him twice? Well, Jackson has said on numerous occassions that he wants to fight everyone that has beat him…be careful what yo wish for. However, I do think he is capable of beating Wanderlei at this point in his career…it just depends on which mind frame he’s in I suppose. I guess the best thing for all of us MMA fans is this…Jackson is doing ‘ok’…and he’ll be fighting soon. Best of luck Rampage.