Hello everyone, welcome again to my lovely little blog. Today we talk about Fedor and why didn't he sign with the UFC.
Business as usual
This really shouldn't be that much of an surprise for anyone. Fedor has a long and complicated history of "he said-she said" bickering between his managment and MMA's most famous loud mouth -UFC boss, Dana White- regarding The Russian's ever escaping UFC debut. The negotiations, of course, went nowhere and history repeated itself in 2015. with Fedor signing with the yet unnamed new Japanese MMA organization of former PRIDE FC boss. More money=more problems
Fedor didn't sign with the UFC not because he's a wacky Russian who wears tracksuit pants and wrestles bears (that's Khabib Nurmagedov's thing) nor is he affraid of the current UFC heavyweights. He didn't sign with the UFC because he costs too much. The rumored number for his recent signing was 2,5 million $ for a single fight. If we take a little trip down memory lane we get to Scott Coker's former promotion(Strikeforce) and a strong rumor that hints at Fedor Emelianeko being the reason for their Zuffa buyout. Such a reason would certainly explain why Coker dismissed the notion of signing Fedor with Bellator, despite having a previous buisness relationship with him. Then there's also the case of Affliction's demise which many believe was due to Fedor's lucrative contract. The more you look at this the more it makes sense that Fedor never made it to the UFC. Despite his loud mouth attitude, Dana White is a smart buisness man and as all smart buisness men, he wanted to get the best deal possible without risking bankrupcy. Which is probably just under what Fedor wanted to be payed and right there a stalemate occured and Fedor went with a better offer.
Despite this being a photoshopped picture, it never stops making me laugh source
It's not all bad
Now this is a good thing for the global MMA scene. Former Pride boss can start from scratch with a fighter that has name and face recognition value in Japan and Scott Coker could possibly still get his hands on Fedor via shared events. With it, both American and Japanese MMA scene grows and UFC's comeptition just got a little bit fiercer. However this puts an end to the wet dream MMA fans have had for years, of Fedor fighting in the UFC and facing against such names as Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Frank Mir. Or even getting a crack at avenging his losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva. Despite Nobuyuki Sakakibara saying that Fedor's comeback fight will be "important for the future of MMA" there is very little hope that such thing actually happens. The thing is, most of the top stars are in the UFC and those that are not are in Bellator. Scott Coker letting his champion or any other potetnial rising star face a dangerous opponent in Fedor Emelianenko is highly unlikely. Whith names of Ricardo Arona and Bob Sapp popping up, it opens up a world of miss match possibilities. With that in mind it becomes clear that Fedor has broader roster of available fighters(but with lesser skill level) in Japan because he is just as likely to face a Japanese flyweight Judoka or a Superheavyweight professional wrestler.
EDIT: Well... I wasn't wrong. Jaideep is 1-0 in MMA and 40-10 in kickboxing.
New Japanese promotion targeting Emelianenko vs. Jaideep on NYE (plus Aoki vs. Sakuraba & more deets) -- http://t.co/luuGaqGGGn
That's it from me. If your interested in writing articles, news, posting neet MMA videos for an MMA webpage, hit me up on armbarsmmaworld@gmail.com or on twitterfacebook or instagram. Untill we meet again, I say goodnight to thee.
Hello everyone. So, I will get straight to the point today. I will be starting an MMA website soon and I will be in need of some volunteers in the shape of writers. So, if you see yourself on this checklist hit me up on my email(armbarsmmaworld@gmail.com) and we'll talk.
CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:
a) You have your own MMA/contact sports related blog
b) You train MMA/contact sports
c) You consider yourself an MMA enthusiast and you love talking about it
d) You have past experiences with writing for a website
e) You can read and write in English
f) You are an awesome individual who can kick ass and has a sense of humor
So, once again. Hit me up on my email over at armbarsmmaworld@gmail.com or on any of my social network accounts(here, here and here) and together we'll make history.
Hello everyone and welcome to the new edition of Armbar's MMA World! Today's topic of discussion is Nick Diaz and the very, very controversial verdict he got from the NSAC.
Where you at, homie?
Nick Diaz is...well cut from a differente cloth, to say it mildly. He and his brother have a history of erradict behavior, spontaneous street fights, unapologetic behavior. And of course, they are both lovers of smoking the controversial green nectar of stoner Gods that is the marijuana plant. Which is exatly the reason why he's gotten himself into this mess in the first place.
Yep, that's Nick. Mean mugging with his fist up since grade school source
The verdict
UFC's bad boy has gotten a 5 year suspension for smoking weed. This was Nick's 3rd time getting caught with marijuana in his system and things didn't look good prior to the hearing. However Nick's attorney, made several valid points and arguments that should have lowered Nick's sentence. Unfortunately, no such thing happend. Nick got the death sentence. Here's how it all went down.
The test
On UFC 183 fight night, Nick took 3 urine tests. First test was administered by a WADA approved SMRTL* representative at 7:12 p.m. prior to his fight. The second test was taken by a none-WADA approved, Quest diagnostic lab at 10:38 p.m. after Nick's fight. Lastley, the third test was taken at 11:55 p.m, once again by a SMRTL representative. Two of those 3 tests came back negative for marijuana and one came back positive showing double the allowed amount in his system. The two that came back negative were the SMRTL tests, which as stated above, are approved by the World anti-doping agency and hold a greater credibility to the Quest diagnostics tests. Nick's lawyler even brought in a drug testing expert who stated that it is MEDICALLY IMPLAUSIBLE that Nick registered that amount of marijuana in his system between the two negative tests.
The trial
Now I must admit, I haven't seen the entire trial but from the transcripts that I have read and what little footage of the trial I have seen it all indicates that the this wasn't a trial. It was an execution. Nick's lawyers did their best given the circumstances but it was an uphill battle. Nick was ordered to keep his mouth shut and plea the fifth amendment to any and all questions asked by te commission. Diaz's lawyers presented a series of evidence that pointed out that the Quest diagnostic test was unreliable and incorrect. However, the commission stood firm on their arguments and refused to acknowledge the 2 negative test administered by a more reliable testing facility and focused on the sole negative test.
"Mr Diaz, which Star Wars movie did you like the most? Uhm, the fifth."
Keep in mind, that this is the same commission that gave Anderon Silva a one year fighting suspension starting from the date he last fought, meaning he already served a good chunk of his suspension. Let me remind you that Anderson failed a pre and post fight doping tests for drostanolone metabolites and androstane. Which are actual performance enhanceres, while marijuana is a recreational drug that can be medically acquired with a prescription. Also worth noting is that unlike Diaz's actually coherent and solid defense backed up by evidence, Anderson Silva's was borderline comical. The explanation for Anderson's failed drug tests was sex pills bougth in Thailand from an acquaintance, and his defense attorney flat out said "I don't know" when asked how did his client get in contact with anabolic steroids. Not even joking.
Throw in some fart jokes, a pack of beer and you got yourself a frat party
Conclusion
Let's be honest here. Had Nick went in there, with a comically incapable halfwit lawyer who would just shuffle through papers while Nick did his whole loud mouth "don't be scared homie" thing and gave them a spectacle he wouldn't have gotten 5 years. Because this is what these trials are, a spectacle. The commission doesn't care for your arguments and evidence, all they want you to do is confess your sins, bend over and take it like a man. That's why Jake Shields came to the hearing without a lawyer, expressed regret for the post fight attack on Rousimar Palhares and only got 50 hours of community service. Speaking of which, since Rousimar's hearing has been rescheduled to next month it makes me think that as a repeated offender (more on that, here) he will be made an example off and could end up getting and even greater suspension then Diaz. I would also like to take your attention towards the new strict UFC anti doping pollicy under which; Nick not only can't compete in MMA for 5 year, but he can't corner any of his team mates(including his brother), can't train with any professional athlete and any professional athlete that trains with him could end up facing anti doping violation charges and be prosecuted or suspended. This is a topic in itself but it's relevant to the Diaz trail, since it will force him to not train with anyone that the UFC or USADA consider professional athletes.
p.s. remember those pesky Quest labs/SMRTL test shenanigans I keep rambling about? Well, Anderson Silva tested positive for anabolic steroids on the SMRTL test, but the Quest labs one came back clean. NSAC had no poblem using the SMRTL test result to prove Anderson's guilt, yet in the case of Nick Diaz, they discredit those test results which prove his innocence.
*Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory
Okaaay, well that's that for today. I hope you all enjoyed reading this. I wish Nick the best of luck in the future with his appeal and hope he gets a lighter verdict. With that said, I advert your attention to my social media accounts. I'm now on twitter, facebook AND instagram. So, go there like and follow me. I tweet MMA news and stuff, Instagram I have yet to learn how to use but I'm getting there. Anywho, I'm Armbar and this is a song to say goodbye.
Greetings and salutations, internet people. I am here to share with you some thoughts regarding the beautiful mess that is the UFC's heavyweight division right now.
Intro
At UFC 188, then current champion Cain Velasquez and interim champion Fabricio Werdum finally faced each other. Werdum came out victorious in a very one sided fight where Werdum displayed outstanding stand up technique and dominate Cain in the clinch, where Cain punished and destroyed Junior Dos Santos twice. The fight ended midway through the 3rd round with Werdum securing a guillotine choke that made Cain tap almost instantly. Complete and total domination by the BJJ master. Werdum already had 2 contenders lined up and ready to get a crack at his newly earned championship belt, in the shape of Stipe Miočić and Andrei Arlovski. Stipe was coming of a dominant doctor stoppage win against the unbreakable Samoan, Mark Hunt and Andrei just got out of an insane first round stoppage win against Travis Browne. Both men had rightfully earned the right to fight the Brazilian. However, with little to no news regarding their potential contentdership for the title both men accepted further fights. Stipe faces Ben Rothwell at UFC Fight Night 76 and Andrei just got a not very convincing win against Frank Mir at UFC 191.
This pretty much sums up the entire 15 minutes of the fight, source
On top of that, a dark horse match up with 2 potential contenders has been announced for UFC on Fox 17 fight card. The match up is a true "clash of the titans" as Alistair Overeem faces the former hw champion, Junior Dos Santos. Both men are heavy handed strikers who hold a grudge against each other. So, by the end of the year 3 fighters will emerge as contenders for the championship belt. With Andrei, Overeem and JDS already having wins over the champion on their records. But, bad news came quickly and much to the anger of fans, Dana White announced that the champion will instead face the former champion in a rematch.
The Problem
UFC's heavyweight division always gets a bad rep from MMA fans because
it seemingly lacks in quality fighters when compared to lower weight
classes. Which, unfortunately, was true most of the time.However,
not anymore. Today's hw division is very much alive and thriving with
excellent fighters and potential and exciting match ups. There is only
one problem. It's former champion and current champion are keeping the division hostage. Now the fact that Cain and Werdum are rematching wasn't that much of an issue when it was first announced. Though no date or event was announced, everyone was under the impression it will happen either in the tale end of 2015 or early in 2016. Which would be ok. There would be no shortage in fresh contenders, for the winner of the fight and the contenders would just have to figure out who goes first. Now, this is where the real problem starts. At the UFC 191 post fight press conference, Dana White, announced that the fight would take place in March at the earliest. Now this complicates things quite a bit. Firstly, let's get something out of the way. Andrei Arlovski more than deserves to fight for the belt. He is a former UFC champion, he's facing an amazing career resurgence with his 10-1-1(4-0 in the UFC) win streak and he isn't getting any younger. He's 36 years old, with his first pro fight being in 1999. This is very likely his last chance to fight for a major heavyweight title. The secondly, the problem is that UFC is having the best Heavyweight division in years and they are burning through contenders because of a pointless rematch. Cain showed nothing in his Werdum loss that would guarantee him a second chance. Andrei will more than likely fight once or maybe even twice more before he gets to see the winner of Cain/Werdum rematch. With that they are risking loosing a top contender and a great comeback story, that could come crashing down. Also, by the time the championship rematch takes place, the dreaded "injury bug" could show it's ugly face and ruin everyone's day. Which is already(sort off) happening as both Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski are facing a potential 6 month medical suspension.
The Solution EDIT: Looks like the champ wants an earlier fight after all. Either the backlash from the fans forced him to change his mind, or Dana White is pulling information out of his ass, as per usual. This still doesn't change the fact that the division is at a standstill and top contenders are forced to fight against each other or wait indefinitely for their title shot which may or may not come.
The solution is pretty simple actually. Have Velasquez fight someone else and give the title shot to Andrei Arlovski. The contender gets the fight he deserves and the former champion fights his way back up. But, since this is obviously not happening, there needs to be a long term solution for these situations. It's almost an unwritten rule that an immediate rematch happens when a championship belts exchange owners. It's a clear case of making money fights over logical fights. This is a very unnerving trend. It keeps the belt hostage and division stops moving until the rematch happens. Now what's particularly interesting about this rematch is that it seems that the champion is requesting this fight happens in march. Unless baring a nagging injury, the champion should be forced to defend his belt at earliest convenience for the organization he is the champion off. Which for some reason isn't happening. What baffles the mind in this story is that the big boss, Dana White is "a-ok" with it. Dana has the ability to force fighters to fight earlier if he wishes so, and(If its to believe Cung Le's version of events) he has done so in the past. So It really makes no sense in letting the freshly crowned champion sit on his belt and defend it when he feels like it. Neither does throwing your hands in the air and saying "that's when the champ wants to fight" with a turd eating grin slapped across your face.
Final Thoughts
Now let's be honest. This isn't the first time UFC made money fights over logical ones. Ryan Bader was promised a title shot against the newly crowned LHW champion Daniel Cormier when it was announced that Alexander Gustafsson is stepping in his place, even though he's coming off a loss.
Fun fact: Anthony Johnson is the one loss Andrei Arlovski suffered since having his career resurgence
Miesha Tate was promised her 3rd shot at Ronda Rousey publicly by Dana White. She even began the training camp for the trilogy fight when it was announced that they are going with Holly Holm against Ronda instead. Chael Sonnen was a master in talking himself into undeserved high profile fights. He fought against Jon Jones for the LHW belt, even though he didn't fight in that weight class for over 8 years and his last fight being a loss. I could go on for a while, since these things happen quite often and they will continue to happen until it has an effect on the division as a whole. Which is something that could very well end up happening to the Heavyweight division with the rematch fight.
Okaaay. Well, this was fun to write. I'm now on twitter, so you can follow me there. I tweet and retweet MMA news and stuff. I'm still on facebook, so you can check me out over there also. Oh and I'm on madbarz (I-i-i workout) also. So...follow me there and try beating my scores, if you can. That's all from me. Talk to you all soon.
Hello lovely people of the internet. It's me again. Today we talk about the Fedor/Cro Cop fight.
Tomorrow, 28th of August, marks 10 years since the epic battle between Croatia's toughest police officer and Russia's greatest contribution to the world since vodka and mail order brides. I thought it would be convenient to take a look at the fight itself and where the men are today. Now let's get started.
Introducing the fighters Mirko Cro Cop
In the late 90's and early 2000's Mirko quickly became an established K-1 legend in Japan with wins over Remy Bonjasky, Mark Hunt, Mike Bernardo and Jerome Le Banner among others. The Croat came short of a title championship many times with Ernesto Hoost getting the better of him each time. At the same time Japan's MMA sensation PRIDE FC was quickly gaining momentum and fame. Mirko, in search of a challenge went over to MMA and the rest, as they say, is history. His fame became even greater as his fan favorite fighting style and devestating ko's left the Japanese crowd in awe. Before his showdown with the Russian, only 2 people got the best of Mirko in MMA. A a submission loss to the BJJ whizz, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira and a huge upset loss by knockout to Kevin Randleman. Mirko quickly bounced back after the losses and gained a 7 fight win streak which included a win by guillotine in a rematch against Randleman, head kick ko over Fedor's younger brother Alex Emelianenko, and a liver kick tko win against Ibragim Magomedov. Mirko was en route to a title fight against the reigning and defending champion. Fedor Emelianenko.
Fedor watching Mirko knockout his brother
Fedor Emelianeko
The last Emperor. The man, the myth, the legend. His decade of dominance is full of former champions that felt the wrath of the mighty Russian. Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, Heath Herring, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop(spoilers, sorry) are just some of the names Emelianenko bested.
Fedor made his Pride debut with a dominant decision win over Semmy Schilt and by his 3rd Pride fight, fought for the title against Minotauro Nogueira, who had only 1 loss at the time to Dan Henderson and even that was a split decision loss. So, naturally the Brazilian was the favorite. His unkillable will, a chin that could take a sledgehammer hit and slick submission skills made Minotauro a nightmare for every fighter he faced. Fedor beat the champion with such ferocity and domination that made Nogueira look like an absolute beginner. After becoming the Pride champion Fedor racked up a 9 fight win streak before facing the Croat. Some of his wins included; rematch against the former champion(Antonio Minotauro), Kevin Randleman(where he survived getting slammed on his head) and "the godfather of ground and pound" Mark Coleman.
The legendary fight between Minotauro and Fedor The fight
The fight was one of the most anticipated bouts(if not the most anticipated) in MMA history. The two were the best of the best and the winner would without a doubt be the best fighter of all time. Both men were at their physical primes and forces to be reckoned with. Mirko was the betting favorite because of his rangy "punch and move" style, speed, agility and most of all, his deadly kicks.
Check out Boondock's "3rd man", it's an excellent tribute video to the "ref cam" POV
After the fight
Claiming another soul, the Russian was once again victorious. Beating Mirko with a dominant and one sided decision. Fedor impressed with his improved stand up managing to beat Cro Cop at his own game.
Cro Cop
Mirko made a come back to the ring few months later with a deicision win over Josh Barnett that didn't show the Croat in his best shape, but he got the win. Next up was a decision loss in a rematch against K-1 legend Mark Hunt. Mirko, again, wasn't his old self. The Fedor fight took a toll on the Croatian. However, a career resurgence shortly followed. After grabing quick wins over Ikusha Minowa and Hideko Yoshida, Mirko qualified for Pride's Open-Weight Gran Prix tournament. The finals were on Mirko's birthday and It was "now or never" for him. The finals saw Mirko not only return to his former self but show a performance that was arguably the best one of his MMA career. The violent punishment of Wanderlei Silva and a dominant tko stoppage against Josh Barnett made Mirko the Open-Weight Gran Prix champion. Fedor Emelianenko
Though lacking in competitiveness of fellow fighters, Fedor continued his reign of dominance with quick wins over Zuluzinho, Mark Coleman and Mark Hunt.
Later in their careers
After Mirko's impressive wins over Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett, the fans wanted the rematch of the fight of the century. There were talks, there were negotiations but ultimately nothing materialized as Pride FC began to crumble and both men went their separate ways.
Fedor Emelianenko
After making short work of UFC's former champions Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia, the Russian's reign of dominance came to a halt in 2010 at the hands of the current UFC HW champion. Fabricio Werdum. It was shocking, it was unexpected, it was unbelievable. It was like being dumped by your girlfriend. The undefeated Russian suffered his first real loss, since suffering a loss via cut against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in late 2000. Another shock came in Febuary of 2011, when in the qualifying rounds of Strikeforce's HW tournament, Fedor got dominated by Antonio Silva. The dream was over. Fedor's aura of mystery and inhumanness was gone. Bad luck turned to worse, lighting struck 3 times in the same place as later that year Fedor suffered another(this time controversial)loss to Dan Henderson. At that point fans just wanted the agony to be over with. The best fighter ever has clearly lost his edge. However, Fedor managed to bounce back and end his career with a 3 fight win streak against Jeff Monson, Satoshi Ishii and Pedro Rizzo.
Mirko Cro Cop
After becoming Pride's Open-Weight champion, Mirko's career has been filled with many ups and downs. After a quick win over Eddie Sanchez in his UFC debut, his momentum came crashing down as Gabriel Gonzaga scored a shocking upset win with a head kick ko. After the ko loss, things didn't go all that well as he suffered another loss, this time to Cheick Kongo. Mirko then went to Dream, earning a quick win over Tatsuya Mizuno and a no contest(illegal groin strikes) against the hulking (and terrifying) cluster of muscles that is Alistair Overeem, then another win against the towering Hong Man Choi and a return to the UFC followed shortly. As he returned, a familiar pattern returned as well. Mirko is tentative, scared of throwing punches and kicks and just doesn't seem to get a hold of the American style of MMA(Octagon, elbows strikes, no soccer kicks...etc.). Again, some fights he won, some he lost and ultimately fought out his UFC contract and called it quits(for the time being). Being the busy bee that he is, he tried his luck with a K-1 return. There he qualified and won the K-1 GP tournament and added another trophy to his collection. However, his competitive side still wanted more and a MMA returned followed. A win over Shinichi Suzukawa and a loss to Oleksiy Oliynyk kept him busy for a while before signing with Glory and there losing to Remy Bonjasky and winning against Jarrell Miller. That would mark the end of his kickboxing career and the start of his last run in MMA.
Where are they now? Cro Cop
With 2 wins over Satoshi Ishii, Mirko resigned with UFC and avenged the loss that haunted him for years, by beating Gabriel Gonzaga with some nasty elbows. Mirko's next fight is scheduled to be against Anthony Hamilton at UFC's fight night 79 in Seoul, South Korea. He has stated that after he fights out his current UFC contract, he is retiring for good.
Fedor Emelianenko
The Russian had officially retired in 2012 and stayed that way up until a few months ago, when he announced that he is returning to MMA and wants the best competition possible. Since Bellator's Scott Coker dismissed the option of Fedor signing with the company, many are under the impression that it is only a matter of time(or formality) before it is announced that Fedor has finally signed with the UFC.
Ok, that's it from me. At first I just wanted to post a link to the fight and maybe write a sentence or two, but then I was all like "naw" and wrote all this. Hope you've enjoyed the read as much as I enjoyed writing it. Liking me on facebook won't get you a free hooker, but it will get you a free "thank you" from me. So don't be shy and click here. I now leave until our paths cross again.
Fellow MMA fans, I have returned. Today I decided to talk about an overlooked, old school, tough as nails, scary as fuck and dangerous as hell it self fighter. Igor "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn.
Where it all began
Long before the modern days of MMA even before the "golden days" of MMA in Japanese PRIDE, in the very infancy of the sport we all came to love - there was NHB fighting. It was a time where the sport was largely filled with strikers but dominated by grapplers. "Tough man" tournaments trying to prove which man is the baddest dude on the planet were popping up all over the world. They were raw, brutal and bloody. Such tournaments happened in Ukraine. The fights were mostly "style vs style" type fights and no protection what so ever was required or enforced. No fight gloves, hand wraps, mouth guards or groin guards. It was, for the lack of a better term, legalized street fighting. Since the fights were arranged in a tournament style, in order to win the tournament, you had to fight multiple opponents in one night.
King of the Iron Fist Tournament
A young, short, stocky and quiet Ukrainian decided to test himself in the new sport and see how far can he go. Since Igor had a pretty good kickboxing record(62-2) he already had an upper hand on most fighters he faced and seeing as at the time those were mostly street level tough man, Igor made short work of his opponents. He debuted at "UCMAL: Warrior's Honour 1" tournament on October 14, 1995 and by October 11, 1998 Igor already had an MMA record of 31 wins and 2 losses! Not only is that a lot of fights, it's not even the most impressive part of his record. Like I mentioned above, he competed in tournament style events, meaning multiple fights in one night. In those 2 years, Igor fought in 10 multiple fight-one night tournaments and 3 regular events. Most notably comes March of 1996 when Igor fought 3 times on March 1st, 3 times on March 9th and again 3 times on March 30th. Needless to say those were all wins.
Igor's debut fight against Alexandr Mandrik
Die by the sword
By the time Igor came to Pride, the sport had already outgrown the grueling bare knuckle/no rules style vs style way of fighting Igor was so good at. His win streak was stopped in the year 2000 when Igor fought Mark Coleman in Pride's "Pride GP 2000" event. By the early 2000's Igor's decline started to take a hold of him. His fighting style was a thing of past and younger and better fighters were starting to replace the under developed fighters such as himself. He was essentially a great kickboxer with an not so great ground game. Most notable loss coming from the then up and coming young sprout you may have heard about, Mirko Cro Cop. It didn't take much for more experienced and much bigger fighters to start taking his disadvantages to their advantage. Even a late career resurgence with a change of weight class didn't last long as his last 2 fights were losses. Ultimately Igor retired in 2005 with a mind blowing 55-10 fight record.
Igor suffered his first(and only) knockout loss against Cro Cop
Final word
Igor was a product of a different time, a different era of fighting. At 5'8' and 195lbs he fought at heavyweight while being drastically out sized by many of his opponents. Even with that he was one of the greatest heavyweight fighers in the world at one point. His knockout of Francisco Bueno is a thing of nightmares and Enson Inou literally almost died after his encounter with Igor. He was so good at what he did that not even fighters who out weighted him drastically or were much taller than him, stood any chance. Igor just chopped them down like trees.
Fighters of today, much like Igor are a product of a different time. Some would say a worse time others would say a better time. I will say, a safer time. Modern day MMA is a highly regulated professional sport. It has moved a long way from the late 20th century raw style of NHB fighting, Hand wraps, fighting gloves, mouth guards and groin guards are no longer "optional". They are mandatory. The way of fighting has changed, if the way of old was a mindless brawl, 21st century MMA has more resemblance to a full contact chess game. No longer do we witness fights that are one step away from being a street fight. Today's MMA fights are all about gameplans and winning strategies. Each fighter has an entire team of highly skilled professionals who each have the task of sharpening a specific part of the fighters skill set.
I wrote this with the goal of introuducing new fans(and reminding old ones) to the greatness of some old school legends such as Vovchanchyn. I'll try to incoporate this more regulary in my blog writing. As per usual, you can like me on facebook. Maybe I'll throw in some free beers if you like my page, who knows. The comment sections is below, sooo drop a comment. I wanna know how to improve this blog. See you soon folks!
Hello fellow internet friends. Today I tell you what to expect from UFC's champion and superstar Ronda Rousey.
Ok, so if you ever watched anything MMA related in the past 5 years, you know all there is to know about Ronda Rousey. Former Olympic Judo bronze medalist turned mma fighter, turned Strikeforce champion, turned UFC champion, 12-0, 12 finishes, 11 in the first round...bla bla bla. You know the story.
Now here's the deal. Ronda has pretty much cleaned out her division and said that she wants to retire knowing she is the "greatest fighter to ever lived" and judging by the pace she has been fighting and how dominant she looks doing so, she can already make a case for such claim. However, her job isn't finished just yet. She still has a couple of more fights left to do in order to be claimed the best ever. What are these fights? Who are those women? Well, you're about to find out.
The rival
First up, we got Ronda's old nemesis. Miesha Tate. The two ladies have been at each others throats since 2012, when Ronda made her Bantamweight debut in a Strikeforce title fight against the then champion Miesha. Ronda's judo/armbar/black magic skills proved to be more than Miesha could handle and the fight ended mid way through first round via Ronda's signature move, armbar. Their paths crossed once more in the UFC when Miesha stepped up as a replacement for the injured Cat Zingano. Though this time "cupcake" Tate lasted 3 rounds, Ronda took home yet another arm early in the third round, submitting Tate with an armbar. Now, since the loss Miesha has built up a little wins streak of her own(4 wins in 4 fights) and is now officially next in line for Ronda. Will the third time be the charm for Miesha or will Ronda prove her dominance once again? We will find out soon enough.
Miesha was a on a 6 fight win streak before her defeat at the hands of Rousey
The upcoming challenger
After the Rousey/Tate trilogy is complete the next likely candidate is the former boxing and kick-boxing champion, Holly Holm. Even before Holm stepped foot into the UFC octagon, rumblings about her facing Rousey at some point were a common topic among MMA fans. With most pointing out her rich striking background as an argument as to why she is the one to beat the champion. Now that Holm is 2-0 in the octagon, many (her coach including) believe that indeed, she is next in line for who ever comes out victorious out of the Miesha/Ronda fight.
The superfight SIDE NOTE: Few days a go, Justino's former manager Tito Ortiz mentioned that UFC offered(and Justino accepted) this fight happening around April in Texas. However, Dana White took little time in saying that this all a complete lie and fabrication. But the story doesn't end there. Since Dana's disclaimer, Justino herself spoke about it and claim that neither she or Ortiz made this up and that the UFC called her manager and offered them the fight. The saga continues....
Assuming everything goes as expected and Ronda beats both ladies in her standard fast and impressive fashion one fight is still left that has MMA fans all giggling like little school girls. The long awaited super fight against the 145lbs Strikeforce and Invicta champion Christine "Cyborg" Justino. Making this fight has been proven to be a daunting task. A couple of major complications occurred over the years that made many fans lose faith at this fight ever happening. In early 2012. Justino failed a post fight banned substance test and got her fighters license revoked for a year. In the meantime Ronda, changed weight classes and went after Strikeforce gold against Miesha Tate and eventually became the inarguable UFC Women's Bantamweight champion. Since then, the ladies have been calling each other out over twitter, facebook, post fight interviews, pre fight interviews and everywhere in between. Each time one of them won, the interest for the fight grew. So where is the problem? They wanna fight each other, Dana White has predicted that if the fight happens it will get up to 2,5 million PPV buys. Let's do it! Well its not that simple....for starters. Cyborg is a very large framed woman, who in the past had trouble making 145lbs weight limit. So her argument is that Ronda should move up in weight and fight her either at catch weight of 140 lbs or either at 145lbs.
See for your selves just how much does Justino struggle with cutting weight, starting at 3:26 .
Ronda being the champion of the biggest MMA organization in the world dismisses the notion every time it gets brought up. Claiming that if Cyborg wants to fight in the UFC, she has to come to her weight class and make the 135lbs limit. In 2014, thing seemed to moving forward with this super fight. As it was announced that Justino will be fighting at 135lbs. Few shorts weeks later, an injury forced the Brazilian out of a 135lbs bout and that was the last we heard of a potential 135lbs fight for some time. The constant back and forth bickering between Ronda and Christine gave the impression that this fight won't ever happen. But there are glimpses of hope for this fight happening. First of all Justino already has a signed contract with the UFC. Yes, she still needs to fight at 135lbs for Invicta in order to prove that she can physically get the desired weight, but it's progress. Baby steps. Secondly, after Ronda's impressive first round ko of Bethe Correia, Justino took to twitter to announce that her next fight will 100% be at 140lbs with the goal of the fight after that being at 135lbs.
Good fight for Honda.My next fight is140lbs,then I hope we get a chance to give fans the WMMA fight the most violent fight in the history!
Alright, now let's say the super fight doesn't happen, or happens but Ronda decides to stick around a bit longer. What then? Well...there's always the rematch tour. Her last 3 fights lasted a combined of a 1 minute and 4 seconds. So by the time Ronda faces Tate and Holm and maybe even Justino some of her past opponents will most certainty earn a second chance of fighting against the champion.
.....aaaand I'm done. This was a quick write up, not much of an opinion piece, more of an analysis /prediction writing. Personally I think we'll never see Ronda/Cyborg. Cyborg is huge for her weight class and Ronda won't wait forever on her to make weight nor does she have any intention of moving from her current weight class. Oh well, it is what is. Anywho...click here to like me on facebook, comment below if you agree or disagree with me....or whatever. So, until next time.... Ladies and Gentleman, Elvis has left the building.
Whasap, whasap, whasaaap homies! It's yo boy, Armbar, with another edition of Armbar's mma world. As you may have noticed I'm feeling a bit "down with the hood" today(I don't even know what that means) since I just binge watched like 7eps of Ballers and suddenly I talk like I just came straight outta Compton and I'm a crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube. I'm hoping It'll wear off. Moving along, today I'm gonna take a moment and share some thoughts regarding the currently most controversial man in all of MMA. Rousimar Palhares. Now let's get this show started.
The Tree Stump*
Last weekend didn't just saw Ronda Rousey make another first round, less than a minute one sided victory. Oh no. It also saw 2 former UFC welterweights fighting for World Series of Fighting's welterweight title. The two fighters in question were Strikeforce , UFC veteran Jake Shields and the reigning and defending WSOF champion, the former UFC middle&welterweight, Rousimar Palhares. Since Shields is famous for his wrestling credentials and Rousimar is infamous for his terrifying jiu jitsu, grappling fireworks were expected and boy did we get fireworks. Jake Shields was controlling the fight for solid 2 rounds while fighting off Rousimar's near endless submission attempts*. Then at a midway point of round 3 a visibly out of breath Jake went for a takedown on a fresh Palhares and...well, I'll let this gif tell the rest of the story.
An outstanding display of Jiu Jitsu was left in the shadow of Rousimar's inability to let go of the submission even after Jake Shields started tapping like his life depended on it the moment the hold was locked in. Now this unfortunate event is no accident. Palhares has a looong and very painful history of holding on to a submission for an unnecessary amount of time.
Heelhook from hell
Rousimar has been a dangerous fighter since his early fighting days. In 2007., Rousimar had his 5th professional fight against fellow Brazilian Claudio Mattos and won the fight 15 seconds into the first round with a heel hook. The heel hook left Mattos screaming in pain in the ring with medical staff tending to his leg.
Coincidence or not, Mattos didn't fight again until 2009
The controversy followed "Toquinho" in his next fight against Helio Dipp jr where the referee literally had to break Rousimar's choke hold with all his might. From here it only got worse. The trend of not letting go of submission continued as his fondness for heel hooks and kneebars grew. Even though he was a highly controversial fighter, Rousimar eventually made it to the UFC with his infamy following him. Against Tomasz Drawl, the referee, again, had to pull him off Tomasz' leg as Tomasz screamed in pain. However, this time there were consequences. He was suspended for 90 days for not letting go of the submission in time. He then tried his luck in ADCC where he came in second in his weight class but as always, controversy didn't escape him. In a very weird match against David Avellan he dislocated Avellan's knee with another, horrifying and painful kneebar that left orthopedic surgeons around the world rubbing their hands in joy.
Alan Belcher pummeling Rousimar with some vicious ground and pound, source
Welterweight debut
Afer a short losing streak and a PED suspension, Rousimar came back with a vengeance in a lower weight class. By this time he gained infamy among the entire MMA community as a fighter that does not let go of you even if you tap, scream, yell, pray for a miracle or try casting a sleeping spell. In his fight against Mike Pierce he had a lot of eyes pointed at him. Many people wanted nothing more then a reason to punish him for his past(and present) wrong doings. Rousimar didn't disappoint them. Mike Pierce felt the full might of the tree stump's wrath when Palhares locked in a heel hook that, as always, didn't release until the referee literally had to stick his head into Palhares' grip. Punishment? Release of his UFC contract and a one year ban in professional fighting. The rocky road of redemption led Rousimar to WSOF, even though Ray Sefo(owner) ruled out the option initially, he gave the humble Brazilian a chance and a warning. Since his signing, Rousimar made short work of Steve Carl and Jon Fitch with each fight being more controversial then the last one. Thus, our story reaches full circle as we arrive at Rousimar's most recent controversial win. Last weekend's submission over Jake Shields.
Fall from grace
He has since been stripped of his title, suspended indefinitely and will likely, given his past, get an even greater ban from the Athletic Commission. This all puts Rousimar's future as an active MMA competitor in serious jeopardy. Does he deserve "the death sentence" and be banned for life? Most of his opponents would gladly see him burn at the stake for his knee hatred. I personally, as a fan of his ruthless and nearly indefensible style of grappling, would love nothing more than to see him fight again. However the punishment must fit the crime. He is a repeated offender in a sport where every extra second a submission is unnecessary held could have a career ending effect. MMA is all about the art of violence in a controlled, secure environment. Rousimar's fighting style relies on his brute strength, and a high level of jiu jitsu skill with a serious lack of control and fight awareness. Which makes him a huge risk every time he enters a fight. Will he hold on to a submission for too long?Will he let go this time? Maybe he'll get so zoned out in a fight that he will crank one of his deadly submission just hard enough and long enough to cause permanent damage to a fighters joint.
Frank Mir demonstrates what happens if a joint lock isn't stopped in time
* His nickname, "Toquinho" is Portuguese for "little tree stump". He earned his nickname because of his short stature, very muscular physique and wide frame.
* I'd like to address that there was also the controversy of Rousimar alleged eye gouging of Jake Shields. I didn't mention that in my article because, you can't see clearly enough what exactly was going on. Rousimar was lifting Jakes head to sneak in short elbow from the bottom and I'm guessing made accidental contact with Jake's eyes. Jake complained to the referee who only warned Palhares. Regardless, he has been accused of doing so and Ray Sefo and people with less bias then me ruled that he did gouge Jake's eyes. Here's the fight vid, judge by yourself.
That's all from me. I have 2 more articles, locked and ready to go. Polishing them up as we speak. As per usual, leave a comment bellow, like me on Facebook and when you're done doing that. Just re read my old stuff. In the words of Porky Pig, that's all folks!
Back once again with the renegade master! Well, I told you guys I would be more frequent this time around. I bet you didn't expect 3 articles within a week, now did you?
I'm extremely proud for making this happen since I became a fan of Jonas after seeing his shadowboxing video with Jose Aldo. For all of you who don't know, Jonas is 6-0 in his MMA career and is Jungle Fight's Bantamweight and Featherweight champion. He was brought in to Jose Aldo's camp to mimic Conor McGregor's fighting style. We talked about a lot of stuff, including; his future in MMA, Jose Aldo, his pick for todays' Yoel Romero/Lyoto Machida fight and a bunch more. Check it out.
When did you start training MMA?
I've been training martial arts since I was 3 or 4 years old. But, I started doing MMA when I was 16 or 17 with Alex Gazé from Team Nogueira.
When did you get your nickname, "Speed"?
I like nicknames that mean something about the athlete. I got this nickname because I was asking all my folks on Team Nogueira which is the most remarkable ability of mine. And everyone spoke about my speed.
You mentioned in an interview that you have a background in tae kwon doe and karate. Did it help your transitioning to MMA with already having backgrounds in those two?
I prefer muay thai and boxing strikes, because those are harder and more powerful. But when I´m talking about movement, karate and tae kwon do for sure are better for measuring the distance.
Lyoto Machida is probably the most famous karateka in MMA, how do you think his fight against Yoel Romero will go?
I know that Lyoto Machida has one of the best notions of distance in MMA. So Yoel Romero will probably have a problem fighting him and Lyoto will end up knocking him out in the second round. That's my opinion.
Not only does he fight like Conor McGregor, he also sports a haircut similar to the Irishan.
What made you pick Team Nogueira over other MMA teams?
I started in Team Nogueira with Alex Gazé and master Luiz Alves. I was training muay thai as an amateur. With the time passing I was improving my abilities and people started to recognize me. Then one day came an invitation to be a professional athlete. I was substituting a guy on a spar on a Saturday and after that I saw Alex Gazé and Anderson Silva chatting about my abilities. When I received the invite it was one of the most emotional moments in my life.
Where you a fan of "Minotauro" and "Minotouro" (Nogueira brothers) when you where growing up?
Sure. Minotauro and Minotouro are source of inspiration for the entire team. I've loved them since they were Pride fighters.
Who are your favorite fighters in the UFC or generally in MMA?
There are 3 fighters that I like. I like Anderson Spider Silva, of course. My entire game [fighting style] is based on his game. I like José Aldo Júnior, he's one of the biggest stars in Brazil. This guy is a monster. I love to watch his fights. Also, I like Luke Rockhold. Very complete fighter. He can wrestle, strike and submit guys. Those 3 are the athletes I like the most now.
Your last fight was in April, do you have any news regarding your next fight?
I think I have nothing more to do in Brazil. I got two belts in one of the greatest organizations which is Jungle Fight. So I´m waiting UFC to call. I already rejected a Bellator offer. It's all about Dana White. As soon as he calls me, I will be among the greatest.
You have 6 wins, with 4 ko/tko finishes. Do you think we'll get too see more of your grappling skills in the future?
I don´t like to see myself as a striker. I try to be a complete fighter as much as I can. Here in Brazil, people are usually better in the ground game, so I try to strike them out. In the US I will do whatever I can to win the fight. If my opponent is a grappler I will strike him out. If he's a striker, I will try to submit him. I will always take the fight wherever I feel comfortable.
What was it like training with Jose Aldo?
It's a great experience. Of course, I´m a huge fan of him. Training with a guy who inspires me is a dream come true.
You mentioned that you talked trash to Aldo when you trained with him to mimic Conor. Is it true you also screamed at Jose like Conor does?
That's true. I always scream at Aldo and talk trash to him. We try to prepare him the best we can both mentally and physically, for Conor McGregor. We know this fight is gonna be tough. Jose is gonna be prepared.
Do you think Jose's injury will affect his performance in his fight against Conor?
I don´t know... An injured rib... I wouldn´t fight if I was in his shoes. I wouldn´t. An injured rib can disturb a lot during the fight. I don´t know what Aldo will decide.
On the same night as Jose faces Conor,Robbie Lawler defends his welterweight title againstRory MacDonald. Are you a fan of either fighter and who do you think will win?
I love seeing both guys fight. Both are strikers and go for the finish. Based on the first fight, I will go with Robbie Lawler. But as a professional athlete, I know that you can always improve yourself. I can´t predict who will win, but I know it will be a good fight to watch.
What are your thoughts on the UFC's Reebok sponsorship deal? A lot of fighters, including Jose Aldo are very unhappy with it.
I don´t know, it´s probably for the best, thinking in long term. I know a lot of fighters are complaining about it, including José, but I don´t know what to think.
Do you think you will ever face off against Jose in the octagon?
I don´t know. If I can choose, I'd prefer not to face him in the octagon. It´s a fight that wouldn't make me happy. Of course, I wouldn´t want to lose, but at the same time I wouldn't like to win. If I could choose, José moves up to 155 and I will be the future champion at 145.
Jonas' last fight that made him a two division Jungle Fight champion
A big thank you to Jonas for taking his time to answer my questions. I hope to see him in the UFC soon. Also, a quick shout out to his manager for being cool with me interviewing Jonas and replying to me in a short notice. Now go and like Jonas on Facebook. and while you're at it. Drop by my fan page and give me a like. That's all from me folks, talk too you all soon.
