Props to the Boss!

Egomaniac?
Dictator?
Blowhard?
Genius?
Asshole?
Douchebag?
Scumbag?
Tyrant?
Hardhead?
Hothead?
Visionary?
Illogical?
Stubborn?
Irrational?
Impulsive?
Psychotic?
Delusional?
Insert word here __________!

These and many other words are often used to describe Dana White at one time or another. There is probably some accuracy in all of them. Whether you love him or hate him, respect him or don't, the boss of the UFC definitely deserves his props, there's no doubt about that!

As someone who has been very critical of a lot of the moves made by Dana White over the years, I've also been a very big fan. It might not seem like it at times, but it's absolutely true. How can you not be?!? The guy absolutely moves to the beat of his own drum and that's something I admire and respect in anyone. To be able to do that and still be very successful at the same time is even more impressive. That's a huge part of what makes Dana the unique and impressive character that he is. I also very much respect the relatively humble, blue collar, blue-blood beginnings that he comes from. All of his success is the product of vision, knowing the right people to help him execute that vision and a shitload of hard work to bring that vision to fruition. You can't hate on someone for that, in fact, you have to give them their due. DW appears to be a tireless worker, extremely focused on the prize, relentless in his execution of a game plan and given the position and power he holds, relatively humble. I really can't believe I just typed that, but its true. He could be much more of an arrogant, conceited prick than he actually is. This dude carries serious weight!!!

It's the eve of UFC 132 and I've been keeping up on all the coverage of the event. One thing that really impressed me was seeing the huge amount of interviews that Dana constantly does. Regardless of the fact that each one is virtually the same, he answers the same redundant questions over and over, with the same candor and frankness, and always in a very courteous manner. Well, for the most part courteous. Obviously, if you get under the dude's skin, he will make sure you know he isn't happy, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Lots of criticisms can be thrown at Dana for how he conducts himself at times, his use of "colorful" language, his tyrannical control over his fighters and the industry, the list goes on and on. We could sit here for the next week going over specific incidents but that would be futile. While you might think there are different and better ways for him to run his operation, the proof is in the pudding, and in the numbers. The UFC is an absolute juggernaut, growing non-stop and at a ridiculously fast pace since Zuffa has taken over ownership. A big chunk of that credit has to go to Mr. White. He saw the potential of the sport, convinced his friends to cop the company from SEG and has masterfully guided the ship ever since. Sure, there's all kinds of business maneuvers going on behind the scenes by other Zuffa employees, but DW is the fuckin' boss, plain and simple! While I'm sure the Fertitta brothers cringe from time to time at some of the things DW says and does, they can't not be confident and content that their machine is flying in the right direction and their president is manning the controls in the pilot's chair.

As far as I'm concerned, having haters is a good thing, it means you're doing something right. Obviously, Dana White is doing a lot of things right. Much props have to be extended to the boss. Without DW's and Zuffa's contribution to the sport we all love, who knows where it would be at this point. The "dark days" are pretty damn bright right now and only getting brighter. Time to put on my fuckin' shades!

Thanks, Dana, keep doing what you do!

Can You Say DICTATORSHIP?!?

dic·ta·tor·ship   [dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey-]
noun
1.
a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.
2.
absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.
3.
the office or position held by a dictator.


Hmmm, sound like any MMA promotion you might know of?!?


If any good can come out of Nate Marquardt's unfortunate firing from the UFC, it's hopefully that people will see the very fragile, precarious employment position that high level MMA fighters are in these days. The recent purchase of Strikeforce by Zuffa has only made that all the more worse. While it hasn't been fully revealed as to what exactly Nate did to warrant such a quick, angered, deliberately malicious public firing, the circumstances that surround it have to be very troubling to ANY fighter currently on Zuffa's payroll.


Let's start with some of the basics:


The way Dana White handled this was as immature and unprofessional an act as I've seen in a long, long time! Can you fathom the president and figurehead of any major company handling the firing of an employee the way Dana did. Nate isn't even technically an employee, he's an independent contractor. So in essence, Zuffa just stopped using his services, they didn't  actually fire him. For Dana to go and make a video announcing Nate's release, in that now infamous 15 second clip that he tweeted to the globe, was absolutely ridiculous behavior. It was an obvious attempt to humiliate Nate as severely and quickly as he could. More than anything, Dana humiliated himself! Can you imagine the boss of your company saying, "hey, film me on my phone right now, I want the world to know that I just destroyed a family man's future income for a VERY long time!" What kind of ego trip is this dude on? He's more full of himself and bullshit than Kanye West! I'm  very surprised that the Fertitta brothers tolerate this kind of adolescent, over the top  nonsense.

Then Dana gets on the Versus channel during the pre-fight show and goes on a diatribe about Nate, telling him to "man up" and tell the world what he did that was so horrendously awful that he had to be immediately relieved of his duties and embarrassed in front of the entire planet. The way this guy was acting, you would think he just heard that Nate has been banging his wife for a few months. Keep in mind that Nate has been working with the UFC for 6 years and is one of the best fighters on the planet. Aside from a PED issue a few years back, he's been nothing but a perfect soldier for the company. That's the thanks he gets? Again, whatever Nate actually did hasn't been revealed yet, and it very well might be a fireable offense, but is there really any reason to go to the lengths that Dana did to embarrass him in the fashion that he did? The guy has never taken a beating in the cage like he's taken from his former employer. Unfortunately for Nate, after 43 professional MMA fights, he just suffered the first knockout of his career and it didn't even happen inside a cage!

Dana White likes to constantly yap about MMA becoming one of the biggest sports on the planet, with the UFC leading the way, and competing with the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. The problem is, to compete with those leagues you have to act like a professional. Could you ever imagine any of the commissioners of those leagues acting anything like Dana has over the years. There are too many incidents to even mention but it's safe to say that the way he handles himself pales in comparison to the true professionals running those leagues.

Hmmmmmm, I wonder why MMA is STILL illegal in New York?!? It has nothing to do with the sport itself, as Dana has said and will fully admit to. It's all about the way Zuffa treats their independent contractors, otherwise known as the fighters. Those fighters are what makes Zuffa all their money yet hey have no union. Hey, Zuffa, here's a news flash; New York is run by unions. These fighters have no protection WHATSOEVER, as proven by this latest situation with Nate the Great. There is no due process, no chance of any kind of appeal and no recourse. If Dana and Zuffa say, "you're guilty", that's the end of the story. You are done, which unfortunately is the case with Nate. He now has to worry about how he is going to feed his family since his employment options are severely limited due to the Zuffa monopoly at the high end of the game. Sure, he can go fight in some small show and make a few grand for himself, but it's nothing compared to what he's worth and what he deserves.


Since we are on the salary issue aspect of Zuffa's current dictatorship/monopoly situation, it's only a matter of time before they start lowballing fighters worse than they do already. What's to stop them from telling Brock Lesnar, during his next contract negotiation, that he will now make 50K to show, 50K to win and get no percentage of the PPV buys? What's his recourse? He has none other than to quit being a professional mixed martial artist. Admittedly, that's an extreme example, but it's well within their capability. The power they have due to the stranglehold (pun intended) they have on the industry is astronomical. I can just see the powers that be within the Zuffa brain trust chuckling behind closed doors, saying, "what a bunch of suckers they all are, look at how we control them!" It would be funny if it wasn't so scary! And so sad!

Does anyone actually think that the recent providing of health insurance to fighters was just a goodwill gesture from the ever so kind owners of the UFC? Hell no! As with every move Zuffa makes, it was done from purely a selfish angle. The reason was to hopefully quell the calls for a fighters union and to make their treatment of the fighters look a little better. The hope was that the providing of health insurance would also help the sanctioning process in New York.

If you want to be a greedy MMA fan and get all giddy about all the top fighters being under one umbrella, that's certainly your prerogative. There's much, much more to this than just that. We all saw Zuffa gobble up and destroy the now defunct and legendary Pride organization. We are now watching Zuffa gobble up and ultimately destroy Strikeforce. We've seen Zuffa force independent contractors to exclusively work for ONLY them. We've seen Zuffa force independent contractors to give up any rights to their image and likeness to them. If you are OK with any of this, you really have to reevaluate your stance on and knowledge of this situation.

Without a doubt, the UFC is the best show in town, the problem is, and it's a HUGE one, its also the ONLY show in town!

Zuffa Hitler?

Zuffa Stalin?

Zuffa Hussein?

Zuffa Mussolini?

The name doesn't matter, the way it operates does!

Will the REAL Top Heavyweights Please Stand Up?!?

Listen up, people, and listen good, the best heavyweights in the UFC aren't necessarily the best heavyweights in the world! You really have to grasp that reality, and quickly, because the UFC/Strikeforce merge will be happening soon enough and you will be left in the proverbial dust. On top of that, if you're a gambler, you will lose lots of dough buying into the nonsense that the Zuffa PR machine keeps churning out. In the other weight classes, the UFC has the vast majority of the top fighters, but in the HW division, that's just not the case. Strikeforce has a ridiculously strong stable of heavyweights who easily rival, and in many cases, surpass those currently in the UFC. With Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, it should only be a matter of time before this very important reality is proven.










The easiest thing to see when comparing the two promotion's HW rosters is how much more experience the top Strikeforce fighters have. Cain Velasquez, the current (I predict, short lived) UFC champion has all of NINE pro fights, with only two notable wins. Top contender (and soon to be champion), Junior Dos Santos, only has 14 fights. Brock Lesnar has a robust SEVEN fights on his diminutive fighting resume. The quickly sliding contender, Shane Carwin, only has 14 pro fights as well. Potential contender, Brendan Schaub, is very green with just nine fights. Aside from Frank Mir and Big Nog (who arguably should be retired at this point), none of the top UFC heavyweights has very much actual fighting experience. The flip side of that coin is the wealth of experience that most of the top Strikeforce fighters have. Their champion, Alistair Overeem, has 45 MMA fights and is currently the K-1 champion, still competing in both sports simultaneously. The living legend Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett both have 34 fights. Sergei Kharitonov has 22 fights. The least experienced of the bunch are Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, each with just under 20 fights. There's some serious disparity in experience here that can't and shouldn't be overlooked.

I put a lot of stock in the experience factor. For some reason, others don't. I don't understand how that would be the case. It all goes back to the perception that the UFC is the be all and end all of top MMA talent. To blindly assume that the top guys in the UFC are the best in the world, just because they have fought each other, makes absolutely no sense to me. I prefer to look at the other pertinent factors including overall skillsets, size, athleticism and fighting style. The fact is, styles make fights. Many of the top Strikeforce fighters are bad style match-ups for the top UFC guys and vice versa. The point is, neither promotion can say they have the better fighters until they either merge or cross-promote and actually fight each other.

The beauty of all of this is that we should hopefully be able to fill in all these blanks and answer all these question marks. The current Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix will determine the best fighter there. Once that happens, if all goes right, we will finally see some crossover fights between the two promotions. I predict that the big boys in Strikeforce will more than hold their own against the relative noobs in the UFC. The HW rankings will be put in a tailspin over the next two years or so. There is no way that fighters at the level of Fedor, Overeem, Werdum, Big Foot, Barnett, Sergei and even Rogers will not do well against the best  that the UFC has to offer.

When it's all said and done, which should take around 2 years or more to shake out, you will see completely restructured HW rankings lists with the Dutch monster, Alistair Overeem, sitting comfortably on top of most. This dude is just too big, too strong, too talented and too experienced for that not to be the case. There will finally be a clear cut King of Kings. Saturday night will begin the Reem's official assault on the heavyweight MMA landscape. Unfortunately for Fabricio Werdum, he's the first contract on Ubereem's hit list. The rest of the fighters in the mix are well aware of this, its the fans that need to be put on notice and put on blast for buying whatever bullshit the Zuffa PR machine is  currently slinging. After Saturday night, those that don't know, will finally know!

In the words of the late, great Biggie Smalls, "And if you don't know, now you know, n***a!"

Rest in Power, HITMAN!!!!!!!

It's hard to believe it's been FIVE long years since the very unfortunate passing of Ryan "HITMAN" Bennett. Sometimes it feels like it happened a lifetime ago and sometimes it feels like it happened yesterday. You have to shake your head and wonder why some of the best people this planet has to offer get taken away from us in the prime of their lives.

For those that don't know, Ryan was a true pioneer in the Mixed Martial Arts game. He was an absolute visionary that was taken from this world and the world of MMA way too early. He undoubtedly left his mark on both worlds, but had he been allowed some more time on this planet, his mark would have been absolutely legendary. Actually, his legacy is legandary! When you talk about vision, Hitman had it in spades. In the earliest days of MMA radio streams and podcasts, Ryan started Sound-Off, still the best MMA radio show EVER! Now MMA radio shows are a dime a dozen, available in every imaginable format. In the earliest days of MMA websites, Ryan co-founded MMAWeekly, one of the oldest and best sites on the sport. Now there are hundreds, if not thousands of MMA websites of every size and style, from all over the globe. There's no telling what his creative, intelligent mind would have come up with since, but I guarantee this, whatever it was would have been brilliant and groundbreaking.

He was such a natural interviewer. Nobody to this day has come close to him in this regard. When listening to Ryan interview fighters, it was more like eavesdropping on their personal conversation than it was listening to a Q&A that was streaming live. He always had his guests relaxed and comfortable, which ultimately made for some amazing exchanges. Besides that, all his guests loved him so there guard was completely down. I never heard a fighter get even the slightest bit agitated in a conversation with Ryan. It was truly an amazing skill he had and one that many aspiring interviewers could learn from. There's a hell of a lot more to interviewing someone than just asking questions and Ryan exemplified that reality like no one else in the sport. Believe it or not, Ryan actually had a day job outside of everything he did in MMA. He was a sportscaster for an NBC affiliate in California. In addition to that job, running the MMAWeekly website and doing a daily radio show, he somehow squeezed in working for the UFC doing post fight interviews as well as doing fight commentary for other promotions. Of course, we can't forget his most important job, that being a husband and father. That's a lot on one man's plate yet he always seemed to flourish at all of those roles.

I never met Ryan, but considered him a friend. You might ask how that is possible? Well, we had at least a hundred conversations on his radio show and on the phone. I was a daily caller into the show as well as a guest on certain special segments he did. It honestly felt like we "met for lunch" everyday. The show was on at noon and I always worked my schedule around it. After at least a hundred "lunch meetings", you definitely become friends in a sense. That morning, five years ago today, I sat down at my desk at work and logged onto MMAWeekly to see what was happening in the MMA world. When I saw the news posted that Ryan had been killed, it felt like someone smashed me in the stomach with a bat. Here I was, reading about the death of someone I never met, yet I was visibly crushed by the news. Some co-workers even asked what was wrong since I couldn't hide the pain of the news. It was a very strange situation, I honestly didn't know how to act or react. A "friend" that I never actually met in person had just died and I was completely devastated! Life is bizarre, but that's the kind of amazing guy Ryan Bennett was!

Rest in Power, Hitman, you were the best of the best! I know you must be incredibly happy to see where the sport of MMA has gone since you left us, the sport you loved so very much. Thanks to you, Ryan, it was well on the path to greatness!

Machida-San the Spoiler!

Poor Lyoto has to have the unenviable task of facilitating the final memory of Randy Couture's legendary fighting career, that being the old man waking up in the cage, staring at the lights in front of 55,000 maniacal Canadians. It's a tough job but somebody's got to do it, right? 

Machida-San is being very humble and respectful towards the old guy, as he should be, talking about how honored he is to be Randy's last opponent. Now, with the niceties aside, the reality is that this is just a really bad fight for Captain America and horrible timing to boot. After Lyoto's last loss to Rampage, another in a long list of ridiculous decisions that have plagued the sport, he knows he has to eliminate the possibility of that happening again and finish the fight by either submission or knockout. I'm going with the latter. As Lyoto has stated, he is not only fighting Randy Couture, he is also fighting the judges. With the way judging has gone in Mixed Martial Arts, to leave the outcome in the judges hands is not in anyone's best interests, including the fans. Randy will be forced to deal with a raging Dragon who has a very large chip on his shoulder. And given the speed disparity, there's isn't all that much for the old dude to do to stop the onslaught that Machida-San will bring in the cage in Toronto.

The question is, why did Randy take this fight as his last fight in the first place? He claims he wanted it for a while now, but with every passing day on his aging body and with his diminishing speed, this fight becomes  more and more impossible to win. There is also word that Lyoto's manager, Ed Soares, pushed for this fight. That's understandable because a win over Randy will go a long way as far as exposure to the more casual MMA fans. And stylistically, this fight is a no-brainer for Machida-San. His overwhelming speed and striking advantage will cause the old man to pull out what little is left of the hair on his balding dome. Again, that's after he comes to from the unconscious state that Lyoto will be forced to put him in. 

Randy has had a very impressive career regardless of his rather pedestrian record of 19-10. Most impressive to me is how late an age he started fighting at and how long he has lasted. He started fighting at the age Lyoto is now, 18 fights into his career. The guy is almost a half century old and still going strong, well, relatively speaking. You know a fighter has overstayed his welcome when his son is also fighting as a pro and is 28 years old. Unfortunately for Randy, he is choosing to end his career fighting one of the best fighters on the planet. This is after he took two laughable fights against a very old, washed up Mark Coleman and another very old, very fat, horribly out of shape, inexperienced MMA virgin, James Toney. Fighting those 2 dudes and fighting Lyoto Machida is as different as nuns and pornstars. We're talking two completely opposite ends of the spectrum here. The old man deserves his props for taking such a tough fight as his last outing. At what age does dementia set in? Zuffa would have easily given him another softball match-up as his swan song fight, but Randy chose to go out with possibly the hardest fight of his career. Again, he deserves props and respect for that. If nothing else, Randy is a tough, hard-nosed competitor and proved that just by signing this fight contract. 

Machida-San will be playing role of spoiler and assassin on Saturday night in front of 55,000 potentially drunk, loud Canadians and around a million more potentially drunk MMA fans sitting on their couches at home watching the PPV. He will have to spoil old man Couture's going away party and essentially kill his career as a fighter. It had to happen, the guy is 47 years old, and unfortunately, his time inside the cage will come to a violent end. Poor Lyoto has to be the nail in the coffin of a legend's storied career. It's been a nice run, Mr. Couture, you definitely put your stamp on the MMA game. Now go enjoy your much safer post-fighting life where you don't have to deal with fighting machines like the great Lyoto Machida.

"Like Water" is a MUST See!!!

 
Yes, I'm a biased MMA fan and yes, I'm also an Anderson Silva fan. So what, this movie kicks serious ass just like Anderson does!


Like Water is a documentary film that debuted in NYC at the Tribeca Film Festival that revolves around a year in the life of Anderson Silva, the world's greatest mixed martial arts fighter. It was masterfully directed by relatively new filmmaker, Pablo Croce, and is a VERY impressive piece of filmmaking! The title comes from the famous monologue by Bruce Lee about being "like water".


On the surface, the film is about the day to day existence of the greatest mixed martial artist this world has ever seen. Underneath all the obvious blood, sweat and tears of this extremely tough sport and lifestyle is the simple story of a devoted family man and devout, God fearing Christian. He's just a man doing what he has to do to put food on his family's table and clothes on their backs. As his grandmother says in the film, he found something he was good at. Sorry to disagree, Grandma, he's not just good at it, he's absolutely amazing at it. There's some intimate glimpses into Anderson's home life with his family. You get to see him at home with his wife and kids who are obviously Anderson's greatest motivation to do what he does. He is torn between making a living in the rough and tumble fight game and having to be away from his family for stretches as long as three months. That's a part of a fighter's existence that no one but those intimately involve see or know about. It's amazing that they can stay so focused. The dichotomy is that in order to provide the best possible life he can for his family, he is forced to be away from them. Ironically, that's one of the aspects of yin/yang that make up the man and the martial artist that is Anderson Silva. 

Most of the movie is based on Anderson's preparation for his fight with perennial bigmouth and steroid junkie, Chael Sonnen. It's very much a good guy, bad guy type of film. You leave the theatre hating Sonnen more than when you walked into it (if thats possible) and leave loving Anderson. As much as there is to like about Anderson, there is 10x's more to dislike about Chael. The guy just doesn't stop talking bullshit, EVER. He said more insane, idiotic things in an attempt to hype his fight with Anderson than Charlie Sheen did on one of his UStream broadcasts. We're talking monumental bullshit! What we get to see in this film is how unaffected Anderson is by Chael's never ending attempts to rile him up. Its obvious that Chael was trying to throw Anderson off of his game mentally by trying to anger him. Fighting with anger isn't smart, Anderson is smart. He was having none of it, choosing to take the high road and not engage in that nonsense. The Spider could care less. In fact, we also see that Anderson could care less about any of the ancillary tasks that are involved with being an athlete at the level he operates at. He wants nothing more out of life than to be with and provide for his family, train with his close friends and get in the cage to challenge himself, all while leaving the outcome, as he says, in God's hands. 


When it comes to training, Anderson and his Black House brothers do not play games. That's a dead ass serious team of fighters who totally support each other.There's plenty of inspirational, Rocky-like training footage throughout the film. If you want to see people sweat, you won't be disappointed. There is also moments when you see Anderson fighting through the pain of an undisclosed injury to train and prepare for battle. It seems like its some sort of rib/oblique strain, and very apparent that he's in a considerable amount of pain. There's definitely no quit in this dude, he refuses to half-step anything. He'd much rather sweat his ass off in the gym than sit in front of someone's camera or microphone to do interviews. As he says, it's like doing the same interview over and over, no one asks anything different. 


Some specific things that stood out to me in the film are:


-Ed Soares is an excellent manager. Getting a glimpse into what he does on a day to day basis is very impressive. Not only is he an interpreter for all of his Brazilian clients, he's also a motivator, a psychologist, a babysitter, a bodyguard, an older brother and a friend. It's obvious that Anderson and the rest of the Black House fighters really like, respect and appreciate Ed a whole lot.


-Dana White hasn't been around a camera or a microphone that he doesn't love. And he loves to hear himself talk. His nonsense about cutting Anderson from the roster was completely unbelievable and obviously all about him pushing his "I'm the boss" agenda. I didn't buy any of it, but for the sake of some drama in the film, I guess it served it's purpose. 


-Anderson is as true a martial artist as there is in this sport and he fully embraces the culture that comes along with that. He isn't just some fighter that goes to the gym to train. He encompasses all that is right about being a martial artist. There's a moment in the film where he comes into the Black House training facility and sees Lyoto Machida for the first time in a while. He gets very excited and calls Lyoto, "Machida-San". You can see from his expression that he is very happy to see Lyoto, that they are very good friends and that they are bonded by their respective lifelong study of martial arts. They have a conversation about their styles, agreeing that they are smart, cerebral fighters that don't need to engage in brawls just because that's what the bloodthirsty fans want to see. They also concur that they can't and shouldn't change anything, they just need to win their fights and stay safe. They are very similar in their mental and spiritual approaches to fighting. As Anderson said in the film, his primary goal in any fight, first and foremost, is to be able to get home to his family in one piece. 


You can't walk away from this film not understanding what's important to Anderson Silva. It's really very simple; his family, his God, his friends, his training family and his "job", which just so happens to be kicking people's asses inside a cage. Director, Pablo Croce, did an exemplary job in portraying that. It's the story of a simple man, in the prime of his career, being thrust into a complicated life, and all he wants is to do his job, a job he seems to both love and somewhat hate at the same time. More yin/yang. If it were up to Anderson, he would only  punch the time clock when he was training and when he steps foot inside the cage. All that other stuff involved in his chosen occupation is nothing but a nuisance, but something he is forced to do. He seems to hide inside the world of his Dr. Dre "Beats" headphones, only taking them off right before he has to "go to work". I wonder what music he is constantly listening to?


Since this film debuted in NYC, out of a possible 5 "apples", I give Like Water 4 & 1/2 apples. Pablo Croce did an excellent job on this documentary and he and his team did a fantastic job shooting it. Based on the quality of this film, Mr. Croce's future looks very bright. I just hope this movie gets the exposure it deserves and any anti-MMA biases people might have don't get in the way of it getting it's just due. Whether or not your a Mixed Martial Arts fan, an Anderson Silva fan or even hate him or the sport, go see Like Water. It's a very well made, inspiring film. I highly recommend it! Below is a link to an interview I did with Pablo right after the movie emptied out. It was totally unexpected and I want to thank Pablo for taking the time to chat.

Nick Fuckin' Diaz!

Nick Diaz is the muther effin' man! That's really all that needs to be said. If you have any interest in combat sports, more specifically, EXCITING combat sports, you absolutely need to watch Nick fight. It's impossible for this dude to not put on an amazing performance in the cage. He is the consummate showman of Mixed Martial Arts. Last night's destruction of British banger, Paul Daly, was no exception to this definitive rule. In a fight where Nick had a clear advantage, that being his jiu jitsu skill, what does the Stockton bad boy do? He comes out and goes blow for blow with one of the most dangerous strikers on the planet in that division. That almost turned into a horrible decision. Semtex was dropping bombs on Nick's dome, literally dropping him more than once. Most fighters would have folded under that kind of pressure but not Mr. Diaz. He protected himself, got into a safer position, got back up and continued to bang with crazy Paul. Then the magic happened. Nasty Nick caught Semtex, dropped him and finished him just seconds before the end of one of the most electrifying rounds of MMA fighting you will ever see. Actually, that was some of the best five minutes of any fighting, period! As far as I'm concerned, it was the body shots (pictured below) that did the most damage. Being the cerebral fighter that Nick is, he knew headhunting wasn't the route to take and detoured down to the body. Nick smashed Semtex's torso like Rocky did that meat hanging in the freezer. Incredible to watch. 


Diaz is definitely a man of contradictions and highly misunderstood. In the same sentence, he'll tell you he feels he is underpaid, but he also makes too much money. If you understand what he is saying, he makes perfect sense. For as exciting and popular a fighter as he is, he is definitely underpaid, but he also makes very good money doing something he thoroughly enjoys and was born to do. As he says, he doesn't need a lot of money to live well in Stockton, California, and will be just fine if he never fought again. But if he is going to be a professional fighter, he should be paid properly. The dude puts asses in the seats at arenas and asses on the couches in front of TVs. There's no disputing that fact. Lots of people love him, lots hate him, but they all love to watch him fight. Dude deserves a serious raise. I hope Scott Coker and the bosses at Zuffa are reading this.

Some would say that Nick isn't the smartest dude you will ever meet. Actually, some call him dumb. That couldn't be further from the truth. While he might say and do some things that from a business perspective aren't particularly smart, he is not a dumb dude by any stretch of the imagination. He might come across as somewhat scatterbrained in interviews, but that's just because he doesn't want to do interviews in the first place. He'd much rather be sweatin' and bleedin' in the gym with his brothers. Those are his literal blood brother, Nate, and his brothers from other mothers who sweat and bleed next to him at the Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy. No MMA team on the planet is as tight as Cesar Gracie's is. I absolutely love that about them. They are "all in", all the time, 24/7-365! And they are all very talented fighters. Cesar deserves a ton of credit for teaching these guys as well as he has and also for guiding their respective careers from the managerial side of the business. Props, Mr. Gracie! 

The future looks very bright for Nick Diaz. He is the reigning welterweight champion in Strikeforce, who as we all know, recently got purchased by Zuffa, the company behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship. That purchase could be both a good and a bad thing for Diaz. He has had some issues with Zuffa in the past, but given what Nick brings to the table, I can't see them letting him leave the fold. He's a valuable commodity in a sport with few. Nick has to be a Top 10 fighter as far as popularity and a Top 5 fighter as far as providing scintillating, memorable performances. The suits at Zuffa won't let him go anywhere, regardless of the fact that Nick leaves his middle finger permanently raised and purposefully pointed in their direction. That's the beauty of Nick Diaz. He is doing what he wants to do, the exact way he wants to do it. He has absolutely no interest in kissing anyone's ass, and he's proven that he doesn't have to. At the same time, if he loves and respects you, like he does his teacher and mentor, Cesar Gracie, he will literally die for you. He would do the same for his brothers at the academy as well. Dana White has recently stated that he likes Nick a lot, he just wishes he would tone down his anger a bit and "play the game" a little better. He said he didn't want Nick to change because that's a big part of his appeal, which it most certainly is, but he thinks some of his behavior is holding him back from being a full fledged superstar. While that may be true, Nick is just being Nick and its apparent that nothing will change that. It isn't an act, it's the real McCoy, take it or leave it. That is actually what I, and many of Nick's fans, like about him the most. He is a genuine dude, there's absolutely no bullshit in this kid whatsoever. Like him or not, you have to respect him for that.

Just as Nick would do, I raise and direct my middle finger at all the haters and non-believers who don't understand what makes a dude like Nick Diaz tick.

Fuck them, Nick, we got your back, homie!

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting!!!

Although I doubt he's much of an MMA fan, Elton John said it best, Saturday night's alright for fighting! Actually, I'm pretty sure Bernie Taupin actually wrote that lyric. Thanks to Bellator and MTV2, we now have quality MMA fights every Saturday night for the forseeable future. Throw in all the UFC cards and the odd Strikeforce card and Saturday nights have once again become THE night for fight fans, especially MMA fans. And don't forget, boxing might be on life support, but it's still breathing, albeit, barely. MMA is the proverbial tank that has crushed all in it's path, especially the sweet science. That said, boxing has too many self inflicted wounds to even get into right now. The maniacs who run and ruined that great sport are their own worst enemies.

Tonight's Bellator card could easily be their best ever. It features an excellent main event with Eddie Alvarez defending his lightweight title against the very promising, very tough prospect, Pat Curran. Eddie is a beastly fighter, easily Top 5 in the class. Pat has a big win over former UFC latin poster boy, Roger Huerta. That should be an absolute banger. Bellator is also in the midst of their MW tournament which has already showcased some amazing fights. Tonight's match-up at 170 just adds to that quickly growing momentum. NYC's own, Lyman Good (pictured below) is mixing it up with the undefeated, heavy handed, Olympic judoka, Rick Hawn. Lyman is, in my opinion, one of the most slept on fighters in the sport. This dude can fight! He's very well rounded, loves to bang and has the heart and gas tank to back that up. I love to see this guy let it all out in the cage, which he always does. And of course, I've got to support my local fighters who rep NYC. Regardless of that, this kid is the real deal! There's also a very intriguing lightweight match-up between Toby Imada and Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. Pitbull most definitely epitomizes his nickname, this little dude brings it. Toby made MMA history by pulling off the very rare inverted triangle choke submission which earned him last year's Submission of the Year honors. Amazingly, Bellator's Richard Hale pulled off the exact same submission last week. Bellator is now officially the home of the inverted triangle. Hmmmm, maybe they should change the shape of their cage to a huge triangle? Somebody get Bjorn Rebney on the phone! You heard it here first, the Bellator Triangle! On top of all that, former UFC veteran, Ben Saunders, is making his Bellator debut against the very game Matt Lee. Ben's clinch game is insanely vicious. Dude throws knees with intent to kill. Easy, I don't mean he is literally trying to kill anybody. He definitely wants to hurt them though, and he sure as hell does. We're talking Anderson Silva type of clinch game devastation. Poor Brandon Wolff's dome is probably still lumped up from the beating Ben administered to him in the clinch over two years ago. It was beautifully brutal! Ask Marcus Davis what he thinks about Ben's knees? Worst beating he ever took, that's for damn sure! Ben is a very dangerous dude!

On the UFC front, Zuffa just made an interesting decision to start all their Saturday night cards at 9pm(EST) instead of it's longstanding 10pm start time. I kind of have to shake my head about this move. What's the point really? I assume they think that it's too late for people on the east coast. I think that's ridiculous. It's Saturday night, having the main event at or around midnight is perfect as far as I'm concerned. It's got to really suck for fans on the west coast. Who the hell wants to watch fights at 6 o'clock?!? The sun isn't even down yet unless it's the dead of winter. I'm curious to see what fans on both coasts think of this move. I can't see anyone on the west side being at all happy about this. Here on the east side it's not that big a deal, but I'd still prefer the later start. Then again, I operate on vampire hours so I'm probably the wrong guy to judge this move.

MTV2 is smartly being very flexible with the Saturday night Bellator cards. When it comes to nights when the UFC is also holding an event, Bellator has the option to start their cards a few hours earlier so as to not have to directly compete with the much bigger, much more established behemoth promotion. That's makes perfect sense to me. MMA fans can cozy up to the couch for as much as 6 or 7 straight hours of fights. You can't beat that, unless you make the mistake that I have, which is starting the beer consumption too early. Two words, fellow MMAlcoholics, pace yourself! If you don't, you'll either be sleeping by the late card's main event or you'll have no recollection of what you watched. Thank God for the DVR. I've had to re-watch many a fight on Sunday but that's a whole other story!

Thank you, Bjorn Rebney (pictured above), and thank you as well to the Zuffa brain trust, you've made this MMA fan, and many others, very happy. Saturday night's alright for fighting again, in a BIG way!

Domo arigato gozaimasu!!!

The Dragon is the Man to Break Bones!!!

Today's lunch special is a plate of Bones and a side order of Kool-Aid! This shit is selling like crack! Damn, people, slow your roll!


Styles make fights, this is a fact. If you logically look at the top fighters in the LHW division, Lyoto Machida has the perfect style and skillset to beat Bones Jones. No one Bones has fought so far has the type of skills and style that Lyoto brings to the cage. No other potential contenders do either, that's just the way it is!


Let's break down the specifics:


Lyoto has by far the best movement in the division. He is ALWAYS a moving target. His use of footwork to create angles of attacks is second to none. Not only is his movement top notch, he couples that with serious speed. His speed is in both his footwork and his attacks. Techniques just fly out of nowhere, whether it's a kick, a punch or a knee. When you add his timing and rhythm into the mix, you're talking about a whole bunch of problems for Bones to contend with and completely unlike anything he has dealt with before. Clearly, Lyoto has a definitive advantage in speed and overall movement. One thing is for shit sure, Lyoto will not be an immobile target like Shogun was against Bones. Shogun was like a soft, lumpy heavy bag out there. In fact, a swinging heavy bag moves more than Shogun did that night. I am still having a hard time processing just how bad Shogun looked in that fight.

Most would say that Bones has the wrestling advantage. That is probably true as far as straight up wrestling goes, but Lyoto has an extensive sumo and judo background. Those two arts are perfect foils for Bones' Greco takedowns, all three being upper body grappling/throwing arts. These two dudes are the best in the division at this, maybe the entire sport. Neither fighter shoots for single and/or double leg takedowns much, if at all. It's really a wash here as far as I'm concerned and a very intriguing part of this potential match-up. Where I see Lyoto having an advantage is with sweeps from the standing position. He's damn good at disguising  and executing them. At a minimum, he can use them to create an imbalance which can set up something else. Lyoto also excels at trips from the clinch. It will be interesting to see how Bones deals with those.

As far as takedown defense, Lyoto has some of the best in the game. His understanding and use of leverage and balance are at a ridiculously high level. Again, a lot of that has to be credited to his sumo training. Bones will have a VERY hard time getting Lyoto's back on the mat, which is where he will want this fight to be. Once they clinch, he will have trouble finishing the takedown, but getting the clinch in the first place will be his first obstacle. He's going to have to be very creative and exhibit a whole lot of speed to get the clinch unless Lyoto decides he wants the fight to go there, which might very well be the case.

If the fight does end up on the mat, Lyoto could be in some serious trouble. Bones has proven to have some insane ground & pound. Those elbows he throws are NASTY! All it takes is one to land in the right spot and the fight is over. Brandon Vera's broken face is testament to that reality. I doubt anyone would argue that Lyoto has the considerably better jits skills, but the question is, can technique overcome the length, leverage and ferocity that Bones brings with his vicious GnP. I'm inclined to think that Lyoto can nullify his ground attack, but that's a BIG maybe, at best. Bones is just that devastating when he's in top position. The interesting thing would be to see the opposite. We haven't seen Bones on his back yet and if anyone can get him there, it's Lyoto. I'm really curious to see what Bones has as far as a guard and sub attempts from his back. He certainly has the perfect frame to do well there. His outrageously long arms and legs can create distance and can also be used offensively to attack with some sub attempts. I've never seen Bones on his back or practicing jiu-jitsu in any of the training footage I've seen of him. There's some serious question marks in regards to that aspect of his game. Does he even train BJJ? I know he has to, you just never see it or even hear him talk about it in any interviews. Hmmm?

Bones' most clear advantage is obviously his size, particularly his otherworldly length. It's freaky to see how much reach this dude has with his hands and feet. He doesn't have what I'd consider true power in his striking but he can definitely hurt people with cumulative strikes. He's a bit like Nick Diaz in that regard. You don't have to worry so much about getting caught with one big blow, but he can quickly hurt you with repeated clean shots that add up very quickly. The key for Lyoto will be to do what he always does and excels at. He has to use his speed and footwork, along with his uncanny ability to implement his unique, karate version of sticking and moving. This fight will come down to whichever fighter can control the range of the fight. Lyoto has excellent defense as far as blocking and evasion, so I don't think Bones can pick him apart. Bones' stand-up defense will play a critical role as well. If he can avoid getting hit by Lyoto's blitzing/stinging attacks, it will be a long night for both of them, a 25 minute, exhausting grind to a decision.

I have said it before and I will say it again, anyone who fights Bones has to attack his legs. By his own admission, Bones has skinny chicken legs. They're bony, pun intended. You would have to think that they aren't all that durable. Lyoto is very good at using lead leg attacks to his opponents lead leg, both inside and outside. If he can effectively land that little shuffle lead leg attack that he likes to use, and also a low round kick, it would go a long way toward slowing Bones down and taking away some of his explosiveness. We haven't seen Bones take much, if any punishment to his legs. Actually, we haven't seen Bones take much punishment at all. The same was said about Lyoto a few fights back. Things can change very quickly in this game.


That leads us to some question marks about Bones:


~How is his chin?
~How will he handle serious in-fight adversary?
~How is his gas tank?
~How will he handle all that comes with being a champion?
~How are his skills off his back?


Styles make fights and Lyoto has the style that can bring this fight to the point where some of these questions will be answered. For me, this is undoubtedly the most compelling match-up in the division. This fight is most likely a while away from happening as both fighters have other fights booked already. It might not even happen as a title fight, depending on how things shake out. Bones has to defend against Rashad and Lyoto has to get past old man Randy. I see both of those things happening, so after that, this amazing match-up could come to fruition. Fighting is all about timing and so is matchmaking. That's proven by Bones' current situation. His champion status was all about timing and taking advantage of opportunities afforded him through other fighters' injuries, both Rashad's and Shogun's. He capitalized, big time!

If all the chips fall in the right places, this fight could and should happen. I can guarantee this, Lyoto is the last guy that Bones and Greg Jackson want to have to face. He's very difficult to prepare for since no one moves like he does or as fast as he does. The same can be said about Lyoto not wanting to fight Bones. He's also very hard to prepare for and emulate in training.  No sparring partners will have Bones' size and skillset. None! That said, both of these dudes are game warriors who will welcome the challenge of facing each other.


This fight would be INSANE!


It NEEDS to happen SOON!

Will the REAL Shogun Please Stand Up?!?

~Was he kidnapped?
~Was that his brother Ninja in the cage fighting Bones?
~Did Greg Jackson secretly drug the real Shogun to ensure that Rashad would finally get out of his non-existent hair and leave his team?


I'm not really sure where Shogun was last night, but I know damn well that he wasn't in the cage fighting Bones Jones. I doubt he was even in the tri-state area. Dude was probably chillin' back in Brazil, relaxing with a nice cold beer. 

While we definitely witnessed a very impressive performance from Jonny "Bones" Jones, the new UFC light heavyweight champion, the real story to me was how un-Shogun like that guy in the cage looked last night. As bad as Shogun looked against Forrest Griffen, also a fight after another one of his major knee surgeries and long layoffs, this was 10x's worse. He looked and fought like a robot that was horribly mis-programmed. It was like whoever put the "brains" in this robot, never finished the job. Or maybe he/she was drunk and spilt beer all over the processors. Whatever it was, wasn't good in any way!

It was a very strange fight and actually disturbing to watch. To see a fighter like Shogun do NOTHING he normally would, and EVERYTHING he normally wouldn't, was, for lack of a better word(s), fucked up! He was an absolutely immobile target out there; no footwork, no head movement, no speed, no normally aggressive attacking and no displays of his normally present tigerblood and Adonis DNA. Bones repeatedly landed some Anderson Silva-ish low side kicks to the front of his thighs. Shogun didn't once defend them or make any sort of adjustment to deal with them. This is a guy who has been fighting for a very long time and has made many a mid-fight adjustment on the fly. Again, it was very disturbing to have to watch.


I've also never seen Shogun just slowly walk forward into whatever strikes his opponent was throwing at him. And I do mean slowly. He looked like a zombie out there. It was like watching a horror flick. I'm sure Bones was shocked at how easy it was to hit him. He had to be! Anybody could have hit Shogun the way he was moving last night. It wasn't even a close facsimile of his normal movement or style of fighting. Once Bones started landing shots, it was a complete downward spiral. He looked like shit in the first minute of the fight, by the third minute, the fight was over in my eyes. He went on to survive well beyond that, but the fight was obviously over then. There was no way he was going to turn the tides of that fight with the way he was fighting.

Shogun is a notoriously vicious kicker. You'd never know that if you saw him fight for the first time last night. He barely threw any kicks at all, which in and of itself, was also very strange. His whole career has been built on speed and explosiveness, neither of which was at all present in this fight. In fact, he was the exact opposite; slow, plodding, predictable, non-threatening and uninspired. These words would NEVER be used to describe the REAL Shogun, yet they're the only words you can use to describe his performance last night.


For those that don't know, Shogun has had repeated major knee surgeries, coupled with long rehabs and layoffs. None of that is good for any professional athlete, especially a mixed martial artist. And more specifically, one that has to compete at the highest levels. In other sports, an athlete can slowly work their way back to competing at the top level. At the top of the MMA game, that's almost impossible and it's absolutely impossible when you are the champ, which was the case here. I initially thought Eduardo Alonso, Shogun's manager, was doing the right thing by keeping him away from fighting for as long as possible so he could fully rehab his knee and get his fitness back. It was really his only option. That turned out to backfire in a big way. The longer Shogun stayed out of the cage, the rustier he got. Sparring in the gym is all well and good, but there is no replacement for actually fighting. Bones Jones fought 6 weeks before last night, 4 times in the last year and 7 times in a little over 2 years. Before last night, Shogun hadn't fought in 10 months and only 4 times in the last 2 years. Throw the surgeries and layoffs into that mix and you aren't getting the genuine article, not even close. 


As a fan of Shogun's, it was hard to see him show up and perform like that. Injuries and how you come back from them are a big part of all sports. Each situation is different, some handle that well, some don't. Some injuries are worse than others. Unfortunately, some athletes are snake bitten. It seems like Shogun has a lot of venom running through his system. That's bad news for his fans and for all fans of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. Shogun is relatively unknown to the newer, American "ultimate fighting" fans. They never really witnessed Shogun in his prime and at his absolute best. That Shogun was a rarity in this game, a true warrior with an amazing array of skills. The Shogun we all saw last night wasn't that dude. In fact he wasn't even half of that dude!

While the story of the fight is what I just laid out, that doesn't take away from the fact that Bones Jones is the real deal, there's no doubt about that. He's got serious skills and ridiculous size and length for the weight class. His performance last night was very impressive, he definitely deserves his props and deserves to be the champion. He's a baby to this game and has already climbed to the top of the mountain, albeit, a much easier climb than most, if not all prior champions have had to make. All that said, his championship is undoubtedly the product of perfect timing and, to beat a dead horse, injuries. He only got the title shot because his teammate, Rashad Evans, got injured, and the guy he beat last night has been overwhelmed with multiple injuries over the last few years. While those factors are very real and played a huge role in his ascent, Bones seized the golden opportunity afforded to him and did so in spectacular fashion. That can't be taken away from him. He looks to be an absolute beast and a tough out for anyone in the world. The overwhelming praise he's getting right now is all well and good, but a bit premature. He's only been the champion for less than 24 hours! He hasn't ever defended the strap that has historically been like a hot potato for years now. His first title defense is against his now former friend and teammate, the aforementioned Rashad Evans. There is definitely some seriously bad blood between them now. Actually, more like rancid blood. Rashad has been forced to leave their trainer Greg Jackson's camp, a place where he had been training long before Bones ever showed up. This rift has very quickly became wide and nasty. That alone makes this fight compelling. Couple that with the fact that they've trained together extensively and know each other's styles and tendencies very well and we have a huge fight in the making.

Let's see how Bones handles being the strap holder and all that comes with that. Its going to add a million different distractions to his life. It's no longer just eating, training and fighting. The simplicity of that regimen is long gone. He's seems like a smart, disciplined kid, who should be OK, but until you do it, you never did it. And what he's also never done yet is defend his title. That's hurdle #1. If he gets past that, we can all start making bigger predictions about his future in the sport. Until then, the bullseye is now officially on Bones' back and that dramatically changes everything.