Tag Archives: chris greenman

Dana Whiter speaks out

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Dana White: Hockey (Your Cool), Soccer (Your Not) And Helmets Are For Pussies

Dana White speaks his mind and lets the world have it as he sees it.

“I’m not a big hockey fan. But I respect how talented you have to be to play hockey. Soccer? That’s a whole other ball. Can’t stand soccer. It’s the least-talented sport on Earth. There’s a reason three-year-olds can play soccer. When you’re playing a game when the net is that big and the score is 3-1 (and that’s a blowout) are you kidding me? You know how untalented you have to be to score three times when the net is that big? Now back to hockey. You have guys on skates with crooked sticks and you have to hit a puck into a net that’s the same size as the goalie. And at any time someone could take your head right off your shoulders and it’s perfectly legal. That’s a real sport that takes real talent, speed and all the things you need to be a real athlete. Now fighting is a part of hockey and has been since Day 1. It’s part of the game. It is what it is. I think we live in a world now where everything has been so pussy-fied. When I grew up we didn’t wear helmets when we rode our bikes. We didn’t have car seats. We didn’t have all this stuff. Now things are safer and we should be safer but let’s not go overboard. Fighting’s a part of hockey. Period.”[Calgary Sun]

Now Dana was in Calgary to announce UFC 149, but in a few weeks he will be in Brazil to promote UFC 147 “Silva vs. Sonnen 2″. What do you think the chances are he will be getting some backlash from this statement as he tries to fill the 80,000 seat Rio de Janeiro soccer stadium in a country where soccer (football) is king.

UFC’s Rampage Jackson is set for Japan

Posted by GC on

November 28 2011 Last updated at 03:22 AM ET

Rampage Jackson Excited to Perform in Front of ‘Favorite’ Fans in Japan at UFC 144

By Mike Chiappetta

MMA Writer
01054
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is very, very excited to to fight inJapan. All you have to do is ask him.

In a Monday morning press conference in the Land of the Rising Sun, Jackson told the Japanese media that it took some effort on his part to ensure his place on the UFC 144 card, and that he finally had his request granted after a non-stop, one-man campaign.

“I had to fight and complain and b—- to my manager,” he said. “Now I think the representatives of UFC are upset with me a little bit … But ask me, do I care?”

For Jackson, any amount of trouble was worth it because of his love of Japanese audiences, who in his opinion value effort above results, a seismic shift from American audiences.

Jackson, who will face Ryan Bader in the co-main event on February 26 in Saitama, Japan, is no stranger to Nipponese culture. From 2001 to 2006, he fought there 18 times while under the PRIDE promotion.

“Back when I was fighting here, I had so much energy,” he said. “I just wanted to put on a good show for the fans because all the energy they give. In America, you’re under so much pressure to win at all costs because the fans talk s— to you if you lose even if it’s a good, exciting fight. InJapan, it’s just a different energy. Who knows? Maybe I’ll take more chances and not care because it’s all about the crowd. I react to the crowd. I don’t care about the people watching on TV.”

It was in Japan where he authored some of his most memorable career moments, including the often-replayed powerbomb knockout win over Ricardo Arona in June 2004. That fight holds particular significance to Jackson because it took place on his 26th birthday.

It was also in Japan where Jackson became renowned for his slams, a particular favorite of the Japanese crowds who enjoyed his aggressive, improvisational style. In a rare bit of public introspection, Jackson noted that since signing with the UFC though, his game has gotten standup-heavy at times.

“Actually my standup has evolved a lot since I last fought here, but at the same time that’s what’s gotten me in trouble a lot lately,” he said. “Everyone sees me boxing a lot more, so they’re creating great game plans to counter my boxing. In Japan, I used to slam a lot and put on more of a show because the energy from the fans gave me power and I don’t feel the same energy in the US. So, I can’t honestly say I improved or evolved in a good way since leaving Japan.”

But in some ways, that doesn’t matter to Jackson right now, because he’s only concerned about entertainment value. One new wrinkle the fighters will have to prepare for is fighting early in the morning. While most fights take place late Saturday night, this event will occur in the morning in Japan in order to sync up with American TV viewing habits.

Jackson noted that as a youth, he was in plenty of fights that came unexpectedly, and he has the time to plan for an early morning peak. He also said that the hardest part of fight day is usually the anticipation of what is to come, and that competing early in the day would cancel out much of that nervous energy.

Beyond that, he said that the biggest obstacle in his way is Bader, and more specifically, making sure he and his opponent understand the collective mind set of Japanese fans.

“The only thing that matters when he steps in the cage in Japan is that he comes in to put on an exciting show,” he said. “I’m all about putting on an exciting fight in Japan. One thing I love about Japanese fans and why I love them the most is that they don’t care if you win or lose. All they care is if you have samurai spirit, that you put on a good fight. That’s why Japanese fans are my favorite. And American fans are jealous that I say that all the time.”

UFC 138 Results

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Main Card (Tape Delay on Spike TV)

Mark Munoz def. Chris Leben via corner stoppage – Round 2, 5:00
Renan Barao def. Brad Pickett via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:09
Thiago Alves def. Papy Abedi via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:32
Terry Etim def. Edward Faaloloto via Submission (Guillotine Choke) – Round 1, 0:17
Anthony Perosh def. Cyrille Diabate via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:09

Preliminary Bouts (Live on Facebook)

Michihiro Omigawa def. Jason Young via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Philip De Fries def. Rob Broughton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Che Mills def. Chris Cope via TKO (knee) – Round 1, 0:30
Chris Cariaso def. Vaughan Lee via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
John Maguire def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-28)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson looks to switch to boxing as MMA is too much for him

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Mixed Martial Arts has evolved so much in the last 15 years that now days, there are true athletes that learn the sport right from a young age.  unfortunately for many MMA pioneers, the talent and athletic pool has passed them up and it is difficult to swallow for many former champions.

So what is the best thing to do, switch to a sport that no one watches anymore?

Jackson is on the fence and toying with boxing now,  the 33-year-old is talking about a boxing career. Will he go through with it?

Jackson is annoyed with the direction of MMA. While he’s become a one-dimensional fighter, who’s always looking to land the right hand, he’s seeing the young guns at 205 pounds becoming more and more athletic.

“I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they’re going to do. They turn and run,” Jackson told the ESPN U.K. podcast. “That’s why I’m gonna go to boxing. I’m gonna try boxing because they’ve got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don’t care because at least it’s a fight.”

Jackson is coming off a fight where he couldn’t touch UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones for 15-plus minutes. Jones used his 84-inch reach and kicks to keep Jackson at long range. When the space closed, Jackson swung away like a maniac, but Jones just scooted out of the pocket.

Jackson became a crossover star with his role in “The A-Team,” but that mean anyone outside of MMA will care if he moves over to boxing?

“I’ve tried a lot of boxing, I’m falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there.” said Jackson.

Keep in mind, Jackson fights at 205 pounds and walks around at anywhere between 225-250 pounds. Boxing’s heavyweight division could use an infusion of American draws, but could a guy with zero pro fights in the sport fill anything bigger than a 2,000 seat arena?

On top of that, Jackson will have to leave the UFC to move over to boxing. Based on previous discussions with Zuffa management, there’s no way a fighter under contract with the UFC would be allowed to potentially scar his reputation by boxing. Long story short, Rampage will “change his mind” about boxing in the next few days.

MMA EVENT SCHEDULES

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SEPTEMBER 2011

–Strikeforce Challengers 19: September 23 in Las Vegas, Nevada
–Titan Fighting 20: September 23 in Kansas City, Kansas
–UFC 135 Jones vs. Rampage: September 24 in Denver, Colorado
–Bellator 51: September 24 in Canton, Ohio
–Dream 17: September 24 in Saitama, Japan

OCTOBER 2011

–UFC on Versus 6 Cruz vs. Johnson: October 1 in Washington, DC
–Bellator 52: October 1 in Hollywood, Florida
–MFC 31: October 7 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
–UFC 136 Edgar vs. Maynard 3: October 8 in Houston, Texas
–Bellator 54: October 15 in Atlantic City, New Jersey
–Shark Fights 20: October 15 in Laughlin, Nevada
–UFC 137 St-Pierre vs. Condit: October 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada

NOVEMBER 2011

–MFC 32: November in TBA
–Shark Fights 21: November 4 in TBA
–UFC 138 Leben vs. Munoz: November 5 in Birmingham, England
–UFC on Fox Velasquez vs. Dos Santos: November 12 in Anaheim
–Strikeforce Challengers 20: November 18 in Las Vegas, Nevada
–UFC 139: November 19 in San Jose, California

DECEMBER 2011

–Tachi Palace Fights 11: December 2 in Lemoore, California
–TUF 14 Finale: December 3 in Las Vegas, Nevada
–Shark Fights 22: December 3 in Lubbock, Texas
–UFC 140: December 10 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
–Strikeforce: December 17 in TBA
–Titan Fighting 21: December 29 in TBA
–UFC 141 Lesnar vs. Overeem: December 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada

JANUARY 2012

–Titan Fighting 22: January 28 in TBA

FEBRUARY 2012

–UFC Return to Japan: February 26 in Saitama, Japan

UFC Fight Night 25 Results

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UFC Fight Night 25 Results: Jake Ellenberger KO’s Jake Shields in the First Round

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Damon Martin

 

Jake EllenbergerJake Ellenberger

It’s a fight that Jake Ellenberger has been asking about for almost a year.

On Saturday night in New Orleans he got his wish and it paid off as Ellenberger finished former UFC title contender Jake Shields with strikes in the first round of their main event fight at UFC Fight Night 25.

Ever since Shields signed with the UFC, Ellenberger has been calling for a fight with him. Why? Simply because he thought he could beat him.

“I just never really believed it. Jake Shields is the best middleweight in the world, the best welterweight in the world, like I never believed it,” Ellenberger told MMAWeekly Radio prior to the fight. “He has beat some very tough opponents, but it’s nothing personal against him, he’s probably a great guy. I’m sure we could be friends afterwards, but I was just never sold on him.”

Ellenberger showed no fear facing the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, especially after he shrugged off a takedown attempt and was able to overpower Shields in the clinch in the opening moments of the fight.

Once Shields did engage and get close enough for Ellenberger to get a hold of him, it was the end of the fight.

Ellenberger got the back of Shields’ head and threw two knees. The first went to the body, but the second connected flush to Shields’ face, sending him crashing to the canvas.

Pouncing on Shields, Ellenberger blasted away with a barrage of machine gun like punches that knocked his opponent senseless, and the referee had seen enough and swooped in for the save.

Being aggressive was Ellenberger’s whole strategy and it paid off on Saturday night.

UFC’s Jake Ellenberger dismantles Jake Shields within seconds

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Timing and a bad match-up prove to be a bad recipe for Jake Shields

Photo by Josh Hedges Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.

By Nate Wilcox - MMA Editor

The UFC scores one of its best-selling live events in Ultimate Fight Night history with UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans.

Sep 17, 2011 - New Orleans gave the UFC a warm welcome back tonight as 7,112 attended for a $685,000 live gate according to reports from the post fight press conference. New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center hosted the event which saw its main card air on Spike TV

The main event showcased Jake Ellenberger dismantled and knocked out Jake Shields in 50 seconds. The co main event  saw The Ultimate Fighter winner Court McGee outlast Dongi Yang by unanimous decision after a wild three round war and cardio display.

The gate and attendance were some of the best numbers in the series’ history.

Showtime’s pole verifies wrestling is the ultimate recipe for Mixed Martial Arts

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Add Daniel Cormier, Cain Valasquez, Ryan Bader, Jon Jones, and King Mo Lawal to list of mma legends below and the MMA world begins to get the message.  Wrestling simply makes for the best overall fighting base. The recent influx of fighters in MMA that are either champions or top ten in the respective weights sends MMA a strong message, wrestlers dominate any style as a base, and is the kryptonite for Gracie Ju Jitsu or any other Brazilian Ju Jitsu.

StrikeForce Results Video

 

MMA Legends that were accomplished wrestlers

Randy Couture
Couture’s resume is seemingly endless: a high school state wrestling champion, three-time U.S. Olympic team alternate, three-time NCAA Division I All-America, two-time NCAA Division I runner-up, two-time Pan-American champion … In MMA, Couture, a.k.a. “The Natural,” (kneeling) became the UFC’s first simultaneous two-division titleholder and Hall of Famer.

Dan Henderson
You’ll soon see Henderson (blue trunks) lead Team USA on the ninth season of the MMA reality series “The Ultimate Fighter.” But in 1992, and again in 1996, Henderson was leading Team USA as a Greco-Roman wrestler at the Olympics. A year after the ’96 Games, Henderson began training in mixed martial arts, in which he now owns a 24-7 record after becoming the first fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes in a major organization (he was the welterweight and middleweight champ in PRIDE).

Dan Severn
A four-time All-America at Arizona State and the former wrestling coach at ASU and Michigan State, Severn earned numerous national and international wrestling awards. He set the U.S. record for victories by pin from 1976 to 1992. As the first elite wrestler to step foot in the Octagon, Severn went on to compete in a jaw-dropping 109 MMA fights, earning victories in 86.

Johnny Hendricks
Arguably one of the best college wrestlers to step on the mat in the past 20 or so years, Hendricks won two NCAA titles while at Oklahoma State. Since his conversion to mixed martial arts, Hendricks holds a 5-0 record. His first WEC victory was against Justin Haskins in December. He also defeated Alex Serdyukov at WEC 39 in the promotion’s final welterweight match.

Mark Coleman
A wrestler since his teenage years, Coleman became an NCAA champion at Ohio State. After later earning a spot on the 1992 U.S. Olympic wrestling team and placing seventh overall in Barcelona, Coleman switched gears and made the jump to mixed martial arts. In his first professional fight, at UFC 10 in 1996, he took on Moti Horenstein, whom Coleman submitted just 2:43 into the first round via strikes. In his lengthy MMA career in both the UFC and PRIDE, Coleman compiled a 15-9 record.

Jon Fitch
Fitch (red trunks) was a four-year letterman with the Purdue wrestling team, and was even named team captain. Since his first professional MMA fight in 2002, he has racked up 18 wins in 21 matches — one of which was a split-decision victory over Diego Sanchez at UFC 76.

Josh Koscheck
At Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Koscheck (black trunks) won an NCAA Division I wrestling championship and was an NCAA All-America four times. Since he began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2004, Koscheck has amassed a 12-4 record.

Kevin Randleman
While at Ohio State, Randleman won, not one, but two Division I wrestling championships at 177 pounds, and, in 2004, he was inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame. Randleman began his MMA career in Brazil, where he earned a 5-1 record in Universal Vale Tudo Fighting. Having since fought in various promotions, including PRIDE, the UFC and Sengoku, Randleman has earned a 17-12 record.

Matt Hughes
An NJCAA All-America wrestler and two-time NCAA All-America, Hughes (black trunks) has compiled a massive 49-7 record in mixed martial arts. He has won the UFC welterweight belt twice, with his last successful defense against now-champion B.J. Penn at UFC 63.

Matt Lindland
Before he was a mixed martial artist and before he was a politician, “The Law” Lindland was a Big 12 conference champion and All-America wrestler at the Nebraska. He later traveled to Sydney, Australia, where he competed for the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team and won the silver medal at 76 kg. Now fighting with Affliction, Lindland has an MMA record of 21-6.

Tito Ortiz
Before he was a UFC champion and mixed martial arts superstar, Ortiz (facing) was a successful high school and college wrestler in California. At Golden West College, he won the state JUCO wrestling title before attending Cal State-Bakersfield, where he would train with elite wrestler and now New England Patriots guard, Stephen Neal. Ortiz won the UFC light heavyweight title in 2002 and has earned victories over notable fighters, including Forest Griffin, at UFC 59.

Sean Sherk
A wrestler since he was 7, “The Muscle Shark” Sherk competed in nearly 400 matches. Nearly eight years since his first victory as a mixed martial artist, Sherk won the UFC lightweight title in 2006 and last successfully defended it against Hermes Franca at UFC 73. Sherk has compiled an MMA record of 37-3-1.

Mike Van Arsdale
A wrestler at Iowa State, Van Arsdale (red trunks) won the 1998 NCAA Division I Championship at 167 pounds. He was later inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame. As a professional mixed martial artist, Van Arsdale has an 8-5 record, including this win over John Marsh at UFC 52.

Others worth mentioning

Chuck Liddell

Brock Lesner

 

No surprise attacks here, the UFC is heading to Japan

Posted by GC on

The UFC is officially set to return to Japan in 2012.

Via press conference, UFC President Dana White and UFC Asian offices Mark Fischer announced that the promotion is Japan bound coming to Saitama Super Arena on Feb 26, 2012.

The card is set to happen, and should bring an interesting mix.

There are no details of this fight, only that we can speculate that several of the UFC’s fighters from Japan and other Asian friends will end up on the February show.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Jake Shields, Chuck Liddell, and Jon Fitch have expressed interest in fighting in Japan as well.

The UFC owns Pride and therefore has the Pride veterans who made names for themselves in Japan. Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, and numerous other well-known names have been on the Japan circuit.

It has been over 14 years since the UFC has set foot on the Pearl Harbor attackers (and instigator of the World War) but just as the UFC and StrikeForce fighters have dismantled the pool of Japan talent, look for this to continue when they land there in Feb 2012 (No surprises by the way.

The last UFC show there was in 1997 with Randy Couture defeating Maurice Smith in the main event on the card.

M. Pepper  MMABAY Blogger

Strike Force Grand Prix continues, will baby face rise again?

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Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Venue: U.S. Bank Arena
Broadcast: Showtime and HDNet

MAIN CARD (Showtime)

  • Josh Barnett vs. Sergei Kharitonov (heavyweight grand prix semifinal)
  • Daniel Cormier vs. Antonio Silva (heavyweight grand prix semifinal)
  • Champ Ronaldo Souza vs. Luke Rockhold (for middleweight title)
  • Roger Gracie vs. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal
  • Maximo Blanco vs. Pat Healy

PRELIMINARY CARD (HDNet)

  • Mike Kyle vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
  • Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Yoel Romero
  • Jordan Mein vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos
  • Alexis Davis vs. Amanda Nunes
  • Chris Mierzwiak vs. Dominique Steele