ATT boxing coach Howard Davis Jr. talks Chuck Liddells retireme – Watch more Funny Videos

American Top Team boxing coach and Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. spoke with me about his work with Chuck Liddell prior to his UFC 97 loss against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.  Contrary to what some people believe, Davis said he really did work with Liddell for about two and a half months, and while he didn’t change his style he did try to add a couple tools to Liddell’s game.  Here Davis talks about what Liddell’s recent loss means for his career, and whether he thinks the former UFC champ should call it quits like Dana White is insisting he do.  He also touches on the addictive “drug” of being a world champion fighter, and why he thinks Liddell has seemed more vulnerable in recent bouts – and it’s not because he’s getting old.

#7: MAC DANZIG

A five-time King of the Cage lightweight champion with appearances in PRIDE and the WEC, Mac Danzig was one of the most seasoned mixed martial artists to ever appear on The Ultimate Fighter, and few were surprised when he blazed past guys like Ben Saunders, War Machine, and George Sotiropoulos to make it to the sixth season’s finals. After choking out Tommy Speer to win the contract and doing the same to Mark Bocek in his next outing at UFC 83, it seemed that Mac was on the fast-track to success in the UFC lightweight division.

Then, disaster struck — in the form of Clay “Energizer Blanket” Guida, who laid on top of Danzig en route to a unanimous decision last September. It was a frustrating setback, but we still thought the TUF winner would bounce back against Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 17 in February. Unfortunately, Mac would fall short again, succumbing to a second-round triangle choke. Now, the once-promising fighter is just another scrapper at the bottom of the UFC’s lightweight ladder, and one more loss could spell the end of his run in the Octagon.

#6: BRANDON VERA

How’s this for a return-on-investment: The UFC paid “The Truth” a total of $76,000 in contracted salary for his first four wins against Fabiano Scherner, Justin Eilers, Assuerio Silva, and Frank Mir — all of them by brutal stoppage, mind you — then paid him $500,000 for his subsequent 1-3 stretch against Tim Sylvia, Fabricio Werdum, Reese Andy, and Keith Jardine. Did the fat paychecks make him soft? Did his long legal dispute with his manager throw off his mental game? It’s hard to know for sure, but by the end of 2008 it was clear that this wasn’t the same Brandon Vera who entered the UFC’s heavyweight division three years before and rocked it like a hurricane.

After Vera’s split-decision loss to Jardine, Dana White lamented the disappearance of Vera’s killer instinct and passionate cockiness. But instead of firing him, the UFC gave Vera a chance to regain his confidence against an outmatched, out-of-shape Mike Patt at UFC 96 — at a drastically reduced pay-rate, of course. Luckily, Vera chopped Patt down and saved his job. The Truth is slated to return in August against Matt Hamill at UFC 102, in a fight that will either re-establish him as a rising star at light-heavyweight, or forever define him as an overpaid can-crusher.

(This Cyborg, not this one. Photo courtesy of CageToday.com.)

Maybe Strikeforce‘s roster isn’t so thin after all. According to a new press release sent out by the fight league, Strikeforce will hold its second "Challengers" event at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on Friday, June 19th — just two weeks after "Lawler vs. Shields" goes down in St. Louis — and a host of prominent names are already booked.

(Fence grab is at 10:18, the alleged illegal blow comes at 17:25. Props: MMA Share.)

Benji Radach has filed a formal appeal with the California State Athletic Commission through his agent, Ken Pavia, challenging his TKO loss to Scott Smith on the April 11 Strikeforce show in San Jose, California.  We contacted Radach earlier today to get him to explain, in his own words, why he’s appealing the loss and what he hopes to accomplish.  Here’s what he had to say.

CagePotato.com: If you could Benji, sum up for me the main points outlined in your appeal.

Benji Radach: There are two main points.  One, in the second round I had him in a guillotine, choking the piss out of him, and I thought I was just going to choke him unconscious.  But he grabbed the fence and used it to pull us into a scramble and get out of the choke, which is illegal.  

(Can’t the Germans find room in their hearts for something besides soccer, beer and buxom women? Not that we’re against those things…)

It just wouldn’t be a new frontier for the UFC without a little hyperbolic fear-mongering from opponents of MMA.  With UFC 99 scheduled for Cologne, Germany on June 13, City Councilor Manfred Wolf (known henceforth as the German Bob Reilly) is doing his part to disrupt the UFC’s German debut with this nonsensical and factually inaccurate criticism (translated by our friend Robert K at Big Odds Mike):

"MMA is not a sport because it legitimizes death and serious injury. The only aim is to destroy your opponent." Adding further: "I personally find disgusting … Here one finds the lowest human instincts."

(If you’ve somehow forgotten how awesome Renzo is, watch 0:16-0:22 of the above clip. Props to Kostakio.)

Though he hasn’t competed since his DQ win over Frank Shamrock at EliteXC: Destiny in February 2007, don’t assume that Renzo Gracie is retired from the ring. The 42-year-old MMA pioneer, who is currently helping train Matt Serra and Andre Gusmao for their fights at UFC 98, says that he plans to start preparing for his next fight at the end of this year, right after he opens two new Renzo Gracie Academies in Connecticut and New Jersey. As he told TriStateFighter, he would happily fight for "anyplace that [would] take me…they’re willing to take an old man in, I will be there." Go here to listen to TSF’s full interview with Renzo, in which he discusses Serra’s preparation for Matt Hughes.

Bonus, after the jump: The trailer for Renzo Gracie Legacy, in which Renzo remembers Johnny Cash lyrics a little differently than we do.

(Photo courtesy of this set on CombatLifestyle.com.)

Nick Diaz half-smiles for maybe the first time in his life after completing the Xterra West Cup Triathlon on Saturday, which involved a one-mile swim, 18 miles of mountain biking, and a 6.2-mile trail run. Due to some difficulties during the biking portion, Diaz only came in 122nd out of 197 racers — but that just meant he had 121 sets of middle-fingers to throw out that day. You can check out photos of Nick’s entire journey here. I wonder how much swimming and biking Scott Smith is getting in to prepare for their fight next month?

JZ Cavalcante talks fight preparation, competing in Japan – Watch more Funny Videos

After spending a few days at American Top Team in Florida last week, I came away with a real appreciation for how hard Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante works in the gym.  From a grueling session with his strength and conditioning coach to his intense sparring matches with WEC champ Mike Brown and others from the ATT stable, JZ is putting in serious work to get ready for Tatsuya Kawajiri at Dream.9 later this month.  In this video he talks about the important psychological benefits of his training, whether he’d get in the ring with Fedor Emelianenko like Shinya Aoki did, and one of the stranger things that’s happened to him while fighting in Japan.

(Tom wishes a motherf*cker would call him t-shirt guy to his face.)

Affliction VP Tom Atencio saw a rare opening to take a shot at UFC president Dana White during the press conference to promote “Ultimate Chaos” in Biloxi, Miss., and damned if he didn’t make the most of it.  Atencio’s entering into his second MMA bout against Randy Hedderick, who as far as we know does not run either an MMA organization or a t-shirt company.  And while it’s not exactly like fighting for a UFC title, Atencio points out that at least he’s got the balls to do it, unlike some other promoters:

"I’ve been seen in front of the cameras before as far as the business side, but it’s time to fight. I’m doing something Dana White won’t do and that’s fight. He talks like a fighter, so why doesn’t he fight? I’m stepping up to the plate and win, lose or draw I attempted it. I don’t ever think he would fight."

(Photo courtesy of Spike.com.)

With Houston Alexander out of UFC 98 due to a hand injury, it has been announced that "The Polish Experiment" will be stepping in to replace him against Andre Gusmao. Krzysztof Soszynski is 2-0 in the UFC since his stint on TUF 8, with both of his wins by kimura submission; he most recently took out Brian Stann at UFC 97 last month, meaning he’s only getting a five-week turnaround between fights. Gusmao, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since he dropped a unanimous decision to Jon Jones in his UFC debut last August. Will the longer break be a benefit for Gusmao, or will the Brazilian get armlocked out of his UFC contract?

In other Octagon news…

(Props: MMA Scraps)

We still have to wait 18 more days for this thing to pop off, but in the meantime, here’s some preview trash-talk from UFC 98′s extended trailer. While Rashad Evans keeps it simple, predicting he’ll take Lyoto Machida out in the third round, the Dragon gets all poetic ("My philosophy is the same as the samurai…my body is my sword, my mind is my blade.") According to Dana White, it will be the first time in UFC history that two undefeated fighters will fight for a title.

Meanwhile, Matt Hughes and Matt Serra share their own differing philosophies. Joe Rogan calls their match a must-win fight for both guys if they want to continue fighting in the UFC. For Serra, beating up Matt Hughes is more important than picking up the W. "Let’s send him packin’," he says. "Who the hell wants that guy around anymore? Not me."

After the jump: Get your daily dose of MMA-related laffs with two more must-see clips.

(And to think this all started with a colorful gi, some little shorts, and a dream.)

It looks like Combat Sambo tournaments might actually lead to career advancement opportunities, after all.  Blagoi Ivanov has signed a three-fight deal with Sengoku and will reportedly face former Pride fighter Kazuyuki Fujita in his first fight at Sengoku 9 in August.  Ivanov is the guy who made minor waves (more like ripples by the time they reached the U.S.) when he beat Fedor Emelianenko on points in the World Combat Sambo Championships last November.  Fujita’s claim to fame is that he once hit Fedor so hard it briefly stunned him.  Neither of these accomplishments is enough to make this a truly interesting fight, although Sengoku has got to take what they can get when it comes to heavyweights. 

B.J. Penn shows us how he’s preparing to whip Kenny Florian’s text message-denying ass this summer – in some dude’s garage.  Okay, it doesn’t look all that impressive, but you should know that Marv Marinovich is the father of former USC quarterback and NFL washout Todd Marinovich, who just happened to be profiled in Esquire magazine last month (see, we read stuff).  In the article Marv is portrayed as a revolutionary in the field of sports training and also as a complete nutjob who tried to make his son into a football cyborg and wound up at least partially helping to make him into a drug addict.  Now he’s got his hands on B.J. Penn.  Look out, world.

(Does Houston’s abdomen remind anybody else of Kuato? Photo courtesy of jhiner.)

Bad news for fans who wanted to see Houston Alexander‘s do-or-die, for-real-this-time fight against Andre Gusmao at UFC 98 (May 23rd, Las Vegas). As confirmed on UFC.com, the Assassin has suffered a broken hand and has withdrawn from the match, making him the sixth big-name fighter to be scratched from the event. According to Fightlinker’s records, "Evans vs. Machida" is just one injury away from tying the all-time UFC record for unfortunate pull-outs, which is currently held by UFC 85. To recap the black cloud that has been hanging over UFC 98…

(All hail the Emperor. Props: KingAtRock)

Sometimes the Power of the Potato Nation is just too strong to be ignored, brother. For those of you who don’t hang out in our forums section, you missed this recent brainstorm from "LargeMidget":

(The universal sign for: ‘I’m weighin’ in ova here!’)

I’ll admit that when Matt Serra told his then-protégé, Joe Scarola, that he’d basically disown him if he walked away from “The Ultimate Fighter” after losing to Mac Danzig early on in season six, I suspected it might be an empty threat.  But judging from Serra’s comments in an interview with MMA Fanhouse, “The Terra” don’t make empty threats.  When he tells you that you’re about to ruin the beautiful friendship the two of you share, he’s being totally cereal.

There was also a little bit of an issue with your friend Joe Scarola. You brought him on the show and then he quit during it. Are you still friends with him?

WEC Champ Mike Brown Does Business Casual – Watch more Funny Videos

Last week yours truly was in Florida at American Top Team while on an assignment for Fight! Magazine, and I learned a number of interesting things about what goes on inside the walls of one of America’s best fight gyms.  For instance, here’s WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown getting suited up for another day of training and explaining why he wears business socks to work out in.  You can’t argue with his results, though that might be due more to his training partners than his attire.  The day before this interview was filmed I saw him in a heated sparring match with “JZ” Cavalcante that left both men bloodied before the action spilled out of the ring.  Needless to say, they train hard down at ATT.  Keep an eye out for more videos coming later this week.

(Props: Fightlinker)

At long last, we present the video of Wednesday’s grappling exhibition between Fedor Emelianenko and Shinya Aoki at DEEP/M-1 Challenge 3rd Edition. As you’ll see, the whole thing was really just a good-natured joke, with both fighters putting on a display that was more slapstick than combat. (But man do Emelianenko’s throws look smooth when they’re done with a 160-pound training dummy.) Fun stuff. Now let’s see the UFC do this with Lesnar and Penn…

(You still care about these guys, right? Image courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

Good morning, Potato Nation. It may interest you to know that there’s still eight days left to enter our UFC 98 sweepstakes, in which one of you lucky bastards will score an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas, where you’ll get to watch Rashad vs. Lyoto, Matt vs. Matt, and more great fights in person. Refresh yourself with the rules here, and get your entries in by 11:59 p.m. PST on Monday, May 11th.

And one more thing: To those cynical commenters who thought this was some sort of scam, it honestly isn’t — it’s just not free, that’s all. Someone is really going to win a $3,000 UFC prize package with a minimum total investment of $0.99. (Or the cost of a postcard and a stamp, if you don’t have AT&T or Verizon Wireless and you decide to go that route.) Think of it as a scratch ticket. And stop being such a pain in our asses.

(Marlon Sandro vs. Nick Denis; props to MMA Scraps.)

After a shaky start that saw Maximo Blanco get DQ’d after misinterpreting the "foot stomps yes, soccer kicks no" rule, and Travis Wiuff getting kneed in the balls about two dozen times before losing via TKO, Sengoku managed to put on a pretty damn entertaining show yesterday (or late Friday for us). The focal point of "Eighth Battle" was the quarterfinals of their featherweight grand prix, and unsuprisingly, top-ten featherweights Hatsu Hioki and Marlon Sandro advanced to the semis; Hioki was able to submit Ronnie Mann in the opening round, while Sandro needed all of 19 seconds to flatten Nick Denis with punches.

Elsewhere in the bracket, Michihiro Omigawa continued his career comeback, stopping Nam Phan with ground-and-pound late in the first round; after entering the tournament with a 4-7-1 record, Omigawa now holds back-to-back wins over two very credible featherweights. Korean fighter Chan Sung Jung wasn’t so fortunate, as he dropped a decision to Masanori Kanehara in what many fans felt was a race-based robbery.

Complete results from the event and more fight videos after the jump…

All that hype, and it only came down to six minutes of utter domination. If you caught the light-welterweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton last night, you saw more proof that Pac-Man is one of the best boxers to have ever lived. The video is above; watch as Pacquiao opens with a 10-7 first round on the strength of two knockdowns, then delivers the finishing blow at the end of the second. Pac’s trainer Freddie Roach had predicted a third-round knockout via left hook, explaining later that Hatton tends to leave himself open when he throws his jab. Turns out, Pacquiao is even better than he thought. Could Money Mayweather be next?

(Props: Fightlinker)

As promised, here’s the video of what some are calling the "submission of the decade" — Toby Imada‘s come-from-behind upset victory over Jorge Masvidal at Friday’s Bellator event via inverted mid-air triangle-choke. Enjoy it, because you may not see something like this ever again.

(Yeah, that’s an upside down triangle choke. Props: Watch Kalib Run.)

Maybe the most interesting story to come out of Bellator so far is Toby Imada’s upset of Jorge Masvidal in last night’s Bellator lightweight tournament semi-finals.  Masvidal was reportedly in control for most of the bout, but in the third round a failed takedown attempt led to an upside down triangle choke from Imada against a standing Masvidal.  Masvidal did his best to endure it, but ended up collapsing to the canvas unconscious.  Bellator promises us video of the submission soon, and this ought to be good.  Imada moves on to the finals to face Eddie Alvarez, who was also victorious last night.  Full results are after the jump.

(We were middle-aged and so in love once.)

Former UFC champ Randy Couture really is now headed down the path toward divorce number three, according to a Raw Vegas report that claims Couture has served his wife with the official papers to end their union.  We heard rumors that the couple’s marital strife was responsible for Kim “Sugar Free” Couture pulling out of her bout with Miesha Tate.  Guess Randy is single again.  Somebody go tell this girl.  She’s at the tanning salon.

(Dignity, thy name is Iron Sheik. Props: Cage Writer.)

- Interested in some weekly MMA action on TV? (MMA Payout)

- Not everyone is loving this "Inside the Octagon" crap. (Fightlinker)

- Dude comes very close to getting his entire head kicked off. (MMA TKO)

- Matt Hughes explains why he hates Matt Serra, and why that’s good. (MMA Fanhouse)

- Lorenzo Fertitta says nobody knows who Fedor is. (Fighters Only)

- "Mayhem" Miller discusses his unique childhood. (MyYearbook)

- Supplement Hydroxycut recalled by FDA. Uh-oh. (MMA Mania)

- Sumo wrestlers getting anti-viral masks. (Straits Times)

- A-Rod isn’t talking anymore. (Scores Report)

- Five things you didn’t know about Manny Pacquiao (Ask Men)

- X-Men stories that should be on film. (Screen Junkies)

- Six weird-ass moments in music. (Holy Taco)

- Daily Market Madness. (Wall Street Fighter)

- Frame-by-frame look at Talladega crash. (All Left Turns)

- Bus driver cause accident while texting. (Nothing Toxic)

Internet video savant Lookoutawhale has done it again.  Here we get a chance to see what it might have looked like if the production teams from both Pride and the UFC had gotten drunk together and engaged in an orgy of fight hype.  The result is a beautiful and slightly comical love child.  It really makes you grateful for the wonders of technology and the things it can be used for when people have too much time and not enough of a social life.  The special appearance by Bruce Lee at the end is what takes this from mere tomfoolery and carries it into the realm of genius.  Bravo, Mr. Whale.

(If I have one regret in life, it’s that I was not able to rate the Cabbage vs. Tank fight more than ten Octagons.)

From a press release sent out by Spike:

(Main-eventers Ronnie Mann and Hatsu Hioki. Image courtesy of allelbows.)

Attention insomniacs and members of the undead: HDNet is hooking you up tonight with a live broadcast of "Sengoku Eighth Battle," which kicks off at 3 a.m. ET/midnight PT. Though the card lacks big names, it will feature the quarterfinals of their ongoing featherweight grand prix — and if the fights are as entertaining as the FWGP’s first round, we’ll be in for a treat, so DVR this bitch at the very least. Here’s what the matchups will look like…

FEATHERWEIGHT GRAND PRIX BOUTS
Hatsu Hioki vs. Ronnie Mann
Michihiro Omigawa vs. Nam Phan
Masanori Kanehara vs. Chan Sung Jung
Marlon Sandro vs. Nick Denis

Two Super Quick MMA Knockouts – Watch more Cheetos

Sean Shelby, the matchmaker for the WEC, told MMA Fanhouse that the prevalence of online fight videos have made it much easier for him to find promising upcoming fighters.  That would be considered goofing off at most workplaces, which is probably what you’re doing right now, but since Shelby has one of the few jobs where he can get away with it we suggest he look into some of the participants in this night of knockouts.  Either some of these guys are really good, or some are really bad.  Either way, the woman at the 0:17 mark is not impressed.

(Don’t fear Arona.  Fear his freaking cat-like reflexes.)

Hey there, people who have been following MMA for more than just the last six months, remember Ricardo Arona?  Muscular Brazilian guy, had a rivalry with Wanderlei Silva, got knocked out by Sokoudjou…any of this ringing any bells?  Well now that Dana White has more or less ruled out any possibility of signing Arona to the UFC because, hell, even Dana thinks he can beat Arona, the big man is looking at making a return to action soon, possibly in Strikeforce.