10 Legendary MMA Fighters You've Probably Never Heard Of

March, 2012

In Case You Missed ‘Em: Ronda Rousey’s Mean-Mug, Mighty Mouse Johnson’s Cheap-Shot [VIDEOS]

There were two moments from last weekend’s MMA double-header that jumped out at us during the events, but which we didn’t give any attention to afterwards. Luckily, we now have videos of both.

First up, Ronda Rousey gives Strikeforce sideline-reporter Heidi Androl the look of death when Androl dares to ask about her plan B for Miesha Tate. (Again, it’s another armbar, just like Chuck Norris’s beard has another beard behind it, and behind that beard is a fist, or something like that.) Not trying to hate, but most of Heidi’s fighter interviews end up feeling awkward for one reason or another. Didn’t Karyn Bryant used to handle those for Showtime? Can’t they get her back?

Related discussion question: Is Ronda Rousey the Chael Sonnen of women’s MMA — a born entertainer who is playing a role in order to promote herself — or is she the Nick Diaz of women’s MMA — an athletic savant who just isn’t as good at relating to other human beings as she is at fighting?

After the jump, Demetrious Johnson shows the bare minimum of concern for Ian McCall‘s aching balls.

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Video of Today’s UFC: Diaz vs. Miller Press Conference in New York


(One of these guys will likely get the winner of Showtime-Bendo II)

The UFC held a press conference in New York City today for the May 5 UFC on Fox 3 show, which we would have covered live, had they not rejected our credential application AGAIN. Thankfully we still have access to these things via YouTube.

Probably the most interesting tidbit to come out of the event was Dana White’s assertion that the winner of the Jim Miller-Nate Diaz bout would likely be the next in line for a title shot after Anthony Pettis.

It makes sense, even though Nate is only 2-0 in his current run as a lightweight and Jim lost his last bout against Ben Henderson. When you look at the fact that Diaz beat Melvin Guillard and Donald Cerrone as a lightweight, has only lost to Gray Maynard, Clay Guida and Joe Stevenson in the Octagon at 155 and he has never been finished and that prior to losing to the current champ, Miller had only ever been defeated by Frankie Edgar and Maynard, it makes sense.

Really, besides giving Edgar another shot — which he really should have to earn, considering he lost fair and square to Henderson — who else deserves a crack at the belt?

Tickets for the May 5 event, that takes place in New Jersey at the Izod Center, go on sale tomorrow.

Check out the full vid of the presser after the jump.

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[VIDEO] Dana White Talks Edgar/Henderson Rematch and TUF 15′s Dakota Cochrane

UFC President Dana White recently sat down with Spencer Lazara among others for a brief interview, and among the topics to come up was that of a possible Frankie Edgar/Ben Henderson rematch. Edgar, who lost his belt to Henderson at UFC 144, has been bombarding White with talks of a rematch since losing the belt, despite the fact that Dana has outwardly stated a desire for Edgar to drop to 145 and face Jose Aldo. When asked if there was any update on the rematch, DW had the following to say:

No, not yet. Frankie Edgar’s manager has been blowing me up for the last two days. I know he flew to Las Vegas and met with Lorenzo. They thought I was going to be there too, but I’m not. Frankie owes me a phone call. I called Frankie again yesterday and he didn’t answer so we’ll see what happens.

When asked if Dana was growing discouraged with Edgar’s persistence, White was quick to commend the former champ:

Frankie Edgar has given every guy a rematch that we said deserved a rematch. Again, my only beef is, with him being at a higher weight class, you have these decisions that are so narrow that people are on both sides of the fence. I’d rather see him at 145.

I mean, look at these guys at 125. Benavidez said it tonight, he said, ‘Listen, I used to crack guys at 135 pounds, and it was tough to put them away at that bigger weight class.’ What do you think Frankie Edgar’s going to do? Everybody thinks there’s no competition for Jose Aldo. I disagree…and I’d like to see [Edgar] go there. 

Join us after the jump for the full video, which includes White’s thoughts on TUF 15′s Dakota Cochrane.

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Rampage Jackson Says His Next UFC Fight Will Be His Last, Publicly Blasts the Promotion


(“Motherf*cker I should have killed you when I had the chance.” / Photo courtesy of Francis Specker)

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has never responded well to adversity. In the wake of his second consecutive loss at UFC 144, Jackson’s famous hair-trigger was set off last night, and he went full retard on Twitter, publicly blasting his employers. Here are some highlights, which amazingly haven’t been deleted yet:

- “I will fight who ever they put n front of me,I always have,but it will b my last fight n the ufc,I have other things on my mind

- “I didn’t say I would b done fighting,I just said I’m not fighting 4 the UFC,(u fight cheap)I said I have other things on my mind (big head)

- “@VWAssassin: @Rampage4real your leaving the UFC?” Y should I stay? I don’t need them or anybody else negative dealing with my carrie

- “@DrjftGaming: @Rampage4real Will you still do MMA, or is this your last MMA fight period?” Guys learn how 2 read! MMA ok UFC no ok after

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Bill of Rights For Mixed Martial Artists: Making Sense of it All


(Who knew Tito had such good penmanship?)

By Jason Moles

A while back, we told you that the Culinary Workers Union was at it again, this time pushing the Nevada State Athletic Commission to pass ‘A Bill of Rights for Professional Mixed Martial Artists.’ After reading the document a time or two, it’s easy to conclude that the “MMA Bill of Rights” is eerily similar to SOPA in that they both look bad on paper and sound even worse when said aloud. Don’t get me wrong, I want the fighters to live long and prosper, but some of the points brought up are laughable. I feel it necessary to shed some light on this proposal while keeping in mind that it could have a major impact for promoters, fighters, and fans alike. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

Amendment I: Equal protections for all fighters. – You shall have the same legal protections currently afforded to professional boxers under state and federal law. This includes extending the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000 and its protections against exploitative treatment of boxers to professional mixed-martial arts fighters.

Problem: None, really. Having the promoter disclose how much money was made and who got paid what would be a great thing for fighters come contract renewal time. Additionally, not allowing fighters to be required to sign over future promotional rights just to fight seems reasonable. No real complaints here, it’s an excellent idea.

Amendment II: Right to work. – You shall have the right to sign non-exclusive contracts to participate in any professional mixed martial arts events of your choosing, where such opportunities are available. This right includes the right to refuse to sign exclusive or “automatically renewing” contracts with a promoter that does not guarantee sufficient opportunity for you to fight in professional events and earn a living.

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Barnett Granted Conditional California License, Paving Way for StrikeForce Heavyweight GP Final in May

By Elias Cepeda


(The California State Athletic Commission’s methods may have not been considered normal, but at least now no one can say they just gave Barnett a slap on the wrist.)

Current Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix participant and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett was issued a conditional license to fight in the state of California once again by the California State Athletic Commission Monday during a special meeting called to consider his case. Barnett failed a pre-fight drug test for steroids in 2009 as he readied to fight Fedor Emlianenko in the now defunct Affliction fight promotion. His license to fight in California was subsequently suspended and a later appeal for it to be lifted was denied.

Since that time, Barnett has been licensed and fought in both Ohio and Texas. However, Strikeforce has the next round of their heavyweight tournament scheduled to take place in California in mid-May, and Barnett is slated to face off against Dan Cormier. The commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for April but, as they explained today, that would not have been enough time to allow Strikeforce to effectively promote the card. So a special meeting was requested and approved for Barnett. Before today’s meeting, Barnett was subjected to, and passed, another drug test.

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Video Proof That Miesha Tate Wasn’t the Only Fighter Who Suffered a Grotesque Injury This Weekend


(If you’re squeamish, you’re on the wrong site.)

If you thought Ronda Rousey’s exuberant over-torquing of Miesha Tate’s arm on Saturday night was the most disgusting injury in MMA this weekend, you were mistaken.

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Josh Thompson Napped His Way to $80,000 and Other Musings From ‘Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey’


(Nick Diaz was right! If you listen close enough, you can hear the ocean!)

Last weekend’s Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey event gave us plenty to talk about, a rare feature of a Strikeforce card these days. Ronda Rousey officially became the most successful one trick pony of all time, Ronaldo Souza showed us that he is ever improving in the stand up department, and the Strikeforce matchmakers let Nazi pedophiles worldwide know that they could still earn a shot in the big time through hard work, *cough* rape *cough*, and dedication to your craft.

Nowadays, we all know that cash rules everything around us, so let’s first talk about the recently released salaries from this weekend’s “Tate vs. Rousey” card, as they are surprisingly generous for most parties involved. It’s good to know that all of Frank Shamrock’s hard work has paved the way for this new generation of fighters. Per usual, this list does not include any undisclosed/locker room bonuses or any of that noise.

Ronda Rousey: $32,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)
Miesha Tate: $19,000

Josh Thomson: $80,000 (no win bonus)
K.J. Noons: $38,000

Kazuo Misaki: $50,000 (no win bonus)
Paul Daley: $45,000

Lumumba Sayers: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Scott Smith: $65,000

Ronaldo Souza: $92,000 (includes $22,000 win bonus)
Bristol Marunde: $10,000

Sarah Kaufman: $25,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
Alexis Davis: $4,000

Roger Bowling: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus)
Brandon Saling: $5,000

Pat Healy: $22,500 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Caros Fodor: $12,000

Ryan Couture: $10,000 (no win bonus)
Conor Heun: $8,000

Join us after the jump for our thoughts on the payout, along with a look at the medical suspensions from the event. 

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The Seven Greatest One-Trick Ponies in MMA


(“It’s called an ‘illusion’, okay? A ‘trick’ is something a whore does for money.”)

Leading up to her Strikeforce title fight against Miesha Tate on Saturday, Ronda Rousey bristled at the suggestion that she was a “one-trick pony” simply because she had finished all four of her professional MMA fights — and her two amateur fights before that — by armbar. Then, Rousey finished Tate by armbar anyway.

But being a one-trick pony shouldn’t be a derogatory term in MMA. If you’re so good at your specialized technique that you can finish top-flight opponents with it, even though they know it’s coming, then you should be applauded, not criticized. So let’s pay tribute to the seven greatest one-trickers in mixed martial arts. If we’ve left out any good ones, please let us know in the comments section.

RONDA ROUSEY
Trick: The armbar
Finishing percentage via that trick: 100% (5 armbar wins in 5 pro fights)
Does she have a nickname based on that trick?: No
How long can Ronda’s perfect armbar streak last? Unlike some of the other names on this list, “Rowdy” has proven that she can land her technique-of-choice against the elite of her division. Rousey faces former Strikeforce 135-pound champion Sarah Kaufman next, and it might be a good sign that Kaufman’s sole career loss — against Marloes Coenen in 2010 — came via armbar.

GIVA SANTANA

Trick: The armbar
Finishing percentage via that trick: 72.2% (13 armbar wins in 18 pro fights)
Does he have a nickname based on that trick?: Yes, “The Arm Collector”
Carrying an overall record of 17-1, Givanildo Santana has torqued elbow-joints all over the world. Santana picked up his 13th armbar win during his Bellator debut in October, and is a dark horse to sweep the promotion’s upcoming middleweight tournament.

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Video Tribute: 11 Music Videos Featuring MMA Fighters


(Apparently, some fighters thought that LL was the singer of ‘Macarena.’)

With the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts, it’s surprising that we haven’t seen more fighters in music videos. Maybe MTV just isn’t ready for cauliflower ear.

At any rate, there have been a few fighters who have appeared in a handful of videos.

Check out some of our favorites after the jump.

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The Roots of Fight ‘What the Gracies Mean to Fighting’ Contest


(Video courtesy of YouTube/RootsofFight)

If you were to ask 100 MMA fans to define mixed martial arts in a word, their responses would differ greatly. If you asked the same census group to define the sport in a name, nearly all would give you the same answer: Gracie.

While some would likely say that Rorian and Royce — having respectively founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship and won three of its first four tournaments in decisive fashion — were the impetus behind their answer, most would likely point to Gracie jiu-jitsu originators Helio and Carlos Gracie as the reason for their response.

Carlos and Helio were innovators, who, although they didn’t invent the art of jujitsu, or it’s “successor,” judo,  they did arguably revolutionize the hybrid fighting art, making it more effective than both, especially when used by smaller combatants against larger opponents.

To the brothers, their variation of the centuries old  Japanese martial art form, now known universally as “Brazilian” or “Gracie” jiu-jitsu, was not just simply efficacious in competition; it was equally as useful in self-defense and street fighting scenarios — a point they have stressed since introducing it to the masses more than 80 years ago.

Decades before Rorian and Royce made history with the UFC, their father Helio represented the Gracie name and defended its honor in scores of challenge matches designed to prove that GJJ — an offshoot of Kodokan judo, which was taught to them by Japanese immigrant and judo master Mitsuyo Maeda, was more effective than any other form of martial art.

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Crazy Story of the Day: Roy Nelson Will Drop to 205 If Y’all ‘Like’ Him on Facebook

Roy Nelson MMA photos dog funny
(And if enough of you follow him on Twitter, he will fight this dog to the death on live television.) 

Talk about an odd method of motivation. UFC President Dana White has long lamented over the extra baggage UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson has been carrying around over the course of his career, and it appeared to have some impact, as Nelson showed up at a slim and trim 246 pounds for his most recent UFC 143 battle with Fabricio Werdum. Though the results were less than successful, it seemed as if “Big Country” had actually begun to make a commitment to shedding the unnecessary pounds that were holding him back from being a truly elite fighter. After his loss to Werdum, many were calling for the rotund Burger King enthusiast to consider a drop to light heavyweight, regardless of how long it took. Though it would undoubtedly be a mountainous task, it would ultimately benefit Nelson, who is a mere 3-3 as a heavyweight in his UFC career.

Well according to Roy, we won’t be seeing him even attempt the cut unless he gets a few more people to “like” him on Facebook. In a recent interview with BloodyElbow, Nelson managed to set aside his order of baby back ribs long enough to make a pledge to transform his body, but if and only if he added 100,000 friends/likes/whogivesafucks to his profile:

The reason is my friend and I had a discussion about what was better? I think twitter just because of use and for fans interaction, but Facebook is 20x bigger. So we decided to bet. I said if it so easy and great I should be able add 100K fans in 2 weeks because I have that on twitter. Facebook is bigger and better so this should be easy. Right?

Bet is I will try to get to 205 if I can add 100k to Facebook.com/RoyNelsonUFC in two weeks. I love to win bets. Plus he will have to give me a part in his next movie.

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Hot Potato: New Exclusive Photos From BAMMA Ring Girl Georgia Graham


(Full gallery is after the jump.)

We gave you a taste of BAMMA ring girl Georgia Graham last May, and now we’re ready to show you even more. The 22-year-old model from Northumberland sent us some exclusive photos just for the Potato Nation, which you can see in the gallery below, along with a bunch of other great shots that we culled from Georgia’s official website, Facebook page, and other parts of the Internet. Enjoy, and drop Georgia a line on Twitter @LittleGeorgieG!

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‘Gatekeeper’ Fight-Picking Contest: And the Winners Are…


(Buy it at Amazon right here.)

Another weekend of frantic MMA action is in the books, which means it’s time to give out our two signed copies of Gary Goodridge’s autobiography, Gatekeeper. In retrospect, all of you should have predicted that Ronda Rousey would beat Miesha Tate by first-round armbar. But the only person who guessed that Ronda would sink the Rondabar in round 1 and that Martin Kampmann would take out Thiago Alves in the third round was Fried Taco. Nobody else picked the fights close to perfect, so we’ll give the other book to metalmeshuggah, who predicted the Rousey armbar relatively close to the actual time of stoppage, and picked a respectable decision win for Kampmann.

If you’re a winner, please e-mail contest@cagepotato.com with your name and address, and we’ll send you your copy of Gatekeeper ASAP. Thanks so much to Gary Goodridge for making this possible! Be sure to follow him on Facebook at bigdaddyfightteam.

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[VIDEO] The Jon Jones Commercial That Aired During Last Weekend’s UFC on FX Event

It is a little known fact that Jon Jones has a stipulation in his UFC contract that forbids him from appearing in any form of promotional media without viciously assaulting someone whilst doing so. That child innocently swinging at the playground? He’s getting the boots put to him. That co-worker complaining about shorter lunches? He’s getting choked the fuck out. Mr. Jones’ newest commercial is no different, but thankfully, no helpless bystanders were injured this time. In fact, the ad is nothing more than a slow-mo recap of his recent win over former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Lyoto Machida. And it couldn’t be any cooler.

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Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey Aftermath Pt. 2 — The Big Picture


And it was here, in this blighted place, that Strikeforce learned to live again… (Props: FoxSports.com)

The fact that a Strikeforce aftermath is being broken down into two separate posts is probably confusing most of our longtime readers, considering we’ve had so little to say about the organization leading up to last night’s Strikeforce card. Ever since Zuffa’s acquisition of the organization, our post-event recaps have focused on Strikeforce’s lack of a direction, now-meaningless titles and ever-diminishing roster. The organization clearly wasn’t going anywhere (i.e. going under), yet it also, well, wasn’t going anywhere (i.e. it wasn’t planning future growth). Yet last night, for the first time in a while, Strikeforce looked like an organization that could consistently provide MMA fans with intriguing, relevant matchups.

After all of the hype that Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate managed to create for last night’s bout, the ending could not have possibly gone better for Strikeforce. Exciting fight? Check. Dramatic finish? Check. And most importantly, Sarah Kaufman’s victory over Alexis Davis on the undercard established a clear challenger for the new champion who actually stands a chance at beating the champion. The biggest problem with Strikeforce’s title fights as of late has been the fact that the champions are simply too much better than anyone that Strikeforce can match them up with (Rockhold vs. Jardine, anyone?). While Rousey continued to look phenomenal in her short MMA career last night, former champion Sarah Kaufman provides another intriguing matchup for her. Back to back championship fights in a Strikeforce weight class that will pit the champion against a formidable opponent who is coming off of a victory: Now that’s encouraging.

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Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey Aftermath Pt. 1 — Going for Broke


(Get it?) 

Heading into arguably the most anticipated women’s MMA match of all time (that’s right, I said women’s), former Olympic bronze medalist Ronda Rousey had a mountain of claims to back up, a mountain only made higher by the fact that her meteoric run to a bantamweight title shot had left the general public with more questions than answers in regards to her skill set. In her four fight career, the woman had never seen what the second round, let alone the second minute, of a MMA contest looked like. So we were left to ponder: how would her striking, stamina, and suffocating Jiu-Jitsu attack hold up against the more experienced champ in Meisha Tate?

Well, as it turns out, we still don’t know much about the newly crowned women’s 135 lb. champion, and that may just be the scariest thing about her. Tate tried to answer a couple of these questions early, coming out throwing wild haymakers with ill intentions. Rousey was able to ride out the storm and secure a takedown, drawing an ominous “Oh shit!” reaction from the viewing audience, at least where I was. That statement was echoed tenfold when Rousey managed to secure her first armbar, which I’m still pretty positive did most of the damage to Tate’s arm. However, where referee Herb Dean would have let out his own, “Oh shit!” before stopping the fight right there, referee Mark Matheny was determined not to find himself in the middle of a Steve Mazagatti/Sarah D’Alelio controversy, adhering to a strict “snap then tap” policy for Ms. Tate. That policy would come into effect just a couple minutes later, when Rousey managed to secure the fight ending armbar that can only be described as “Palharesian.”

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Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey — The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly


(Props: shosports)

Last night’s Strikeforce card was a memorable one — even though there were a couple aspects of the show that we’d love to forget. Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look back at Tate vs. Rousey’s thrilling highlights and awful lowlights…

The Good
- First and foremost, this gif from the weigh ins. Oh, Ronda. [*flexes butt seductively*]

- Ronda Rousey‘s title-winning performance against Miesha Tate. We finally learned what Rousey’s “Plan B” is when she’s unable to armbar you within the first minute — unsurprisingly, it’s another armbar. Rousey kept her head when Miesha stormed out at her in the beginning of the fight, calmly extracted herself from bad positions on the ground, and didn’t get discouraged when her first nasty armbar attempt failed to break Miesha’s elbow. Instead, she relied on the judo expertise that has carried her to a title shot in less than a year of professional MMA competition, and got the inevitable snap/tap at 4:27 of round 1. During her post-fight interview, Rousey proved that her heat-seeking personality doesn’t turn off just because the match is over. (Yes, she holds grudges, and yes, she still thinks Tate sucks.) A meeting with former champ Sarah Kaufman is next, but I can’t be the only one looking ahead to a possible 135-pound superfight against Cris Cyborg.

- Ronaldo Souza‘s striking. In the past, Jacare’s occasional tendency to keep fights standing has struck me as a frustrating betrayal of his bread-and-butter. (See also: Demian Maia.) But against Bristol Marunde, Souza’s striking looked just as dangerous as his grappling; his ferocious overhand rights and unconventional kicks brought to mind other Brazilian bangers like Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Edson Barboza. Jacare is still evolving as a fighter, and Luke Rockhold should watch his back.

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‘Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey’ — Live Results + Commentary


(Scott Coker: “Whooaa.” That other dude: “Niiiiiiice.” / Photo courtesy of facebook.com/StrikeforceMixedMartialArts)

Welcome, friends, to the most bonerrific highly-anticipated women’s bantamweight fight in MMA history. Seven months after winning the Strikeforce 135-pound strap, Miesha Tate will attempt to make her first title defense against arm-snapping fire-cracker Ronda Rousey. And that’s just the cherry on top of a loaded fight card that also features two former Strikeforce champions (Josh Thomson, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza), a pack of crowd-pleasing sluggers (Paul Daley, Scott Smith, KJ Noons), and the return of former PRIDE welterweight grand prix champion Kazuo Misaki.

Handling our liveblog for this evening is Steve Silverman, who will be posting round-by-round results for the Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey main card after the jump starting at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please toss your own brilliant opinions and observations into the comments section.

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‘UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann’ Aftermath: Don’t Leave it in the Hands of the Sudden Death Round


Seriously, Thiago Alves weighed in at nearly 200 lbs three hours after making weight. There’s still no punchline coming. Props: UFC.com

Almost immediately after last night’s main event of UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann, the Martin Kampmann/Tim Boetsch comparisons came out in full force from fans and pundits alike. One can easily understand why, as Kampmann’s come-from-behind victory over Thiago Alves was the greatest one in UFC history since last week’s efforts from Tim Boetsch. But perhaps this comparison misses the point. While this comeback was obviously at least partially due to a gutsy performance from Kampmann, it had far more to do with questionable decision making from Thiago Alves.

Save for a first round kick that rocked “The Pitbull”, Thiago Alves was in total control of last night’s main event. His stand-up attack was simply too much for “The Hitman”, who offered less resistance as the fight progressed. Despite this, Alves- who isn’t exactly known for his ground game, mind you- attempted a double leg takedown on a visibly hurt Martin Kampmann and wound up getting caught in a fight-ending guillotine choke.

It’s easy to understand why Thiago Alves was eager for the finish, especially after watching Demetrious Johnson be declared the winner of his fight against Ian McCall (more on that later). What is astonishing is the fact that he took the fight to the only place where he didn’t have a clear advantage over Kampmann. The takedown gave Kampmann time to regain composure, and negated the need to get through The Pitbull’s leg kicks in order to utilize his superior grappling.

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Aussie Official Bodges McCall-Johnson Decision, Absolutely Hangy-Dunked About It

In the Southern Hemisphere, decisions go down the opposite way.  PicProps:  MMAJunkie

Despite the most carefully laid plans of UFC officials, a rematch will be necessary to determine a finalist in the UFC’s tournament to crown its first 125 pound champion, and an Aussie official has stepped up to take the blame.  

Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall battled to a draw through three rounds, and would have gone to a sudden victory fourth-round because Zuffa was Batman-prepared and made sure they had a way to settle such an unsatisfying outcome.  But a tabulation error by Craig Waller — the Executive Director of the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales — mistakenly crowned Johnson the winner, “and turned the whole banger right poofter-saucy,” according to Waller, adding that he felt like “a right frumious Bandersnatch.”

It’s unclear what was written on Bruce Buffer’s cards, but he initially announced ”29-28 McCall, 29-28 Johnson, and 29-28 for the winner by majority decision,” Johnson.  McCall lost his shit and ran out of the cage, and Johnson screamed like a virgin, touched for the very first time.

Now, those announced scores would equal a split decision victory for Johnson — a majority decision would have meant two judges for Johnson and one judge seeing a draw.  And it turned out that one judge did see it a draw.  Then it turned out that, in fact, two judges (Sal D’Amato and Anthony Dimitriou) had seen the fight a draw after three rounds, and had wanted to see a fourth round. Waller had managed to miss a 10-8 round for McCall on D’Amato’s card, even though paying attention to such things is kinda important.

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UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann — Live Results and Commentary


(Three hours later, Thiago Alves weighed in at nearly 200 lbs. There’s no punchline coming, that just needed to be said.) 

Tonight’s UFC on FX event marks a lot of firsts for the fighters involved. Guys like Joseph BenavidezCole Miller, and Demetrious Johnson will be testing the waters in new weight divisions, even if some were forced to violate a certain CagePotato ban whilst doing so. This evening will also mark the debut of not only the 125 pound flyweight division, but that of two possible future title contenders in said division, Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall and Yasuhiro Urushitani. It’s amazing, no, inspiring to know that the rosy-cheeked, industrious members of the Lollipop Guild have finally reached Emerald City; they’re almost like people now. I salute their Herculean accomplishment, and encourage everyone reading this to follow your own yellow brick road, so to speak, in their honor.

Anyway, join me, Jared Jones, as I liveblog tonight’s event, starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Refresh your page every so often, and if I’m not piss drunk by the time this thing starts, we might just make it all the way to the end.

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Friday Afternoon Link Dump


(Video courtesy of SI.com)

- The 20 Funniest Martial Arts Glamor Photos (WorldWideInterweb)

- 9 Things Bad Personal Trainers Say (MadeMan)

- 8 Things You Shouldn’t Do If You’re Dating Casually (Guyism)

- Will Ferrell Is Putting The ‘Step Brothers’ Sequel At The Top Of His To-Do List (ScreenJunkies)

- Aaron Landry’s Ridiculous Workout (BuzzerBeat)

- Crazy Couple Pranks Each Other While Sleeping (Break)

- Why Does George Lopez Keep Getting TV Shows? (TuVez)

- What to Do When You Hate Her Friends (AskMen)

- Brass Tacks Infographic: Danny DeVito (Clutch.MTV)

- Resident Evil ORC First Gameplay Trailer (TheRugged)

- 3D Chinese Porn to Get Sequel in 4D…Wait…What?! (FilmDrunk)

- Dana White Comments on TRT Use and Drug Testing (FightersOnly)

- Reasons to Watch UFC on FX 2 (BleacherReport)

- 25 Ridiculous Lip Tattoos (HolyTaco)

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This is How Beefs Get Squashed In the Hood [VIDEO]


(Bones’ unorthodox stand-up proved too much for Rashad.)

We’ve all seen street “fights” like the one below when we were younger, where the two combatants spend more time circling and jawing at each other than they do actually settling things the way boys do: by sloppily throwing haymakers until they both gas out.

Apparently in this hood, beef quashing is a community initiative as you can see by the mother screaming encouragement while several adults and kids look on as these two young men nearly get it on. Their stand-up makes Royce Gracie’s look like Badr Hari’s.

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Attention Men: Ronda Rousey Is Not a Fan of Jiggly Flubberbutts


(Now that the evaluation is complete, Ronda will get out her black marker and circle your problem areas.)

While putting together their own lovely gallery of Ronda Rousey photos, our buddies at MensFitness.com asked the Strikeforce title contender to name her favorite body part on a man. Rowdy Ronda did not mince words:

Honestly, my favorite male body part is the butt,” Rousey laughs. “One thing I can’t stand is if you see a guy and he looks great, but he takes off his jeans and he’s just got a jiggly flubberbutt…It doesn’t need to be a big butt, but it needs to be at least firm.”

Got it? Now you know which pictures of yourself to send her on twitter. For the record, Men’s Fitness recommends these three exercises to get your ass in tip-top shape, should you ever have to disrobe in front of the sexy judoka. (Hey, it could happen.)

In the interest of equal time, MensFitness asked Miesha Tate the same question. Her answer was more traditional, but still very important:

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Quick Quote of the Day: Demian Maia Seriously Contemplating Move to Welterweight

Demian Maia is a tough fighter to wrap your head around. One day, the onetime middleweight contender is choking out Chael Sonnen and handling a guy like Jorge Santiago the next he’s being dominated by Mark Munoz and Chris Weidman. The one thing the Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout, who is 9-4 in the Octagon has lacked in his career is consistency, which explains why he’s ready perhaps to make a change.

Maia, who admits he sometimes struggles to maintain his 198-pound walking around weight, told Tatame recently that he’s been thinking  about dropping down a weight class to fight at 170 pounds.

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Exclusive: Ryan Couture Would Like To See Strikeforce’s Undercards Get a Boost in the Buzz Department

By Crooklyn


(“Hey Ryan. My wife saw a poster for your fight in the women’s bathroom at Macy’s. Cool, right”)

Ryan Couture is gearing up for the toughest fight of his career. When he meets Conor Heun in the cage on Saturday night, he’s almost assured a grueling brawl. Speaking this week with the son of UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture, who is blazing his own trail in MMA as one of the sport’s top prospects, the veteran-like confidence and focus he displayed was immediately evident. The grounded 29-year-old  says he is not taking anything for granted in this fight, and that he has prepared himself to go the distance with a very formidable opponent.

Check out what the 3-1 well-rounded Strikeforce prospect had to say after the jump.

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‘UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann’ Weigh-In Results + Videos


(What’s creepier: Ian McCall‘s mustache or Joseph Benavidez‘s pierced nipples? Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

UFC on FX 2 weigh-ins were held yesterday at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia, with all 22 fighters successfully hitting their marks. No real surprises, although the bad blood between Cole Miller and Steven Siler was palpable. If you’ll recall, Siler scored a surprising submission against Cole’s brother Micah in the preliminary round of TUF 14, and it was clear yesterday that Cole — who’s making his UFC featherweight debut — is still upset about that. The two talked smack and got in each other’s faces until they had to be restrained by Joe Silva and Burt Watson. Also, Thiago Alves gained back nearly 30 pounds just three hours after hitting the scale, which is insane, but at least he made weight this time. The full weigh-in results are below…

Main Card
Thiago Alves (170.5) vs. Martin Kampmann (170.5)
Joseph Benavidez (125.5) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (125.5)
Demetrious Johnson (125.5) vs. Ian McCall (125.5)
Constantinos Philippou (185.5) vs. Court McGee (184.5)

Preliminary Card
Aaron Rosa (205.5) vs. James Te Huna (206)
Nick Penner (203.5) vs. Anthony Perosh (205)
Cole Miller (146) vs. Steven Siler (146)
Kyle Noke (185) vs. Andrew Craig (185)
Jake Hecht (171) vs. T.J. Waldburger (170)
Mackens Semerzier (146) vs. Daniel Pineda (146)
Shawn Jordan (245.5) vs. Oli Thompson (235)

After the jump: FUEL TV’s “UFC on FX 2″ weigh-in special, hosted by Jay Glazer and Stephan Bonnar.

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CagePotato Roundtable #1: What’s Your Favorite Come-From-Behind Win in MMA History?

CagePotato Roundtable is a new recurring column in which the CagePotato writing staff (and some of our friends) share their opinions on an MMA-related topic, and hopefully inspire some discussion among our readers as well. For the inaugural installment, we took inspiration from Joe Rogan’s enthusiastic crowning of last weekend’s Tim Boetch vs. Yushin Okami fight as “the greatest comeback in the history of the UFC.” That’s debatable, to say the least — but isn’t everything? So what *was* the greatest comeback fight in MMA history?

Seth Falvo
When Joe Rogan first called The Barbarian’s victory the greatest comeback in UFC history, my first thought was “Come on, Joe, are you seriously the only MMA fan who hasn’t seen Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp?” That comeback exposed Sapp for the overhyped freak that he was while establishing the legend of Big Nog and his ability to come from behind to win fights. Hell, we at Cagepotato consider it to be the best freak show fight to ever come out of Japan. But in fairness to Joe Rogan, that fight didn’t take place in the UFC. So my second thought was “Come on, Joe, are you seriously the only UFC fan who hasn’t seen Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee?”

What makes this comeback so great was the fact that Todd Duffee and Mike Russow were essentially photo negatives of each other. Before this fight, Duffee was destined to be the next big thing in the UFC’s heavyweight division, having just tied the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history in his promotional debut against Tim Hague. Duffee was on the cover of Muscle & Fitness, the poster boy for Muscletech and seemingly in every men’s magazine on the planet — no matter how loosely the content was related to sports. Meanwhile, Russow was quietly coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Justin McCully in his UFC debut and had more fat in his left bicep than Todd Duffee had in his entire body. Everything about this fight seemed like it was a squash match.

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Another MMA Documentary That Doesn’t Suck is Coming Out Next Month and It’s Name is ‘Fightville’


(Porier before his UFC debut)

With the recent run of awesome mixed martial arts documentaries we’ve been treated to the past few years like Renzo Gracie: Legacy, The Reem, Driven, Once I was a Champion and Like Water, there’s a pretty good chance that we’re in for a drought, especially if you consider that there was a six-plus-year span between the current block of flicks and The Smashing Machine.

Before we enter into our next six years of obscure docs loosely-related to MMA like Joe Son’s Prison Diaries and Gus Johnson at LeCage, we still have one fantastic looking one to look forward to: Fightville.

The film, which is set for limited theatrical release and for On Demand viewing by select cable and satellite providers April 20, follows the lives of a number of Louisiana-based fighters, most notably fast-rising UFC featherweight Dustin Poirier and his coach and mentor, TUF 7 and UFC vet Tim Credeur.

Check out the trailer after the jump.

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