(“Operation Stockton Jesus Journey, has begun.” Props: prebek)

Chris Weidman on Ending Anderson Silva’s Reign: ‘I Believe This Is Meant to Be’ (MMAFighting)

UFC Champ Dominick Cruz, Brandon Vera and Alliance Training Center Cut Ties With Team Lloyd Irvin (BloodyElbow)

5 Fighters That Continuously Shoot Themselves in the Foot (BleacherReport)

Updated Fight Card for ‘UFC 158: St-Pierre vs Diaz’ (FightDay)

The Classic Goodridge vs. Herrera Knockout, In Etched-Wood GIF Form (Reddit_MMA)

UFC Releases 28-Fighter Cast List for ‘TUF Brazil 2′ (Sherdog)

Mila Kunis Really Knows How To Deal With Nervous Dudes (Break)

The 20 Most-Hated Duke Players of All Time (Complex)

Playoffs: Hottest Asian Babe (KillerFries)

6 Spring Break Horror Stories (MensFitness)

A Gallery of Bad Teen Fashion Through the Decades (EgoTV)

Things You Do on the Internet When You’re Drunk (DoubleViking)

Completely Harmless Photos That Sound Extremely NSFW (WorldWideInterweb)

With how much he’s complained about everything from money, to respect to the way his opponents fight, combined with all the jerky things he’s done in recent years (take. your. pick), it can be difficult to remember that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is an all-time great and future hall of famer. A humble and touching interview that he gave to Fuel TV after losing a decision to Glover Teixeira in Chicago at the UFC on Fox makes it easier to appreciate Quinton as the hard fighting, fan-friendly guy that he has been for so long.

The interview also makes us worry for him a bit. First, the good things.

Jackson gave his opponent credit for beating him without making silly excuses. “Glover was just the better man tonight,” Jackson said.

“Glover did what he had to do. He took it to me standing up and he took me down a few times. He did what he had to do to win…Fighters like Glover is what makes MMA.”

(Turns out, Pat Curran received a nickel for every unnecessary shot he was able to deliver to Warren’s dome. He used the proceeds to buy his mother a house in Brazil.) 

Whether you love or hate former Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren, you were likely up in arms over the ridiculously late stoppage that marred his Bellator 60 title fight with Pat Curran. In fact, you were likely curled up in the fetal position when forced to re-watch that travesty while writing for a MMA website some ten days later. You weren’t? Well, neither was I, but this guy I know…

In either case, you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Joe Warren vomited backstage in the wake of that loss, which basically wrote home the general consensus that he had suffered a concussion that night. Thankfully, Warren has undergone several tests since then that have cleared him of any permanent brain damage, but the idea that he could receive a scant 90 day suspension for his injuries has earned the ire of MMAJunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin, who feels Warren should take closer to a year to fully recover from that ungodly beating:

He needs a year off for his brain to heal and then reassess his life and say, ‘Is this what I want to continue to do? Two vicious knockouts in a row? You don’t even want to begin to think what that’s doing to your brain. The man really needs a year off from taking blows to the head.

Given that Gary Goodridge was recent diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy as a result of similarly acquired punishment, perhaps this is something Warren should consider.

Join us after the jump for more from Dr. Benjamin’s interview.

(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.

(HAVE I EVER TOLD YOU ABOUT THE TIME I ACCIDENTALLY DRANK TOM ERIKSON’S SWEAT? I HAVE? WELL F*CK YOU THEN!!)

In December, our dear friend Gary Goodridge released an autobiography called Gatekeeper. Co-written by CagePotato contributor Mark Dorsey, the book is an honest and eye-opening account of Goodridge’s hard-knock upbringing, his early career triumphs in arm-wrestling and MMA, his career decline, and everything in between. It’s a must-read for any hardcore fight fan, and we’ve got two copies to give away, signed by Big Daddy himself.

To earn one, you’ll have to dominate our latest test of fight-picking skill. This weekend gives us two notable MMA events: UFC on FX 2: Alves vs. Kampmann on Friday and Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey on Saturday. Submit your predictions for both main events in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(Everyone head over to Gary’s Twitter and wish him the best of luck.) 

Some really sad news today, Potato Nation. It is being reported that none other than MMA/kickboxing legend and regular CP columnist Gary Goodridge has been diagnosed with early onset CTE/pugilistic dementia at the age of 46. Goodridge, who built a reputation for his hard hitting style and aggressive attack, has fought an incredible 84 times since beginning his professional career in 1996.

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is brain damage that stems from repeated blows to the head, and is a common occurrence amongst boxers, football players, and hockey players for obvious reasons.

Though the outlook is grim for “Big Daddy,” Goodrige says he wouldn’t change a thing in hindsight. But perhaps a little surprising is the fact that he places most of the blame on his K1 career.

You get the news you just have to deal with it, live with it. There’s no treatment that goes along with it. There’s pills to make it slow down the process, but it’s inevitable.

I have no regrets. I love the way I live my life, I mean I would like to make little changes, but no, I have no regrets. I loved the way my life was, I lived a good life, and I’m happy with what I did. 

Read More ADD COMMENTS (40) DIGG THIS

(Ah, 2007. A very fine year for gogoplatas. / Photo via Sherdog)

By Ben Goldstein

Over the last two decades, MMA has evolved so consistently that fighters are still finding new and unexpected ways to destroy their opponents — while causing fans to spit their beers in shock. We decided to take a lil’ spin through MMA history and identify the single most awe-inspiring technique from each year since the sport’s modern inception. We expect you to disagree with us; there’s a comments section just for that purpose. And away we go…

1993: Royce Gracie’s Rear-Naked Choke
vs. Ken Shamrock @ UFC 1, 11/12/93

(Fight starts at the 3:54 mark)

You have to remember that in the early ’90s, a well-placed roundhouse kick to the head was considered the pinnacle of martial arts. What Royce Gracie introduced to fight fans in his early UFC run was something much more practical, less flashy, and a little bit scary. Gracie’s submission of Ken Shamrock — and the similar hold he used to stop Gerard Gordeau in the finals — proved that skill beat size, and pajamas beat man-panties.

1994: Dan Severn’s Suplexes
vs. Anthony Macias @ UFC 4, 12/16/94

If Jordan Mein’s brutal finish of Evangelista “The Other Cyborg” Santos this past weekend showed us anything, it’s that the elbow strike is easily one of the most underutilized, not to mention plain deadly, tools in the MMA game. Now I know, I know, there are a couple people out there who will say that the lesson has already been taught, but the fact remains that until we witnessed it, many of us had all but ruled out the elbow as a means to finish a fight on the feet. Well, except for one really, really epic way, which I’m not sure counts. So with that in mind, let us take a look at some of the finer instances of the elbow in combat sports.

Jongsanan Fairtex v. Sakmongkol

Props to Geezer for the find, which features former Muay Thai phenom Anucha Chaiyasen a.k.a “Jongsanan Fairtex” and fellow fighter Sakmongkol. And before you go thinking “Jongsanan Fairtex” is some kind of “Kimbo Slice” style alternate persona, it is actually part of a tradition in Thailand to take the name of your camp. The match, which became known as “the elbow match”, was actually the fifth out of eight times that these two had met in the ring, and was nominated for fight of the decade. The devastating power of the elbow strike was first showcased in Muay Thai, its sharpness equated to that of a razor, and this match is perhaps one of the best examples of its effectiveness.

(*wipes tear from eye* / Photo courtesy of facebook.com/bigdaddyfightteam)

Well, this is it, folks — Gary Goodridge‘s last column for CagePotato. Big Daddy decided to blast through a bunch of questions lightning-round style, so if he still didn’t get to your question, 1) Learn to write better questions, and 2) Stay tuned for the start of Dan Severn‘s mailbag column on CagePotato, coming soon. Thanks so much to Gary for doing this for us; follow him on Facebook and Twitter, and visit bigdaddyfightteam.com.

‘danomite’ asks: Have you ever known anybody to work a fight or take a dive? You don’t have to name names, just wondering how much it happened, especially in Japan.
Yes that type of stuff happened all the time in Pride. There are some pretty famous examples that the old fans all talk about. Chances are if you think it’s shady, it might have been. Naoya Ogawa’s camp offered me money to throw the fight but I didn’t want to sacrifice my integrity for a buck.

‘ReX13′ asks: I always wondered what Gary’s first thought was after he killed Paul Herrera. Well, after the adrenaline damped down a bit.
I was shocked like everybody. Since I practiced my counter-move the night before I was ready, but surprised it worked that easily. I didn’t have too much time to celebrate though since I had another fight coming right up.

(Props: TheStar)

After four thrilling installments, “Ask Gary” is riding off into the sunset. Gary Goodridge has one more column left in the tank before calling it quits, so please deposit your final burning questions into the comments section below, and we’ll make sure he gets ‘em. If you missed any of Gary’s previous columns for CagePotato, click here.

Still, when one door closes, another opens — and another hulking MMA legend walks through it. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve lined up UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn to do his own CagePotato column, which will follow the same mailbag format as Gary’s (unless we come up with something better). Got any questions related to the Beast’s 17-year, 124-fight career? Let’s hear it. As always, thanks for supporting the fighters who built this sport while you were, you know, on your father’s nutsack.

(The good old days — when men were men and briefs were shiny.)

Hello to all of my Cage Potato friends and thanks again for your interest and questions. It’s been a busy 2011 so far and things are only looking better from here. Thank you for the wonderful night before UFC 129 in Toronto. To those who missed it, there was a Cage Potato: Banned party that week and I had the opportunity to meet many loyal readers and Cage Potato “Big Wigs.” As you may know, I’ve reached a different stage in my career and I hope to provide you with more honest insights into many of the things that I’ve learned. I’m pleased to be black by popular demand. Ask away for my next column. Also, add me on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog www.bigdaddyfightteam.com.

All the best and Happy Humping,
Gary Goodridge

‘Bob Villa’ asks: How do you feel about all the lay and pray we’ve been subjected to lately? What do you think about guys like GSP who seem to fight not to lose and never go for the finish?
You’re asking the wrong guy because I always went for the finish. I think just lying on top of somebody is just crap and ridiculous. However, when fighters start doing that they pay the price because the promotions are not going to bring you back. You already know I like Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben; I also like a lot of the U.K. fighters like Dan Hardy because they always provide entertaining fights.

GSP is a different animal though. He is a champion. He doesn’t have to finish these guys. They have to finish GSP. His job is to keep his belt any way that he can because the belt means prestige and, more importantly, money. If I were him I would use every fibre in my body to walk away with the belt. I never won a championship beyond the International Vale Tudo Championship so I was never in a position to have to try and retain my belt. I was the guy who tried to shatter the myths of others fighters as champions.

People need to understand that guys like GSP are facing the top competition in the world every fight. There is no room for a mistake. It may not look like he’s doing much but trust me, he is.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: At PRIDE 11, you gave Yoshiaki Yatsu one of the most savage beatings I’ve ever seen in my life. Why did PRIDE book a rematch of that fight the next year? Did you feel bad accepting it?

(RIP Evan Tanner.)

Well, it wasn’t the most MMA history-steeped day, but there were a few noteworthy events that took place on this day in MMA.

The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale went down 3 years ago.

Evan Tanner Post Fight Interview
Tags: Evan Tanner Post Fight Interview

Why it Matters:

The event marked the final fight of former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner before his untimely death in the Paolo Verde, California desert. In spite of a close split-decision loss to Kendall Grove on the card, Tanner would give perhaps his last and most harrowing interview that provided an eerie foreboding soundbite that fans will forever make wonder if it was in reference to his career or his troubled life. “I’m feeling off, flat, can’t move. Maybe it’s…you know…Maybe my day is done.”

The event also saw the first TUF winner with no professional fighting experience crowned. Amir Sadollah, who has since racked up a respectable 5-2 record in the Octagon defeated the more seasoned former Arizona State wrestling standout CB Dollaway by first round submission.

One of the night’s winners, Diego Sanchez, would make an ill-fated decision he may now regret in retrospective. Following his win over Luigi Florvanti, Diego announced that he would be dropping to light weight to take a run at a title in the lighter class. After racking up a pair of wins over Joe Stevenson and CLay Guida, “The Nightmare,” as he was known back then, lost via decisive fifth-round TKO stoppage to then-lightweight champion BJ Penn at UFC 107. After a one-year stint as a lightweight, the TUF 1 middleweight winner decided to move back up to welterweight where he has since compiled a 2-1 record with a loss to John Hathaway and a pair of wins over Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago.

(The splash of green on the far right edge of the photo? That’s Susie. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

Editor’s note: Yeah, it’s been over a month since Gary has graced us with his presence; long story, but it’s our fault, not his. Please forgive us for the delay. If you have any burning questions for the next installment of “Ask Gary,” please submit them in the comments section below, and catch up on his past columns here and here.

By Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge

‘zaman fu’ asks: Please tell us some crazy stories about your sister.
Susie and I have always been really close and most fans would be familiar with seeing her in photos or post-fight ring celebrations. Throughout her life, Susie’s had a number of different boyfriends and, most of them, I didn’t like. The only men who I ever liked have been her husband and the man that she’s with right now. I’m sure there is an entire biography that can be written based solely on crazy stories about my sister Susie. She’s a party animal. Anytime I went to a fight, she would party enough for the both of us. I’d always go back to my hotel room and she’d go out to party with the fighters and fans. Needless to say, she’s got the skinny on everybody.

‘DARKHORSE06′ asks: Dear Gary, How come you never got paid what you deserved? Why were people always ripping you off? And why was it so hard to save? Not to push any buttons.
Hindsight is 20/20. Each one of us has our own life to live. Nobody makes all of the right choices at the right times. I’ve done both good and bad things but when all is said and done, I’m the one living my life. I’ve learned not to spend too much time worrying about how other people think they may have lived my life. Everybody gets ripped off and I’m no different. Old guys like us may have gotten taken advantage of sometimes but it’s nothing to whine about. Hopefully the new fighters can benefit from our experience by learning to watch their back and pay attention to what’s going on. Don’t let people make decisions for you. Make decisions for yourself and be careful who you give your trust to.

‘danomite’ asks: Who, out of all the people you have fought, hit the hardest?

(Above: Bern poses with a completely terrified Joe Silva. Below: Proof that at least one human female attended our party. Success!)

As promised, here are some photographic highlights from last Thursday’s CagePotato party at Shoeless Joe’s in Toronto, with a few “Free CagePotato” photos from the UFC Fan Expo thrown in for flavor. Thanks again to everybody who came, wore our t-shirts, took pictures, and got drunk at our expense. Most of these pics were shot by CagePotato All-Star Bern E., who sent them to us out of the goodness of his heart (so he says), not to win that GSP headband signed by the Octagon Girls. Well too bad buddy, because you’re the winner anyway. I’ll be in touch.

Lots more good times after the jump.

(“…everything else is virtually identical.”)

By Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge

‘claymore’ asks: Of all your opponents in your fighting career, who smelled the worst?
I can’t say which opponent smelled the worst but I can tell you one thing that really grossed me out. One time, Tom “Big Cat” Erikson (wrestling coach at Purdue University) came to my house to help me train for a fight. Anybody who is a true fan of the sport knows that Tom Erikson was the biggest stud in the Pride heavyweight division for a long time. Since I knew striking and Tom knew wrestling, we became quick friends and training partners.

One day we were training and Tom grabbed me and put me in some kind of a hold. At the time, I had absolutely no wrestling skills so I had to fight the type of fight that Tom Erikson wanted to. The problem was that his chest came together and all of his sweat drained directly off his long chest hairs into my mouth. Tom thought that he had me in a good hold and he had no idea what was happening, so I could only watch the open faucet pour right into my mouth. It was the nastiest thing that I’ve ever experienced in my life. I ended up letting Tom go and throwing up; it felt like two mouthfuls of sweat had drained downed my throat. I know that didn’t answer the “who smelled the worst” question, but it was definitely the grossest thing that has ever happened to me.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: Who was the most intimidating fighter you’ve ever faced? Was it Fedor? It was Fedor, wasn’t it.

By Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge

Thanks everybody for your responses. Anybody who has followed my career knows that I’ve always loved interacting with my fans. This blog gives me a chance to keep in the game, at least mentally. I’ve had a few hits to the head and I suffer from some memory loss but I hope that this column helps to dispel some myths and educate you about the things I’ve learned throughout my life. Some of your questions had me cracking up, and most of you clearly have way too much time on your hands. It’s good to be half man, half amazing and black by popular demand…

‘MyDonkeyPunch’ asks: What was the craziest thing a fighter whispered to you when fighting?
Usually I was the one trash-talking during the fights so I’ll tell you about one of the coolest things that anybody ever whispered to me outside of the ring. After I won one of my K-1 fights in Las Vegas, I got the opportunity to meet Muhammad Ali who was there to present a trophy to the GP winner. Ali had always been my hero growing up so meeting him was a dream come true. When I shook Muhammad Ali’s hand, he pulled me in a close embrace and whispered, “You’re one tough nigger.” I was so honored and excited and it was hard to describe how much that experience meant to me.

‘bgoldstein’ asks: Fill in the blank: __% of fighters use steroids.
Let me answer this question by making an analogy. What percentages of race car drivers use high-quality gasoline? The reason why I ask that is because when you’re running a high-performance vehicle you want to use the fuel that will give you the greatest edge in winning. If you are not using the same quality of fuel as all of the other top drivers, you will start to fall behind no matter how good your engine is.

(Somehow, screwing this guy over in a business deal would never cross our minds. PicProps: Top MMA News)

A couple years ago I interviewed UFC and Pride vet and all-around good guy Gary Goodridge as part of a project I was working on for another publication. At the beginning of our conversation I think I asked something innocuous like, “Hey Gary, how you doing?” to which Goodridge responded with an audible sigh and said: “Man, I’m broke as a joke and looking for a job.” I laughed. Nervously. During the course of our talk it became clear that “Big Daddy” wasn’t kidding. After  nearly 50 MMA fights and 40 kickboxing bouts, the 15-year fight vet was pretty much at loose ends. He’d morphed into a cautionary tale – and a particularly heartbreaking one because he is such a nice dude – for all the young fighters out there who are living like they think those paychecks are just going to keep coming forever.

For obvious reasons, it was not at all surprising when Goodridge agreed to take on Gegard Mousasi at K-1’s New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! 2009 show on kind of ridiculously short notice, was further depressingly predictable that he lost that fight by ugly TKO inside of two minutes and unbelievably ridiculous that FEG took more than a year to send Gary his paycheck. Since this was so clearly an example of an aging fighter taking a fight he had no business taking simply because he needed a payday, the whole “getting paid” stage was a pretty important part of the equation. So, it warms even the blackest heart to report that Goodridge finally got his bread this week. Well, most of it.

(Nobody puts "Big Daddy" in a corner)

When news first broke that UFC veteran Gary Goodridge stood up former The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 contestant Tom Murphy for their MFL fight this weekend in Montreal, rumors started circulating about why "Big Daddy" walked out of the arena minutes before the main event bout.

CagePotato.com spoke with Goodridge last night and the MMA veteran explained why he went AWOL Saturday night.

According to 44-year-old Barie, Ontario, Canada resident, the event’s promoter, Dirk Waardenburg promised to pay him double what the commission was to be told he made for the fight, with 50 percent to be paid in cash prior to the bout and the remainder to be paid via check after the event.

When I was in Tokyo for the New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! show, I couldn’t help but notice that Gary Goodridge seemed like a man who didn’t really want to be fighting.  He was added to the card at the last minute, matched up against Gegard Mousasi in a fight the promoters obviously didn’t intend for him to win.  His last MMA fight was in November of 2008.  He hadn’t won one since his 2007 K-1 Heroes bout against Jan Nortje.  So what was he doing fighting "Sweet Sassy" on a few days’ notice?

The answer, Goodridge told me when I spoke to him for an SI.com article this week, is surviving.  He was getting paid the only way he knows how, though he wishes he didn’t have to.

"I’m trying to get a job, period," said Goodridge. "My background is in security, police, corrections. I went to school for four years at a college level to learn how to beat people properly. I would love to be a bodyguard, whatever. I’m just looking for a job."

(DREAM vs. SRC video trailer. Props to YouTube.com/DREAM and Led Zeppelin.)

With less than a week to go until the show, more matchups have been announced for Dynamite!! 2009, building on the event’s DREAM vs. Sengoku Raiden Championship theme. In middleweight action, veteran knockout artist Melvin Manhoef (23-6-1 overall, 2-2 in DREAM) will face Japanese mainstay Kazuo Misaki (22-9-2 overall, 3-1 in Sengoku). Though Manhoef had five kickboxing matches this year, his only MMA appearance in 2009 was a first-round submission loss to Paulo Filho at DREAM.10, in which he succumbed to an armbar after whipping Filho for the first two minutes of the fight. Misaki is coming off a submission victory over Kazuhiro Nakamura in August, followed by a brief athletic suspension for talking on his cellphone while driving, which resulted in him smashing into a police car.

(When you absolutely, positively need someone who will poke you repeatedly in the eye, there really is no substitute.)

While there are any number of reasons why an athletic commission might not license Gilbert Yvel (he is, after all, one of MMA’s most despicable people), it seems as if the CSAC is going to let him fight.  They’ve cleared him to apply for a license, which basically means that all he has to do pass medicals and not pull an Aleks Emelianenko and get himself benched at the last minute.  

But just in case Tom Atencio says he has “people in line if it doesn’t work out."

Trouble is, finding a credible replacement to face someone like Josh Barnett isn’t the same as finding someone to go against Paul Buentello in an undercard fight.  There you could just call up Gary Goodridge and nobody would feel as though they’d lost out.  In the case of Barnett, you’ve got to get a high-level replacement in order for the fight to feel like anything other than a consolation prize or premeditated ass-whipping.  

Atencio wouldn’t say who he has lined up, but whoever it is can’t be a serious opponent for Barnett.  It would have to be someone with enough of an ‘I don’t give a fuck attitude’ to take that fight on short notice, and also someone who is a non-UFC heavyweight not already on the Affliction card, which rules out Paul Buentello, thank God.

Fortunately Affliction has set hopes low by giving Barnett someone like Yvel to begin with, but dammit, if we see “Big Daddy” Goodridge come shuffling out at the last minute again, whatever credibility Affliction has left will be destroyed just as surely as he will.

(Props: Bloody Elbow)

If you feel like you didn’t get to hear enough about the awful-looking Kevin James film "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" during the Ultimate Fighter Finale, check out his appearance at the Spike TV Video Game Awards.  This sketch — which is every bit as cringe-inducing as the interview was and as the movie will undoubtedly be — clearly took about five minutes to write, including bathroom and coke breaks.  When they couldn’t figure out how to end it some genius came up with the idea to have Rampage come out and howl.  Problem solved.  I know Rampage and Kevin James are bros, but I feel like one is having a bad influence on the other here.

After the jump, Gary Goodridge’s terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day, and more.

(Image search result for “f***ed up.”)

Who could have seen this coming? We’re getting just as sick of this as you are, but we’re here to report another change. It was ri-fuckin-diculous the first four or five times they lost fighters, then picked them up again, then lost them yet again. It’s now obvious Bob Meyrowitz and crew are putting together their own version of “The Producers” by creating a new MMA organization that is doomed to fail — on purpose. I almost don’t even have the strength, but here it goes:

Butterbean lost his opponent, Gary Goodridge (again), because GG got KTFO on March 30th. Now YAMMA Pit Fighting has announced Goodridge’s replacement via their myspace page. You’ll never guess who is replacing Big Daddy Goodridge.

YAMMA Pit Fighting has announced that Pat Smith will replace Gary Goodridge in the YAMMA Pit Fighting “Masters Superfight” against Eric “Butterbean” Esch in Atlantic City on April 11, 2008. Goodridge was forced to withdraw from the event after losing a fight in South Korea on March 30, 2008 in what has been determined a knockout. This rendered Goodridge ineligible to fight on April 11 by the New Jersey Athletic Commission, which requires 30 days of inactivity following a KO.

Yeah. That Pat Smith. The one who was supposed to fight Oleg Taktarov in the other “Masters Superfight” of the night, then was out due to his arrest, but who was resubmitted to fight Oleg when Maurice Smith ditched the fight. Mark Kerr is allegedly now taking on Oleg and Pat Smith is allegedly fighting Butterbean. As far as we know, the heavyweight tournament hasn’t changed since the last time we checked.

I can’t think of an event in history that defines “clusterfuck” like YAMMA. Next thing you know they’ll fire the ring bowl girls and hire ring dudes. Until then, if you want a sneak of the YAMMA Girls practicing the YAMMA YAMMA dance, go here.

On a side note, YAMMA has over 2700 friends on myspace so join up if you’re looking for a relationship, a friend, or just want to network.

(We may never get to witness this historic matchup.)

When we first reported that Gary Goodridge wouldn’t be able to fight Eric Esch at YAMMA 1 because he was focusing on his MFC fight against Eric Pele next month, his crew came out in full force to correct us; Big Daddy was up for it, and was ready to “KICK SOME UGLY ASS.”

Well, we had no idea that Goodridge had another fight booked to go down just two weeks before his scheduled appearance in YAMMA’s Death Bowl. Apparently, he fought Mu Bae Choi in Seoul last Sunday and was knocked out in the second round. (Video can be seen here.) Subsequently, the New Jersey Athletic Control Board informed FiveOuncesOfPain that Goodridge would not be approved for his YAMMA fight due to health and safety concerns.

And it gets better: Yesterday we passed along YAMMA’s official announcement that Mark Kerr will be filling in for Don Frye Patrick Smith against Oleg Taktarov in one of the event’s “Masters Superfights,” but the Kerr/Taktarov match hasn’t been approved either due to Kerr’s previous suspension in the state of Connecticut.

So, unless Bob Meyrowitz can successfully bribe the NJACB to allow Goodridge to fight on April 11th, both of YAMMA’s headlining superfights are now in limbo. Our suggestion to Bob Meyrowitz? Save yourself the headaches and do what Strikeforce did — make the two guys who lost their opponents fight each other. Butterbean vs. Oleg Taktarov isn’t a bad main event, in a county fair sort of way. Or, let Oleg slice his way through the eight-man heavyweight tournament and pull up Ricco Rodriguez to battle Butterbean in New Jersey’s own version of the Megaton. Look, your fighting surface is a freakin’ bowl — don’t act like your credibility is at risk.

(Bone is for the dog; meat is for the man.)

Hey Potato Heads; couple things to pass along this afternoon…

Commenters “Near07″ and “Da Freak” are refuting our earlier report, taken from The Fight Network, that Gary Goodridge has dropped out of YAMMA Pit Fighting’s debut show on April 11th. From the comments on Wednesday’s post:

Near07 Says:
March 28th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
I am talking to Gary and he claims that this article is bogus, and he is indeed fighting butterbean in Yamma!! Not sure who puts thes up, but it should be scraped!! Thanks

Near07 Says:
March 28th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Gary just sent this to me 2 minutes ago
“Just post on it, that you talked to me and I told you it was all bogus and I already talk to Bob M Yesterday being Thursday. We got everything straight. I have but one Manger and it is not Dave Wallis”

Da Freak Says:
March 28th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Hey gang ,
I have no idea where this BS came from, but I am Gary’s training partner and we are in full training camp mode for Butterbean.
GARY WILL BE THERE AND WILL KICK SOME UGLY ASS
Fredd

As with everything posted by blog commenters, everything related to YAMMA Pit Fighting, and pretty much everything posted on this site, take the above with a nice-sized chunk of rock-salt.

In other news, top-ranked female fighter Tara LaRosa, who openly despises Gina Carano, recently made the following post on The UnderGround Forum in reference to “Crush”:

(“Big Daddy” Goodridge)

If you’re Bob Meyrowitz, at what point do you just throw your hands up and say, “Alright, God didn’t want me to put together a new MMA league; I’m cursed, and my bowl-shaped ring surface is fucking gay.” Because if we were in his shoes, this would be that point.

According to TheFightNetwork, Gary Goodridge’s manager Dave Wallace has announced that Goodridge will not be fighting Eric “Butterbean” Esch in a headlining “Master’s Division” match at YAMMA Pit Fighting’s debut event on April 11th, and has chosen instead to focus on a May 9th fight against Eric Pele at a Maximum Fighting Championship card in Alberta, Canada.

YAMMA 1 has already lost headliner Don Frye, his replacement Patrick Smith (probably), and two undisclosed members of the heavyweight tournament who haven’t been replaced at this point. Of course, YAMMA’s official website still has the same fight card up. Tickets still available!

So Gary Goodridge will be taking on Butterbean in April, and tomorrow’s Strikeforce event will feature Bob Sapp against 1-5 Euro-can Jan Nortje. If you’re curious about Goodridge and Nortje’s current skill level, just watch this sad match from K-1 HERO’s 8 (3/12/07), where Goodridge takes piles of abuse in one of the roughest, stupidest rope-a-dopes ever, then pounds back when Nortje is completely gassed. Again, Sapp is a -600 favorite in tomorrow’s match, even though his usual game plan (slug away all your energy then fall over) is exactly the same as Nortje’s. Anyway.

And because commenter “fightfan” asked for it, here’s Goodridge’s November 2005 loss against Glaube Feitosa in a K-1 kickboxing championship match. Watch as Feitosa knocks out Gary’s front teeth at 3:44, and recoil in horror during the slo-mo replay at 5:08.

(Don’t worry, Butterbean: We don’t think Gary’s creaky hips will allow any flying kicks.)

In addition to a previously reported fight between UFC throwbacks Don Frye and Oleg Taktarov, YAMMA Pit Fighting’s inaugural show on April 11th will also feature a second “Masters SuperFight” bout between Eric “Butterbean” Esch and Gary Goodridge. We’re not sure what Esch is a “master” at, other than swallowing basketballs whole without chewing, but he’s built up a decent 11-5 MMA record since 2003, with wins over Wesley Correira and James Thompson; his last fight was a submission loss to Nick Penner at TFC: First Blood in December.

Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge is probably best known for his horrific knockout-by-elbows of Paul Herrera in his Octagon debut at UFC 8 (2/16/96). He later jobbed through a mediocre career in PRIDE, then moved to K-1 HERO’s where he built up a 3-1 record since 2005. His last fight was a TKO victory last March over Jan Nortje (more on that later). Fun fact: The average age of the four men booked for YAMMA’s Masters SuperFights is 41.

As for the eight-man heavyweight tournament that YAMMA also has planned for its debut show, the word is that Wes Sims, Chris Guillen, and Travis Wiuff will participate. Here’s hoping that Bob Meyrowitz‘s new spectacle doesn’t get MMA re-banned across the country. And good luck turning a profit. This sort of thing tends to suck up money faster than Butterbean sucks up pans of lasagna.