Although the UFC only had five weight classes at the time, four years ago today it had seven champions and only two still hold a strap.
BJ Penn (155), Matt Serra (170), Anderson Silva (185), Quinton Jackson (205) and Randy Couture (265) held titles in their respective weight divisions, while Georges St-Pierre (170) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (265) were the anointed interim champions.
Fun Fact: Anderson Silva is the only champ who still holds the same belt he did then.
As co-host of the Opie & Anthony radio show on SiriusXM, comedian Jim Norton has become the designated punching bag for visiting MMA stars. He’s been choked, he’s been kicked, he’s had his foot twisted 180 degrees by Brock Lesnar. And considering what a sick, depraved bastard Norton is, you have to wonder if he enjoys it on some level. Here’s everything we could collect from Jim Norton’s MMA-related body of work. All videos courtesy of opieradio.
Guest:BJ Penn, 4/14/10 Technique: Armbar In Jim’s words: “That is fuckin’ horrible…Besides the fact that your arm is ready to be ripped out, it puts pressure on your fuckin’ — it stretches you both ways, I didn’t realize it did that.”
(Hopefully for everybody’s sake the 2002 version of Ricco shows up to fight Texeira)
According to a report from TATAME, Brazilian light heavyweight standout Glover Texeira will take on former UFC heavyweight championRicco Rodriguez on November 27 in the main event of a show titled “MMA Against Dengue.”
The event, which is being organized by the municipal government of Rio de Janeiro to educate residents about the deadly Dengue Fever, will take place at Pacificador Square, in Duque de Caxias.
Fighters Only Magazine announced today that Chael Sonnen will host this year’s addition of the World MMA Awards. The outspoken “American Gangster” will replace last year’s host, Randy Couture and will undoubtedly inject some humor and testosterone into the program.
The show, which will be co-hosted by ESPN’s Molly Querim, will be broadcast live on Wednesday, November 30th from the Pearl Theatre at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Fox Sports and will be re-broadcast on Fuel TV later in the week.
We had several entries in what was likely our toughest contest to date. As always, you guys showed that you’re passionate fans of our site and the sport — either that or you just like free stuff.
Anyway, before we get into announcing who the winner is, here are the official correct answers:
2. Acclaimed coach Shawn Tompkins (hitting the bag), Frank “Johnny Cage” Colcher and Trevor “Hollywood” Harris (both sparring in ring) in “Sons of Anarchy” (2010)
3. UFC 1 tooth loser Teila Tuli AKA Taylor Wily in “Forgetting “Sarah Marshall” (2008)
4. Maurice Smith (the fatherless bastard) in “Miami Connection” (1987)
6. UFC founder Rorian Gracie (Mexican restaurant maitre d’) in “Hart to Hart” 1983
7. Cunning linguist Tito Ortiz in “The Crow: Wicked Prayer” (2005)
8. Rapist and murderer Joe Son (fighting Bolo Yeung) and Mike Bernardo (cornerman shouting encouragement to Yeung) in Shootfighter 2 (1996)
9. MMA legend and all around good guy (unless you accost his wife in a bar) Bas Rutten in Zookeeper (2011)
10. MMA trainer extraordinaire Steven Seagal, Randy Couture (answers door and gets KO’d by Seagal) and Karo Parisyan (thug number two that Seagal KOs) in “Today You Die” (2005)
11. UFC Hall-of-Famer Ken Shamrock in “That 70′s Show” (1999)
12. Raving lunatic Harold Howard (wild-eyed murderous gladiator) in “Gladiator Cop” (1995)
In court documents filed in California, Henderson claims that Lindland is unlawfully using the Team Quest brand to promote his gym and that he is the rightful owner of the name and logo made popular by himself, Lindland and Randy Couture in the 1990s. He is suing for trademark infringement, copyright infringement and unfair competition regarding the Team Quest brand. Lindland is countersuing Henderson for trademark and copyright infringement, unfair competition, deceptive advertising, breach of contract and interference with his future business relationships.
According to “The Law” he hasn’t spoken to Henderson about the case and was taken aback when he received notice that he was being sued as it was never discussed prior to court documents being filed.
(Pat Promrangka savagely knocks out Mitch Heron at FightWorld Cup 9, Saturday night in Queensland, Australia. Props: Doombringer002)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
- What’s Next for UFC 133 Winners and Losers? (NBC Sports MMA)
- Chael Sonnen Takes Unique Approach to Selling Brian Stann Fight (5thRound)
- Dana White Talks Shaquille O’Neal, GSP vs. Nick Diaz and ‘TUF 14′ (MMA Fighting)
(A wise man once said, ‘Success is the best revenge.’ A slightly less-wise man once said, ‘All y’all haters can blow me.’ / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)
When Tito Ortiz choked out Ryan Bader at UFC 132 — breaking a four-and-a-half year winless streak in an upset that absolutely nobody saw coming — he immediately became MMA’s comeback story of the year. And if Ortiz can defeat old rival Rashad Evans at UFC 133 on August 6th, he’ll have earned a place among the greatest MMA comebacks of all time.
In honor of the Huntington Beach Bad Boy’s return to legit contendership, we decided to look at MMA’s classic career comebacks, and the non-MMA sports comebacks that we most closely associate them with. Check out the list below, and ask yourself one question: If Tito can leave the Octagon with a victory next Saturday, would he deserve the #1 spot?
Rise and fall: The brash submission specialist earned a heavyweight title shot at UFC 48 in June 2004, against 16-0 champion Tim Sylvia. Mir famously snapped Sylvia’s forearm with an armbar and went home with the belt. Three months later, Mir was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle. The accident broke his femur, tore up his knee, and nearly cost him a toe as well. His return to competition a year-and-a-half later was a minor miracle in itself, but the “comeback” saw him get smashed by Marcio Cruz, followed by a lackluster win over Dan Christison, followed by another smashing at the hands of Brandon Vera.
(“Y’know, Quinton, I think Kevin James takes this one nine times out of ten.”)
It’s getting harder and harder to stay on Rampage Jackson‘s good side. We already know not to ask him questions about anything other than his upcoming fight — and you definitely shouldn’t offer to “squash the beef” afterwards. New rule: Don’t pick against him, either, because he will verbally sit you down even if you’re a beloved UFC Hall of Famer. Via Rampage4Real last night:
“Fuck @Randy_Couture I used 2 rep his line,and he always picked my opponents over me, at 1st it was cool till hamill #has been … @Randy_Couture fuck u dude, u a fake ass has been, I was a real friend and kept my mouth shut when I didn’t know if u would win or lose”
Randy tried to keep things classy in his response:
• Kazushi Sakuraba continued to assert his dominance over top competition by dispatching of Canadian rising star Carlos Newton, who would eventualy win the UFC welterweight strap.
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni went down 4 years ago.
Why it matters:
• Frank Shamrock became Strikeforce’s inaugural middleweight champion after he defeated Phil Baroni at the EliteXC co-promoted event held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California by choking “The New York Badass” unconscious with a rear-naked choke. Shamrock was criticized for “kicking” Baroni off of him after the bout. He explained the incident at the post-fight press conference. “He was heavy on top of me… he was squishing the life out of me… he was laying on my leg and on my chest… that’s it. And I thought it looked better on camera.” Shamrock would lose the strap one fight later to Cung Le.
• Following the bout California State Athletic Commission test results revealed that Baroni tested positive for Boldenone and Stanozolol steroid metabolites. He was fined $2,500 and suspended for a year from competing in California — a suspension that would be observed by every member agency in the Association of Boxing Commissions. Baroni denied any wrongdoing and appealed the decision and on October 31, 2007 Baroni’s suspension was reduced to 6 months without a even a shred of evidence presented that exonerated him.
• Murilo Rua defeated Joey Vilasenor to become the first EliteXC middleweight champion. He would lose it in his next fight with Robbie Lawler.
• Carter Williams was found by the CSAC to have tested positive for cocaine. As a result he was fined $1,000 and suspended for six months.
For George Sotiropulos, the past four months since his disappointing UFC 127 loss to Dennis Siver have been about finding a balance in his life between training and all of the extrinsic factors that prevented him from focusing fully on it. According to G-Sots, who has been noticeably absent from the limelight since the fight, he has set the wheels of change in motion to ensure that he isn’t being stretched too thin and that he continues to improve as a fighter and as a person.
We caught up with the UFC lightweight contender recently and spoke with him at length about the fight with Siver, the factors that he feels contributed to the first “real” loss on his record and the steps he’s taken to make sure he makes the best of the learning experience to ensure that he doesn’t make the same mistakes twice inside and outside of the Octagon.
The public service announcement has been part of American culture for decades. Popularized by the perpetually foxy Nancy Reagan in the ’80s, the PSA has taught us everything from not smoking crack to not dumping a pot of boiling oil on your face, and a whole bunch of other not’s. It has also served as a way to punish celebrities and athletes who did something incredibly stupid and got caught.
MMA fighters eventually began to get roped into this as the popularity of the sport rose; some are good, while others should be avoided as much as strangers in pick-up trucks who offer to let you see their puppy. That is why today I present to you the top eight public service announcements featuring MMA fighters. Why? Because knowing is half the battle…
8. Randy Couture VS Crystal Meth
Just say no to drugs! Randy Couture enters the battle against Methamphetamines in this PSA, because when you think crystal meth, think Randy Couture. For a video that is meant to appear sad and claustrophobic, it comes off like an amateur snuff film and loses its impact with the soft-spoken UFC veteran.
Couture has done plenty of these ads, so don’t be surprised if he pops back up on this list. Am I saying he will for sure? No, but if I did, would you stop loving me? I can’t handle any more rejection…oh man, sinking back into that pit of despair. I need some meth. But if I do that, then Randy won’t love me either. Argh, what a vicious cycle! But seriously kids, don’t do drugs. If you feel yourself losing power to your addiction, go punch a hobo instead. It’s much more fulfilling, but don’t take my word for it.
Oh, and I lied. Randy does not appear again on this list. That was the crystal meth talking.
Hopefully for Jon Jones’ sake the UFC fighter film curse doesn’t extend to him.
As we mentioned over the weekend, the UFC light heavyweight champion told Karyn Bryant last week that he was at Warner Bros. for a meeting to discuss the possibility of starring in one of the company’s upcoming films. Looking back at his fellow UFC fighters’ track records after starring in movies, “Bones” might want to think long and hard about whether or not he wants to become an actor at this point in his career.
Happy Monday, Nation. We hope you had a good weekend. No, really, we hope you’re in a good mood, since we’re presenting the second installment of Keyboard Warrior. Hopefully everyone had naked funtime last night, slept like a baby, and had a great breakfast this morning. Otherwise, we imagine there will be lots of very not-nice things in the comments.
We’ve changed up the appearance of KBW, making it look more like a typical MMA forum, complete with the kind of critical information any Keyboard Warrior should have for important discussion, like join date and number of posts. Maybe now it won’t seem like we’re blatantly ripping off other peoples’ ideas.
You can read the first episode here (all two pages of it), check out number two, and then you’re welcome to leave suggestions, ideas, and odes to our greatness below.
We’re just moments away from the official start of Memorial Day weekend, a sacred American tradition in which people across the country drink beer at backyard barbecues in honor of the brave men and women who have given their lives defending this country. While you’re giving it up for the military, please take some time to consider those who have passed on in the UFC. And don’t forget to come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night for our liveblog of UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill…
EVAN TANNER
A one-time middleweight champion of the UFC, Evan Tanner struggled with addiction and financial problems during the later part of his career. Tanner got sober in 2008, but died just a few months later during a fateful adventure in the Southern California desert. And though he didn’t always treat himself kindly, Evan left behind a legion of fans and friends who revered him for his generosity and positive attitude — much like TapouT founder Charles “Mask” Lewis, who also happened to be fond of the word ‘Believe.’
“My thoughts concerning the state of Wisconsin repealing the collective bargaining rights of public employees? I’m glad you asked…”
Several recent, seemingly unrelated news stories in the MMA world have shared a common theme- unions. It’s the lobbying efforts of one union, Dana White insists, to blame for the UFC’s failure to gain a foothold in New York. And some pessimists credit a fear of unionized fighters–more than simple altruism–for Zuffa’s decision to provide accident insurance for its fighters. With all of the talk about a potential MMA Fighters Union, we took a moment to ponder who’s likely to throw their hat in the ring for union president…
MMAPayout is reporting that Couture, who wasted little time in diversifying his post-retirement portfolio is now a minority owner of the new Fight Now! TV combat sports-themed television network and will be involved with the specialty channel to an unknown degree moving forward.
Any time you watch a 47-year-old man get kicked in the face by a levitating karate master – man, if we only had a nickel for every time that happens, right? – you have to wonder how the elder statesman is going to bounce back from it. In the case of Randy Couture, he appears to be recovering nicely. Aside from a small bruise under his eye, the newly retired “Natural” seems in great spirits when he meets up with MMA30’s Dave Fara at a gala event for the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation, which seeks to raise money for wounded vets. Couture also looks fully in control of his faculties, as evidenced when he correctly uses the word “assimilate” in casual conversation.
The teeth however, were more of a problem. In the above vid, listen to Couture discuss the five-plus hours he spent at the dentist getting his pearly-white Hollywood-level choppers realigned. All that, and he even has to go back for more. Nonetheless, The Old Man is taking it in stride, relating to Fara that Lyoto Machida put in a personal phone call to him a couple of days after the fight to make sure he was OK. Couture laughs off the Steven Seagal angle, keeps right on using the word “cat” as much as possible (which is only slightly less annoying than when guys in MMA insist on calling everyone “kid”) and even comments on rumors he personally took out Osama bin Laden. “It was a long plane ride,” says Couture. So you know, (if you’ll excuse the phrase) business as usual. Now if we could just do something about the epaulets on his dress blazer …
The rest of Couture’s quotes are after the jump, followed by a bevy of other Las Vegas-based fighters making appearances to pay homage to the 14-year vet. And damn, check out the jacket on Ray Sefo at 4:15. Looking good.
(We looked and looked, but all we could find was this photo of Jim Belushi. Pic: The Fab Life)
At this rate, we’ll never be rid of this goddamn vampire. We’d hoped for a quick and quiet departure from MMA for Steven Seagal – kind of a one-off creep-and-lurk session at UFC 126 – but now that his second straight appearance in the corner of a Black House fighter has ended in a second straight front kick knockout, we don’t see that happening. While it is still totally unclear if Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva are just fucking with us (and by extension, with him) by professing their allegiances to Seagal, this week Out for Justice himself stopped by Sherdog Radio to assure us all that this shit is deadly serious.
As part of a nearly 20-minute interview, Seagal broke down Lyoto Machida’s jumping KO of Randy Couture at last weekend’s UFC 129. You know, as much as he could without giving away all the secrets of his deadly arts. He also promised to keep working with Black House fighters on new, top-secret techniques. Worst of all, it appears he’s begun referring to Machida and Silva as “his guys.” The quotes are after the jump.
(“Let’s see here: High kick, low kick, body kick, side check kick … yep, I think I’ve got them all scouted.” Pic: LasVegasSun)
Some three days later, I’m still not sure if it makes it better or worse that Randy Couture’s MMA career ended via insane, never-before-seen crane kick knockout. On one hand, it was certainly sad to see the legend’s body slump lifelessly to the canvas after the UFC’s resident Karate Kid blasted him in the face just a minute into the second round of their bout in Toronto. On the other hand, maybe the kick really just saved us nine more minutes of watching Couture take potshots to the face at the hands of notorious counterpuncher Lyoto Machida. It had taken just a few moments after all to realize this bout wasn’t going to go Couture’s way. All 47 of his hard-earned years were apparent as we watched “The Natural” hopelessly chase Machida around the Octagon like a dog trying to hunt down its own tail for the full extent of the first round. Granted, he didn’t look Chuck Liddell-bad or anything, but the performance was enough to confirm that it’s high time for Couture to walk away – and this time to stay gone.
It got us thinking. When you’re in the game for 14 years, compile a 19-11 career record, essentially shepherd a sport from its dark ages into the white hot light of mainstream acceptance – when you are arguably the most important athlete ever to compete in your chosen field – there are going to be a few ups and downs. In light of that and by way of career retrospective for a guy who absolutely deserves one, after the jump we give you our picks for the five greatest and five worst moments in the MMA career of Randy Couture, presented here in chronological order …
(Where are the igloos and Mounties? This pic must be shopped.)
The Ontario Athletic Commission released a list today of fighters who were medically suspended due to injuries sustained during UFC 129 on Saturday night.
Seven fighters received 60-day suspensions, two received 45-day suspension, two received 30-day suspensions and the remaining 13 received the OAC’s traditional 14-day precautionary suspensions.
The complete list released by the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services this morning is after the jump.
All praise be to Master Steven Seagal. Or Ralph Macchio. One of the two. Lyoto Machida‘s incredible jumping front-kick KO of Randy Couture at UFC 129 netted him the event’s Knockout of the Night bonus, which came out to a whopping $129,000. (See what Dana did there?) The UFC can certainly afford it, since UFC 129′s gate revenue was reportedly $12.075 million.
Also picking up $129k bonuses: Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick (Fight of the Night) for their epic five-round featherweight title bout, and Pablo Garza for his flying triangle over Yves Jabouin in the first preliminary match.
Another look at the Machida/Couture KO is after the jump. Gifs via The Destroyer88.
(Well, *somebody’s* already got the “Creep of the Night” bonus all sewn up. Pic: UFC.tv)
What will 55,000 screaming Canadians sound like? Our best guess: Loud, but polite. That politeness may well be tested prior to tonight’s main event, when California hippie Jake Shields takes the cage. The UFC – and champion Georges St. Pierre – have gone out of their way this week to cast Shields as the biggest threat yet to St. Pierre’s dominance. That in and of itself is interesting, since a year or two ago you likely wouldn’t have been able to get anyone from the UFC to admit Shields was better than guys like Josh Koscheck or Thiago Alves for any amount of money. It is truly a new day in MMA, kids. Anyways, we’ll be live with results and commentary of the PPV card beginning at 9 p.m. EST time. Don’t forget to hit refresh early and often to keep up with the latest updates.
Weigh-ins for UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields went down yesterday at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, with all 24 fighters making weight. Well, basically. Ben Henderson hit the scales at 156.5, and was given an hour to lose that extra half-pound, which he did. Bendo didn’t look too happy being on the scale in the first place; the tough cut might be a factor in his fight against Mark Bocek. Later, Mark Hominick‘s weight was announced at 145.25. There is no one-pound allowance for UFC title fights, but the match was OK’d anyway. Possible explanations include miscommunication and the overly trusting nature of Canadians.
In other weigh-in weirdness, Lyoto Machida brought Steven Seagal with him during his face-off against Randy Couture (you can find a rather amazing photo of that moment after the jump), and Ivan Menjivar showed up with a Wolverine claw that definitely didn’t look like it came from a toy store. Just seemed kind of unsafe, that’s all.
Come back to CagePotato.com tonight for live results from the UFC 129 broadcast; remember, Spike TV prelims start at 8 p.m. ET, and the pay-per-view starts at 9.
Despite the fact that not even the guy who signs the checks believes him, Randy Couture has his story and he’s sticking to it: He’s absolutely, definitely, 100 percent retiring after UFC 129 this weekend. You know what? Through the sheer repetition of it all, we’re actually starting to think he might be serious. What you see above is Couture’s Thursday appearance on Toronto’s CP24 “Breakfast” morning show, where he reiterates that his MMA career is about to enter its final 24 hours, talks up the UFC fan expo and admits he gets a little creeped-out when fans and other fighters treat him like some kind of ageless god.
Frankly, it’s nice to see an MMA athlete get such friendly and even-handed treatment from a mainstream television show. You taking notes, American TV? Things get a little dicey there near the end, when Couture and the CP24 host disagree on exactly how awesome it is to watch the UFC in HD, but they smooth things over by giving away from some tickets to the fan expo. Oh, and maybe the best part? There are some scattered highlights of him beating up James Toney. We’d almost forgotten how goofy that was.
“No,” White responded when asked if he believed Couture’s talk about hanging up his gloves. “I’m going to go out there and say it again. I know he was chirping, he was mad at me earlier, but … Randy Couture, I’ve been saying it and you guys have been standing in front of me when I said it. This guy is one of the top 10 best in the world … Who knows with this guy? I’m not saying it’s not time for him to retire but who knows? He’s such a competitor that every time there’s something out there and he says, ‘You know what? I think I can beat this guy,’ I think he’s going to come out and try to do it.”
If you believe the odds makers, we’ll all be paying good money to watch a bunch of epic squash matches during this Saturday’s UFC 129 pay-per-view. There are a lot of long, long odds on the card this weekend and while that may not be great news for the squares watching at home, it’s enough to make any self respecting gambler’s heart go pitter-pat inside his silky, hula girl print Hawaiian shirt. When the numbers are this big you really only have two options, boys and girls: Bet heavy on the favorites in a sober attempt to turn a meager profit or throw down on the dogs in a blind smorgasbord of wanton excess. Any wonder which route we’re gonna take? That’s right, friends, we’re taking the more funner-er route. The odds themselves – from Bookmaker.com – are after the jump.
OK, before we all start dumping Haterade on Randy Couture, let us state for the record that in the following new video interview with Steve Cofield he still sounds pretty certain he’ll be retiring after UFC 129. In fact, Couture seems a little bit pissed off at this point that people keep asking him about it. Chalk it up to run-of-the-mill fight-week orneriness maybe, but we think we detect a slight edge creeping into “The Natural’s” voice when Cofield claims “one of his media buddies” got a text from Dana White that sums up Couture’s plan to call it quits after this weekend’s fight with Lyoto Machida by saying: “Retire? Not if he wins.”
“It doesn’t matter if I win or not,” Couture sort of snaps. “I know them, I know Dana. He’s got plans already and it doesn’t matter to me. He’s going to really have to step up if he thinks I’m going to come back out (of retirement). I don’t think that’s going to happen. There’s a lot of younger guys … Jon Jones is the perfect example. They offered me that fight in the fall. Nobody wants to fight that cat right now. I don’t see that battle in my future.”
Huh. Very interesting. Indeed, Couture is still adamant he’ll be walking away (again) after this weekend. Yet considering what we know about his past, even that tiny little hint that the UFC could coax him back into the Octagon if it unloads a dump truck of money in his driveway makes us hear echoes of Lloyd Christmas deep in the recesses of our cynical little mindbrains: “So, you’re telling me there’s a chance.” The vid itself, which is full of interesting tidbits, is after the jump.
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