Previously, Todd Duffee held the distinction for his :07 routing of Tim Hague at UFC 102 back in 2009 and it was believed that Chan-Sung Jung mirrored The Duffman’s time earlier this month when he knocked out Mark Hominick at UFC 140.
On closer inspection it seems that neither fighter really holds the record as it really belongs to Ludwig, whose 2006 knockout over Jonathan Goulet at UFN 3 was previously in the books at :11.
In this episode of The Reem, Alistair Overeem does some PR work in L.A. ahead of his UFC 141 bout with Brock Lesnar this Friday and spends some time training with Mark Munoz and company at Reign Training Center.
Shame on HDNet and the Octagon Nation Tour for jacking our swagger (6:08 mark) and props to Overeem for punking the last fan in line at the signing. The dude looked like he was going to cry.
Twice fired UFC heavyweight Tim Hague is determined to get back to the Octagon, but his choice of opponent for his upcoming fight likely won’t garner him another invite to the big show from matchmaker Joe Silva.
Hague (13-5), who spent a week at Brock Lesnar’s Death Clutch gym to help the former UFC heavyweight champion prepare for his UFC 141 fight with Alistair Overeem is slated to take on aging UFC veteran Maurice Smith (12-13) in Brazil on January 20 under the Kumite Combate banner.
MMA flick Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown got its DVD release last week, which means it’s time to find out if Todd Duffee’s Oscar buzz is legit. We sent CagePotato L.A. correspondent Scott Palmer to a ‘NBD2‘ media event at 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu West L.A. earlier this month, where he spoke to director/star Michael Jai White and co-star and one of the film’s fight choreographer’s Scottie “Einstein” Epstein about the movie-making process. Some highlights and an incredible GIF of the thespian version of The Duffman in action are after the jump; for more killer flicks, check out the latest Sony Action Unleashed DVDs.
(Don’t feel bad, Todd — that’s still 18 more seconds than we would have lasted.)
After four years of whipping heavyweights around the world, Alistair Overeem has finally signed with the UFC, and will fight Brock Lesnar on December 30th. (*Pause for happy-dance*) Though Overeem has more submission victories on his MMA record than knockouts (19 compared to 14), the Demolition Man has become infamous for the destructive power of his fists and knees — which he’s also showcased to brutal effect during his parallel career in K-1. So in honor of his new gig as a UFC fighter, we decided to rank our ten favorite Alistair Overeem knockouts of all time. Enjoy, and let us know your personal favorite in the comments section…
#10: Alistair Overeem vs. Lee Tae-Hyun DREAM.4, 6/15/08
Overeem got an easy draw for his DREAM debut — South Korean ssireum wrestler Lee Tae-Hyun, who came into the fight with a 1-1 MMA record. Thirty-six seconds later, Tae-Hyun had a 1-2 record and a fresh concussion.
#9: Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery, 5/15/10
In his first Strikeforce heavyweight title defense in two-and-a-half years, Overeem completely outclassed the Grim, ragdolling him just part the one-minute mark, then smashing Rogers with ground-and-pound until the challenger crumbled.
(Hendo’s friends knew something was wrong with him, but it took a doctor to figure out his T levels were really low.)
Rumor had it for a while that Dan Henderson was one of the fighters with an approved testosterone replacement therapy exemption, but until now there was no concrete evidence that he was in the same company as Chael Sonnen, Todd Duffee, Nate Marquardt and Dennis Hallman (who we know about). It’s not that he was hiding it, it’s just that no one asked.
In an interview Hendo did with ESPN this week, the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion ,who revealed that he has been using TRT since 2007, spoke openly and candidly about the reason he required the therapeutic exemption and the effect it has on his health. Among other things, Henderson called for stricter year-round testing for anyone who requires hormone replacement to ensure that he or she isn’t upping their dosages to give them an edge in the off-season.
We’re referring, of course, to DREAM’s Fight for Japan Bantamweight Grand Prix Final, which for whatever reason was not neatly numbered and filed like most decent MMA events. “DREAM.17″ would have looked just fine in the headline, but we can’t type all that out as an article title, and “DREAM.FFJBWGPF” looks like the most jacked-up file extension ever.
This just in: apparently the official designation is “Fight for Japan: DREAM Japan GP Final 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament Final”. Wait, for real? DREAM is just screwing with us now, right? That whole phrase can probably be conveyed by just a few kanji on a Japanese fight poster, but our puny Western alphabet is not equal to that much event namingness. So FFJ:DREAM.JGPF-2011BWJTF is official? Jesus. If your Norton software started pinging like a methed-out dolphin when you logged on, we’re sorry. Blame FEG for not naming their events in a reasonable manner.
The next DREAM card (much easier) was shaping up to be an entertaining show, and we were particularly interested to see Duffee return to the ring after getting manhandled by Alistair Overeem last December. A matchup with Nick Gaston, the XXL Muay Thai specialist more popularly known as AfroZilla, was just one of the intriguing bouts set for the event this Saturday, but the Duffman has suffered an undisclosed injury and withdrew from the fight. Multiple sources are reporting that Gaston has been pulled from the card as well, since an opponent could not be found in time for the KOTC prospect. While six days sounds like a normal time span for FEG to put fights together (especially when foreigners are involved), they probably didn’t have anyone looking to jump up and take on “AfroJira” on such short notice.
Luckily, this guy on YouTube either didn’t include the heavyweight bout on his homemade promo, or he quickly re-cut it last night after hearing the news about Duffee (or…he knew all along!!!). Either way, it’ll give you a quick preview of the fights that will be going down this weekend. Enjoy, and let us know what you’re looking forward to Saturday night in the comments.
(How the hell could a Michael Jai White joint go straight to DVD?)
The world will have to wait a little longer for the big screen debuts of Todd Duffee, Lyoto Machida, Eddie Bravo and Scott Epstein.
Apparently the production company forNever Back Down 2, Baumgarten Management and Productions were unable to secure the backing of a major studio and as a result the sequel to the 2008 MMA-themed movie that grossed just south of $24,000,000 will be released straight to DVD September 13.
The dearth of awesome fan-made promos does not bode well for DREAM. VidProps: DREAM
DREAM returns for the final round of the Japan Bantamweight Grand Prix on July 16, and there are a few interesting matchups on the card (which is apparently *not* DREAM.17 as we’d been thinking). Even if there weren’t, it’s smack in the middle of the summer MMA doldrums, and there’s not much else going on. Even if there were something else going on, jesus, don’t you assholes care about Japan?
Come on in past the jump and we’ll fill you in on the bouts slated for the event, with a few notes for your enlightenment and/or entertainment. Just call us the love child of the Buddha and Louis CK.
(Duffee vs. Overeem at Dynamite!! 2010. Match starts around the 5:15 mark. Props: sidiro55)
Bulky UFC vet Todd Duffee has been a ghost since getting stormed by Alistair Overeem last New Year’s Eve in Saitama. But he finally has his next fight booked, and once again it’ll be in front of a Japanese audience. According to Nightmare of Battle, Duffee will compete on the Dream.17 card against undefeated KOTC standout Nick “Afrozilla” Gaston, who had to have been signed at least partly for his nickname.
(For those of you who were just struck by a weird feeling of deja-vu, let us clarify: Dream.17 is the event coming up on July 16th at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. The Dream event that happened on May 29th was known alternately as “Fight for Japan!” and “Japan GP – 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament,” even though many people, including ourselves, referred to it as Dream.17. Anyway, we’re back to the numbers now, which are always easier to deal with.)
(Aoki is not impressed by DREAM’s choices of opponents)
DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will reportedly take on either former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Jamie Varner or former Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight champion Antonio McKee at DREAM’s “Fight for Japan” disaster relief benefit show on May 29 in Tokyo.
According to MMAWeekly, Aoki’s original opponent, UFC and Shooto veteran Williamy Freire, was unable to secure a visa to fight in Japan, so the promotion offered the bout to McKee, who was inexplicably stripped of his MFC belt earlier this month and learned of the news from a press release put out by the Edmonton, Alberta-based promotion announcing that Drew Fickett and Hermes Franca would be competing in its next show for “Mandingo’s” strap. His opportunity to contend for DREAM gold, however has hit a snag as he too does not have a visa to fight in Asia. As a precaution, DREAM has now offered Varner the bout, but it is unclear at this point which of the two former champions will be taking on Aoki in three weeks.
It’s been a while, but Alistair Overeem’s web-based mini-documentary series “The Reem” is back with another season. Season 2 picks up with Alistair getting the invite to appear on K-1′s NYE Dynamite! card opposite last-minute replacement Todd Duffee. Following the impressive KO win, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker approaches Overeem and offers him a slot on the promotion’s planned heavyweight grand prix and “The Demolition Man” immediately requests a rematch with Fabrisco Werdum in the opening round. So much for his detractors saying he only takes easy fights.
(Overeem sporting his belts clockwise in order of importance.)
Alistair Overeem earned more than the uber paycheck and the interim DREAM heavyweight belt in Japan at the K-1 Dynamite!! 2010 New Year’s Eve event. The DREAM, Strikeforce and K-1 Open Weight Grand Prix champion also secured a spot in the Guinness Book of World Record as the only fighter to consecutively hold three championship belts.
If it’s any consolation to Todd Duffee, who reportedly made $60,000 for the 19-second pounding he took from "The Demolition Man," his name will also be inscribed in the tome as the fighter who Overeem beat to set the record. At least there’s that.
(Alistair Overeem vs. Todd Duffee. Fight starts at the 3:41 mark and ends 19 seconds later. Good night Ireeeene.)
Full results from today’s New Year’s Eve event in Saitama, Japan, are after the jump, along with a few must-see videos courtesy of ZP420MMA. Note: Bob Sapp apparently backed out of his IGF slap-fight-rules bout with Shinichi Suzukawa at the last minute.
In honor of K-1′s surprise announcement that Todd Duffee will be taking on K-1 OWGP winner and Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, Whale put together this sweet little Sega Genesis Mortal Combat throwback that should help make it a bit easier for you to trudge through hump day.
(That shouldn’t be a problem, Todd. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)
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…
(No, really, I love it. It’s much better than something practical like a new hoodie or pair of glasses.")
Since it’s the holidays and we haven’t been spitting out as many Photoshops as we used to, we figured it would be appropriate to put together a collection of illustrations depicting what a handful of fighters and MMA luminaries are angling for this Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa or putting up with obnoxious relatives just so you can get a crappy token gift day.
The possibilities were pretty much endless, but these are the best we could come up with on an hour’s notice.
Smooth move, T-Duff. Hey, since it’s the holiday season, please allow us to express our heartfelt thanks for social media and the unfettered opportunity it provides fighters to broadcast the worst parts of their personalities and prematurely release time-sensitive information to the public without checking with anyone (anyone at all) beforehand. Without you, beloved Facebook and Twitter, this sport wouldn’t be nearly as fun. Isn’t that right, Marcus Davis?
Well it looks like his detractors won’t be able to call Alistair Overeem a can crusher after New Year’s Eve.
According to heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee, he and the the Strikeforce and 2010 K-1 Grand Prix champion will meet in Japan that night as the main event of Fields’ K-1 Dynamite!! show.
Duffee made the announcement via his Facebook page, but quickly took the post down, but not before we grabbed a screenshot of the message in which he asked, "Have no plans on NYE? Dream Dynamite 2010: Duffee VS Overeem on HDnet!!!"
The 6-1 Evansville, Indiana native, who only fought once this year and was dropped by the UFC for his "bad attitude" according to the promotion’s president Dana White, has not fought since being knocked out by Mike Russow in the third round at UFC 114 after pounding on the Chicago, Illinois native for the first twelve and a half minutes of the fight. He’s scheduled to face 6-3 TUF 10 veteran Abe Wagner under the Titan Fighting Championship banner on January 29.
Overeem (33-11-1) has been equally as inactive in MMA this year, logging just one fight against Brett Rogers, whom he defeated by TKO in just under four minutes at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery in St Louis, Missouri in May.
The fight has not officially been announced, but Overeem stated last week that he was hoping for a decent opponent and that he was hoping that DREAM would put their heavyweight belt up as the prize for the winner if the match-up was belt-worthy and this fun little scrap fits the bill.
(Yeah, I can see Duffee being testosterone deficient.)
According to a story in the most recent edition of Dave Meltzer’s F4WOnline newsletter, only two fighters have received approval in Nevada for testosterone replacement therapy and one of them is 24-year-old brick shithouse, Todd Duffee. The other one is 40-year-old former PRIDE champ Dan Henderson.
On an unrelated note, besides getting older, MMAJunkie’s resident medical expert, Dr. Johnny Benjamin pointed out this week that one primary cause of abnormally low testosterone levels in otherwise healthy males is prolonged steroid use.
Meltzer says that only one fighter has received medical clearance for his use of testosterone replacement in California, but CSAC would not reveal the name of the fighter whose name rhymes with Stan Menderson.
(Denial, anger, bargaining, plyometrics – Duffee has been through it all. PicProps: Sherdog)
It’s been almost a month and if you’re still having trouble wrapping your head around how Todd Duffee managed to get himself fired from the UFC after just one kind of fluky loss, you’re not alone. Duffee doesn’t seem to know exactly what to make of it, either. We’ve heard rumors of him faking injuries, turning down fights and having an all around piss-poor attitude, but the actual facts of the situation are still murky at best. One thing we know is true, however: At this point Duffee seems legitimately bummed about it. In a new article from Old Dad over on MMA Fighting, Duffee (and a few others) discuss the hard realities of getting fired from the only job they’ve ever really wanted. This MMA can be a pretty harsh mistress, fellas.
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani spoke to Dana White ahead of UFC 119 this weekend in Indianapolis and besides the match-ups on the card the UFC president spoke about all of the hot topics on the minds of fans and pundits alike including his take on Sonnengate, if he feels there is a PED problem in MMA and why he cut Todd Duffee and Efrain Escudero.
Here’s what the baldfather had to say:
About Sonnen’s current mental state and whether or not he will support his appeal:
"I’ve spoken to him a couple of times. I saw him at the opening of the UFC gym in Los Angeles and then I talked to him yesterday I think. He’s in a really good place. Listen, there’s more to this story than meets the eye and it will all come out in the athletic commission hearing. People look at me and they say, ‘You’re the commissioner of this thing.’ No, no, no. The way that this works is, the athletic commission oversees us. Every time these guys step in and compete, the athletic commission drug tests them and everything else. Everyone thinks that ‘Dana White has the commission in his hand,’ but the commission doesn’t give a shit what I think, what I have to say — nothing. You’re dealing with the government. That’s like thinking that Dana White can tell the IRS what to do. That’s never going to happen. So, Chael is gonna have to go in front of the commission and we’re going to have to wait and see how this thing plays out."
(Sakuraba vs. Mayhem at DREAM.16: A fight so amazing, it can only be described as ‘Fantasista’. Props: YouTube.com/DREAM)
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…
– Todd Duffee Released By The UFC; Manager Calls Him an "Ass" (MMA Convert)
(Shit just got real…at least more real than the first movie.)
I know what you’re thinking, "They’re making another Never Back Down movie?"
The answer is "yes," only this time around the studio is gearing the film towards MMA fans and not the popped collar American Eagle pink polo shirt sporting crowd of its predecessor, which earned $41-million at the box office.
They’ve made some steps in the right direction by hiring longtime martial arts practitioner Michael Jai White to direct this darker installment and to give it what he calls "more of a ‘The Dark Knight’ feel" and less of a "Melrose Place vibe." White knows first hand what that entails, considering he starred as mob boss Gambol in the acclaimed second film of the Chris Nolan helmed Batman franchise.
Also adding some credibility and substance to the film will be 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu founder Eddie Bravo, who will write part of the score for, star in and help choreograph fight scenes for the movie, UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee, who will play one of the fighters in the film and 10th Planet black belt instructor Scott Epstein, who will do double-duty as the movie’s lead as well as a fight coordinator.
Contradicting earlier reports that had Tito Ortiz facing Forrest Griffin in a meaningless rubber match, MMAFighting.com has confirmed that Ortiz will instead face off against Matt Hamill at UFC 121 (October 23rd; Anaheim, CA). The Huntington Beach Blah Blah hasn’t competed since his split decision loss to Griffin at UFC 106, and hasn’t won a fight since his third TKO victory over Ken Shamrock in October 2006. Hamill is coming off his majority decision over Keith Jardine at the TUF 11 Finale, which got the Dean of Mean bounced out of the UFC. Technically, Hamill has won his last four fights, including the Jon Jones DQ. If you’ll recall, Hamill was a member of Team Punishment on TUF 3, so this fight will have extra significance when Hamill beats Tito’s ass. In other UFC 121 booking news…
(In retrospect, eating that gallon of chili before the fight was probably a bad idea. / Photo courtesy of MMA Fighting.)
Sorry for the delay on this one, dear readers — the Potato Index was waiting on its customary bribe from the UFC before it could give favorable rankings to the fighters at "Rampage vs. Evans." Now that the check has cleared, we’re ready to roll. So who went from zero to hero? And who went from classy to gassy?
Rashad Evans+125 Sugar’s measured, wrestling-based gameplan didn’t exactly transform the haters into fans, but he achieved something a lot more important — he beat an arch-rival and stayed relevant. Rampage can keep his legion of devotees; Rashad is getting a title shot against Shogun, so eat it.
Quinton Jackson-150 Except for his brief blast in the third round, Quinton was just too slow and too predictable. Ring rust was obviously an issue; still, we’re more concerned about Jackson’s ongoing unwillingness to do anything other than box. Those who don’t evolve in this sport are destined to get their asses dug by hungrier competitors. Rampage’s days as an elite light-heavyweight may be numbered.
("I dare you to open your mouth, Rashad. Just give me one reason to tell you yo breff stank." Photo courtesy of the UFC 114: Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.)
It’s been a long time coming. Tonight in Las Vegas, after sixteen-and-a-half years of promoting fights, the UFC is putting on its very first event headlined by two African-American competitors. It’s a historic moment that’s sure be the talk of MMA news and speaks volumes about the development of the sport in this country, as well as the shifting attitudes toward…oh, who the hell am I kidding, THERE’S GONNA BE SOME BLACK ON BLACK CRIME!!!!!
Tonight’s lineup features the grudge-iest of grudge matches between TUF 10rival coaches Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans, in a fight that will most likely determine the UFC’s next light-heavyweight title contender. Also: Michael Bisping battles Dan Miller in the co-main, Todd Duffee gets his long-awaited second course, Lil’ Nog toys with late-replacement Jason Brilz, and Diego Sanchez returns to familiar welterweight haunts against tough British prospect John Hathaway. But first, Spike TV gives us a couple of guaranteed bangers in their Prelims broadcast. Round-by-round UFC 114 results will be piling up after the jump, beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Hit refresh every few minutes for all the latest, and pass the wings, bitch, because it’s about to pop off…
(There’s only one song that can put Rashad Evans in the proper headspace before a fight: Lee DeWyze‘s cover of "Beautiful Day." Photoprops: allelbows.)
We’re going to try a little something different for this week’s H2H column. Instead of going through all the MMA FightPicker questions for UFC 114, we’re just going to cover a handful of them, and pepper in a few questions that Mike Russell has generously pulled out of his ass. (By the way, have you joined a FightPicker pool yet for this weekend? Because you really should. No, really. No, seriously.) Check out our analysis of Saturday night’s card below, and make sure to come back tomorrow for our always-entertaining liveblog of the fights, starting with the Spike TV prelims broadcast at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. And let’s begin…
Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans @ UFC 114: Who will win? MR: I’m picking Evans. I just think that Rashad’s wrestling and conditioning will be too much for Rampage. The fact that we never saw Quinton without a shirt on, that it’s rumored he was smoking like a chimney while on the set of The A-Team and that his face looks like Anthony Anderson’s makes me bet against him. BG: Yeah, I have Evans by decision for this one. Besides the conditioning disadvantage, Rampage has become such a one-dimensional boxer in his last fights. He could always catch Rashad with a knockout punch, but he’s not going to present anything that will surprise Evans.
Will they quash their beef after the fight? MR: No. If anything, I can see them having to be restrained by their corners when it’s all over. If Rashad wins, he’ll likely not be respectful on the mic, but if Rampage has his hand raised he’ll go off about how Rashad pissed him off and he had to teach him a lesson. BG: For the most part, Rashad has that Team Jackson martial-artist-respect thing going on. If he wins, I think he’ll shout out Rampage as a great fighter who he has a ton of admiration for — even if it’s just to make himself look like the bigger man.
(Denial, anger, bargaining, plyometrics – Duffee has been through it all. PicProps: 
("I dare you to open your mouth, Rashad. Just give me one reason to tell you yo breff stank." Photo courtesy of the 
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