If Possible, I Like Jon Jones Even More Now

Jon Bones Jones is a UFC champion and a world champion nice guy.

First of all, when I went to meet him and his PR flak he was standing off to the side texting with the championship belt over his shoulder. But because it was raining he had a belt cover. A black cloth cover for the belt. And not just a big black cloth, it was cut perfectly to cover the belt and protect it from the weather.

He was in a bit of a rush and his PR guy was quite chatty so I didn't get to talk to him very much until after his interview. I did tell him that I'm a big fan and had been since I first read about him as Arthur Jones's brother. He seemed impressed that I was a Syracuse grad and nodded in recognition when I told him how many SU people are in the industry.

I've seen a lot of famous people in these circumstances and you can tell a lot about a person watching them interact with strangers for five minutes. Other than his PR guy he had no entourage. There is an direct correlation between number of people in the entourage and how friendly the celebrity is.

It's hard for me to explain in this post, but you know it when you see it. You could just tell he was a good guy by the way he was smiling and really listening to what people were saying to him, even though "you're the greatest" "congratulations champ" and "can I suck your dick?" must get old after a while.


After the interview I explained a little about the control room and how I was talking to the anchor during it. He seemed impressed that someone could talk to him and listen to someone else without getting distracted.

And even though he was in a rush to get on a plane to do Leno tomorrow night, he posed for pictures with about 8 or 10 employees who had waited outside the studio for him. And one annoying person (not me) was chewing his ear off about a seminar Jones is teaching to MMA beginners. Instead of rushing past him, Jones put his arm around the guy and guided him in the direction he was going so they could walk and talk.



Just being around the guy for even just a few minutes you could tell he is very appreciative of everything he has, and very kind and gracious to all his fans.

God bless the Champ. Long may he reign.

Bob Arum Rips MMA

Great interview with boxing promoter Bob Arum. He says he hates MMA and UFC fans are skinheads.

Nine minutes long but worth it.



"Guys rolling around like homosexuals."

Classic!

Story suggested by TON

Rampage is Slowly Becoming the Mike Tyson of MMA

Mike Tyson normally doesn't do interviews with women unless he fornicates with them first, and Rampage Jackson seems to be going the same route. First he gave it doggy style to a Japanese reporter, now he gives it standing up to some chick.


Rampage Dry Humps Cagepotato Reporter - Watch more Funny Videos

Was that chick just being polite to get the interview or did she like getting dry humped by Rampage.

Paulo's Book Club: "Blood in the Cage"

"Losing feels like sucking a thousand dicks with your mom watching"

That uncredited quote sums up the passion captured in "Blood in the Cage" by L. Jon Wertheim. The book tells the story of the early days of UFC, using Pat Miletich as its vehicle.




Miletich has a somewhat typical upbringing of an MMA fighter. His father was no good and his poor mother raised five kids. His brothers all went down the wrong path (either ending up dead or in jail) and the only thing that saved Pat was his ability to fight.

Militech was one of the early proprietors of MMA back when the UFC had no rules and lots of opposition from politicians. But then Dana White and the Fertitas came in, and this is where Miletich sort of disappears from the book.

Like those old-time baseball players, he came along too soon, fighting for a couple hundred dollars a show, up to three times a night. Now these guys earn millions for two, maybe three fights a year!

But here's where the book falls short, it follows Miletich right up until his fighting career ends, then picks up the case of the UFC. It never explores Militech's coaching career in as much depth as I would have liked.

And while the story takes UFC from its infancy of eye gouges and head butts until Dana White and the Fertitas take over, it only does a cursory job of following and explaining the sport's explosion.

Essentially it comes down to this. If you like UFC or even have a passing interest in it, you will love this book. If you don't really care, you probably still won't after reading this book.

The Machida Era

A few months ago I contrived a question to get some UFC chatter going on the Poop -- who would lose first, Anderson Silva, Rashad Evans or Brock Lesnar.
We all chose Evans, but it was TON who correctly predicted the man to do it:

"...my real guess...Lyoto Machida. He's so damn elusive he barely gets touched in his fights, but can bring the pain in a big way when needed. I wish they would pump this guy more...although never getting touched may not be good for the fan appeal."



That brings me to another question I asked a few months ago. After reading something that basically said Machida is the perfect test for any MMA fan. If you like Machida you appreciate the technical aspects of the sport. If you hate Machida then you are a troglodyte who just likes to see people bleed and get knocked out.

So I asked SCZA for his thoughts on Machida and he said "he's not a very exciting fighter." Point proven, TON = sophisticated aficianado, SCZA = blood mark.

I Always Know Better

Several months ago I suggested the UFC should offer Kimbo Slice a one-fight deal. I felt it was a no-lose situation for them, either Kimbo is proven a fraud or they get a decent fighter with huge name recognition.
Supposedly smart MMA fans (SCZA & TON) said it was a bad idea that would never happen and should never happen.
But Dana White listened and offered Kimbo a spot on The Ultimate Fighter, and amazingly Kimbo has accepted.
Kimbo will be among the fighters on TUF 10 coached by Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans. Kimbo just sort of belongs on Rampage's team, doesn't he?
Unfortunately for Kimbo, it's his ground game that needs work (and his conditioning) and he's unlikely to learn that from either of those two guys.
I've been rooting for Kimbo all along, I like him, I like his story, I like his beard, and his appearance on the EliteXC card is the main reason I started to get into UFC. So I hope he does well (would suck if he didn't even win his way onto the show) and at least earns himself some UFC fights in the future.

Jose Canseco's MMA Debut

After a couple of failed attempts at boxing, Jose Canseco takes on 7'2" Hong Man Choi, a Korean kickboxer.

Note: The best youtube video of the fight I found happens to be the one with the entire buildup, including walkout. The fight starts about 5 minutes into this clip.




Poor Jose Canseco, the guy is the Woodward and Bernstein of the steroid era yet he mismanaged his finances so poorly that even with two successful books, he still has to get his ass kicked by freakish giants in order to pay the bills.

Kyle Maynard's MMA Debut

Kyle Maynard, the guy with no hands and no feet who gained fame for dominating high school wrestiling, made his MMA debut.
The fight turned out exactly as I predicted. Maynard was unable to do anything. And his opponent fought cautiously and won by unanimous decision 30-27.
Kyle was considered a downed opponent so he couldn't be kicked or kneed in the head. His opponent had difficulty reaching him for strikes and Kyle's arms aren't really long enough to deliver strikes from the stand-up, as it were.
Kyle's strategy was to take down his opponent and use his superior upper body strength (supposedly he has the upper body strength of a 200 lb man, but he fights at 135) to take down his opponent, control him on the ground and deliver strikes.
But his opponent never allowed it to happen and the result was a boring embarrassing fight.

It's hard to tell Kyle that he can't do something, since he's spent his life doing things people said he couldn't do. And if Kyle had listened to those people years ago he never would have gotten to where he is today. But now that he has experimented with MMA I hope Kyle gives up this dream and pursues others instead of becoming a laughingstock and a freak show.

Mask Taps Out

The co-founder of the MMA-inspired clothing line Tapout, a gentleman named Mask (ok, his real name is Charles Lewis) was killing in an horrific auto accident.
Mask's $300,000 Ferrari jumped the curb and hit a lightpole so hard, that the car was literally torn in half.
A policeman nearby saw Mask's car and a Porsche driving very fast and he saw the cars spin out of control, probably after colliding.
The other driver sped off and was caught a few blocks away and arrested for drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter.
The woman in the car with Mask sustained serious injuries and is still in the hospital.

Is That Really the Best Way to Distinguish These Fighters?

I was watching Affliction: Day of Reckoning and noticed several times during the fight, announcer Jimmy Smith had trouble describing Josh Barnett and Gilbert Yvel. He said "both fighters in black and red trunks, Yvel in the looser-fitting trunks."

Are we that politically correct that we can't say Barnett is the white guy, Yvel is the black guy?

Talk Amongst Yourselves, I'll Pick the Topic

Few topics seem to generate as much feedback around these parts as MMA does.
So let me pose a question that should spark some debate:
Who among Anderson Silva, Rashad Evans or Brock Lesnar will be the first (and last) to lose a match?
Silva is the best fighter in the world right now, Evans has never lost and Lesnar is just a beast.
I think Evans will be the first to lose. Even though he already has 8 wins in the UFC there are some holes in his game, specifically, he's never even tried a submission. Plus there are some really good contenders in the 205 division including Rampage Jackson and maybe even Anderson Silva moving up for a superfight (too bad UFC doesn't have catch weights).
I think Lesnar is an absolute monster who should tear through the heavyweight division, I think it's possible (but not likely) that someone could eventually be able to catch him in some kind of submission (though I doubt it would be a choke because I don't think anyone has arms long enough to wrap around his neck).
That leaves me with Anderson Silva. I don't see any way someone can beat this guy. He's got 8 straight wins in the UFC and hasn't lost in 3 years, and that was a disqualification. Plus, Silva seems kind of bored with UFC and may retire after just a couple more fights, even though he supposedly has 6 fights left on his contract.
So I predict Evans gets in one maybe two title defense before he loses.
Lesnar wins about 6 or 8 fights before someone catches him.
And Silva fights 4 more times and retires without ever losing again.

UFC Picks

The UFC usually saves its best card for its year-end show and this year is no different. On the card for UFC 92 is Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans, Antonio "Minotauro" Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir and Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

NOTE: I will not be able to watch the show until Monday night at the earliest. The mother fucker who ruins even the slightest bit of the action for me will get put in a Peruvian necktie. That means no text messsages SCZA. Thank you for respecting my wishies.

All three fights could main event a PPV card. I think they're all more intriguing than the main event at UFC 93, Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson.

I made my picks (complete with method and time of victory) for our Fantasy UFC game e-mail me if you want it, but I happened to see the odds on the fights and thought I would post my thoughts here.

Wanderlei Silva is a 6:5 favorite over Rampage Jackson. I'll take Silva in this one. Both guys are strikers who hit very hard. But Rampage seems to be too much of a wildman. He'd still be champion if he had a better strategy against Griffin instead of standing there and let Griffin chop his legs out. And following his subsequent mental breakdown I can't be certain how much Rampage wants to fight.

Minotauro Nogueira is a 7:2 favorite over Frank Mir.
I was really surprised that Mir this big of an underdog. I do expect Nogueira to win because he has great jewjitsu especially for a man of his size, but I really thought this one would have been a near coin-flip.

Forrst Griffin is a 7:5 favorite over Rashad Evans. I really like Evans. I think some MMA purists don't like him but he has much more skills than Griffin. Griffin is great but I'm not sure he'll be able to do any damage to Evans who should be able to the fight he wants, which is usually the recipe for victory.

Race War

When Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin meet in the Octagon at UFC 92 they'll be fighting more than each other. They'll also be grappling with racial stereotypes that have existed since even before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color line. Each of them embodies all the traits (both good and bad) athletes of their race are perceived to possess.

Let's start with the black guy, Rashad Evans. He's immensely talented and has all the physical gifts. He has tremendous speed and power and he moves so effortlessly it almost seems as if he's floating. In fact, the way he moves, coupled with the confident way he talks and acts, has earned him that other tag for black athletes, "arrogant."



That stands in stark contrast to Forrest Griffin who despite being champion of one of the most talent-laden weight classes in the UFC is self-deprecating to a fault. Not only that, Griffin clearly lacks the physical gifts of some of his peers (a simple comparison of physiques will that you that much) and instead he gets by on guts and guile. Griffin's best strategy is often to use his face to injure his opponents' fists. Several times Griffin has endured so much punishment that his opponent wore out, and Griffin emerged from the fight with a win, and a face that made you say "if he won, I'd hate to see the other guy."



The enduring post-fight image of each fighter just as perfectly illustrates what I'm trying to say. There's Rashad Evans, casually wiping the sweat from his brow as if to say "ain't no thang." And there's Griffin, arms raised triumphantly, bloodied, but not beaten.

You've got physical gifts and arrogance of the black guy against the humble white guy who gets by on heart.
Who'll win out? Probably the guy who bucks the stereotype.

If You Wanna Be the Man, You Gotta Beat The Man

Seth Petruzelli, the man who knocked out Kimbo Slice, dressed up as his vanquished foe for Halloween.



Pertuzelli is enjoying his 15 minutes, especially since he has no job for the time being, but dressing up in blackface is ALWAYS in bad taste, and often times illegal.

We Make Our Own Luck

Before defeating Brandon Vera at UFC 89, Keith Jardine did an unusual prefight ritual. During introductions he tweaked his nipples, similar to his training partner, Rashad Evans, who tweaked his nipples before he knocked out Chuck Liddell.
According to Joe Rogan (a funny guy who also happens to be the best color announcer in any sport) "It’s supposed to give you good luck to tweak your nipples. Think about that before you play the lottery."

Dana White Reads the Poop

While SCZA and TON scoffed at my suggestion that Dana White should offer Kimbo Slice a chance in the UFC, apparently Dana White himself took heed.



Unfortunately, Kimbo would never accept this offer. But if he were truly committed to the sport he might consider it. And if he did, it would be the best reality show. EVER!

What I Should Have Said Theater

Dana White, President of the UFC, on the demise of EliteXC:

"I'm glad this organization folded because they were bringing disrepute to the sport that I love. These bastards who ran EliteXC were not interested in the beauty of the sport, they were only interested in cashing in on what I worked so hard to create. The poor quality of fights, the allegations of match-fixing, all threatened to destroy the reputation of mixed martial arts that I helped build. So I'm glad they're gone. They built their entire organization around one guy, one guy who was a complete fraud, a guy I said I would never have in the UFC. But right now I'm going to go back on my word. I'm going to offer Kimbo Slice $100,000 for one fight. A one-shot-deal against Gabriel Gonzaga on the undercard of the biggest fight in UFC history, Randy Couture against Brock Lesnar. So when this Kimbo fight ends in 14 seconds at least the fans won't be disappointed this time."

The Punch That Knocked Out a Company

When Seth Petruzelli delivered the punch that knocked out Kimbo Slice and shattered the toughman's image, he also put a TKO on Elite XC and its parent company ProElite.
ProElite closed its doors this week, declaring bankruptcy, facing $55 million in debt and with its main drawing card disgraced, no real way to make that money back.
I'm disappointed for two reasons. First, I was at the first EliteXC card on CBS, what at the time I thought would be a watershed moment for MMA. My thinking was, even if EliteXC fails, it could force the UFC to step up and put more of its product on TV.
Second reason being, that's never going to happen.
Selfishly as a casual MMA fan who is never going to spend $480 a year on UFC PPVs I had really hoped we would see more MMA on broadcast and cable TV.
So now the best I can hope for is that Affliction (the fledgling competitor to the UFC, with real talent) seizes the opportunity and takes the last spot CBS had planned to give to EliteXC.
As bad as some people say it was, EliteXC's 3 cards on CBS all drew pretty good ratings for a Saturday night, not great, but better than the mainstream sports it competed against.
I would even love to see Affliction put its top draw, Fedor, up against Kimbo on CBS. Though I'm not sure the network would want to televise an execution.

I Was Duped!

I wanted to believe in Kimbo Slice, I really did. I had so much fun at the first fight I guess I wanted to believe that he would be MMA's next big thing. I wanted EliteXC to take over, or at least force UFC to make more of their product available free. But it doesn't look like that is going to happen.
EliteXC had little credibility with hardcore MMA fans, and now it has even less with the rest of the country. Saturday night's debacle smells suspicious even to someone like me who is very reluctant to believe in conspiracy theories ("The only way three men can keep a secret is if two of them are dead" - Ben Franklin).
First, there was Ken Shamrock pulling out of the fight with a cut over his eye he sustained warming up. He had a real cut, which was visible, but it still seemed weird.
After four pretty decent fights, including Gina Carrano winning again and looking good, it was time for Kimbo.
14 seconds later the myth of Kimbo was shattered. He did get hit with one good jab right on the eye which opened a cut and knocked him down. But the rest of Seth Petruzelli's punches all missed. Even when he was on top of Kimbo it looked like he was missing and Kimbo was moving his head and arms enough to defend himself, but the ref immediately jumped it. And after the fight Kimbo didn't even seem to care.
Incredibly strange night, and possibly the last time MMA ever appears on network TV.

Here's the replay of the fight which is actually better than the fast-motion version. Listen to the announcer say "power punches" as Petruzelli misses completely.

McCain on MMA

Back when the UFC was just starting there were no rules, no weight classes and Sen. John McCain sought to have it banned.
TON and I recently wondered what his views on the sport would be now that it has been significantly cleaned up. We said we'd admire McCain if he would come out and recognize the changes in the sport and drop his opposition to it.
He pretty much did that in this interview with ESPN's Bob Ley in which he also discusses some other sports-related topics.