Archive for MMA
Yassir Arafat, Winston Churchill, Stephen Hawking, Jimmy Carter, Albert Einstein…Dana White?
That’s right, UFC President Dana White joins the above individuals on the veritable who’s who list of luminaries from the words of science and politics who have been previously invited by the Oxford Union Society to speak in front of the esteemed institute of higher learning’s debate club. White’s appearance is scheduled for October 13th and it is sure to be an intellectually stimulating experience for one and all.
To his credit and all kidding aside, White, who will be in London already for UFC 120 on October 16th, is an incredibly-gifted speaker who, solely on the basis of his domineering personality and never-say-die attitude has transformed the UFC into an incredibly successful, billion dollar juggernaut.
Via ESPN:
“Anyone who knows anything about me knows I always speak my mind and am very passionate about what I do, and the Oxford Union was founded on exactly those principles,” White said in a statement released by UFC. “I’m looking forward to meeting the students, and I know they have a reputation for asking tough questions and expecting straight answers from their guests. That’s exactly what they’ll get from me.
I wish I could think of something sarcastic or witty to say about the Oxford Union’s, shall we say, unique choice in speaker, but the guy is an incredibly compelling figure and will certainly enlighten and entertain the students. And if for some reason the students have a problem with him, White can simply put each one of those pasty little bastards in some kind of submission move until those pencil-necked geeks tap out and beg for him to continue.
You know, when I fearfully consider – which is quite often – how I intend to survive the multitude of disasters which will foretell the End of Days, my thoughts usually turn to Ultimate Fighting and the men who inhabit that strange world. Because hey, if someone is going to know how survive in a Road Warrior-type of post-apocalyptic world, it’s obviously going to be a person who knows how to beat someone else’s head in.
Thankfully for all of us, that’s where Forrest Griffin comes in. You see, Griffin, who can plainly see the writing on the wall that the world is going to Hell in a handbasket, has written his second book (his first one dealt with the Zen principles of hand-to-hand combat), a breezy summer read entitled When The Sh*t Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse.
Talk about a provocative title. Because if I learned one thing from Cypress Hill, it is most certainly that when the sh*t goes down, you better be ready (you better be ready!).
You might ask yourself, “Why would I need this book? Well, sir or madam, to determine whether you do or not, here’s a helpful checklist provided by Griffin on his official site:
1. Have you dug up your wife’s rose garden and built a fallout shelter, equipped with a prison where you can lock up annoying family members?
2. Have you mapped out an escape route to your safe zone?
3. Is there a vehicle of death sitting in your garage?
4. Have you filled your go bag with all the needed instruments, including waterproof matches, postapocalyptic goggles, and at least one sexual party favor?
5. Have you learned how to milk various types of animals, including a giraffe?
To promote the book, Griffin agreed to an interview with Neil Springer of the QMI Agency, excerpts of which was published in the Toronto Sun and believe you me, when someone gives this guy an opportunity to talk about his post-apocalyptic vision, a whole lot of batsh*t crazy goes down. There’s a lot to cover here, so buckle up.
From the “Who Are The Ad Wizards Who Came Up With This One?” department comes news that former novelty boxer Eric Esch, a/k/a Butterbean, has joined the ranks of MMA fighters.
The grisly details (from The Fabulous Forum):
“Butterbean” is not only fighting Boston radio personality and former Boston Bruins player Lyndon Byers on May 21, he’s also co-promoting the “Moosin: God of Martial Arts” show at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. The pay-per-view main event will feature former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia versus five-time “World’s Strongest Man” competitor Mariusz Pudzianowski.
You know, I thought you had to be, I don’t know. in peak physical condition to be an MMA fighter. I guess I was wrong.
Butterbean understands the risk he’s taking and apparently is working hard to ensure he doesn’t humiliate himself in the octagon or whatever the hell they call that thing those meatheads fight in.
“A lot of boxers have tried it and not had success,” Esch said. “It’s important to know the differences, otherwise you look like Michael Jordan trying to play baseball.”
Yes, exactly like Michael Jordan playing baseball. Or better yet, a portly, bald dude making a terrible mistake.
Please don’t kill me, Butterbean.
Add ‘Butterbean’ to list of boxing’s MMA converts [The Fabulous Forum]
New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan was in Miami over the weekend, in town to pay a visit to Jets players participating in the Pro Bowl. He had a little down time, so on Saturday he decided to take in a little mixed martial arts action and attend the Strikeforce event which featured Herschel Walker’s MMA debut that evening. Of course, being in Miami, many Dolphins fans were in attendance and didn’t appreciate Ryan getting the attention on their home turf booed the Jets coach lustily during a taped interview segment. Ryan, the gregarious guy that he is, elected to inform them during the interview (video after the jump) that the Jets would beat the Dolphins twice next season. Of course, the fans didn’t take to kindly to that, either.
I am thrilled to introduce (via the always-excellent Epic Carnival) the very beautiful, and once you learn more about her, incredibly intimidating Sarah Ponce, who along with being the 2003 UjENA Model of the Year is also a professional kickboxer, sporting a 12-1 record. Ponce also competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Women’s Wushu tournament.
Nicknamed “Sugar Foot,” the 33-year-old Ponce previously competed in something called the World Combat League and rumor has it she may join the MMA ranks next year with Strikeforce. I know very little about women’s MMA and how the weight classes and things like that break down, but if everything worked out – and I hope it would – we could possibly one day see a very sexy matchup between Miss Ponce and one Miss Gina Carano.
Of course, I have prepared a photo gallery for you below.
Thankfully, there are talented people around like LSUfreek. I really didn’t know how I felt (or whether I even cared) about Herschel Walker signing a deal with MMA organization Strikeforce and how UFC president Dana White mocked and ridiculed the decision. But now I know that even if I don’t care that much about it, I can still be entertained by hilarious animated .gifs about the topic. Thanks again for making me laugh, LSUfreek.
A little background, for those who are interested. If not, it’s fine to simply marvel at LSUfreek’s work. I won’t mind.
Gina Carano has been known as many things since she entered the realm of public awareness: Crush on American Gladiators, MMA fighter, pinup girl…Daddy’s girl?
Indeed, despite her rough (yet retaining a mesmerizing feminine exterior), according to her father, Glenn Carano, his daughter is “[s]till the same old Gina” that he bought Cabbage Patch dolls for when she was a child.
Jesse Ventura appeared on Larry King Live and after he assured Larry off-camera that he wasn’t the Grim Reaper, proceeded to bash Brock Lesnar’s post-fight behavior at UFC 100, but insisted that he thinks MMA is “teriffic” and “very professionally done.” Said Ventura, via Fanhouse:
“I was ashamed of his behavior at the end of the fight. These guys are honorable, they’re respectful, these guys volunteer to do it, the referees are very good.”
Sheesh. If a guy that used to professionally wrestle and wear feather boas believes your behavior was shameful, you must have really screwed up big time. No, let me rephrase that: if a guy that used to be a politician believes your behavior was shameful, you must have really screwed up big time.
Video after the jump.
Most of the hoopla surrounding UFC 100 involves the most-hated-man-in-mixed-martial-arts Brock Lesnar’s antics after he defeated Frank Mir by technical knockout, where he flipped-off the crowd, talked trash to Mir, ripped on UFC’s sponsors and said how he was going to bang his wife Sable (great write-up over on With Leather), but I’m going with Dan Henderson’s brutal knockout of Michael Bisping as the highlight of the evening.
Granted, I do not consider myself a MMA fan nor do I contend that I bring any sort of knowledge of the sport by making this claim, but Henderson absolutely lays out Bisping with a sick right hand. I didn’t see the fight live because I wasn’t going to pay $50 or whatever it would have cost and I had a freshly-painted wall that needed watching.
Video after the jump – at least until UFC honchos find out about it and take it down.
Inouye/AP
Jose Canseco got his ass kicked handily by Hong Man Choi in a MMA fight in Japan early this morning. The referee stopped the fight 1 minute, 17 seconds into the first round as Choi pummeled Canseco with blows to the head. Awesome. Here, let the douchiness wash over you with this bit of information:
Canseco came into the arena to the song Wild Thing with a baseball bat on his shoulder. He took a few swings of the bat after the fight was over and was helped out of the ring by his girlfriend Heidi Northcott.
Ugh. What’s next for Canseco, you ask? He will be fighting Bill Simmons at a celebrity boxing event in Atlantic City.
No, unfortunately it’s not the Bill Simmons from ESPN, although it would have been awesome if it had been – this Bill Simmons is a 6’4″, 300 pound dude cleverly nicknamed the “Wingador”, because, well, he eats a lot of chicken wings. If simply referencing the item that a person can eat a lot of is the method for getting a nickname these days, from this point forward, we should refer to Canseco as “Bagofdicksador.” Because Jose Canseco eats tons of cock, get it?
‘Bash Brother’ Jose Canseco gets bashed in mixed martial arts debut [New York Daily News]
Canseco strikes out in mixed martial arts debut [CBS Sports]
