Vince Russo

The UFC women’s bantamweight division is practically deader than disco at this point. In the space of a few weeks, they’ve taken all of the lustre of off; Rousey vs. Holm II, Rousey vs. Tate III and Tate vs. Holm II. You can still do those fights but they don’t mean nearly as much now. And Rousey’s return, if it happens, is still going to be big, but it would have been so much bigger against either Holm or Tate, with one of them holding the title. It’s as if the UFC decided they literally wanted to throw money away.

Insulting but not surprising, although what the fighters are disclosed as making and what they actually make are often two different things, and in this case, I think it's likely that Dillashaw made more than $50,000. And given what Sage's fight did for FS 2, I think the UFC are going to feel justified in paying him what they do. That said, I don't think the Sage project, as it's being handled, is going to end up with either the UFC or Sage looking good. Sage has potential and even if he didn't look the way he did, which is part of his appeal, I'd be in favour of him being a UFC project, a fighter to bring along and develop as a star, because he really could be a big star at some point. But whilst Sage could be a big star, he doesn’t yet come across like someone who could be a great fighter, because he’s still not that good of a fighter himself, and he comes off like a subpar fighter being pushed just because of his look. Which he is, but that’s not the perception you want people to have, because it’s a perception that really hurts him and the UFC, and it’s not one you can really disagree with right now. What the UFC are doing with Sage isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially from a business standpoint, because Sage could be a big star, regardless of how good a fighter he ends up being, but the UFC itself is not the place for Sage to be right now. Sage needs to be away from the spotlight, away from a situation where he’s seen to be earning far too much for a fighter of his talent, especially in comparison to so many other, far more talented fighters. Yet because of the money he’s getting, Sage is going to be kept in the UFC, and either face people he’s not ready for and get exposed as not being that good, which he isn’t right now, or he’ll face people he can beat, but they’ll be so obviously subpar fighters, and Sage isn’t much better than that himself right now, that it will look like the UFC are feeding him cans so as to protect their investment, neither of which paints Sage or the UFC in a positive light.

If a Fight Night occurs in the middle of the forest and there’s no one there to see it, does it make a noise? I expect a war between McDonald and Lineker, and I give Lineker the slight edge due to fighting more regularly over the past two years. Tony Ferguson is almost in a no-win situation taking on late replacement Landon Vannata, because nobody is giving Vannata much of a chance, so anything less than a strong win could see Nurmagomedov get the first shot at Eddie Alvarez instead of Ferguson, and Ferguson has more than earned his title shot already. However this plays out, I see either Ferguson or Nurmagomedov getting the first shot at Alvarez and the one who doesn’t face Alvarez faces Poirier for the lightweight title shot after that, because Poirier has looked great at lightweight and he has a lot of momentum behind him.

Also worth mentioning is that 'Big Rig' continues to neither look nor fight so big. I seem to remember getting jumped on when I pointed that out as well and told I didn't know what I was talking about.

I said Mark Hunt was a great stylistic match up for Brock Lesnar. I also said Hunt would have issues in regards to his kicks. In response, I was insulted by a variety of people, the same people who appear to take issue with anyone who has a differing view to their own, who seem to prefer to dish out insults rather than engage in any kind of rational debate like grown adults, possibly because they’d rather not admit that they might be wrong and that the other person has a point. In the end, the points and observations I brought up, and not just in relation the kicks, were proven to be accurate. Hunt was a great stylistic match up for Brock, and Hunt did have issues with his kicks; I don’t think he threw more than one or two, if he even threw any at all. Maybe next time, when I, or anyone, brings up an opposing view to yours, you might consider the notion that someone other than yourselves actually knows what they’re talking about. Presuming you’re even open to debate and aren’t just into shitting on people for no reason for your own personal amusement.

I'm not basing it on one fight. I'm also not basing it solely on the nature of the fight. You'd know this if you paid proper attention to what I said, but I expect that from someone who goes straight for the hyperbole and doesn't even address the points being raised. It's like you and that other clique, and you may even be part of it, don't know how to handle a differing opinion and have to go straight on the attack rather then engage in a reasonable debate. I'm basing it on both how they fight and how they look. For several fights before the Alvarez fight, RDA looked exactly the same physically. He was muscled and ripped, almost chiselled in places. RDA against Alvarez looked very different. The muscle mass was noticeably down, especially in the shoulders. The definition was noticeably down and he looked a lot less cut. RDA went from looking muscular and defined and somewhat ripped, to looking normal and in shape. it's the same change we've seen in a lot of fighters, most of them Brazilian funnily enough, You could call it a bad night but when RDA goes from being a solid but unspectacular fighter who looks in shape, to looking and fighting like a monster and looking ripped and then, in his first fight post-USADA, looking and fighting exactly like he did before his entire body changed, you'd have to be very naive not to think the enhanced drug testing had something to do with it, especially when, as mentioned, it's something we've seen from so many others.

I know I got shot down for saying this before and I expect the same crew to come in and do their thing again, but things really are different in the USADA era of the UFC. RDA went from looking like a monster and fighting like a monster to looking normal and fighting like he didn't even belong in the same cage as a top 25 fighter, let alone someone like Eddie Alvarez. Alvarez dominated and destroyed him and it was great to watch. Alvarez comes off as such a nice guy, a very genuine person, and it was great too see him realize a dream. DC vs. Silva is crazy. Talk about pulling a rabbit out of the hat. That said, it's kinda strange replacing Jones with a fighter who is not long coming off a lengthy suspension for failing a drug test. UFC best hope Silva passes his tests for this fight.

Bryan Caraway is not Jon Jones stupid, but he's not far off, not just in turning down a big money fight but turning it down on what would have been one of the two biggest shows in company history, which would have made Tate's paycheque even bigger. As for Jones, you can't say anything that hasn't already been said, and not just after this screw up, because he's had plenty of others to comment on. I have no doubt he'll have a litany of excuses ready, and I have equally little doubt that he'll screw up something fierce again down the road because he just can't help himself.

Fighting angry isn't usually fighting smart. If you come into a fight too aggressive, you can be so intent on hurting your opponent, that strategy goes out the window, you can leave yourself open to a counter attack, and you can gas yourself out early because you're not pacing yourself. Yes, this could end up with Joanna coming out like a bull in a china shop, and Claudia could very well take a serious beating, but if Claudia survives it and lasts the first round, she can come out in the second round as the fresher fighter because Joanna will have expended so much energy. It's a story that we've seen play out numerous times, with a fighter surviving a beating and ending up winning because their opponent has tired themselves out. And whilst some will argue that by the time the fight takes places, the emotion generated during the filming would have settled and the fighters will have calmed down, that flies in the face of every previous season where the coaches have hated each other, because the bad blood and ill-feeling is still there and once the fight comes around, everything that happened during filming gets stirred up because the season is airing and everyone starts talking about it again.

The fights and the fighters are OK; nobody is really bad, but nobody really stands out, and there isn't much tension between the teams. However, the tension between Joanna and Claudia is something to behold, and it's perfectly believable that the two really did get into a fist fight once the show was done filming. It's almost all from Joanna, who started out trying to a bully, a dominant alpha female, even at one point telling Claudia to 'go back the jungle; it's your place'. And that was just in the first few weeks. Joanna's team ended only winning one quarter final fight and it felt like that with each loss, Joanna was losing more and more interest in being there at all, as well as becoming increasingly unbearable in general. Joanna was well on her way to becoming super popular, because of her style and her look, but she has come across so badly this season. I don't know if Claudia will become more popular herself as a result, but Joanna is going to be so hated when she walks out next Friday night.

I expect Miocic/Overeem to be less of a scrap than expected, because Overeem's game these days is to let people come to him and counterstrike, and Miocic should, in theory, based on how he won the heavyweight title in the first place, be wise enough not to play into that. It's a fight that could go either way but I'm leaning towards Miocic winning. The more I watch of TUF 23, the more I think Claudia Gadelha is beating Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Claudia hasn't even had to do anything and she's won the mental battle, mainly because of how badly Joanna is handling the very one-sided nature of how the series has gone. Joanna has also done her popularity no favours by coming off as such a mean-spirited bully and racist.

Four out of his last six fights have won fight of the night honours, and two of those won numerous fight of the year awards. It's a shame that Lawler isn't getting any help in terms of marketable support fights at 201, because he deserves a much bigger spotlight.

Carlos Condit returns at UFC 202 (McGregor vs. Diaz II) against Demian Maia, which is a great fight and will likely see the winner get a shot at the welterweight title. Also added to that event is Anthony Johnson against Glover Teixeira and Donald Cerrone against Rick Story. UFC 202 is looking set to have a loaded main card.

They've caught the bastards. Edmonton Police Looking it up, second degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence, and they have to serve 10-25 years before being eligible for parole, although there is no guarantee they'd actually get parole.

CM Punk confirmed it, that he'll be fighting Mickey Gall at UFC 203. You can't ever say someone has a zero percent chance of winning because anything can happen in a fight, but Punk's chances are right around that mark. Whatever happens, though, I expect it'll be his first and last fight, given how long it took for him to be considered ready for this right and his general physical condition.

It could be he's having a hard time dealing with the fact that his time in the spotlight is starting to come to an end. This could be his last or second to last major tournament and he's reaching the stage where, at some point, his skills are going to decline and he's not going to be in that superstar group that are considered the absolute best in the world. He'll still be great and show flashes of world class brilliance, but he won't be the absolute best anymore, he won't be at the pinnacle. Combine that with his career being, not over, but over its peak, and you're left with a man with a massive ego who is having to deal with the prospect of being left behind as the spotlight moves on to the next generation of players, the next set of talents looking to be the next best in the world. Not everyone handles the transition well.

The fixture list has been released. Newcastle begin life in the Championship away at Fulham on Friday the 5th of August. Norwich are away at Blackburn on the Saturday, and Aston Villa are at Sheffield Wednesday on the Sunday.

On the MMA Hour on Monday, GSP said he's ready to return to the UFC, and the fight he is after is against Michael Bisping. GSP didn't mention the middleweight title, instead building it up as a fight between the two men with the most wins in the UFC, as he and Bisping are tied at 19 wins each. GSP also said he wanted the fight with Bisping because they've both been staunchly against performance enhancing drugs, and GSP said that is something he respects Bisping for. If they're not going to make Bisping vs. Henderson II, then Bisping vs. GSP is a more than welcome alternative.

Thompson won the fight but it was closer than a 50-45 score would suggest. Rory wasn't the same fighter he usually is, as he never really pulled the trigger on anything, although neither did Thompson, really, and it ended the night on a rather lacklustre note. Cerrone is doing great at welterweight, but it's time to see how good he really is at this weight and put him against a bigger name. Maybe Carlos Condit if his rematch with Nick Diaz doesn't come through.

Chesterfield have signed Ched Evans to a one year deal. Ched Evans. Who'll be on trial for rape, for a second time, in October.

A lot of new fights have been made; Will Brooks makes his UFC debut against Ross Pearson at the TUF 23 final. Brooks is replacing James Krause UFC Fight Night 92, which has a main event of Alex Caceres vs. Yair Rodriguez, now has five new fights; Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Cub Swanson Court McGee vs. Dominique Steele Zak Cummings vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio Viktor Pesta vs. Marcin Tybura Chris Camozzi vs. Thales Leites Anthony Pettis debuts at featherweight against Charles Oliveira at the UFC Fight Night on August 27th I’m very excited to see Brooks in the UFC. Bellator really did themselves a disserve in letting him go, especially as he was their lightweight champion. On a full camp, Brooks should beat Pearson, and whilst fighting on short notice would theoretically give Pearson an edge, short notice fighters have been coming up trumps a lot lately. Pettis doesn’t have an easy opponent for his featherweight debut, and Oliveira’s strengths, ground fighting, play right into where Pettis is the weakest, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Oliveira submits Pettis. Has anyone else been watching TUF 23? Joanna and Claudia were said to have come to blows after filming ended, which wasn’t caught on cameras, and I’m inclined to believe it really did happen and isn’t some publicity stunt, because Joanna has been slowly cracking up from week after week with how her team have been performing. I really like Claudia’s chances in their rematch, now, especially with the way Joanna was openly complaining about how she’s being made to look bad in the editing process. I think Claudia is in her head in a big way.

I liked it when he nitpicked over the freekick, downplaying it because it didn't precisely hit the top corner.

The question for the day is; Why was Chad Mendes flagged for a potential violation of USADA’s Anti-Doping Policy? A: Chad has been using steroids to gain muscle or aid in the healing process. B: Chad has been using diuretics to help with cutting weight. C: Paul Heyman swapped the labels on Chad and Brock Lesnar’s samples.

Am I real or am I the real Vince Russo, because that's two totally different questions? It's a fair point to make, for a number of reasons. Brock may now be under the auspices of USADA for the purposes of drug testing, and has already been tested, but given that the benefits of steroid use can last long after that use has actually stopped, and USADA testing is far more stringent and the timing of the tests is more unpredictable than WWE's Wellness Policy, it's fair to query just how clean Brock is right now. If Brock was on anything that might cause a positive test, I expect he's long since tapered off and stopped using, but you can never be sure with these sorts of things. Add to that the fact that USADA have the power to test Brock at a moment's notice whenever they feel like it, and you wouldn't exactly be shocked if Brock tested positive for something before or even after the fight.

Feel free to try and debate the point I made rather than resort to insults. Unless you're another one of those people who don't react well to points they can't argue with. Did you notice how you never once gave an actual counter to the point I made? Or was that intentional?