MMA News and Discussion Thread

[ACCBiggz]

Speaking of Meltzer, he always mentions this "everyone's favorite music video" that airs right before the event. Does anyone know if this is on youtube or something?

MUCH better in person and still gives me chills.

[I Love Pokemon]

Can you believe 20/22 fighters fighting tommorow made weight successfuly, and the only two who missed it where in the same fight? Glesion Tibau (156.5) and Jeremy Stephens (158) so now it's a 158 lb catch-wieght fight.

i can't remeber the last time if it's ever happened in the UFC where both fighters missed the weight.

[ACCBiggz]

From what I've heard is that it was a fight at 158 pounds because Tibau took the fight on short notice. I can't confirm it, but it's logical as Stephens came in at 158 when he normally has no problem making the weight and we know that Tibau is probably the biggest 155'er out there.

[I Love Pokemon]

that would make sense really, but from my understanding of reading the events, is that it was not originaly a catch=weight bout and it only became one after both missed it. Thats what has been going around anyways.

Stephens and Tibau are both pretty big LW's, i would think that alongside Maynard and Sherk they are the biggest LW in the UFC ATM.

[I Love Pokemon]

Jeff Monson picks up his second victory in ten days, with a anaconda choke over Sergej Maslobojev, in the second round.

Now if he can win at dream talk about momentum.

And the Steinbas vs Jensen fight was canceled after jensen told the AC he had tooken Adderal which is banned.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Josh Thomson suffered a broken leg in training and his fight with Melendez is off.

[Thrilla]

The first episode of TUF 9 was a great watch. Team UK is much better than I expected it to be.

[Gene Kiniski]

Are you serious, they banned Adderal? That's a bit extreme.

[I Love Pokemon]

Are you serious, they banned Adderal? That's a bit extreme.

To my knowledge it's been banned by AC's for a long time. i can't remeber why, but i remember them stating that it can lead to health problems if taken with in a certain period of the fight, like heart/breathing problems, i'm not too sure on that one though.

[Fitzy]

- The fallout of Dana White's video blog yesterday has been huge and it appears will result in a scaling back of White as a public figure representing UFC.

White's apology to GLAAD largely regarding using a homophobic slur is already up at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=360SEiiO7Uo (Actually it is not)

In addition, as things stand at this point, White's public profile is going to be greatly reduced

*White will be doing no more video blogs

*White has pulled out of doing a reality show based on his life that was scheduled to start filming

*He is going to cut back greatly on dealing with the media and greatly reduce his public role in the company

- Koscheck is off the 5/23 card due to a foot injury.

- Renato Sobral will defend the Strikefroce light heavyweight title against Rafael Feijao Cavalcante on 6/6 and the Lawler/Shields fight is at 182.

- Bellator Fighting Championships will be airing the cards on their website in English for those without ESPN Deportes.

Edited April 3, 2009 by Beautiful Fitzy Eaton

[ZJ Penn]

What did he do? I don't really follow Dana White and the blogs and stuff.

[Maxx]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-mma-w...0,5903954.story

Thats a decent article about what happened. Basically White acted like a fucking moron, not realizing that MMA is still not totally accepted mainstream, and having the president of the foremost company in MMA going off on a verbal tirade isn't exactly going to help shake the bloodsport reputation it has.

[Gabriel]

Hooray for political correctness.

Fucking cunt faggot assholes and their sensitivities.

Dana White is quite possibly the coolest President of a legitimate company in the world... and it's because he's never seemed to be worried about PC and all that garbage.

[Fitzy]

Bobby Lashley stated that he and his camp have thought about going to Seattle for the heavyweight try outs for the next Ultimate Fighter.

Former collegiate wrestling champion and WWE import Bobby Lashley (2-0) hasn't shot up the ranks of MMA quite as fast as fellow professional wrestler and current UFC interim champion Brock Lesnar.

But that's just fine for Lashley, who has said he's interested in developing at his own pace.

But on the most recent episode of ESPN.com's "MMA Live," Lashley said he definitely wants to make his way to the UFC - and he'd be willing to go through "The Ultimate Fighter" to do it.

"Everybody wants to be in the UFC," Lashley said. "It's the pinnacle of this sport, so of course I want to be there."

The UFC is holding open tryouts for "The Ultimate Fighter" in Seattle on Monday. Heavyweights are being sought out for the process, and Lashley told "MMA Live" co-host Kenny Florian he's mulling over the idea of making an appearance.

"I think [appearing on 'The Ultimate Fighter'] would be something great," Lashley said. "I saw that, and they said, 'Heavyweights,' and I was like, 'Yeah, let's jump on it.'

"I think it would be great because what I'm trying to do right now is prove myself. And on 'The Ultimate Fighter,' you have to prove yourself. I talked it over with my management and my trainers and everything, and they have mixed opinions on it - if I should go there, or if I should stay out and do different fights."

The American Top Team fighter has earned victories in his first two MMA contests, but admits he's still got a long way to go to reach the level he someday hopes to attain.

"This is a building process," Lashley said. "When I get to the UFC, I want to be a serious contender for the title. I don't want to just be another guy going into the UFC because it's a grand stage and build there. I don't think that's what I need to do.

"I need to stay in the undercard, and stay in some of the smaller fights, and get more fights under my belt - get some fights like my last fight where it doesn't go the way that I wanted. I've got to seal the deal. There's a lot of learning in this game."

And could that learning possibly be helped by the world-class coaching cast members of "The Ultimate Fighter" undoubtedly receive?

"I'm open to anything," Lashley said. "I'm open to suggestions. If that's the route [my management] wants to send me, then I'm going to go."

-MMAJunkie

[Gabriel]

I would love to see him on The Ultimate Fighter.

Could you imagine the build-up... watching him grow as a fighter, up through the ranks in a natural progression... and then having a big face off with Brock Lesnar in a couple years? Lesnar pretty much walked right in. He's got talent, and I'm not going to take that away from him, but to have two guys from the same background... one who just walked in and has been dominant, and the other who worked up from ground zero... that would be epic.

[I Love Pokemon]

But in Lesnars defense he couldn't build up from the ground like other people, he is to big of a name, a bunch of people know him, he unlike other people named Kimbo Slice, actually fought very tough fighters, contenders. His first fight was against a very underrated fighter in Min Soo Kim, who sure his record isn't great is a stud in Judo and is a pretty decent kick boxer. Then his first fight in the UFC was against his worse possible match up a Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and BJJ Blackbelt who he was dominating to he got caught.

Then he rolled over a tough veteran in Heath Herring, dominated him on the ground and the feet. Then he faced in only his fourth fight Randy Couture who is a legend, and won the fight via a second round KO. Now he is rematching Mir, thats competition.

Lashley is being brought up the right way for him though, he isn't a big name really, and he just fought a tough and underrated Jason Guida who is a tough fighter. Lashley can become something with more time to grow, and develop.

That said, i want to see Lashley vs Lesnar down the road. Right now it would be a complete mismatch, as Brock is the better striker and wrestler, plus he's faster and stronger. But i think both of these guys are the real deal, and will be around for a while minus injuries.

I think Lashley could do great on TUF, it would help him grow, help him get recognized again, and give him more expierence. Lashley's strength and athleticism and wrestling would probably be enough to help him win the show (IE: Bader, Efrain)

[GhostMachine]

They had UFC Fight Night in Nashville, and Dana White was asked afterward if they'll come back to Tennessee. He said they may hold a PPV in Memphis.

And I'd like to see Lashley in TUF. I really didn't care for him as a pro wrestler, but I'm intrigued by Lashley as an MMA fighter.

[I Love Pokemon]

Updated UFC 99 (in germany) card so far;

MAIN CARD

Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva

Ben Saunders vs. Mike Swick

Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy

Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno

Heath Herring vs. Cain Velasquez

PRELIMINARY CARD

Dale Hartt vs. Denis Siver

Rousimar Palhares vs. Alessio Sakara

Denis Stojnic vs. Stefan Struve

Peter Sobotta vs. Paul Taylor

John Hathaway vs. Rick Story

Justin Buchholz vs. Terry Etim

Mustapha al Turk vs. Todd Duffee

Roli Delgado vs. Paul Kelly

I think it looks pretty solid to tell the truth, i think all the main card fights minus Cain/Herring have FOTN or even FOTY potential on them.

Should be a great card.

I don't know if it's been posted but Nate Diaz's next fight is against Joe Stevenson. I think that fight should be entertaining, and i hope to see Diaz lose again.

Also The UFC plans on cutting some of Dana Whites interviews, his reality show has been canceled(it was in production), and his Vlogs will be canceled. Looks alitle harsh for me, plus he aplogized to GLAAD.

(EDIT: Fuck, already Posted, oh damn....)

Personally i agree with Lorreta Hunt being a dumb little bitch.

I hate the he's being crucified. i like the fact that he speaks his mind, and isn't mr political correctness. FUCK Political Correctness. I don't see the big deal, i think this is all blow out of porportion, i mean it's AMERICA Damnit, FREE SPEECH! he can say what the fuck he wants, it sucks that people forget that. Clint Eastwood was right when he said this recently "Americans today are mostly pussies" Hell even Patrick Swayze thinks so.

Edited April 4, 2009 by I Love Pokemon

[Pizza]

He has the right to say whatever he wants, but the UFC wants to be recognized as a legitimate and mainstream sporting organization, and Dana White going on tirades, whether he has the right to do it or not, undermines that. I agree that political correctness has gone too far, but this really isn't an example of that, because Dana's rant was pretty ridiculous.

[ACCBiggz]

This is all I will say on the matter: The whole thing was blown out of proportion from the beginning. I'm not defending what he said because he should not have said it in his position. Overall, I don't care. However some of the stuff posted out there like, "This has been huge" --- Um, no, no it hasn't. I will say I loved his conversation with ESPN about the matter, and here it is: Bolded are ESPN Questions, Underlined are some of my favorite moments.

Mary Buckheit talked Thursday night with UFC president Dana White in an exclusive interview regarding White's recent web tirade.

Mary Buckheit: You went on the attack yesterday …

Dana: Yeah, I did. I went on the attack and I ended up attacking someone I didn't mean to. I absolutely, positively meant to attack the reporter, Loretta Hunt from Sherdog. Absolutely.

But in attacking her you used a word that offends most everybody.

Yeah, I know that now. I know there are words that you can't use. I was talking to [one of the guys on my staff] today, who I've known forever, and we've been friends for [expletive] 10 years, and he's gay and he told me that the f-word is the new n-word. It's just as intolerable as the n-word. Honestly, now I know. You learn something every day.

If you came out with a ghostwritten, textbook apology, nobody would believe it anyway and then I'd be on you for selling out and shrugging this off with a trite contrition.

Oh, I know. Write some canned statement from the company -- there's no [expletive] way I was going to do that. C'mon. And then people told me I should just make a donation -- no [expletive] way. That's just as bad. People say stupid s--- all the time and do stupid s--- all the time to cover for it. You know what the reality is? The reality is the way that I did this thing was on the video blog. That's how it went down. That's where I always talk to the fans and that's why I'm talking to you and no other reporters. I recorded a response for the video blog. That's it. Other than that, that's all. I'm not talking to anybody else but you. I'm not defending myself to people who don't know me and are all of a sudden all over me. I'm not homophobic and I'm not anti-gay. I used a word that I shouldn't have used and I hurt people.

There are a lot of people scripting the apology that you should be giving right now. Do you think anybody deserves an apology?

I hurt people that I didn't intend to hurt and when you do something like that, yes, I believe that you should say you're sorry. I never intended to hurt anybody in the gay community, or be malicious, or look like a hateful guy. I never meant to hurt anyone in the gay or lesbian community at all, in any way, shape or form. I would never do that. I was speaking to Loretta Hunt. I didn't mean to bring those people into this; it had nothing to do with them and for that, I'm sorry.

I really didn't know the power of that word.

A lot of people won't buy that, Dana.

Look, I lived in Southie. I say a lot of things, a lot of which people won't [expletive] like. OK, but you know, when I was living there -- and this was when I was a young [expletive] idiot, like 21 years old. I lived next door to a lesbian couple and they used to get terrorized -- terrorized. South Boston back in the day was a crazy [expletive] place to be. A black cab driver would tell you to "[expletive] off." Anyway, I became friends with the two girls next door and, put it this way, I made sure they never got terrorized anymore. They were getting their windows broken and their trash cans knocked over and I made sure that nobody said s--- about them, or did anything to them. I told everybody to leave my [expletive] friends alone. And they're still my friends. I just threw a party with House of Pain on Saint Patrick's Day and one of the Southie girls came. I [expletive] love her. I'm 39 years old. I'm a grown-up. I shouldn't have used the word I used yesterday but I am not [expletive] anti-gay. That's not who the I am. I have a ton of gay friends, and co-workers and people very close to me and I know who the [expletive] I am. I know and so do my friends. At the end of the day I don't need to explain myself to anybody.

But a slip like this makes people wonder: Hey, what does Dana White think about gay and lesbian people?

I know. My PR department has been trying to get me in Out Magazine for years because of my opinion on gay marriage. I think people should be able to marry whoever the [expletive] they want. I'll tell anybody that. And I believe that when a gay person holds a job, they should absolutely get benefits for both people in the relationship just like any other regular married couple. Who the [expletive] is anybody to judge or tell another person how to live their life? I'm not into that. That's absolutely [expletive] ridiculous. No one has any right to do that to people, [expletive] that s---.

Which is great, but you understand why people are still really offended by the word you used.

Yeah. I talked to the people from GLAAD [the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation] today. I had a great conversation with them. I get it.

You've seen other guys in the light like you go down for saying some awful things on camera.

Yeah, but you know what the difference is? Those guys, like Dog The Bounty Hunter, right, who flipped out when his kid was dating a black chick and he was dropping the n-word left and right. Or Imus who said that hurtful stuff directly about girls on a basketball team. Or guys that say they hate gay people or they are anti-gay. There's that stuff -- attacks directed specifically at someone. When I was going off and I said that word it wasn't directed at anybody gay, or toward anybody's sexual orientation. That's not what I intended. I was talking about an anonymous guy or girl who gave a quote and then refused to have their name printed in a story that was complete dog [expletive] on a Web site that I've had beef with since the day they bought this company and they hate me and I hate them. So there was an attack and it was on the Web site and the ridiculous story and the reporter couldn't get a named source. I was not going after gay people. I never meant to bring that community into this.

But you did, because you used a word that is either used to demean gay men, or emasculate and thereby embarrass straight guys because locker-room culture can't get away from the polarizing effect of effeminacy. I know you well enough to know that you weren't thinking of that when you dropped the f-word, but you can't say that word.

I know. I know that now. I should have used another word.

Personally, I think words are just words. They have the power we give them, which makes some very powerful. People either love you or hate you, Dana, all because of the words you're so unafraid to throw around. You're not filtered like the other commissioners. But your video blog is so popular and so visible, especially to that magic young demo. I worry teenage Dana-disciples now think it's OK to call somebody the f-word because you did it.

I know. [Pause] I know, and that's what I don't want.

You yourself talk about you in Southie as an idiot kid. You know boys and so many others are glued to your every move.

I know. And you know what? The thing that sucks is that video rant, the feedback I got was not negative. It was overwhelmingly positive from our fans. It was, "Yeah, you go, Dana. You're the man."

At the end of the day, the worst thing for me is that I don't want anybody thinking that it's cool to say that word, especially now that I know the word f----- is as powerful as the n-word. I don't want these kids out there watching me and thinking it's cool. I don't want that.

I want them to know that I agree with the issues of people in the gay community and shouldn't have said that word. The reality is -- I swear a lot, you know that. I swear all the time. It's not just a thing I do on blogs or on TV or at work -- I swear all the time. I swear everywhere. I swear. Am I going to turn over a new leaf and stop swearing? Who knows? Maybe I will. But right now, that's what I do.

Tomorrow and the day after that, will you use the n-word, or the f-word?

I never say the n-word. Ever. I swear all the time. I swear at home in front of my kids, but I'm a psycho about the n-word. Never. It's racist. It hurts people. It's never OK. I didn't think of the f-word like that. … Now I do.

As you, in your own words, take this spectacle and make it a sport, do you realize your public responsibility to make sure you don't look like a bad guy, or worse, a bigot?

Yeah. I did today. Honestly, I think all in all that this was a good experience for me. I say a lot of things. I do a lot of things. I absolutely meant to attack Loretta Hunt and her story and that Web site. There are times when I will go after people on purpose. Plus, I swear a lot because, to me, words are just words. I really believe that, that's just me. So with that blog, I never meant to offend so many people just by using that word. I never thought I could. It didn't occur to me. I especially didn't mean to hurt my gay friends. But I now know that the reality is, whether you mean to hurt anybody or not, you do. You just do. Now I know.

Edit: My biggest problem with some of the coverage is that it has been calling Dana sexist and attacking a woman. He didn't attack a woman, he attacked a reporter. Yes, he called her a bitch, but if it were a guy he probably would have said the same thing or chosen another curse word. It wasn't an attack on her sex or anything like that. And the whole thing with some of these articles playing off the fact that she is a woman, I would venture to guess if you asked Loretta Hunt she would only want those reports to mention that she was a journalist and not a female journalist.

Edited April 4, 2009 by ACCBiggz