Hindsight – UFC Japan: Barnett vs. Nelson in retrospect

In every fight card that’s especially true for someone. Most fans and analysts figured it would be Uriah Hall heading back down the way he came up, after a fight with Gegard Mousasi. Instead, it feels more like an end to Mousasi’s time as a real potential top contender for the 185 lb belt. He wanted to make a final run at the title, and losing to Uriah Hall is the end of that road, not the beginning. Similarly George Roop and Katusnori Kikuno seem like they hit a hard stopping point, where Roy Nelson just took one more step back down the road he was already on. Oh, and I banked just about even on fight picks going 5-5 (5-4 if you’re being generous with a draw).

Disclaimer Time: If ever there were a card to frustrate the gambling crowd, this may or may not be it. The odds weren’t that short, but not many that were all that tantalizing either. I almost certainly would have lost something on Mousasi. But, if you bet on Johnson, Hein, Mizugaki, and Horiguchi all to get safe wins you probably did alright. Basically, I lost out on all the tough picks that weren’t worth judging and got the easy ones right… oh and totally went to crap over Katsunori Kikuno, but the less said about that the better. Still the disclaimer is here to remind you that I don’t gamble, at all. Odds and fight picks are my way of creating narrative out of what would otherwise be a somewhat disconnected series of singular events. Recognizing expectations helps build that narrative. I’m using Odds Shark for the odds on each fight and taking the mode for each fighter. So, let’s get to the fights…

Shinsho Anzai (-115) vs. Roger Zapata (-105) (I picked Zapata, I was wrong)

• The Expectation: The dead even odds here make it a little odd for me to feel like I really went out on a limb to take Zapata. I thought Zapata would win, but it felt like a lot more people were picking Anzai. Which is to say, that I was really nicely surprised by just how much Anzai went to his wrestling in order to keep control of the fight, even though it makes me feel a bit silly for assuming he wouldn’t. He still got out boxed handily when the fight stayed standing, but Zapata just couldn’t stay upright and eventually couldn’t stay uninjured.
• Fallout for Anzai: He gets to stay in the UFC. I honestly think it’s good for the UFC to have a contingent of Japanese fighters in the promotion having even some success. Someone like Anzai winning isn’t much, but it’s something. Otherwise, he still looks like a throwback wrestler who goes out on his shield every time he decides to throw hands. That won’t get him far, but it was enough here.
• Fallout for Zapata: This is exactly the performance (minus injury) that I expected from Zapata. He looked like a good athlete, his hands were crisp, but Anzai went after him with technical wrestling, and Zapata was never going to be terribly ready for that. He did well and was competitive, and I hope the UFC gives him more fights, because all he really needs is time and experience.

Kajan Johnson (-300) vs. Naoyuki Kotani (+315) (I picked Johnson, I was right)

• The Expectation: Everyone knew Kotani was going to lose this fight. The odds were off. Something closer to +500 would have been more appropriate. Kajan Johnson was going to win, whether it was by attrition, by knockout, or maybe even submission. Saying that, Kotani taking the third round from him was a minor miracle.
• Fallout for Johnson: Noting that the odds should have been longer and that Johnson was always going to win makes the actual win itself a bit of a disappointment. For two rounds, Johnson was beating Kotani to a putty. He had him hurt, he barely got hit, he should have finished the fight. But, he didn’t and he let Kotani come back and take the third from him. It’s a win, it keeps him alive in the division, but it was ugly.
• Fallout for Kotani: Fighters like Naoyuki Kotani are the reason that I’m happy to see a guy like Shinsho Anzai get even one win. Kotani isn’t a bad fighter in his own way, but he is fundamentally unsuited to UFC competition for it’s pace, size, and perhaps even rule set. He always fights his heart out, but it’s time for the UFC to cut him lose.

Nick Hein (-365) vs. Yusuke Kasuya (+315) (I picked Hein, I was right)

• The Expectation: You know a fighter is in a weird place when his ability to win a fight is based largely on whether or not he gets hurt badly during the fight. If Hein hurts Kasuya, then Kasuya has a shot. If Hein doesn’t, he wins a boring, comfortable decision. Hein didn’t hurt Yusuke Kasuya.
• Fallout for Hein: I feel like Hein is a little bit of a project for the UFC, or at least he should be. He’s a very vocal company man, and a fighter with a deep interest in growing the sport in his home country. He’s got the personality to be a valuable asset to the company, but he hasn’t yet built the fighting tools. He’s getting to the point in his career where he should be ready for a step up, but it doesn’t look like he is. It’ll be interesting to see how long the UFC keeps letting him take the slow road.
• Fallout for Kasuya: He looked alright in a loss. Good, even, in the first round. But, problems with low output continue to plague him. He has some time to work on that, but it’s something he really has to get on, because depending on getting rocked to light a fire under you really isn’t a great way to win at the UFC level. Otherwise, he’s a good athlete with a well rounded game, just doesn’t throw enough.

Li Jingliang (-310) vs. Keita Nakamura (+250) (I picked Jingliang, I was wrong)

• The Expectation: For about a round and a half we saw exactly the fight everyone expected. After surviving Nakamura’s stifling top game for the first round, Li Jingliang turned his continually improving boxing to full effect. And to that end, it looked like the fight was going to be a 29-28 run for the Chinese fighter, maybe even a stoppage. Right up until he gave up his back. Then he was out like a light.
• Fallout for Jingliang: When is a loss not really a loss? When you beat 7-shades out of your opponent and get caught in a hail-mary sub. I mean, it’s still a loss for Jingliang, but if you’re looking at his potential for future development and improvement in the division, this was a pretty good performance. He showed that he can actually dominate a less skilled fighter with his standup. That’s a great step for him. Now he just has to work on that defensive grappling and wrestling.
• Fallout for Nakamura: I’m happy for him, just like I’d be happy for Kotani if he could have gotten a UFC win, finally after a long career. Nakamura has been kicking around forever, his second chance was more than 7 years in the making, and he got a hell of a fun win in his re-debut. Is he going to go on to great success in the UFC? No, but this is a good moment to take with him.

Diego Brandao (-240) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (+220) (I picked Kikuno, I was wrong)

• The Expectation: Okay, so… If you follow me with any regularity, you’ll know I picked Kikuno to win this. Partially, I forgot about Brandao’s really next-level speed, partially I still think I had a leg to stand on. Either way, I was way wrong. Brandao shattered Kikuno in an instant and showed that the classic Dream star has a very real ceiling outside the division’s top 20.
• Fallout for Brandao: Slowly but surely, and despite his losses, Brandao is making a charge for the top 15 at featherweight. I don’t know how long that’ll last, he’s been fighting for a decade now, but it’s hard for me to argue that he has a worse case than Dennis Siver or Tatsuya Kawajiri for a rankings slot. Hell, I’d even like to see him in with Darren Elkins again. If he gets thrown at a top 10 guy he’ll probably lose again, but he’s clearly a cut above the rank and file of 145.
• Fallout for Kikuno: If Silva and Ferguson suggested that there was a consistent style of fighter that would beat Kikuno, Brandao showed that it’s really just anyone with power in their hands and the relative knowledge of how to use it. Kikuno’s style is broken. There are enough bad strikers in MMA for him to still pick up wins, even in the UFC, but his peak is well outside the elite at this point.

Mizuto Hirota (-280) vs. Teruto Ishihara (+235) (I picked Hirota, it was a draw)

• The Expectation: I figured HIrota would implement his pressure striking game and maybe some wrestling and top control offense on his way to a unanimous decision. The odds reflected that thought pretty accurately. And, I still think Hirota won the fight, barely. But, he got dropped in every round and Ishihara really worked hard to not get totally outpointed. I’m fine with the draw as a result, even though it once again makes a mockery of the UFC’s attempts to pick a tournament winner.
• Fallout for Hirota: Like Nakamura, Hirota is back again. Unlike Nakamura, he didn’t have a thrilling win to escort him back through the doors of the promotion. He looked like a slightly less durable version of the fighter he’s always been. That was enough to get him a draw in this fight, but it doesn’t bode well for his future in the UFC.
• Fallout for Ishihara: He showed that he’s a great athlete and that he is steadily, slowly improving his game. But the old problems with feinting more than throwing and a lack of consistent or varied straight punching still came back to bite him as the fight went on. He’s a good enough athlete to make a real run in the promotion, but he has to improve quickly, because opponents like Hirota are a dime a dozen in the UFC and Hirota, for all purposes, beat him.

Takeya Mizugaki (-240) vs. George Roop (+200) (I picked Mizugaki, I was right)

• The Expectation: Mizugaki didn’t disappoint, exactly. He did exactly what he was expected to do, box up an extremely hittable George Roop on his way to a decision win. But this fight was ugly and bad. Mostly, Roop didn’t look like he wanted to fight Mizugaki. And by the third round he was desperately searching for takedowns and a way to just keep his opponent off him. Made for an easy Mizugaki win, but a bad fight.
• Fallout for Mizugaki: He’s still a top 15 fighter, and even top 10 for another minute, but eventually this fight didn’t tell us any more than that. Against a shot opponent without a lot to offer in the cage, Mizugaki can win rounds without too much trouble. But he’s already started losing to rising talent and there are more young fighters coming up the ranks.
• Fallout for Roop: I said it on fight night, but I’ll repeat it here, I’m not interested in seeing Roop fight again. He can continue fighting if that’s what’s best for him, but I don’t want to see it. He looked slow and shaky in the cage and there’s no good reason for him to be in there with top level competition at all.

Chico Camus (+325) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (-450) (I picked Horiguchi, I was right)

• The Expectation: Camus was going to be a tough out. That’s something that anyone fighting him or trying to handicap his upcoming fights should know. He’s a very good, skilled fighter at the fringes of the flyweight top 10. But, that’s not enough to beat a top flight athlete like Horiguchi and his ever improving run of form.
• Fallout for Camus: If you’re Chico Camus, this is the moment where you start figuring out what the best monetary angles in your career are, because getting the title probably isn’t going to happen. He’s very good and he can be a very good fighter for a while yet, but just getting to fight for the title would be a major accomplishment in his career. He’s got an exciting style and he has more time to show it, however, Horiguchi and Cejudo have put a cap on just how far up he’s going.
• Fallout for Horiguchi: He had to win this fight. It would have been nice if he could have gotten a big KO to go with it, but Camus is a capable talent in his own prime, so that wasn’t terribly likely. Still, Horiguchi cruised and looked sharp doing it. That’s what he has to be doing right now in order to build toward another shot at the belt down the road. Strong win, nothing unexpected, just staying the course.

Urijah Hall (+325) vs. Gegard Mousasi (-400) (I picked Mousasi, I was wrong)

• The Expectation: Round 1 was pretty much the expectation of everyone for this fight, and I was shocked at just how easily Gegard made it happen. He was working Hall over to a pretty easy decision, or even possibly a submission, before his world fell apart around him. To say that Mousasi was Hall’s best shot at grabbing a top tier MW win, does not mean that it was expected that Hall would blast Mousasi into orbit with a spinning heel kick, but he did and here we are.
• Fallout for Hall: Watching him get booked like a top 10 MW for the rest of his career is going to be an interesting experience. He’s now graduated from the world of Rafael Natal and Ed Herman, into the world of Tim Boetsch and CB Dolloway. And there’s no real going back. Once you win a fight like this, the UFC books you against top competition for the rest of your career. I’m not confident that makes Hall more than .500 fighter.
• Fallout for Mousasi: This isn’t a sign of the end of days for “The Dreamcatcher” quite yet. After all, he got caught by an amazing technique. The kind of thing that even Hall has shown himself capable of only occasionally replicating… But, this is a sign that fans should start watching Gegard’s next few fights very closely. He’s been in this sport longer than most, already, and this is his first KO loss. Not time to panic, but maybe time to think about the realities of where he’s at in his career.

Josh Barnett (-330) vs. Roy Nelson (+265) (I picked Barnett, I was right)

• The Expectation: Man, I am shocked Roy Nelson was as competitive as he was. I figured once the fight got past round 1, this would all be down hill running for Josh Barnett. But, Nelson arguably took the 5th (at least in my book) and kept Barnett off balance with his first wrestling heavy performance in years. Great fight and surprising performance even if the result was predictable.
• Fallout for Barnett: He’s still got it, and frankly looks like he’s in the best shape of his career. Something about heavyweights, most of them just seem to age at a much different rate than the rest of the game. Despite a couple years on the shelf, Barnett came back looking trimmed down and more technically varied in his offensive striking than ever. His clinch work was masterful. He’s got to be considered a realistic top contender right now, especially with so few others around.
• Fallout for Nelson: So, this is a major conflict for me with Nelson. On the one hand, he looked better than he has in a loss in a long time. This may even be the best losing performance of Nelson’s career. But this loss may leave him dead in the water in terms of the heavyweight division. He’s lost 5 of his last 6, and Big Nog is his only win since early 2013. Mostly, it just seems like opponents have “solved” him. Even when he’s fighting his best, they know how to neutralize him, and the likelihood of him having a late career renaissance is slim. So, I wouldn’t be shocked if the UFC keeps him, I wouldn’t be shocked if the UFC cuts him, but I would be shocked if Nelson gets a relevant win anytime soon.

Those are my collected thoughts from UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson. As always, so much of what I wrote seems obvious now, but that’s the benefit of hindsight. Until next time, when I think I’ll be talking about why Alexander Gustafsson is the next man to fight Jon Jones and Johny Hendricks is still in the title hunt. See you then!

*This week’s quote from the movie “Day of the Outlaw.”

Watch epi. 1 of Dana White’s new talent scouting show: ‘Looking for a fight’

A search for more UFC talent that doesn’t involve TUF and sending fighters to a house somewhere to fight several times over a couple weeks? Tell me more. Dana White, along with his longtime friend Nick “The Tooth” and Team Serra-Longo gym owner Matt Serra are out on the road looking for up and coming young fighters to sign to the UFC. And they’re bringing fans along for their adventures, antics, and ring-side experiences watching regional MMA.

And while I could see some reasonable skepticism that that trio (or really, the non-Matt Serra parts of that trio) might not be the best talent scouts in the world, in terms of picking out super technical fighters, their first episode seems to be a bit of a home run as it shows them bringing in promising young MMA fighter and former championship karateka Sage Northcutt. Northcutt fought Rocky Long at Legacy FC 44 on August 28th. White, Serra, and Mr. “The Tooth” were cageside for the action and impressed enough to get him on a UFC card just over one month later. Check out the inaugural episode of their new show to see the fight.

UFC champ Cormier hopes Jon Jones ‘becomes a better person’ after punishment

Daniel Cormier’s position in the light heavyweight landscape just got a little more precarious. Former champion Jon Jones recently had his day in court, following felony charges stemming from his actions in a hit and run collision. The outcome? 18 months of probation. Depending on what next steps the UFC decides to take in terms of reinstating Jones’ contract, he could be ready to step back in the cage pretty quickly.

None of that seems to be bothering Daniel Cormier, however, who made it clear to MMA Fighting that he not only agrees with the court’s handling of Jones’ case, but hopes to fight him again soon:

“When this incident happened, the thought wasn’t really that Jon was going to serve jail time,” Cormier said. “The hope was that there would be some sort of punishment for his actions, and that was the punishment levied by the judicial system. The system is in place for a reason, so we have to all agree that it’s fair.
…
“Hopefully on the other side he becomes a better person and he gets back to doing what he does best, and that’s fighting.”
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“I would love to fight him,” he added. “I have to get by Alexander Gustafsson first, and then we’ll see what happens. But yeah, I would love for it to be Jon Jones next.”

Of course, before he can fight Jon Jones again, Cormier has to beat Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 192, on October 3rd in Houston, Texas. If he does get by Gus, it seems like just a matter of time before he and Jones are squaring off again with the light heavyweight title on the line.

UFC champ Cormier mocks Papelbon for dugout brawl: ‘A for effort’

Sounds like Daniel Cormier liked at least a little of what he saw from Jonathan Papelbon during Sunday’s Nationals vs. Phillies game, when the closer went for the throat following a heated exchange with team leader Bryce Harper. Cormier is gearing up for UFC 192, on Saturady, October 3rd, where he’ll defend his UFC light heavyweight title against challenger Alexander Gustafsson. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have time to give TMZ a quick word about a little major league pugilism.

Acording to Cormier, his biggest takeaway was that, despite his lack of skill, he liked what he saw out of Papelbon, in terms of backing up his talk:

“Terrible.” responded Cormier, when asked about the technique behind Papelbon’s attack. “The fighting skill was, it was like something that I might do to Chris. You won’t find that in the Octagon. But, you know what? A for effort.”

Cormier expanded on the idea saying that Papelbon showed a fighter’s intensity:

“You know what man, just the intensity and the intent says that, I guess he would fight, right? You always wonder, will a guy fight when the time comes? And it looks like it, because he actually went after his teammate.”

As for Harper’s side of it, Cormier sounded a little less impressed, saying that as a team leader Harper was right to defend himself, but should “hold himself in higher regard” than to get caught up in a fight.

Woodley: UFC will pay Jon Jones more than Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey is the “It Girl” for the UFC right now. She’s got a bustling film career, an undefeated streak as long as your arm, a best selling auto-biography, and a size-able chunk of UFC gold around her waist. But, according to Tyron Woodley, who fights Johny Hendricks, on October 3rd’s UFC 192, Rousey may not occupy her spot as the UFC’s hottest commodity for long.

Speaking to MMAJunkie, Woodley opined that it’s only a matter of time before former light heavyweight champ in exile Jon Jones is back on top of the world, as the UFC’s top earner:

“I think when Jon comes back, he’ll take his spot as the highest-paid (fighter) in the UFC.”
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“He got paid what he was worth, and just so you know, I agree with it. I think Ronda should be making what she’s making. I think Jon should be making what he’s making.

“I don’t know what she gets paid, (but) I kind of know what Jon gets paid, and he was the highest paid while he was around. When he gets back, he’ll reclaim that, but I think right now, she’s probably making a good seven figures.”

There’s little doubt that Jones will still command a high salary when he makes it back to the Octagon. It even seems likely that he’ll climb back to some similar level of stardom, akin to what he held before his inauspicious, hit and run fueled, exit from the promotion. But as for claiming that “top earner” spot? It feels like Rousey has set a new bar for media success and attention with the promotion and has picked up a reach outside the sport that Jones was never able to garner. It’s hard to see him as the face of the organization at this point, and as such, hard to see the UFC paying him like he is.

Mousasi claims Machida was ‘oiled up’ for UFC bout

Gegard Mousasi’s career has been defined by long stretches of success, punctuated with singular, notable losses. And despite an overall record of 44-5, it seems to be something of an entrenched narrative that he just can’t get over the hump into being recognized as one of the true greats of his era. I’m not sure that a win over Uriah Hall, who he fights this Saturday, September 26th in Saitama, Japan will be the win he needs to change hearts and minds, but there’s definitely at least one loss on Mousasi’s record that he’d like another shot at.

Back in February of 2014, Gegard Mousasi fought Lyoto Machida in the headlining bout of UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. It was a fantastic, back and forth technical battle that saw Machida take a narrow decision. Now, however, Mousasi is going on the record to say that he’s sure Machida was cheating that night. And if the two of them ever fought again, he’d want to make sure the Brazilian fighter wasn’t greasing.

“I think it’s going to be a very different fight fighting him in the U.S., not fighting him in Brazil. That would be a big difference,” Mousasi told MMAFighting. “First of all, I think the newer drug policy is good. And he was very slippery in that fight, I think he put some oil in his body. Those things I believe would be different if he’s not fighting in Brazil.

“One thing I know for sure is he was oiled up. He had a lot of oil in his body. You don’t sweat it, but once you sweat it comes out. I’m fighting, at that moment I don’t think about it, but looking back to the fight, I took him down and he got back right up, I wasn’t able to grab something. I had his back, and I slipped from his back. Later one, even Luke Rockhold said he was slippery in his fight. Watching the pictures, he was shining as hell. What can I say? So those are things it makes difference, so, yeah, I think it’s gonna make the difference if he fights somewhere else.”

Of course allegations of greasing towards Brazilian fighters in particular (and Yoshihiro Akiyama) is nothing new, but this is the first time I can recall that anyone has thrown them at Machida. It may not be loaded gloves or PED use, but it’s a pretty serious allegation of cheating for Mousasi to level at a top 10 fighter. Stay tuned as we’ll be sure to keep you up to date with more information as it becomes available.

Report: Former UFC champ Barao announces move to 145 on Brazilian TV

It looks like we may have seen the last of former bantamweight champion Renan Barao’s days at 135 lbs. The top ranked fighter has apparently made the recent announcement on a Brazilian television program, that he will be making the move to featherweight. Notable fighter manager of Bellator’s Pitbull brothers, Matheus Aquina reported the news on Twitter:

Renan Barao said on a local TV news that he’s moving up to Featherweight and looking to fight in December

— Matheus Aquino (@MatheusDCAquino) September 25, 2015

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Most recently, Barao fought T.J. Dillashaw in title fight rematch, back in July on Fox. It was Barao’s first title fight as a true challenger to an established champion in the UFC, having won his own title as a vacant interim belt against Urijah Faber (which was later promoted to the undisputed bantamweight title). The rematch against Dillashaw looked a lot like the first fight between the two, with Dillashaw controlling the action entirely from start to finish for a dominating TKO victory.

That may have been the final straw in what have been long standing calls from fans and analysts to see Barao try his hand up a division. Barao’s weight cuts have been notably difficult at 135 pounds, at one point derailing a planned title fight against Dillashaw at the last moment, after Barao passed out in the shower while cutting weight. Hopefully he finds the process more comfortable at 145. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow as we’ll be sure to keep you updated with more news as it becomes available.

The MMA Prospectus – UFC Japan, Bellator, more BW talent

The MMA Prospectus is back to continue scouring the developmental stages of MMA fighting careers for interesting talent and fun fighters on the rise. It’s a weird week for young MMA fighters, frankly. Despite a UFC and Bellator card this weekend, there’s not exactly a plethora of exciting fighters getting in the cage, especially not compared to last week, which saw four major regional shows running. This UFC Japan card is especially barren. Dynamite has Darrion Caldwell vs. Shawn Bunch, Ewerton Teixeira, and Gleristone Santos. TO make up for a lack of UFC fighters of note, we’re taking a look at a couple more fun rising bantamweight fighters, Murad Kalamov and Luke Sanders.

If you enjoyed this video, head on over to YouTube and give it a “Like.” Oh, and while you’re there, why not subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM? That way you’ll be the first to know about any new Bloody Elbow interviews and analysis.

And of course, if audio is more your thing, check us out over on SoundCloud and iTunes.

Ryan Couture talks working to achieve his own goals in MMA

Well, Ryan Couture was supposed to be fighting this week. The former Strikeforce and UFC fighter was scheduled to face Nick Gonzalez in a lightweight showdown, but Gonzalez missed weight at Thursday weigh-ins… bysomething like 17 lbs. Needless to say, Couture isn’t taking that fight, nor should he. But, prior to the mess that was the breakdown of his bout, he sat down with Bloody Elbow to talk about what it’s like to be one of MMA’s first legacy fighters; a fighter coming in with the hightened expectations of being the child of an established star. In a sport as young as this one, he’s been one of the very first to make his way to the bigger stages.

Of course, to hear him tell it, fighting was never really the plan:

“I figured [MMA] would just be kind of a one-off thing and something I would just try out to satisfy that curiosity.”

“Actually, before I ever got in the ring, I always thought the opposite of that,” said Couture when asked what made him feel fighting was really right for him. “When I started training it was just a fun hobby and a way to stay in shape. I’d always been a fan of the sport and had a competitive streak all my life, playing soccer and wrestling, enjoyed competition and pushing myself in that way. So, once I started to get up to speed and learn how to fight a little bit I decided it was worth giving it a try at the amateur level. I figured it would just be kind of a one-off thing and something I would just try out to satisfy that curiosity. But, the first time I stepped in the cage I was hooked and I just couldn’t picture myself doing anything but pursuing it as a career.”

With an eye toward a run at the Bellator title and far off visions of being a mainstay in the day-to-day operations of Xtreme Couture, Ryan’s career hasn’t been unsuccessful. He’s put together a 10-3 record, beat some really tough competition. In general, he seems to have carved out a nice niche in a sport that provides very few comfortable roles outside of a few top fighters. As such, he had some good advice for other fighters who might end up following in someone else’s footsteps; a future GSP jr. or Andy Silva. His biggest takeaway, make sure you do it for yourself:

“I think, just to know what they’re getting into,” Couture cautioned, when asked what advice he’d give to others following a successful parent. “There’s going to be a lot more eyes on them from a much earlier stage than there would be for someone else. They won’t be able to fly under the radar. Everybody’s going to have their input, whether it’s good or bad, but just ignore all that. If they’re pursuing it for the right reasons and really doing it for themselves, then that stuff shouldn’t matter, it won’t bother them. They should be trying to achieve their own goals and be happy with that. If they’re doing it out of some need to achieve the same level of success as that person, whose footsteps they’re following, then they’re setting themselves up for frustration.”

You can follow Ryan Couture on Twitter @RyanDCouture

Bellator’s Warren on future of MMA: ‘It’s going to get so much more violent’

Joe Warren is in interesting figure in the MMA world. The self styled “Baddest Man on the Planet” didn’t start fighting until he was in his 30s and already had a prestigious, world-class wrestling career under his belt. With what was initially a limited style and a brash persona, he became something of a divisive personality to fans that followed his career. Just a little over a year after going pro, he won the Bellator 145 lb title. He’d go on to lose two of his next three fights and the belt along with it. And too a lot of fans, on the heels of those losses, the 35-year old former champ seemed destined to go down as not much more than a flash in the pan; an athlete who found quick success at the end of his competitive prime, before flaring out.

But, and perhaps somewhat obfuscated by his willingness and ability to self promote, Warren didn’t drift away. In fact, he’s gotten better. If you go back and watch his old tape, he’s gotten quite a lot better, really. And in 2014 at the age of 37 he went out and won his second Bellator title, defeating 25-year old Brazilian Eduardo Dantas.  He didn’t keep the belt, for long. Even for young fighters, success at the highest level of the sport can come and go, but it does seem like Warren is just hitting his stride inside the cage, right now, in his late 30s.

He’s set to fight L.C. Davis at Bellator 143 on Friday, September 25th, in the card’s main event. Bloody Elbow spoke to him in the lead up to the fight, and wanted to know what he thought of the idea that in MMA your career is really much more defined by your time spent in the cage than it is your age:

“I’ve done good things, I’ve done bad things, but it’s always been in front of you guys.”

“I don’t know if that’s the truth, you know?” Warren responded, when asked if he felt that age wasn’t a major factor in his carer. “I mean, this is my fifth year right now and it sucks for me, because I’ve had to… I’ve learned how to fight on television in front of you guys, so I’ve made mistakes. I’ve done good things, I’ve done bad things, but it’s always been in front of you guys. It’s never been semi-pro fights or smaller fights before. I learned inside of the cage, I never even trained. I just took a flight to Japan and started fighting.

“So, I believe that if I was a younger fighter… Like, I didn’t wrestle, if I was 25 right now, I’d be on top until I was 35. But, that being said, I didn’t even start fighting until I was 32, I never even put a glove on. So, I’m thinking, I had to rush into it. I think in the years to come, in the progression of this sport, it’s going to get so much more violent, because the kids are going to be so technically sound. That being said, the fights will be a little slower, but they’ll be more violent. Meaning, if someone does throw a punch or a kick, it’s going to knock somebody out. It’s going to change a lot. I don’t know how long people are going to stay on top, but I do believe what you say, when a guy gets on top, usually he gets those 5 years right, and he starts fading.”

Despite not being 25 and maybe not having as long a career in front of him, Warren does believe he’s continuing to improve. Most notably in his striking, as he came into the sport almost a pure wrestler.

“Oh jeeze man, it was striking, bottom line,” said Warren when I asked him what part of striking has been most difficult to pick up. “You know, I’m a wrestler, I’m a Greco Roman wrestler, I’m not used to being away from someone, I’m used to having my hands on them at all times, you understand? So, it was really a distance issue; trying to understand how long my arms really are and how far away I am before I take a shot. So most of our work is, how I use combinations and punches to get to my shots; so I just use my hands before I shoot. If my hands do hit you before I take your back, you’ll be in way worse trouble than you were if I just take you down. It’s taken a lot of time. It’s muscle memory, bottom line. Jiu Jitsu came a teeny bit easier to me, just because I’m used to being on a mat and a lot of the positioning and the structure of the sport is similar to wrestling. The striking and the kicking, I’m just learning how to kick right now. But, the striking was definitely the hardest part.”

As for how he’s made that transition from being a wrestler to a more complete MMA fighter, it’s come slowly and with a lot of trials by fire. Warren made no bones about the fact that he got into MMA for money and had to learn the fighting part on the fly.

“I was world champ at the time in Greco Roman wrestling, so I believed I was the toughest person in the world anyway…”

“That’s the only reason,” Warren responded when asked if money drove him into MMA. “I never really got into fights. I was a wrestler, I didn’t get in fights in bars or anything like that. The only reason I got into fighting is because Dream paid me money to fly over there and enter this featherweight world championship. Like, two weeks before the fight Team Quest and Heath Sims and Dan Henderson were calling me to try and go over there and they paid me like 25k to show up. My first fight, that was good money. And I decided, screw it, lets go over there and fight. I was world champ at the time in Greco Roman wrestling, so I believed I was the toughest person in the world anyway, didn’t think anything about the actual sport of MMA. I learned real fast that there’s a lot of things that go into that. It’s a tough sport and I’m honored to still be on top.”

Of course, being “on top” also means coming off a loss right now for Warren. But, it doesn’t seem to be a loss that has really meant any changes in approach or in mindset for him on his way to his next fight. As Warren described it, losing to Marcos Galvao was a case of “getting caught” by a very high quality grappler. In general, for a fighter who suffered a very tough public loss, Warren seemed pretty serene about the whole thing as he looks forward to L.C. Davis. Even when talking about referee discretion with verbal submissions:

“I don’t know. I feel like if you verbally submit, you could tap,” responded Warren when I asked him about refs applying the verbal submission rule. “But, that being said, I didn’t even know I screamed out last time. My body didn’t tap. But, if John doesn’t stop that, my leg is broke. So, I want to fight this, say it sucks, but it saved me last time. I’m kinda stuck here in a weird spot. It took my belt for some shit that I could have kept fighting. I probably would have pulled out of that, it would have been fine, and I would have won. Or, he could have broke my leg and I’d be done for the rest of my life. That being said, that’s why you have those high level referees out there, that understand the difference between a verbal submission and a guy that just said ‘Ow!’ That’s why we have those great referees.”

And finally, as a very successful, smaller fighters in the MMA world, I wanted to get Warren’s take on Demetrious Johnson and his fight with John Dodson, and the general apathy that lighter fighters seem to get from the fan community. For Warren, he feels a big part of it has to do with the evolution of the sport and how that doesn’t necessarily meet fan expectations… or at least fans outside of Bellator:

“I didn’t even watch the fight personally. I’m reading some stuff on-line about it. I don’t know, they say they’re very exciting and everything, but they’re not getting the viewers the ’35ers are and I’m not sure why. You see, that being the case, I always say, if I weighed 200 lbs I’d be a multi-millionaire. But, since I fight featherweight and 135, it’s a whole different pay scale. I’m not sure why. Those are very exciting fighters to watch.

“With us weighing this weight, even the biggest, strongest one of us need to be bringing a s**tload of force behind those punches to knock some of us out.”

“The problem is, you don’t see a lot of finishes, a lot of knockouts at 125 and ’35. You just don’t see it. With us weighing this weight, even the biggest, strongest one of us need to be bringing a shitload of force behind those punches to knock some of us out. We can take a lot of punishment, the smaller guys. Compared to, say, a 200 lb guy or heavyweight fighter that, if his hand just hits the guy in the head, he puts so much force behind it that it drops him. You just get more competitive fights at the lighter weights, is what you’re going to see.

“The Bellator fans are really pretty knowledgeable about the smaller weights, though. They follow me and they follow all of us featherweights as much as they do our heavyweights, or more. I think they’re just more knowledgeable fans. The other fans are paying for a knockout, are paying for a drinking fight; something to have a good time, watch someone get knocked out. Those are the guys that are booing people in the stands. The people that, it’s one of the best fights ever and it’s being booed because, well, that guy didn’t knock the other guy out. I think it’s just an evolution of the sport that, the longer the sport’s around, the more knowledgeable people will get about it and see the difference in technique with our smaller fighters than the bigger fighters.”

You can follow Joe Warren on Twitter @JoeWarrenMMA