It’s not so much how you lose that matters (although in this case, that certainly had people talking), it’s how you bounce back that’s important. And fans are definitely going to be watching as Sage Northcutt looks to bounce back from the first pro loss of his young MMA career. Northcutt made headlines when he tapped to an arm-triangle choke in the second round against the unheralded Brian Barberena at UFC on Fox 18. Barberena entered that bout as a +240 underdog to Northcutt, in what was the then 19-year-old’s 8th pro fight.
Now Northcutt has his next matchup booked, and it’s on one of the biggest UFC PPV cards of the year. Northcutt is set to face TUF Latin America 2 finalist Enrique Marin at UFC 200 on July 9th. GQ Magazine announced the matchup via Twitter:
Marin enters the bout off a loss to Erick Montano in the TUF LA 2 Finale back in Monterrey, Mexico on November 21st of last year. The loss snapped a 6 fight win streak for the Spanish fighter, with five of those wins coming by way of submission.
Has Northcutt been working on his BJJ? Will this be the big chance for submission artist Marin to get a win that will catapult his stock in the promotion? Will back to back losses for Northcutt mean that his hype is permanently derailed? Probably. Probably not. Maybe… But for more definitive answers we’ll just have to wait until UFC 200.
It’s slim pickings for fight fans this week, but there’s at least on decent card out there to attract your attention if you’re a hardcore fan of fisticuffs. World Series of Fighting returns with two title fights as David Branch defends his middleweight title against Clifford Starks and Jon Fitch faces off against Joao Zeferino for the vacant welterweight strap. And we’re here to break it all down for you, from the featured prelim between Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Matthew Frincu to the main event, complete with odds and fight picks.
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Here’s a look at the fight card as it stands right now:
Well, we know at least one fighter in the women’s bantamweight division that turned down a short notice fight with Cris Cyborg at UFC 198. No, not Ronda Rousey. The other former champion, Holly Holm. In an interview with the Albuquerque Journal Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez, revealed that the UFC offered his fighter the chance to face Cyborg, but it’s a fight they’re “not interested in” right now.
Instead, Fresquez explained, that the only two fights that are really interesting to Holm right now, are against Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey:
“Miesha was in Australia on vacation, so they were supposed to get with her this week,” Fresquez said. “Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks we’ll know.
“But whether it’s Miesha or Ronda, those are the fights we’re interested in.” … “(Fighting Rousey or Tate) is pretty much what Holly wants to do,” Fresquez said. “If they have something else, it’s my job to present it to her. I’ve made her wishes known to them.”
Holm did also say that she’s willing to take other fights outside of those two bouts, but it’s not hard to see why a relatively short notice jump to 140, to take on Cyborg in Brazil might not hold a lot of appeal for the former champ.
It’s good to see the UFC finally taking a run at some of their downtrodden divisions. Women’s bantamweight and men’s light heavyweight are two of the most stagnant places for new talent in the UFC (men’s flyweight is right in there too), but both divisions are getting a bit of a kick this week with the signing of two new fighters, or three if you want to consider Cyborg’s final move into the UFC ranks as a new. Ion Cutelaba is set to make his light heavyweight debut at UFC Ottawa as announced by MMA Junkie alongside a slew of new bouts for the card. Also making headlines is the addition of a Anna Elmose. The bantamweight will make her debut in Rotterdam on May 8th against Germaine de Randamie. So…
Who is Ion Cutelaba?
The 22-year old Moldovan fighter comes to the UFC training out of Timoshkov Sport Club in Chisinau, Moldova and Combat Sambo Association Moldova. He’ll be coming to the UFC with an 11-1 (1 NC) record having fought largely on the central European circuit, almost entirely with WWFC for the past two years. That being what it is, Cutelaba’s record is pretty thin. Most of his fights are against .500 journeymen or complete unknowns. he’s not exactly can crushing, but his record of 10 first round stoppages (and one in the early second) should be taken with a large grain of salt. His only loss comes against his best opponent, Michal Andryszak, in Cage Warriors, via DQ, so there’s not a lot to take from that one way or another. Word on the street is that he was a national Judo and Combat Sambo champ as a teenager, before turning to MMA.
What you should expect:
Well, there’s a pretty good chance he’s going to start the fight with a spinning backfist, for one. Otherwise, Cutelaba likes to fight as a boxer first and foremost. He’s got fast hands, a very aggressive style, and is more than willing to stand in the pocket and try and trade shots. He does an alright job with head movement to defend strikes, but can be a bit straight up and down when he’s throwing, tending to pull his head back rather than slipping consistently in combinations. It’s something that could get ironed out with time, but might be a big factor against other big punchers at 205.
His wrestling isn’t bad when he’s in the scramble and he’s a pretty solid ground and pound threat, but can really get caught up on the feet looking to throw hands, and doesn’t seem to have much takedown defense for reactive shots. Because he’s a good athlete with a solid build (6′ 1″ with huge arms), he can scramble decently off his back to better positions. He does have a strange love of omoplatas from top control as well. I don’t know that he’ll get that to work in the UFC, but it’ll be fun to see him try.
What this means for his debut:
This is tricky. On a skill for skill basis, Cirkunov should take this easy. But Cirkunov is only just starting to show himself as a competent striker, and that’s where Cutelaba is dangerous. And unlike past UFC opponents, Cutelaba probably won’t look to close Cirkunov down and clinch with him. Does that mean that Cirkunov can’t or won’t hit a reactive takedown, put Cutelaba on his back and twist one of his limbs off? No. But given Cutelaba’s scrambling and his power from range, Cirkunov can’t afford to lose out on too many chances. Cirkunov’s the favorite, but I could see a big upset.
To get us better acquainted, here’s Cutelaba’s bout with Vitali Onishchenko:
Who is Anna Elmose?
The 31-year-old Danish fighter will maker her UFC bantamweight debut in Rotterdam, on the back of a 3-0 undefeated record. She’s training out of the Rumble Sports gym, home of UFC fighters Nicolas Dalby and Damir Hadzovic, and former UFC vet Mats Nilsson, alongside Invicta featherweight Pannie Kianzad. It’s a solid camp producing a lot of high level talent. Her record is about what you’d expect for a 3-0 fighter, which is to say wholly unremarkable, excepting that she’s won all her fight via KO, which is likely what’s sparked the UFC’s interest. Outside of MMA she has a long background in kickboxing and Muay Thai.
What you should expect:
At 5′ 3″ Elmose is a bit undersized for the division, but given her frame, might not be all that well suited to strawweight. Given her lack of height, however, she’s got just about the right style to make it all work. She reminds me a lot of Jessica Andrade, a fast starter who really knows how to put power behind her strikes early. And unlike Andrade, she’s got a much deeper technical tool kit to draw from when striking. She does a great job creating frames in the clinch to land knees, elbows, and short punches, and really uses her short, powerful frame to push opponents off balance as they try to stop her knees and elbows.
Somewhat surprisingly, and somewhat like Andrade, Elmose is a little too eager to dive in on takedowns and clinch work, even when she’s the superior striker. Her more typical single/double leg takedowns aren’t anything special and her top game is a little too dependent on securing hard to get control positions like mounted crucifix. Given that, she could have some trouble adjusting to fighting big, powerful athletes at 135 in the UFC. She did show much more willingness to stay outside in her last fight, including some nice body punching, so that’s a good sign for the future.
What this means for her debut:
There are too many questions yet to be answered to make me feel comfortable that Elmose will beat GDR. For one, I’m not sure how well Elmose’s cardio will hold up, I’m also unsure of her ability to implement her game consistently against big well rounded athletes. But GDR is also something of a strange case herself. A longtime kickboxer with a long frame who has really struggled with anything other than the most ideal match-ups for her. This fight is probably something of a wash on the ground, with Elmose being the more willing grappler, but not necessarily more able. And while Elmose may have a little more pop in her hands and a more diverse clinch attack, she’s giving up so much size against a similarly technical opponent that I’d have to pick GDR to grind out a win.
To get us better acquainted, here’s her last fight against Mara Romero Borella (Elmose is in the gladiator shorts):
That’s something of a problem when you’re fighting Mark Hunt. He’s got no problem waiting you to death. And lately, waiting seems to have become a core part of Frank Mir’s game. There are times when he’s come out like a house on fire. Usually, when he (rightly) believes that he has a major advantage he can exploit early. But when that’s less obvious he tends to hang back, bide his time, see where the fight goes. And against Mark Hunt that leads to just one place.
Disclaimer Time: This was a pretty good event for me, by all standards. I went 8-4 and would have gone 10-2 if the judges had agreed with me. But there were two major upsets that I wouldn’t have picked for the life of me and said judging issues highlight just how finicky some of these picks can be. So, I’m not gambling I’m just using fight odds and pre-fight picks to help craft a more complete post-fight narrative. I’m getting the odds from OddsShark and taking the mode on each fight. Now, lets look at the fights!
Alan Patrick (-300) vs. Damien Brown (+250) (I picked Patrick, I was right)
The Expectation: Patrick was the better athlete, the better grappler, and a pretty similarly skilled wrestler and striker. It’s hard not to favor him in a situation like that, especially against a short notice opponent. That said, Patrick still did everything he could to nullify his own advantages at each turn.
Fallout for Patrick: He got the win he was supposed to get, but that’s about the best that can be said of this fight. He got put in bad sub positions several times, seemed like he flagged as the fight went on and wasn’t half as dominant as he should have been given his seemingly overwhelming athletic advantage.
Fallout for Brown: He’s got the necessary skills to compete, but this fight kind of reinforced that he doesn’t have the athleticism. He’s built for featherweight, but the fact that he’s not a fast lightweight probably gets enhanced at 145. I just see too many fighters out working him on the feet and out-scrambling him on the mat.
Ross Pearson (-105) vs. Chad Laprise (-120) (I picked Laprise, I was sorta-wrong)
The Expectation: Having been persuaded in the Vivi to pick against Pearson, this ended up being exactly the fight I think both Connor and I expected to justify that pick. Pearson had trouble closing Laprise down, and for the most part I thought he lost a highly contested decision. The judges thought otherwise, but it was close.
Fallout for Pearson: If there’s something positive to take away from Pearson squeaking out a win over a bad stylistic matchup, it’s that his experience really came through. He used a lot of leg kicks to slow Laprise and keep the pace and range at least a little more to his style. He didn’t get caught up charging ahead wild too often. He did well to keep the fight competitive. I still don’t think he won, but he made it more of a disagreement than a case of bad judging and he showed that as a vet he’s added a lot of craft to his game.
Fallout for Laprise: Just because I don’t think he lost this fight doesn’t mean it was the most awesome display. Laprise has less experience than Pearson, but he’s hardly a new hand in the sport. And yet, he still feels a lot like the same fighter he was back in Bellator. His striking game is solid but it’s not so deep, fast paced, or powerful that he can depend on that and only that to win fights… but that seems to be what he’s doing. And now he’s not winning.
Viscardi Andrade (+105) vs. Richard Walsh (-125) (I picked Andrade, I was right)
The Expectation: I don’t know that I expected Andrade to do better than he did, he’s not exactly the picture of fighting consistency, but I just saw too many places for him to win this. My major concern was Walsh’s complete lack of wrestling and grappling. Given Andrade’s greater speed and Walsh’s desire to keep the fight in close, that was probably going to be a huge problem. Turns out, it was.
Fallout for Andrade: Andrade has that sort of Cathal Pendred thing going on where he’s probably going to win his way up to a level where he starts getting beat really badly. He’s faster than Pendred, so that level might be a bit higher, but I’m not sure he’s as rock tough. Either way this was a solid win that probably pushes him closer to a really bad loss.
Fallout for Walsh: The hard truth is that he’s just too limited to make it in the UFC long term. He hits hard, he’s got a nicely technical inside striking game, but that’s about it. He looked faster and his striking sharper than ever before in this fight, but whenever he was out of his element, he was still way out of his element. There are simply too many fighters that can beat that style.
Leslie Smith (-140) vs. Rin Nakai (+110) (I picked Smith, I was right)
The Expectation: Pretty much what we ended up with. That the more wild and open Smith’s striking got, the more she’d get taken down and stifled on the ground. Nakai has a way of forcing opponents to do what she wants. And while Smith was busy enough to get a win, she squeaked out close rounds where she got controlled on the mat and even hit with a few clipping counters.
Fallout for Smith: She really needed this win badly to stay relevant in the women’s 135 division. I’m still not so sure that she’s going to be a long term fixture in the UFC, as her style of fighting, while fan friendly, results in a lot of close decisions when she can’t get a finish. And most of the women ahead of her are extremely tough, and more powerful athletes. Fitting that mode precisely, she’s stepped up to face Cyborg at 140lbs where she likely gets totally crushed.
Fallout for Nakai: That’s the end of her original UFC contract, and probably an end to her UFC run in general. Rumors are that she hasn’t been easy to work with, and if she’s not winning, she’ll probably get her walking papers.
Dan Hooker (-180) vs. Mark Eddiva (+145) (I picked Hooker, I was right)
The Expectation: I thought it’d take more time. Mark Eddiva is a range striker who isn’t great at keeping distance. Dan Hooker is an infighter who isn’t always great at keeping the fight inside. Still, it’s a lot easier to keep a fight inside, when that’s where your opponent takes it. Eddiva tried to out-wrestle and Hooker and got insta-subbed for his trouble.
Fallout for Hooker: He’s making a name for himself as a finisher. For a guy who is probably a slightly-behind-the-curve athlete for 145, that’s a fantastic way to keep a long term spot in the UFC. When he wins he wins big, and that will make him a great mid-card fighter for a good while.
Fallout for Eddiva: This is probably the end of Eddiva’s run and it’s a little bit too bad, because he’s an interesting action fighter, just not one really made for the UFC. He’s got a nice range game, but his willingness to close distance and fight inside for long stretches basically nullifies his biggest advantages. That was the story of this fight, as short as it was.
Alan Jouban (-500) vs. Brendan O’Reilly (+350) (I picked Jouban, I was right)
The Expectation: Jouban was going to paste O’Reilly in the first round. This wasn’t a hard fight to call.
Fallout for Jouban: He did just that and made it look exactly as easy as it should have been. He’s a mid-card action fighter all the way right now, this doesn’t prove much beyond that.
Fallout for O’Reilly: He’ll probably get another UFC fight, but he’s got a huge hill to climb in order to become competitive with the division around him. Lightweight might help that a little, but generally he’s just not great at all the skill parts of MMA and not a hyper competitive athlete either. Hard to see a bright future in that combo.
Bec Rawlings (-110) vs. Seohee Ham (-110) (I picked Seohee, I was wrong)
The Expectation: I figured this would be a close fight and that Rawlings would get her licks in, but that Seohee would regularly do enough to steal rounds. Instead, Rawlings striking looked better and she kept the fight razor close. Did she win it? Maybe, maybe not. but I saw different people giving her each round of the fight, so I’m not complaining about the score
Fallout for Rawlings: Maybe she got away with one, but she’s definitely getting better as a fighter. That’s an important step for her as a fringe player to the top 15. She’s got the potential to be a gatekeeper of sorts, with her combo of size and aggression. If her technique improves it could really cement that role.
Fallout for Seohee: Everything for her in the UFC is going to be an uphill battle. Her combination of a lack of size and a lack of the necessary unchecked aggression or top tier athleticism to compensate means that just about any fight will probably end up being a relatively close points battle. She’ll win some and lose some, but it’s hard to see her making any consistent headway.
Steve Bosse (+215) vs. James Te Huna (-260) (I picked Bosse, I was right)
The Expectation: Hey, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I picked Bosse by KO round 1. Seriously, what’s up with these odds on Te Huna coming off a long layoff, with a ton of cage wear, and a bad chin?
Fallout for Bosse: Few things at work here. One: He’s a really solid athlete. Maybe not top 10, but maybe top 15. Great coordination, hand speed, punching power, light on his feet, good natural timing. Two: He at least spends some time working with solid trainers at TriStar. Not all the time, but some. Is he a future contender? No. But, he’s an action fighter I’d pick to win some fights against other action fighters.
Fallout for Te Huna: Hopefully someone out there is talking to him about future options, because fighting more probably shouldn’t be chief among them. Sneakily it seems he’s suddenly in that place where the first hard shot landed turns his lights out. That’s a solid sign that fighting may not be the best thing. Of course we’ve seen plenty of fighters soldier on regardless…
Dan Kelly (+325) vs. Antonio Carlos Jr. (-450) (I picked ACJ, I was wrong)
The Expectation: ACJ was supposed to smash here. The odds were all on him smashing. In round 1 he came out and smashed, just like he was supposed to. But then a couple things happened. Kelly is really hard to choke, ACJ’s standup game and wrestling are alright, but not deep, and Kelly is a monolith of a man if you get predictable. ACJ got predictable, Kelly got pissed over a groin shot, and the rest is history.
Fallout for Kelly: He’s still winning. He’s probably straying very close to dangerous waters, but the thing with MW is, that true danger may only exist in the top 10. Everything outside of that and he’s at least got a shot at a weird/amazing upset. It’s the classic skill combo coming through of being big and tough. Those are core UFC necessities.
Fallout for Antonio Carlos Jr.: It’s a little amazing to consider just how raw ACJ is to MMA and yet he’s in the UFC, and there’s really zero time for him to learn the ropes without taking bad losses. This is one of the major problems for MW. There aren’t many prospects, but there are a ton of dudes who, on the right day, in the right moment, can beat a prospect badly. ACJ needs to make his striking and wrestling more complex than they are right now. Until he does that, he’s got to fight smart when he’s not on the ground. And he’s got to do all this while facing a long string of big tough dudes who can potentially beat him.
Jake Matthews (+105) vs. Johnny Case (-120) (I picked Case, I was wrong)
The Expectation: So if Kelly beating ACJ was a huge upset, this was less big, but still reasonably large. I honestly thought these odds were crazy close in a fight where I figured Case had every advantage except physical gifts and that Matthews doesn’t make the best use of his physical gifts. Instead, Matthews made huge leaps in his game, and Case never got comfortable.
Fallout for Matthews: This was a massive leap forward. In part, I think it was aided by Case’s relative lack of finishing power, and a striking style that seems to be increasingly predictable in his UFC career. But, Matthews looked way better than ever before, and like he’s making exactly the strides he should to capitalize on his potential. He could still easily lose another fight to a non-contender in the near future, but I expect him to keep improving every time out.
Fallout for Case: This is a really tough loss for him. I realize he’s not an old fighter, but he’s a long time vet of the sport, to the point that I view him as a finished product. This was a fight he was supposed to win against a raw prospect, with less experience and fewer tools, and Case couldn’t find a way. He’s still a decent enough fighter who will probably go on some small streaks, but he’s probably the kind of lightweight that will always be competitive without ever really climbing.
Neil Magny (-120) vs. Hector Lombard (-110) (I picked Magny, I was right)
The Expectation: By my rationale, Magny would spend a lot of the fight popping out 1-2s at range, would probably get caught once or twice inside, in the clinch, but ride it out until Lombard got less efficient, and might even take over some wrestling late in the fight. It sort of happened like that, but with everything turned up to 11. Oh, and no out-fighting.
Fallout for Magny: Okay, we now know that he’s stupid tough and ultra determined. Do we know that he’s an elite welterweight poised for a title run? I’m less sure of that. Magny gets hurt in a lot of fights, and while he’s come back to win a lot of those fights, it feels like he’s standing on the razors edge a lot. Against opponents who have a deeper game than Gastelum, or a better gastank than Lombard (and there are a few) does Magny get wins? Or will he just be a consistent top 10 guy who never quite makes the push.
Fallout for Lombard: He got stopped for the first time in his career. On its own, it doesn’t mean much. He still looked like the same short burst wrecking machine he’s always been, he still was near impossible to put away and was TKO’d more by exhaustion than anything. So, it’s hard to say “ah, he’s getting old,” or “he got drug tested, and now he’s done.” Could be. It certainly should happen soon, but at the moment, he just got beat by someone tough enough to outlast him and in good enough shape to take over afterward.
Mark Hunt (-145) vs. Frank Mir (+115) (I picked Hunt, I was right)
The Expectation: Hunt was gonna KO Frank Mir clean after a prolonged bout of staring. But, they didn’t stare at each other that long.
Fallout for Hunt: He’s still not past the point of relevance in the heavyweight division. Somehow, some way, he just keeps winning enough of the right fights to stay in the picture as a player in the division. I don’t think there’s a clear road ahead for him to get back to the title. Too many fighters in his way that are potentially tough enough or diverse enough to be setback losses, but this is 265, and if the UFC gave him Arlovski and Overeem, whose to say he wouldn’t beat both.
Fallout for Mir: This isn’t the “Frank Mir should retire” loss that a lot of people are calling for it to be (that was probably the Arlovski fight), but it’s definitely a continued sign that Mir is not all that competitive with the heavyweight elite anymore. As cool as beating Todd Duffee was, it’s not a sign that Frank Mir is still one of the best heavyweights out there. But if he’s fine not getting booked like one, there are probably more than a few fights out there he could still win.
Those are my thoughts from UFC Brisbane. As always, so much of what I wrote seems obvious now, but that ‘s the benefit of hindsight. Stay tuned for next time, when I should be talking about Ben Rothwell’s win over JDS and why Derrick Lewis is still on a roll. Until then!
Not every set of fighters that step into the cage against one another are bitter rivals. In fact, it’s probably safer to say that most of them aren’t. Take, for example, Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis. The two men met in the Octagon back at UFC on Fox 6: Johnson vs. Dodson. It was just four fights ago for Anthony Pettis, twelve for Cerrone. Pettis won the bout with a body kick KO in the first round.
But, time heals all wounds, and the two men were recently spotted sparring down at Jackson-Wink. I don’t know that it says anything long term about Pettis’ training, other than he might be stretching his legs in different gyms a bit, but it’s still pretty cool to see the two former rivals now training side by side. Cerrone posted a picture of the two of them on his Instagram account:
“I’m pretty sure the entire gym, no one sparred they just stood around the cage and watched @showtimepettis and me go 5 Rounds.”
Cerrone is currently slated to fight Patrick Cote at UFC Ottawa, in the welterweight division, on June 18th. Pettis, for his part, has an upcoming bout next month, against Edson Barboza at UFC 197.
Jon Jones reputation for motor vehicle operation just got some reinforcement. Not long after video surfaced of a traffic stop in which Jones was driving without a license or insurance (and apparently unaware that that was a problem) and also apparently going 40 mph over the speed limit, he’s back in trouble with the law again. Only this time, it sounds like he didn’t get off with a warning.
Jones recently went on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to detail the incident, in which he was pulled over for drag racing and given 5 citations. Not just for drag racing, but for a modified exhaust, an illegible license plate, not staying in his lane, and “exhibition driving”.
Here’s what Jones had to say about it after the fact (transcript via MMA Fighting):
“I definitely wasn’t drag racing,” Jones said. “I got emotional and said some things that I probably shouldn’t have said to a police officer.” … “I actually have a lot of friends in the department,” Jones said. “I doubt that’s the case. I just think this officer in particular was looking for a DWI or something. He was trying to stick with me one of those and once he realized I was sober, I don’t know if he was in a bad mood or whatever, but he was definitely confrontational.
“He needed something to justify pulling me over. He fabricated the whole thing that I was drag racing.”
You can watch the video of Jones’ traffic stop above and to see the “things” Jones “probably shouldn’t have said to a police officer.” Or, if you’re in a less suitable environment to watch someone swear at a cop, we’ve provided a transcript of some of their interaction.
Here’s how it all kicks off
Cop: Driver’s license, registration, insurance. Please turn your car off. Why are you drag racing that Cadillac?
JJ: [laughs] I didn’t drag race a Cadillac.
Cop: Sir, your drivers license, registration, and insurance, please.
JJ: I did not drag race the Cadillac.
Cop: I watched you do it, right there on Broadway.
JJ: No you did not, sir.
Cop: Any reason?
JJ: No you did not. I did not drag race a Cadillac.
Cop: Okay. Any reason, sir?
JJ: Any reason for what?
Cop: For the way you were driving. The way you took off there on Broadway after you revved your engine. After you were revving your engine…
Things were polite enough here until the cop returned with Jones’ paperwork for the ticket and asked him if he wanted to get anything off his chest. Then, it got a bit ugly.
JJ: Fuck yeah I’m gonna testify to what you know.
Cop: I know that you were drag racing, and I will testify to that.
JJ: You and I both know that I was not drag racing.
Cop: Actually I do know that you were drag racing.
JJ: And you and I both know that I did not speed. You and I both know that I freaking revved my engine at the red light and I never took off racing at all. Nor was the car next to me ever took off racing. I just simply revved my engine.
Cop: Both of you took off at a high rate of speed, sir.
JJ: No I did not.
Cop: Only, you kept going, he slowed down.
JJ: No I did not.
Cop: Okay.
JJ: You are an absolute fucking liar.
Cop: Well, we can talk about it in court. I need you to sign inside this box. Once again, you’re not admitting guilt, you’re letting me know you’re aware of the court date.Inside the box, sir.
JJ: You are an absolute liar. Wait.
Cop: What am I waiting for?
JJ: I’m going to call my lawyer.
Cop: If you do not sign in the box, sir, I will have to take you to see a judge. That means that I will place you under arrest.
JJ: I am going to call my lawyer to ask him about this paperwork. I’m sure I have the right to do that, buddy. Fucking liar. I can’t believe you.
Cop: Well believe it, because I’m not joking.
JJ: Fucking with me for no reason. What’s your name?
Cop: Officer Brown. It’s on your ticket, sir.
JJ: I can’t fucking believe you, you’re ridiculous.
Cop: Just doing my job.
JJ: No, you’re not just doing your job. You’re fuckin’ picking this Corvette out for no reason. Blaming me for all this shit that you know isn’t true. You’re ridiculous … I used to really respect … fuckers like you.
Cop: You’d rather I just turn my head and let you be a nuisance to the citizens?
Jones: I am not a nuisance to the citizens.
Cop: I have sworn to protect the citizens from people like you, Mr. Jones. Please don’t dig around in your car.
JJ: I was looking for a pen. Give me the fucking shit. Can’t believe you. Ridiculous.
Cop: Well believe it. Cuz it’s the truth, sir.
JJ: Ridiculous. You’re a fucking liar. Good luck trying to prove that I was speeding because you know that I wasn’t.
Things got a bit more quiet again once Jones started demanding that he have the time to read over the paperwork before signing it. But, once he was done he got right back into it.
JJ: How do you sleep with yourself? Fucking harassing me like this.
Cop: Mostly on my left side, sometimes on my back.
JJ: Oh, I can’t wait to get you out of my face, you’re despicable.
Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2 is looming. It hasn’t been made official yet, but the welterweight bout seems increasingly likely as the main event of UFC 200. And if it all goes down as planned, Joe Rogan has some sage advice for the UFC’s featherweight champion when he takes his second crack at Nate Diaz and 170 lbs. The message? Work on your jits.
Rogan imparted as much on recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” (at about 10 minutes into the episode) saying that McGregor needs to get “obsessed with jiu jitsu” if he’s going to compete with Nate Diaz (transcript via MMAFighting):
“If it goes to the ground? Oh, that’s the wrong guy,” Rogan said of Diaz on his podcast. “Nate Diaz is the wrong guy to go to the ground with. Nate Diaz is a legit black belt, a really high-level black belt. I knew Conor had gotten submitted by Joe Duffy. Anybody can get submitted if you get caught, but he got submitted by that Joe Duffy guy just a few years ago. Joe Duffy is a very talented fighter, no doubt about it, but Nate wouldn’t have gotten submitted by that same guy. I highly, highly, highly doubt it.
“A guy like Conor, if you’ve been tapped before by Joe Duffy just a few years ago with an arm triangle … to get caught like that, you’ve got a lot to learn and I don’t know if you’ve learned it all in time. You’ve got to be obsessed with jiu jitsu. You’ve got to be in there every day training and I didn’t think he did [for UFC 196]. I thought it was more about movement and striking and all that stuff. I know he was doing some jiu jitsu but it’s not like the primary focus. So I felt like, ‘That’s a big f**king deep end jump.'”
Is it possible that McGregor is essentially the same grappler he was back when he got submitted in 2010 (coming up on six years ago now)? It doesn’t seem very likely. And I’m not so sure that being hurt badly and totally exhausted didn’t play a bigger role in his submission loss than not knowing how to grapple, but maybe going to ground with Nate is the secret key we’ve all been ignoring for a triumphant UFC 200 return for “The Notorious”.
Conor McGregor may not have won his welterweight bout with Nate Diaz UFC 196, where the featherweight champion decided to move up two full weight classes to take on a late notice challenger, but it looks like his move did spark a conversation. Would other title holders be well served to look for big fights outside of their normal division? It happens all the time in boxing, but very very rarely in MMA.
One current UFC champ (and a very very dominant one) appears to have bandied the idea about, and from his point of view, it’s just not practical. The champ? Demetrious Johnson, himself a former bantamweight and a former title contender in the higher division, but to hear him tell it, too much a natural flyweight to make the leap worthwhile.
“Big fights (at bantamweight), but at the same time when Conor talks about ‘I’m going to 170’ this and that, the other day I woke up weighing 137 (pounds). That’s two pounds,” Johnson explained when speaking to FOX Sports. “Go ask (Dominick Cruz) what he’s walking around at, he’s probably at 160. Me going to 135 it’s like wake up and go take a (expletive) and I’m ready let’s jump on the scale.
“So it’s a little bit different. I’m truly fighting bigger men.” … “There was a point in time and I even went up to Matt (Hume) and was like ‘Matt, I think I’m ready to do it, I’m ready to go fight at 135, I want people at the edge of their seats like oh (expletive) the champ’s going to go fight at 135’. But he goes ‘there’s bigger things to do DJ’. He said if you can go out there and beat Anderson Silva’s record, that’s big. That’s what my goal is, and that’s where my heart is right now,” Johnson said.
“If somebody goes ‘you should go to 135’, my heart’s just not into it. I’m just not interested right now. If the money’s right, then I would, but I’m just not interested.”
So for those of you dreaming about seeing “Mighty Mouse” take another crack at 135 and some of the potential superfights that might entail, don’t hold your breath. Johnson next fights at UFC 197 on April 23rd, where he’ll take on young rising contender Henry Cejudo for the flyweight title.
It looks like there’s not going to be any lack of buildup for UFC 199’s bantamweight title fight between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. No surprise, given the long history the two men have as adversaries both in and out of the cage, but Cruz is making it especially clear, when it comes to this fight he’s happy to get it, because he thinks Faber is more hype than fight, and hype sells.
Cruz recently spoke to Fight Hub TV about his upcoming trilogy bout with Faber and just why he’s fine getting this fight over a TJ Dillashaw rematch:
“I don’t mind, I’ve had a beef with Faber for a long time. So, why would I have a problem with that fight? I don’t. We were supposed to fight a long time ago, we were chalked up. Faber’s a car salesmanm his gift is promotion more than it is fighting. I believe that. So, let him promote, let him do what he wants to do. Because he’s promoting himself, that’s how he’s got himself in this 9th title shot situation. Dillashaw fights more than he promotes.
“And so, the thing is, the Dillashaw fight is always going to be there, that guy is not going to go anywhere in the division. He believes he’s one of the better guys in the division and so he’ll get a tough fight that he needs to go out there and win, I think. And let him do it. Me and Faber are going to scrap, and either way he fights me, he gets his shot back. It’s just, wait in line.”
To Faber’s credit, while he hasn’t won any of his multiple UFC title shots, he’s only lost one fight that wasn’t for a belt, a “superfight” of sorts against former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, at 145 lbs. Otherwise, in 9 fights for something other than a piece of UFC gold, Urijah Faber is unbeaten in the UFC.
UFC 199 is set to go down on June 4th in Los Angeles, California. The event will be headlined by a middleweight title rematch between champion Luke Rockhold and contender (and former champ) Chris Weidman.
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