Conor McGregor on fighters union: ‘There needs to be something,’ but MMAAA ‘wasn’t it’

One of the keys to any future fighter’s association or similar unionization efforts will always be star support. If the top talent isn’t invested in the idea, it’s going to be really difficult for the rank and file of the UFC (or MMA in general) to get much punch behind their collective bargaining efforts.

And there’s no talent more top right now than Conor McGregor. “The Notorious” Irishman currently stands as the UFC’s no.1 star, if not the biggest star in the promotion’s 20-year history. He’s practically guaranteed a million buys on any PPV he headlines, and has driven enough hype that the UFC even publicly offered him $25 million as half of a Floyd Mayweather “superfight.”

So, that being said, it’s not hard to see why any current fighters’ association might actively be courting the current UFC lightweight champion. The MMAAA has made the most public ovations toward McGregor. But, as he revealed in his recent PPV interview with Ariel Helwani, McGregor finds the MMAAA’s pitch more perplexing than enticing (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“I’m watching this union thing, it like a press conference, and I’m like, what the f*ck is going on here?” McGregor said during an hour-long interview in Manchester. “They’re standing up, they’re all wearing the same t-shirt. They’re saying, ‘Conor, please. Conor, please, you know what’s right. Help us out, Conor.’ And Georges [St-Pierre] is saying, ‘Conor’s a good person. I know he gets paid well, but he doesn’t get paid enough.’ And I’m like, what the f*ck are you talking about?

“The only reason you’re standing in the middle of that union is because you (St-Pierre) couldn’t get the deal you want. You’re the fakest of everyone up there.”

That doesn’t mean that he’s writing off the collective bargaining idea altogether, but it seems like he hasn’t seen anything he likes enough yet to jump fully on board with.

“There needs to be something, I just don’t know what it is,” McGregor said. “I’m focusing on me. I’m focusing on my family’s security, my family’s financial security. That’s all I can do. So I when I saw that, I just thought it was the biggest, fakest load of sh*t I’ve ever seen in my life. So, I don’t know. I wish everyone well, but you need to focus on yourself. You need to stop putting your hand out. Everyone’s hands are out, everyone wants things for free. You’ve got to put in the work, you’ve got to grind, you’ve got to go through the struggle, and you’ve got to get it.

“You deserve it, go get it. Don’t complain, don’t cry. Get the f*ck up and go get it. And a lot of people don’t do that. A lot of people cry and complain and put their hand out and beg, and it never goes well. So, I don’t know. There needs to be something. I just don’t know what that is.”

Given that stance (even with its insistence that “there needs to be something”), it’s hard to think that McGregor is going to be an easy ally for other groups to win over. And when he’s making more than $10 million per-fight, it’s not likely that he’s going to find himself in serious need of union efforts anytime soon.

Johny Hendricks’ middleweight move is sink or swim: ‘I had my fun, I had my time’

Former UFC middleweight champion Johny Hendricks is set for a change. And if that doesn’t work out, maybe a bigger one. “Bigg Rigg” is set to make his official middleweight debut against Hector Lombard at UFC Halifax this February. It’s a decision that seems to have been a long time coming.

“You know what, realistically, there’s a part of me that wanted to move up right after I lost to Lawler,” Hendricks revealed. “Once I lost that fight, I was sitting there going, you know what, I wonder if I can move up? And really, that’s where my head’s been since then, is hey, let’s just move up. It’s going to be harder, but life will be more enjoyable. But the thing is, with that being said, after the Lawler fight, I knew that if I did one thing I could be back in the hunt. Well guess what, I’m chasing a rabbit that I can’t catch, because it’s either the weight hurts me or I do make weight and I don’t fight to my ability, and there’s so much that’s going on.

“Like I said, I’m just done chasing the rabbit. I sort of want to fight for me and me alone. There’s a lot that goes into moving up as well. For example, I still want to stay 205 like I have been, 210. So I don’t want to balloon up to 240 and have to cut down to 185 or 230 and do the same thing and hey, you still have to lose 50 pounds. I want to stay at 205, build up my strength and start focusing on what I need to get better, not about the weight. Most of my camp, half of it is focusing on how to get myself down to 170. Well like I said, Friday I wasn’t trying and I hit 196. Alright, well now I’m ten over. Now I can actually go to my coach and say, ‘hey, what do we need to work on?’ They’re like, ‘well how’s your weight?’. My weight? Oh, right now I am exactly 15 over. I wake up at like 13 over and by the time I see them I’m 15 to 16 over. That’s sort of nice to have in your back pocket when it comes to training.”

“A perfect example is look at ‘Cowboy’, Donald Cerrone,” Hendricks continued. “He was strugging at 155, he moves up to welterweight. Now he’s not cutting as much weight, he’s not killing himself. He’s able to fight better. So you’re going, there is a possibility that that’s all I needed to do, is move up. Move up to 185 and I could be a better fighter for that. But like I said, if they still had IV’s, then it wouldn’t be a question. In my last couple of fights, I wouldn’t have been hurting like I was and you can re-fluid yourself a thousand times better. But you have to adapt with the times. If times are now that you can’t use IV’s, then guess what, adapt with them. Move up in weight, get something more now around my natural body-weight.”

If the move up in weight doesn’t work out against Lombard, however, Hendricks says this will be the end of the road for his MMA career. It’s a line he’s tossed out a few times before, but this time he assures fans he’s taking the idea more seriously.

“Really serious,” Hendricks assured Sub Radio when asked about whether his retirement talk had legs. “Really serious. Because realistically, I thought I won that fight (against Magny). And I re-watch it and I re-watch it and I re-watch it. So in Vegas, you pressure somebody. I’ve been pressured before and I’ve lost the fight. It’s not that they outstruck me, it’s because they’re more aggressive than me, right? I lose the fight, I get that. Okay, you work on that. Then you go out there and you do this and you lose the fight. Well this fight I pretty much controlled him for what, what would you say? 13 minutes? Let’s be on the realistic side and say about 13 minutes for the fight, besides a minute of submission and 15 seconds of a submission – which neither one (was successful). It was gonna get tight, but I made a slight adjustment and it went away.

“And all of a sudden you lose a fight because of that? You’re going… alright. So that’s why I felt like I won even though I didn’t. So that’s why I’m looking at this going, it’s gotta be the weight, right? It’s gotta be the weight. That’s why I want to do my last one at 185. And I tried to move up to 185 before my last fight, but my coaches and everybody said, hey, let’s just try one more at 170. But like I said, here’s the thing, if I go out there and I don’t feel as strong and I can’t compete, well like I said, that’s really what it’s about, is that I know that I still competed in that match. Even though it wasn’t my best performance, I still competed. And, you know, he doesn’t hit me, he doesn’t do anything, he has this 80-inch reach and he can’t touch me. You know, those are things that I put into consideration.

“Yes, I said if I lost I would (retire),” Hendricks admitted. “But again, what I’m saying is, if I go out there and get beat up like I did the last two fights, you know, where I still can’t compete with those guys – which I clearly showed I can’t. Now I’ll be better, I think at 185. But like I said, if I go out there and I can’t compete, well I guess I can’t make 170, right? And I’m not going to try to ever again. It’s just too hard on my body. And if I fight good at 185, well then I’m gonna stay there. But if I don’t do good, then guess what, it’s time. I had my fun, I had my time. It’s not worth going out there and training for 12 weeks and then being done, or going out there and just losing. And that’s really what it’s about.

“And here’s one thing that really leads me to believe that that fight was mine – did you hear the boos after that? The whole crowd thought I won that fight. So I don’t want to leave whenever the fans think I’ve won. And that’s really where my head’s at, is that hey, they believe I won that fight, so I’m gonna do one more. And here’s the thing, I don’t care about retirement. And you’re right, I did use that as something to get people off my back about what’s next, what’s next. And for me it was just sort of something that I could do easily. Plus, I don’t know if you saw my little media rant (at UFC 207), I plan on doing something else like that if they keep asking the same questions over and over. But I want people to realize what’s going on right now.”

Hendricks also spoke about his troubles with weight cutting against Magny, and what he’s expecting his fight against Lombard to look like, so check the whole thing out. UFC Halifax takes place on February 19th in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The event is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight fight between Travis Browne and Derrick Lewis. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more news and updates.

Al Iaquinta may be on his way back to the UFC after ‘tough’ adjustment to day job

Few things make a fighter more hesitant than asking about retirement. And for many, it’s not so much the act that seems to bother them, but the thought of “What if I want to start fighting again? What will people think if I say I’m retired, and then I come back to fighting?” It seems like Al Iaquinta may be about to find out.

UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby recently posted on Twitter that fans may expect “Ragin’ Al” back in the Octagon in the near future.

Im dead & bloated but w/ royalty & look for Al Iaquinta soon in an Octagon near you @ALIAQUINTA @MattSerraUFC @raylongomma
FmeFu pic.twitter.com/4K5pcyuKHy

— Sean Shelby (@seanshelby) January 27, 2017

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So what may be prompting Iaquinta’s return? There may be a couple clues in his recent interview with Submission Radio, where the Serra-Longo fighter talked about his adjustment to the real estate business:

“It’s tough,” Iaquinta admitted. “I don’t know. I definitely would rather be fighting. It’s pretty hard when you’re fighting in front of thousands of people or whatever, and then you’re working in the office. But I gotta be honest, as far as my health goes, this is probably the healthiest I’ve been in a while. No injuries and I’m not going home every day with neck nagging, pain, stuff like that. So that’s definitely a good part. I miss a lot of it, but a lot of it I don’t miss. And I feel like I’m kind of saving myself. I don’t know. It’s not been easy, but I know I’m doing the right thing for right now. I’m going out to Denver this weekend to see Aljo (Aljamain Sterling) and I’m sure I’ll see a couple of people from the UFC and maybe we’ll have a conversation, maybe we won’t. But I definitely miss fighting, that’s for sure. I definitely miss fighting.”

And it appears that that desire to fight again may be winning out over the enjoyment of being healthy. As Iaquinta said, he’d be making his way to Denver and UFC on FOX 23 this weekend and if things went well “get back in there soon.”

“I don’t even know if it’s that I was fighting for what I believe in,” Iaquinta said when asked about the potential of re-opening negotiations with the UFC. “I just kind of… I’m thinking for right now, I was hurting, my body was hurting a lot, I was not getting paid a lot, I got hurt. I felt like I was kind of hung out dry for a little bit. So I took a little break and see, you know, maybe the Real Estate thing is what I wanna do, maybe it’s not. It’s just… it’s tough. It’s not like I took a stand. And a lot of people made it that and I guess maybe I was kind of doing it, but I just really didn’t feel like fighting in New York in November for what the conditions were, for the guy that I was fighting, for the amount of money I was fighting for, the amount of money that that event was bringing in just didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t make sense to me to fight for what I was gonna fight for.

“So I asked them if we could talk about renegotiating something and I basically got cursed out,” Iaquinta continued. “So yeah, I just went on, did my own thing and that’s it. They’re running a business, I’m running a business. That’s all it is. I gotta look out for my health though. That’s the first thing. When I’m going to a training camp and I’m flying people in and I can’t sleep good at night because my neck’s hurting. You know, I had two knee surgeries and then I take a year off and I’m asking them, ‘can I do appearances? Anything I can do? I realize I can only get paid when I fight. I realize I only get sponsorships when I fight, but is there anything I can do when I’m out?’. And they were really just like, ‘when you’re ready to fight, let us know’. So I don’t know. We’ll see. Hopefully I get back in there soon. I’m still in shape, I’m still hungry, still ready to go if there’s a right fight that makes sense. I don’t know. I haven’t really talked to anybody. I’ll talk to my manager when we go out to Denver and we’ll kind of sit down and see where we’re at.”

According to Sean Shelby, the results of that trip to Denver seem to have worked out pretty well. So, what’s next?

April 8? @ALIAQUINTA @seanshelby #Vamos

— Thiago Alves. (@ThiagoAlvesATT) January 28, 2017

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@170 it’s on @ThiagoAlvesATT https://t.co/GvFZoZyATO

— Al Iaquinta (@ALIAQUINTA) January 28, 2017

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UFC on FOX 23: Shevchenko vs. Pena fights to make

2017 is starting off with some much needed divisional sorting. A new heavyweight contender is on the rise, as well as some clarity in the women’s bantamweight title picture and some changing of the guard as gifted young fighters make their mark. UFC on FOX 23 had it’s highs and lows, but eventually delivered a lot of narrative for fans looking down the road at fights to come.

How quickly can Francis Ngannou contend? Does Shevchenko/Nunes 2 really make sense? Does featherweight have another star on the rise?

Joining me to answer a few of these questions this week is another BE reader: Dylan. He and I will be making picks for all the notable fighters from UFC on FOX 23, and I’ll be using the Silva/Maynard model of winner vs. winner, loser vs. loser, similarly tenured fighters against one another. If you want to join in for next week, start a comment below with “If you have to check a charley horse to the thigh, you don’t belong in the cage.” I’ll pick one winner from the comment section for this article. Now on to the match-ups!

VALENTINA SHEVCHENKO:

Dylan – This one’s easy; Shevchenko vs. Nunes II. Book it.

Zane – The setup here is clear, but just for a moment, I’m going to pretend it isn’t. Mostly because, for a division that has played host to some of the UFC’s most marquee recent title fights, Nunes vs. Shevchenko II just has no pop to it. If the UFC decides to go with Nunes vs. the Holm/de Randamie winner, then I’d book Shevchenko against the Carmouche/McMann winner. Both women still have a name and would help Shevchenko continue building momentum for a bigger fight if she kept winning. Just in case the UFC decides to go for the “superfight” instead.

JULIANNA PENA:

Dylan – This one is tough. Pena should be in a position to face another top 5 bantamweight, but at this point there are no openings. There is one, and that is Ronda Rousey. I say this fight could work. It is something different for both fighters. If Pena wins, it would keep her in a good position and for Rousey, it’s a chance to get back to where she was before Holm. Both coming off of a big loss and need to gain some momentum.

Zane – I love the idea of Rousey vs. Pena, but i’m not about to bet on Rousey making a comeback anytime soon (if ever). Instead, I think there’s still a great fight right there waiting for Julianna Pena, and that’s Alexis Davis. Davis returned from the birth of her child for a competitive loss to Sara McMann, and showed she’s a vet who still has something to offer the division. She also has a long history of being tricky for over-aggressive fighters who don’t respect her game. Pena vs. Davis would be a great fight to re-build the momentum of either fighter quickly.

JORGE MASVIDAL:

Dylan – What a massive win for “Gamebred” as he impressed many people who underestimated him. Masvidal’s striking was great against Cerrone and he looked really good. I believe that the fight should have been stopped at the end of the first but he pulled out the victory. I think Masvidal should get another top 10 welterweight so I give him Dong Hyun Kim. Two guys coming off a win trying to gain major momentum in the stacked welterweight division.

Zane – My initially idea of Masvidal vs. Lawler was rebuffed by a sharp reminder that Lawler and Masvidal are BFFs from their ATT days (even if Lawler is no longer there). So in the mean time, the UFC has to figure out what to do with a hard charging Masvidal looking for another big fight (and probably soon). A bout against Demian Maia would be excellent if Maia is willing to take a chance on losing his shot at title contention. If Maia isn’t however, then I’ll say he should fight Neil Magny, especially since Magny’s also a dude who will fight whoever, whenever.

DONALD CERRONE:

Dylan – Crushing loss for Cerrone in his hometown of Denver. Four fight winning streak snapped but we all know he’ll be back soon and with fire in his eyes. I know the perfect fight for Donald that has main event written all over it. That is a showdown with Carlos Condit. What a fun fight that would be. This all depends on Carlos returning or not and if he doesn’t, a matchup with Tarec Saffiedine could work.

Zane – As cool as a Condit/Cerrone fight would be, I’m not sure I see the two JacksonWink fighters facing off against one another. Like the Lawler/Masvidal idea above, teams have a way of wrecking cool match-ups. Instead, I think it’s time for Donald Cerrone vs. Robbie Lawler. No team problems, never fought before and should be an insanely awesome matchup. Let’s make Lawler/Cerrone happen ASAP.

FRANCIS NGANNOU:

Dylan – Francis Ngannou is an absolute monster. He has emerged as the best heavyweight prospect in a very long time. A win over Arlovski who is a big step-up from his previous competition and the way he did it is incredible. His next fight for me is clear and will put him higher up in the rankings if he wins. That fight is the winner of Travis Browne/Derrick Lewis happening at UFC Fight Night 105. Imagine a matchup with the “Black Beast”.

Zane – Yeah, I’m totally behind Ngannou getting the Browne/Lewis winner. And I’d also really love to see him face Ben Rothwell whenever Rothwell is ready to come back. Since he’ll have to be waiting either way though, I think the Browne/Lewis fight makes the most sense for Ngannou to look at next. Francis Ngannou vs. the winner of Browne/Lewis is the fight to make.

SAM ALVEY:

Dylan – That was a lackluster fight with not a lot of action. Alvey has now won five straight in the middlewight division but after this less than inspiring performance, I’m hesitant to give him someone in the top 15 due to this. Uriah Hall is a possibility at this point and Alvey called out Jack Marshman post-fight. I’m going to give him the winner of Elias Theodorou/Cezar Ferreira though. It could propel the victor into the top 15.

Zane – Alvey has put himself on a hell of a tear, even if he’s not always racking up the most impressive wins. Going 7-3 at middleweight is no small feat and has him bordering on a spot in the rankings. He called out Jack Marshman, but Marshman is booked and wouldn’t make much sense anyway. Instead, I’d be happy seeing Alvey take on Krzysztof Jotko, or if he can’t get a ranked opponent, then Anthony Smith coming off his big win over Elvis Mutapcic.

RAPHAEL ASSUNCAO:

Dylan – Really close fight by the two. Assuncao is finally back on track after losing to Dillashaw. There are a few decent options for Assuncao at this point. There could be a Lineker fight looming, however Lineker just lost. You could also put him into a fight with Dom for the #1 contendership (after Dillashaw fights Garbrandt). I’m going to say Jimmie Rivera as it is a good fight on paper and a win for either guy would mean a lot.

Zane – Rivera is a strong choice to face Assuncao right now, but I kinda feel like Assuncao deserves some reward for being the top 5 guy that can’t buy a title shot. Mind, I’m not saying he needs to get a title shot, but I love the idea of him fighting Dominic Cruz. It’d be a high profile fight for Assuncao, and a good bounce back fight for Cruz. So, lets’ book Assuncao/Cruz and give Assuncao the closest thing to a shot at the belt.

ALJAMAIN STERLING:

Dylan – Well, Sterling has hit a slump. Two straight losses for the young gun. He put up a close fight against Assuncao but the volume wasn’t there. He needs to work on his striking and throw some more. Another guy who coming off a loss but is still top 10 talent is Michael McDonald. This is the fight to make right now. It will give both guys a chance to prove they should be in the top of the division.

Zane – McDonald would be a great fight for a lot of guys, unfortunately his recent quotes about taking a hiatus until he can afford to train again does not bode well for him taking a fight anytime soon. It’s a bit of a weird winner/loser matchup, but I think the UFC should book Sterling against Pedro Munhoz. Both guys are slick grapplers who have had trouble developing a dangerous striking game. A fight between them would be a chance for a fun grappling battle or for one of them to show real improvement on the feet. The other option might be Tim Elliott, now that Elliott’s up at 135.

OTHER BOUTS: Knight vs. Ortega, Caceres vs. Blanco, Marquardt vs. Evans, Li vs. A. Garcia, Nash vs. B. Camozzi, Johnson vs. Antigulov, da Silva vs. Cutelaba, Spicely vs. Dongi, Di Chirico vs. Gigliotti, de Lima vs. Bosse, Kimball vs. Safarov, Pantoja vs. Sandoval, Shelton vs. Lausa, Gonzalez vs. Volkanovski, Cottrell vs. Kasuya

The MMA Vivisection – UFC on FOX 23: Shevchenko vs. Pena picks, odds, & analysis

The UFC returns with a card filled with new names and some established top talent on the main card. In the main event Valentina Shevchenko and Julianna Peña vie for a title shot at Amanda Nunes and the women’s bantamweight crown. In the co-main longtime lightweight, anywhere & anytime fighters Jorge Masvidal and Donald Cerrone hook up at 170. Andrei Arlovski will look to stop the contender run of Francis Ngannou, as well as a battle of top bantamweights Raphael Assuncao and Aljamain Sterling on the undercard.

As always, if you enjoyed the show, give us a “Like” over on YouTube. And while you’re there, why not subscribe to MMANATIONDOTCOM. That way you’ll always be among the first to get the latest BE shows, interviews and analysis.

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Here’s a look at the UFC on FOX 23 card as it stands right now.

FOX MAIN CARD
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Julianna Peña – 1:27:42
Donald Cerrone vs. Jorge Masvidal – 1:21:17
Andrei Arlovski vs. Francis Ngannou – 1:11:40
Alex Caceres vs. Jason Knight – 1:03:21

FS1 PRELIMS
Nate Marquardt vs. Sam Alvey – 54:50
Raphael Assuncao vs. Aljamain Sterling – 46:00
Bobby Nash vs. Li Jingliang – 35:50
Luis Henrique da Silva vs. Jordan Johnson – 30:16
Eric Spicely vs. Alessio Di Chirico – 23:40
Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Jeremy Kimball – 15:38

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Eric Shelton – 8:51
Jason Gonzalez vs. J.C. Cottrell – 4:16

Dan Hardy: No discredit to Tito or Bellator, but Chael ‘looked like he didn’t want to fight’

A fixed fight is a strange thing in combat sports, especially since fixing a fight doesn’t necessarily happen as an agreement between fighters to perform a certain way. Referees, judges, cornermen, and ringside doctors can all be gotten to just as easily as an athlete, and without all the necessity of choreographing moves in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

That climate of uncertainty creates a strange duality in combat sports, in that there are likely both more and fewer fixed fights than people think. Fewer of the unexpected and sometimes nearly inexplicable actions fighters may take are likely the result of a fighter taking a dive, while more of the scoring inconsistencies, doctors stoppages, or referee decisions may be.

Most often though, when fans think they’ve seen a ‘fix’, it’s down to the fighters and how they performed.

All of which leads to the main event of Bellator 170 on Saturday, January 21st when Chael Sonnen fought Tito Ortiz. After a few tentative exchanges, Ortiz shot in for a single leg on Sonnen, who immediately went down to the mat and tried to counter with an arm-in guillotine and a sweep into a front headlock series. Sonnen ended up going for another guillotine and ended up giving up mount as a result. That became back mount, which became the submission finish.

For many, the fight had the look of a work.

That was UFC commentator Dan Hardy’s take on it, as he alluded to on Twitter shortly after the fight.

“The #Bellator170 main event was more choreographed than a Brittany Spears music video. Shame really… It might have been a fun fight,” Hardy said, in a since deleted message (h/t MMA Fighting).

Now however, with a couple days to think about it, it seems Hardy is changing his tune… a bit. In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Hardy explained that after re-watching the bout several times, he’s laying the blame for the strange looking fight squarely on one man: Chael Sonnen (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“Now, when I first watched it, the first time around, I didn’t see the controversy of the tap, I don’t know what that was, and I’m not suggesting that Tito had anything to do with it,” he said. “To me, Tito looked like he was celebrating like he’d just won his UFC belt again. I think Tito was all in. My question is whether Chael Sonnen went into that fight with the intention of giving it everything he’s got. Because that was the story that he sold everybody, and that what was I was so disappointed with.”

And with that perspective, Hardy explained that he doesn’t feel the fight was fixed, specifically. However, it may be that Sonnen didn’t show up to really compete:


“No, I don’t think so, I don’t think Bellator had anything to do with it,” Hardy said of a potential ‘fixed’ bout, “and I’m not necessarily saying the fight was contrived in any way. That was just my first reaction when I saw it because I couldn’t think of any other way that Chael would have rolled over like that. And then giving my perspective of the fact that Bellator brought him in basically as a mouthpiece to draw in an audience, but I just never got the impression that they expecting him to do anything athletically. I mean, he’s 40 years old, and he’s been retired for a time. From my perspective it seemed like he was there to kind of give Tito this big boost, and he just looked like he didn’t want to fight.

“That’s what I’m saying, and I’m not saying that Bellator was in on it, and I’m not saying that Tito is in on it. And to be honest, what I’m saying now, after watching it a few more times — probably 20 or 40 times — Tito kept that squeeze on a bit too long. And this was discussed at the press conference.”

Either way, for a fight that drove viewers to Bellator well above the promotion’s norm, Sonnen vs. Ortiz ended up being a bizarre anti-climax. Add in the circumstances of Ortiz’s retirement, Sonnen’s layoff, and Sonnen’s past willingness to skirt the rules, and it’s unlikely that controversy surrounding the bout will ever reach a clear resolution.

Schwarzenegger boots cheatin’ Chael Sonnen from Celebrity Apprentice

It may be Trump’s America, by Chael Sonnen was living in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s world. That world being the reality TV land of the Celebrity Apprentice. Schwarzenegger recently took over the long running pseudo-game show from the current commander in chief. And this week he got to drop the hammer on Sonnen.

Sonnen and his celebrity teammates were pushing the deadline on their project for the week, when Sonnen decided to buy them more time by cutting the cord to their computer. Apparently, in the case of a technical malfunction, he and his teammates would get more time to finish.

“On all of these tasks, we have deadlines and deadlines have to be met,” Sonnen told the cameras. “And we’re running out of time. We’re going to lose this task based on time. That’s not gonna happen. Not on my watch.”

So, Sonnen casually strolled over to the team’s computer where they were working and clipped the cord with a pair of scissors.

“Here’s the thing with time, any time there’s a technical error your clock stops. So I go, ‘Alright, I’m gonna go over to that computer right there and I’m gonna cut the cord,’” Sonnen explained. “‘That’s gonna give us an error. For a two dollar pair of scissors and some creativity, I can stop the clock and we can keep working on this task.'”

“In spite of this heroic and brilliant move on my part,” he continued, “I didn’t feel like a big hero. I felt like a guy that knew if we had a technical difficulty we got more time.”

“The American Gangster” even went so far as to give himself a pre-emptive thank you, on behalf of his team, for saving them. They apparently promptly tattled on him.

“It’s helpful to have doctors, it’s helpful to have lawyers on your team, and, at some point, it’s helpful to have a gangster,” Sonnen postulated. “So, to Carson Kressley, you’re welcome.”

“Cutting the cord bought us the time that we needed. It was a creative move. It’s one that should be valued and appreciated.”

He tried to defend himself to his “boss” once the allegations were brought to light, explaining that he was merely working within the rules.

“Governor, this was not cheating, this was a great move,” Sonnen explained to Schwarzenegger. “I’m very glad that we did this. Here’s how the rules read: You have to finish by 7:45. At 7:43 we were not done. You get one exception, which is technical difficulty. So, with a little creativity and some scissors, I gave us a technical difficulty.”

But, nothin’ doin’.

“Chael, I know that you think this is a gray area,” Schwarzenegger said. “But, in my world, this is not a gray area. I will not tolerate cheaters in my boardroom. You’re fired.”

That puts Sonnen firmly at 0-2 for the month of January. Next up he’s looking to finally settle the score with old foe Wanderlei Silva. Hopefully, by the time that fight gets made, his luck will have improved.

Tito Ortiz says Chael Sonnen owes him a public apology for trash talk: ‘I believe in respect’

In the lead up to Bellator 170, a lot of things got said. What may have started out as a friendly rivalry between longtime mixed martial artists and former college wrestling foes, became a bit more personal as the fight drew nearer. That’s in no small part due to Chael Sonnen’s penchant for needling trash talk.

“Tito always says I’m using my mouth to get my opportunities,” Sonnen said in the lead-up to the January 21st bout. “The only person that I know that made money using their mouth is his ex-wife.”

“This show is free on Spike TV,” Sonnen added later at the same eventlater at. “That means everyone can afford it. Except for Tito, Because he’s broke. Get it?”

Apparently comments like those weren’t well received by Tito Ortiz, Sonnen’s opponent. And while Ortiz may have ended the fight, submitting Sonnen in just over two minutes with a rear naked choke, that doesn’t mean that he’s ready to forgive the trash talk leading up to it.

Shortly after the bout, Ortiz told Fight Hub TV that if Sonnen wanted to squash the beef between the two fighters, he’d have to do more than just glad-hand him behind closed doors. Sonnen would need to make a public apology (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“I didn’t say anything after the fight. He came to my dressing room and said, ‘Good fight, it was an honor, da da da’ and I go, ‘You’ve got to apologize to me in public.’ So we’re gonna see if he has enough balls to apologize to me in public.”
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“I’m a kid who has a lot of respect. I believe in respect. Talking about another person’s family is something wrong to do and for what he did, that’s just the wrong thing to do. That’s always my three rules of s**t-talking: You don’t talk about a person’s family, you don’t talk about a person’s country, and you don’t lie about a person. He did all three of those things, and the big man upstairs took care of it.”

Perhaps that attitude played into Ortiz’s willingness to keep his choke on Sonnen locked in past the point of Sonnen tapping and the ref trying to separate them.

“I kinda held onto it because I have ill will towards him. But that’s just me. When someone talks about my family, someone talks about my character, I have bad will towards a person,” Ortiz said during the post fight press conference.

No word yet on when Tito can expect his public apology.

Frank Mir still likes Brock Lesnar trilogy: ‘It makes a lot more sense than some other fights’

Back in April of last year, when Frank Mir was notified that he had been flagged by USADA for a drug test failure, one thought seemed to spring to the forefront: Retirement. For the then 36-year-old heavyweight, who started his career way back in 2001, a potential two years away from active competition seemed like a surefire career killer.

“That was probably my last time fighting,” Mir said. … “I don’t see any other way around it. Age is catching up to me now. I’m not gonna get any younger in the next two years,” Mir said, when faced with the possibility of suspension.

But time heals all wounds, as the saying goes, And it seems that some time on the shelf has done more to reinvigorate Mir’s competitive drive rather than dampen it.

“No. Actually, if anything it just makes you want to compete more,” Mir told Sub Radio, when asked about his time away from competition. “Especially cause like taking the last ten months off, my body – I think hard training and we really don’t understand how to do it yet in MMA, I don’t think. I think that’s why you see so many guys hurt and taken off of cards, because we train at a different intensity than we would at just normal training to learn or to be in shape, and I think it causes a lot injuries. So when you train for fights, I think it’s accumulative damage. So now, you know, I’m still 37, I’m able to work out and just kind of look and still being so exposed to martial arts.

“I sit there now cageside, watching fights, calling them, doing analytical work, breaking them down. Richard (Hunter) and I are watching fights and breaking them down on the Phonebooth Fighting podcast, I get to see things. I’m like, wow, why did I do it this way if this is the easier way to do it? And I’ve obviously probably become more of my own head coach of recently, from like, well you know what, you need coaches to help you out, but really, like I don’t need to really re-invent the wheel, I kind of know what I’m doing. And having guys on the side as advisors is a great thing, but me trying to be humble and just empty my cup, I think I’m past that now. And so there’s things that I want to try.

“So now I’ve been in the gym, just training just to be healthy and move around. And it’s like, oh if I’m able to move and my brain and body can follow what my brain knows what to do, I’m pretty dangerous. It’s just that connection. And obviously in a few years that’s going to just take it’s course to where we’re seeing now where athletes can still perform as fighters in their early 40’s. Mark Hunt’s doing really well in his early 40’s. For all practical purposes I think Dan Henderson should probably be the middleweight champion right now. And so, but eventually, I mean let’s be realistic, saying you’re 50 and fighting at a high level probably is still kind of a stretch for human physiology.”

And since Mir is looking at the potential for a comeback, it’s worth wondering what might be waiting for him when his suspension comes due. Maybe another title run? Maybe Brock Lesner?

“Oh absolutely,” Mir said of a potential 3rd fight with Lesnar. “But I mean at this point, I just want to go out there and still compete and perform. So fighting Brock, obviously that would be a good money payday cause of his name recognition and the amount of people that would watch and the story behind it. So it makes a lot more sense than some other fights. But at this point, I just want to get back in there and compete.”
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“I think that’s a goal for everybody,” he continued, when asked about making a run at the title again. “I don’t know if you’re ever in fighting, that you don’t think that you want to go out there and win a title. At least I haven’t shifted in that mindset yet to where I’m just taking fights just to get paid for fights. I would like to go out there and still be able to perform at a really high level. And you only have so many years of competition and I want to get as many in as I can and have as much to enjoy.”

Frank Mir’s last fight was a KO loss to Mark Hunt back at UFC Fight Night Brisbane in March of 2016. Shortly after the fight, Mir tested positive for turinabol metabolites, something he chalks up to potentially ingesting tainted meat. He has yet to have an official suspension handed down by USADA, but expects to be back in competition in spring of 2018.

Chael Sonnen on Bellator 170 loss to Tito Ortiz: The good news is ‘I got the silver medal’

Chael Sonnen has never lacked for spin control (other than his second fight with Anderson Silva). Give him a negative and he’ll find the positive, just about every time.

And after more than 3-years on the sidelines, following a disastrous end to his UFC career, he made his re-entry into the competitive world of MMA. Sonnen took on Tito Ortiz at Bellator 170, getting submitted by a rear naked choke at 2:03 of Round 1. But even after an admittedly poor performance, he hasn’t lost his knack for looking on the bright side.

“What happened?” Sonnen responded when asked about the fight. “Well here’s the good news: I got the silver medal. The bad news is, there was only two of us out there.”
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“I don’t know if I felt good in there,” Sonnen continued when asked about the positives of his return. “I’m really glad that it’s done. I’ve never had a loss that went like this, where I saw so many positives. But, it’s been three years. I’ve seen other fighters, I’m a historian, I’m a big fan. And I’ve seen other fighters that have taken some time off and come back and it’s tough. Particularly at my age, I’ve fought 49 men, and I’ve just, I’ve never had a break before. Since the time I was 9-years-old, I’ve never had a break. And I wanted to get some minutes, I wanted to get some good minutes. And I don’t know if I achieved that tonight or not. I got to do the walk and I got to go through a little of the process, but I was hoping for a much longer contest.”

As for what actually went down in the cage? Sonnen credit’s Tito’s win largely to his own inability to give up on a bad position, even when it obviously wasn’t going his way:

“I never really got a takedown,” Sonnen said, matter-of-factly. “I had an opportunity to, and I didn’t spin behind. I thought I had some opportunity for a guillotine and I got greedy. And you know, one thing my coaches always tell me is, “Don’t get greedy, stick with the basics.” But, I thought I had it. And he stepped over and I still thought I had something there. And every opportunity I had to bail out and let that position go, I didn’t do it. And when he finally popped his head out and then I’m mounted, then I’m going, “Geeze, I go this way, that way,” I couldn’t bump him off. And I rolled over and I just remember he, I think he had, like a rear naked choke. It was really tight and I tried to defend it, but he had it.”

But, while the fight may not have gone his way, it sounds like the future remains unchanged for Sonnen. He’s still has a clear next bout in mind: Wanderlei Silva.

“Yeah, I have my sights set on Wanderlei, and he would tell you the same thing. We got unfinished business that dates back many years.“

For his part, Silva had planned on returning from his own 3+ year hiatus from MMA competition back in December of 2016. However, an inability to properly prepare himself for the contest lead to Silva postponing his return to competition.

The former Pride champion and UFC star hasn’t fought since his 2013 win over Brian Stann. However, he and Sonnen were set to face off after their coaching stints on TUF Brazil 3. A drug test failure from Sonnen and a failure to submit to testing from Wanderlei led to both fighters being suspended from competition for multiple years. Even with a loss to Ortiz for “The American Gangster” a potential bout with Wanderlei has been a long time coming.