In a lot of the classic markets around the world, it feels like the UFC is a bit of a fading concern. The Canada boom is long over, the J-MMA glory days have been gone for more than a decade. Even the UFC’s trips to Brazil feel like no real big deal anymore. Ireland’s MMA craze came and went with the McGregor era, and experiments with regular UFC cards in Germany and Sweden produced absolutely nothing.
There are still markets where the UFC looks like it has room to expand, however. China seems to be a steady partner, for one, and Middle East is hungry for all the combat sports it can get right now. Most notably, though, if UFC Noche was any sign last year, MMA is starting to gain a real fanbase down in Mexico.
The promotion’s first trip back to the country since 2019 this past Saturday highlighted how much it needs to keep putting on cards for its Hispanic fanbase. Cain Velasquez may not have been the crossover star that the UFC had hoped for, but a steady diet of raiding Combate and Entram gym has provided Dana White & co. with a healthy stable of Mexican and Mexican-American talent that get real national support. Fans showed up in droves.
UFC at altitude is not good MMA
That said, despite clear signs that the company had learned from past forrays to the CDMX, it’s clear that Mexico City is not built for MMA. The UFC didn’t put on a single fight over the lightweight division for their Moreno vs. Royval 2 fight card, but it didn’t seem to matter. At 7,349 feet in elevation the climate was still brutally punishing for multiple five minute rounds of action…
It’s a fact that was clear in the results all night. Fighters up and down UFC Mexico City struggled with pace and cardio. Most notably, unfortunately, in the main and co-main events, where both Brandon Moreno and Yair Rodriguez looked like they were trying hard to measure their exertion. There were a couple standout fights and performances, but most of the evening felt like it was marked by lackluster action. The crowd was hyped, but the fighters couldn’t match it.
Even events in places like Denver and Salt Lake City have been notable for the rate at which fighters gas out—add an extra 2,000 feet of elevation on that and it wasn’t pretty. Hell, Mexico City is only 600 feet closer to sea level than Machu Picchu. It’s a massive metropolis; I get that the promotion doesn’t want to write it off—hell they’re even building a new performance institute there—but surely there has to be better options.
Can UFC find other options?
Guadalajara may still be at a mile, but Monterray’s elevation is only 1,700 feet, and the UFC went there back in 2015. I’m only spitballing, but there’s gotta be something they can do to get cards out of the literal stratosphere and back down on solid ground. It seems absurd to think that the UFC is going to make a base of operations in a city where they can’t even book 1/3 of the roster without risking a heart attack.
They’ve got the fans, they’ve got the talent, even a healthy portion of their American-born fighters identify strongly with their Mexican roots. It’s clearly a market that the world’s largest MMA promotion needs to pour themselves into. But fight cards where bantamweights look like they’re sucking wind just six minutes into the bout are no bueno.
Maybe a future will come along where a sizeable portion of fighters train out of Mexico City year around, I think that’s honestly what it would take to make this altitude reasonable. But as veteran sports broadcaster Rodrigo Del Campo González recently noted speaking of this card on social media, even the Mexican fighters here weren’t routinely using the city as a home base. Will that change with the construction of a UFC complex? Or will it just remain a place that the UFC only visits once every few years, when they feel they really have to? Either way I can’t help but think fans deserve something better.
The UFC antitrust lawsuit continues its slow and steady march toward trial. First filed in 2014, the claim from a group of former fighters that the world’s largest MMA promotion has abused their power while effectively operating as a monopoly in the world of mixed martial arts achieved class action status only just last year.
In the months since, things have been moving at a much more serious pace, with both sides gearing up for what seems like a surefire showdown in the courtroom. Most recently, the UFC filed a list of the fighters, some of whom qualify for class status (competed in one or more live professional UFC-promoted MMA bouts taking place or broadcast in the United States from December 16, 2010, to June 30, 2017), that will be testifying on their behalf. It comes with absolutely no surprises.
UFC commentators are going to defend their current employers? | Scott Garfitt / ZUMA Wire, IMAGO
Donald Cerrone, Michael Bisping among fighters set to testify for the UFC
As we already reported, no fighters included in the qualifying bout class (about 1200 athletes in total) chose to remove themselves from the lawsuit against the UFC. So even among those set to testify on the promotion’s behalf, most of them stand to gain if the plaintiffs succeed. That said, there is one notable exception.
Bloody Elbow’s John Nash shared the details from the UFC’s filing on Twitter.
Defendent (UFC) in Le v Zuffa files their trial brief. Includes a list of probably some of the least surprising potential fighter and manager witnesses. pic.twitter.com/hUG1Em3aZf
Michael Bisping: A former champion and current regular member of the UFC broadcast team, Bisping has long been a supporter of the promotion’s pay structure.
“To be honest, it makes me mad, because people don’t understand,” Michael Bisping said back in 2012, when asked about critics of the UFC’s pay structure. “I’ve worked hard, and I get [the amount stipulated in the contract], but when Dana comes into the locker room and gives me a check afterwards, they don’t have to do that.
Donald Cerrone: Known throughout his career for being one of the promotion’s most loyal ‘fight anyone at any time’ company men, Cerrone retired from competition in 2022 to focus on his acting career. During his time in the Octagon, however, he was also a vocal supporter of the promotion’s pay structure.
“It’s like, listen, you just fought on a regional show for $2,000. Now the UFC’s giving you whatever the 12 and 12 or whatever that is, so that’s clearly more than what you’re earning now,” Cerrone told reporters, speaking of younger fighters complaining over pay at a 2022 presser. “They work so hard, they put their whole life on hold to get in the UFC. And then they get in the UFC and they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m here.’ And they kind of just back off the training. They’re no longer the killers and doing what they need to do to become the entertainers and the person that the UFC signed them to be.”
Michael Chandler: Not part of the class for this version of the lawsuit, Chandler does meet the standards for inclusion in a separate class action case filed by former UFC lightweight Kajan Johnson. Despite spending the majority of 2010-17 fighting for Viacom-owned rival, Bellator, Chandler has been a vocal supporter of his new home since making his Octagon debut in 2021.
“…I don’t have a problem with the quote/un-quote ‘fighter pay’ argument,” Chandler explained in a 2022 interview. “I think people think we should make a lot more money because the UFC makes a ton of money on their shows. Well, the UFC’s been at it since 1993. Dana White has had 10,000 sleepless nights when most of us fighters are just showing up to practice and going to bed, laying our head on the pillow and getting after it—and getting paid a decent wage for what we do.”
Chael Sonnen: A former multiple time title contender, Sonnen’s relationship with the UFC hasn’t always been a rosy one. The ‘American Gangster’ ended his Octagon run in ignominy, following a failed drug test. After four years of retirement, he made his return to competition with Bellator and even had a stint working the desk with the WSOF. In more recent years, however, he’s been working more closely with UFC broadcast partner ESPN and has been a noted supporter of Endeavor/Zuffa business strategy.
“Can you name 1 company on Earth that gives 50/50 revenue split?” Sonnen social media post replying to Combat Sport’s Law’s Erik Magraken, before going on to argue that the UFC is simply operating within the parameters of natural market forces in a much longer video reply.
Miesha Tate: Unlike Sonnen, while Tate has had significant roles with promotions outside the UFC (a 3-year stint with ONE Championship as a Vice President in the promotion’s front office), she’s also never had a public falling out with them either. Tate hasn’t been nearly as active in the fighter pay debate as the other names on this list, but did come to the promotion’s defense after revealing that she had spent all of her $200,000 purse on fight camp expenses.
“I’m not complaining about what the UFC pays me,” Tate told the MMA Hour back in 2021. “The UFC paid me $200,000. I wouldn’t get that anywhere else I don’t think. So look, I got $200,000 to spend on my camp. I reinvested it in myself, almost all of it. It wasn’t a bad choice. I’m not broke. I own my house free and clear. I own my cars free and clear. I have a great life. So I know I’ll make hand over fist when I’m a champion again, that’s the ultimate goal. Some fighters don’t spend that much money. There’s some fighters out there who cut corners.”
MMA managers coming to UFC’s aid as well
Outside of the UFC’s obvious market dominance when it comes to prominence and opportunity for fighters looking to ‘make it big’ in MMA, one of the longstanding criticisms around the sport is the seemingly often cozy relationship that talent managers have with UFC brass. Nothing brings that critique into sharper focus than the noted figures said to be representing athletes’ best interests that are prepared to offer their testimony for the UFC.
That list includes Dominance MMA founder Ali Abdelaziz, Iridium Sports Agency CEO Jason House, KHI vice president Josh Jones, American Top Team owner Dan Lambert, and RFA/LFA president Ed Soares.
Documentation from the filing notes that these men represented talent including Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, Gleison Tibau, Rosa Namajunas, Donald Cerrone, Miesha Tate, Bobby Green, Fabricio Werdum, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Rafael dos Anjos among dozens of others.
The UFC antitrust lawsuit is set to go to trial on April 8th, 2024, barring any pre-trial settlement agreement. If it does proceed as planned it should be fascinating to hear the arguments presented by these fighters and managers in support of the UFC.
Usually when one fighter misses weight, their opponent gets a chance to grab a small bump in pay and the bragging rights that come with having been the more professional party during fight week. That’s not quite the way things went down this week in Mexico City, however.
The UFC returns south of the border this Saturday, February 24th for their first event at the Arena Ciudad de México since 2019. Headlining the card will be a top-flight flyweight rematch between former champion Brandon Moreno and recent title challenger Brandon Royval. But, further down on the undercard, there’s been a little trouble with the scales.
UFC Mexico: Chairez vs. Lacerda 2 misses weight
The highlight of this weekend’s UFC action will be a pair of rematches up at the top of the card, but another pair of flyweights also have some unfinished business to settle. Or, at least they will if the promotion can get them both to the Octagon.
Edgar Chairez and Daniel Lacerda first faced off back in September of last year, at UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Grasso 2. The bout saw a solidly competitive couple of minutes before Chairez wrapped up a standing guillotine that looked to have Lacerda in a whole heap of trouble. Stuck tight and seemingly on the verge of passing out, the Brazilian was nonetheless defiant when referee Chris Tognoni made the decision to stop the bout despite no tap from Lacerda.
A quick video review in the Octagon confirmed Lacerda’s protests, that he had neither gone completely unconscious, nor submitted to the choke. And the fight was ruled an official ‘no contest.’
The UFC was set to run the whole thing back in Mexico City this Saturday, but hit something of a stumbling block when Lacerda came in at 127 lbs, one pound over the flyweight limit. To make matters even more awkward, however, Chairez weighed in just a short time later, hitting the scales at a whopping 131 lbs. No other fighters missed weight for the event.
Chairez vs. Lacerda will proceed at a catchweight
Whether Edgar Chairez was set to miss weight anyway, or whether he simply took the opportunity of his opponent’s mistake to stop what must be an absolutely brutal cut for the 5’7″ flyweight with a 72″ reach is unclear. Either way it has to be something of a relief for Daniel Lacerda, who saw a fight against Vinicius Slavador in December of 2022 scrapped due to a botched weight cut.
MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura reports that, following the double miss, the fight will go ahead as planned. A penalty will be assessed to both fighters by the UFC, although the exact figure has not yet been reporeted.
Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda will proceed at #UFCMexico after both fighters missed weight this morning.
Both fighters will be fined by the UFC. Penalties still to be determined. #UFCMexico
UFC Mexico City airs on ESPN+ starting at 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific. Alongside the flyweight main event, the card will also play host to a featherweight bout between top contenders Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega. The two men first fought in July of 2022, with Yair claiming victory via verbal submission due to injury. This bout will be Ortega’s first fight back since the loss.
One of MMA’s biggest storylines of 2023 was focused on Francis Ngannou’s free agency and where he would finally land. Still UFC champion heading into last year, Ngannou was stripped of the title after failing to reach a new contract with the world’s largest MMA promotion.
While the Cameroonian-born Frenchman had no shortage of detractors over his decision to leave the Octagon behind, he eventually landed a massive contract with the PFL. One that wouldn’t just pay him multiple millions for competing in MMA, but would also give him freedom to pursue a boxing career as well.
Fans have already seen the fruits of that deal, with Ngannou making his debut in the ring against Tyson Fury last October. Now, however, with a bout against Anthony Joshua on the horizon, the question has remained, when is Ngannou going to return to MMA? And who will he face once he does?
Francis Ngannou to take on Bader/Ferreira winner
In a video posted to their social media accounts, the PFL has announced that Francis Ngannou will take on the winner of Ryan Bader vs. Renan Ferreira from this Saturday’s upcoming PFL vs. Bellator: Champs card.
The 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament champion, Renan Ferreira enters his bout against Bader in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on a 3-fight win streak. Those victories righted an exceptionally rocky ship for the Brazilian, who dropped three straight bouts in between 2022-2023, with losses to Klidson Abreu, Ante Delija, and Rizvan Kuniev. Fortunately for the Team Nogueira talent, however, both Abreu and Kuniev ended up with failed drug tests, resulting in both those losses getting overturned to no contests.
Most recently, Ferreira defeated Denis Goltsov at PFL 10, in the tournament finale in Washington DC, back in November of last year.
For Bader, the former Ultimate Fighter season 8 winner hasn’t competed since February of last year, when he knocked out PRIDE legend Fedor Emelianenko in a rematch to defend his Bellator heavyweight title. That bout made for three straight victories for the 40-year-old, stretching back to a 2021 loss to Corey Anderson in a light heavyweight title fight.
Bader was among many of the fighters acquired by the PFL in their recent purchase of Bellator, opening the door for this weekend’s champions vs. champions card. Alongside the main event, the card will also feature Impa Kasanganay vs. Johnny Eblen. Unfortunately bouts between Patricio Pitbull & Jesus Pinedo, as well as Magomed Magomedov vs. Jason Jackson have had to be changed due to injury, leaving just the two title-vs-tile bouts at the top of the event.
Francis Ngannou talks PFL plans
With a second major boxing bout on the horizon, there’s been a lot of speculation as to whether Francis Ngannou would actually have a reason to return to the PFL in 2024. Most likely, his willingness to step back into the cage will be heavily contingent on his performance on March 8th. A win there and Ngannou will probably find himself with another major boxing bout on his hands tout de suite.
However, at least for the moment, the 37-year-old has remained bullish on the idea that fans should expect him back in MMA again soon.
At the moment, Fury has his hands full with an upcoming bout against Oleksandr Usyk. The ‘Gypsy King’ has been set to take on the unbeaten Ukrainian champ for months now, with the bout now expected for May 18th. In a recent interview of his own, Fury laid out his plans for the future, including a pair of Usyk fights, and Pair of bouts against Anthony Joshua, and a rematch against Ngannou.
At the moment it seems the ‘Predator’ has plenty of options on the table, and a return to MMA is just one small piece of the puzzle.
UFC 300 is now nearly a fully booked fight card. The April 13th PPV event currently has 12 bouts listed, including an official main event between former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill and current champ Alex Pereira. That fight, alongside Weili Zhang vs. Yan Xiaonan and Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway seems likely to guarantee fans get a thrilling night of action from the UFC.
However, that doesn’t mean everyone is entirely happy with the event. The UFC’s past attempts to pull out all the stops for their 100th and 200th PPV cards have left some fans feeling underwhelmed by a PPV headliner that lacks the kind of dynamic star power of a Conor McGregor, GSP, Jon Jones, or Ronda Rousey.
Jamahal Hill fires back at UFC 300 critics
Never one to ignore the discourse or step back in the face of criticism, Jamahal Hill had some words for fans that might be feeling somewhat shortchanged by his spot in the UFC 300 headliner. In a recent video released to his YouTube channel, ‘Sweet Dreams’ took umbrage with the idea that the upcoming card was anything less than a massive showcase of the promotion’s best talent.
“The reaction to this has been kind of a mix of things and there and whatnot,” Hill explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “There’s been a lot of outrage, a lot of disappointment and things like that. To be honest, it’s crazy to me, because for the most part a lot of these people are the same people that have spent the better part of a year or however long calling me ‘cry baby.’
But it’s crazy to see how a card can be stacked—the main card literally has a former champion or champion in every single fight and some even facing former champions. In every single fight in the main card, each one of the prelims is worthy of being its own separate main event and people are crying. Like, let’s really be real. It’s really, really crying because you had unreal expectations for something.”
Hill did add that he felt Dana White might be in part to blame, for overselling his main event announcement, but he felt that was likely because the UFC boss really was working on something “that you people would feel is mind-blowing or otherworldly,” but couldn’t get it done.
“I think I saw one comment that said, ‘I was expecting Conor vs. Jesus Himself,’ Hill said. “At this point, now I’m convinced that wouldn’t have been enough. Y’all could have got Mario vs. King Kong, y’all could have got Wolverine vs. Iron Man, you could have gotten anything, Hulk vs. Superman, Spider-Man vs. Batman, you could have got any of this and you wouldn’t have been happy. So all I can say as far as the whole ‘this is a disappointment’ and it not being worthy of this spot and things like that is that’s crazy.”
Jamahal Hill reassures fans he’s healthy for the fight
Even Dana White seemed somewhat unsure if Hill was already entirely healthy, telling fans after UFC 298 that he didn’t know how Hill would respond to the injury.
“I don’t know.” White told reporters when asked about Hill’s recovery. “I’m friends with Kelsey Plum from the WNBA — she had the same injury. She came back [from an Achilles tear] and won MVP, a national title. [Hill] has been going to [UFC’s Performance Institute]. She recovered from that injury at [UFC’s Performance Institute]. So, hopefully he’s good.”
As for Hill himself? He says he’s already been sparring and drilling and doesn’t expect to have any problems with his preparations for Pereira.
“Another one of the big questions has been my health, ‘he’s rushing back’ and things like that,” Hill said. “No, I’m not rushing back. I’ve been training, I’ve been sparring, I’ve been at a full go now for a few weeks now. There’s been no setbacks, nothing hindering anything. When I’m saying full go I mean this is me doing everything full speed, full-on like I would when I normally train, so there’s no concerns.
“My Achilles is not an issue, it’s not a problem at all. I’m just ready to go.”
Every week a different lesson. Some good, some bad. MMA is not just a sport of chaos, it seems to throw up odd results in all areas. Everything from politics, to corporate branding, to philosophy, mixed martial arts finds a way in and a way to make things weird.
This week, we’ve got Alexander Volkanovski farming a little free range humility, and the UFC finding something of interest for their blockbuster PPV. We’ve also got Ian Garry working outside the box, and Rampage Jackson chasing ghosts. Storm clouds and silver linings aplenty.
LOVE TO SEE IT
Volk has no excuses for UFC 298 loss
If fighting is in our DNA, as Dana White likes to say, then excuse making is—at the very least—a well embraced tradition handed down from our ancestors. That’s especially true in the fight game, where maintaining an unbreakable confidence is every bit as important as reckoning with mistakes, learning, and improving. The fighter who steps into the cage thinking about how they might lose, often already has.
That said, it’s always nice to see a little public humility in the face of defeat, especially from an all time great like Alexander Volkanovski. So many people in combat sports can’t resist the urge to make their private thoughts about how they were done dirty, had a bad camp, were dealing with some injuries, or just plain ‘didn’t actually lose’ part of the public conversation.
Speaking to reporters after UFC 298, Volkanovski made his case for a rematch with Ilia Topuria. A fight he even believes he’ll win (really can’t beat fighters for self confidence). But he also made sure in that request to make it absolutely clear that when it came to his opponent’s work at UFC 298, the new champ earned every ounce of his victory.
“You can’t take anything away from Topuria,” Volkanovski admitted (transcript via MMA Fighting). “If he puts a hand on you like that, you’re going to go down. I don’t care, that’s just that.
“That was a clean right hand and I think no matter who you are, you let one of those land on your chin while you’re caught there, you’re probably going down. Don’t let him catch you, that’s what that was. He caught me, so I won’t take nothing away from him. I’m not going to sit there and say it was this or it was that. I felt great. Camp was great. I felt good in there.”
I’d argue that it’d be nice if Volkanovski’s coach could find a little of that energy too—Joe Lopez recently told the Daily Mail that all Topuria did was capitalize on a “puncher’s chance”—but then again part of his job is to keep his fighter pumped up and confident. Who wants to train under someone that firmly believes their upcoming opponent is going to beat their ass?
I hope Volk takes some time off after this loss, maybe even takes another fight before running back to a rematch. But, there’s no question he’s earned the right to get one. At least in the meantime he’s willing to give Topuria his moment in the sun. It truly was well earned.
Edwards vs. Muhammad never on the UFC 300 radar
I know this seems like it should be a ‘hate to see it’ post, since Belal Muhammad has unquestionably earned his UFC title shot. But I can’t pretend that I’m unhappy the UFC wasn’t trying to book this fight for the UFC 300 main event.
A co-main? Sure. A future PPV headliner? Absolutely. But the UFC is one of the most creativity and fun bereft fight promotions to ever grace God’s green earth. This company can barely put a 4-man tournament together without courting disaster. They’ve built their reputation on structure and dependability—as well as the biggest roster of fighting talent ever assembled under one roof—getting wild isn’t in their lexicon.
That said, the least fans should be able to expect is that for a few rare PPV cards, the world’s largest MMA promotion will do its best to go all out. UFC 100, UFC 200? These were cards where the UFC tried their best to pull out all the stops; to book the biggest, wildest, and most interesting fights they could. Sure UFC 200 hit some stumbling blocks, ultimately, but not for any lack of trying.
Otherwise, at least once a year, fans expect that the International Fight Week card will be a ‘can’t miss’ event. Now that the UFC is going to Madison Square Garden every fall as well, that seems like it’s becoming another major target. The rest of the schedule can be business as usual. But the big shows should feel big.
Say what you will about Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad, but that is not one of the most exciting fights the UFC can make. It’s not even all the fault of ‘Remember the Name’ either. Edwards’ penchant for considered caution and patient outfighting has rarely made him a must-see action fighter. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been ‘hyped’ for a Leon Edwards fight, even if I was sure it would be interesting.
It’s under that frame that I’m happy to see a recent report from the Schmo—which was retweeted by Muhammad himself—confirming that while Edwards was offered multiple fights for the UFC 300 main event, none of them were against the longtime Roufusport product.
🚨Can confirm Belal Muhammad was NOT one of the 3 fighters offered to Leon Edwards for #UFC300
Is Jamahal Hill vs. Alex Pereira anywhere near the level of Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier 2, or Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2? Hell no, it absolutely is not. But Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 is the kind of main event that the promotion used to put on Fox. It’s almost an active detriment as a headliner for a card where the UFC is expected to actually try and deliver something more than just ‘guys fighting’. It’s honestly a relief they found something else after a 2023 where it often felt like they settled for less.
HATE TO SEE IT
Rampage Jackson has more big plans
A big portion of Rampage Jackson’s MMA career popularity was wrapped up in the juxtaposition between the violence he was capable of displaying in the cage, and the comedy he was capable of manufacturing outside of it. For a man best known for powerbombing an opponent into unconsciousness, he was a complete ham in press conferences and interviews.
If his late career was anything to judge from, however, the success he experienced as a competitor was a key component to making his personality work. Win a couple of major titles and most MMA fans were willing to excuse the repeated public groping or the energy drink fueled recklessness. By comparison his late career run in Bellator was mostly just boring, both in and out of fighting.
It was something of a surprise then, when Jackson emerged with a hit podcast last year in partnership with JAXXON.com (an apparently unaffiliated jewelry company). The company seems to be taking good advantage of the former fighter’s charismatic personality, which in turn seems to be stoking a return to the ring.
Jackson is all set to box Shannon Briggs on June 1st in Qatar. From the sound of things, however, that’s just the first in a number of old grudges the former UFC champion hopes to hash out.
“I can’t believe Wanderlei said that,” Rampage said, responding to some recent trash talk from Wanderlei Silva, where the recent UFC Hall of Fame inductee quipped that he would “hang [Jackson] on the ropes again” if they were to rematch (interview via MMA Mania). “I might have to talk to Rashad Evans. I might have to push Wanderlei’s ass whooping up some. I’mma beat his motherf—king ass for saying some s—t like that.
“That was totally disrespectful. When I called him out, I called him out very respectfully. I’m gonna talk to S.D.K. (Suleyman D. Khan) and Hossama [Khan] about getting the fight over in Qatar after I knock the s—t out of Shannon. I’m gonna ask them, ‘Can I beat the f—k out of Wanderlei next after I fulfill my fulfilments with ‘Titties’ (Schoonover)’? I want f—kin’ Wanderlei in Qatar.”
Shannon Briggs, Wanderlei Silva, Darrill Schoonover, Rashad Evans??? Does anyone want to see this 45-year-old man’s personal petty business tour? We saw Rampage vs. Wanderlei 4 six years ago at Bellator 206, and it sucked. Just 2 rounds of swing-n-cling from a couple dudes that looked like they’d only barely gotten back in shape to take the fight before Wanderlei got TKO’d.
I’m glad Rampage has found a spot, post-fighting, where he can make use of his voice and charisma. But for a guy who could barely find the motivation to compete into his late 30s, it’s really hard to get hyped to see him jump on the celebrity boxing circuit in his mid-40s. Especially not if it’s just to extend his media beefs from past glory days.
Ian Garry studying NFL footwork
Cross training has become something of a fad, not just in MMA, but across the sporting landscape. Tales of NBA players learning to kickbox, NFL players getting in some MMA rounds, all sorts of insanity. I suppose it makes sense, really. Few athletes grow up playing just one game, and all of them love to put their bodies on the line in physical competition.
Whether it actually does them any good or not? That’s a whole different question. One of the notable things about classic sports training is the focus on raw repetition and discipline. Want to learn how to dribble a basketball? Spend a whole hell of a lot of time dribbling. Want to learn how to throw punches in combination, get on that pad work. There’s no better way to learn than to learn by doing, and it has to be wondered how much outside influence just becomes distraction—even if it’s technically getting someone a good workout.
Which brings me to UFC 298 and Ian Garry’s recent reveal that one of the things he did in prep for fighting Geoff Neal was to study NFL footwork. I can’t help but wonder why.
“It’s like, I gotta keep moving and keep on my toes, because the minute he gets planted, he has so much power,” Garry told the MMA Hour in a recent interview (transcript via MMA Fighting). “So that movement has to be constant the entire fight, shifting from left to right, left to right. … I was studying a lot of NFL wide receivers, people like [Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver] Ja’marr Chase and [Minnesota Vikings wide receiver] Justin Jefferson, and the way they get off the line, and they throw off the corners, purely based on the ability of trying to trick the movement, or trick the eyes into which direction you’re going to move and you’re going to go, and I used that a lot in this fight of, just switching really quickly to make them think I’m going to go right, then go left.
“And next time I’ll change it up a little bit differently, maybe still go left, throw him a lot of feints. That was really important for me, to just keep that consistent, constant movement to unsettle Geoff and make it hard for him to have success.”
The goals of footwork off the line in the NFL (or downfield) and the goals of footwork in combat sports are entirely different. A wide receiver is all about creating as much space and time as possible to become and remain an open receiver or at least a solid decoy. Fighting is all about the maintenance of ideal range. It’s not enough just to get away from someone, a fighter has to stay close enough to hit their opponent as well.
On those terms, it has to be said that Garry’s fight against Neal hardly felt like a footwork masterclass. The back-and-forth movement he created did well to keep Neal from drawing an easy bead on him, but when Neal did rush in, Garry often retreated in a straight line before exiting late on an angle with his chin up and hands down. When Neal extended a combo, he tended to find the target.
I don’t think Neal won that fight at all, but it’s hard not to look at Stephen Thompson’s very sport specific footwork against ‘Handz of Steel’ back in 2020—which lead to Neal getting outlanded at a 2-1 clip—in comparison to Garry’s broad strokes, space-creating movement that led to him scraping out a split decision. Part of that difference was down to Neal’s ability to create more offensive angles on his entries than he did 4 years ago, but a lot of it was just Garry getting caught out of position.
MMA has a habit of leaping to creative problem solving when there are tried and true solutions already there. Fighting footwork has a long and storied history. It may take a little extra work to adapt it to takedown defense and the intricacies of MMA, but the answer for that probably isn’t coming from the Cincinnati Bengals.
Even Dana White knows he talks a whole lot of nonsense. The longtime president and current CEO of the UFC has been feuding with the talent going all the way back to his time as an MMA manager. Whether it’s Frank Shamrock, Paul Daley, Roy Nelson, Nate Marquardt or a dozen other notable fighters from the promotion’s past, White is no stranger to animosity.
It’s something of a surprise, then, to see the UFC putting Wanderlei Silva in the Hall of Fame, considering the place ‘The Axe Murderer’ was in when he left the company back in 2013.
Dana White once banned Wanderlei Silva from UFC Hall of Fame
Wanderlei Silva’s inglorious UFC exit came on the heels of one of the most disastrous fight build-ups in MMA history. A season of the Ultimate Fighter, pitting Chael Sonnen against the Brazilian PRIDE legend was meant to lead to a showdown between the two. Then Silva injured his hand fighting with Sonnen during filming. It only got worse from there.
The bout was immediately re-booked, and then scrapped wholesale when Silva refused to submit to NSAC pre-fight drug testing. In an ultimate case of tragic irony, however, Sonnen failed his own pre-fight drug test shortly thereafter—leading to a four year retirement from competition.
As for Silva? He got stuck with a lifetime ban from the NSAC, as well as a $70,000 fine.
“Nobody has ever run from a drug test before. I didn’t see a lifetime ban coming. Nobody will let him fight. He’s in a very serious situation,” Dana White explained in a 2014 interview.
“There’s going to be no Hall of Fame. The guy’s been Pete Rose’d. There’s going to be no Hall of Fame offers.”
Eventually, Silva’s ban was overturned, and he returned to competition for a short, unsuccessful stint with Bellator. But, the rift between Silva and the world’s largest MMA promotion continued to grow. At one point, it got so bad that the former Chute Boxe talent accused the UFC of fight fixing. The threat of a lawsuit forced a swift apology, and seemingly severed the Brazilian’s ties with Zuffa for good.
Dana White forgot about Silva ban
They say time heals all wounds, however. There may be no better evidence of the truth in that turn of phrase than UFC 298, where the promotion announced that Wanderlei Silva would be part of the next UFC Hall of Fame inductee class. Seated cageside for the event, Silva was all smiles to receive the honor.
“I had no idea, it was a huge surprise. It makes me feel really happy,” Silva told ESPN in a backstage interview.
Dana White was feeling pretty good about it too, even when a reported asked him about his past ‘Pete Rose’ comments to the 2003 PRIDE middleweight Grand Prix champion.
“He deserves to be. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame,” White told reporters after the most recent PPV event, speaking of Wanderlei Silva. “Back when me and the Fertittas got into this sport, we were huge Wanderlei Silva fans. Everybody that was a hardcore fan back then was a big fan of PRIDE. A lot of big stars came out of there, and Wanderlei has done a lot for the sport in the early days, he deserves to be in there.”
“I’ve been in so many beefs with so many people that I didn’t even remember that until you just told me,” White added, when asked about banning Silva. “It’s a good thing I forgot!”
Dana White forgot that he once said Wanderlei Silva would be "Pete Rose'd" from the UFC Hall of Fame. 😬
"I've been in so many beefs with so many people, I didn't even remember that." pic.twitter.com/n3qiKVcHSg
Silva’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame is expected to take place during International Fight Week 2024, sometime in late June/early July. At the moment, Frankie Edgar is the only other fighter who has been announced for this year’s event.
This article originally appeared on the Bloody Elbow Substack on February 18th, 2024. Consider supporting Bloody Elbow with a paid subscription to get first look at all our top stories.
I hate to paraphrase a classic Joe Rogan talking point, but the man has said a whole hell of a lot over the years, every now and then he has to hit the mark. In this case, that mark is all about how tough it is to be the longtime champ; for a fighter to ‘carry a target on their back’ year after year after year.
Eventually, any fighter that finds themselves at that level, usually four-plus title defenses into their reign starts to encounter a very particular phenomenon.
The path to UFC greatness
Early on in their time with the UFC, they’re the one making the charge, the one nobody is prepared for. Remember Anderson Silva coming to the Octagon and his fights against Chris Leben and Rich Franklin? They had no idea at all what was about to hit them. Most talents may not have that kind of shock value these days, where the promotion is much bigger and the path to the belt longer—but then again we’re not too far removed from Alex Pereira blitzing MW and LHW on his way to two different belts.
After that, the new champ has to claim their space. Most likely they’ve been merely one of several contenders, usually a group consisting of other former belt holders and talents who have been rising right up along side them. Their first few defenses, then, are going to be bouts of mutual interest. They’ll know just as much about their opponent as their opponent knows about them. Maybe these fighters have been side-eyeing one another for a bit, but for the bulk of their careers they’ve been focused on the stars of a previous era…
We’ve seen a whole truckload of UFC champions that have cut their way through those challenges. Guys like Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, Dominick Cruz, and Max Holloway had no trouble taking out their share of former and current top talent around them. Where things have gotten tricky however, has been in the new blood.
Topuria as Volkanovski’s final boss
When Alexander Volkanovski first won featherweight gold, Ilia Topuria hadn’t even set foot inside the Octagon. ‘The Matador’ has spent literally his entire career inside the UFC focused at least in part on defeating one Australian man. Contenders like Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega couldn’t say that, having both joined the UFC when Conor McGregor and/or Jose Aldo still held claim to the crown. They passed through the whole Max Holloway era before facing Volkanovski.
This was new territory for ‘The Great’. He’d beaten the old guard, beaten his peers, now he had to stamp out this young lion. As we saw in Anaheim, he couldn’t make it happen.
There’s no shame in that. As I said before, even many of the best fighters in MMA history never achieved that goal. And those that have achieved it have often done so only barely hanging on by a thread.
The short list
At one time the MMA world was neck deep in arguments that Jon Jones actually lost to both Dominick Reyes and Thiago Santos at the end of his light heavyweight run. Younger fans may not remember, but Georges St-Pierre’s final welterweight title fight against Johny Hendricks was anything other than a clean cut victory for the Canadian legend.
It’s a huge credit to Demetrious Johnson that he beat both Kyoji Horiguchi and Henry Cejudo decisively before losing that narrow decision in the ‘Triple C’ rematch and getting sent packing off to Singapore. It’s just too bad that ‘Mighty Mouse’ didn’t have more flyweight forerunners to test himself against early on (although victories over Miguel Torres and Ian McCall certainly should count for something).
As it stands, that sort of makes up the entire list—at least as far as men go. Aldo went on to have remarkable success at 135 after Holloway ran him out of featherweight but he could never gain gold again. For the women, Amanda Nunes is the one fighter to really and truly grasp this claim to fame, having beat Tate, Rousey, Cyborg, and Holm, alongside Pennington, GDR, and Shevchenko. Adding later era defenses against Pena and Aldana. For Shevchenko, her victory over Taila Santos is probably her most clear pushback of what would have been considered the ‘new generation’, and that came with its own controversy.
Long story short, there’s a very small (and only lightly sketched out by yours truly) subcategory of all time pinnacle champions. It’s a list that includes Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. This was Volk’s chance to join that illustrious club and he couldn’t make it happen.
A truly great fighter and a dominant force in his own time, but not one of the true multi-generational championship gods of the UFC.
UFC 298 looks all set to be an action-packed night of PPV action for the world’s largest MMA promotion. The main event features a top-tier featherweight fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria alongside a middleweight top contender’s bout with former champion Robert Whittaker taking on fan favorite Paulo Costa.
Further down the card, however, there’s another fight that deserves just as much interest and attention as the top-billed action for the night. A bantamweight scrap between top ranked Merab Dvalishvili and former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. Dvalishvili hopes to earn his first shot at gold and pick up his 10th straight victory, while Cejudo is looking to bounce back from a closely contested loss to then champion Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288 last May.
UFC boss Dana White lays into Henry Cejudo for retiring ‘in his f***ing prime’
Fans might excuse Henry Cejudo for failing to recapture UFC gold by only the narrowest of margins last year, considering he had spent the previous three years sitting on the sidelines, but in a recent interview ahead of UFC 298 Dana White made it clear that he considers the time off something of a stain on ‘Triple C”s legacy. Most notably because White feels Cejudo had no reason not to be fighting.
“I mean, I think it was ridiculous that Henry Cejudo retired.” White explained (Transcript via MMA Junkie). “When you retire, you should stay away and never come back. This guy retired when he was in his f***ing prime. He looked good. This is a big fight for both of these guys.”
“Merab [Dvalishvili] sat out, and didn’t take a title fight because his friend had the title—all that stuff,” White added. “So I think you’re looking at two guys that, in my opinion, have made some mistakes in their careers. Saturday night’s a big deal for both of these guys. This whole f***ing card is incredible. I love this card.”
Dana White spin control
In the case of Merab Dvalishvili, there are two sides to this story in clear opposition to one another. Back in March, Dvalishvili made it clear that he didn’t want anyone asking him about fighting Aljamain Sterling.
“If they want me to fight Aljo, maybe they have to pay $10 billion,” Dvalishvili said at the time. “Then yes, I’ll be ready.”
Shortly afterward, Dana White sort of claimed that the UFC had offered Dvalishvili a chance to fight Sterling for the belt and that he had turned it down.
It’s a claim Dvalishvili has denied on several occasions now, saying that he has never been offered a fight against Sterling. From the sound of things, it doesn’t seem like he’s ever officially been offered a UFC title fight at all. But, considering that most bout negotiations are usually handled by matchmakers and managers, it’s impossible to know where the truth of that lies.
As for Henry Cejudo, however, his case for mid-career retirement has always been crystal clear.
“Show me the money,” Cejudo said in a 2020 interview. “That’s it. I’ve got my legacy. My legacy is written. Everybody knows what I’m after. I’m out here chasing green now. That’s what I want. I’ve got all the gold. I want the green.”
Whether or not Cejudo was able to finally really get paid big money by the UFC or not? We should know better this Saturday in Anaheim since California is one of the few states that still releases fighter contract information to the public. Even if he’s making serious ends now, however, the longtime Fight Ready talent has made it clear that it’s win or go home this time around. At 37-years-of-age he’s looking for one more run at gold. If he can’t get that, it sounds like he won’t stick around.
MMA and Hollywood have had a somewhat tortured relationship over the last few decades. While there have been a couple decent high points like Warrior and Redbelt, most of the time when MMA is appearing in a major motion picture, it’s gonna be a hot mess.
That probably extends to one of 2024’s most anticipated fight-adjacent cinematic projects as well, the long awaited remake of the Patrick Swayze classic Road House. Once anticipated as a potential Ronda Rousey vehicle (before her limitations as an onscreen talent became more apparent), the movie is set to star Jake Gyllenhaal as Elwood Dalton, an MMA fighter turned night club bouncer. Filmed in part during UFC 285, production problems have become a noted part of the movie’s upcoming release.
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel tried to save Road House producer
A few weeks ago, signs of problems behind the scenes became apparent with reports that star Jake Gyllenhaal and director Doug Liman had tried desperately to secure a theatrical release for the film with a a screening on Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’ yacht. That report came via Puck News and former Hollywood Reporter Matthew Belloni.
Despite the film’s apparent popularity with screening audiences (no word on what Bezos thought), it’s still geared for a prime exclusive release. A recent report from Variety, however, laid out more details on how the decision became so fraught.
According to Variety’s sources, early on in the project, director Liman and producer Joel Silver (who produced the Swayze original), as well as Gyllenhaal all signed off on the film as a streaming exclusive with the promise of an extra $25 million in the budget for passing on a theatrical release.
From the sound of things, however, it seems that was a deal quickly regretted. And while Gyllenhaal and Liman both campaigned to get the movie to the big screen, Silver especially became contentious with studio staff. So much so that Ari Emanuel tried to step in and save his job, despite few real connections to the project.
Silver continued to push for a theatrical release and grew so combative that the studio threatened to cut ties with him. That prompted Emanuel, CEO of WME parent Endeavor, to lobby on Silver’s behalf. Sources say Emanuel reached out to Salke and begged her not to fire the legendary producer. One source familiar with the back and forth described his pleas as “desperate.” Emanuel enlisted private investigator-turned-quasi consultant Anthony Pellicano in an effort to help Silver keep his job. (WME declined comment.)
“It made no sense why Ari cared,” says an insider. “WME doesn’t even rep Liman. CAA does.”
Despite Ari Emanuel’s attempts, Silver was removed from the project in 2023, and although the filmmakers continued their campaign without him, their pleas fell on deaf ears. Hopefully audience reactions are a better sign of the film’s merits than the studio infighting. The remake feels terribly unnecessary considering that the first one is already a timeless classic, but it’d be nice if it was at least a fun watch.
Rose Namajunas gets executive producer credit on ‘Strawweight’
Speaking of MMA themed movies, it looks like UFC fans will be getting a project sometime in the near future with more than just tenuous ties to the world’s largest MMA promotion. In this case, it’s a fight drama starring Chloe Grace Moretz of Kick Ass fame, alongside Black Panther’s Lupita Nyong’o. Variety reports that former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has been tabbed as a “fight consultant” for the film and will get an ‘executive producer’ credit as well.
The film — being launched at the European Film Market by WME Independent and CAA Media Finance — follows the journeys of two fighters who find themselves competing against each other in the Octagon. One is a young woman (Moretz) whose life is changed forever when she discovers her passion for the UFC, while the other is a former champion (Nyong’o) who is determined to reclaim her title by reinventing herself. Both want the same thing — respect — but only one can come out on top.
The film will mark the feature directorial debut of James M. Johnston, who served as second unit director for the Green Knight.
culturesink 