Issue 143
July 2016
Star sightings
Turn down for MMA
Talk about a cool dad. When rapper Lil Jon treated his son DJ Young Slade to a night at the fights in Las Vegas they got to experience some pound-for-pound thrills at UFC 197 from cageside with Miesha Tate and Paige VanZant. They also hung out backstage and got low with president Dana White and Nate Diaz.
Celebrity dojo
Delicious jiu-jitsu
Anthony Bourdain took his ground game to parts unknown to compete in his first ever martial arts competition – the New York Spring International Open IBJFF Championship. The celebrity chef was awarded his blue belt by Igor Gracie last year and his all-star training paid off as he took home the gold medal as a representative for Renzo Gracie Academy.
As seen on screen
McGregorman vs Superman
OK, Batman v Superman wasn’t great, but Ben Affleck’s caped crusader was inspired by MMA. He told Reuters: “He’s a little bit more of a brawler. You kind of get a feeling like physical, visceral slugger thing. The fights are more like smash-mouth, kind of UFC-influenced. Like Conor McGregor style.”
Tina Fey
Ronda Rousey's biggest fan
The queen of comedy is so enamored by the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, she penned her entry for Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Though she was unfamiliar with ‘Rowdy’s body of work in the cage, she quickly became a fan when she heard her most famous phrase on UFC Embedded.
“I fell in love with Ronda Rousey when she announced to the world that she was not a ‘Do-Nothing Bitch,’” wrote Fey. “Always a sucker for an elegant turn of phrase, I quickly jumped down an Internet rabbit hole to hear more from this oracle.”
She added that everyone’s favorite armbar expert could teach everyone a thing or two about women’s empowerment: “Imagine if we could teach our daughters to value their bodies for what they can do, not for how others think they look. Could Ronda be the one to finally help us understand that as females, we define the word feminine and that it doesn’t define us? If we don’t listen, can she dislocate our arms at the elbow?”
She concluded by coining an acronym that is the antithesis of Ronda’s attack at gold-digging women: “ Put this DSB on Mount Rushmore already.”
The 30 Rock star is also set to team up with Rousey for a film inspired by her most famous phrase. Shortly before she took to the stage to host Saturday Night Live – Fey’s old stomping ground – Universal Pictures bought the rights to a film named, you guessed it, Do Nothing Bitches.
Ringcard girl
You're hired!
FO salutes BAMMA’s recruitment policy
We don’t know how fans manage to keep their eyes on the fights at UK promotion BAMMA’s live shows when it employs the likes of Katie Gulliver as a ringcard girl. The British beauty from Northampton, England, began work for the organization four years ago in the VIP area, but was soon swept into the spotlight to get some TV time as a BAMMA Belle. Whoever made that decision needs a raise.
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