Fighters Only

Issue 116

July 2014

Morsels of Fighters Only musings on everything MMA.

3 ROUNDS OF ACTION: FO SCORES MMA’s HOTTEST STORIES

ROUND 1:

CHAMP ROUSEY SAYS FOE ‘CYBORG’ NOT A WOMAN ‘SHE’S AN IT’

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has been criticized after saying longtime rival Cris ‘Cyborg’ is an ‘it’, not a woman.

Rousey and the reigning Invicta featherweight champion have been at loggerheads for several years, with Cyborg claiming Rousey dropped to 135lb to avoid fighting her, and Rousey taking issue with the Brazilian testing positive for steroids in 2011.

Rousey told reporters recently she had concerns about Cyborg ruining women’s MMA if she was left in the UFC when ‘Rowdy’ retires.

“I’ll fight her, but that’s just my personal decision,” said Rousey. “But I can’t make a decision for the whole division. I can’t say it’s the right thing. This girl has been on steroids for so long and (has been) injecting herself for so long that she’s not even a woman anymore. She’s an ‘it.’ It’s not good for the women’s division.”

FO SCORE: It’s hard to judge when trash talk crosses the line but many felt Rousey stepped over it with this comment. However, UFC president Dana White said she won’t be disciplined.

ROUND 2:

VELASQUEZ AND WERDUM TO BATTLE IN MEXICO AND COACH LATINO TUF

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is set to defend his title against Fabricio Werdum in Mexico, after coaching opposite him on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America.

The pair will meet in the main event of UFC 180 which is booked for November 15th at the 22,000-capacity Mexico City Arena in the capital of Mexico. The event will be the UFC’s first in what is thought to be a lucrative market for the company.

Filming for TUF Latin America has already begun.

FO SCORE: The UFC has waited years to make a splash in the Mexican market, and, with the help of Werdum being fluent in Spanish and Cain’s shoulder being fully recovered, this could do it.

ROUND 3:

TESTOSTERONE RATIOS WENT UP FOR EX TRT USERS AFTER CEASING THERAPY

The testosterone ratio of fighters previously using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) went up after they stopped the treatment, according to comments made by UFC president Dana White.

Talking about issues with getting ex users such as Chael Sonnen licensed to fight in Nevada, which tests fighters for a permissable testosterone to epitestosterone ratio and recently outlawed TRT, White said: “Their ratios are still going up, even though their levels are down, and I’m like, ‘Are you f**king kidding me?’ They’re done, it’s over, and we still can’t figure it out?”

FO SCORE: It seems the hangover from the TRT use that was common in MMA is going to last longer than most had expected.

ON THE RADAR

Three red-hot prospects worth keeping an eye on...

Damon Jackson, 8-0

Damon Jackson really announced himself by choking the much-touted Jackson-Winkeljohn prospect Hunter Tucker into submission in February. And where there’s smoke, there’s fire. An occasional Bellator fighter now earning his stripes with Legacy FC, the 25-year-old featherweight has never even seen the third round. He’s a fitness instructor and a former NAIA All-American wrestler, so should he find himself in the deeper water as he meets stiffer competition his cardio is unlikely to be a problem. A dominant ground fighter, Jackson could do big things.

Dmitriy Sosnovskiy, 8-0

Today’s Aleksander Emelianenko might not be the feared heavyweight he was during his Pride days but to make the man tap to strikes still says something about Dmitriy Sosnovskiy. The six-foot-three Russian heavyweight took out his countryman in 103 seconds with little fuss earlier this year, moving his record to 8-0 with just two decisions. It came via his fiercely aggressive strikes from on top on the ground, like much of his previous success and often his main objective – slow takedown defense often puts him on his back, although he loves to sweep to reverse position. Just 24, he needs more polish (and better stand-up) like so many heavyweights, but could be a force in time.

Andrew Todhunter, 5-0

Todhunter is known as ‘The Sniper’ for one simple reason: he actually is a US Army sniper. He fights with that same soldier-like poise we see from so many former servicemen and women in the ring and it’s provided dividends so far with his 5-0 submission-only pro record, and a 7-0 amateur tally. The Oklahoman middleweight’s ruthless finishing instinct should take him even further.

QUOTES

“I saw Rashad and I honestly missed him... Even though we fought, it’s so long in the past now and I legitimately missed him.”

After a pre-weigh-in powwow at UFC 172, is it water under the bridge between friends-turned-foes Jon Jones and Rashad Evans?

“While I like (MMA) and respect what they do, sometimes the story lines are silly.”

Did you see what WWE wrestler Triple H did there?

“Two days after that fight I still thought I had just finished the fight 10 minutes earlier. So, yeah, I lost a couple of days on that one.”

Retired UFC middleweight Chris Leben attests to the knockout power of ex 185lb king Anderson Silva.

“Have you ever seen me knock somebody out and make a big scene? Hell no. I threw my hands up and walk around pissed off because, f**k, that could have been me. That wasn’t fun.”

Every peek inside the mind of Nick Diaz brings us closer to the meaning of life.

“I felt God’s existence and understood it was necessary to lead a different way of life; that I couldn’t continue living the way I was living.”

Heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko reveals the reason for his retirement, leaving fanboys worldwide to shake their fists at the heavens.

STAR SIGHTING: SHAQUILLE O’NEAL

Who? Wildly famous former NBA player

Where? UFC on Fox 11, Orlando, Florida, USA

Shaq is so into MMA he was an unlockable character on the UFC Undisputed 2010 video game. The seven-foot-one, now-retired center for the Orlando Magic and LA Lakers, among other teams, used to routinely pester UFC president Dana White about fighting in the Octagon. Now he just settles for ringside seats, like the ones he enjoyed for UFC on Fox 11 in April.