Fighters Only

Issue 106

October 2013

LIDDELL BLASTS FIGHTERS WHO ‘PLAY IT SAFE’

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell has sounded off against fighters who compete to win, not to finish their fights.

Asked by Inside MMA what he believes the biggest issue is in MMA today, Liddell said: “I understand it from a coach’s standpoint and a manager’s standpoint. I understand why you’d want to play it safe and want to win the fight, win every fight. I get it. But do I want to watch a guy go beat a guy for four rounds and then ride him the fifth round not doing anything?”

Now retired, Liddell’s reputation as a knockout artist built his career and made him a fan favorite. Only eight of his 29 career bouts went the distance.

He added: “You want to be worth more? Go out and fight. Have fun. Knock people out. Submit them. Beat them. I don’t care. Just go try to finish a fight.”

BACKTALK

Leonard Garcia (Ex UFC featherweight):

“I think the scoring system is the problem. What we mean by playing it safe, as strikers, is a guy’s going to take you down, hold you there and control you. I feel like the way that the judging’s scored helps people to play it safe.”

ROUSEY: ‘I HAVEN’T DONE IT FOR APPRECIATION’

Women’s UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey recently revealed she doesn’t expect appreciation from her peers for her raising the profile of female MMA, but backhanded compliments to her haven’t gone unnoticed.

Olympic bronze medal judoka Rousey and her first-round armbar streak to the Strikeforce 135lb title are credited with convincing the UFC to create a women’s division. Since then, female fighters have enjoyed greater interest and increased opportunities.

“I know they haven’t really given me very many props for it, and that’s cool because I haven’t done it for appreciation,” Rousey told Bleacher Report. “I’ve done it for myself, and I have my own selfish motives too.

“I can’t really hate on them too much, but it would be nice to hear it without a grain of salt from Alexis Davis for once, or after the women’s debut in the UFC Cat Zingano wasn’t saying, ‘Eh… there are a lot of holes in her game.’

Adding that she and her peers are competitive by nature, ‘Rowdy’ added: “I don’t expect them to be bringing me sunshine, lollipops and daisies when all they want to do is smash my face in and take everything I’ve worked so hard to accomplish. At least they are being real about it.”

UFC president Dana White is GQ magazine’s 83rd most powerful bald man in the world.

46%

By a margin of 46%, the UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman post-fight press conference video stream on UFC.com pulled the most viewers ever.

WHAT'S HOT

CHRIS WEIDMAN

Even if he does nothing else he’ll always be the man who knocked out the pound-for-pound king

UFC 168

Weidman vs. Silva II and Rousey vs. Tate II? Is this what heaven feels like?

FIGHTER BONUSES

UFC president Dana White nearly took them away but didn’t. Our stats page breathed a sigh of relief

WHAT'S NOT

Admit it, you had no idea what it meant before Chris Weidman KO’d showboating Anderson Silva