Issue 103
July 2013
3 ROUNDS OF ACTION
1 CHAMP BENSON HENDERSON PLANNING TO RETIRE AT 33
UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson recently stated he’s looking to hang up the gloves at 33, which, he hopes, will be around the time he’s beaten Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive title defenses.
Henderson, who turns 30 later this year, told FO Award winner Ariel Helwani: “I’m going to get one past his record.”
FO SCORE: Plenty, of fighters have made similar pledges then broken them. But then, Henderson’s a different animal inside the cage and inside the gym. We’d be sad to see him step out of the Octagon forever, but it’d be great to see a champion go out on top.
2 BOXER BERTO HAS SPOKEN TO UFC PRESIDENT WHITE ABOUT UFC JUMP
Two-time boxing champion Andre Berto recently expressed an interest in becoming the first person to own a boxing and UFC world title simultaneously, noting he mentioned the idea of a jump to UFC president Dana White. Speaking to ES Boxing News, Berto stated he used to train in MMA, and also noted he has a brother competing under the Bellator banner and a sister who tried out for the co-ed season of The Ultimate Fighter. White confirmed their LA chat and light-heartedly said he encouraged Berto to work on his wrestling skills first.
FO SCORE: It’d be unfair to file this in the ‘James Toney cash grab’ category of boxer-to-MMA crossovers. While there are no doubt dollars in Berto’s eyes, with siblings already competing in MMA he’ll (soon) be aware of the realities of the sport. The fact he’s gone to White prior to going public suggests he could be serious at some point.
3 UFC 170LB KING ST PIERRE ARGUES FOR ABOLITION OF ROUNDS
The most dominant UFC welterweight champion ever, Georges St Pierre, recently suggested MMA fights should be contested without rounds. Making the suggestion while appearing on the podcast of UFC commentator Joe Rogan, St Pierre said: “I believe it is stupid, the round. If you want to see who’s the best man, let them fight, you know? Fifteen minutes or maybe 25 minutes for the championship. No rounds. They did rounds to be like boxing, to be accepted as a sport.”
FO SCORE: It’s an intriguing peek into St Pierre’s attitude toward his profession that he’d like to change a system in which he’s had such success. FO discussed the topic of changing round length, and doing away with rounds altogether, in a feature two issues ago. Great minds think alike, it seems.
ON THE RADAR
Three red-hot prospects worth keeping an eye on...
1/ Robert Drysdale, 6-0
Drysdale is absolutely no secret if you’ve ever kept an eye on competitive no-gi grappling and who trains which UFC fighters: he’s trained Forrest Griffin and Frank Mir. An ADCC and jiu-jitsu world champion, the Las Vegas-based Brazilian-American could be getting a call-up to the UFC soon thanks to his 100%-submission stoppage career.
2/ Yui Chul Nam, 16-4-1
Three issues ago we told you about submission-heavy Japanese machine Takasuke Kume. In April, ultra-aggressive brawler Yui Chul Nam outpointed him to become Road FC 155lb champ, after winning the Spirit MC welterweight strap years ago. He’s got limited wrestling and submission ability, but eight KOs and a win over the UFC’s Hacran Dias are hard to argue with.
3/ Henry Cejudo, 3-0
Another appallingly kept secret, Cejudo had notched up three wins in seven weeks, at the time of writing (admittedly against opponents with losing records), so it’s probably best to bring him to your attention before he resembles a bandwagon. He’s a 2008 Olympic gold medalist freestyle wrestler, and if he can continue to apply the traits that got him to where he is in the MMA game you could be looking at the bantamweight Daniel Cormier.
KIM COATES - STAR SIGHTING
Who? Plays Tig in popular drama series Sons of Anarchy
Where? TUF 17 Finale, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Probably partly in attendance to be a waving head on the FX TUF Finale broadcast to promote biker gang-based serial drama Sons of Anarchy (also on the FX channel), Coates is actually a recently recruited die-hard MMA fan.
QUOTES
“Women’s boxing blew up for a minute and then it just died and went away. We invest in the sport, and as long as we want women to stay, women will continue to thrive and grow.”
UFC president Dana White on the promotion’s new Rousey-ruled women’s division
“Lately, there are a lot of fighters who are picking and choosing their fights; I really do not think this is right. Fighting someone you are supposed to beat is not MMA but assault.”
Jung Mun Hong, CEO of Korea’s Road FC, pulls off a Dana White-quality quote
“I’ve seen a crazy look in his eye once or twice. ... Definitely would not want to piss that old dude off. You’d probably never wake up, or would wake up in a ditch with no kidneys or something crazy.”
Famed Chuck Liddell trainer John Hackleman is basically a psychopath according to TUF runner-up Ramsey Nijem
“I played it in my head like 100 times. And honestly, in probably about 50 of those times, I lost.”
To see his head kick-initiated TKO over previously un-KO-able Nate Diaz, you’d never have known Strikeforce import Josh Thomson didn’t rate his chances
“If they’re the chick that’s screwing around in the house, for the rest of their career they’ll be known as the chick that was screwing around in that house. Sponsors are going to be looking at that, everybody’s going to be looking at that. So if you think it’s worth $100,000, that lay, then go for it.”
Ronda Rousey encourages her future TUF picks not to engage in promiscuity
REWIND ¦ FAST FORWARD
Legend reborn: linking two combatants – one past, one present
Besides both being small, Japanese, and having mad mat skills, Aoki learned under Nakai at the Paraestra gym
YUKI NAKAI
Apparently a black belt in: BJJ, judo, being tough as nails
Worst injury received: Lost partial sight in one eye after illegal 1995 eye gouge
SHINYA AOKI
Worst injury inflicted: Shattered Mizuto Hirota’s arm with a hammerlock in a New Year’s Eve bout in 2009
Apparently a black belt.in: BJJ, judo, flipping the bird after breaking a guy’s arm
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