Issue 085
February 2012
BJ PENN SAYS REFRESHED FIGHTING DESIRE MAY ENCOURAGE HIS RETURN TO THE UFC OCTAGON
After making a shock retirement from the sport following his loss to Nick Diaz in October, BJ Penn has hinted that he may well return to the ring, should he feel the desire to compete again. Speaking via his personal website, BJPenn.com, the future UFC Hall of Famer said the stresses and strains of training had worn thin, especially when recent results had left him without the satisfaction of victory for his hard work. Penn said: “As of right now I don’t feel that burning desire, that burning urge to compete and I’m just going to hang out. If I feel that desire again then I will be back, but if I don’t feel it then there is no reason for me to make a return.” After losing a hard-fought, though clear-cut, decision to Diaz at UFC 137, Penn used his post-fight interview as an opportunity to announce his intent to halt his 10-year career. The Hawaiian welterweight added online: “When and if that desire comes back, I will be ready to fight again. I’m sure it will.”
GINA CARANO: ‘FIGHTING IS SIMILAR TO SEX’
Popular female Strikeforce fighter Gina Carano recently revealed that she draws comparisons between combat and sexual intercourse. In an interview with Bullett Magazine, the ‘face of women’s MMA,’ whose starring role in Steven Soderburgh-directed action flick Haywire is due to hit cinemas in 2012, explained that her unusual assertion stems from the one-off experience of each party. Carano said: “I think that fighting is similar to sex in that people have to let their guards down – well, some people do and some people don’t. The secret is chemistry. When two people are attacking each other, that chemistry is definitely going to come out in an interesting way. When you fight someone, you share the experience with that one person, and you’re never going to have that experience with someone else – even in another fight. I always have this weird connection with them. It really is like we had sex. I’ll always know how many people I fought.” Carano is rumored to return to the ring in the first quarter of 2012.
MARQUARDT MEETS YOSHIDA AT BAMMA 9 IN FEBRUARY
Former UFC 170lb’er Nate Marquardt will fight it out with Yoshiyuki Yoshida to become the first owner of the BAMMA welterweight title in 2012. The bout, set for BAMMA 9 at Birmingham’s LG Arena on February 11th, will mark Marquardt’s first fight since being severed from the UFC in the summer. Prior to his axing, Marquardt was 10-4 with the UFC and priming himself for a shot at the welterweight title owned by Georges St Pierre. Yoshida, himself a UFC alumnus, will enter the bout on the strength of two wins – a TKO over Ferrid Kheder in France and a decision over MMA veteran Phil Baroni in Singapore.
Around 8.8 million people in the US watched Junior Dos Santos knock out Cain Velasquez to earn the UFC heavyweight title live on Fox
Had Velasquez-Dos Santos not aired free on Fox, the UFC estimated the fight would have pulled in 800,000 pay-per-view buys in the US
SIX DEGREES OF DAN SEVERN
DAN HARDY
1. Dan Severn was decisioned by British warhorse James Thompson back in 2004 at UC 11: Wrath of the Beast,
in England.
2. James Thompson suffered a knockout at the hands of the 300lb-plus Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch inside 45 seconds at Cage Rage 20 in 2007.
3. In 2003, the gargantuan Butterbean faced Japanese lightweight Genki Sudo. Despite the size disadvantage, Sudo won by heel hook in the second round.
4. In 1998 Genki Sudo welcomed another man into MMA: Tiki Ghosn made his MMA debut against the benevolent natural 155lb’er, fighting to a draw.
5. Back in 2006, at WEC 19, present-day ‘Rampage’ Jackson BFF Tiki Ghosn took on future Strikeforce lightweight Pat Healy, retiring due to a shoulder injury.
6. In 2004, Pat Healy snared a young 2-1 Dan Hardy in a guillotine, submitting ‘The Outlaw’ in the first round.
Suggested by Thomas George. Think you can stump us? Best shots to [email protected]
