Issue 066
September 2010
A noble art founded on respect for your opponent? Pah! What audiences want is some old-fashioned handbags. In honor of ‘Rampage’ vs Rashad, here’s FO’s ten fiercest grudge matches of all time
1 RASHAD EVANS VS QUINTON RAMPAGE JACKSON
2004-2010
Although the seeds of their feud were publicly sewn at UFC 96 in March 2009, ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s contempt for each other actually began years earlier. Jackson claims that while cornering a training partner against Evans at a Gladiator Challenge event in 2004, he was irked by Rashad’s showboating.
“Rashad was still dancing around playing with his nipples back then with them little tight shorts on acting like he was doing something,” Rampage later said. Jackson’s win over Rashad’s friend and teammate, Keith Jardine, at UFC 96 meant barbs were thrown during the in-ring confrontation in the fight’s immediate aftermath. Jackson notoriously ended the encounter by roaring: “There’s gonna be some more black on black crime!”
In their time as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter in 2009, the pair constantly duelled in shouting matches. One hypnotically cyclical, though hilarious, tête à tête found Rashad calling to Rampage, “You a bitch,” while Rampage implored Evans, “Treat me like a bitch,” constantly for a full 20 seconds. Their scheduled late 2009 clash in Jackson’s Memphis hometown was canceled, however, as Rampage turned his back on the fight game to star as BA Baracus in The A-Team re-boot. When he announced his return, the two were paired up and the hype and hostility restarted – though no one was prepared for the level of animosity. On a conference call, Rashad blasted his opponent: “You say ignorant stuff and you perpetuate stupidness. Motherf**ker, you not stupid. Stop acting like just because you’re black you’re stupid. I can’t stand that attitude.” After this incendiary nugget, Rampage and Rashad spewed bile at each other, barely pausing to draw breath. But when the talking was over, the war itself came to a slightly anti-climactic end. Rashad stuck to his wrestling to take a unanimous decision at UFC 114.
“He did a good fight, but he still can kiss my ass,” confessed Rampage. “He said a whole lot of stuff. I ain’t going to forget it, but we both warriors. I’m not a sore loser. I’m a fighter. I’ve been a fighter all my life, but I still ain’t going to forget the stuff he said. He still can kiss my black ass.” Evans replied: “I feel the same way. He can kiss my ass too.”
2 DANA WHITE VS M-1 GLOBAL
2008-2010
“Sometimes Dana takes this all too seriously,” whined one of the middleweight TUF hopefuls during this spring’s season. Well, somebody has to. And with the grass roots MMA industry not exactly packed with the sort of go-getters that make Warren Buffet feel confident he can hand over to the next generation of business leaders, it’s inevitable that the UFC president regularly goes into battle for the future of the sport.
They say you can judge a man by his enemies, and the list of people that Dana White has tangled with over the years is a who’s who of MMA. Apart from his long- running soap opera with former charge Tito Ortiz, during which White challenged him to a boxing match, the prez has mixed it with Jerry Millen (Pride), Tom Atencio (Affliction), crusading journo Loretta Hunt (Sherdog) and referee Steve Mazzagatti. When he gets into a fight, he rarely loses, but one opponent keeps coming back for more.
White’s doggedly professional pursuit of Fedor Emelianenko eventually threw him together with Vadim Finkelstein and the M-1 organization. Dana cast Vadim’s sartorially challenged band as “crazy Russians” whose unrealistic demands were preventing his prize asset from fulfilling his potential. Vadim thought the UFC could never be considered the greatest show until it had the greatest fighter, so it had to make exceptional concessions – i.e. getting into business with M-1 themselves, a not entirely straightforward matter for casino owners like UFC backers the Fertitta brothers – to acquire Fedor’s signature.
On 26 June 2010, the bottom dropped out of the Fedor market when he was submitted by UFC reject Fabricio Werdum. Despite the apparent animosity between Vadim and Dana, even before the loss further negotiations to put Emelianenko in the Octagon were mooted. But the balance of power has shifted. Never again will we hear the term “M-1 Co-Promotion” – and White has been vindicated again.
3 BJ PENN VS SEAN SHERK
2007-2008
BJ Penn had a simple message immediately after defeating Joe Stevenson at UFC 80 to earn the UFC lightweight strap and a bout with Sean Sherk. The Hawaiian warned: “Sean Sherk! You’re dead.” (To complicate matters, many watching initially heard this as, “You’re gay.”) An astonished Sherk, undertaking guest commentary duties, was led to the cage looking visibly offended.
Penn had vociferously attacked Sherk’s character after the latter was stripped of the belt upon testing positive for nandrolone in July 2007. As Sherk had not lost the title in the Octagon, and he claimed he was not guilty of abusing drugs, ‘The Muscle Shark’ maintained he was still the rightful champ and called Penn “classless” for the post-fight death threat. Penn took a different view: “When I first heard that Sherk got in trouble, honestly my first reaction was, ‘Isn’t it obvious that he’s on something?’ Anybody who does steroids to smash my face in when I’m playing by the rules, I’ve got a serious problem with that guy. Grow some balls; fight BJ Penn without steroids.” Sherk’s attempt at mudslinging was to call BJ “a weed smoker.” At the aptly named UFC 84: Ill Will in Vegas in May 2008, BJ boxed behind his jab and picked his man apart before landing a crushing knee to the face that ended the bout and the feud.
4 NICK DIAZ VS KJ NOONS
2007-PRESENT
A controversial stoppage of what was scripted to be a dominant title-fight win for MMA bad boy Nick Diaz over KJ Noons set this particular grudge in motion. Facing off for the now-defunct EliteXC 160lb title belt in 2007, Noons consistently beat Diaz to the punch and opened up multiple cuts, forcing the doctor to call the fight off. The rarely mild-mannered Diaz reacted badly, comically flipping off the medic before storming out of the arena. After Noons successfully defended his belt against Yves Edwards, EliteXC officials sent the always-volatile Diaz into the cage to hype a rematch. Nick accused Noons of ducking him, before verbally slamming him in street speak: “Don’t be scared, homie.”
Noons’ father reacted, prompting the younger Diaz brother, Nate, to torpedo him with a water bottle. All hell broke loose and the Diaz boys gave the crowd their trademark finger as they were ushered away from the ring. Despite Noons commenting that Diaz was a “cry baby”, the rematch never took place and EliteXC later folded. Noons, described by Diaz as a “poser”, is back on the MMA beat after drifting back to pro boxing and is keen on a rematch against his old enemy, who now holds the Strikeforce welterweight belt. Since Noons recently described Diaz as a “dumb motherf**ker” another middle finger-filled chapter is likely to be written.
5 MATT HUGHES VS MATT SERRA
2006-2009
A wise-cracking New Yorker and God-following farm boy were never going to be bosom buddies, but the level of animosity Matt Serra and Matt Hughes felt towards each other was remarkable. The hostility began on the 2006 comeback season of The Ultimate Fighter when competitor Serra felt that guest coach Hughes, visiting the TUF house for one episode, was smug and disrespectful – no doubt fueled by Hughes recently having beaten Serra’s good friend Royce Gracie at UFC 60.
“As a person he’s so arrogant. Being a great fighter doesn’t give you an excuse to be an asshole,” said Serra of Hughes, who he typecast as a “jock bully.” Serra earned the season’s title shot prize and pulled off arguably the biggest shock of all time by knocking out Georges St Pierre, and placing a sizeable grin on Hughes at Octagon-side. Unconvinced by Serra, Hughes later said the new champion was lucky and not “even a top five” welterweight.
Knowing that nothing sells like a genuine grudge match, Dana White signed them up to be coaches on season six of The Ultimate Fighter. The resentment between the two was palpable with ‘The Terror’ often referring to Hughes as a “dick”, and Hughes saying Serra was a bad role model as champion. A Serra back injury caused a year to pass before they eventually met in the Octagon at May 2009’s UFC 98, but the deep-seated distaste for one another meant the match was worth the wait. Hughes won a unanimous decision after a three-round war that took ‘Fight of the Night’ honors, though some felt Serra should have gained the nod. Disappointingly for fans of simmering hatred, the two Matts embraced and made up in a show of mutual respect at the final bell.
6 HAMMER HOUSE VS CHUTE BOX
2006
2006: the halcyon days of Pride Fighting Championships. With martial arts as intrinsic to Japan as baseball is to the US, the fighters were mainstream stars and Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman, representing his own team Hammer House, had even appeared opposite Chute Boxe’s Wanderlei Silva in a Schick shaving foam TV advert.
The glare of mass media only encouraged Coleman’s heel tendencies though, and he couldn’t resist some light villainy after his victory over up-and-comer ‘Shogun’ Rua at Pride 31. Fortuitously, some might say, for Coleman, Rua fell awkwardly and broke his arm in the first minute. Despite his incapacitated opponent obviously being in agony, Coleman attempted to pound him and even flung the ref out of the way when he tried to intervene. Cue an in-ring contretemps that made April’s Strikeforce: Nashville brawl look like a game of Pooh sticks.
As ‘Ninja’ Rua rushed in to assist his stricken brother, the raging Coleman squared up to him. Enter both Wanderlei Silva and Phil Baroni, neither noted for their conciliatory nature. At one point Baroni took Wand down and Coleman stood on ‘The Axe Murderer’s throat, an incident that Silva seems to have taken in his stride, as a legion of less gargantuan Japanese officials desperately tried to halt the melee.
Some priceless YouTube clips exist of the ensuing backstage confrontation; Coleman attempted to apologise to Shogun, but also gave a belligerent interview in which he boasted about his team’s antics in the disturbance and called out various Chute Boxe fighters.
Three years later, Shogun and The Hammer were signed to the UFC and a rematch was a no-brainer. Shogun was a heavy favorite against the ageing wrestler at January 2009’s UFC 93 in Dublin, but 44-year-old Coleman pushed him to the limit, continually marching forward under fire. The referee stopped the contest in favour of the Brazilian late in the final round.
7 CHUCK LIDDELL VS TITO ORTIZ
2001-PRESENT
Although Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz started out as pals, a desire for title belt gold meant the two developed enmity that remains today. Initially sharing a manager in Dana White (pre-UFC presidency) as they both made their first steps in MMA, it was Ortiz’s reluctance to fight Liddell while ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ held the UFC light heavyweight strap that catalyzed the ire between
the two.
When match-ups were mooted, Tito cited a brief spell as training partners and friends in 2001 as reason for his disinterest in the bout. Liddell, typically nonplussed, still pressed for the fight and when the UFC tried to set it up through 2002 and 2003 Ortiz cited preventative scheduling conflicts or injuries.
After Chuck suffered TKO losses to Randy Couture (at UFC 43) and Rampage Jackson (in the pair’s Pride clash), Ortiz’s objections conveniently cleared. The pair finally battled at UFC 47: It’s On in 2004. Chuck demolished Ortiz and took the second-round knockout win, though remained beltless as Tito had already lost the title to Randy Couture in late 2003.
Their animosity continued as Ortiz refused to accept defeat, claiming that an illegal eye poke during the fight had left him unable to see. Although Ortiz got another crack at the titanic UFC 66 event in December 2006, he once again proved unable to live with ‘The Iceman’s’ power, losing by TKO. For four more years the rivalry simmered while Ortiz drifted in and out of the UFC, but 2010 saw them brought together once more as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter Season 11. Straight away Tito was up to his old tricks, publicly claiming Liddell was an alcoholic who had only recently found sobriety. Chuck denied the allegation and, with the bad blood flowing, the old rivals did not hide their contempt for each other during filming. The final showdown never came, however, as Tito’s persistent back injuries took him out of the fight. Liddell’s subsequent KO loss to Rich Franklin means a third fight between the bitter rivals remains on ice.
8 KAZUSHI SAKURABA VS THE GRACIE FAMILY
1999-2010
By 1999, the Gracie family, always capable of finding a way to win, appeared superhuman to MMA fans. That trend ended with Kazushi Sakuraba: catch wrestling master and Japanese hero.
First to fall was Royler Gracie at Pride 8. The referee chose to save the Brazilian when he became caught in a tight kimura – despite Royler not tapping out. The Gracies were incensed and voiced their displeasure with the ruling at ringside. Being the first man in 48 years to publicly defeat a Gracie, Sakuraba became a national idol in Japan. In response, the Gracies sent over UFC superstar Royce to compete in the 2000 Pride grand prix.
In their quarter final meeting the Gracies demanded special rules, including no time limit and taking away the referee’s right to stop a contest.
Sakuraba’s wrestling skills nullified Royce’s takedowns and his leg kicks began to take their toll. After 90 gruelling minutes, Rorian Gracie threw in the towel. Renzo and Ryan also made the trip to Japan but both lost to the flamboyant showman. In 2007 at K-1 Dynamite!! USA, Sakuraba finally tasted defeat against a Gracie, dropping a decision to Royce after a dull bout. Gracie later tested positive for steroids but the loss wasn’t overturned. In May 2010, Dream attempted to squeeze one last drop of juice from the rivalry by matching the 40-year-old Sakuraba against Ralek Gracie. Gracie got the decision but it wasn’t without controversy. The referee halted the fight to pull up Ralek’s slipping shorts while the Sakuraba was working on a kimura attempt in the final round. Is there one more fight left in this ongoing grudge? If so, the Japanese are sure to find it.
9 TITO ORTIZ VS KEN SHAMROCK
Ken, rescued from a life in social care by the saintly Bob Shamrock, understandably took his Lion’s Den fighting team very seriously. Whereas Tito Ortiz was, in Ken’s own words, “a punk”. The two early superstars of the UFC were on collision course from the start.
Ortiz first riled Shamrock by unveiling the first of his so-unfunny-they-almost-raise-a-smile victory T-shirts after defeating Lion’s Den member Jerry Bohlander at UFC 18. It read, “I just f**cked your ass.” He also pointed his fingers into pistols and shot at Bohlander’s cornermen ‘pow pow’-style. Beating former King of Pancrase and Lion’s Den stalwart Guy Mezger at UFC 19, Tito upped the stakes with a top declaring ‘Gay [sic] Mezger is my bitch’ and digging what can only be described as ‘air graves’ in Shamrock’s direction.
Ken’s adopted brother Frank wrought revenge on Tito at UFC 22, but that wasn’t enough for ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Man’. They would eventually meet four years later at UFC 40. Ken put on his menacing pro wrestling voice and announced: “I hope to God you come ready. If you don’t, I’m going to beat you into a living death.” Ortiz creased up with laughter, provoking Shamrock into kicking a chair at him.
Tito handed Ken the first of several comprehensive beatings, but the record-breaking audience figures attracted by the poisonous dialogue between the fighters meant that more instalments were inevitable. Ken went on to suffer two first-round losses to Tito, the last after a less-than-inspiring coaching role on The Ultimate Fighter. Even with his knack for selling a fight, Shamrock knew that the game was up. “Respect to Tito Ortiz,” said a still-smiling Shamrock. “He beat me fair and square.”
10 JIU-JITSU VS LUTA LIVRE
Rio de Janeiro, 1991: a city at war. On one side, the middle class, gi-clad devotees of Gracie jiu-jitsu. Against them, the street-smart, blue-collar followers of the catch wrestling style, luta livre. Eager to prove theirs was the supreme fighting art, gym invasions and street confrontations were commonplace between the boisterous factions.
In a bid to settle the beef once and for all, Robson Gracie organised the Grande Desafio (Grand Challenge), an event featuring three bouts pitting a leading jiu-jitsu fighter against a luta livre exponent under old-school vale tudo rules where nearly anything goes. Brazil’s premier TV network, Rede Globo, screened the event live naively thinking they were getting a benign form of boxing that would be suitable for a mainstream audience.
Their illusion was shattered when jiu-jitsu proponent Wallid Ismail took Eugenio Tadeu down then repeatedly headbutted him in the face, grimly spreading teeth across the blood-soaked canvas. Two more victories for jiu-jitsu made it a 3-0 sweep. The climax sparked a ring invasion, with the triumphant horde bouncing within the ropes as they chanted “jiu-jitsu”. Grande Desafio divided Brazil. Shocked by the brutality they had witnessed, thousands of older viewers called Rede Globo to protest, while young men flocked to the gym desperate to emulate the men they had seen on TV. Overnight, participation trebled and jiu-jitsu exploded out of Rio to become a nationwide phenomenon. Luta livre, however, remained in Brazil with few of its fighters ever representing their art on the world stage. The two disciplines have crossed paths sporadically since, often with the supposed gentleman’s art of jiu-jitsu victorious.
How To Hype Your Grudge Match
Throw down the gauntlet
Calling other fighters out in the afterglow of victory is woefully sportsmanlike. Go for obnoxious and unfunny T-shirts as per Tito Ortiz, or crashing your intended opponent’s post-fight interview by popping up from behind a sponsorship banner, like Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller did to Jake Shields at Strikeforce: Nashville in April this year. It triggered an unsightly in-cage brawl on national TV – and almost certainly sealed a grudge superfight between Mayhem and Shields’ Cesar Gracie school teammate Nick Diaz.
Press the right buttons
Tito knew his supposedly ‘ghetto’ affectations would needle salt-of-the-earth Ken Shamrock; Don Frye was aware that Shamrock’s adopted brother Frank wouldn’t appreciate Frye’s speculation that he’d left his wife for a 19-year-old. But we’d recommend staying away from barroom banter these days. In the age of the modern warrior-athlete, accusations of cheating – such as steroid use or liberal application of Vaseline – are chaffing considerably. Equally, don’t be too clever – Chael Sonnen’s wry, considered digs at Anderson Silva started to look more like a perverse form of flattery.
Employ technology
The weapon of choice is the Internet forum Photoshop challenge. Dan Hardy and Paul Daley successfully enlisted the web community to create disturbing images highlighting the flaws of Marcus Davis and Josh Koscheck (fake Irish heritage and crap hair respectively).
Drag it out
Once you’ve got your man riled and the public eager – pull the bout. Fake an injury, make a movie or just straight up say you don’t want to fight. The road to a grudge fight never runs smoothly. Every piece of doubt and uncertainty adds to the mystique. And you draw an outraged reaction from your rival, which can only add to the hype.
Make amends
When the hurly-burly’s done, be as magnanimous as is humanly possible. Stress the ‘bonding experience’ at the post-fight press conference and plead with your former arch-enemy to come and join your training camp. Just don’t make the schoolboy error of declaring to Joe Rogan that it was “all for ratings”.
Simmering Grudge Matches
Georges St Pierre vs Josh Koscheck
Josh Koscheck’s career has been a stumble from feud to feud. He came to prominence due to his dysfunctional relationship with Chris Leben during the inaugural series of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). Since then, he has effortlessly fallen out with many of his opponents, most notably Diego Sanchez and Paul Daley. Perhaps Koscheck’s creating drama to compensate for his sometimes less-than-scintillating fighting style. Whatever the reason, let’s hope Kos is already chipping away at normally unflappable GSP during their stint as coaches on the next season of TUF, filming now. He’s already demanded Olympic-style steroid testing for their end-of-season bout.
Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller vs Nick Diaz
When Jason Miller interrupted Jake Shields’ valedictory speech at the end of Strikeforce: Nashville, he sparked a mass brawl involving most of the Cesar Gracie team, which counts among its roster the notoriously thin-skinned Diaz brothers. The man he intended to call out, Jake Shields, is headed to fresh fields after that same inspiring win over Dan Henderson, leaving a hole in the promotion’s 185lb division. Strikeforce welterweight champ and enthusiastic brawler Nick Diaz has been unhappy about the level of competition in his weight class and could move up. There’s every chance that two of Strikeforce’s biggest box office draws will get the chance to finish what they started.
Alistair Overeem vs Fedor Emelianenko
Incongruously, the two Pride alumni have never fought, but their positions at the top of the Strikeforce heavyweight league put the on a collision course. Fedor’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein, lit the touch paper back in April 2010 by referring to Overeem as a “steroid bully” (a slur he retracted) and insisting on an extra-stringent dope testing regime. The M-1 camp has since dropped their demands but the damage has been done. Before Fedor lost to Werdum, Overeem was cheerily looking forward to a match-up with ‘The Last Emperor’ in interviews. Let’s hope a re-match between the Russian and BJJ champion Werdum doesn’t just make for an easier life for all concerned.
