‘Inside info’ spreads fast on Leben against Rosholt

Anything to gain an edge. It's what Las Vegas and off-shore sports bettors look for on a daily basis. As a group they stumbled onto something regarding the Chris Leben in his fight against Jake Rosholt. MMA fight lines generally don't move anymore than 30-to-40 cents but the Leben-Rosholt moved as much as a dollar in some places. Leben was as high as minus-200 in some sportsbooks. He dropped to even money by fight time. The story was the same off-shore where bettors pounded Rosholt.

Yahoo! Sports Kevin Iole came on the ESPNRadio1100 UFC 102 postfight show (archive here) and revealed some interesting chatter he'd heard about Leben (Part 3 - 23:09 mark):

"A prominent fighter came over to me tonight and told me he'd made a bet on Rosholt. I was a little surprised by that. He said he knew that Leben hadn't trained at all."

That seems like the tip of the iceberg for a fight's odds to move that much. Is there more to the story?  

Leben, who has battled alcoholism for much of his adult life, did mention to Cagewriter during a prefight interview (4:03 mark) that he had slipped a few times while sitting out his nine-month suspension for a positive performance enhancing drug test.

Iole went on to say, "UFC is dropping fighters on the margins, I think he's done."

Will the UFC cut Leben (18-7, 8-5 UFC)? He is a fan favorite and a good filler fighter at middleweight. Here's hoping they don't axe him because if he's struggling with some of the demons of the past it might be the worst time ever for UFC to dump him.

M-1 fighter Toni Valtonen has a swastika tattoo

While at the M-1: Breakthrough fights in Kansas City on Friday, I watched fighters from Poland, France, Holland, Brazil, Russia, Armenia, Japan and the United States. They didn't share a common language or culture, but they could all meet on a common ground because of fighting. It wasn't exactly a "Kumbaya" moment because they were punching each other in the face, but after the fights, every fighter was a perfect sportsman. 

That is what makes disturbing the news that Toni Valtonen -- who has fought in the M-1 Global Challenge, most recently in July -- sports a Nazi tattoo. You can see it on his upper arm in the picture at right. M-1 requires that it is covered during fights, but the patch has fallen off in some. Valtonen issued this statement about the tattoo through M-1:

"I had a crazy and rebellious youth, I made some faults in my past and I am not proud of these marks. I regret that I ever had these tattoos made. Nowadays I am a dedicated family man and professional athlete, and I am not involved in any politics whatsoever."

That isn't exactly a denouncement of what the tattoo represents, and fans of MMA who hadn't heard this statement would have no idea that Valtonen no longer espouses Nazi views. He isn't the only fighter to sport a Nazi tattoo. King of the Cage fighter Melvin Costa also wears a neo-Nazi tattoo, but he considers himself a "white nationalist," and has not backed down from his views. He also has not fought since December of 2007.

M-1 said that it does not support the views of anyone in particular, but is that enough? If they, along with their television partner HDNet truly wanted to make a statement against the hate espoused by Valtonen's tattoos, they would do more than just ask him to cover it up. They would not let him on television until the tattoo is gone.

Strikeforce and Showtime recently agreed to a partnership with M-1 in order for Strikeforce to pick up top heavyweight fighter, Fedor Emelianenko. Is it in their best interest to work with a company that won't take a stronger stand?

If Valtonen was serious in denouncing the hateful views that the swastika represents, he would either have the tattoo removed or covered up. Otherwise, the symbol can break apart the international camaraderie that MMA makes happen.

Victory! Natasha Wicks returns to her roots for UFC 102

After Octagon Girl Natasha Wicks said that she missed her curly hair when working for the UFC, the curls returned in full force for 102. Way to be yourself, Natasha. 

The best of Rogan, Goldberg and ‘the Voice’ from UFC 102 and M-1

With a great weekend of fights comes a great weekend of announcing. Today, we have a bonus as Michael Schiavello, also known as "The Voice," announced the M-1 fights from Friday night, so his best is included, as well.

"In the battle of these two 205-lb. up-and-comers," Mike Goldberg, about Brandon Vera and Krysztof Soszyszynski. At what point do we stop calling someone an up-and-comer? Vera has fought ten times for the UFC over the span of nearly four years.

"Soszyszynski O-mmediately puts himself in trouble." Goldberg. O-mmediately? That's a new word.

"Kool-Aid, baby! Sometimes you've gotta drink the Kool-Aid." Joe Rogan. Is that THC-flavored Kool-Aid, Joe?

"Maia's gotta be careful early." Goldberg. Truer words were never spoken.

"Leben's looking to bring the thunder." Goldberg

"He just kind of whips it out there," Goldberg and "He's just kind of la-di-da," Rogan on Leben's inside leg kicks.

"Look at him kicking," Rogan, after Rosholt choked out Chris Leben. I give Rogan credit for mentioning the effects of being choked out. In the past, the cameras have turned away from fighters twitching and kicking after being knocked out or choked out, but they couldn't when Rogan mentioned it.

"That was just an appetizer. I want to eat. Dana, let me eat," Todd Duffee after his seven-second KO of Tim Hague. That's quite an appetizer.

"Or maybe a chimp. You teach a chimp karate," Rogan, on who you get imitate Keith Jardine's style for training.

"Randy's doing a good job of covering up!" Rogan. Or, the ref is slow to stop the fight and let Couture recover. That was the exact moment where Rogan and Goldberg went from slobbering all over Couture to slobbering all over Nogueira. Judging by the way the cameras followed around Couture, you would think that he won, not Nog.

"Randy Couture says, 'Yes, I do have a lot of fight left in my Hall-of-Fame career,' despite the fact that he was beaten this evening." Goldberg.

M-1: Breakthrough

With the fights shown on HDNet on Friday night, I really enjoyed the use of statistics. It's something that the UFC/WEC broadcasts are missing. As for the announcers, Michael "The Voice" Schiavello and Guy Mezger were on tap.

"He's known as 'The Smashing Machine,' but lately, he's been more of a vending machine," Schiavello, about Mark Kerr. This is not long after he called Kerr and Mo Lawal both superstars.

"As we called them in Australia, the bungee Budgie smugglers," Schiavello, referring to Daisuke Nakamura's tiny shorts. (UPDATE: Schiavello explained the term to me here.)

"A big gob of blood just flew out of the mouth of Ferrid Kheder!" Schiavello.

"The referee kind of made me nauseated before in not stopping the fights," Mezger, who joined me in my nausea. The refereeing at this event was deplorable. Lloyd Marshbanks tapped for a good 15 seconds before the referee form the Kansas Athletic Commission stopped the fight.

"Thank you to Ron Kruck, the Barbara Walter of MMA." Schiavello. If Fedor was a tree, what kind of tree would he be?

"Lucio Linhares brings the house down! A standing ovation in Kansas City!" Schiavello. Um, the only time the crowd stood was when Fedor Emelianenko walked out.

"John Doyle taking more battering than a crab stick." Schiavello

"Brock Lesnar would not last one round with Fedor Emelianenko," Schiavello. It's good to know that Rogan and Goldberg aren't the only ones who drink the Kool-Aid from their employers. 

"'The Voice!' Michael Schiavello and Guy Mezger with you tonight," Schiavello. That's right, Schiavello refers to himself as "The Voice." 

UFC/ESPN regionalize U.K. broadcasts: Daley fight a special feature at UFC 103.

The new ESPN broadcast deal in the U.K. brings an interesting twist. The UFC is going to bonus the British audience by showing non-televised undercard fights featuring U.K. fighters according to The Telegraph's Gareth Davies. So while the U.S. audience gets Efrain Escudero versus Cole Miller and Drew McFedries versus Tomasz Drwal, the Brits will get to see Paul Daley in his UFC debut against Brian Foster. Davies reports that ESPN’s debut broadcast at UFC 102 went off without a hitch and that like the U.S., the British were treated to eight fights instead of the scheduled five.

Do you like the idea of regionalized broadcasts? Davies seems to think it’s a huge deal for MMA in Great Britain:

Clearly, the plan ESPN and the UFC have come up with is designed to cater for UK fans of the sport, and developing British fighters within the UFC.

Nottingham's Daley was elated when he spoke with Davies:

"To know that my UFC debut will be broadcast in the UK really motivates me. It makes me feel that the UFC and ESPN are getting behind me, and the sport as a whole. It is a ‘wow’ moment for me. I’ve heard that ESPN are going to make a special broadcast of my debut. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, I’m going to enjoy the fact that my UFC debut will be hyped. Brilliant."

It’s good to know that the U.K. also has ITGs (Internet Tough Guys) who say Davies is full of rubbish. From something called frankwongschippy:

I just want to see the best fights and fighters. If that best fighter is from the UK great if not I couldn’t really care. If I’m going to get a ‘2nd rate’ fighter shoved down my screen because he’s from UK as opposed to seeing good fighters from other countries then the UFC/ESPN are sooo wide of what their audience really wants. Why dilute a product that works already? I’m sure Paul Daley is a nice guy but I couldn’t care if he comes from Timbuktu or Nottingham just put on a good fight…don’t assume that because I’m from the UK that I buy British all the time and have roast beef on a Sunday and wear a bowler hat to work.

Davies responds:

If this is not good news, then I cannot understand where fans are coming from on the issue. We SHOULD support British fighters in the UFC, in my view. I know it is not a ‘tribal’ sport, like many others, British success in the sport will spawn greater financing, interest, television interest, advertising, and so on, which in the long run, will create a greater spectacle.

Does it benefit MMA in the UK and its fans or Davies? Not to be harsh but the more U.K. fighters who become household names, the better is it for the British media, who can then turn around convince editors to spend more money covering the sport. Are the Telegraph readers correct in suggesting that the majority of U.K. fighters are second-rate?

Who’s correct? The hardcore MMA fans or Gareth? Let’s use UFC 102 as an example. If you were from Chicago would you want to see the Mike Russow fight (you wouldn’t have it was a takedown-fest) versus Justin McCully or Todd Duffee’s knockout of Tim Hague? Davies also has a point if you apply the U.S. fan’s mentality in other sports. It’s seem like tennis and track and field hold no one’s attention in the U.S. unless there’s an American involved. What say you ITGs?

UFC 102 postfight interview: Rosholt rolls the dice to become a better MMA fighter

If it were 2003 Jake Rosholt could lean on his amazing wrestling talent and probably storm to the top of the UFC’s middleweight division. It’s only been six years since the days when a guy like Matt Hughes could run roughshod through a division with one dominant skill. But that one-trick pony stuff doesn’t cut it anymore so Rosholt is trying to find the perfect balance between his wrestling and the rest of his MMA game on the fly. Rosholt was walking a fine line on Saturday night at UFC 102. While trying to show he could stand with a UFC veteran like Chris Leben, Rosholt was tied 1-1 on two judges cards and down 2-0 on the other going to the final round. He told Cagewriter it was all part of the plan:

"I know Leben’s a dangerous striker. He’s got heavy hands. Mostly just his left hand is what I had to worry about. I wanted to go be more comfortable on my feet. I’m a young green fighter, I’ve got a long ways to go."

That’s a pretty honest and risky assessment from a guy who was risking potentially being axed from the promotion with a bad loss. Rosholt got caught in his first UFC fight by Dan Miller back at Ultimate Fight Night 17.

"I want to become the best fighter I can become down the road. If I’m able to go out there standup and frustrate people. And really use my boxing and striking to set up those takedowns, they’re going to come easier, and it’s going to wear those people down, and give me more opportunities when I do get it to the ground." 

He sounded and looked like the veteran in the third round:

"I knew sooner or later that was going to come out of him, he was going to get frustrated," Rosholt said of Leben, who did begin swinging wildly and moving forward with reckless abandon at the end of the second round. "

Once Leben was softened up mentally Rosholt was able to score a takedown just 18 seconds into the final round. Rosholt made quick work from there setting an arm-triangle choke to finish the fight:

"Leben hasn’t spent much time on the ground with somebody who’s really tried to pass his guard.and advance positions."

Rosholt also knew he was going to have to finish off the arm-triangle choke:

"He’s tough. He’s got a good chin and he doesn’t tap. I knew that I was basically going have to put him out."

Rosholt, a three-time NCAA wrestling champ at Oklahoma State, is now 1-1 in the UFC and 6-1 overall. He’s training out of Team Teamdown in Las Vegas along with former Okie State grapplers Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller.

UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira Fighter Payouts

Here are the official fighter salaries for UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira as released by the Oregon State Athletic Commission.

• Antonio Nogueira – $400,000
• Randy Couture – $250,000
• Gabriel Gonzaga – $120,000
• Nate Marquardt – $80,000
• Brandon Vera – $70,000
• Thiago Silva – $58,000
• Keith Jardine – $55,000
• Chris Leben – $30,000
• Demian Maia – $28,000
• Jake Rosholt – $26,000
• Ed Herman – $24,000
• Mark Munoz – $24,000
• Mike Russow – $20,000
• Aaron Simpson – $18,000
• Justin McCully – $15,000
• Evan Dunham – $14,000
• Marcus Aurelio – $13,000
• Chris Tuchscherer – $10,000
• Todd Duffee – $10,000
• Krzysztof Soszynski – $8,000
• Tim Hague – $7,000
• Nick Catone – $5,000

The UFC also awarded $60,000 “superlative” bonuses for the event. Randy Couture and Antonio Nogueira both won for “Fight of the Night,” Jake Rosholt won for “Submission of the Night,” and Nate Marquardt won for “Knockout of the Night.”

The total disclosed fighter payroll was $1,285,000.

MMA caught on camera: M-1 and UFC 102

The weekend's fights made for some amazing images, like this one of Nate Marquardt knocking out Demian Maia at UFC 102 in Portland. Continue reading for more of the best images of the weekend.

Gegard Mousasi laughs his way through a grappling exhibition with Fedor Emelianenko at M-1 in Kansas City.

Mo Lawal checks on Mark Kerr after knocking Kerr out in 25 seconds at M-1.

Then gave his crown to a young fan after the fights.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira celebrates after winning his three-round war with fellow legend Randy Couture.

Karl Amoussou gets in the face of John Doyle at M-1. Amoussou went on to submit Doyle in the first round.

Check out more photo galleries at All Elbows and Combat Lifestyle. 

“Boxing is Bullshit” Or: Why MMA is King of Combat Sports

“Boxing is bullshit.”

Paulie Malignaggi, disgust written all over his face, all over his body language, repeated the mantra:

“Boxing is bullshit.”

With those words, Paulie Malignaggi summed up the feelings of so many combat sports fans, and answered exactly why it is that boxing is commonly referred to as a dying sport, especially in terms of comparison with its more dynamic sibling, Mixed Martial Arts.

Malignaggi had fought a close fight against Juan Diaz in Diaz’s hometown of Houston, Texas, one which most observers, including this one, thought he had taken by a round or two.  Unfortunately for Paulie, the only observers that counted, the judges, all saw it the other way, with one judge laughably awarding ten of the twelve rounds to Diaz.

Although Paulie and his supporters were complaining of a robbery, this was too close a fight to fit that description; still, that one judge’s scorecard — ten rounds to two — sticks in the craw as so egregious (if you watched the fight, there’s simply no way to reasonably explain the score) that it should in the future become some sort of shorthand reference to the corruptibility of judicial scoring in boxing.  Given Malignaggi’s heartfelt and memorable post-fight promo, this might indeed come to pass.

Boxing is bullshit, everyone has known it for decades, and now there’s a boxer screaming it in the ring after he’s on the losing end of a decision he believes he deserves.  Fans watching — even those who believe Diaz won — know that ten rounds to two is a travesty.  The worst part about this is how unsurprising it all is.  Boxing fans have actually become conditioned to expect a screwjob if a fight goes the distance.

If asked to name the promoter to have gained the most from boxing’s skulduggery many would probably name Don King, but I want to suggest another: Dana White.  Much has been made of all that UFC and Dana White have done right in terms of growing their business, but I wouldn’t underestimate the value to UFC in all that boxing has done wrong.  At the very least, in a parallel universe where over the last 15 years the top boxers fought the top boxers, and decisions were not obviously corrupt, UFC would have had a much more difficult time making inroads against the established sport.  We’ve reached the point now, in 2009, where boxing matches that would have been placed on ppv a year or two ago, and would have provided at least some level of competition against UFC, are now airing on HBO pay cable.

On September 19, there’s going to be a lot of talk about MMA (UFC 103) vs. boxing (Mayweather/Juan Manuel Marquez) as the UFC and Mayweather pay-per-views go head-to-head, but the fact of the matter is that discussing the ppv battle at that level of generality, MMA vs. boxing, is either ignorant or disingenuous.  It’s not MMA that’s huge; rather, it’s UFC whose business is booming.  Likewise, what Mayweather is able to draw on ppv has no relation at all to the state of boxing’s health.  I fully expect Mayweather to outdraw 103 on ppv (based primarily on UFC’s lackluster line-up), perhaps significantly, and for the ”Bible of Boxing,” The Ring, to make way more of it than it deserves, but the real story was told last week, in Houston, Texas, for anyone bothering to listen.

Talkin’ MMA with Fedor

He may be the calmest, most mellow sports superstar you will come across. It must be how it feels when you feel a total mastery and dominion over ever man in your sport. I have covered a half dozen of Fedor’s press conferences and it’s striking how relaxed and calm he is at all times. You almost wonder if Fedor has ever been angry or upset once in the last nine years, or ever in his life. Certainly, there could never be any media question that would ever unhinge Fedor (though nobody would ever try to get under his skin anyway), and here are some softball I recently tossed his way…

MMAMemories: Do you feel unbeatable?

Fedor: “I never think about the fact that I’m unbeatable in any way. I understand that at any moment I can lose a fight.”

MMAMemories: What is your inspiration now in your career?

Fedor: “The biggest inspiration is that I represent my country and the sport. I help people see that I fight for my country and that’s what drives me. The sport has given a lot to me and I fight not only for my country but for my people, for my orthodox heritage and background in religion. And I’m very proud of that. And when I go into the ring I have the entire country and my people behind me.”

MMAMemories: What do you think about during a fight?

Fedor: “I try to avoid thinking about anything, thinking was for the preparation period. Now it’s the time to act.”

MMAMemories: Who is the best fighter in the sport of MMA today? Is it you?

Fedor: “I don’t consider myself the best. I would say some of the best fighters in the sport today are Josh Barnett, Gegard Mousasi, Georges St. Pierre, and Anderson Silva.”

MMAMemories: What will be the key to victory in your next fight vs. Brett Rogers?

Fedor: “It’s always the training, the preparation for the fight. That’s the key.”

MMAMemories: You will be 33 later this month. When you career is finished as an athlete and champion, how would you like to be remembered? Do you think about this?

Fedor: “I don’t think or make plans for it. When that happens it’s up to the people to pass judgement.”

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