mmanerd

[mmanerd]

I've been fighting a long time, and I've never met a game plan I couldn't ruin with a punch to the face.

Roy 'Big Country' Nelson

[mmanerd]

Nick Diaz suspended for 5 years by the NSAC

“You in here for some MARIJUANA?!?!” 

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has suspended Nick Diaz for 5 years and fined him $165,000 due to his third marijuana related offense.  All of these offense have been extremely costly to him.  His first offense was when he fought Takanori Gomi in a match for the ages, he won that fight using a Gogoplata after getting lit up in the beginning.  However, after testing positive for marijuana in his post-fight drug test, his arguably greatest win was overturned to a No-Contest.  His second offense was in 2012 after he lost to Carlos Condit.  And of course, his most recent failed drug test was against Anderson Silva.

Nick repeatedly pleaded the 5th during his NSAC hearing, many have speculated that his lack of cooperation certainly didn’t help his cause.  Regardless, there is no doubt that this penalty is way too harsh, especially for a substance that isn’t a Performance Enhancing Drug.  #FreeNickDiaz.

[mmanerd]

Mayweather used illegal IV before Pacquiao fight

SB Nation is reporting that Floyd Mayweather took an illegal IV injection before his fight with Manny Pacquiao this past May.  The UFC just recently banned the use of IV before fights because they can be used to mask performance enhancing drugs.  Mayweather did in fact let the commission know in advance that he would be using the IV for rehydration purposes.  However, he requested the exemption right before the fight, and his application was not approved until after the fight.  Furthermore, he had the IV administered at his home, not at a medical facility. 

Bottom line, Floyd Mayweather broke the rules prior to his fight with Manny Pacquiao.  The fight should be overturned into a No-Contest.  Hopefully poetic justice will be served this Saturday, and Andre Berto beats him in his ‘retirement’ fight.  

[mmanerd]

I honestly believe there is no such thing as self-made. I believe that is a term that does not exist. For me it certainly doesn't. The people who have been around for my whole career have helped shape this moment. This night and this moment is for them.

Conor McGregor

[mmanerd]

UFC 189 Preview/Predictions

The biggest UFC fight card since UFC 100 is upon us, and it definitely feels bittersweet without Jose Aldo who broke his rib training for the fight.  We were all looking forward to the king of featherweight division, Jose Aldo, fighting what Aldo likes to call him, the joker of the division, Conor McGregor.  I was also extremely disappointed that fellow NJ native, Frankie Edgar did not get the nod to fight McGregor on short notice.  However, I have come to terms with the fact that Chad Mendes will be taking on McGregor instead, especially re-watching his absolute destruction of Ricardo Lamas in his last scrap.

Let’s start with the main event.  Regardless of the fact that Chad Mendes stays ripped year-round by only eating wild game that he hunted himself, he is still taking this fight on 17 day notice.  Conor McGregor has made himself the biggest star in MMA, and he will not lay an egg with stakes this high.  Many people are saying that Mendes will take the Irishman down and keep him down, but I think it will be other way around, McGregor will keep this fight standing up, and will eventually pick apart Mendes with his accurate striking.  Conor’s reach and accuracy will be the story of the night.  Conor McGregor wins via TKO (Round 3)

The co-main event might be the most competitive and evenly matched fight of the night.  The welterweight champion, ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler takes on the ‘The Canadian Psycho’ Rory MacDonald.  After listening to MacDonald on the Joe Rogan Podcast, its is clear to see that MacDonald is not a psychopath and actually a really chill dude.  But, the MMA community does perceive Rory as ‘The Canadian Psycho’ due to his stoic interviews and the disturbingly cold beatdowns he delivers in the cage.  This fight is a true ‘pick-em’ with no clear favorite emerging.  I will have to take the protege of Georges St-Pierre.  Rory Mac will win this fight by performing the way GSP would against a dangerous striker, which is wrestle, wrestle, wrestle.  Rory MacDonald wins via Unanimous Decision

Outside the main and co-main event, the rest of the card is decent but not stacked.  I’m looking forward to seeing the return of Mike Swick, and also the guaranteed rumble between Matt Brown and Tim Means.  Gunnar Nelson, who is a longtime teammate of Conor McGregor’s, will be taking a hard hitting Brandon Thatch.  Saturday can’t come soon enough!

[mmanerd]

‘Cyborg’ Justino signs with the UFC, calls out Ronda Rousey

The one woman that many consider to be Ronda Rousey’s only threat has officially announced that two months ago, she signed with the UFC.  Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Justino now faces the tall task of cutting her fight weight down to 135 lbs.  ‘Cyborg’ Justino walks around at 170 lbs. ripped, as she recently posted on Instagram and cuts 25 lbs. to fight in the 145 lbs. Featherweight division.  

The UFC mandated that she fight at 135 lbs. under the Invicta FC banner before she is given a title shot at Ms. Rousey.  I have no doubt that if the Rousey/Cyborg fight happens, it will be by far the biggest Women’s MMA fight since Cyborg destroyed Gina Carano in 2009.  Will Cyborg send Rousey permanently to Hollywood like she did Carano?  I can’t wait to see.

[mmanerd]

UFC 185: Can Anthony Pettis become the new BJ Penn?

This upcoming Saturday, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis defends his belt against the challenger, Rafael dos Anjos.  This is quite the quick turnaround for Pettis.  Just 3 months ago, he beat the number one contender, Gilbert Melendez.  He became the first man to finish Melendez and showed everyone that he wasn’t rusty after a long injury layoff.  

Anthony Pettis has a legitimate shot to become to greatest lightweight MMA fighter of all-time.  BJ Penn is widely regarded as the ‘GOAT’ of the lightweight division.  But if Pettis can keep winning especially with his spectacular finishes, he could be the clear cut greatest when it is all said and done.  Here is the checklist of fighters, in my opinion, that Pettis needs to beat to claim ‘GOAT’ status:

1. Khabib Nurmagomedov 2. Jose Aldo 3. Rafael dos Anjos 4. Conor McGregor 5. Frankie Edgar

Beat those 5 fighters, and no doubt Anthony Pettis surpasses BJ Penn as the most dominant fighter in the lightweight division.  Whuccu think?

[mmanerd]

If you need these drugs to compete, you aren't good enough to be a professional mixed martial artist. If you've been competing and think you need them when you get older, it's time to retire. That's it.

Bas Rutten

[mmanerd]

I never fought a fight that I thought I was going to win. To be honest, I never thought I was going to win any fight - I was hoping I was going to win.

Nick Diaz

[mmanerd]

Is Duke Roufus the John Kreese of MMA?

There is saying that pertains to many fight teams, "What happens in the gym, stays in the gym".  That's why in the past you've seen Daniel Cormier get emotional over Pat Cummings talking about breaking him during wrestling practice or Luke Rockhold holding a bitter grudge against Michael Bisping declaring himself the "unofficial Strikeforce champion" after sparring with him.  There comes a certain point though when it is no longer just hard training and it is legitimate abuse. 

The huge pipebomb story this week were the new details regarding a young kickboxer who died after a match earlier this Spring.  R.I.P. Dennis Munson.  Dennis Munson trained at Duke Roufus's gym in Wisconsin, home to UFC lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis.  There were many parties that were responsible for this young fighter's death.  The ringside doctor and the referee were both did not do their job in protecting the fighter, but the most disturbing part of the video was Munson's coach, and Duke Roufus's right-hand man, Scott Cushman.  He sent Munson back into the fight despite him being clearly out of it.  What a disgrace.

In light of this report, former members of the Roufus fight team, Rose Namajunas and Pat Barry came out and detailed the stories of disturbing behavior that they experienced while training under Duke Roufus.  Coaches ordering heavyweights to beat up smaller fighters, randomly punching students were just a few examples of an obviously sadistic gym culture.  Many other former trainers and fighters came out and supported Rose and Pat.  I recently listened to Duke Roufus on the Joe Rogan Experience, and thought he was an intelligent, and sensible dude who had an extreme passion for combat sports.  But this man now looks to be the real life John Kreese of MMA, the evil sensei from the Karate Kid.  What are the next steps though?  

That's a really hard question.

[mmanerd]

Last Week Today in MMA, 11.14.14

What's up MMA nerds.  The past week has been chock full of announcements and breaking news in the MMA world.  Especially with the UFC hosting their first show in Mexico, home to some of the most passionate fight fans you'll ever meet. 

The biggest news story in my opinion this week was Chael Sonnen getting hired by ESPN to cover MMA for them.  Chael was removed from his FOX/UFC analyst role after he failed his drug test before the Wanderlei Silva fight.  He was busted on some serious PEDs such as EPO, the same substance that Lance Armstrong abused.  Regardless of his missteps as a fighter, Chael is a brilliant public speaker and fantastic MMA analyst.  Good pickup by ESPN.  I am also loving his new podcast, "You're Welcome with Chael Sonnen", the episode with Chris Leben has been my favorite thus far. 

Picking up where we left off last week, UFC had a two fights on UFC fights pass.  Luke Rockhold became the first man to submit Michael Bisping (one-arm guillotine) and put himself back firmly as probably the number one contender for the Middleweight strap.  Sadly, on the other UFC fight pass card, Shogun got KO'd in 34 seconds of the 1st round by Ovince St. Preux.  Shogun seems to be the next MMA legend slowly heading towards retirement.

It was announced that #2 ranked Middleweight, Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza will be fighting the Cuban beast Yoel Romero in an already stacked UFC 184 card in LA which features Weidman vs. Belfort, and Rousey vs. Cat Zingano.  I'm definitely going to be in the house for that one.

The UFC gave us the fight we all wanted to see.  Light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson will face Anthony Johnson in Stockholm.  It is safe to say that the winner of that fight will be given a title shot.

On the Ultimate Fighter reality show, Tecia Torres took most of her second chance and beat the Aussie, Bec Rawlings.  Tecia will take on Carla Espraza in the next round.  There is definitely some bad blood between those two.  The season of TUF has been phenomenal, but I wish they showed a bit more of the house drama between the ladies. I miss the days of a drunk Chris Leben peeing on a fellow housemate.

This weekend we will see Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum fight for the Interim-Heavyweight UFC title.  Dana White stated that if Cain Velasquez doesn't fight soon, that the winner could be promoted to official Heavyweight champion.  That did not sit well with Cain, but dude you've been out for hot minute now.

Enjoy the fights this weekend.  WAR HUNT!

[mmanerd]

Last Week Today in MMA

My favorite late night TV host is the hilarious John Oliver, his show on HBO is called ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’, and he basically sums up a week worth of news in his 30 minute show.  I’ll be doing the same thing every Friday afternoon summing up what happened the past week in the MMA world.

So what went down this week in Mixed Martial Arts world?  First off, the darling of MMA, “Thug” Rose Namajunas finally got to fight on TUF20 this week and she did not disappoint. She dominated her Australian opponent, Alex Chambers, to give Team Melendez their first win.  Rose looked like a female version of Anthony Pettis, showing off an impressive set of skills which included some flashy Tae Kwon Do kicks.  Dana White said that there is a ‘Ronda Rousey’ in this season of the Ultimate Fighter, and it is clear that Rose is the one he is talking about.

So there are two fight cards on UFC Fight pass this weekend, one in Brazil and one in Australia.  If I could only catch one fight out of all of them, it would be Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold.  These two have been bickering like an old married couple for months now, and it’s finally time to settle the beef.  Luke Rockhold is the clear favorite, but you can never ‘count’ Michael Bisping out (no pun intended).  Especially because his might be Bisping’s last chance at a title shot after many attempts in his solid fight career.  Rockhold would also have a legitimate case to fight for the middleweight title if he beats Bisping.

'Sugar' Rashad Evans still has lingering knee issues and will not be able to take on the Swede, Alexander Gustafsson in Stockholm, January 2015.  Why replace Rashad recently re-instated Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson?  This is the fight that all MMA nerds are clamoring for and an upgrade from Gus vs. Rashad.

Anderson Silva gave us all a scare by being rushed to the hospital for Lumbago.  This ailing is an intense pain in your lower back and was caused while he was training Jiu Jitsu.  Fortunately, the Spider is ok now and will still be fighting Nick Diaz at the beginning of next year.

Well that’s a wrap MMA nerds.  Check in every Friday for a weekly MMA recap.  Peace!

[mmanerd]

I hit 'em in the head and there goes your fucking black belt!

Mark Hunt

[mmanerd]

MMAnerd Workout Playlist: 10.29.14

Yo!  It's been awhile since I published a workout playlist but I will start putting these out regularly.  Don't forget to download that amazing 'Run the Jewels 2' album for Free 99.

MMAnerd Workout Playlist_10.29.14:

1.) Action Bronson - Easy Rider

2.) Run the Jewels - Close your Eyes

3.) Migos - Fight Night

4.) Drake - How Bout Now

5.) Bobby Schmurda - Bobby Bitch

6.) Vince Staples - Limos

7.) Cam'ron - Dipshits

8.) PRhyme (Primo x Royce Da 5'9") - Courtesy

9.) Party Supplies - The Light in the Addict

10.) Kendrick Lamar - i

That's all folks, those are the tracks that are getting me through my workouts currently.  Peace!

[mmanerd]

UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort in LA

By PJ Chou

After many setbacks, Chris Weidman will finally take on Vitor Belfort for the Middleweight championship at UFC 178, February 28, 2015.  Instead of the fight being held in Vegas, the two middleweights will do battle in Los Angeles, California.  I just recently moved here from New York City and I must say that I love it here.  The weather is great everyday and LA is chock full of MMA schools.  From Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu to Rickson Gracie teaching at his son Kron’s academy, LA is truly the mecca of MMA right now.

Trust me, just last week I attended the Gennady Golovkin boxing match at the Stubhub Center, and there where crazed fight fans everywhere.  The Weidman vs. Belfort match-up will take place in the House that Kobe built, the Staples Center.  The biggest storyline of this fight will be whether or not Vitor will be the same dominating force he was before TRT was banned.  When Vitor was given a Testosterone Replacement Therapy exemption, he was a wrecking ball.  To me he was 2013’s Fighter of the Year by far, knocking out Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping, and Luke Rockhold all with devastating head kicks.  Chris Weidman, the real 2013 Fighter of the Year will of course come in as a heavy favorite.  After two weird wins over Anderson Silva, Weidman finally validated his Champion status with a clear-cut win over Lyoto Machida this past July 4th weekend.

Recent photos have indicated that Vitor has dropped significant muscle mass and does look anywhere close to his 2013 bodybuilder-type body.  Weidman is also coming off two minor surgeries to both of his knees and a broken hand, so he isn’t coming into this bout 100% either.  Regardless, this is a fight every fan needs to tune in.

[mmanerd]

Weekly Ether: Conor McGregor and BJ Penn

Two UFC Featherweights, Conor McGregor and BJ Penn (hehe) unleashed verbal assaults on Chad Mendes and nutritionist to the stars, Mike Dolce. McGregor was doing in studio with BT Sport when Chad Mendes, who will be fighting Jose Aldo for the belt this weekend, phoned in. Hilarity ensued. The Notorious One, Conor McGregor is by pound-for-pound the best shit talker since Chael P. Sonnen. Although he does no have Sonnen’s cleve wit, he definitely has perfected his delivery. Check out the brutal tongue lashing he gives Mendes below, ouch:

Mendes: "How tall are you Conor?"

Conor: 5 foot 9

Mendes: I'm 5'6"

Conor: "You're 5'4" at least! Stand up, we can't see you on the TV screen."

Mendes: "Conor, do you even know what wrestling is?"

Conor: "I can rest my nuts on you're forehead." ****Crowd laughs hysterically*****

BJ Penn and Mike Dolce have been beefing ever since Penn got destroyed by Frankie Edgar this past summer. BJ Penn began the war of words by stating that he would never hire Mike Dolce for anything again. Mike went on the Joe Rogan podcast and insinuated that BJ was lazy and didn’t train properly for the Edgar fight. BJ responded and Mike Dolce traded subtle insults. Yesterday, BJ snapped on Twitter, much like he did after the Nick Diaz fight, and sent this physical threat directed at Dolce.

BJ PENN: @BJpenndotcom: @TheDolceDiet Keep talking, I'm gonna have a heart to heart talk with your glass jaw when I see you.

[mmanerd]

Andrei Arlovski and his best friend

Andrei 'the Pitbull' Arlovski has made quite the comeback in the MMA world as of late.  After years as a Heavyweight journeyman who fought in many different promotions, the Pitbull is back in the Big Show.  He most recently knocked out Antonio 'Big Foot' Silva at a UFC Fight Night in Big Foot's home country, Brazil.  After a lackluster UFC re-debut against Brendan Schuab, it looks like Arlovski is ready for another run at the UFC Heavyweight title. 

They say dogs are a Man's best friend, and this is certainly true for Arlovski.  I'm a dog lover as well and have always fawned over pictures of Arlovski and his majestic blue Pitbull, Maximus.  Now there is finally a video out documenting their special bond.  Check it out: