Keeping Up With Jones

Keeping Up With Jones

On Saturday, September 21^st, UFC light heavyweight champion and #1 ranked pound for pound fighter Jon “Bones” Jones will attempt to break Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz’ record of five straight defenses of the UFC LHW belt.

Since beating PRIDE legend Mauricio Rua in March of 2011 to win the title, Jones has successfully defended his title against the best of the best in the division. With dominant wins over MMA superstars Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, “Suga” Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort and Chael Sonnen, “Bones” has positioned himself to, not only break Tito’s record, but to  do it by beating more quality opponents. During Jones’ title reign he has finished 4 out the 5 fighters he has faced with Chael Sonnen being the only opponent who was not a former UFC champion.

Jones is not only a polarizing figure inside the octagon, he has also had some high profile lapses in judgment. Whether it was the D.U.I. in which he smashed his Bentley into a tree, his reputation as a “diva” or his part in the complete cancellation of UFC 151 where he turned down a fight with Chael Sonnen after his scheduled opponent Dan Henderson was forced out of the title bout a little more than a week before the fight, Jon has been a lightning rod for criticism by fans and media and even drawing the ire of UFC president Dana White. Still, this should never take away from the extraordinary physical abilities Jones possesses and his desire to be the best fighter to ever grace the octagon.

Since former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was knocked out by current UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman this past July, the microscope of the MMA community is more focused than ever on Jon Jones. The possibility of “Bones” breaking Tito’s record and taking part in “superfights” is a testament to all that he has accomplished in a relatively short amount of time and at a such a young age. If Jones does beat Alexander Gustafsson on September 21^st to break Ortiz’ record, he will have done it in just over 2 ½ years. Compare that to Tito’s 5 defenses which took nearly 3 ½ years coupled with the quality of his opponents, Jones’ dominance in the division is truly awe inspiring.

In modern mixed martial arts, our generation has seen some of the best fighters in the history of combat sports. Anderson Silva and his record 16 straight UFC wins and 10 successful middleweight title defenses, George St. Pierre’s dominance of the UFC welterweight division and current streak of 9 straight title defenses and, now, Jones’ attempt at a record breaking career, we are blessed as fans to watch these athletes in their prime. Love him or hate him, you have to admit the greatness of Jon “Bones” Jones. Will Jones fall short of breaking Tito’s record, or will the future stars of the light heavyweight division always be trying to keep up with Jones? We will see Saturday, September 21^st, 2013 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and live on Pay-per-view.

Enjoy the fights and stay safe

Randy Casjens
Twitter- @SavageRandy

Life After the Bell

Life After the Bell

Every athlete must face one simple truth…at some point their athletic careers will be over. Whether it is because of injury or the physical toll sports takes on a person’s body an athlete’s career spans only a short time. A professional athlete has a limited number of opportunities and a small window of time to compete and be successful while earning a viable living making money to support their families.

While the love of their respective sport initially drives a competitor to aspire to be a professional athlete, the purpose of reaching for the highest goal in athletics is to make money. World class athletes are a very rare breed. They work, train and sacrifice their bodies and relationships and much more in an attempt to reach the pinnacle of the sports world. Mixed martial arts competitors are no different.

Our young sport has struggled in the past with the issue of fighter pay. Fighters in small promotions make very little money. They might fight for as little as $50.00 just to get a fight in any promotion that can match them up with an opponent. Some are forced to take multiple fights in a single month just to make the money back that they spent on training. Add manager’s fees, equipment, travel time, doctor bills, rent/mortgage, car payments, and family responsibilities and a lot of these guys are fighting for simple love of the game and the promise of opportunity without any long or short term guarantees.

With MMA slowly but steadily moving in to the mainstream world of sports, we have seen fighter pay make significant strides in the last few years. UFC cards make a contracted amount of money. With revenue sharing from pay-per-view UFC cards, men and women who headline are in a great position to earn much more than merely a contracted salary. For example; just because a fighter has a show purse of $15k does not mean that the UFC fighter doesn’t have an opportunity to make more money. If a fighter makes $15k to show and another $15k to win, he/she has the possibility of earning an “…of the night” bonus. The bonus can be achieved by having a fight of the night, submission of the night or knockout of the night. Fighters in the UFC can double their bonus money by winning fight of the night and a submission/knockout of the night. With bonuses capped at around $50k, a fighter can earn an extra $100k in bonuses plus their show and win money. This is not a bad payday for a nights work. However, these opportunities are very rare in the world of MMA as only a few promotions offer these types of bonuses to their fighters.

With name recognition, comes other opportunities outside of their sport. An athlete can procure endorsements that can provide some financial security to provide for themselves and their families.

A number of fighters have left the world of MMA to pursue acting. Randy Couture and the Nogueira brothers all have starred in successful “The Expendables” action movie franchise. Quentin “Rampage” Jackson did it when he took time off to star as B.A. Baracus in the 2010 movie version of 1980’s television series “The A-Team.” Gina Carano left the world of MMA to pursue a career in television and movies. Carano has had some great success in her life after fighting. We don’t know if  she would have had those opportunities if she had not been an MMA fighter with great name recognition. The fact of the matter is, she had a chance to further her career in entertainment and she took it with great success. This doesn’t mean these fighters haven’t met with some criticism by doing so. After all, they are fighters, and as fight fans, we want to see them fight.

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is a major MMA superstar. Other than the aforementioned Carano, no other woman in MMA has done more for women’s mixed martial arts than Ronda. Contrary to popular opinion, she was not an overnight success. Before her MMA success and during her time on the U.S.A. Olympic judo team, Ronda worked several jobs just to make ends meet. She did all of this while still training. Since her debut in the now defunct Strikeforce, Ronda’s star has risen to unprecedented heights. We see her on talk shows, magazines, commercials for major products, and, now movies. She has earned roles in the latest installment of the successful Fast and Furious franchise in the upcoming film “Fast and Furious 7” as well as a role in the next “Expendables” movie. Ronda is proof that hard work and determination really does pay-off in the long run.

Rousey recently stated, “I think I’ve got two years (in MMA) left in me, realistically…I think one profession has a much-longer shelf life than the other.” Writers and fans flocked to social media outlets to unfairly criticize Ronda for taking these opportunities. Her detractors’ say she should focus on fighting and stop talking about retiring someday, stop making movies and focus on her fight career. They say that if she is already talking about retirement, she should get out of the fight game now.

When an athlete competes, he/she has the possibility of other careers outside of sports. Just because they earned recognition through one medium, does not mean they should not look for other career options.

Ronda is a smart business woman with a strong desire to succeed in everything she does. She did not work multiple jobs before MMA success because it was fun. She did it so she could be successful and she had to pay the bills.

The old adage “Nobody plans to fail, they fail to plan” is an appropriate maxim to summarize the necessity of planning for life after athletics. In athletics, especially combat sports, the body takes rigorous beatings. Physical challenge is just one aspect of an athlete’s success. The mental or psychological strains on a fighter are just as tough to overcome. If an athlete has the opportunity to make more money and further their professional achievements, they should go after it with the same drive as they did when pursuing their athletic success without any guff from keyboard warriors and opinionated fools.

Thank you and stay safe.

Randy Casjens
Twitter @SavageRandy

Flyweight Respect

Flyweight Respect

On Saturday July 27, 2013 the UFC brings us another stacked UFC on FOX card. In the main event UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, puts his belt on the line against #1 contender John Moraga at Seattle’s Key Arena.

Despite being a former bantamweight divisional contender and the first UFC flyweight champion, Johnson has not received the recognition and praise from fans that his fellow UFC champions have garnered. Even though the title fight is the main event slot on a nationally televised event, a majority of the focus has been on the two participants in the co-main event between top welterweight contenders Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. Both welterweights are maybe a fight or two away from a shot at the UFC welterweight strap and the hype is well deserved. Both fighters are extremely well rounded fighters with power, excellent wrestling, very effective striking and clinch games. Both have power and the ability to finish their opponents. Making the fight even more intriguing Ellenberger and MacDonald have engaged in a heated battle of words via social media, thus, making the co-main event fight much easier to promote. So, why hasn’t the flyweight title fight between Johnson and Moraga received as much attention?

First of all, fans love to see fighters finish their opponents. ‘Mighty Mouse’ has amazing footwork, head movement and lightning fast takedowns. Conversely, when his opponents try to take him down, he has the athletic ability to jump right back to his feet like a bop bag springing back up. Johnson has gone to the judges scorecards in each of his seven fights inside the octagon, gojng 5-1-1 during that stretch. Johnson’s last finish was in the now defunct WEC in November of 2010. Even with all of his athletic prowess and technical superiority, Johnson is somehow perceived as “boring”. Some fans and pundits cannot appreciate the subtleties of his game, preferring to focus on his lack of finishing ability. This is an opinion I do not ascribe too. There are other flyweight fighters in the UFc that have plenty of finishes on their records. Moraga has 2 finishes in each of his 2 UFC appearances. In his first fight, Moraga recorded a first round pummeling of Ulysses Gomez at UFC on FOX 4 and a third round submission of Chris Cariaso at UFC 155. Former bantamweight and flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez has finishes in 2 out of his last 3 victories. The man who ‘Mighty Mouse’ beat in his first title defense, John Dodson, has 2 finishes in his last 3 wins as well. So the argument that the flyweights don’t have finishing abilities is a moot point.

Another facet of the failure of most fans to give the flyweights their due is the size factor, (insert crass joke here). When we look at athletes and their abilities, we tend to look at physical appearance. For example, when we see a muscle bound Alistair Overeem or a tattooed monster like Brock Lesnar, we know he is a fighter. We know that this is a man who you don’t want to mess with. The flyweight’s body type is not as intimidating. At 5’ 3” tall, Johnson is a lot less redoubtable in his appearance.  

When Ellenberger and MacDonald step into the octagon Saturday, we know that these two fighters genuinely dislike each other. Because of their verbal sparring via social media, they have promoted themselves and their fight to make this match an even more compelling encounter. Aside from a few barbs from Moraga calling Demetrious boring with no threatening skills, there has been little else said between them to hype the fight. Other than a coveted UFC title, there does not seem to be anything personal to make this main event more compelling. Johnson prefers to do his talking in the cage and let his skills speak for themselves.

I submit for your consideration that we should not pigeon-hole these lighter weight class fighters for a perceived lack of excitement. The athletic ability, speed, fighting prowess and technical skills are something to be marveled at. We hear stories all the time in sports where athletes have been told their whole lives that they are “too small” to compete at the highest levels of their respective sports. These criticisms because of a lack of physical stature are untrue, unfounded, ridiculous and disrespectful. They fight and train with determination and self confidence to overcome these prejudices. They not only deserve our attention, they deserve and demand the respect they literally fight for everyday in the gym. These are world class athletes who have made it to the biggest stage in the world of MMA and all of this under a veil of scrutiny and misconception. If you disagree, get into the cage with any one of these guys. You will be taught some humility and respect.

Thank you and stay safe.

Randy Casjens
Twitter-@SavageRandy

The Fight to Make

The Fight to Make

In the world of mixed martial arts there are a lot of talks about “super fights.” Most of the talk had been centered around Anderson Silva fighting current UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre. Then, after the continued rise of current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, the super fight talk revolved around Silva vs. Jones. After Anderson was knocked out by the new middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 162, all talk of those possible fights came to a screeching halt. Still, there is one super fight that is just as compelling, Cyborg vs. Rousey.

When talking about Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, there a lot of opinions about her legacy. Cyborg failed a drug test after her Strikeforce fight with Hiroko Yamanaka in December, 2011, and all of her critics seemed to be validated in their belief that she had been using steroids for her entire career. Justino’s victory was overturned to a “no contest” by the CSAC, she was suspended for a year, fined $2,500, stripped of her Strikeforce featherweight title and subsequently cut by the promotion. The failed drug test tarnished her reputation and, in many pundit’s eyes, negated anything she had done in her career. Still, Cyborg has done almost everything there is to do in wmma…almost. She was the first to headline a major mma promotion’s card. She fought the popular and always tough Gina Carano to win the inaugural Strikeforce women’s featherweight title. On July 13, 2013, she became the first Invicta FC featherweight champion. Yet, with all of these accomplishments there is still one unanswered question that keeps the mma world buzzing. Can she beat the current UFC women’s bantamweight champion and #1 ranked female fighter in the world, Ronda Rousey?

In the world of women’s mixed martial arts, there are no two bigger names than Rousey and Cyborg. They do not even need to be mentioned by their birth names to be recognized. One simply needs to refer to “Cyborg” and we know who you are talking about. When mentioning “Rowdy”, we automatically think of Ronda Rousey. When we talk of “superfights”, there is no bigger fight to make in all of mma than “Cyborg vs. “Rowdy.” As we have seen in the last few weeks, these potentially big money fights that pit the #1 and #2 fighters in the world to settle who is actually the best, those superfights can easily be dissipated with one hungry challenger. This is mma, and anything can happen.

While a huge pay-per-view fight between Cristiane and Ronda is the only option at a champion vs. champion fight at the current moment, there are a few hurdles to overcome before this epic battle can materialize.

First and foremost is Ronda’s title fight against former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion, fellow TUF coach and nemesis Miesha Tate. The two will square off on December 28^th, 2013 with the UFC women’s bantamweight title hanging in the balance. Rousey beat Tate in March of 2012 to capture the Strikeforce title via armbar in the first round. Even though the potential fight between Justino and Rousey is what all of the fans want to see, Rousey’s fight with Tate is not simply a formality. As evidenced in Miesha’s August, 2012 fight with Julie Kedzie, Tate is as tough and talented as they come. Kedzie dominated fight for the first 2+ rounds before Miesha was able to pull off the victory via armbar at 3:28 of the third and final round. Tate was rocked early on in that fight with a well timed headkick by Kedzie and then brutally battered through the next 2 ½ rounds. Even after being pummeled by her opponent, Miesha was able to collect her faculties and show her champion’s heart by pulling out the late submission. Never look past Tate. She could be the X factor in all of this. Rousey is not looking past her, and neither should we.

The second issue is that of what weight Rousey and Justino would take place. Will it be at 135lbs or at a catchweight? The substance that “Cyborg” tested positive for is a steroid called stanozolol that aids in “cutting weight.” The anabolic steroid is usually used to cut weight by preserving lean body mass while losing fat. Justino has repeated several times that she has trouble making the 145lb limit and she has come in heavy for fights before. Another issue for “Cyborg” is that she doesn’t want to ruin her chances of bearing children in the future and putting that much stress on her body could prevent her from getting pregnant if/when she decides to have children. Ronda has stated that champions do not make exceptions for a challenger. If Justino wants to take a possible fight with Ronda, it appears at this moment that Justino will need to make the bantamweight limit of 135lbs. A catchweight of 140lbs has been discussed, but Justino has clearly stated that she doesn’t think she can even make 140lbs.

This “super fight” between the two best female fighters in the world is one that fans and the brass at UFC parent company Zuffa, LLC are clamoring to see. This fight would make the promotion and both fighters millions of dollars in pay-per-view revenue alone.

Since Chris Weidman put the kybosh on any super fights in the near future, we need to see the Rousey vs. Cyborg fight ASAP. Both women are at the top of their games, they are both big names with world class skills and they would put on an epic show for us rabid fans. The hype for this fight would be justified by the performance of these fighters, but the significant hurdles that have plagued potential super fights in the past must be dealt with first. I, for one, would love to see who the true #1 female fighter in the world is. Not only do fans deserve to see this fight, the UFC needs this fight to happen. We might feel a little bit cheated if this fight does not happen. God forbid.

Thank you and stay safe.

Randy Casjens
Twitter- @SavageRandy  

Before the Fall

Before the Fall

There are a lot of ways to define the word pride. Pride can be a good thing. We have all felt proud of ourselves when we accomplish something. A new job, a marriage, having children, winning the “big game” in crunch time are just a few of the ways to justify reasonable self respect. However, pride can also lead to prophecy.

Whoever coined the term “pride comes before the fall”, must have been a genius or merely observant.

On Saturday July 6^th, 2013, the entire MMA community witnessed the fall of the single most successful and dominant legend the sport has ever seen. A man whose accomplishments inside the UFC octagon are nowhere nearly matched. The most successful title defenses (10), the most knockouts in UFC history (11), the longest title reign of any single fighter (nearly 7 years). It cannot be overstated how dominant Anderson Silva has been in the UFC. His records may never be broken. In the annals of MMA history, “The Spider” may go down as the single greatest fighter to walk the face of the earth and definitely the greatest fighter of our generation.

 

Anderson has done it a few times when fighting. He puts his hands down to his side, struts around as if he is toying with his opponents, faking being “rocked” by his opponent. It’s as if he is trying to get in their head to throw them off of their game and break them mentally before HE decides to finish them. With a seemingly disdainful confidence that he knows whenever he decides to open up and throw punches, he can knock anybody out. Anderson did it to Forrest Griffin looking like a character in the matrix. He did it to Stephan Bonner. Stand against the fence and begged him to take the fight to the floor or to punch him at will. After all, he is Anderson “The Spider” Silva, the greatest fighter on planet earth. Nobody can touch him…right? Um, not so fast.

While Anderson is still the best fighter that MMA has ever seen or ever will see, he did himself, the UFC and the fans a great disservice by playing that same game last night. In the weeks leading up to UFC 162, Silva seemed jovial, playful and even amused at times. On FUEL TV’s UFC TONIGHT, Silva was even joking around with his long time nemesis Chael Sonnen.  

There are several ways to define pride. Reasonable and justified self respect, the best in a group or class. These are the terms I used to described his display of pride. That is, before Saturday at UFC 162. “The Spider” repeated several times in interviews that he respects all the fighters in the UFC. He fights for his fans and the UFC because he likes his job fighting.  What Anderson showed on Saturday night was not respect. Silva proved the one definition of pride that brings even the most successful and accomplished people to their knees; ostentatious display. Vainglorious and pretentious.

Not only did Anderson Silva learn the fine line between definitions and materializations of the word pride, he fell off of the highwire, and in doing so he taught all of us a life lesson. To be proud of what you have done with your life is one thing. Displaying disdainful behavior will get you humbled.

 

Chris Weidman was not going to simply back down and let Silva get into his head by being coy. Weidman came forward and kept throwing punches. In between the first and second round, Silva was yelling at Weidman from across the cage to please stand up and fight. Even after pleading with Chris to throw fists with him, Silva still played his pretentious game. The FAULT does not lie in Silva’s corner. The CREDIT goes to Chris Weidman. He is mentally strong, he has the ability and willingness to beat anybody at their own game even when facing the greatest fighter of our generation. What Chris Weidman did in taking Silva out should never be overshadowed by the lack of respect that Anderson showed. Weidman just knocked out the best pound for pound fighter in the world. He didn’t just win, he knocked him out cold!

 

Conspiracy theorists have inundated twitter, Facebook, the blogosphere and MMA websites with ridiculous accusations being levied at Silva. They say he “threw the fight”, or he wanted to get knocked out. Or they say that the only reason Silva lost was because he was fooling around and just got caught. Not only is this a ludicrous notion, it is disrespectful to Weidman. Chris has worked his butt of to get to where he is at in his career. He is the middleweight champion of the UFC and he did it by not only beating the best in his division. He did it by beating the best EVER. Great job, Mr. Weidman.

 

Be proud of what you accomplish. Live your life with confidence. Let your pride be reasonable as to not fall into arrogance. After all, isn’t that what martial arts is all about?

 

Thank you and stay safe

 

Randy Casjens

Twitter-@SavageRandy

UFC Lightweight Chaos

UFC Lightweight Chaos

On August 31^st, 2013, UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson is set to defend his title against #1 contender T.J. Grant. Coming into the UFC 164 matchup, Ben will attempt to defend his title for a fourth time. Even after beating Frankie Edgar twice (once to win the belt and once to defend it), running through Nate Diaz and pulling out a very controversial split decision win over Gilbert Melendez, the UFC’s lightweight division is as murky as ever. A plethora of contenders has created some parody in what many consider to be the most competitive division in the UFC.

First let me say that T.J. Grant is, without a doubt, the most deserving of a shot at Henderson’s lightweight strap. Since Grant dropped from welterweight to lightweight, T.J. has reeled off 5 straight victories, with 3 of the wins coming by way of stoppage, including 2 tko/ko performances against Matt Wiman and Gray Maynard. Grant has truly solidified his place in the division. However, there are some big questions about the future of the division.

 

Before I break it all down I will have to take a deep breath. Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more.

While Ben Henderson is the current UFC lightweight champion, his victories have been less than convincing. With the Nate Diaz fight being the exception, Henderson has defended his belt three times via extremely close decisions. Many people thought that Henderson should not have received the unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar in their first fight and even more people believed he lost their second fight as well. After beating TUF champion Nate Diaz in a one sided match in December 2012, Henderson again came out the victor in a controversial split decision win against former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7 in April 2013. Yet another fight that a majority of fans and fellow fighters thought Henderson had lost.

On the same show on FOX that Henderson defended his title against Melendez, former Strikeforce lightweight contender Josh “The Punk” Thompson returned to the octagon in devastating fashion. With one headkick and several unanswered punches to the head of Nate Diaz, Thompson announced his arrival and presence in the UFC’s lightweight division adding yet another top contender. After not only beating but finishing Nate Diaz, Thompson, finally healthy after struggling with multiple injuries for a couple of years, cannot be ignored. Nate had never been finished in the UFC and for Josh to do so in such a convincing manner, “The Punk” should not be brushed to the side. While I agree that Josh needs one more fight against a top contender to further solidify his place in the division, there could be an argument made that he is ready now.

Anthony “Showtime” Pettis adds yet another interesting element to the lightweight title picture. Not only is Pettis the last W.E.C. lightweight champion, he is the last person to beat current UFC champion Ben Henderson. When the W.E.C. folded in December of 2010 and the ranks of the bantamweights, featherweights and lightweights were merged with the UFC roster, Anthony Pettis was promised an immediate title shot against then champ Frankie Edgar. Unfortunately for Pettis, Gray Maynard and Frankie fought to a draw in their UFC 125 fight the following January, precipitating a rematch for Maynard. After an injury forced the delay of the scheduled rematch between Edgar and Maynard, Pettis was forced to take a fight against fan favorite Clay Guida. Things didn’t quite go as planned for Pettis as he was out wrestled and left the building with a unanimous decision loss. Pettis has since put together a 3 fight win streak that includes brutal finishes over Joe Lauzon and Donald Cerrone. With those wins Pettis put himself in a great position to get his long overdue title shot against Henderson, but Pettis did not want to wait. He wanted a title shot in the UFC. Instead of waiting for the winner of Henderson vs. Melendez, he opted to drop to featherweight for a shot at the 145lb champion Jose Aldo. A good move? Not so much. In preparation for his fight against Aldo, Pettis injured his knee and was forced to withdraw from their scheduled fight at UFC 163 on August 3, 2013. Yet another title fight was taken from Pettis. We all know that “Showtime” will get his long awaited UFC title shot in his next fight. We just don’t know whether it will be at 145lbs or 155lbs. This causes further confusion in the lightweight division.

 

When we talk about the depth of the UFC’s lightweight division, we cannot ignore perennial contenders Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Jim Miller, Pat Healy and the fast rising Rafael dos Anjos. Dos Anjos has reeled off 4 straight wins and has won 8 of his last 10 fights. While dos Anjos needs another couple of wins to make a case for a lightweight title shot, with all of the craziness we have seen in the stacked lightweight division, do not consider it out of the realm of possibility.

If this doesn’t confuse you, I have done my job. If it does mess with your head a little bit, don’t feel bad. We are all a little bemused.

Thank you and stay safe.

Randy Casjens

Twitter- @SavageRandy

Ring vs. Cage

Ring vs. Cage

 

On June 22^nd     former Strikeforce welterweight champion and UFC title challenger Nick Diaz held the first WAR MMA event at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. During a great night of fights that featured modified rules in an attempt to prevent fighters from stalling by throwing ineffectual elbow strikes on the ground just to prevent being stood up by the referee, there was another element that was added to the mix…the use of a ring instead of a cage.

Even though WAR MMA is not the first promotion to use a ring instead of a cage, American fans are not all too accustomed to the subtle differences between fighting inside a ring versus fighting inside a cage. Other promotions like PRIDE, DREAM, and the IFL held events’ using a ring and it is the preferred modus operandi for Japanese fight promotions.

Some of the subtle yet significant differences of fighting in a ring rather than a cage is in the clinch and ground work. When a fighter clinches his/her opponent up against the ropes of a ring, there is always the possibility of both fighters falling through the ropes and landing in press row. Just as in a cage, when the fight hits the mat in a ring a fighter must either work for a submission or get up. However, when the fight hits the ground against the ropes of a ring there is less leverage that allows the bottom fighter to stand back up. This does allow a more pure form of grappling as the fighter has to use more technique to reverse position, hit a submission or get back to the feet. In a cage a fighter can use the fence to push off or “wall walk” and reverse position or even use the cage to prevent a takedown. When a fight stalls on the ground against the ropes of a ring, the referee must stop the fight, reposition the fighters in the center of the ring, make sure the fighters are in the exact same position and then start the fight. This wastes valuable time of a round and makes the official in the ring a more prominent element in the workings and possible outcome of a fight.

 

Cage sizes and heights can vary, but the octagon cage used by the UFC has a 30’ (~750 ft squared) diameter with 8 sections. Standing at 5’ 8” to the top of the octagon is much higher than the height of a ring with an average rope height of 5 feet. The difference in height and the elasticity of the ropes makes being clinched against the ropes a more dangerous proposition risking the fighter’s safety as he/she is subject to the possibility of falling out of the ring entirely.

 

On the flip side of the coin a ring allows a better view for the fans. The height of a cage and the surrounding fencing creates a semi-obstructed view. There are a lot of times that the view of the action is obstructed from the top and from the multiple corners of a cage/octagon, especially when the fight hits the mat. Fans at events held in a cage find themselves looking up at the monitors to see the action. In a ring the action is more visible because the ropes are a less prevalent obstruction.

Whether you prefer the cage or the ring, it all comes down to opinion. There are pros and cons of each fighting environment that can be debated for hours and still not agreed upon. It doesn’t matter to me. Either way, whether in a cage or a ring, I am always excited to see fights. I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday’s WAR MMA event and my hat goes off to the promotion’s staff and the fighters who competed for putting on a great show.

Have a great day and stay safe.

Randy Casjens

Twitter- SavageRandy

Grappling Wizards

There are several facets to the game of mixed martial arts. With its unique blend of boxing, muay thai, kickboxing, traditional karate styles and grappling, our sport has truly been a revolution in martial arts. Even with all of these variables in play during both training and competition, there is one skillset that can be the difference between winning and losing…grappling.

While being a well rounded fighter is the goal of all fighters, the true goal of a fight is to win. The ability to dictate where the fight takes place hinges on the ability to take opponents down or to prevent your opponent from taking you down.

World class strikers have the ability to knockout anybody while standing.   However, in mixed martial arts the striking prowess of even the most accomplished karate, kickboxing and muay thai specialists can be nullified by controlling his/her opponent on the ground. Wrestling, judo, Russian sambo and jiu-jitsu are the most prevalent forms of grappling in mixed martial arts. The best example of the effectiveness of both bjj and wrestling has to be the fight between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen at UFC 117. Silva, who is widely considered the best pound for pound fighter on the planet and without doubt the best fighter mma has ever seen, was battered and bruised for almost 5 full rounds by Chael’s dominant wrestling ability. However, Anderson was able to submit Sonnen late in the 5^th round by using… jiu-jitsu.

To the uneducated fight fan who only tunes in to a fight to see the possibility of a head kick or brutal hand strike knockout, grappling can seem anti-climactic and maybe even a bit cowardly. I will not argue that there are some grapplers that employ the game plan of “lay and pray”,  but there is no arguing the effectiveness of the ability to control the pace and place of where and how a fight evolves.

Grappling is an important part of what MMA has become. In the early days of the UFC Royce Gracie was able to beat multiple opponents much bigger than himself because of his ability to take his opponents down and submit them. The realization of the importance of the ground game actually sparked an entirely new aspect that was previously lost on the early mixed martial artists.


Enter two of the most accomplished grapplers in mma, Yushin Okami and Ronaldo Souza. With Yushin Okami’s game hinging on his ability to take his adversaries down and gain complete control and Souza’s ability to take opponents down and finish them via submission, these two men have had great success specifically because of their prowess on the ground.  Even though their grappling styles are completely different, their effectiveness and success are similar.

In Okami’s case, wrestling is his key to victory. He is a huge middleweight who controls his opponents from the clinch and has the skills to control the fight from top position once the fight hits the ground. Okami has beaten some of the most well rounded mixed martial artists in the world by simply controlling them on the mat. With wins over great grapplers like Nate Marquart, Mark Munoz, Hector Lombard and Alan Belcher, Okami has demonstrated time and time again the superiority and effectiveness of grappling over some of the most feared strikers in the game today.

Ronaldo Souza’s success in Brazilian jiu-jitsu is legendary. Commonly referred to as the best BJJ practitioner in the world, “Jacare” instills fear in to his opponents even before they are in the cage/ring. They know once Souza gets them to the ground they need to get up IMMEDIATELY or they will be added to Ronaldo’s highlight reel of submissions.

While striking and knockouts may be more “exciting” than a dominant ground game to some fans, the arts of grappling are an integral tool in becoming successful in mma. When a fighter is concerned with being taken down, his striking is basically nullified simply from the fear of being taken down and being controlled on the ground.

After suffering two straight losses for the first time in his career, a tko loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 134 and a knockout loss to Tim Boetsch at UFC 144, Okami has rebounded with three straight wins over Buddy Roberts, Alan Belcher and former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard. In all three wins in his current win streak Yushin used his wrestling and dominant top game to control the pace and smother his opponents.

Souza, a former Strikeforce middleweight champion, has won his last four fights all by way of stoppage. Not surprisingly three of those four wins have come by way of submission. In his UFC debut on UFC on FX 8, Jacare was able to control tough UFC veteran Chris Camozzi en route to a technical submission by putting Camozzi to sleep with an arm triangle.

Yushin Okami and Ronaldo Souza are rumored to be squaring off soon in the octagon. Although the fight is not scheduled yet and no fight agreement is in place, all fans of the ground game are looking forward to seeing this matchup. The dance between wrestling and jiu-jitsu practitioners is as old as our sport and I, for one, am looking forward to the chess game that is grappling.

Thank you and be safe

Randy Casjens
On Twitter @SavageRandy

Medical Non-Disclosure

More Dangerous Than Fighting

Former UFC lightweight and current World Series of Fighting competitor Jacob Volkmann reportedly suffered a seizure the day before his WSOF match against Lyle Beerbohm. Volkmann blamed the seizure on a difficult weight cut. He went on to fight the next night and pulled off a victory over Beerbohm via decision.

When I was 11 years old I suffered my first grand mal seizure. I have had 5 more grand mal seizures since then. Thankfully I am now on medication that prevents the infarctions from happening and helps me live a more full life. Usually it’s because of a lack of sleep or forgetting to take my medication. Are some people genetically pre-disposed to having seizures or are they a product of a stressful of environment? Was the seizure caused by an infection somewhere in his body? The truth is nobody really knows why seizures occur in the first place. By Volkmann’s account of the story he lost consciousness, also known as the “Tonic Phase”, but he started convulsing thus going into the “Clonic Phase.” This is an extremely serious medical emergency.

I have several questions for Mr. Volkmann. Why would you put your physical well being in jeopardy after suffering a seizure? Were there people around you that witnessed the seizure, and if so, why didn’t they say anything to the doctors and medical staff that are at all sporting events? Fighting in hand to hand combat is an inherently dangerous endeavor as it is, so why make it any more dangerous? What kind of diet do you have that you must cut enough weight to cause that much physical stress on your body as to cause a seizure? Seizures cause physical damage to the brain. Using an MRI machine a neurologist can see the physical effects in the form of erratic brain waves and brain lesions that have life long affects.

 

The irresponsibility is confounding to me. Jacob Volkmann can blame the weight cut as the culprit that caused his brain to seize up and have him writhing on the ground, but the fact is nobody knows for sure. Not only did Mr. Volkmann put himself in jeopardy of serious long term health problems or possible death, he also jeopardized the reputation of WSOF, the NBC Sports channel, he prevented the medical staff from doing what they are paid to do in making sure all fighters are physically fit enough to compete.

A hypothetical scenario: Volkmann fights, gets hit once, falls to the ground and seizes up in the cage in front of fans watching in the stands and on T.V., goes into a coma and suffers serious brain damage or death. How is that good for your career? How is that good for our sport?

 

Jacob Volkmann’s irresponsible actions and his teammates lack of common sense are to blame and they should be ashamed of themselves. I don’t know if there will be any ramifications that come about because of his non-disclosure, but one thing is for certain; Volkmann’s actions and his team’s apathy are as idiotic as they are dangerous.

 

I respect all fighters for what they do for us fans. MMA competitors are some of the nicest, fan accessible athletes in the world and for that we are lucky. I respect Jacob Volkmann’s skills in the cage, but this is inexcusable behavior from someone who knows better and we should not simply look the other way.

 

There are a lot of questions that have yet to be answered. I sincerely hope that NSAC and the brass at World Series of Fighting will be monitoring closely the health of Jacob Volkmann and investigating the actions, or lack thereof, that lead to Volkmann still competing after such a serious health scare. There are a set of checks and balances in place to help prevent this sort of thing from happening, however, if the fighters and/or their camps or managers do not disclose this information to the proper channels then those safety measures become null and void.

Thank you and BE SAFE

Randy Casjens

On Twitter- @SavageRandy

Bellator MMA 96

Bellator MMA 96

 

On Wednesday June 19^th the Bellator MMA summer series begins. The opening round of tournaments begins with the heavyweights and light heavyweights squaring off to determine who advances to the finals and who goes back to the drawing board.

 

In the night’s main event we have two hard hitting light heavyweights with former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion “King” Mo Lawal (9-2-0-1) squaring off against UFC veteran and TUF 2 competitor Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli (14-7).

Both men are coming off of losses and will be looking to solidify their place in the Bellator MMA light heavyweight division by advancing to the finals of the tournament. After knocking out Przemyslaw Mysialaat in his Bellator debut, “King” Mo suffered a highlight reel knockout loss in his last fight to Emmanuel Newton via a well timed spinning backfist at Bellator MMA 90 this past February. Lawal has notable wins over Gegard Mousasi and submission ace Roger Gracie.

Petruzelli is coming into Wednesday’s nights fight after suffering a tko loss to co-main event participant Jacob Noe at Bellator 85. Seth will drop back down to 205 to secure a tournament final berth in the Bellator summer series. Petruzelli has notable wins over two former UFC heavyweight champions Ricco Rodriguez and UFC hall of famer Dan “The Beast” Severn.

 

The participants in Wednesday’s co-main event feature two more light heavyweight tournament competitors with UFC veteran and former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (37-10) taking on the hard hitting Jacob “The Psycho” Noe (11-2).

Sobral will be looking to rebound from a knockout loss to Mikhail Zayats in the opening round of last season’s light heavyweight tournament at Bellator 85. Babalu has alternated between wins and losses in his last 6 fights going 3-3 along the way. Sobral might be fighting for the future of his career as he has been knocked out in his last 3 losses. Renato has notable wins over UFC vets Trevor Prangley, Jeremy Horn and former PRIDE and UFC champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Jacob Noe is also coming into Wednesday’s tournament semifinal after a loss to Mikhail Zayats via a first round submission (armbar). Noe has a notable win over UFC vet Seth Petruzelli at Bellator 85 in January and will be looking to add another big name win to his resume.

 

In the opening round of the heavyweight tournament we have two time finals competitor Rich Hale (21-5-1) taking on the extremely tough Ryan Martinez (9-2). Hale has made it to both the Bellator light heavyweight tournament finals and the Bellator heavyweight tournament final losing in both finals matches. Rich has a well rounded game and has the tools to end the fight standing or on the ground. His technical submission win against Nik Fekete at Bellator 38 in 2011 via inverted triangle is still one of the best submissions I have seen in the Bellator cage.

Hale’s opponent, Ryan Martinez is a tournament alternate who is taking this fight on about 24 hours notice after Hale’s initial opponent Vinicius Queiroz was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury merely hours before the official weigh-ins. Martinez is looking to continue his momentum after knocking out the tough UFC veteran and MMA journeyman Travis Wiuff in just 18 seconds at Bellator 93 this past March. In Martinez’ 9 career victories, he has 6 wins by stoppage (4 ko/tko, 2 submissions).

 

In the second heavyweight tournament bout, Vitaly Minakov (10-0) takes on Ron Sparks (8-1). The heavy handed Sparks has finishes in 7 of his 8 career wins with 6 coming via ko/tko and 1 submission win. Sparks is looking to rebound from his first professional loss to Eric Prindle at Bellator 56 in October of 2011.

Sparks' opponent, the undefeated Vitaly Minakov, is coming into Wednesday’s tournament semifinals on the heels of a knockout win over Vladimir Starcencov at Bellator 79 in November 2012. Vitaly, a Russian sambist and judoka, and has the grappling pedigree and skills to dictate the pace and take the fight to the mat or keep it standing.

 

In the first fight on the Spike TV televised portion of Bellator MMA 96, we have a featured welterweight fight between the oft controversial TUF competitor War Machine (formerly Jon Koppenhaver). War Machine has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the past few years. War Machine (12-4) is 2-2 in his last 4 fights alternating between wins and losses. In his last outing he beat UFC veteran Roger Huerta via knockout in November 2011.

His opponent Blas Avena (8-6), is a submission fighter and W.E.C. veteran. The tough Avena has recorded 6 out of his 8 wins via submission. Blas should be looking to get this fight to the ground to submit Koppenhaver.

Bellator MMA 96 airs live on SPIKE TV on Wednesday June 19th with a 3 hour broadcast. Preliminary action can be seen on Spike.com at 6 p.m. ET. and the main card starts at 7 p.m. ET on SPIKE TV.

 

Enjoy the fights and stay safe.

Randy Casjens

Twitter @SavageRandy

The Big Gamble at UFC 161

The Big Gamble at UFC 161

This Saturday at UFC 161 we witnessed a card with a lot of storylines. From two UFC heavy hitters in the main event between light heavyweight contenders Rashaad Evans and Dan Henderson to the coming out of Stipe Miocic defeating Roy Nelson via a 3 round beating of “Big Country.”

It has been stated by UFC president Dana White that the loser of the main event would probably never get a title shot again in the UFC. Unless Saturday’s fight was for a title, the stakes could not have been higher for either fighter. Evans came out on top via split decision and saved his chances of a possible future title shot. Although Evans isn’t necessarily “in the mix” in the light heavyweight division at the moment, the victory proved that his passion for fighting is still there. After two straight losses, including an admittedly lackluster performance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 156 some people questioned his heart and love of fighting. Every fight in the UFC is important and means something, but Evans’ victory was a little more important giving the fact that with a loss his chances of ever getting another title shot and being a UFC champ again would be slim to none.

On the losing end of the main event was Dan Henderson. After his second straight split decision loss “Hendo” may never get a chance to fight for a title in the UFC again. Henderson did prove something Saturday night: he still has the ability to compete at the highest level. If there is one thing we know about the UFC; never say never. Dan still has power in his hands and the heart and desire to stay in the upper echelon of the UFC’s Light Heavyweight division, and if he chooses, in the middleweight division as well.

 

Tonight’s biggest loser (no pun intended and no fat joke intended) has to be Roy Nelson.

Saturday was the last fight on Roy’s UFC contract. The UFC offered “Big Country” a contract extension about a month ago and he turned it down. The thinking was that if Roy beat Stipe Miocic in Saturday’s co-main event that he would be in title consideration along with getting a more favorable contract. After 3 straight knockout wins over Cheick Kongo, Matt Mitrione and Dave Herman, Nelson had put himself in great position to command more money. Things didn’t quite work out that way. Stipe battered and boxed Roy in a dominant fashion for 3 rounds, and even though Roy wasn’t knocked out or finished, the result was just as bad. Roy seemed to be “winging” punches looking for that powerful overhand right he is famous for, but could not get close enough to land the power shot. UFC president Dana White said last night during the post-fight media scrum that he wants Roy Nelson in the UFC but that Nelson made a gamble and it did not payoff. “Roy Nelson rolled the dice tonight. He had a high stakes poker game tonight and he lost.”

 

Despite a contentious relationship with the UFC president, Dana White also said that he wants Roy in the UFC and the fact that fans love him and get excited when he steps into the octagon does carry some weight with the brass at Zuffa. At least Roy has the support of the fans and for now has a great chance at being re-signed by the promotion. Just not at the pay rate Nelson would have had if he had beaten Miocic Saturday night.

 

As fans, we all love to see “Big Country” fight. When he wins, he does so using his knockout power. But when he loses, he does so just as convincingly. The way Stipe beat Roy was reminiscent of the way Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Frank Mir and Shane Carwin beat him.

I for one hope Roy Nelson is willing and able to re-sign with the UFC and continue to give us exciting fights. Roy will always be a big draw whether it’s on pay-per-view cards or some of the free cards. Roy will make the UFC money by putting butts in the seats, he will even make some money for himself, just not as much as he would have if he had been victorious at UFC 161.

 

The winners of Saturday’s UFC 161 event were as follows:

Yves Jabouin via split decision over Dustin Paque

Mitch Clarke over John Maquire via unanimous decision

Roland Delorme beats Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision

Sean Pierson beats Kenny Robertson via majority decision

James Krause beats Sam Stout via submission

Jake Shields defeats Tyron Woodley via split decision

Shawn Jordan knocks out Pat Barry

Alexis Davis over Rosy Sexton via unanimous decision

Ryan Jimmo defeats Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision

Stipe Miocic beats Roy Nelson via unanimous decision

Rashad Evans beats Dan Henderson via split decision.

 

 

Happy Father’s day and stay safe

Randy Casjens- Twitter @SavageRandy

WSOF 3 Preview

 

Josh Burkman (25-9) is coming into Friday’s fights riding a 4 fight winning streak and has won 7 of his last 8 bouts. His win streak includes two fellow UFC vets Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris. The win over Aaron Simpson came via tko after blasting “A-Train” with a brutal knee. A win over Jon Fitch would not only avenge a loss to Fitch in 2006 at UFC Fight Night 4 but would also further solidify his place in the WSOF welterweight division.

Jon Fitch (24-5-1), former UFC star, UFC welterweight contender, Purdue wrestling team captain and top 10 ranked welterweight in the world Fitch will be fighting outside the UFC for the first time since October of 2005. After going 1-2-1, including a draw against former 2 division UFC champ B.J. Penn, a 12 second ko loss to #1 ranked UFC welterweight Johny Hendricks and a one-sided loss to BJJ ace and welterweight contender Demien Maia in his final 4 UFC fights, the promotion released Fitch in a very controversial way. Despite not fighting for the UFC anymore Jon Fitch is still a top welterweight and will be looking to get back into the win column with a dominant win over the always tough Josh Burkman.

 

In the night’s co-main event we have Steve Carl (19-3) vs. Tyson Steele (10-1).

Steve Carl is coming into tonight’s bout with Steele riding high on a five fight win streak. Carl ended his last fight versus Ramicio Blackmon at WSOF 1 in November 2012 via Rear-naked-choke. The submission win was his 14^th career win by way of submission.

Carl’s opponent, Tyson Steele, comes into tonight’s fight riding a 4 fight win streak after a tko win over Gregor Gracie at WSOF 1. Both men have the skills to end fights standing and on the ground. With a combined 21 submission victories between them this fight should end before the final bell.

 

Jacob Volkmann (15-4 vs. Lyle Beerbohm (21-2) is a very interesting match-up between two high level grapplers.

After a submission loss to Bobby Green at UFC 156 last February, the promotion released Volkmann. He was not a free agent for long as he was quickly signed by WSOF adding another great addition to their growing roster. Volkmann is known just as much for his brash talk and political views as his suffocating ground game. He will have a great match-up against a fellow grappling ace in Beerbohm.

Strikeforce veteran Lyle Beerbohm is riding a 6 fight win streak with 5 of those 6 wins coming by way of stoppage (4 submissions and 1 tko). Beerbohm is a great MMA grappler with amazing transitions and submission prowess.

Brian Cobb (20-7) vs. Justin Gaethje (8-0)

Gaethje coming into this evening’s event with an unbeaten professional record of 8-0. Justin has notable career wins over Strikeforce and UFC vet Drew Fickett, and Strikeforce vet Gesias Cavalcante. With only one of his 8 wins coming by way of decision, Gaethje has the ability and killer instinct to finish his opponents.

Brian Cobb will be looking to continue his winning ways after earning a split decision victory over UFC veteran Ronys Torres at WSOF 1 in November 2012. Cobb has won 5 of his last 6 fights including wins over Drew Fickett and Rad Martinez. Out of his 20 career wins Cobb has 15 total finishes on his résumé.

 

WSOF 3, takes place at The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas and will air live on NBC Sports. Check your local listings and DO NOT miss this card.

Enjoy the fights and stay safe.

Randy Casjens

Twitter @SavageRandy

The Rise of WMMA

 

Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate, Julie Kedzie, Gina Carano, Liz Carmouche, Felice Herrig, Cris Cyborg, Marloes Coenen - these are just a few of the names of some of the best fighters in the world. Thanks to Strikeforce, EliteXC, Invicta FC and now the UFC, these fighters are finally starting to get the attention they deserve. As MMA fans we knew the time would come when these women would get their moment to shine, and that time is now.

Just a year and a half ago it seemed that WMMA fighters would be relegated to small time promotions competing for crumbs. Dana White, president of the UFC, famously stated that women will “never” be in the UFC. Now we have women becoming household names with big time sponsors fighting for promoters that actually respect the skills, hard work, dedication and integrity that these fighters bring to the cage/ring.

 

The first WMMA fighters to headline a major promotion’s card were Gina Carano and  Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, (Cristiane Santos at the time). This fight was an epic moment in WMMA. These two female fighters were showcased above some great names and well respected male MMA fighters. On that night guys like Gilbert Melendez, Gegard Mousasi, Fabricio Werdum and Renato Sobral were second fiddle to the women and they did not disappoint. “Cyborg” went on to win the Strikeforce women’s title by way of TKO. 

 

Female fighters make a splash in the UFC

Since the first WMMA bout in UFC history in January, 2013 we have seen these fighters become instant fan favorites. When Liz Carmouche nearly had a rear naked choke while on champion Ronda Rousey’s back, the crowd was on it’s feet in feverish anticipation of an upset of the woman that “sold” Dana White on women fighting in the UFC, we knew the women were here to stay. Ronda eventually reversed the choke attempt by Liz and went on to win via her signature armbar late in the first round, yet both fighters proved to us that the women not only had the skills to compete on the biggest stage, but that they also had the star power to drive a UFC pay-per-view event. In the first three WMMA bouts in the UFC, we have seen all three fights end in finishes. With Rousey submitting Carmouche via armbar at UFC 157, Cat Zingano’s tko victory on Miesha Tate at the TUF 17 finale and Olympic silver medalist in wrestling Sara McMann’s tko victory over Sheila Gaff at UFC 159, all three WMMA fights in the UFC have ended in finishes.

 

With the highly anticipated Invicta FC 6 headlined by Cristiane “Cyborg” and Marloes Coenen just a month away, Alexis Davis vs. Rosi Sexton on the pay-per-view portion of the upcoming UFC 161 event and the highly anticipated season 18 of TUF for the first time featuring two female head coaches and the first season to have female fighters competing in the tournament, women’s mma has quickly gained traction in the world of mixed martial arts. I for one am always excited to hear when a WMMA fight is announced and a little disappointed when a fight card has no WMMA fights. Just like the revolution of 20 years ago when the UFC burst onto the combat sports scene, WMMA is has had it’s struggles with people seeing them as a “sideshow” displaying more style than substance, now nobody can ever deny these fighters have what it takes to drive events and show the world they have the skills to be taken seriously. They have fought and trained hard for our entertainment and in doing so they earned the respect they deserved in the first place.

Thank you to Shannon Knapp for running the first ever all WMMA promotion in Invicta FC and to Scott Coker for seeing the star power and skills the women possess.

 

Thank you and be safe.

 

Randy Casjens

Twitter @SavageRandy

Interview with Gilbert Jamal Smith-TUF 17 Competitor and Owner of Victory MMA in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Interview with Gilbert Jamal Smith-TUF 17 Competitor and Owner of Victory MMA in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I had the pleasure to speak with Gilbert Smith on June 6, 2013. We all know Mr. Smith from “The Ultimate Fighter” season 17 as a member of Team Jones.

As a professional fighter, gym owner and trainer, Gilbert is much more than all of these accomplishments. He is also a husband and father, coach, mentor and a soldier.

When I asked him what his proudest achievement is, his answer was quite inspiring. His wife and children are #1 on the list. However, another achievement that he ranks high on his list of proudest moments was graduating from California University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Exercise Science. Having the chance to walk across the stage and receive his diploma in front of his mother, wife, and kids will be something he will never forget. Having served 6 years in the US Army and spending over 3 years in Iraq as a Civilian Contractor, Gilbert could only study part-time by taking 1 or 2 classes  at a time and settling for online courses. When he graduated, he was actually able to travel to the campus for the first time, which is located in Pittsburgh. He was impressed with the Campus and actually wished he had the opportunity to be there physically. As he was walking the stage, he was extremely proud that his children were able to see his accomplishments and to be able to show them that they can achieve anything.

Gilbert began training in BJJ with Marcelo Garcia as a means to stay in shape. He became addicted to the challenges and techniques that he learned. When he went overseas to Iraq, because of the lack of training opportunities and isolation he started buying DVD’s by legendary American kick boxer and trainer Duke Roufus, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Cesar Gracie, Robert Drysdale and legendary wrestler Dan Gable. These DVD’s became an important part of being able to further his knowledge of the techniques in Mixed Martial Arts. Gilbert then began training soldiers and civilian personnel.  There he would establish the beginnings of what was then called Victory Top Team.

Being competitive by nature, Gilbert gravitated towards MMA and began competing on an amateur level, compiling an undefeated record of 7-0. When he began submitting guys that had more experience and more credentials than him, he realized that he could actually do something with his abilities.

Gilbert has had the opportunity to train abroad in countries like Brazil and Thailand where martial arts are ingrained in the culture. Along with the opportunity to train under the consensus #2 pound for pound fighter UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones on TUF 17, and with UFC superstar Chael Sonnen in West Linn, Oregon, whom he considers it an honor to know, Gilbert has also trained with Robert Drysdale and adds that nothing compares to actually training with these guys in person. He also wants to congratulate Robert Drysdale on his recent signing with the UFC.

Mr. Smith has sound advice for up and coming fighters.”Always surround yourself with great people. Always be willing to do what other guys are not willing to do. When you practice an arm bar, you do it 100 times just to be able to do it once in competition. Make the moves part of your muscle memory.”

I will leave you with this great quote he imparted to me. “Seek out knowledge and then be humble enough to accept it with an open mind.” That is advice we can all use whether we are fighters or not.

Gilbert would like to give a shout out to the following:

Doug Ericson - Owner of Peak Krav Maga where Gilbert’s studio is located

Curtis Hill at Castle Rock Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Team Victory

‘The Sports Guy Mike Show’ on AM1300 
‘The Animal’ for helping to promote his name and business

His sponsor Panino’s Italian Restaurant in Colorado Springs, Colorado owned by the Frasca family on 8 St. “They have excellent food and they have always supported me.”

Jeremy Snyder, his physical therapist, at Rocky Mountain Rehab Center

Factory X out of Denver, Colorado with Head Coach Marc Montoya, Chris Camozzi and Brian Camozzi

A special thanks to Dr. David Lauritzen and Chirocare Recovery Center who has been there since the beginning and has become his best friend and brother.

Once again, thank you, Mr. Smith for taking the time to speak with me. I wish you nothing but success.

With Respect, Randy Casjens

On Twitter @SavageRandy