Just received a text informing me that after some speculation in Albany that the bill to legalize MMA could reach a floor vote, Assemblyman Canestrari just announced that the bill is dead.
For the third straight year, the bill passed the Senate but failed to reach the floor of the Assembly for a vote. The bill has been blocked due to opposition and skepticism from senior Assembly members like Bob Reilly and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Firstly, apologies in advance if there isn’t much up on the blog this week. As y’all probably already know, I have a fight this weekend.
As for last weekend, the UFC on Fox and Mayweather/Cotto both competed with my show at Comic Syndrome in downtown Albany. Needless to say, both beat me out in terms of attendance and, likely, entertainment value.
On Fox, Nate Diaz beat Jim Miller by submission in Round 2 and Johny Hendricks beat Josh Koscheck by Split Decision. Both were given title shots as a result of their victories, and both will actually sit out and wait rather than take fights in the interim.
Diaz will face the winner of the rematch between Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar for the UFC Lightweight Title. That rematch was supposed to occur in August, but has been pushed back to an as-yet-undetermined date in the Fall. That means Diaz will likely sit out until January 2013 at the very earliest.
Hendricks will face the winner of the unification bout between Interim UFC Welterweight champion Carlos Condit and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, who was sidelined last Fall by a torn ACL in his right knee. Nasty stuff. His earliest date of return would probably be October or November and so, like Diaz, Hendricks likely won’t see action until early 2013.
I don’t know if it’s necessarily good for a fighter to sit on the shelf for nine months or more waiting for a title shot. By that I mean I’m legitimately ignorant of the pros and cons. It certainly will decrease the likelihood of a guy being knocked out of contention by a loss and/or an injury, but what of the motivational factors? Do bad habits develop as a result of a long lay-off? How does one go about pacing himself while avoiding the pitfalls of overtraining? Legit questions that I’m sure someone with more inside knowledge of the fight game could give me, and I suspect would be something along the lines of “depends on the camp or the fighter.”
The only other noteworthy item from the UFC on Fox would be that it was Ricardo Almeida‘s first time as a judge at a UFC event, and he’s the one that scored the fight for Josh Koscheck. Considering how much people hold judges’ feet to the fire for decisions they don’t agree with, it’s sort of amusing to see those same critics and commentators providing excuses for Almeida. Personally, I don’t think it was nearly close enough to say that criticizing Almeida’s scorecard is without merit. I just think it goes to show that judging is and will continue to be a problem so long as the ten point must system and other criteria remain untouched and unexamined. It doesn’t matter whether or not the judge is a former fighter. It’s always going to be subjective, and the best you can do in boxing or MMA is to try to identify and fill the holes that so many judges keep falling into.
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Meanwhile, on pay-per-view, Floyd Mayweather beat Miguel Cotto by Unanimous Decision. It’s the result I expected, though from reports I’ve read Cotto put up a much better fight than anyone anticipated. I don’t like Mayweather as a human being – I suspect few do outside of 50 Cent and Floyd’s immediate family (Floyd Sr. notwithstanding) – but you can’t deny the guy’s greatness.
This victory and Mayweather’s jail sentence starting in June has made the fight against Manny Pacquaio even less likely. Personally, I hold the same opinion I did two years ago, which is that if this fight ever happens it will be long after it matters anymore, when one or more likely both fighters are in the twilight of their careers and their respective promoters decide to make one last cash grab with “unfinished business” as the hook. Floyd earned the biggest guaranteed payday of his career fighting a guy that Pacquiao thoroughly walloped two years ago. The money they can make not standing across the ring from each other makes them averse to the risk of a showdown. With no overseeing entity to force the issue, there’s nothing in it for either fighter.
In other news, fucking Justin Bieber was part of Mayweather’s entourage for some reason.
It’s certainly saying something when you have Lil’ Wayne in a picture and he’s not the one that looks awkward and out of place. Gary Andrew Poole over at Esquire thinks it was a play for likability. I’m not so sure. If Mayweather ever gave a shit about being liked as a human being, he’d have done something to indicate it before Bieber showed up. Perhaps the kid flashed those chubby cheeks and big dimples and melted Mayweather’s heart? That or Mayweather’s almost as big of a starfucker as the people around him. I think that’s the more likely scenario. Mayweather doesn’t care if you like him, he just wants to make sure you’re talking about him. Which, well, we are.
I will say, though, that I dig Bieber’s attempt at a Morrissey haircut. Big ups to sadsackness.
Tomorrow night is the third installment of UFC on Fox 3, headlined by Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller with a potential Lightweight title shot up for grabs.
Ben Fowlkes (whom I consider the best pure writer covering MMA by a mile) has written a great profile piece on Nate Diaz that explores the relationship with his more controversial and less genial brother and what led him into fighting:
But Nate will tell you now that it wasn’t until high school that he really learned to fight. Even then it was more Nick’s doing than his. Nick was the motivated one, the focused one. Nate was just the kid who wanted to tag along with his big brother. At first, Nate admitted, he wasn’t terribly interested in jiu-jitsu. He also wasn’t very good. What kept him coming back was that, after practice, the older guys in the class would usually buy he and his brother a burrito from the food truck that pulled up near the gym each night.
“That was actually the main reason I wanted to go train,” he said. “I didn’t have any money. At home we didn’t have s–t. I was starving all day. So if I went to train I’d get something to eat.
Read the full piece: A Tale of Two Diaz Brothers (MMAFighting.com)
Dana White and fighters from the forthcoming UFC on Fox 3 card (airing this Saturday) rang the bell this morning at the NASDAQ exchange.
Check out the picture from MMAFighting.com, and pay particular attention to how thrilled Nate Diaz looks:
Don’t be scared of your portfolio, homie.
Chad Dawson just defeated Bernard Hopkins by majority decision to win the Ring Magazine WBC Light Heavyweight Championship. The fight was every bit as uneventful as we expected it to be, with Hopkins’ offensive highlights coming from a headbutt that opened up Dawson early in the fight and a takedown in the 11th, both illegal and unintentional. With all due respect, Hopkins had a Hell of a career and a great run the last couple years, but it’s time to hang them up.
More importantly, though, it’s time to look at Jim Lampley’s Ridiculous Glasses of the Week:
Check out those frames, clearly an ode to the offended concierge in “This is Spinal Tap!”.
He’s really become the Charles Nelson Reilly of boxing. Well, except for the entertainment value.
Check out this great hype video for tomorrow night’s Invicta Fighting Championship event, which includes former Strikeforce Bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen. The event will be streaming online – FOR FREE – at Invicta’s website. For those interested in seeing the finished product of the shoot, Esther Lin has the full gallery posted on Invicta Fighting Championship’s Facebook page.
Free world class MMA. Can’t beat that.
Invicta is the first of its kind: an exclusively female card. The only other major exposure women’s MMA has received was through Strikeforce. Fears that the women’s divisions would be nuked when Zuffa (parent company of the UFC) acquired Strikeforce last year haven’t been realized, but you can still see how far the emphasis has fallen. It doesn’t help that its two major stars, Gina Carano and Cris “Cyborg” Santos, have departed the sport due to a sudden influx of movie roles and a sudden influx of failed drug tests, respectively.
Marloes Coenen and Romy Ruyssen face off in the main event of the first ever Invictus Fighting Championship card this Saturday night.
Dana White has gone on record saying that we won’t see women’s MMA on the UFC anytime soon. His reasoning is the same for why we’re only now seeing a Flyweight division: he doesn’t think the talent’s there just yet. Some say it’s sexist, but in some ways he’s correct. The sport’s still young and we’re only just now seeing guys come along that could be considered complete MMA fighters. And sadly, because we’ve really only seen women athletes gain prominence and acceptance within the past two decades, they have a lot of catching up to do.
Yet, for that very same reason, the improvement in fight quality and overall talent pool has improved exponentially over the last two years. It might be time to put them on the big stage now, especially since doing so will only increase the sport’s exposure and lead to an even bigger influx of competitive talent. In that sense, it’s a Catch-22: Dana won’t give women’s MMA the main stage because he doesn’t think they’re ready, but they need the exposure to get to that point.
Many will note that women’s sports as a whole don’t gain much traction Stateside, so it might be a moot point. While our inherent bias may be ingrained in us when it comes to the institution of team sports, it’s not nearly as prevalent in individual competition. To find examples you only need to look as far as the Olympics, golf, and especially tennis, where the women have dominated in terms of celebrity status and drawing power. I’m not naive enough to suggest this could happen to MMA, but the belief that the sport’s not ready to see women in the UFC is based on flawed assumptions and a misunderstanding of the difference between gender bias in team sports versus the prevalence and success of women in individual competition.
And, as stated earlier, this sport is still young, still growing, and still gaining traction in the mainstream. It comes with the same gender-related baggage as everything else in our society, but it has the distinct advantages of already being seen as a counter-culture movement and coming up in an age where our society is conscious of the plight of women athletes and accepting them more than ever before.
Until and unless the time comes where women get their shot, Invicta is the best they got. For now, it’s more than enough, and I for one will be watching.
(Cross-posted from Kevin Marshall’s America)
Come out and see me drop bombs on the mic! Comedy bombs, that is.
Friday, April 27th
The Comedy Gold Showcase
The Mine (Broadway, Saratoga NY)
8:00pm; FREE
Facebook link
Sunday, April 29th
Happy Funtime All-Star Variety Show
Rumpy’s Tavern (16 Church St., Lenox MA)
8:00pm; FREE
Facebook link
Saturday, May 5th
Phil Spelman featuring Kevin Marshall
Comic Syndrome @ Savannah’s (1 South Pearl St., Albany NY)
7:30pm; $15 ($25 w/ food)
Saturday, May 12th
Cage Wars
Kevin Marshall gets his ass beat in an amateur boxing bout
@ The Saratoga Springs City Center (522 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY)
Facebook link
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Yeah, that last one’s happening. Last update I had is that I have an opponent, it’s also going to be his first fight, and it should be confirmed hopefully soon. Once that happens and I know it’s a definite, I’ll let people know when/how to get tickets. Well, I think you should get them anyway because it’ll be an entertaining show regardless, but yeah.
The reaction from some people to this has been…interesting, to say the least.
To be honest, I wasn’t going to tell anyone at all I was doing it until after the event. I found out very early on that this was going to be impossible, so about three weeks ago I told a handful of people and finally broke the news to my mother, the one person whose reaction I was most concerned about, last week.
This is something that I’ve been mulling for over a year now, but the timing and circumstances were never right for it. I’m engaged in training now, know what to expect, and know the dangers and risks. This isn’t something I decided to do just to do it, not realizing what I was getting into. Some have insinuated or directly stated as such, which from some sources was laughable and others was heartbreaking. The idea that I, as an adult, wouldn’t know what I was getting into in an amateur boxing match and would go in fully unprepared is both upsetting and especially insulting to my intelligence.
Of course it’s dangerous. Sometimes people do dangerous things because they feel compelled to or have a self-destructive streak in them. I certainly have the latter; anyone that knows me intimately and/or for longer than the last six years could certainly attest to that. I can’t disregard that it’s a factor. But to say I have no idea that I’ll get hurt, that I’m unprepared to take a beating? That’s ludicrous.
But more than anything, I’ve had a nagging desire to do something like this for some time. When I started training at NY Boxing, it increased, particularly knowing I’d have guys like Shawn and Shannon Miller in my corner. Both have been of great assistance in preparing me and especially looking out for me. If it were anyone else, I’d be a lot more hesitant. But with those two having my back and in my corner, I know I’m at least in good hands. These are guys who I know and trust, and have seen them looking out for me. They made it clear from day one that they wouldn’t and won’t put me in a situation they don’t think I’d be prepared for.
In short, I’m serious. I wanted to do it for some time. Then, one day, I went in and sparred with someone for the first time. I got hit with a hard right that opened up my lip and dazed me. I don’t think the guy I was sparring with could see it, but a big smile hit my face. Getting hit and coming back from it gave me a rush that I haven’t had since I went sober. That’s the moment that it went from curiosity to urge.
So I understand if you’re a family member or a friend and you’re concerned, but I know what this is and I’m prepared to face it. I know I’m in good hands, but that doesn’t mean I’m ignorant of all the risks associated with this. I’m doing it because I want and need to, for myself.
I won’t ask that you understand, because if you can’t and won’t, that’s on you and there’s nothing I’m going to say that will change that.
See you at the shows.
"Dear Mr. Kizer, Please excuse my son Alistair from having a 14:1 T/E ratio. He came down with an awful case of Limpdicktitis, which screws up his hormones. Signed, Epstein's mother."
I was all set yesterday to post something about how Ring of Honor’s television show was boring as shit, but then I read a partial transcript of yesterday’s Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing. I threw my hands up, said a curse word, walked away with my hands on my hips, stared at the ground, sighed deeply, heard my cat meow, looked over, followed her into the kitchen, fed her, came back, then saw it again and started the process all over again.
Well, except I didn’t feed my cat again.
The long and the short of it is this: Alistair Overeem is a goddamn cheater. We (and by that I mean those of us with half a fucking brain) have known this ever since he showed up for a fight in Pride as a skinny Light Heavyweight then in just two to three years was one of the largest Heavyweights in MMA. Of course he was on steroids. Nobody believed him when he told Ariel Helwani that he had gotten that way eating horsemeat, because why would they?
The counter to this is that “everyone is innocent until proven guilty.” Bullshit. This isn’t a courtroom, it’s an observation based on logic and the undeniable fact that nobody gets that big that quick and sustains it without the aid of PEDs.
Yesterday he was dragged before the commission to answer for a test failure where he registered an incomparable 14:1 T/E ratio. According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez over at F4W/Wrestling Observer, Overeem’s people were on their third planned defense. The first they considered was the typical bullshit “Testosterone Replacement Therapy” exemption, but that fell apart when they couldn’t make the timeline work. The second was going to be that Overeem suffered from erectile dysfunction and that the medication he had taken for it registered a false positive. After being assured that this was medically impossible, they settled on the strange excuse that a cortisone shot administered by his doctor was, unknown to him, secretly laced with testosterone.
The Commission was satisfied. They denied him a license, but are allowing him to re-apply in nine months (just in time for the UFC’s New Year’s Eve show). Nine months! For having the testosterone of fourteen men! Based on an excuse they know was made up and is nearly impossible!
The Commissioners were all smiles. They commended his hack doctor, who has been disciplined in the past for illegally selling drugs over the internet, for his “superlative” testimony. They were polite to Overeem and his people to the point of absurdity. They all but said “take a break, go on vacation, relax, and be more careful when you’re cycling steroids, ‘Reem, sweetie.”
The worst part of this is that this wasn’t really a “surprise” test. When Overeem was granted his conditional license to fight Brock Lesnar last December, he was asked to provide a sample and hours later jumped on a plane to the Netherlands claiming that he was called home to care for his ailing mother. People insist she was actually sick, but the timing reeks. Not only that, but once he did provide a sample, he gave the wrong one. The Commission told him at that time they’d allow him to fight, but he had to not only pass a test before the event, but also another one sometime after the event. Not in a year, not in six months, not the night of his next fight, but sometime after. That time came at the press conference for UFC 146. It could not have been that much of a surprise to him when he knew they were going to test him and, in fact, they were required to based on the agreement he made with them.
So to recap: Overeem’s a complete idiot and his people aren’t much better. He’s not even smart enough to cycle out when he knows a drug test is imminent, and can’t even pass one by Nevada’s overly generous 6:1 threshold. Worse, though, is that the Nevada State Athletic Commission knew better and let him walk anyway, just like they did with Chael Sonnen and his ludicrous claim of needing Testosterone Replacement Therapy for medical reasons.
The Commissioners, Keith Kizer included, should be ashamed of themselves. Whether through nefarious duplicity or sheer incompetence, they’ve once again allowed combat sports to look even more corrupt than it is by implying they’re in on the transparent excuses provided by drugged-up cheaters. It’d be tragic were it not infuriating to know that this is coming from a Commission funded by taxpayer dollars that’s supposed to be providing industry oversight.
Just in case you’re not done being angry, here’s some more coverage and appropriate outrage to aid in making your head explode:
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ESPN’s Friday Night Fights will be broadcasting live from the Times Union Center in Albany, NY on Friday, May 18th.
The card so far includes a Super Middleweight bout pitting Jason “Monstruo” Escalera (13-0-0 12 KO) against Nick “Machine Gun” Brinson (9-1-1 5 KO). The event is headlined by Ray Serrano (18-0-0 8 KO) vs. Karim Mayfield (15-0-1 9 KO) for the NABO Welterweight Championship.
Also appearing on the card will be local fighter Kevin Rooney (4-1-0 2 KO) taking on Albany native Nick Castaldi in his professional debut.