UFC President Dana White Goes Off on ‘Racist’ Floyd Mayweather Comment
UFC president Dana White on Tuesday night called out popular boxer Floyd Mayweather for making “racist” comments about NBA star Jeremy Lin.
Dana White Rips Into Floyd Mayweather Jr. For ‘Racist’ Comments (Update) Comment
Dana White goes off on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in this video from FUEL TV for “racist” comments Floyd recently made about the New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin and fellow boxer Manny Pacquiao.
Update: Mayweather’s manager caught wind of the video and sent this response to Yahoo! Sports.
“He needs to shut the [expletive] up and mind his own business, stay in his own lane and keep on taking advantage of the UFC fighters, while underpaying them,” Ellerbe told Yahoo! Sports after learning of White’s rant. “If he keeps on running his mouth, we may decide to give a free seminar to all of the UFC fighters on how the pay-per-view revenue should be distributed. This is typical Dana, who is always prone to ignorant outbursts. He should be the last person to try to judge someone else.”
Of course, Dana White still got the last word.
“Just for the record, shut the [expletive] up [because] I wasn’t talking to you,” White said by text. “I was talking to Floyd. We’re doing something amazing. We’re building a sport while you guys are destroying one. “
Nate Marquardt Signs With Strikeforce, Likely Fighting Tyron Woodley First (Update) Comment
Dana White has had a change of heart about Nate Marquardt. Well, sorta. Marquardt is officially back in the Zuffa fold, just not in the UFC.
Ariel Helwani reported earlier this evening on FUEL TV’s UFC Tonight that Marquardt has signed with Strikeforce to compete in their welterweight division. The news was confirmed by Dana White. Shortly after the announcement, Marquardt thanked Dana and Lorenzo Fertitta for giving him another chance.
@danawhite@lorenzofertitta thanks so much for the opportunity to prove myself!! I can’t wait!!!
Marquardt signed with the UK BAMMA organization shortly after his controversial UFC firing, but eventually got his release after his first two fights were delayed. Marquardt hasn’t fought since he defeated Dan Miller at UFC 128 nearly a year ago.
Marquardt’s signing will undoubtedly beef up Strikeforce’s welterweight roster that includes the likes of Paul Daley, Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, Tyron Woodley, Tarec Saffiedine, Kazou Misaki and Roger Bowling. Interestingly, Daley just recently proclaimed that he would have the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title belt over his shoulder in six months time. Unfortunately for him, his competition for that title just got much stiffer.
Update: It looks like Nate Marquardt’s first opponent in Strikeforce is going to be Tyron Woodley.
Additional MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) sources indicated that Marquardt (31-10-2 MMA, 0-0 SF) will likely make his Strikeforce debut as a welterweight against contender Tyron Woodley (10-0 MMA, 8-0 SF). Verbal agreements are in place for the matchup, though a date has yet to be set.
Japanese MMA Scene Primer: The Shooto Edition Comment
In honor of the UFC’s impending return to Japan this weekend (UFC 144! Osu!), yesterday I took a snapshot of a small part of the Japanese MMA scene and showed it to you in the form of an imaginary slide projected onto the wall by an imaginary slide projector. Today: slides from my family vacation to Disney World. Also, Shooto.
Remember when every young buck MMA fan was tuning into the UFC but only a select few connoisseurs (such as ourselves) were watching “that other show” on the Versus channel? The one where the little guys fought like crazy and put on insane technical displays of martial prowess? That’s right, I’m talking about the WEC. Well, Shooto was the WEC before the WEC was even an itch in Scott Adams and Reed Harris’ collective pants.
Shooto existed in an early, not-quite-MMA incarnation back in the 1980s, but it morphed into something more like modern MMA in the mid-90s. If PRIDE was like the UFC on steroids and Pancrase was the long-running American minor league promotion King of the Cage, Shooto was like Golden Gloves boxing (if the Golden Gloves let pros compete). There were differences in the rules, like, if a fighter got knocked down in Shooto he received a standing eight-count, and amateur and pro fighters were divided into different classes based on their experience level. What really set Shooto apart, though, were the fighters, which were the lightest-weight fighters around. Back then, when the UFC was featuring physically big dudes like David “Tank” Abbott, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz, there were competitors out there that were so small, there was literally nowhere else they could fight. (A 123-pound fighter in 2002 could fight in Shooto or in his own backyard right next to the hibachi. That was about it.) But you know what? The nexus of “tiny fighters” that Shooto created made for some fierce competition, and eventually it made for some fierce competitors. When the UFC wanted to crown its first 155-pound champion, they matched Jens Pulver up with Shooto champ Caol Uno, and fans in the know labeled Pulver as the underdog in that matchup. That’s how good Shooto’s top fighters were.
One of Shooto’s earliest stars was Rumino Sato, who never could seal the deal and win a Shooto championship (Uno kept stymieing that), but damn could he pull off some slick submissions. In 1997, he heelhooked Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Ricardo Botelho – in an era when no one dreamed of being able to tap a BJJ black belt – and a couple years after that he snagged a six-second flying armbar submission on American Charlie Diaz.
As for champs, Shooto crowned quite a few future superstars, such as Takanori Gomi, Joachim Hansen, Hayato Sakurai, Anderson Silva (!), Jake Shields and Shinya Aoki. Like I said, if you managed to become one of Shooto’s cream of the crop, you were damn good at fighting.
Shooto’s still doing their thing today. Their events aren’t huge – some have taken place in gyms, or in venues about as big as high school gymnasiums – but as a fight league/sanctioning body, it’s managed to expand internationally. The franchise has never really taken hold here in the States; however, Brazil loves themselves some Shooto, and there are outposts everywhere from Australia to Bulgaria to Sweden. Compared to the UFC’s global empire, that may not sound like much, but it’s impressive. And to tell you the truth, if I had to fly to Japan and cover one fight show, I would want it to be a Shooto event above all others.
But hey, maybe that’s just me being a snobby MMA connoisseur.
After considering move back to middleweight, Shields focused on rebound at UFC 144 Comment
TOKYO – Quite simply, Jake Shields did not enjoy his 2011.
The former Strikeforce champ made his way to the UFC, but he ultimately
fell short against UFC titleholder Georges St-Pierre. It went from bad
to worse when his father and mentor, Jack, passed away just weeks before
Shields suffered a knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger.
No regrets, says Shields. This weekend’s UFC 144 event provides him an
opportunity to move on, and he’s primed to seize the moment.
Nate Marquardt to Strikeforce, verbal agreements in place for fight with Tyron Woodley Comment
Onetime UFC middleweight challenger Nate Marquardt is back in the fold, under the Zuffa banner.
Eight months after he was released from his UFC contract, Marquardt has
signed with the Zuffa-owned Strikeforce, as announced on the Tuesday
edition of “UFC Tonight” on FUEL TV.
Additional MMAjunkie.com sources indicated that
Marquardt will likely make his Strikeforce debut
as a welterweight against contender Tyron Woodley.
Verbal agreements are in place for the matchup, though a date has yet to
be set.
Nick Diaz Temporarily Suspended Until Disciplinary Hearing Later This Year Comment
The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday levied a temporary suspension against Nick Diaz after testing positive for marijuana for his fight with Carlos Condit at UFC 143.
Takanori Gomi Shows Off New Ninja Fashion Style (UFC 144 Video) Comment
Takanori Gomi told the press at Gold’s Gym in Tokyo, Japan, that facing a new opponent on short notice does not affect him.
Bristol Marunde Steps in to Face Jacare in Strikeforce Comment
Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza has a new opponent for Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey on March 3, in Columbus, OH.
Bristol Marunde agrees to fight ‘Jacare’ at ‘Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey’ Comment
Current Super Cage Combat middleweight champion Bristol Marunde has agreed to fight ex-Strikeforce titleholder Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at next week’s “Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey” event.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today announced the new booking.
Souza’s original opponent, undefeated Derek Brunson, was forced off the card on Tuesday after failing a pre-event vision test.
Dan Hardy vs. Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig slotted for UFC 146 in Las Vegas Comment
Former title challenger Dan Hardy will look to end his lengthy UFC losing skid against Duane “Bang” Ludwig.
UFC officials today announced the welterweights have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 146.
The event takes place May 26 in Las Vegas at MGM Grand Garden
Arena, likely with a heavyweight headliner between champion Junior Dos Santos
and top contender Alistair Overeem.
Bellator returns to Canada’s Casino Rama for Bellator 67 on May 4 Comment
Bellator is returning to Casino Rama for a third time overall – and to Canada for the second time in four weeks.
Officials today announced Bellator 67 is slated to take place May 4 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario.
No fights are announced for the card, though it’s expected to feature second-round matches from Bellator’s upcoming season-six tournaments.
Dan Hardy Faces Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig at UFC 146 Comment
The Outlaw is back. Dan Hardy will return to action at UFC 146 in May where he will face fellow striker Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig.
MMAjunkie.com Radio: Bisping, Harris, Siler, Santiago, Bowling and Roberts Comment
After a rescheduling, MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the show UFC veteran Michael Bisping.
We also talk to Legacy Fighting 10 headliner Gerald Harris, UFC
on FX 2′s Steven Siler, Titan Fighting 21 headliner Jorge Santiago,
“Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey” fighter Roger Bowling, and UFC vet Daniel
Roberts.
MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from noon to 2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Listen to and
watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.
UFC 144′s Anthony Pettis looks to follow ‘worst year’ of career with his best Comment
TOKYO – As Anthony Pettis looks a few spots above his name on UFC 144′s fight card, he knows it could be he – not Benson Henderson – fighting for the UFC lightweight title in Saturday’s main event.
Fourteen months after defeating Henderson in the WEC’s final event, Pettis now watches his former foe taking a headlining slot in a championship bout on a huge UFC event.
But rather than regret or jealousy, Pettis said it simply provides motivation as he prepares for his UFC 144 bout with fellow contender Joe Lauzon.
Is Rampage Tired of Fighting? (UFC 144 Video) Comment
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson is happy to be back in Japan but wants to fight strikers and is even looking at boxing. Watch the Rampage video from Tokyo, Japan.
Cage Warriors 46 weigh-in results: Headliners on weight, Gonzalez comes in heavy Comment
Heavyweight headliners Andreas Kraniotakes (240 pounds) are Dmitry Poberezhets (236.9) have successfully made weight for Thursday’s Cage Warriors 46 event.
Today’s weigh-ins took place in Kiev, Ukraine. The city’s Stereo Plaza hosts Thursday’s event, which includes a live main-card stream on MMAjunkie.com beginning at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) following a one-hour Facebook preliminary-card stream at 1 p.m. ET.
Not all fighters made weight, though.
Frankie Edgar is Just Following in Gracie’s Footsteps (UFC 144 Video) Comment
MMAWeekly caught up with Frankie Edgar in Tokyo, Japan at the UFC open workouts. Watch the video here.
Bouncer job little help for Cage Warriors 46 headliner Andreas Kraniotakes Comment
When Belarusian Andreas Kraniotakes steps into the cage to fight, it’s a step down in craziness. It’s a controlled environment.
“I’ve been a bouncer for 10 years,” Kraniotakes, who fights Dmitry Poberezhets at Cage Warriors 46, told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “I think I’m used to that aggression in the air and adrenaline.”
But as much of a benefit as that is when it comes to the speed and fury of a fight, it’s also a hindrance.
Jovial Yushin Okami credits Anderson Silva loss for new focus ahead of UFC 144 Comment
TOKYO – There was something obviously different about Yushin Okami the moment he walked into Wednesday’s UFC 144 pre-event
press conference in Tokyo.
From the ever-present smile on his face to the boxing-heavy workout
session (complete with Anderson Silva-esque arm-hanging and slick
shoulder rolls), Okami was in a completely different zone.
And it’s not just for show, Okami said. Following his UFC 134 loss to
middleweight champ Silva, “Thunder” believes he’s a completely new man.