The MMA Ten keeps you updated on the latest news from the world of the UFC and beyond. This week: Ronda Rousey makes “Drunk History,” Matt Brown throws serious shade, and Bisping agrees to fight GSP? The MMA Ten can be neither stopped nor contained, so sit down and read it.
Ronda Rousey Pulls a Mike Tyson
Ronda Rousey will be back at UFC 207 to try and regain the UFC bantamweight title she lost to Holly Holm. But she got into a bit of a brawl on Comedy Central’s Drunk History, ending it with a Mike Tyson-like ear bite.
Rousey will look to tear an arm off of UFC bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes on Dec. 30 at UFC 207, her first fight since losing her title last November.
Matt Brown: Ronda Rousey is a Quitter
UFC welterweight Matt Brown is just 1-4 in his last five fights and is no longer considered a legit contender. Those facts did not preclude him from ripping on Ronda Rousey, one of the greatest champs MMA has ever seen.
Rousey will be back in December at UFC 207, entailing a layoff of just over 13 months. Somehow, that correlates into being a quitter in Brown’s world. He laid out some harsh words for Rousey on the Fight Society podcast.
“When you look at someone like her that one loss destroys you like that? We went over this whole thing about talking about suicide. My kids watch that (expletive), I don’t want to hear her talking about that crap when my kids are watching that show. When you let one loss do that to you what it’s done to her, I don’t respect that. That means your motivation is different than it should be. It’s not pure. It’s just not what I would call satisfactory. I said that right after she lost to Holly, we did a podcast and I said now we’re going to find out who Ronda really is. We found out. It’s been almost a year. We found out who she is. She’s a quitter. That’s not the type of person I respect. That’s not the type of person I want my kids to be looking up to.”
Maybe — just maybe — Rousey understands what it takes to become a champion a little bit better than Brown does. Brown has never had to deal with what Rousey dealt with during her title run. She changed the game and became the face of MMA, which came with enormous pressure to win and exceedingly high expectations both in and out of the cage. Calling her a quitter because she wanted to step back, recharge and reassess her career is pure idiocy. She won the Strikeforce title and then defended her UFC title six consecutive times.
I’m surprised that Brown, as gritty a fighter as they come, doesn’t recognize the toll that training and doing media for six title defenses takes on a person. Brown criticizing her for suffering through mental health issues is beyond cruel, especially when considering Rousey’s background, which includes her father and grandfather both taking their own lives. That “crap” that Brown didn’t want his kids to hear represented a perfect opportunity to teach them about mental health and how we should treat people with compassion. Instead, he might have taught them how easy it is to throw people by the wayside once we’ve used them all up.
Bisping to Defend Title Against GSP?
Don’t you just love headlines with question marks? They signify that something interesting almost happened, but never did. Case in point: UFC middleweight champ says he verbally agreed to fight Georges St-Pierre, and he tweeted GSP to tell him to sign on the line that is dotted.
@GeorgesStPierre, we all want more money. But let's go,sign the papers.Give the people of Toronto what they want, be a hero! Let's go champ!
— michael (@bisping) October 26, 2016
Hold up, playa. Dana White told MMA Junkie that Bisping isn’t getting that fight. “There is no Bisping vs. GSP fight in Toronto. I know Mike wants it, but it’s not happening.”
If GSP comes back to the UFC, Dec. 10 in Toronto for UFC 206 would be perfect. Other than the title fight between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson, the card is short on big names. A GSP comeback on that card wedged nicely between UFC 205 in New York and the return of Rousey at UFC 207 would be a heck of a way to end the year. All the top middleweight contenders are about to embark on a winnowing process to see who fights Bisping next. In the meantime, a GSP-Bisping fight would be amazing.
Werdum Not a Reebok Fan
The disappointment and sometimes disgust at the Reebok/UFC deal just won’t stop. Fighters and fans have expressed dismay with the deal since the get, and Fabricio Werdum had his say on Instagram.
What Werdum said in Portuguese basically translates to: “I’m not generic, I @nike from birth!” He must feel strongly about the Reebok deal. He posted that picture on his Instagram account, even though the creator spelled his first name wrong.
Miesha Tate Continues to Prove Her Badassery
Is there anyone tougher in MMA than Miesha Tate? It’s doubtful. She’s posted some amazing comeback victories, powered through some severe beatings, and persevered to win the UFC bantamweight title. On the UFC Unfiltered podcast, Tate revealed that she doesn’t remember a lot of what happened in the Amanda Nunes fight.
“I remember circling and trying to get my bearings back together, but she was really aggressive in the first round and she was just on me. I don’t remember shooting and I don’t remember any of that stuff. I was definitely rocked and it’s crazy when you go back and watch it–I don’t remember any of that.”
Tate lost her title in devastating fashion, but that’s not a deterrent for her. She also said that she would love to fight Cris Cyborg.
“She’s a beast and it would be cool to challenge myself up against someone of her stature. I’m curious to see how she would do up against some of the top-five girls at 135 and you know, she’s been impressive so far.”
Tate said she would hope to fight her at 135 because Cyborg would have an advantage at 140, but she would still take the fight at that catch weight. “It would be cool to see if she can take 135, but I wouldn’t be opposed to taking the fight at 140,” Tate said.
Miesha Tate is a future UFC Hall of Famer and one of the toughest fighters to ever do battle in the Octagon. It takes a special person to get rocked so badly that they don’t remember much of their last fight, then say they are willing to fight the most destructive force in MMA. Props to Tate, a true champion with or without a belt around her waist.
Urijah Faber Announces Retirement Plans
Urijah Faber will fight one more time before calling it a career. He’ll face Brad Pickett on Dec. 17 at UFC on Fox 22 in his hometown of Sacramento. It’s been a remarkable and influential run for “The California Kid.” He talked about it on The MMA Hour this week.
“At that time it was Aldo and Pettis and on and on, and Demetrious and all these guys, Benson Henderson, these guys were all part of that (WEC) group. Cowboy (Cerrone) and the list goes on. I’m not fooled about it. I’ve had 14 years in this sport and my entire career has been at the top. I’ve had title shots. I’ve held the title for years and years. I don’t worry about what somebody calls something. I know what it was. And I think, for me, I just am a very thankful guy. I really am.”
I predict Faber will retire with a win over Pickett, the 44th fight in his professional MMA career. He won a King of the Cage title in 2005, then the WEC title in 2006. He went on to defend that title five times, winning four of those fights by submission.
Faber has long been a fan favorite and is indubitably headed for the UFC Hall of Fame. He’s one of the biggest reasons the lighter weight classes made it into the UFC. Faber will still be involved in MMA as a coach for his Alpha Male gym, and he is also part-owner of the popular Torque brand of MMA gear and apparel. He fought the very best in his divisions for a very long time. Congrats to Urijah on an outstanding career.
Another Gracie Joins Bellator
BJJ and MMA legend Royce Gracie came out of retirement to join Bellator MMA and take on longtime rival Ken Shamrock. Now, Royce’s nephew Ralek Gracie has signed with Bellator and will make his debut at Bellator 170. No opponent has been announced and it’s assumed that Gracie will fight in the middleweight division.
Ralek’s last fight came in 2010, and he is 3-0 overall in MMA. He is the son of Rorion Gracie, who helped create the UFC, and Ralek is the creator of the Metamoris pro grappling promotion. He joins the long list of Gracies to compete in MMA, including Royce, Renzo, Ralph, Roger, Royler, and Rickson. Ralek’s Bellator debut will be on the same card as the Chael Sonnen vs. Tito Ortiz fight.
Sonnen and Ortiz Spar Verbally
Let’s hope the actual fight between Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen is much, much better than the verbal battle they had last week during the Bellator 162 broadcast. Long known as two of the best trash talkers in combat sports history, the exchange between the two felt contrived and lifeless. You make the call:
Sonnen and Ortiz will fight Jan. 21 at The Forum in California, live on Spike TV.
Conor McGregor = Stone Cold Steve Austin
The MMA version of Stone Cold Steve Austin is Conor McGregor, at least according to UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Speaking with TSN Canada, Cormier explained why he made that connection.
“He brings more eyes. I think he’s the anti-hero. He is ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin from 2000. The guy that you’re kind of supposed to root against but you want to root for. Everything that he does, before would have gotten people to boo you, but they’ve taken to it. It’s something different than what they’re used to seeing that people love it. I think it’s fun.”
McGregor’s talk is not for everyone, but no matter your opinion on the subject, he definitely has changed the UFC. Fighters who never said anything controversial before now realize that if they want bigger fights and big money fights, they need to talk the talk before they walk the walk. My favorite Conorism comes from just before the first Nate Diaz fight.
“He’s like a little cholo gangster from the hood, but at the same time he coaches kids’ jiu-jitsu on a Sunday morning and goes on bike rides with the elderly. He makes gang signs with the right hand and animal balloons with the left hand. So you’re a credit to the community.”
Dan Henderson Is Enjoying Retirement
Dan Henderson said he could be talked out of retirement after he lost to Michael Bisping, but in the meantime, Hendo is sure living it up. Check out this retirement party. Hendo got his hair did!
A photo posted by Ricardo Feliciano (@rfbjj) on
