Filed under: UFC
If only Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira could have gotten himself caught in a choke. As long as he was going to be obstinate about refusing to tap, at least a choke would have allowed him the dignity of his choice without demanding that he pay for it with bone. Alas, he had to go and get himself kimura'd by Frank Mir at UFC 140, which resulted in him lying on his back, looking at his ruined arm like it belonged to someone else. It was hard enough to watch when it happened live. It only got more stomach-churning as the snap replayed over and over on the big screen afterward.
One person who definitely did not have a problem with the gruesome ending was Mir. In the post-fight press conference he explained that he had a little experience with this sort of thing (by the way, you think Tim Sylvia's arm still aches on cold mornings?), though he declined to explain what it felt like to snap another man's appendage because, "I'll probably get in trouble if I describe it too much; you'll probably think I'm disturbed."
He then erupted into a super-villain laugh that made us all think that anyway. But hey, if you have to be the creepy dude at the post-fight presser, it's better to be the creepy dude with two working arms. Other notes and news from fight night in Toronto:
More Coverage: UFC 140 Results | UFC 140 Post-Fight Press Conference Video
- Dana White is pretty sure he made his point about rape tweets. Though the UFC prez said he was "happy with the statement" Miguel Torres released, apologizing for the ill-advised tweet that got him fired, he said "nothing's changed" regarding the UFC's attitude to the newly unemployed bantamweight. It doesn't sound like he's totally ruled out a potential reconciliation, and White acknowledged that the decision to fire Torres was unpopular with many fans, saying, "I've been getting my head kicked in for two days on Twitter, but the bottom line is, nobody has any business making jokes about rape." Asked if he might consider some sort of official policy that would help maintain consistency when it comes to fighter punishment in the future, White said, "You want to see consistency? Let's see if anybody does that again. Let's see if anybody does it again. I double-dare you. I double-dare you to send another tweet like that again."
- Dennis Hallman's weight cut was an issue that he should have, and probably did see coming. I know because I tried to schedule an interview with Hallman on Thursday morning and was told he'd be cutting weight then, which struck me as a little odd. If you're doing it right, Thursday morning usually isn't the time for actively shedding a bunch of pounds for a Friday afternoon weigh-in, especially if you're an undercard fighter who doesn't have to attend open workouts or the press conference. Basically, your only job that week is to make weight, and Hallman didn't do it. He didn't even come all that close, which makes you wonder if he really has a future at lightweight. Good thing for him he won so convincingly, and did so in a pair of modest shorts rather than speedos. At least now he'll get another chance to make 155 pounds.
- Joe Rogan might appear to have the perfect gig now, but there was a time when he was working pro bono. White told members of the media that when he first approached Rogan about being a color commentator for UFC broadcasts, the comedian was the host of network TV hit Fear Factor. While White didn't say what kind of deal Rogan had with NBC for that show, it had to be better than what the UFC offered him right off the bat: nothing. "He did the first 15 UFCs for free," White said. "We didn't pay Joe Rogan a dime for the first 15 UFC's. So, Joe Rogan gets paid now."
- Remember the fan from our preview video who made his own 'Tito Ortiz Blocked Me on Twitter' t-shirt? Well, seems like he bought a family pack of those white t-shirts, and he's using them all to promote his MMA agenda with the help of a black sharpie. Our friend was spotted at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night, this time with a shirt that read, 'I Hacked Miguel Torres's Twitter.' As you can see, he put about as much time into making this t-shirt as most of us put into folding one, but at least it's an MMA-themed t-shirt that doesn't feature skulls or chains. We're moving in the right direction, people.- For a man who has this Strikeforce stuff all figured out now, White doesn't seem all that enthusiastic about it. He kept teasing an announcement, and said he'd hoped to get something done in time to make it official at the post-fight presser, but instead White had to settle for assuring us once again that "Strikeforce lives," and the fighters under contract to the organization will stay there. Guys like lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez might not be happy to hear that, but White insisted, "Gilbert Melendez and all the guys that are in the Strikeforce show and with Showtime, I will make this right, they will be happy to be there. Believe me. I've got this thing worked out. It's going to be good for everybody." Asked if White's involvement in negotiating the deal would also mean he'd take a more hands-on role in running the organization, the boss man let out a beleaguered sigh and said simply, "Yes." You could practically hear the added travel fatigue piling up on him.
- Excited about the flyweight tournament? Thank Joe Silva and Sean Shelby. Zuffa's dueling matchmakers were behind the four-man throwdown to crown a 125-pound champ in 2012, according to White, who might have botched the announcement just a tad by not specifying that it was an actual tournament, which he's historically stayed away from. "I had nothing to do with it," he said later. "That's why I got yelled at for screwing it up. Joe and Sean put that together." White didn't even seem totally comfortable branding it a tournament, insisting that having four guys fight on the same card, then pitting the winners against one another for the title is something the UFC has done before. "I guess that's a tournament," he added. It is. And it's a great idea, courtesy of Shelby and Silva.
- Speaking of Silva, there was an awful lot of grinning and whispering between the UFC matchmaker and White at the post-fight presser. They went back and forth several times as other people were answering questions, and at one point they even shook hands as if congratulating one another, and then White stood smiling to himself at the podium for several seconds. Our own Ariel Helwani asked White to let us in on the secret, but White wouldn't spill it. Whatever it is, the UFC brass seemed very pleased.
Unsolicited travel tip of the week: No trip to Canada is complete without stocking up on those delicious, though sometimes bizarrely named candy bars they have up there. My favorite is Coffee Crisp, but I've been know to buy a Big Turk just to give one to a baffled friend back home.
Overheard on the road: From a woman boarding a plane while holding an infant and talking to her husband on a cell phone.
"What am I going to read? I don't know. How about the angry expressions on other people's faces?"
Score one for self-awareness.
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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/11/ufc-140-press-pass-notes-on-strikeforce-flyweights-and-more-f/
