Entries Tagged as 'MMA Personalities'

Inside the Mind of Mayhem

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive

It's just after 6 p.m. in an upscale steakhouse in Houston and already Jason "Mayhem" Miller is yelling at me. Maybe it's not so much at me. More like near me. More like near everyone in the room, and people are starting to notice.

"It's stupid, all these people who are so worried about communism if we get free health care," Miller says, his voice rising far past what most people would consider an indoor volume. "What if the fire department made you go through the same steps as the non-socialist health care system?"

Businessmen in ties glance up from their prime rib dinners at the next table. Any thought they may have had of asking Miller to keep it down vanish when they see the source of the commotion - a rangy, cauliflower-eared 29-year-old with a nose that looks as if it's been broken just for fun on more than one occasion, gesturing spastically as he becomes more agitated.

"Imagine, you call them up and they're like, 'Do you have fire insurance?' And you're saying, 'Uh, my house is burning down right now.' 'Are you PPO or HMO? 'The house is on fire!' 'What's your policy number?' 'Okay, it's, uh, 97JK39W2.' 'What's your group ID?' 'AHHHHHH! MY HOUSE IS GONE!'"

He erupts into his trademark laugh, an almost cartoonishly maniacal cackle that suggests he might be on the verge of either torturing James Bond or simply flipping the table over on a whim. It's the kind of laugh that makes me briefly wonder whether this whole dinner idea, where I would sit down with Miller to learn a little about what makes this enigmatic fighter tick, was really such a brilliant notion.

Palace of Auburn Hills to Host UFC 123; Rampage vs. Machida to Headline

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, News

UFC 123 is headed to Auburn Hills, Michigan.

That's the word from UFC president Dana White, who told MMA Fighting that the finalization of a deal to bring the Nov. 20 event to The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburb closed on Wednesday morning.

Ken Shamrock Signed to Fight Johnathan Ivey on Oct. 16

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, News

Ken Shamrock's next fight has been signed and it will be against Johnathan Ivey for the USA MMA promotion on Oct. 16 in Lafayette, La.

MMAFighting.com learned Wednesday from sources close to the event the Shamrock vs. Ivey headliner as well as the co-main event, Ricco Rodriguez vs. Mike Perez.

Trevor Sherman Hopes to Keep Training James Toney in MMA

Filed under: UFC

After a two-decade career as a professional boxer, James Toney looked like a fish out of water in his mixed martial arts debut on Saturday night, and UFC President Dana White said after Randy Couture overwhelmed Toney that the UFC was done experimenting with professional boxers.

But Trevor Sherman, the man who trained Toney for MMA, said he doesn't want Toney to quit the sport, even if he has to fight in a second-tier MMA promotion.

"I still love James," Sherman said. "I hope he doesn't stop doing MMA, and if the UFC does release him ... trust me -- there's plenty of interest."

Wanderlei Silva Recovering, Hoping for February Return vs. Leben or Belfort

Filed under: UFC, News

Wanderlei Silva's surgically repaired right knee is still healing, but it didn't stop the MMA legend from attending this past weekend's UFC 118, nor has it stopped him from dreaming big about the future.

Silva, who still has significant rehabilitation ahead of him, said that if all goes well, he hopes to be back competing in the octagon in February or March.

"I feel good," Silva said during UFC 118 weekend. "I had surgery and in the last year I've repaired my face and my knee. I want to fight six more years, until my 40s."

UFC 124: Georges St-Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck II to Take Place in Montreal

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming back to Montreal, and the event will be headlined by the most famous Canadian in the sport.

Georges St-Pierre's title defense against Josh Koscheck will take place on Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, UFC president Dana White confirmed with MMA Fighting Monday.

UFC 124 will happen at the end of the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which premieres on Spike TV on Sept. 15. St-Pierre and Koscheck will serve as opposing coaches on the show.

MMA Top 10 Lightweights: Edgar Is the Best, Maynard on His Heels

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Lightweights

No one can doubt Frankie Edgar anymore.

After Edgar beat B.J. Penn by unanimous decision in April, a lot of people believed that the fight was a fluke, that the judges erred, and that Penn was still the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. But now that Edgar has defeated Penn once again at UFC 118, there's no room for debate: Edgar is the undisputed champion.

Except that Edgar has one loss on his record, and that one loss is to Gray Maynard, who has been anointed the next challenger to Edgar's title. Maynard could make a case that he deserves to be considered the top fighter in the division, but unless he makes that case again in the cage, I'm sticking with Edgar at No. 1. The rest of the rankings are below.

B.J. Penn Can Make a Comeback, but Does He Want To?

Filed under: UFC

I don't know what's more troubling about B.J. Penn's most recent loss -- the fact that he posted a video to his website that sounded oddly like a precursor to a farewell the day after his defeat at UFC 118, or the fact that he hasn't been able to get too fired up about either of his losses to Frankie Edgar.

If it were anybody else, a little post-fight melancholy would be perfectly understandable. You lose your belt via narrow decision, then lose the immediate rematch by getting shut out five rounds to none, you're bound to be a little bummed.

But this is B.J. Penn we're talking about. He's been known to dabble in a conspiracy theory or two after a defeat, or turn his ire on the next unfortunate soul to get in the cage with him. He's the guy who Dana White once said would show up to your house every morning looking to fight if you somehow owned a win over him.

Now he gets beaten up and pushed around by a smaller, quicker fighter, and he can't even work up enough fire in the belly to demand a completely unreasonable third fight. What gives?

The MMA Wrap-Up: Post-UFC 118 Edition

Filed under: UFC

After an interesting night of fights in Boston, the MMA Wrap-Up returns to break down UFC 118 and ask, in its own whimsical style, will MMA fans finally recognize Frankie Edgar as the world's best lightweight after his domination of B.J. Penn?

You'd think that would be an easy question, since Edgar just won his second straight fight over the top-ranked 155-pounder. But if we've learned anything from message boards and comment sections, it's that nothing is ever that simple when dealing when Penn and his passionate fans.

Join me for that conversation, as well as a few obligatory shots at James Toney, in this week's post-UFC 118 MMA Wrap-Up.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 118

Filed under: UFC

The UFC's grand James Toney experiment is over, according to Dana White. Whether it was a success or not depends on the hypothesis you started with, but unless you happen to be Toney or one of his hype men, chances are you saw this coming.

But while this fight was undoubtedly a sideshow attraction from the very beginning, it did have some benefits. For one, it got some attention from the types of fans and media who might not otherwise have cared about this card. It seems a little doubtful that they all became instant converts upon seeing Gray Maynard lay on top of Kenny Florian, but who knows.

The important thing is that the opportunity to have a famous boxer compete on MMA's biggest stage finally presented itself, then refused to stop presenting itself, then mumbled some absurd, semi-coherent threats at everyone within earshot, and then the UFC finally made it happen. Now that we've done it, let's not do it again until we find someone willing to put in the work and take it seriously.

Now on to the big winners, losers, and everything in between from UFC 118.