L’évidence: Exhibit A – In a recent interview, Chris Weidman looks past (what is bound to be a momentous drubbing according to me crystal ball) to some mythical/imaginary face-off with Jon Jones. Sure, part of that is just promotional patchouli of the purest proof in an age where Conor McGregor comes out of nowhere to command major UFC bank and “go-blank-yo-momma” buy rates – a development which is catapulting the UFC into the frothy world of WWE-like promotions. But the real deeper reality is that Weidman is just unhinged at the prospect of facing Luke Rockhold in a fight which portends a beatdown as ruthless as the one Robbie Lawler gave Rory McDonald.
Instead of reading his actual press clippings, Chris Weidman is trying to make them up as he goes. Call it the McGregor effect.
Chris Weidman vs Luke-Rockhold & The Theater Of The (Promotional) Absurd – The belt is about to change hands in one of the bloodiest beatdowns this side of UFC 194 on December 12, 2015 .
I am not gonna waste ink on Weidman’s ruminations on Jon Jones because they are a sideshow of monumental proportions; Chris’ sleight of hand to basically distract himself from the monster growing & growling under his bed. The dubious thing this spiel is gonna do is just warp the minds of the gullible …… at least on paper. The lowdown? Some people gon’ lose them shirt on dis one ….. and it’s gon hurt ….. sez the King 😉
The stylistic matchup is a dual story told by a fool, full of sound and fury signifying little at this point. Summation: Luke sez everything Chris can do, he can do better and vice versa – so who you gon believe? Answer: Whomever you want, but the real answer may be lying somewhere within little tells & sells, and perhaps on judgement day, chance, circumstance and the pure luck of the draw. But short of that, Luke is carrying on like a man who has this fight in the bag and Chris Weidman at some level knows it but deceptively elects to carry on like the opposite is true.
This is BNSG, and you’ve just been treated to an absolutely gratis MMA tip.
What happened last night between Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya is enough to sour hard-core MMA heads who used to clutch the edge of sweat-drenched couches as David Tank Abbott, Frank Shamrock, Don Frye and Dan Severn barreled down ‘pon opponents in no-holds barred contests that left hearts aflutter and jaws on floors – the effect being the same whether one caught the fight live or off dog-eared VHS copies passed from fan to fervid van. This, damas y caballeros, was the primal effect of cage fighting as an adrenaline drug at near 100% proof.
UFC 248 twixt Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya (March 7, 2020, Dateline Las Vegas, NV) was anything but – but not because of Romero, not because of Romero, because Romero was not the talker for starters and besides, Romero will be Romero, just like Anderson Silva will be Anderson Silva, stage antics, boos and all. (REASONING: OGs who have crafted certain fight personas have the street and stage creds to be themselves, maintenance-man butt-cracks and all. Why? Because they have earned it, that’s why.)
Notice how this exception excludes new noobs like Israel Adesanya who ostensibly volunteer to fight flesh-n-blood monsters like Yoel and talk up a big game about slaying monsters and building unimpeachable creds and legacies and then fail to deliver promptly.
Fear of Being Street Mugged: Mark me words and bookmark this post; Israel Adesanya, or his pro and PR credibility rather, will never be the same after this fight. His image and machinations will, from now on, have an atavistic whiff of contrivance, artifice and disingenuousness – not exactly a headline making revelation in a sport which, like its sibling (boxing), thrives on asshollery, cant, sophistry, deception and marketing legerdemain, but it does bear mentioning in passing.
Yoel Romero is feared and renowned for having broken Weidman, Rockhold and Whittaker’s bodies. Israel pretended like this didn’t matter to him until his time came and he ran like a bladerunner, but not fast enough to not have his reputation and street creds broken – the same which on the street are valued more than blingy belts because “respeck” matters more.
Meal Tickets, Monster Blows and Monster Fears: The Israel Adesanya/Yoel Romero story at UFC 248 – This shot captures the Romero smoke that Adesanya wanted none of after that ominous exchange in the first round. But even before that Israel was as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof. He just wouldn’t advance or engage and when Romero advanced, Adesanya was seen to retreat and circle. In some ways, being challenged and buckling on a well lighted stage was worse for Adesanya than being knocked out for Adesanya, especially after all that trash talk. Bottomline is Israel became very, very afraid of being street mugged. Pic Copyright: Getty Images
UFC 248 and the Unblinking Eye of Twitter: UFC Super Fan cutting through the crap and telling it like is reference the fight between Israle Adesanya and Yoel Romero.
From Last Style Bender to Blade Runner: After the first blow that had a sub-orbital bruised, Israel Adesanya fought scarred, circling and circling like his life depended on it ….. because it actually did. Soon after the monster blow from Romero, Israel Adesanya figuratively swapped out his mouthpiece for his meal ticket, cheeked it like chew and never spat it out as he intently contemplated on not losing what he already had; a darn good meal ticket. Fuck that legacy shit! Boy needs to eat!
Last night (October 5, 2019) Israel Adesanya emerged as Anderson Silva 2.0 ….. or Jon Jones without the blems or conspicuous expiry date. If you squint your eyes, he is the young Cassius Clay/Mohammad Ali with a twist; a saucily self-absorbed ham, given to mirror-gazing-and-smoochin’, when he is not muggin’ n’ winking at secrets he dares not keep.
There is something profound going on here; the story of a slugger scaling the heights of Olympus while boxing shadows more real than goblins of his childhood imagination. In this un-fable, Israel is Icarus, looking for a soft landing. Time stamp and bookmark this one; you are gonna need it. (Incrucible.Net)
But for the record, Israel is probably the best thing to happen to the UFC, post-Fertitta brothers and the heyday of Anderson “The Spiderman” Silva. No hater-ade here; just straight-ade … no chaser.
After the initial hype, dash ‘n flash; and after UFC 236 and 243 it’s beyond dispute: Adesanya is a wily tactician who could probably kickbox his way out of an angry bar while dropping Ali-esque one-liners to floor jaws and make his competitors look like dodo birds.
From Louiville to Auckland, The Lip Rides Again: (Adesanya’s precocious patter ‘n chatter makes one look up and take immediate notice. But therein within that extra dash and flash; that extra sauce may be Adesanya’s weakness; his Achilles heel if you will; the need for a high wire act that projects grounded tone and tonality. This is actually harder than most people realize. People on the street call it keepin’ it real, and those in the rarefied environs of academe call it (in the argot cultural criticism) “projecting authenticity.”
Put another way, Adesanya’s pufferies and bloviations can come across as a bit over the top … and cloyingly so at times. Cue UFC 243 post-fight press conference as case in point and suss out unhealthy doses of Henry Cejudo and Conor McGregor within that saccharine mix …. rarely good associations, rarely a good associations.
And Now Concerning a Language, Not His Father’s Own (Read That English): On this topic, Israel really needs to reflect deeper than he has to date on his reflexive tendency to rib others for not being as fluent in a language, which, the last time I checked, was not his own, or his father’s and mother’s for that matter. I’ve witnessed two instances of this tendency, and I have cringed …. FOR HIM.
Historical Fact: Nigeria was colonized by Britain in the 19th Century which ushered in English’s as the official language. So the next time Adesanya blithely chides people for not speaking proper English or ribs Romero for being “so slow” in publicity pressers, he needs to remind himself where the language he confidently mimes came from. Ditto the uses it has been put to, including the laceration of the colonized which includes his father …. and himself by generational imprinting. Cue Frantz Fanon on metropolitan languages and natives’ inferiority complexes.
But That Said, Let Izzy Dance His Tight Arse Off, ROTFLM#AO!: Yep, the vogueing is A-OK – drawing, as it does, from a fount of “Roots and Culture” that is as deep as it is wide. Adesanya was born in Nigeria. And Nigerians are up there when it comes to novel forms of cultural fusion, appropriation and innovation cross-polinated to the nth degree. Yes, Nigerians are a wily and innovative bunch.
If (up to now) you still have no clue what I’m talking about, despair not; you are probably not alone. This micro-critique is infinitesimally calibrated for the sighted; moles and astigmatics need not apply.
Israel Adesanya: Too Much of a Good Thing or Lizzo of the Octagon? The over-the-top Adesanya appeals to the raucous WWE set of the post-McGregor/Ronda Rousy wasteland. But there is a downside to untrammeled exuberance as we have seen before. There is something profound going on here; the story of a slugger scaling the heights of Olympus while boxing shadows more real than goblins of his childhood imagination. In this un-fable, Israel is Icarus, looking for a soft landing. Time stamp and bookmark this one; you are gonna need it. Caption Copyright, Incrucible.Net, Photo Copyright, Steven Ryann Getty Images
Tone, Tonality: The Hardest Schtick of All. Hint, Hint: Usman Has A Better Handle on It – Those with sight and insight may have already intuited: Israel’s pronouncements have, among other things, elements of self-consciousness that hamper their penetrative quotient. They oft come across as studied or a bit over the top, and the residual effect is less than salutary.
The studied self-consciousness undermines Adesanya’s sense of unscripted authenticity while his exuberance gives off whiffs of contrivance. (Quoth: “I say a lot of things.” ) The exuberance comes across as slightly off kilter and overwrought. Conor Mcgregor, Henry Cejudo anyone? See UFC 243 post-fight presser.
Again as an off-handed comparo, put Usman side by side with Adesanya, and you will have a form of a measuring stick with which to measure apples with apples. One of them comes across as more grounded than the other. Guess which one and you’ll be up for honorary
Separate personalities? Well, yes, but that does not totally explain why one is exponentially that self-conscious, that fluffy. If you are not zeroing in on this, then you are missing out on vital clues, cues and tells.
Usman’s post fight presser is equally a good jumping-off point for a comparo of the twain.
The over-the-top Adesanya persona appeals to the raucous WWE-set of the post-McGregor/post-Honda Housey wasteland. (Colby Covington need not apply because he is a cartoon at the intersection of mockery and fakery masquerading as entertainment.
McGregor Myth sell-by-date: October 6, 2018 which coincides with UFC 229 and Conor McGregor’s fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov a.k.a. the Hail Mary of a Headhunter vs the Dagestani Grinder who Wrestled Bears for gym kicks as a child. Last time we checked Conor was no bear. “Conor McGregor is every bit the old Ronda Rousey (before the Holly Holm decapitation) minus the robotic vibes.” (Incrucible.Net) Photo Copyright: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The Sideshow Must Go On: You are gonna have to pan for them tells ‘coz McGregor ain’t gonna tell ya. Reason? The Conor McGregor Sideshow must go on. Put another way, Conor has few choices but to whistle through this graveyard that has closed in on him like a malodorous fog. He is gonna whistle through the graveyard the same way Chris Weidman did prior to UFC 194. But then, come to think of it, Weidman was telegraphing his own drubbing all over the place and we predicted it right here. McGregor is gonna be no exception.
Strategic Concession: Beyond the sophomoric-cum-high school jinks McGregor puts on, he is perfectly capable of sober risk assessment (which is something that, with the help of Dana White, has served him rather well in the UFC to date.) That side showed up just before his fight with Eddie Alvarez when one could hear McGregor tossing out phrases that could serve him well in case of a loss. It’s possible he might pull the same maneuvers here, cognizant of how his pop-cultural doppleganger, Ronda Rousey fell and did so on stage that was high and lifted up.
Ice-cold Tyron Woodley Throw-down to Conor McGregor: “I walk around at 202lbs. You fought featherweights in your life before.” Tyron Woodley dismissing presumption of a Conor McGregor Challenge, YouTube 6:48“
That’s the real story behind the story: the fact that Daniel Ryan Cormier, the undisputed winner of Johnson vs Cormier I, is hardly catching a break in terms of Las Vegas odds. Long story short: The public was not deceived by the outcome of the first fight twixt Cormier & Johnson. Explication: Daniel Cormier dodged a major, major bullet the first time around. This time (meaning the forthcoming UFC 206) he won’t be so lucky. That, damas y caballeros, is the story behind the story; and the “pick’em numbers”, -115 for both fighters by some odds maker reckonings, have been unflinching.
So this, in some sense, makes the fight an uninteresting contest – an overdue and almost tedious confirmation of what everyone (including quilt-knitting grandmas) knew. Which makes the way Cormier has been carrying on like, a nervous-joker, all the more understandable.
“Anthony knows what’s gonna happen. I know what’s gonna happen. The fans know what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna stand right in front of him. I’m gonna knock him out right in the middle of the Octagon. I’m proving a point. Anthony, you’re going down once again. Boom! Right hand, down goes Rumble.” Daniel Cormier
File the above under “Famous Last Words”. And while we are at this, go back to the video of Cormier announcing the forthcoming fight with Rumble. Pause. Now doesn’t he just sound like Weidman before he got his noggin knocked off by Rockhold last Christmas? (UFC 194). He does. Same frothy hoo-hah masquerading as courage. Don’t buy it unless you wanna live in the poor house. And whatever you do, don’t bet the family farm against Rumble on this one. Otherwise we are looking at another a snoozer which will not obscure the fact that Rumble is clearly the one who is in ascendance here.
The more interesting fight would have been Jon Jones vs Rumble, but Jonny Boney, as Eugene Robinson likes to call him, is clearly not in any hurry to face Rumble even though Daniel Cormier did him a big big favor by taking the fear factor off of him and thoroughly Buster Douglarizing him at UFC 187. The latter sounds almost obscene doesn’t it? But the stubbornly ascendant truth is that Cormier would not have had a snowball’s chance against Rumble had Rumble’s brass knuckles found its mark.
Cormier says he will stand with Rumble? Hah! Fat chance. And I doubt that Cormier’s Olympic grade thigh humpin’ will save him this time. And with the failure of Cormier’s magic wand, the curse of the heavweight division will come to light heavyweight. But even with Cormier’s loss, Jones debt to Cormier will remain because Jones was clearly unnerved by Rumble in the same way that he was unneverd by Cormier at the beginning of their rivalry. Yes, Jones was unnerved by Cormier until Cormier started yapping too much in the aftermath of their promo stage scrap.
Rumble Johnson vs Cormier II at UFC 206. Yawn.
Rumble vs Jones, if it happens in 2017, will be the real deal. The real barn burner even after all these months. Reason? Rumble speaks a language Jon Jones only aspires to in his dreams of churlish intimidation. (The fake scrap with Rumble in front of Dana was Jon’s idea …. and as much a way of minimizing his mis-step with Cormier as a way to manage his dis-ease with Rumble.)
Watch the odds of Cormier vs Rumble Johnson II come in tighter than a virgin’s ya-know-what. My name is BNSG and you have been treated to a free MMA tip.
Folks who are oohing-and-aahwing over Dominick Cruz’s win over T.J. Dillashaw at Fight Night Boston last night, need to ask themselves why. To wit, when did the ability to play dodge ball in the octagon define superiority in MMA? I mean seriously.
What I saw almost from start to finish was a glorified Ginger Rodgers routine, or Floyd Mayweather writ octagon. Seriously, when did that begin to define the pinnacle of MMA warrior-hood? Machida had 15 minutes of fame with that, but at least he had serious counter-punching chops that built up to some finishes. Which brings me to my other gripe about last night’s fight: Cruz should have finished that fight for his comeback romance story to have resonance. HE DID NOT. He was the returning legend. He did not live up to it. Weaving and bobbing and keeping one’s face free of blems doth not a warrior make.
With an underwhelming decision win over T.J. Dillashaw at Fight Night Boston on 01/18/16, did Dominick Cruz (known at Incrucible.Net as El Vez of the UFC) oversell himself? Compare Cruz’s cocksure spiel with Luke Rockhold’s ahead of his UFC 194 emphatic win over Weidman. Case closed. Pic: Hedges, Zuffa/LLC
Yes, he took T.J. down a few times, but as T.J. countered, he could not keep him down.
Yes, he caught T.J. with a few combinations and kicks, but at the end of the night, T.J. had more significant strikes and octagon control than Cruz ever had in that fight. Which brings up the other issue of what the muppett judges were scoring.
I called this in “Dominick Cruz win over T.J. Dillashaw: A romantic story dying to be told”: a decision win by either of the fighters would be deplorable – AND IT WAS. When the hoopla dies down and fans dump the adrenaline that clouded their faculties, they will realize that Dominick Cruz’s so-called-win is much less than the sum of its parts and his reign will either be short or inglorious. Think GSP when it comes to the latter.
This could have been a great comeback story if Dominick Cruz had put an exclamation point on it. It would have been great for the sport and great for the division.
Call it a truism …. or incontrovertible no-brainer; Weidman vs Rockhold is the real headliner of UFC 194, no ifs ands or buts. McGregor vs Aldo as a historic matchup is as shameless and egregious a case of inverted spectacle as any ….. the elevation of fluff over stuff, and froth over auth, all in the name of the almighty dollar, which is fine as far as that goes, but let’s not pretend to call it anything other than what it is, namely a Vince Mahonesque stunt.
If you don’t think Weidman vs Rockhold is the true headliner of UFC 194, you are no true fan of the sport. The McGregor part of McGregor vs Aldo, belongs in the pro wrestling world of Vince McMahon. Poster: UFC/Zuffa
To the contrary, Weidman vs Rockhold represents everything McGregor vs Aldo ain’t, that is an epic clash of muggers at the top of their game, to wit, the best MMA has to offer in the upper classes of the sport. Yes, I said sport and that word contains within its essence the burnish of spectacle and not the other way around which is ipso facto, the definition of inversion.
The ho-house aspect of the UFC will not end with Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo, not by a long shot, but it behooves true fans of the sport to call it like it is. So with that said, lets look at this card, starting from the top, which means Weidman vs Rockhold. Read the rest of this entry »
When Lyoto Machida is beaten, he mentally folds. Just like he did tonight against Luke Rockhold at UFC on Fox 15 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. (April 18, 2015). The end for “The Dragon” was clearly decided by the end of the first round ….. and just like it was in Lyoto’s loss to Jon Jones, he became totally indisposed/incapacitated or mentally folded. To his retrospective defense, Machida later disclosed that he was pretty much out of it by the end of the first round due to being clubbed on the head. Nothing to dispute that, really. The beating Machida took was brutal – almost as brutal as the one he took from Jones, which brings us the conclusion that Machida just can’t take much by way of beating. But he is not alone in this dept. Lesnar couldn’t either. And so it would appear at this juncture that the way Machida survived earlier in his career was most probably a function of not being matched with muggers ‘n sluggers who could contain his slippin’ ‘n slidin’ ways. Whichever way one looks at this, the result has been that in the case of Jon Jones and Luke Rockhold, Machida’s defences collapsed …… advertently or inadvertently, but with the same result: a traumatic loss. Note the bolded words for future reference.
The fight with John Jones showed a man who was physically and technically overmatched and when the beating started Machida left himself wide open to all sorts of technical exploits. But even then, the standing choke came as a bit of a surprise. Could he have been concussed and woozy as he said he was with Rockhold? It’s possible, but who really knows? Who really knows what the extent of the wooziness really was? There is nothing to definitively discount the possibility that Machida may have been looking for the most dignified way to exit the excruciating beating he was receiving. (Rampage did the same thing when Jon Jones was cracking his rib cage. Rampage’s choking appears to have been deliberately allowed by a veteran who just wanted the bruising fight to end. Go back and watch it if you doubt this.)
Machida’s fight with Rockhold saw a fighter who appears to have left his neck open for a rear naked choke for the same reason – but then again, he may have really been out as he says. Who really knows, but it is not insignificant that Joe Rogan commented that Machida appears to have left a left hand free to tap, instead of frantically trying to protect his neck. So at the end of this infinite loop, “how then shall we presume”?
“Once (Rockhold) got (Machida) to the ground, and that this is of course after the beating that Lyoto took in that first round ….. but once he got (Machida) to the ground, (Rockhold’s) control was perhaps his most impressive aspect of the fight. And then got (Machida) completely flattened out here. Look Lyoto is not using that left hand to defend. His is just thinking about tapping with it. Look how (Rockhold) has got it sunk in here. Machida is not grabbing (Luke’s) hands with his left or right hand. You know what that means. That means (Machida) was broken. He wasn’t just beaten, he was broken because he is not trying to defend with the left or the right. He basically just got strangled and was waiting for the moment it was appropriate to tap” (Joe Rogan, UFC Fight Night, Machida vs Rockhold II 02:31″)
It’s not as simple or easy a task by any stretch of the imagination, but some things stand out like a sore thumb, starting with:
“Draco Machida, Quo Vadis?” The beginning of the end for Lyoto after loss to Luke Rockhold at UFC on Fox 15 on April 18, 2015.
The real news of UFC 184 was not the 14 second stoppage of Cat Zingano by Ronda Rousey at UFC 184, but the UFC’s relative failure to find credible opponents for her following her first 4 consecutive UFC wins, atop 6 in Strikeforce and preceding promotions. And we are not even talking about the extreme chutzpah or cynicism of putting Rousey vs Zingano atop a PPV card following it being gutted by Chris Weidman’s injury.
Following Ronda Rousey’s UFC 184 Win Over Cat Zingano: The case for a superfight or 145 lb UFC women’s division (Pic: Jason Merritt, Getty Images)
Beth Correia? Naah. Not yet ready for Ronda Prime Time. Holly Holm? Definitely not at this point. The fact that Ronda Rousey called them out by name post-fight, pari passu disqualifies Beth & Holly from credible running. (Girl lookin’ for easy notches on her’n belt.)
“The women’s side is so weak. Who wants to watch Rousey win in 30 seconds or less all the time? It’s a joke. The sad fact is that Rousey is great because the rest of the field is so inept. It’s not her fault the rest of the field is that pathetic, but she really can’t be considered awesome until she is tested by adequate competition.” (Jacque, Yahoo Sports Reader/Commentator)
The Case for a Superfight or 145lb Division: Whatever Ronda does or says, remember she is a divisional carpetbagger from the 145 lb division; the same woman who was willing to give Gina Carano an exception at 145lbs. The talk about excluding challengers on the basis of past PED use no longer holds water. If Senor Vitor Belfort is still fightin’ & eatin’ in the UFC long after his reported brush with PEDs in PRIDE in 2006, why can’t a woman named Cris Justino Cyborg?
“As bad #$%$ as Ronda is, I think she is genuinely afraid of Cyborg. The excuse fanboys use that she is a champ and she doesn’t need to fight Cyborg because Cyborg used roids in the past is bogus. Henderson, Overeem, Belfort etc.. all used steroids in the past but champions still fight them. Weidman recently fought Belfort even though he accused Belfort of juicing. But Ronda doesn’t want any piece of Cyborg, even at a catch weight 140 with no title on the line.” (Sin, Yahoo Sports Reader/Commentator)
A case of desperation? Naah. Just practicality. Opening up a 145lb division or (superfight card) creates a space where credible challengers can be found. But that may not be what Ronda Rousey wants, because she wants to retire “undefeated”. But Ms. Rousey’s and the UFC’s designs may just have diverged at the point where unbroken records intersect with credibilty.
BNSG clearing him throat on dis one ……. Stay tuned.
The real story has nothing to do with Ronda Rousey or Cat Zingano per se because their story arcs are meeting at a point Cat Zingano has little to offer by way of overcoming what Ronda Rousey has built up at this point. The real story is how MMA fans get sucked into Pay Per View cards like this and into believing that an underdog like Cat could have a bankable chance against a technical favorite like Ronda. (Remember how the slow-startin’ Cat had an initial hard time against Amanda Nunes and Miesha “Cupcake” Tate?)
Cat & Mouse in Reverse: The search for competitive contenders @ UFC 184. Let the buyer beware of curated challengers. Ronda Rousey (left) & Cat Zingano (right) Pic: Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today
incrucible.net 