The Fighting Life Is Moving

That’s right. I officially engaged the services of a web designer, and now this blog is becoming something resembling a real website. You can check out the brand new version at thefightinglife.com right now. Is it basically the same thing that I’ve been doing for some time now? Yeah, but I [...]

Why I’m Eagerly Anticipating BET’s “Iron Ring”

Tonight, my friends, marks the premiere of BET’s foray into the world of mixed martial arts with their new show “Iron Ring”.  I could not be more excited.  Why?  Just take a look at this description of the show from BET’s official website:

An all-star line-up of celebrities, including Ludacris, Juelz Santana, Lil Jon, Nelly and [...]

Exclusive Kenny Florian Interview

I had a chance to talk with UFC lightweight contender Kenny Florian recently, and the full interview is now live on Cage Potato.  Florian is one of the smartest, most self-aware fighters that I’ve had the opportunity to interview, and his story is an interesting one.
Here’s an excerpt:
Reading past interviews with you, it seems like [...]

Roy Nelson Punches Me in the Face

It seemed like a good idea at the time.  During our pre-fight interviews before the IFL’s show in Las Vegas, we asked some fighters to demonstrate their favorite moves.  After a brief discussion, it was decided that I would the demonstration dummy for these.  It made for an interesting day, especially when Matt Horwich put [...]

Paulo Filho Goes to Rehab

First Paulo Filho pulled out of his rematch with Chael Sonnen, citing depression.  Then the WEC middleweight champion changed his mind and got back in.  Now he’s out again, and this time it may stick.  Filho has reportedly checked himself into rehab for a non-specific chemical dependency problem.  Hmmm.  Depression.  Huge muscles.  Trouble making weight.  [...]

The Transitive Property Fallacy

Yesterday, commenter Vrax brought up an interesting point in his response to my Fedor article.  He wrote that we have reason to believe that Randy Couture is better than Fedor Emelianenko based on Couture’s victory over Gonzaga, who defeated “Cro Cop”, who had gone to a fairly close decision against Fedor.
This, my friends, is what [...]

Living With The Fedor Backlash

Few men have caused so much trouble by doing so little. In the past year Fedor Emelianenko has sparked controversy and debate, provided the impetus for the creation of one new company and strained relationships within another, and all while barely maintaining an active career as a pro fighter.
We of the MMA media are [...]

Dana White Loves Analogies

Here’s a Dana White gem for you, from a recent interview with Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register. This is White’s response to a question about competitors in the MMA business:
“You come over to my house this weekend and we kick back and watch TV. We put on (expletive) NASCAR. We’re like, ‘Holy [...]

Fedor to M-1: I Just Need My Space Right Now

It was a whirlwind romance, but it seems the flame has burned out.  Fedor and M-1 are breaking up.  At least, that’s what one of Fedor’s agents, Apy Echteld, told ESPN’s Ryan Hockensmith.   Echteld claimed that an announcement was forthcoming in the next few days, and that Fedor would officially be a free agent.
It’s not [...]

Is Mark Coleman The Perfect Opponent For Brock Lesnar?

Let’s not kid ourselves, the UFC knows exactly what they’re trying to do with the recently announced Mark Coleman-Brock Lesnar bout.  They screwed up with Lesnar’s first opponent, and ended up paying the big man a quarter of a million dollars just to see him get submitted in the first round.  They aren’t going to [...]

The Secret Lives of Bonuses

Randy Couture’s parting shots at the UFC first put the spotlight on the organization’s bonus system, but a look at the disclosed fighter payroll for UFC 82 also tells an interesting story.  For example, take Chris Leben.  He recently signed a new deal with the UFC to up his show money and win money to [...]

Anderson Silva, How Could I Have Doubted Thee?

I take it all back. Anything I may have ever said to suggest that Anderson Silva is not the world’s pound-for-pound best fighter, I was wrong. I apologize. Anderson Silva, thou art an MMA god, and I shall put no other fighters before thee.
Okay, maybe I’m overreacting, but not by much. [...]

IFL Recap, UFC 82 Liveblogging

I’m finally home from Las Vegas and ready to gear up for UFC 82.  My flight was actually on time, and I sat behind comedian Dave Attell, who spent the five hours trying to be nice to two nosy old women who refused to let him watch his mini-Jet Blue television in peace.  Just witnessing [...]