MMA Beatdown is a weekly look at everything MMA, running Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m ET/5:30 PT, right here on MMADieHards.com and the MMA DieHards Radio Network.
Join your hosts Mike, Brian and Amy as they break down the latest fight cards, discuss upcoming events and give their unabridged opinions on all things related to MMA.
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Ever been smacked in the face with awesomesauce? No? Well guess what? It’s about to happen. Tonight’s edition of MMA Beatdown Radio is so star-studded, there really aren’t words for it. You’d have to invent a new word to describe it. And we her at the DieHards Radio Network aren’t in the business of inventing words. We’re in the business of producing awesomesauce for your ears every Tuesday night.
This week, Mike, Alex and Amy are joined by three of the biggest names in mixed martial arts, even though one of them is in the sport’s smallest weight class. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, Thiago “Pit Bull” Alves” and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal all stop by the show to get you clued in on what’s new with them.
Johnson is about to take his lightning-fast game Down Under, and into the flyweight division for the first time, to boot. After a unanimous decision loss to bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz in October, Johnson is dropping to 125 pounds and is one of four fighters getting read to duke it out in Sydney next week for a chance at the UFC’s first flyweight belt.
DJ will be joined in Australia by Alves, who headlines the UFC on FX show when he meets fellow welterweight contender Martin Kampmann. It’s been a bit of an up-and-down stretch for the American Top Team standout, but he’ll talk about getting back on track with a first-round submission at UFC 138 in November and his thoughts on Kampmann – whose two losses in his last five fights have been highly controversial decisions that many believe he won.
And King Mo catches up with Amy about his recent positive test, his upcoming commission hearing in Nevada and a potentially life-threatening staph infection that had him in the hospital – and why it just plain sucks to travel with all the antibiotics he’s on to beat the thing back.
The show streams live here at MMADiehards.com at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, 5:30 Pacific. Can’t be here with us live? Well, you’re not going to be quite as cool as the kids who ARE here live. But you can get back in our good graces on the flipside. The show will be available on demand RIGHT HERE after the completion of the broadcast or as a download at iTunes.
Everyone needs a break every now and again, right? So here at MMA Beatdown Radio on the DieHards Radio Network, we’re callin’ in our vacation card this week. But hey – what better way for us to say we love you, on Valentine’s Day 2012, than with a look back at some classic Beatdown moments of the past?
This week, we dive into the archives to relive some great moments with some of the greatest on-mike voices in mixed martial arts: Stephen Quadros, Bas Rutten and Lenne Hardt. If you missed any of the three of them the first time around, we’ve got your back, yo. And if you loved them so much the first time you wished you could rewind them back, now’s your chance.
The show streams here at MMADiehards.com at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 PT. If you miss the broadcast, you can catch it on demand RIGHT HERE after the completion of the broadcast or as a download at iTunes.
Brian Ebersole enjoys his victory at UFC 133. (photo: Hector Castro/MMADieHards.com)
Taking the scenic route to the UFC, Brian Ebersole may have moved to Australia, but is ready to jump on the opportunity to come back home.
Known for travelling the globe to satisfy the hunger of his training camps, Ebersole (twitter: @TwasEbersole) grew up in Bradly, Illinois, but currently calls Australia his home. While the move may have been a distant one, the American has compiled an astonishing 49-14-1 record throughout his 12 years as a professional.
Travelling with a ten fight win streak, Ebersole has won his first three fights with the UFC; over notables, Chris Lytle, Dennis Hallman and Claude Patrick.
“I’m not sure that people thought I was going to perform this well when I got here,” Ebersole told MMA Beatdown on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “So, it is what it is, I didn’t take a conventional path here; I moved off the radar to Australia for a little while and kept winning fights on the other side of the world. I just kept getting better when I was there so then I got my shot and everything has gone to plan so far.”
At the age of 31, Ebersole has the resume of a retiree, but still has the fire to make a move within the welterweight division. Understanding that health is the biggest factor that prevents a fighter from fighting, Ebersole takes the opportunities as the UFC offers them – before it’s too late.
“I do want to finish somewhere near the top and have a chance to crack into that top five,” Ebersole admitted. “The whole title shot thing eludes a lot of people and I don’t know how long I want to chase that stuff to be honest; I’m getting up there in age. Maybe not in number, but in sport with over 70-something fights and a career of wrestling that dates back to 1985.
“But whatever they throw at me is going to be looked at quite fair and you can’t really turn down an opportunity, which is what the UFC offers.”
Making hid inaugural entrance into the UFC on short notice at UFC 127, Ebersole amused fans as he bared a chest full of hair in the shape of an arrow pointing upwards towards his chin. Using the reverse psychology worked that night against Lytle, and assists in Ebersole having never experienced a TKO loss in his entire career.
In fact, he has only suffered four black eyes.
“It started out with me being a bit cocky with one of my fights,” Ebersole said. “I was fighting a kickboxer and I didn’t really respect his wrestling because I was able to view him in competition. So the day of the fight I shaved the goatee and the arrow, where the goatee was the target and the arrow was the hint. I choked the fellow out in the first round quite early. That little bit of cockiness turned into confidence and ever since then my hair has kind of been in play.”
While the hairstyle may appear to help the journeyman, his work ethic and dedication to training is what really makes the difference. As with most fighters, Ebersole coaches and trains other fighters in order to make his dream of fighting a reality.
With coaching being the main reason why he has stayed on the other side of the world so long, Ebersole admits that sustainability plays a huge part in his decision.
“Coaching was a part of the big reason as to why I stayed in Australia as long as I did,” said Ebersole. “The coaching thing, I will continue to do as long as it can sustain me and I’ll fight until the wheels fall off, but we can’t do it forever and I’m sure I’ll live the rest of my life in a gym after the UFC.”
The question is, where will this gym be?
Ebersole has trained all over the world in different combative arts, but when it comes down to it, he is a wrestler at heart. Knowing there are countries that have great wrestling programs, they don’t have the people he is looking for.
“I’ve trained all over the world,” stated Ebersole. “I’ve been able to do some very unique styles of wrestling over the years in different countries and Thai boxing in Thailand. I’ve been around some of the best countries for sports, but I would like to get around some of the best people in my root sport, which is wrestling. So, we’ll see what will happen with the U.S. thing, seeing that is where I’m from and where I’m comfortable.”
Whether Ebersole chooses Australia or the United States for his place of residence, he can call the UFC home for now.
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This week on the DieHards Radio Network, Mike, Amy and Alex Donno (790 AM The Ticket in Miami) will be joined by UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic and will recap UFC 143: Condit vs. Diaz.
Miocic, a relative newcomer to the UFC, faces Philip De Fries on what is to be UFC’s debut FUELtv card, 2/15 in Omaha, NE.
MMA Beatdown will also take a look back at UFC 143 – most notably the Carlos Condit vs Nick Diaz bout.
The show streams live here at MMADiehards.com at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 PT. If you miss the live broadcast, you can catch it on the flipside. It’ll be available on demand RIGHT HERE after the completion of the broadcast or as a download at iTunes.
Last week’s show was so good with guests Mike Dolce and Sean McCorkle that we almost didn’t even bother having a show this week. Seriously. It’s gonna be hard to top. But it’s Tuesday, and that means MMA Beatdown Radio resets its weekly clock and tries to raise the bar one more time. This week on the DieHards Radio Network, Mike an Amy are joined by Brian Ebersole and, well … a superhero named “Wonderboy.”
Ebersole (49-14-1) gives the show a buzz, and we don’t mean the kind he hears while shaving his chest hair into an arrow. It took the Midwest native more than 60 fights to get to the UFC, but once he got to the Big Show he’s been all business, going 3-0 last year with a Fight of the Night bonus – and a special bonus for finishing Dennis Hallman in the first round to get his bikini trunks off the broadcast faster, Dana White said. We’ll talk to the Australia resident about what’s next for him after his win over Claude Patrick last month – and whether he thinks he can land a coaching spot on a proposed Australian edition of “The Ultimate Fighter.” And let’s be honest – the chest hair thing is probably gonna come up.
Stephen Thompson (5-0) makes his UFC debut on Saturday at UFC 143 in Las Vegas. The “Wonderboy” is going to give us an introduction about just what makes him so wonderful, and the South Carolina-based welterweight will walk us through the stellar amateur kickboxing career – reportedly 56-0 with 39 knockouts – that made him the Wonderboy he is today … a Wonderboy about to introduce himself to mainstream MMA fans against Daniel Stittgen.
The show streams live here atMMADiehards.com at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 PT. If you miss the live broadcast, well dude – chill. Take a deep breath. Relax. Everything’s gonna be all right. The show will be available on demand RIGHT HERE after the completion of the broadcast or as a download at iTunes.
CLICK HERE TO CHAT LIVE DURING THE BROADCAST
Admit it. You’ve been bad. Real bad. And you deserve a good ol’ fashioned beatin’. Guess who’s gonna provide it? Yeah. MMA Beatdown Radio, that’s who. The B-to-the-D is back for another star-studded episode. This week on the DieHards Radio Network, Mike, Amy and Alex Donno (790 AM The Ticket in Miami) will be joined by Sean McCorkle and Mike Dolce.
The gang will catch up with former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle (13-2), who has won three straight fights since his release from the UFC nearly a year ago. “Big Sexy” will talk about his upcoming super heavyweight fight for North American Allied Fight Series on Saturday in West Virginia, plus his fight on Bellator’s season-opening show in March a couple hours north of his Indianapolis home in Hammond, Ind.
Dolce has carved out arguably the most unique niche in mixed martial arts. And in the process, he’s become just about the busiest man in the sport, too. “The Dolce Diet” has become synonymous with the man behind it, who has helped clients like Thiago Alves go from brutal weight cuts – and brutal missed weights – to worry-free Fridays. Dolce is fresh off a big win for big client Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 in Brazil – ironically against Anthony Johnson, who had perhaps the most epic missed weight in UFC history. Dolce will talk about what’s next for him this week in Chicago and beyond, plus he’ll help steer us regular folk in the right direction on his Living Lean program.
The show streams live here at MMADiehards.com at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 PT. If you miss the live broadcast, you can catch it on the flipside. It’ll be available on demand RIGHT HERE after the completion of the broadcast or as a download at iTunes.
Joe "Leonidas" Henle
Some people may wonder why Joe Henle fights, but his colleagues support him, and so do fellow mixed martial artists.
Henle (twitter: @leonidasmma) started fighting professionally in 2009 and after going undefeated through his first three tests, he secured a position on Team Liddell for the eleventh season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’
Though, he never competed in the organization, Henle continued his career as a mixed martial artist and compiled an overall record of 5-0-1. His only blemish is a draw against Collin Heart at Tachi Palace Fights 6 in 2010.
With a headlining bout quickly approaching for the California Fight Syndicate, Saturday, against Pro Buhawe product, Mike “El Palo Duro” Moreno, Henle has yet to forget the days of ‘TUF.’
“It was funny actually,” Henle said to MMA Beatdown on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “As Nick Ring got hurt, everybody else was also injured, but me and Court (McGee). James Hammortree- who ended up getting the fight- a couple of days before went to the hospital because he hurt his back in practice. So for me, I thought that I was the literally the only one left by default and I was amped and ready to do it.”
Thinking that he had the spot locked up, Henle did not feel the need to aggressively pursue the match because the simple process of elimination equated in his favor.
But this was not the case.
This was the pivotal point on the show when a lot of people witnessed UFC president Dana White make one of his split decision calls that will usually have someone up in arms; unfortunately, this time it was “Leonidas”.
“I saw Hammortree leave,” said Henle. “Then literally two seconds later I saw Dana walk back in the house saying that, ‘If this kid wants it, he is going to get it.’ My jaw dropped and I literally had nothing. I wanted to scream, I wanted to punch him in the face and I had absolutely no idea of what to say at that point.”
While spectators at home only had a little taste of how Henle felt about the situation, producers happened to edit out the two hours of raging exposed by the housemate. Fortunately, 45 minutes on a bike in a sauna helped cool down the California native.
One of the benefits of partaking in ‘TUF’ was that it put another relatively unknown fighter’s face on the market. This eventually led to when Henle was picked up at a UFC expo to help Mark Munoz train for his bout against Yushin Okami.
Since that time, Munoz’ Team Reign has been home to Henle. Knowing that he can stylistically match up well with any fighter other than division one wrestler, who are generally difficult to beat, Henle is ready to scrap it out with Moreno.
“Mike is very talented,” Henle admitted. “He has good wrestling and his jiu-jitsu looks on point, so it is not going to be a walk-through fight by any means. I feel like he is a good opponent, it is going to be a really fun fight and I’m really looking forward to it. I watched a couple of his fights and he likes to bring it and scrap, so I’m totally down to scrap and it’s going to be a good one.”
Henle’s fight will be taking place under a local banner that has only been promoting fights since 2010, but “Leonidas” is content with the organization.
“The California Fight Syndicate is a good promotion that when they first started, used guys out of our gym,” Henle said. “Jesse Newell, who fought Diego (Brandao) to get on this last season of ‘TUF’, was their headliner for their first three events I believe and I’ve fought for them once. It was really fun, they took care of me really well, and it was just that they went on hiatus for a little bit, but I kind of expect that from smaller promotions.”
When not fighting, Henle splits his time as a high school substitute teacher while coaching wrestling and football. Building a good relationship with his students has helped earn his respect as their coach and teacher, which has helped to minimize the ‘wigging out’ of students when they learn of his extracurricular activities.
In turn, parents and administrative colleagues have started to support Coach Henle in his efforts. While some may not understand why he has chosen this path, Henle is quick to try to alter the way that they look at the sport.
“When we were doing viewing parties,” said Henle. “Administrative people were showing up and hanging out, so I get a lot of support. I think that a lot of administrative people and a lot of parents don’t just see me as some thug running around hitting people. I have an MBA in financial planning, I have my bachelors, I have all of my schooling, I have a brain and I can speak well. People more or less give me the benefit of the doubt on that and just wonder why I fight.”
UFC Middleweight contender, Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera
With retirement on the horizon, Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera does not have a closed mind on what is to come.
“El Conquistador” (twitter: @Jorge_Conquista) has entertained fight fans for the last ten years and in the process collected a respectable 19-9 record. Looking to hang up the gloves within the next 12 months, Rivera looks to start this year opposite to how 2011 ended.
On the UFC’s official inaugural Fox Entertainment Group (FEG) event, UFC on FX 1, Rivera has been selected to face 13 year fight veteran, Eric Schafer.
In preparing for the special occasion, Rivera has his training in line and does not feel any added pressure for the televised event.
“Everything is going and well, thank you,” Rivera said to MMA Beatdown on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “It has been a good camp as usual, working with the same people, so it’s going well. I actually enjoy being the first fight of the night because in the back you know exactly when you’re going to go on, how long you need to warm up and its pre-set, so it’s easy to prepare for it.”
Schafer first made his appearance in a UFC Octagon back in 2006 at UFC 62. Since then, he has had eight fights with the organization over the last six years, compiling a 3-5 record.
In Schafer’s most recent attempt at making a name for himself in the UFC, he faced Aaron Simpson at UFC 136 in October. As with his two previous outings with the promotion, the Milwaukee based fighter fell short, losing the fight via unanimous decision.
Not being the type of man to spill the beans, Rivera did give a synopsis of his upcoming opponent.
“He’s bigger then I am,” Rivera admitted. “He’s a tough guy, he is durable, and a decent ground game so it should be a good fight.”
Coming into the fight, Rivera will have lost his last two consecutive fights and is going to be flirting with the proverbial three strikes, you are out myth that haunts UFC stablemates. Not looking to be a victim of three in a row, Rivera understands that winning is the bottom line.
“It is not something that I try to think about,” Rivera said. “I just focus on going in there, doing my job and winning the fight. Losing sucks, so no one likes to lose and losing two in a row is a horrible feeling so I can imagine that three would be worse. You always want to win, that’s’ the bottom line.”
Throughout “El Conquistador’s” illustrious ten year career, it was no bright path as he had to fight the likes of former UFC champion Rich Franklin, 68-fight veteran Dennis Hallman and most recently, one of the top middleweight contenders in the UFC, Michael Bisping.
One of the most memorable fights from Rivera’s resume is one that he remembers vividly with the current UFC middleweight champion, Anders Silva. Even back then, he knew that there was something special.
“It was April 30, 2005,” Rivera remembered. “It was an honor to fight him and back then I knew that he was that good. I watched him in Pride and knew that he was an outstanding fighter and that he came from a good camp. He was a monster in the cage and a huge element outside the cage; it was a pleasure to meet him and get to know him. It was a humbling defeat, but I enjoyed it; it was a good time.”
Making his inaugural appearance with the UFC at the age of 30, Rivera has spent the majority of the last eight years committed to the organization. With 14 fights registered within the premier MMA promotion, added to the fact that he is turning 40 years young on Feb. 24, the season four “TUF” veteran is still taking things one fight at a time, but already knows what lies ahead.
“I’ll be turning 40 this year so this will be my last year doing this,” announced Rivera. “You can only do this for so long and I’m extremely grateful to God, Zuffa and everyone at the UFC that I’ve been able to do it this long. I’m grateful for it, I’ve enjoyed my time, had a lot of fun, but this is going to be the last year I’m doing this.”
While Rivera is preparing to step away from the cage as a professional fighter, he is not entirely going to leave the sport behind. Setting himself up for life after the cage, Rivera has created Rivera Athletic Center in Milford, Massachusetts where they concentrate on incorporating mixed martial arts training with strength and conditioning training.
Rivera may have his immediate goals set on retiring and teaching, but when it comes down to it, money changes everything.
“For now, yes,” Rivera said. “But I’m always open to something that is going to make more money, so I’m open to all different things.”
Pat Miletich is straying from a life consumed with mixed martial arts for a regular life, sort of.
While he may be in a different phase of his career, Miletich (twitter: @patmiletich) has climbed many branches of the MMA tree. Being a practitioner, coach, entrepreneur, professional, mentor, and now commentator, “The Croatian Sensation” continues to leave his mark on the sport he loves.
Given Miletich’s existence in MMA spans over two decades, concluding his best experiences in the sport is a difficult decision.
“I would say that throughout different times in my life, I had different goals,” Miletich said on MMA Beatdown Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “There was one time when it was fighting and during my fighting career I was coaching a lot; I really enjoyed that also.”
However, something else has caught the MMA journeyman’s eye.
“Now, obviously doing commentary, calling the action is the most fun I’ve had in my career in terms of making a living,” Miletich admitted. “But I also enjoy interacting with all the people involved with the sport. There are a lot of great people involved with the sport, so it is pretty cool.”
Being a part of the Strikeforce broadcast team, Miletich has the privilege of working with the likes of Mauro Ranallo, Stephen Quadros, and Frank Shamrock. It is common to hear arguments between veteran fighters Miletich and Shamrock sporadically arise, but it is the play-by-play commentators that really grab his attention.
“I get along with all the guys,” confirmed the color commentator. “But I find the play-by-play guys intriguing actually; Mike Goldberg, (Mike) Schiavello and Mauro Ranallo. Guys like that have to be high intensity and pretty intelligent guys to do their job. So, I actually like observing and listening to those guys because they have to quarterback the whole broadcast, so it’s pretty cool.”
Having the professional pestering of Ranallo at Miletich’s side helped in honing the skills necessary to become a successful broadcaster. Understanding that each member of the broadcast team has a role, Miletich knows how to finish what Ranallo started.
When it comes to commentating, he may be in the right hands taking advice from his Canadian counterpart, but if politics are the topic of discussion, Miletich is sure to point out the where the similarities stop between nations.
“They start for a million different reasons, but they happen all the time,” Miletich said. “However, I’m always able to end the discussion abruptly with, ‘listen dude, you’re Canadian and part of your tax dollars go to the Queen of England.’ So I point out to him that is was 230 years ago that we kicked England’s ass and told them that we weren’t going to pay their taxes anymore and he’s 230 years behind us. But that is all in good fun and we all get along very well.”
As typical with politics, people don’t always see eye-to-eye, and that stays true amongst mixed martial artists. Miletich’s political opinion classed with former UFC heavyweight No. 1 contender Jeff Monson and spilled over into the Twitter realm.
“You know what?,” Miletich questioned. “I’m not exactly sure how it all got started. I think that it got started when I was making fun of him for spray painting anarchy symbols on the pillars of the state capital building with one of the major sports magazines taking pictures of him. Jeff and I see the same way on certain subjects also, but I just think that he is confused being an anarchist which is almost the extreme version of capitalism where everybody is on their own and there is no government.”
The founder of the Miletich Fighting System has taken a step away from daily grind of being a professional mixed martial artist, but he has not completely turned his back on the sport.
Miletich said that he is fine with just hanging out at his gym, giving pointers to fighters, doing cross fit work outs and grabbing a hold of the odd guy to grapple when in the mood.
However, there is one person that Miletich will never turn away if called upon to prepare for battle.
“Matt Hughes,” Miletich quickly stated. “When he called me I went down to Hillsborough to train with him B.J. Penn and those guys for his fight with (Josh) Koscheck. There aren’t many guys out there that if they asked me, I would just pick up and leave home to go do that.”
The life of leaving home to train may be behind him, but Miletich travels to millions of viewers’ homes to coach fans on mixed martial arts, sort of.
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It’s time to celebrate again. Why? Because it’s Tuesday. That doesn’t mean we’re pumped for another episode of “NCIS.” And it sure doesn’t mean we’re gonna be tuning in to “Celebrity Wife Swap.” It means MMA Beatdown Radio is back, and it’s ready to go five rounds. This week on the MMA DieHards Radio Network, Mike, Amy and Alex Donno from 790 AM The Ticket in Miami are joined by MMA legend Pat Miletich and UFC middleweight Jorge Rivera.
Miletich can be considered nothing short of a founding father of the sport of mixed martial arts. Training out of a small gym in Bettendorf, Iowa, Miletich started his career 22-1-2, winning the UFC lightweight tournament at UFC 16, then the welterweight title at the UFC’s first event in Brazil in 1998. He would go on to defend the belt four times. As a trainer, his Miletich Fighting Systems helped mold the likes of Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn and Spencer Fisher, to name just a few. Now a successful color commentator for Showtime’s Strikeforce events, Miletich will join us to recap Saturday’s Strikeforce card, look ahead to this week’s UFC 142 return to Brazil and fill us in on what occupies his time now that fighting and training have taken a backseat.
After a three-fight winning streak in the UFC that included knockouts of Nate Quarry and Rob Kimmons, Rivera has a crucial fight coming up in Nashville next week. Rivera will meet Eric Schafter at the UFC on FX card, and he’ll be looking to snap a two-fight skid. Rivera will take us inside his training camp for the Schafer fight, talk about being one of the UFC’s elder statesmen – his promotional debut was in 2003 at UFC 44 – and maybe even regale us with some memories of his Cage Rage fight against Anderson Silva in London almost seven years ago.
The show streams live right here at MMADiehards.com at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 PT. If you miss the live broadcast, don’t fret! You can catch it on demand RIGHT HERE after the completion of the broadcast, or as a download at iTunes.
