(One of these two men is still telling this story.)
What do you do when you’re an over-the-hill fighter who has repeatedly refused to take the dignified route to retirement? Apparently you challenge another over-the-hill fighter who you faced a couple of times back when you were both still relevant to the sport. That’s the only possible explanation for why Ken Shamrock thinks it’s a good idea to call out Royce Gracie like it’s 1995 all over again:
The second time I beat him in every aspect of the fight; in fact his corner had to carry him out. Fans have been calling for a rematch ever since. After this particular fight Royce left the UFC. As a matter of fact I ran the entire Gracie family out of the UFC. His talk is cheap. Let’s settle it in the cage. I heard Royce agree to a rematch three times now, every time he has come up with a reason not to fight me. Royce and my brother Frank should get together and write a book about how to set up fights and not fight.
At least Shamrock’s smack-talking skills haven’t atrophied at the same rate as his physical ones. Where this statement goes from being the typical crazy Shamrock banter to being completely out of touch with reality is when Shamrock claims that “fans have been calling for a rematch ever since.”
Really? Fans want to see a rematch of the thirty-six minute stallfest that ended in a draw? What fans? Where do they live? Could they accurately be described as fully functioning adults?
Fightlinker claims to think it’s a good idea as long as they do it in Japan with extended rounds. If the fight does happen, it had better not be in a place with an athletic commission, and any time you admit that you could only put on a fight in a place where there is no official oversight, aren’t you basically admitting that it’s a fight that is not athletically meaningful?
The eight greatest MMA fighters who have never won a championship or major tournament…
8. Gilbert Yvel (32-12-1)
There are two reasons “The Hurricane” hasn’t risen to the lofty heights of champion: his lackluster ground game and his ridiculous temper. Yvel has undeniable knockout power, particularly in his kicks and flying knees, and 28 of his 32 wins have come via KO/TKO. On the other hand, a quarter of his 12 losses came from well-deserved DQ’s. If he could have gotten out of his own way, this guy could have been on top of the world.
7. Yushin Okami (22-4)
Okami had a good shot to win Rumble on the Rock’s 175-pound tourney in 2006. As you’ll recall, he was staggered by an illegal kick from Anderson Silva in the first round, picking up a DQ win that allowed him to continue on to fight Jake Shields. But Shields beat Thunder in a decision (and ended up winning the whole thing), and Okami’s title hope disappeared. Now in the UFC, Okami is a top contender for the middleweight title — but good luck getting past the division’s undisputed ruler.
6. Jeremy “Gumby” Horn (79-17-5)
Although he has logged an impressive record in over 100 pro fights — beating guys like Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Josh Burkman, Dean Lister, “The Hurricane,” David Loiseau, and Vernon White — “Gumby” has never won the big one. He had two chances to pick up a title (UFC 17 vs. Frank Shamrock for the middleweight crown and UFC 54 in a rematch with Liddell for the light heavy belt), but was stopped both times.
(Emmanuel Yarborough probably won’t make the list.)
Attention, Potato Nation: We’re looking to put together a massive, ambitious feature on the greatest MMA fights of all time, and we need your help with the nominations. Now, what makes for a truly great fight? Well, if it’s…
…a non-stop war where two evenly matched fighters leave their hearts on the mat (see: Frye vs. Takayama, Griffin vs. Bonnar 1).
…a match where one fighter is getting his ass handed to him but comes back to steal a victory (see Minotauro Nogueira vs. Sapp, or Nogueira vs. a lot of people, for that matter).
…a fight that settles a genuine grudge or rivalry (see: Royce Gracie vs. Sakuraba 2, Liddell vs. Ortiz 1).
Interviews like these are the reason why YouTube is great. Michael Dudikoff, of American Ninja fame (if you can call it fame) was apparently at the opening of one of the new Gracie Jiu Jitsu schools and did an interview with ProElite.com. The following is the interview:
First of all, Michael Dudikoff isn’t even a B-list celebrity anymore. Why is he being interviewed? Second of all, he seems really salty about Royce’s decision not to include him in the family tree. Third of all, he looks pretty damn cracked out. This isn’t the Michael Dudikoff I idolized as a child. American Ninja my ass.
I would pay hard cash to see Royce make an ass out of Dudikoff on television.
His reason for not appealing? Not because he believes he’s guilty, but basically because he’s too cheap to pay for a lawyer. Perhaps Royce isn’t saving enough on his car insurance so he figures he’ll save money on his legal bills, even at the expense of his reputation.
Here’s a quote from Royce in Hunt’s report:
“I did not appeal the decision because I have been in Spain for the last 1 ½ [months] on vacation with my family, and for me to appeal, I would have to get a lawyer, and then get some experts to run tests and then get more experts to argue with their experts, or I can just pay $2500 fine, and sit out for one year,” Gracie wrote. “Well, I fight once a year anyway and it’s much cheaper to pay $2500 in fine then $10,000 retainer to attorney’s alone. As for my fans, those who believe me, believe me anyway, and those who don’t, does not matter what I do, or what I say, they will not believe anyway.”
So Royce, you mean to tell me that your precious reputation isn’t worth it?
What if Gracie's illegal substance was the reason for the victory in the first place? Is that fair to Sakuraba? Should the win be changed to a 'no decision"?
On June 2, Royce Gracie defeated Kazushi Sakuraba by unanimous decision. The victory was without controversy as Sherdog.com scored the fight 29-28 in favor of Sakuraba giving the "Gracie killer" two of the fights three rounds. So the fight was far from a blow out.
Yesterday, MMAweekly and Sherdog.com reported that Royce Gracie tested positive for the anabolic steroid Nandrolone Metabolite and has been suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.
Now, turn back the clock to February 24, 2007, Nick Diaz gains an upset victory over PRIDE champ Takanor Gomi. Shortly after we find out that Nick Diaz tested positive for Marijuana.
The Neveda Athletic Commission, in an unprecedented move, suspended Diaz and took his victory away by scoring the fight a "no decision." The following controversy led the commission to announce, during the appeal, that Diaz had enough of the banned substance in his system to help him gain the victory.
In other words, Nick Diaz was able to sustain a broken orbital bone because he had so much of the drug in his system. So the commission decided that Diaz's offense actually had (most likely) an impact on outcome of the match. How? Well, if he didn't use it, Gomi's eye breaking punch could have ended the match.
Now, we go back to the Gracie vs. Sakuraba fight; seeing how other independent professionals saw the fight going the other way, isn't it safe to that the steroids that Royce took could have aided him to victory?
The answer to that question doesn't have to me definite. I realize that it is physically impossible to say that the drug did help for sure, but based on the Diaz vs. Gomi decision, I say a "no decision" is in order.
---I have to admit, I'm all for stronger penalties for those who violate the drug polocy, but what do you think?
---UFC 72 preview will be posted this afternoon!
---Of course, Royce is innocent until proven guilty and has proclaimed his innocence. So, stay tuned.
If you are interested in trading links or just want to contact me feel free to throw me a line: ufcfightblog@yahoo.com
I have to be honest, I'd have expected Mike Goldberg to be caught taking roids before Royce. I always thought he was a little bit of a jerk, but a steroid user? What? I think I need to sit down.
This comes straight from the MMA bible, MMAweekly: HERE
