Cagewriter Q and A with Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey

Cagewriter spoke with two of women's MMA's biggest names: Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate. Rousey will try to take the Strikeforce bantamweight belt from Tate on Mar. 3 in the main event in Columbus, Ohio. The two addressed the tension that led to their fight and women's role in MMA.

Cagewriter: There has been heat between you two, in tweets and articles. Did that make it an easy decision to take the fight?

Rousey: It was a no-brainer for me. She never wanted this fight. Originally she said she'd be down to fight me, but as soon as I called her out, she changed her tune real quick.

Tate: No. Someone asked me on Twitter, "Would you ever fight Ronda?" And I said, sure, if she ever makes the drop to 135 and works her way up, then of course.

Rousey: No, you did not say it like that. You said, "Sure! Why not?" and then you sent me a direct tweet saying, "Do you think you could make 135?" I took that as directly, "Do you want to come fight me at 135?" Not saying abstractly that at some time in the future that you might want to fight me under certain circumstances that you deem reasonable.

Tate: That's how I remember saying it. Basically, yeah. If she makes 135 then I'm not afraid to fight anyone. At that time, you were in my division and I was in mine. Like, if anyone asks if I'm going to fight Cyborg, if she makes 135. If you're in my division, then yes. I'll fight you. I'm not going to go to 145, but if you come down to 135, and the opportunity presents itself, then yeah. I'll fight you.

Rousey: I presented with my own opportunity to fight you. Sorry it wasn't on your time.

Tate: That's fine. I don't have any problems with that, and I don't have any problems fighting you.

Rousey: Really? Because I see a lot of articles that say the contrary.

Tate: Let me finish. Do I feel you're the No. 1 contender in our division? No. I feel that Sarah Kaufman had the rug pulled right out from under her feet. Not necessarily your fault, but she was promised the spot that you have right now. It was on national television, I had beat Marloes and they brought her in and said, "Hey you're the No. 1 contender. You're coming off two solid wins." And then you come in, 4-0 and never having fought in our division, and you run your mouth, you say, "I'm marketable," and this fight makes sense because I'm marketable, and you get it. That's fine. I'm going to fight you because that's my job. If they tell me to fight you, I'm going to shut up and do that. I don't care who I fight. But morally? Who do I think deserved it? Sarah Kaufman. We're going to fight.

Cagewriter: Women don't often headline cards. What does being the main event mean to you?

Miesha Tate: It's a huge opportunity. I think we're going to draw a lot of attention from people who haven't been paying attention to women's MMA, or MMA period. I think it's going to broaden our fanbase, and I'm excited for the opportunity. I'm glad that Strikeforce is confident enough to give us the main event.

Ronda Rousey: She said it pretty well. We're being given a good opportunity to be able to prove that women can draw a lot of eyes to the sport. The last time women headlined a show, it was Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg, and I think it was the second-most drawing show for Strikeforce. Being given another chance to show what the women can do and how they can appeal to the audience, it's a huge opportunity. Of course, we're going to put on the best show possible so that we can get these chances a little more often than every two years.

Cagewriter: Can women sell tickets the way men can?

Rousey: Of course they can. It's 2012, for crying out loud. To say that women shouldn't be able to go to war and be honored for serving in the military, or somehow say that it's inappropriate for them to fight, or people don't want to watch them fight, it's totally wrong. It's unfair, and it's sexist. I'm glad that Strikeforce is one of those organizations that takes a stand on this, and puts themselves behind women. We get equal rights.

Cagewriter: How do you respond to people who don't think women should fight?

Tate: I tell them not to be so sensitive! I think that it's silly. There are so many people that do support women's fighting that if someone is adamantly against it, I don't want to waste my time on that person. I'd rather spend my energy giving back to the people who support us than wasting my time arguing with someone on why we should get to do exactly what the men do. I mean, we have two arms, two legs, and we're capable. It's silly to say, with any sport, that a woman shouldn't be able to do it. MMA is no different than soccer or softball or volleyball. If the men can do it, the women sure as hell can do it, too.

We'll be able to sell tickets and draw people because women bring something different to the fights in that, we have that wow factor. People stereotype what we should do. A lot of people are shocked that we can get dressed up and wear make-up and high heels, and then get in the cage and mix it up. When it comes to entertainment, women always deliver.

Cagewriter: Is that a responsibility for female fighters? Do they need to be entertaining, no matter what?

Rousey: It's kind of unfair to the women. If someone's watching a women's fight, and it's a boring fight, then it's common for them to say, "Women's fights are boring." But, if I was watching a UFC fight and it was boring it, would be, "These two individuals are boring." People have a tendency to categorize women, so there is an added pressure to perform.

Tate: We get judged a lot more because we only get one shot on the card. If you notice with the men's fights, there are exciting fights and there are boring fights on every card. Usually, there are some that are exciting and end in a knockout, and others that get grinded out to a decision. For women, when we get our opportunity to showcase on television, it's usually just one fight. That's a lot of pressure on those individuals to represent the entire women's division. People will judge it based on one fight. That's a little bit harder, too, because we don't get the opportunities for mass exposure.

Cagewriter: Ronda, you had strong words for Cris Cyborg after she criticized Gina Carano. What prompted you to say that?

Rousey: If she had just said, "My next victim is Ronda, and that's it," I probably would have ignored it entirely. It was the fact that she really had disrespected Gina by taking a picture, after Cyborg had beaten her, and photoshopped it to make it look like she had beat her up more than she had, and then referred to Gina as her victim. I thought that was entirely insulting, and Cris Cyborg owes her entire career to Gina. No one would know who she was if it wasn't for her. That's what pissed me off the most. I thought, if you're going to stoop that low, then I'm going to give you a taste of your own medicine. I did not expect it to be favorited and retweeted hundreds of times, but it was one of my good ones!

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/cagewriter-q-miesha-tate-ronda-rousey-192050774.html

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

Guillard knows he can?t slip again tomorrow night on FX

Melvin Guillard doesn't want to go the way of George Sotiropoulos, Anthony Pettis and Evan Dunham.

Last year was a horror show for those guys. On the verge of getting a title shot, all three suffered a loss or two that sent that sent them tumbling down the lightweight ladder.

Guillard faces Jim Miller tomorrow night on FX (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), with both fighters facing the same fate if they lose - at least another year before they sniff a title shot.

Guillard (29-9-2, 10-5 UFC) was hot as a pistol before UFC 136 in October, but lost his shot at Frank Edgar with a 47 second submission loss at the hands of Joe Lauzon. He knows this Miller fight is make or break time.

"It was kinda dumb, but I am young enough to learn as long as realize the mistake. I made the mistake, it didn't just happen," Guilard said referencing the loss to Lauzon. "I know that but I also know I'm still one of the best fighters in the division. But I am ready for this fight with Miller. He's a top guy, maybe the No. 3 or No. 4 in the division, and if I perform like I can do, I think it will be hard for people to say that I didn't deserve a UFC title shot."

Guillard is managing the delicate balance between fighter under control, but not losing his explosiveness

"It's not going to affect my style of fight, just so you guys know. I'm still going to go in and be the fast, explosive kid that I am. But right now, I just want to stay focused and grounded," said Guillard.

Miller is no easy prey and he enters the fight with the same motivation. He's coming off a rough loss to Ben Henderson. Miller (20-3, 9-2 UFC) fought with a flawed strategy and got lit up by Henderson, who locked up a title shot with the victory.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/guillard-knows-t-slip-again-tomorrow-night-fx-183311796.html

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

Tony Hawk Foundation No Longer Supporting Pre-Fab Parks

The Tony Hawk Foundation announced today that they will no longer give grants to park projects made from wood, steel, polymer structures, or precast concrete featuring steel transition plates. This means only high quality concrete parks will be supported by the Tony Hawk Foundation. Get your grant applications in before the February 1, 2012 deadline.

no prefab parks

Source: http://theskateboardmag.com/blogs/templeton-elliott/2011/12/15/tony-hawk-foundation-no-longer-supporting-pre-fab-parks/

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

UFC 142?s Three Stars: Aldo, Barboza and Palhares

Brazil provided another picturesque setting for a UFC card dominated by Brazilian favorites. Even our Three Stars is filled with fighters from a country so important to MMA. Who are your Three Stars from UFC 142? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Jose Aldo: With a swift, well-deployed knee, Aldo showed again that he is the cream of the the featherweight crop. He then brought the celebration to the jubilant crowd in Rio de Janeiro, creating a memorable moment for every fan at UFC 142 and a headache for UFC security. Can you blame him for the euphoria? Starting with the WEC featherweight championship, Aldo has held his belt for 26 months and five title defenses. A man that dominant in his division is allowed to celebrate with his fans.

No. 2 star -- Edson Barboza: From his three previous fights in the UFC, we knew that Barboza was capable of debilitating kicks. No one -- particularly Terry Etim -- expected him to throw a spinning wheel kick, executed so perfectly that Etim was out well before he hit the canvas. He won both Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses for that performance, and something tells me that he's an early favorite for Knockout of the Year awards.

No. 3 star -- Rousimar Palhares: Any fighter preparing for Palhares knows that he is a heel hook master, with the majority of his submission wins coming that one hold. Mike Massenzio knew the heel hook was looming, but couldn't stay out of Palhares' grip. For submitting Massenzio in just over a minute, Palhares won Submission of the Night.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-142-three-stars-aldo-barboza-palhares-150507547.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

Erick Silva DQ puts need for instant replay front and center

Erick Silva rode a roller coaster of emotions at UFC 142. After taking out Carlo Prater in 29 seconds, Silva celebrated with the loud, Brazilian crowd. He was brought down to reality when he was informed by referee Mario Yamasaki that the blows Silva used to knock out Prater were deemed illegal. Though a replay showed that the blows hit the sides of Prater's head, not the restricted area on the the back of the head, Silva had been disqualified.

The UFC confirmed that Silva did receive his win bonus and it's unlikely that this loss will stunt his career's trajectory, but it didn't need to be a loss. Yamasaki admitted when talking to UFC commentator Joe Rogan that he had to make the decision in the moment.

"I have to decide right there and then. There's nothing I can do," Yamasaki said.

In that moment, there was nothing Yamasaki could do. Instant replay does not have a place in MMA. Though he watched the replay on a giant screen just moments after the fight ended, the bout was decided.

With the technology already in place for referees to use instant replay, there is no good reason for MMA not to use it. Instant replay is used in other major sports. Though it isn't always perfect, it gives referees confidence on making calls.

Like in other sports, strict parameters of when it should be used would need to be put in place. For example, it does not make sense to use instant replay to decide if a fighter was truly knocked out or not because of the difficulties in restarting a stopped bout. But in the case of a disqualification, instant replay can and should be used.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/erick-silva-dq-puts-instant-replay-front-center-163905590.html

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

Gina Carano?s ?Haywire? opening to very good reviews

The chances Gina Carano returns to get punched in the grill anytime soon gets slimmer and slimmer by the second with the release of her new movie "Haywire."

[Yahoo! speaks with Gina Carano about Haywire]

The L.A. Times wrote glowingly about the performance by the former "face of women's mixed martial arts."

[...] watching Carano kick, spin, flip, choke, crack and crush the fiercest of foes ? mostly men about twice her size ? is thoroughly entertaining, highly amusing and frankly somewhat awe-inspiring.

That's something MMA fans have been entertained by for years, but to hear a non-fan that impressed, has to make Carano feel pretty good. It's certainly going to make a huge impression on folks looking to include the fighter in future projects.

The film critic Betsey Sharkey says the movie isn't Steven Soderbergh's best effort - she lists "Traffic" - but says Haywire is far from his worst. She also hints strongly that Carano has future beyond on-screen kicks and submissions.

There is a sense within all the haywire high jinks that Carano might be able to do just fine with a role that didn't rest so heavily on fighting (though stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell proved a genius in choreographing all those tumbling rumbles). Her athleticism gives her movement a kind of force that translates powerfully on screen ? people do seem inclined to get out of her way even when she's not angry.

Carano, the daughter of former NFL quarterback Glenn Carano, took up Muay Thai in her teens. She fought professionally in MMA eight times. She hasn't fought since losing back in aug. of 2009 to Cristiane Santos. Chances are she never will again if Haywire continues to get reviews like this.

The Vancouver Sun also liked the film. So did the Washington Times, AP, L.A. Weekly, and Rolling Stone invoked the name of Alfred Hitchcock. The U.K.'s Guardian found it a bit boring beyond the fighting scenes.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/gina-carano-haywire-opening-very-good-reviews-040425047.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander