MMA Fighting: All Posts by Josh Alper

Rampage Jackson Is Having a Really, Really Bad Week

2008-07-17T15:35:00Z

Things are not looking up for former UFC light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson. Days after leading police on a chase following a hit and run in Orange County, Jackson's been picked up by police once again.

TMZ.com is reporting that a police car was waved down in Irvine by people who said that Jackson, staying nearby, was acting weird. The cops entered the house, saw Jackson and then removed him from the premises. He wasn't arrested, according to the report, but deemed a danger to himself and others. He was taken to a hospital for observation.

This obviously calls Jackson's mental state following his loss to Forrest Griffin into further question. Depression, substance abuse or a hundred other potential ways it is manifesting itself is best left for professionals to decide but I hope Jackson's getting whatever help he needs.

More on Rampage Jackson's Terrible Week
Rampage Jackson Goes on a Rampage
Update On the Fallout From Rampage Jackson's Arrest
Will Rampage Jackson's Arrest Hurt the Sport of Mixed Martial Arts?

Will Rampage Jackson's Arrest Hurt the Sport of Mixed Martial Arts?

2008-07-16T19:30:00Z

Rampage Jackson's arrest has garnered as much, if not more, coverage than any one of Jackson's fights inside the Octagon. There are plenty of people who probably barely knew Jackson's name before who now associate it with lawlessness. That's not a good thing for Jackson's image, obviously, but does it have the same effect on the sport?

MMA has been growing steadily and battling a stigma of being barbaric all the while. A high-profile arrest is sure to cement a negative opinion into some people's minds but could it go beyond that? MMAPayout.com addressed that issue earlier today.

When an MMA fighter finds himself in trouble with the law, the immediate reaction of just about everyone in the community is to ask "how badly will this hurt MMA?"

Truth be told, Rampage's incident won't. Not really.

I agree with that take. People who already disliked the sport will have more fuel for their fire but it's hard to see too many fans being turned off by one bad incident. People didn't stop watching the NFL because of Pacman Jones, after all, and his actions were a lot more malicious than anything Jackson did in Orange County.

The people that like the sport will still watch it and the people that don't will continue to rail against it. When you take a look at the ratings for UFC this weekend, I'd be surprised if there was any change because Jackson got arrested.

Does The Last Pre-Arrest Interview With Rampage Jackson Hold Any Clues?

2008-07-16T14:55:00Z

The hardest thing to figure out about Rampage Jackson's arrest yesterday is what caused him to make such a dreadful decision after getting into a car accident. It's always dangerous to play armchair psychiatrist, especially when you don't hold a psychiatry degree (armchair or otherwise), but we can try to parse a video from Monday for a clue to his mental state.

Throwdown.com spoke with Jackson about how he was feeling after losing to Forrest Griffin by decision on July 5th. I'll give my gut reactions below as it's a long video but well worth watching if you've got the time.

Jackson certainly seems down about the loss but that's about it. Not too different than any other fighter who suffered a loss, in fact. It would be easy to say he seems depressed, I guess, but without yesterday's antics I don't think anyone would draw that conclusion.

Update On the Fallout From Rampage Jackson's Arrest

2008-07-16T14:40:00Z

There's a raft of information following Rampage Jackson's arrest in Orange County yesterday, little of which sheds light on what was going on with Jackson when he decided to lead police on a car chase after being involved in an accident. He's out on bail, posted by Dana White, and, according to MMAjunkie.com, there's no indication that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the arrest.

TMZ.com is reporting that Jackson was deemed "medically unfit" for booking after the arrest, which would seem to contradict his being out on bail as that would follow his booking. Five Ounces of Pain checked with some local hospitals and found that Jackson hasn't turned up as a patient, although medical privacy laws may keep such information under wraps.

Finally, while it's too early to speculate on just how Jackson's case will be prosecuted, Bloody Elbow has done some checking into the California Penal Codes and found that none of the initial charges carry much in the way of jail time. My biggest concern, as a MMA fan, is Jackson's mental state. I was eager to see how he bounced back from a controversial loss, which is now the least of his concerns, and am now just hopeful that Jackson can navigate all of these troubles without digging a deeper hole for himself.

Rampage Jackson Goes on a Rampage

2008-07-15T22:50:00Z

It hasn't been the best month for Rampage Jackson. He lost his UFC light heavyweight title to Forrest Griffin in a questionable decision on July 5th. Adding to that insult is an incident in Los Angeles this afternoon which may throw his chances at an immediate rematch into some doubt.

TMZ.com is reporting that Jackson was arrested earlier today after leading police in a chase away from the scene of a hit-and-run accident near Newport Beach, California. When they finally caught up with him he was charged with a felony for the original accident and another one for resisting arrest. The Daily Pilot adds reckless driving to the list, noting that Jackson hit another car during his aborted getaway.

The kicker to the whole story is that even if he got away from the police, Jackson's efforts were almost certainly for naught. As you can see above, the car he was driving was a monster truck emblazoned with a huge picture of himself on the side. It wouldn't take Columbo to solve that crime.

Can Tim Sylvia Beat Fedor Emelianenko on Saturday Night?

2008-07-15T20:55:00Z

Given Fedor Emelianenko's stature in the MMA world, he's getting most of the attention during the run-up to Saturday night's Affliction main event against Tim Sylvia. Fedor is such a heavy favorite that it's easy to forget that Sylvia is a pretty accomplished heavyweight in his own right. He's big, experienced and well schooled but will those things be enough for him to pull off the upset?

You could waste a couple of hours discussing Fedor's strengths as a fighter so it's probably easier to try and pinpoint weaknesses that Sylvia can exploit on Saturday. Sam Caplan of Five Ounces of Pain brings up the problems Emelianenko has had defending against takedowns and jabs in the past. Sylvia isn't great at the former but he's a strong jabber who could take advantage of his reach to keep Fedor off his body.

The other thing slanting in Sylvia's favor is the recent experience of both fighters. As great as Emelianenko is, he hasn't fought the same caliber of competition that Sylvia's faced over the past couple of years. Of course Sylvia's lost to a few of those fighters but rust can be a tough thing to overcome. It's also worth noting that one of the guys who beat Sylvia, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, lost to Emelianenko both times they fought to a conclusive finish.

There's a chance for Sylvia to win on Saturday but he'll probably need the fight of his life. That could happen. If it does, it would likely be one of the most memorable fights in MMA history.

Arkansas MMA Fans Get Duped by Sacha Baron Cohen

2008-07-08T22:10:00Z

During a scene in his movie Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen succeeded in making an arena full of rodeo enthusiasts very, very angry at him. It appears that he pulled the same trick twice more in Arkansas in April for his next movie and, once again, succeeded in getting the desired reaction.

The film, about his gay Austrian character Bruno, filmed at two arenas full of fans who came for a night of MMA action and $1 beers. What they got was two actors who put on a display a little different than what you get when you purchase a UFC pay-per-view. From The Smoking Gun, via Deadspin:

Both cards ended with two male grapplers (one was identified as "Straight Dave" and wore camouflage) tearing each other's clothes off and, while in underwear, kissing down their opponent's chest.

The crowd was less than thrilled by the turn of events.

"It set the crowd off lobbing beers," Holland said. "They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually." Holland said it took officers about 45 minutes to clear the convention center, as the two actors sprinted away through a specially set-aside tunnel.

Whether their reaction was caused by the cheap suds, homophobia or false advertising of a MMA show, I'm guessing it was exactly what Cohen wanted for his film.

Floyd Mayweather Really Doesn't Sound Like a Guy Who Is Staying Retired

2008-07-08T16:35:00Z

When Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement from the boxing ring, it wasn't hard to see him switching gears and making a return. He's a boxer, never a group known for keeping their word, he's "retired" before and a marketable name. The sport doesn't have so many of those and someone was surely going to offer enough cash to at least make him think twice about staying on the sideline.

It's getting even harder to believe that Mayweather is finished. His comments about HBO announcers would seem to burn bridges but I don't see it that way. He's telling HBO that if they want to televise his return to the ring, they'd be well advised to change their broadcast to one that suits him better. That's just part of the reason why it feels like we'll see Mayweather in gloves again. He premiered a documentary about himself at a party in Grand Rapids. It included the following soundbite.

"Oscar De La Hoya, (expletive) you and (expletive) everything you stand for. I don't like you, you don't like me."

Mayweather's retirement eliminated the chance at a rematch between them this fall but it's hard to see that comment as closing the door for good. De La Hoya-Mayweather is still the biggest money fight in the boxing world and fanning the flames will only make for a bigger pile of cash. The man's nickname is "Money" and boxing is going to be the best way he can keep getting it.

(H/T Larry Brown Sports)