Cyborg-Akano Fight in Jeopardy; UPDATE: Fight Is Reportedly Back on After Initial Cancellation
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 12:39 AM EDT
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Dave Meltzer reports at Figure Four Online:
The fight between Cris Cyborg and Hitomi Akano scheduled for tomorrow's Strikeforce show is up in the air…
However, Akano's side refused to accept the fight, because Cyborg's weight being more than 145 pounds violated the contract. Akano, by weighing in under 145 (at 143.5) had fulfilled her end and thus would be getting her contracted money whether she fought or not. However, there is still ongoing discussion to rectify the situation and come to an agreement with Akano's side. The fight was thought to be dead at 8:30 p.m., but negotiations have continued and nothing is yet final.
I honestly have a hard time believing this fight won't happen. I think they'll just have to pay Akano more to take it. It would be a shame to lose this fight too, but who could blame Akano for not wanting to fight someone so much bigger than her.
Update: Greg Savage reports the fight is off at Sherdog:
Strikeforce officials and the two fighters’ camps negotiated to try and keep the bout in play on Friday night, but to no avail.
Akano’s manager, Shu Hirata, told Sherdog.com that the promotion offered to pay Akano her win bonus regardless of the fight’s outcome, along with two more bouts guaranteed on her contract.
Hirata said Akano’s decision was about more than the money though.
"Gina [Carano] never makes weight, but they make everybody fight. It's not fair," said Hirata. "I think it’s really about time that we have to set the precedent that you should really make the weight."
This is a shocking and disappointing turn of events. Many fans were excited to see Cyborg fight, and from the promotional side this fight was intended to build to a return for Gina Carano.
I completely understand the principle behind the decision, but I question her management. This was always going to be a tough fight for Akano, everyone knew it was a setup for her to get knocked out. To turn down that money and probably guarantee she is never asked back to Strikeforce just to stand up for a principle is a big sacrifice. Or is it? The fact that they sat there negotiating for hours over money suggests to me that they wanted more and Strikeforce wouldn't pay it.
I don't know what Akano's pay or bonus schedule is, but if she's on some kind of 5/5 contract then the offer wasn't really that much. I suppose we'll find out more in the days to come.
Update 2 from Brent Brookhouse:
A featured women’s bout between Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Hitomi Akano is now back on the line-up at Strikeforce "Shamrock vs. Diaz" this Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
....
"I don’t really want to say what the deal is but I think that, let’s put it this way [her] gym will have a much better relationship with Strikeforce than just one fighter," said Coker.
"All I can say is that Strikeforce and Mr. Coker offered her something very reasonable and we appreciate his effort as well," said Hirata at the conclusion of negotiations at 2 a.m. PST. "Of course as a fighter she always wants to fight but she wanted to get the right conditions to make that happen, that’s all."
"We felt that maybe fans and [the] public should know what really happened, and by her fighting it relayed more of a message to the public and also gives her credit for having the heart of a warrior, because she will step in even though it is a big disadvantage now," stated Akano’s manager. "I asked Mr. Coker to do that and he promised it will be addressed on the broadcast and I think it’s important to tell the story behind it."
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its time for strikeforce to pay up!
"I’m not going to stop yelling because that would mean, I lost the fight!"-Kenny Powers
I hate to be THAT guy, but...
I could care less about this fight or Womens MMA in general. Good riddance.
I’m just not in to womens athletics. They deserve all the respect for what they do, and should have a venue to do it. But I don’t care to see it. Whenever someone from the outside challenges MMA as a “brutal” sport, all of us are quick to defend it as a martial art, and these are world class athletes, and there is a respect among fighters, etc. But the bottom line is that it is a very brutal sport, and I despise seeing women act tough, and even worse, seeing them get punched or kneed in the face.
Ok I don’t enjoy most women’s athletics like most people, I can understand that. There are a few women’s sports like women’s tennis, volleyball, and gymnastics, however, that are very entertaining and most people enjoy them.
I feel like women’s MMA is similar. There are many female fighters that are excellent at jiu jitsu and kickboxing and you have to respect their skills. Women naturally have much more amazing flexibility giving them great potential for crazy ground fights and stand up fights full of kicks. Also, the matches are usually exciting and action packed. They really put it all out there because they know they still are earning their respect in the sport.
And after all what is better in this world than two hot girls beating each other up
by EazyEismydad on Apr 11, 2009 2:22 AM EDT up reply actions
Agreed that it can be a very brutal sport. I’m just trying to understand where you are coming from on this.
You say you “despise seeing women act tough”. That leads me to believe that you have a notion of how women should act? How would this be? Or why do you despise this act?
As for the second part of that particular statement “even worse, seeing them get punched or kneed in the face” is this because you feel it necessary to protect them and that they shouldn’t be harmed? Why is it okay for you to see a guy punched/kneed but not a girl?
I’ve heard similar things before, and I’m just trying to understand this perspective.
I agree, not to sound sexist, but womens’ MMA is disgusting to me. I could lie and say that I dont mind it, but the truth of the matter is that I wont watch it. There is nothing less attractive than women fighting. I really have no reason or explination why I feel this way, but the bottom line is that I do. Women fighting just doesnt sit right . Seeing a woman get the shit kicked out of her is not entertaining to me, while on the other hand 2 men beating the shit out of each other is awesome. Dont know why my brain feels that way, but it does. Women can fight if they want to, but I sure wont watch.
by GroundNPound561 on Apr 11, 2009 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions
While I like Women's MMA, I found that it is useless to try and convince people who don't like
It is a person’s personal preference not to like something, and that has to be respected. If you don’t like something, then you simply don’t like something. Let the female fighters do the convincing through their work because it is a losing battle to try to convince people through message boards. I like Women’s MMA, but that does not mean that others have to.
Do you really care about any women MMA fighter not named Carano or Cyborg? No.
by Dropkick434 on Apr 11, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Back up buddy.
Yes.
I sure as hell do care about Women’s MMA besides Carano or Cyborg. In fact I can’t stand Carano, but she’s an integral part of women’s MMA right now so I have to keep up with what she’s doing. She’s a great fighter and is just a natural at it from what she’s indicated in her interviews. She’s kind of like the BJ Penn of women’s MMA.
Cyborg is a beast, and I want to see her fight Carano because it would be a helluva a fight. I’m also one of those folks that wants to see Carano beat again. I want to see women’s MMA develop past Carano instead of resting on her shoulders like it is now.
There’s a crap ton of talent out there but some of it needs to be developed. Tate is a good fighter, but her upcoming fight isn’t going to do a whole lot her nurturing her career. Then you’ve got Megumi Fujii who is ridiculously awesome. Katilyn Young has potential, Kobold can grow. But then there’s tons of girls in lower leagues across the nation training to get up to that level and get a break. But there is so little coverage in it for women it’s really hard to get anywhere. Not to mention a lot of promotions that have had female fights keep falling apart. Also, then there’s Dana White who isn’t hardly interested in women’s MMA which also puts a damper on things.
Watch this video and tell me that you don’t care about female fighters aside from Carano and Cyborg. I defy you.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 11, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed.
Women in general are lightyears behind men in most forms of athletics, let alone MMA. I am yet to see a female fighter who can actually fight. The fights are slower, weaker, incredibly boring and uninteresting. I just don’t see what the appeal is.
by cauliflower_ears on Apr 11, 2009 8:00 AM EDT up reply actions
i dont know what fights are you seeing..
but the women fights i see are really fast paced and not boring..
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2009 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions
Fast paced ? At times. Skillful? Hardly. After watching the best male fighters for so many years, watching two women going at it seems pale is comparison.
Then again, I find it hard to appreciate women’s tennis, basketball, soccer etc. The word “weak” comes to mind. The skill level is several notches below their male counterparts.
Since I train it mma myself , it becomes hard for me to appreciate any fight that is sub par.
by cauliflower_ears on Apr 11, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions
she already gets her money either way.. she shouldn’t fight cyborg..
a fighter naturally competing at 135, already agreed to face a much bigger fighter, then cyborg comes in at 7 pounds over.. that’s just unfair right there..
go home, take the money, and avoid the beating, no one can fault her for that.
That would be well and good if fighters didn’t get such a large percentage of their income from sponsors, who probably want to see their logos on the fighter in the cage fighting.
This is always a shitty situation for a fighter. Take a fight at an extreme disadvantage (weight) or pass up the opportunity to win and the money that comes along with it.
They really need to be more strict about stuff like this, when someone is missing by 7 pounds, they know about it well before the weigh in, if it’s not a title match, let everyone know so the other person can save the trouble of cutting all the way down.
well in this case akano isn’t cutting at all.. she used to be a champ at 128 and plans on fighting at 135.. she already bulked up for this but cyborg isn’t professional enough to even stay close to the weight limit.
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2009 3:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Surely her camp is just trying to get Coker to cough up more money to get her to fight.
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 1:49 AM EDT up reply actions
Cyborg was already going to be so much bigger than her, then not make weight? Akano should cancel it and send a message to all other fighters: you fail weight, you’re fucked.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 11, 2009 1:24 AM EDT reply actions
Silver lining: If it gets cancelled, Luke Rockhold vs. Buck Meredith is a worthy fight to put on the telecast.
Really?
What should we be expecting? I don’t know jack about either of them.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 11, 2009 1:46 AM EDT up reply actions
Rockhold has a nice mix of wrestling and BJJ, I would peg him as one of Strikeforce’s better prospects. I’m not sure what to expect from Meredith, he hasn’t fought in almost three years, but his fight finder is pretty weird. A win over Schoenaur, and his only losses coming to Yuki Sasaki and Alan Belcher.
Thanks.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 11, 2009 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions
This is comparable to failing a drug test. You knew it was coming, why did you fail?
Spinning out solid gold, like Rumpelstiltskin.
by Heenan on Apr 11, 2009 1:27 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
If she’s 7 lbs over now, I wonder how much more will she weigh by fight time.
Yeah, who got the final Death Blow? 'Cause I thought that Hawaiian guy had it comin' to him. - C. K.
by monkeyfightclub! on Apr 11, 2009 2:02 AM EDT reply actions
The best thing to do, if you even can, is to get a new fighter who isn’t already jumping up a weight class to come in last minute to fight Cyborg.
Can’t lose her from the card, but you also can’t let this fight happen. At this point Akano is almost two weight classes down from Santos, and she would still be a big underdog even if they were the same size.
The total public beating of Akano is not a good thing for Women’s MMA right now
Actually, the only thing that matters at all for women’s MMA right now is doing a Gina-Cyborg match on CBS. This match not happening jeopardizes everything.
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 2:32 AM EDT up reply actions
well they better put the limit at 149 or 150 there..
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2009 2:43 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s very weird, didn’t Cyborg make 140 in Stockton last year? Now she comes in at 152?
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 2:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Bout is Off
Akano (14-5), who weighed in at 143.5 pounds at the official weigh-ins on Friday, withdrew from the fight after her Chute Boxe opponent failed to make her contracted weight of 145 pounds.
Strikeforce officials and the two fighters’ camps negotiated to try and keep the bout in play on Friday night, but to no avail.
Akano’s manager, Shu Hirata, told Sherdog.com that the promotion offered to pay Akano her win bonus regardless of the fight’s outcome, along with two more bouts guaranteed on her contract.
Hirata said Akano’s decision was about more than the money though.
"Gina [Carano] never makes weight, but they make everybody fight. It’s not fair," said Hirata. "I think it’s really about time that we have to set the precedent that you should really make the weight."
I will play my game beneath the spin light.
Absurd Meridian
by Eugene Schelfaut on Apr 11, 2009 3:07 AM EDT reply actions
this is actually good news.. maybe the 2 stars would start taking it seriously.
this is the quote that i liked best:
"[Santos] knew that she has to make 146 three months ago," said Hirata. "So she hopped on the scale hoping the Japanese [fighter] would take the fight; just because, you know, usually [the] Japanese [fighter] doesn’t walk away from a fight. So I think they took advantage of [that]."
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2009 3:13 AM EDT up reply actions
You seriously are buying into this principle stuff? They sat there negotiating for hours over money, Strikeforce didn’t offer enough and now they’re dressing it up in principle. A bonus and 2 fight payments isn’t much when your salary isn’t high to begin with. People are going to treat her like this super-principled idol now, but it’s not the case.
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 3:17 AM EDT up reply actions
well the principle and the fact that she didn't want to get her face bashed in was probably the biggest reason..
If i was her, i’d also take the cash and leave.. She can get other fights in other organizations if she wanted to.
and sure, if strikeforce offered her a bigger wad of money other than just the win bonus, she’d probably still fight.. but at least, maybe, by her doing this, they’d actually make weight next time..
that’s what is important for me.. i could care less if she would fight for a bigger amount of money or not..
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2009 3:22 AM EDT up reply actions
There’s not that many organizations for women though. She still feasibly could walk and fight elsewhere, but it’s a bit limited.
I’m glad that Akano fought it a bit, it’s BS that Cyborg doesn’t appear to have attempted to cut weight. I hope Akano got a really sweet deal.
Akano could have fight for Strikeforce again. If I remember correctly, she already had a multi-fight deal.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 11, 2009 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s not always an either/or. You can stick to your principles and get paid at the same time.
by bignerd on Apr 11, 2009 3:36 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Looks like Cyborg took classes from Carano about cutting weight…
This is effing ridiculous. Like Hirata said, Carano – and, it seems, Cyborg too – get all kinds of breaks only because of who they are. It’s not like they didn’t know the weight limit well in advance.
For money or for principle, Akano did the right thing.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Apr 11, 2009 3:19 AM EDT reply actions
hey at least gina made weight after stripping down..
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2009 3:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Against Kelly Kobold, yeah she did, eventually. Against Caitlin Young she didn’t.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Apr 11, 2009 6:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Rome, I disagree that Akano was put in there to be knocked out, there are far better candidates for that sort of thing. Akano is no joke, she was just the underdog in this fight. But I guess that’s neither here nor there now.
There were any number of credible girls at Cyborg’s weight, they picked a 135’er for this in hope Cyborg would overpower her and get a big showcase win to go on to fight Gina. Maybe you think they picked wrong, and you may be right. But that was the goal, make it legit enough for no outcry but one-sided enough to promote their next big fight.
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 3:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Woops.
I will play my game beneath the spin light.
Absurd Meridian
by Eugene Schelfaut on Apr 11, 2009 3:42 AM EDT reply actions
Good to see someone finally saying ‘no’ when it comes to this bullshit. It’s just too bad that it wasn’t one of Gina’s opponents to do it.
Why is it too bad it happened to Cyborg and not Gina?
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 4:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Because Gina comes in overweight more often, and this is nothing if not poetic justice?
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 11, 2009 4:27 AM EDT up reply actions
My guess is people wish this happened to Gina because their whole story of this covergirl getting special treatment when she’s overweight has blown up in their face now that the hero they planned on rooting on to take her down did the same thing.
by Michael Rome on Apr 11, 2009 4:51 AM EDT up reply actions
I actually wished it happened to Gina because she’s missed weight more often (and more often than not, given she’s only made weight for three out of her seven fights). I really don’t care if Cyborg beats her or not as I really don’t care for either of them. Moreover, as absurd as Cyborg coming in this much overweight is, it really doesn’t come close to the absurdity of not making weight for over half the fights in your career.
by ilostmydog on Apr 11, 2009 5:09 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
The fight is back on peoples!
from sherdog:
A featured women’s bout between Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Hitomi Akano is now back on the line-up at Strikeforce "Shamrock vs. Diaz" this Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
"I don’t really want to say what the deal is but I think that, let’s put it this way [her] gym will have a much better relationship with Strikeforce than just one fighter," said Coker.
"All I can say is that Strikeforce and Mr. Coker offered her something very reasonable and we appreciate his effort as well," said Hirata at the conclusion of negotiations at 2 a.m. PST. "Of course as a fighter she always wants to fight but she wanted to get the right conditions to make that happen, that’s all."
"We felt that maybe fans and [the] public should know what really happened, and by her fighting it relayed more of a message to the public and also gives her credit for having the heart of a warrior, because she will step in even though it is a big disadvantage now," stated Akano’s manager. "I asked Mr. Coker to do that and he promised it will be addressed on the broadcast and I think it’s important to tell the story behind it."
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 11, 2009 7:22 AM EDT up reply actions
CSAC threatened Akano's lisence.
"Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment."
-Lao Tzu
If she weighed in at 158 at midnight, that’s some crap.
I usually don’t have a problem with people rehydrating and getting big after the weigh in, but I have a problem when the person didn’t even come close to making the weight in the first place. If I was the manager I would have said the fight was off if Cyborg was over 155 tonight, if she was able to get to 145 yesterday then over 155 today that’s fine, but when the starting point is 7 pounds higher than it’s supposed to be, that’s some shit.
Uhm, so she isn’t allowed to fight hydrated? That’s extremely dangerous and stupid. She didn’t try? She put back 7.5 lbs of water weight back on in a few hours. I’m sure she’s going to put back more before the fight.
I’m not saying that the missed weight isn’t a big deal that Santos shouldn’t be responsible for. I’m glad her opponent is holding her responsible. Problems apparently is from much further back than the weight cut even started. Making a fight that you can’t make weight on, or gaining to much weight in training for the fight (weight training).
I’m not sure I was clear about the not trying part. That over 7 lbs of water that she quickly put back on had to have come off first. If she weighed less than 155 lbs after rehydrating then I would agree with the idea that she didn’t even try to cut weight.
That’s sort of my point. If she can’t fight safely at 155, when she didn’t come close to the scheduled weight, she shouldn’t be fighting, because the weight advantage will be way too much.
It’s one thing if you get hurt and can’t finished the cut. But if you cut and are not even close, you’re way too big to be fighting against a person in that weight class.
And people wonder why Dana is hesitant about getting into women's MMA...
the two biggest names in it routinely have trouble making weight and extra money needs to get thrown around in order to save fights…completely unprofessional of those fighters.
I know, a fighter does something unprofessional and the promoter gets extorted for extra money and extra fights. Can you imagine the fall out if this happened in a Zuffa promotion and it came out that Matt Hughes or Chael Sonnen threatened to cancel their fights unless they got extra money, extra fights on their contract and fights for the other members of their gym?
The promoter deserves to get extorted when stuff like this happens.
Akano did her part, she made the contracted weight. If the promoter wants the fight to happen at a different weight, that’s a whole new negotiation. “I’ll take this fight if you give my teammate a fight” happens all of the time during initial negotiations, I see no problem with Akano’s people doing it more now. The ball is in their court, especially because there’s been so much talk of the Carano/Cyborg fight.
If this happened to Dana, I don’t think he would have a problem at all with it. He makes a point of going to fighters and making sure they are okay with weight before hand. If they aren’t he’s going to make sure things are okay with both fighters financially and then throw the fighter that didn’t a lot of criticism, he’s done the criticism many times in the past.
On the catch weight fights he doesn’t have to do these to make interesting fights so it ain’t really going to happen. The few catch weight fights are only done for veteran fighters that have a long history of making weight.
On giving teammates a fight it’s often the promotion that offers these. It’s to the promotions benefit to fill up a card from fewer gyms because these fighters are often willing to share trainers and managers. That’s quite a few people that you have to worry about travel when your time is most precious (right before the fight).
athletic commisisons
First, a fine of 20% was apparently levied against Cyborg’s purse, with half of that fine going to CSAC? I don’t understand the rationale behind this policy at all. Is CSAC taking any additional risk?
Second, as was stated above, you have a 135 pounder moving up in weight, who didn’t even actually make the contracted weight, and a 160 pounder moving down, who didn’t come close to making the number on the over side. Why is this fight even allowed at all? Why are their weight classes? Aren’t commissions supposed to ensure safety? There is going to be a 20 plus pound weight difference tonight—and it will be very, very evident I’d guess.
Third, the additional incentive offered to the fighter to take the fight wasn’t even for her, but for other fighters, according to Coker’s comment?
Wow!
If Commissions want to stop this nonsense, don’t allow the fight. Don’t put the onus on the fighter, who has shown time and time again they will be pressured by the promoter, by sponsors, by their own agents (apparently) to take the fight anyway.
by Rob Maysey on Apr 11, 2009 12:01 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs
Cyborg is pure muscle...
It’s a lot harder to lose muscle than it is fat. This fight should never have been setup in the first place.
Side by side?
Anybody got a side by side comparison of the two fighters to show the weight difference?
"It's like a flying knuckle sandwich." --Rogan
"And many men have eaten it." -- Goldy
Maybe Akano knew she was going to get her ass beat anyway, and was never going to actually walk out on the fight.
by Derek Suboticki on Apr 11, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
so much for
taking a stand against the fighters not making weight.
glad to see its back on though.
cyborg is looking kinda gaunt and pale to me.
and this is why ...
… I didn’t give Loretta Hunt, the news editor of Shedog, the benefit of the doubt on her “UFC credentials” story. Sherdog ran with a story saying this fight was off when it clearly wasn’t, just one side claming the fight was off. More responsible news outlets waited until there was actual news, which was, oh, hey, the fight is ON. Sherdog is a lot of things, but a reliable news outlet it ain’t.
Huh?
The fight was off, but they came to terms at the 11th hour, and now it’s back on. As it stood when the Sherdog story ran, Hirata was in the position to turn down the fight, and he told Savage that they weren’t going to take it. Whether or not it was a tactic Hirata used to gain more leverage on Strikeforce/Coker is irrelevant as well – Savage was just reporting what he was told by the closest possible source to the situation. I don’t believe Sherdog was irresponsible here.
by Chris Nelson on Apr 11, 2009 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Chris, give me your address and I’ll send you my journalism 101 book from college, since you’ve obviously never taken it. “Whether or not it is a tactic” is “irrelevant?” Really? If that’s the case, remind me to get on your good side so I can tell you anything that comes off the top of my head knowing you’ll run with it without bothering to check with anyone else to see if it is true. In a situation like this, if one side says “fight is off” and no one in an official capacity confirms this — and this is Strikeforce, which cooperates fully with blogs, so it isn’t like the UFC which stonewalls people — then guess what? You shouldn’t run the story. Especially when you turn out to be wrong in the end yet again. Journalism is all about judgement calls and Sherdog consistently shows poor editorial judgment.
What? Did they report that there was no possibility that the fight was going to happen? Or just that her manager said it wasn’t going to happen. If someone’s manager says something like this in any sport it’s going to be reported on in any sport or any news outlet if the time frame allows it.
Shit like this makes me glad sometimes that no one seems to want to hire journalists. I want my news now not tomorrow after the fight after 3 different editors have gotten a hold of it.
This is the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever read on this site. One of the camps of the fighters involved tells Sherdog that the fight is off and you’re jumping Chris’ shit for linking to the story with a quote?
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 11, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions
in 5 oz of pain’s interview, Barnett hit the nail on the head. Cyborg’s team knew they could show up over, that the fight is so much exposure, they’ll half ass it to the maximum the commission will allow, and a monstrously oversized cyborg will take it to Akano. that’s the fight game folks. gritty, but that’s how it is. this will look like Gatti/Gamache did in the ring in terms of clear size difference.
Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei.
http://theworldsoldestsport.blogspot.com/
by theworldsoldestsport on Apr 11, 2009 2:43 PM EDT reply actions
The Barnett interview was a classic!
Those two were great in the interview found over at 5oz of pain.
Looking at the picture of Cyborg, she gives me that very fake sincere look that says “Oops, I fucked up didn’t I?”
I want Hitomi to win for that very reason as Cyborg disrespects the weightclass and her opponent by pulling a stunt like this.
Maybe it's just me
But for fighters who have trouble making weight, even once, they should be required to do the two week outside the fight weigh-ins that some boxing commisions have used to keep an eye on troubled boxers, to see it they are on weight. If the fighter is grossly overweight, at least the other camp can be notified and some arrangement can be made with the other fighter’s camp well before the fight, not the day of.
In terms of sportsmanship, I can’t believe that Cyborg didn’t know she would be over and did not let Hitomi’s camp know that she would be over.
Trust me...
if you’re 7 pounds over…you know it.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/
by Brent Brookhouse on Apr 11, 2009 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I like the two-weeks-out rule for troubled fighters, although I’d give just a bit more leeway. I would set the bar a bit higher and say if a fighter misses weight more than once, or misses once by more than five pounds, then they should do the two-weeks out thing until a fighter has made weight on every fight for the next four years thereafter. Also, if someone misses weight by an absurd amount two weeks ahead of time (like say, 15 lbs. in most weight classes or 20 lbs. for heavyweight), it would be made public and the offending fighter would forfeit 5% of their purse right there.
So where did the discussion from last night about it being harder for women to cut weight go? I didn’t see anything out of line about what was being said but now it’s gone, I don’t get it.
It is totally unacceptable to miss weight. You have months to make a contracted fight. It just shows utter disrespect to the sport.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
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