Bellator 25 Post-Fight Press Conference Recap
by Mike Fagan on Aug 20, 2010 2:16 AM EDT
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Here are the highlights from the post-fight press conference from tonight's Bellator show in Chicago.
-Zoila Frausto went to the hospital to check up on her foot. Bellator CEO and founder Bjorn Rebney mentioned the organization has yet to have a fighter have to pull out of a tournament following a win. Frausto returned ten minutes into the presser and reported that she should be OK to fight in 6-8 weeks.
-Dan Hornbuckle made multiple remarks in regards to Brad Blackburn hurting him in round one, saying Blackburn "almost knocked [him] out." Blackburn, for his part, felt he made a rookie mistake in aborting his gameplan. Blackburn later told me the gameplan was to stick tight to Dan's chest in the clinch. The thought of a knockout hyped him up, and he drifted away from his objectives.
-Scott Barrett believes he won the first two rounds from Damian Grabowski with takedowns and control. Grabowski felt that he was 100% the winner and told everyone to look at his opponent's face. He added that he might have lost if this were a wrestling match.
-The most interesting comments came from Rebney. In his opening remarks, Rebney commented on the lackluster attendance stating that he understands that Chicago is a major market with a lot of entertainment options. However, as their home office, Bellator wants to work hard to make a mark here. When asked about the improvement in attendance since the first Chicago show, Rebney equated it to the production, saying it's getting better, but it's not where he wants it to be. Rebney added that it's easier to draw in mid-markets like Louisville, but the company is committed to succeeding in larger markets like Chicago.
-Someone also asked Rebney if he feels like the public "gets" the tournament format. While a very silly question, Rebney provided a fairly interesting answer. Rebney stated that tournaments remove the "omnipotent wizard" calling the shots from behind a curtain. It puts a fighter's destiny in his or her own hands instead of the hands of a promoter or match maker. He went as far to say that the typical match making formula screams "theater" to him.
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The Grabowski decision had me stoked
And that last little bit from Rebney is pretty cool. The tournament promises the people who win a shot at the title instead of getting “fitched”
"If I woke up looking like that, I would run towards the nearest living thing and kill it." -Master Shake
We have to take the amulet to the banana king!
by II SMASH II on Aug 20, 2010 2:40 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
what was smith thinking
I scored it like the judges and this site
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by some schmuck in texas on Aug 20, 2010 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
It was just awesome for me to see finally
Grabowski got sat on, thats it. Being way more active from the bottom should mean you win.
"If I woke up looking like that, I would run towards the nearest living thing and kill it." -Master Shake
We have to take the amulet to the banana king!
Fixed
Bellator CEO and founder Bjorn Rebney mentioned the organization hasyet to have a fighter have to pull out of a tournament following a winbeen insanely lucky with regard to injuries.
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by Derek Suboticki on Aug 20, 2010 2:45 AM EDT reply actions
Insanely lucky in regards to everything
After Ryan Thomas got screwed over in the Askren fight, a FUCKING VOLCANO stopped another fighter from being able to make it to the next week’s fight, leaving open another spot for Thomas.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it." -Will Munny, a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition.
by PapaBumpants on Aug 20, 2010 7:41 AM EDT up reply actions
meh
just caught the event on DVR, and … i don’t know. whole thing seemed lackluster to me. maybe it was the lack of finishes. the Hornbuckle fight actually seemed like the only good fight on the card. everything else bored me to tears.
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To be fair
on this particular card you had two women fighting, not to say there’s anything wrong with WMMA but the likelihood for a lackluster fight is much higher, and a couple of fights featuring a bunch of green heavyweights.
Matt Hughes has some serious "mentally challenged" strength applying a choke to Ricardo Almeida’s neck strong enough to squeeze a turd out of his other end.
This was probably my least favorite BFC event so far.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Aug 20, 2010 10:09 AM EDT up reply actions
yeah
i think one of the big things is that with Bellator, we’ve become conditioned to expect some amazing finishes. and then to have EVERY FIGHT go to a decision? really just left me feeling unfulfilled.
also, am i the only one who thinks Cole Konrad might be the most boring fighter ever?
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by bobthewriter on Aug 20, 2010 10:47 AM EDT up reply actions
This is true.
The cards are usually action packed and contain at least one water cooler fight or moment.
A down grade to this level is almost shocking.
Imagine if the WEC put on a card like that. The fans are conditioned to see lightning fast wars. A slow paced decision fest might cause a bout of the crazies!!
Oh well, it is only one card.
yup
dullest decisionfest I’ve seen since SFNashville. And not even a riot to redeem it!
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by some schmuck in texas on Aug 20, 2010 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Agreed this was probably the worst Bellator event so far.. women’s fight was dull and uninspiring, same with both the men’s HW fights. I was somewhat pessimistic when they first announced womens 115 and mens HW would be two of the tournaments this season, just not very good choices considering how unpopular and shallow women’s MMA is, and how HW not at the top level tends to be sloppy, slow, and suffer from bad cardio. Last week was pretty good though, this one not so much, we’ll see how the rest of the season unfolds.
by Horselover Fat on Aug 20, 2010 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
He went as far to say that the typical match making formula screams “theater” to him.
Yeah, Rebney, because that’s what sells.
Forget it Donny, you're out of your element.
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Speaking of this I have a question.
What the hell is Rebney talking about with this? Isn’t Bellator still match making their tournaments?
They seed the first round however they want based on seeding they don’t reveal. Then between rounds they match make again and it’s easy for them to do because they didn’t reveal the seeding from the first round.
So basically they are still matching making every fight but the finale but saying they aren’t.
If I got that wrong can someone correct me on it.
Just BE.
Why he gotta hate the omnipotent wizard?
Not very cool since Bjorn stole his BOOK OF SPELLS.
by Revolver on Aug 20, 2010 3:57 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs
He’s made that remark about the tournament format before. I don’t have any specific references, but I know I’ve heard it at least once. As far as I can remember, he has always said he likes tournaments because it allows the fighters to control their own destiny without a matchmaker deciding who fights who.
My problem with that statement is…doesn’t a matchmaker still decide who fights who? Granted, if a fighter keeps winning, it doesn’t matter. But without a clear-cut bracket from the beginning (and even then it really needs a random drawing), can’t the matchmakers pick and choose fights to make it easier for the “favorite” to advance?
I'm sure there's seeding that goes into the process
For instance, look at the Eddie Alvarez tournament from season 1:
Eddie Alvarez
Greg Loughran
Thomas Schulte
Eric Reynolds
Jorge Masvidal
Nick Aguilar
Toby Imada
Alonzo Martinez
You could easily argue that it was set up in a
1
8
4
5
3
6
2
7
format.based on where they felt a fighter ranked out of the 8.
a kitten dies every time you compare an individual sport to a team sport.
by Marvin Malehooves on Aug 20, 2010 7:02 AM EDT up reply actions
They had published brackets for season 1. Right now I think it’s ludicrous for Rebney to say there’s no “omnipotent wizard” when Caplan of Oz matches up the semi-finals only after the first round is decided.
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by greco-roman airlines on Aug 20, 2010 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions
He told me the same in an interview last year.
by Jonathan Snowden on Aug 20, 2010 9:58 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
So you were there Fagan?
I don’t know what you looked like, otherwise I would have said hello. I was in the back left corner of press row with a white World Extreme Fighter t-shirt on.
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by Brian Hemminger on Aug 20, 2010 6:32 AM EDT reply actions
I was the only guy in a shirt and tie.
Twitter: @Mike_Fagan_13
by Mike Fagan on Aug 20, 2010 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
You were there working as press in a t-shirt?
And a fight apparel t-shirt no less?
I don’t want to sound like a dick…but when Luke talks about MMA being ghetto, he’s not just talking about the fans and fighters.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Aug 20, 2010 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
ZOMG
Fighters, and the people that follow them, will forever look like scrubs. You East Coast/Midwest (side note: weird) fashionistas need to deal with it.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
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Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Aug 20, 2010 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Nah homie, it's just when you're on press row you gotta look the part
Looking for an interview in shorts and a tshirt would seem amaturish.
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by Matthew Roth on Aug 20, 2010 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I can’t name five people that give a shit what the reporter asking questions was wearing when reading a piece they put together. If the subject doesn’t care, then fuck it. This is insider baseball at it’s worst.
Didion takes as her central image a campaign stop in which Dukakis, for the benefit of news cameras, tossed a baseball with an aide on the tarmac of an airport runway, an event duly reported as news by a number of journalists “all of whom believed it to be a setup and yet most of whom believed that only an outsider, someone too ‘naive’ to know the rules of the game, would so describe it.”
19 out of 20 MMA fans – and voters- don’t give a shit about these things.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Contributor for WatchKalibRun.com
Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Aug 20, 2010 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Meanwhile the JFK/Nixon televised debates prove the other way
Voters saw a good looking JFK vs. a sweating Nixon (didn’t believe in make up, overhead lights made him sweat) and voted for JFK even though Nixon was making a stronger argument. Same thing happened with Obama/McCain…better looking/professional wins.
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by Matthew Roth on Aug 20, 2010 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Swing voter is another term for gullible idiot. Obama could have had a photo of him in a turban and a crazy-ass preacher come out and won that election… oh wait, he did. Not enough idiots to swing it – but I fear for the midterms.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Contributor for WatchKalibRun.com
Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on Aug 20, 2010 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Without getting too much into it
There were a lot of first time voters who were voting based strictly on race. I worked in Newark, NJ at the time and was told as such that unless another african american runs again they won’t vote again. It goes both ways. But the point is that image does matter.
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by Matthew Roth on Aug 20, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Brent
It was the t-shirt of the website I write for. I remember you giving me advice to never wear UFC shirts or anything like that when I cover events, I listened.
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by Brian Hemminger on Aug 20, 2010 9:39 PM EDT up reply actions
You seem like a good dude
So, please do not take this as hate. It’s not. It’s helpful advice. Unsolicited advice, but helpful just the same. Working on press row means wearing business casual or business attire. It’s sounds petty, I know, but believe me it makes a difference. For you, for them, for everyone and your work.
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by Luke Thomas on Aug 20, 2010 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
completely agree
i was a sports reporter/editor for daily newspapers for years. at minimum, i required reporters to wear khakis and polos in the press box — but preferred they wear a jacket & tie. it looks more professional.
wearing a fight apparel t-shirt to cover a live MMA event is the equivalent of wearing a Braves baseball cap while trying to get in the press box at Turner Field, if that makes sense.
My first novel, Prodigal, will be released Nov. 2, 2010 ... check out Prodigal on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Prodigal/132020530174927
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by bobthewriter on Aug 20, 2010 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
SBNation requires reporters to at least be in khakis and polos
One reason I prefer not to be credentialed for Red Bulls games is because I like to cheer and sing with my supporters section which I can’t do in the press box. The other reason is because getting credentialed means dressing up and unfortunately I don’t want to do that at this point. I’m moving to Austin at least for a year but when I get back I will be 27, an age when getting beer dropped on my head doesn’t seem as fun.
Follow me on twitter @thisredengine
Also please check out SBnation's Red Bulls blog @ www.onceametro.com
by Matthew Roth on Aug 20, 2010 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions
oh, it's still fun at that age :-)
hell, it’s still fun at my ripe old age of 39.
My first novel, Prodigal, will be released Nov. 2, 2010 ... check out Prodigal on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Prodigal/132020530174927
Or you can check out my website, http://bobthewriter.com
by bobthewriter on Aug 20, 2010 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah who am I kidding...
The reason I’m not credentialed is because I want to jump around and sing and get rowdy and drink. You can’t do any of that in the press box.
Follow me on twitter @thisredengine
Also please check out SBnation's Red Bulls blog @ www.onceametro.com
by Matthew Roth on Aug 20, 2010 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions
yep ...
and you should talk to some of the old-timers who have been covering sports for 30-40 years. there used to be signs in the press box that read: “No women allowed in the press area.”
My first novel, Prodigal, will be released Nov. 2, 2010 ... check out Prodigal on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Prodigal/132020530174927
Or you can check out my website, http://bobthewriter.com
by bobthewriter on Aug 20, 2010 3:14 PM EDT up reply actions
can you drink in the press area?
Follow me on twitter @thisredengine
Also please check out SBnation's Red Bulls blog @ www.onceametro.com
by Matthew Roth on Aug 20, 2010 3:28 PM EDT up reply actions
I've seen it.
Some places specify abstemious behavior as a condition of credentialing.
Follow me on Twitter: @MMANation.
I get why they would have that policy
Drinking would make it tougher for me to be an objective observer vs. a team supporter. The Redskins would look down on Chad and Lavar if they were getting wild in the press box.
Follow me on twitter @thisredengine
Also please check out SBnation's Red Bulls blog @ www.onceametro.com
by Matthew Roth on Aug 20, 2010 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Rebney stated that tournaments remove the “omnipotent wizard” calling the shots from behind a curtain. It puts a fighter’s destiny in his or her own hands instead of the hands of a promoter or match maker.
I’m sure Toby Imada begs to differ. Make it to the tournament finals and get robbed by the judges, then get skipped over for a shot at the champ when the guy who ‘beat’ you gets injured. Why? Because the omnipotent wizard wanted to see his white knight who lost in the semifinals get that shot.
by Steve4192 on Aug 20, 2010 7:31 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
While I agree that Imada got screwed by the judges
I don’t think Huerta is getting a title shot. It’s just a regular fight.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it." -Will Munny, a known thief and murderer, a man of notoriously vicious and intemperate disposition.
by PapaBumpants on Aug 20, 2010 7:39 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s not a title fight. But the fact remains that a finalist (who should have won the tournament) got skipped over for a well known guy who lost in the semifinals.
Sounds to me like the omnipotent wizard is alive and well in Bellator.
lot of things played into the decision. But that doesn’t really square with “putting a fighter’s destiny in his own hands.”
Sure it does...
The only man who won the tournament was Pat Curran. He’s the only one who “earned” a shot at the title. So when he got hurt and the title was off the table, they put on a fight to attract fans and make money while also being relevant on the larger MMA scene.
Had they given Huerta a shot at Alvarez before Curran or kept this a title fight after the injury that’d be different.
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by Brent Brookhouse on Aug 20, 2010 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions
the fact that it’s not a title shot helps things, but when you look at how champions get booked for these superfights and what happens to people after they lose in the tournaments, there is lots of omnipotent wizarding going on.
I understand why they have to do it this way, but something about stones and glass houses.
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