Why MMA Should Never be Allowed in the Olympics

I've heard the protests a million times; Allow MMA in the Olympics!! I used to agree... until I actually thought about it.

While MMA is hugely mainstream and still very much in it's infancy, making it an Olympic sport is the last thing MMA needs, or should ever want. Here's why:

The Olympics are for the average citizen; free from ridiculous drama, fights, and for the most part, blood.
That blood thing is where it starts to get tricky...
We all know that MMA can be a gruesome sport. From nose breaks to large and deep cuts on the face, among other possible injuries. The average citizen of the world, at least according to the mainstream media, can't handle it... unless it comes in the form of insanely violent police dramas or soaps.
Look at boxing. I can't remember the last time I saw a legitimate KO in Olympic boxing. It's more point sparring than boxing. Not to say there's a lack of talent, because there's a lot great talent in Olympic boxing.
The first big issue is the variations of rules around the globe in MMA. I also have a feeling that the unified rules would still considered be too liberal for the IOC. They'd have to get rid of knees and elbow, and in all likeliness, knees or kicks to the body of a downed opponent. It would be a kickboxing/grappling match with small gloves. Oh, but they'd probably make them wear 8 or 10 ounce gloves.
Further buckling down on the rules would water down MMA to the point that it would no longer be considered MMA. It would be more KMA, or Kinda Martial Arts.

In conclusion, I don't feel the need to go on relentlessly about this subject. Anyone that takes just a minute to think about this will realize that it's just a horrible idea, no matter how you slice it.

Just "say no" to MMA in the Olympics.

That is all.

Jordan Gaza: Teenager, Ninja Princess, Professional Fighter.

I had the chance to have a conversations with up and coming female Mixed Martial Artist, Jordan Gaza. Had I not previously known she's only 19, I would've thought she was in her mid twenties. Her grace, poise  and maturity are very evident. If you don't know Jordan, you need to.

1MR: You were a high school cheerleader. How did you make the transition from cheerleading to MMA?

JG: I was a cheerleader pretty much my whole life. I also ran cross country, played volleyball, basketball and track. I did a lot of sports, but cheerleading was my main thing. In middle school, I got in to Jiu Jitsu to try something new. I really liked it and started competing.

I was doing really well in competitions and started putting my videos on YouTube and online. I really started promoting myself at a young age. Everyone at my gym was doing MMA, and at the time I hated it. I didn’t want to get hit in the face, I just wanted to do Jiu Jitsu.

I started sparring with some if the guys and it took off from there. I actually balanced cheerleading and MMA very well my senior year. I had 3 fights and I was a cheerleader. It was a pretty easy transition for me.

1MR: What made you decide you were ready to transition to professional MMA?

JG: Most of my amateur fights were very professional as far as the way they were put on and the promotions I fought for, so it was an easy transition. I would say that the only thing that was different was getting paid.

1MR: Have you noticed a change in the level of competition between amateur and pro?

JG: It depends. I’ve fought some really tough girls. In my last fight, she (Paige Vanzant) wasn’t that good. People have their on and off days, and that was definitely an off day for me. 

 

1MR: What is like for you to be in a still mostly male dominated sport?

JG: I come from a small town, and everyone’s an MMA fighter. I have guys that are my coaches, and guys that treat me like their little sister. Then there are guys that have big egos and go crazy when we spar. I’m very careful with that. I make sure I trust the guys that I’m sparring with because, you know, they can really hurt you.

 

1MR: Looking at women’s MMA, where do you see it going in the next few years?

JG: I’m hoping that it gets bigger. It would be cool to see it make it in the UFC. You never know. Things are always changing. I don’t think Strikeforce is even signing any more women.  They have Invicta now and some other organizations, so we’ll see what happens.

1MR: Speaking of Invicta FC, what are your thoughts on them and what they’re doing for women’s MMA?

JG: It’s so cool that they have some of the best girls on their cards. I would love to fight for them eventually.

 

1MR: You’ve got quite a social media following. How does that impact your MMA career, and how does that affect you as a professional?

JG: It helps me out because I feel like I have a lot of people out there that support me. I want to make everyone proud, whether I know them personally or not. It really motivates me, all the messages I get and all the nice comments. Same thing with the negative stuff, it motivates me too. 

1MR: As with anyone that’s popular, there’s a certain amount of haters and trash talking. How do you deal with that?

JG: I just ignore it now. I’ve dealt with it my whole life. Even going in to middle school, girls hating me because their boyfriends liked me. You get jealous people everywhere you go. I used to get them in Jiu Jitsu when I would compete, so I feel like I’ve always dealt with it. I just ignore it and use it as motivation.

1MR: Who are your favorite fighters, male or female?

JG: I would say, right now, Jon Bones Jones. He’s so young and does a lot of really cool things. As far as female, I don’t have a specific favorite. I have a lot of respect for any female that gets in the cage and fights. 

1MR: I know you and Felice (Herrig) have a pretty good relationship. Tell us about that dynamic.

JG: We both fight at the same weight, and we got some good training in when I went up there (Chicago, Curran’s). She’s been in my corner for two of my fights in Vegas. It’s cool to have friends that fight, and are in your same weight class. A lot of the female fighters have so much in common.

1MR: What did you think of the Sonnen/Silva fight?

JG: It was pretty much what I expected. I knew that Silva was going to take it. I thought it was going to end quicker.

1MR: Who are you training with now, and who helps you prepare for your fights?

JG: I train at Weapons at Hand. I have 3 coaches there that work with me. My main coach is Stacy Jorgensen. I’ve never clicked with a coach like I’ve clicked with him. I have another coach, Rudy, he’s the nice coach. He keeps everything calm. He’s very big brother like. Then there’s my coach Adam Ibarra. He’s really tried to change my standup. He’s really helped me a lot with my standup and kickboxing. All 3 of those guys are very helpful. Then I also go to Gracie Barra for my Jiu Jitsu.

1MR: If you had the opportunity to train anywhere, with anyone, where and who?

JG: I’m not sure. I’ve been a lot of places. I’ve trained with Felice at Curran’s in Chicago and I’ve been to Greg Jackson’s several times. I’ve gone to train with Meisha Tate in California. I’ve also been to a lot of places in Texas, there’s a lot of good gyms around here. I’d like to train in Florida and Vegas. Maybe American Top Team in Florida. And there’s a lot of good gyms in Vegas I’d love to go to.

1MR: Before we go, is there anything you’d like to say to all of your fans and supporters?

JG: Thank you to everyone that supports me. Win or lose, I have a lot of family, friends and fans that are always there for me.

In conclusion, Jordan was a treat to interview, and she's got a very bright future in MMA ahead of her. I hope to do more interviews with this amazing young woman in the future! Be sure to follow her on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/jngaza and on Twitter @jngaza92.

UFC 148 Picks

I'm going to make this one short and sweet. Here's who I've got tomorrow night:

Oliveira over Izquierdo - UD

Alessio over Roller - 2Rd Sub

Philippou over Fukuda - UD

Nurmagomedov over Tibau - 1Rd TKO

Guillard over Camoes - 1Rd KO

Menjivar over Easton - 3Rd Sub

McKenzie over Mendes - 2Rd Sub

Maia over Kim - UD

Cote over Le - 1Rd TKO

Griffin over Ortiz - 2Rd TKO

Sonnen over Silva - 2Rd TKO

That's it. I get a lot of hate for being a Sonnen fan, but he brings it. He brings it every time. I expect the Sonnen/Silva fight to be FotN. McKenzie will get SotN honors, and Sonnen will also rake in KOotN money.

Those are my picks. We'll see how I fare tomorrow night! Time to get ready for the weigh ins!!

LC Davis: Finding New Life in the Bantamweight Division

I had the privilege of sitting down and spending some time with LC Davis. For those of you that don't know who LC is, let me break it down for you:

Carrying a professional record of 17-5, Davis has fought in Affliction, Titan Fighting Championship, the WEC, and the IFL under the tutelage of Pat Miletich, this former top 10 featherweight looks to reclaim his status; this time as a newly minted bantamweight.

1MR: You’ve been fighting for a while now.  As far as training and fighting goes, who inspired you to fight?

LC: Deryck Ripley. He was a college (wrestling) team mate of mine. He started fighting, and I thought “this looks cool,” and I helped him train a little. The first fight I ever saw, Deryck fought Jake Ellenberger his first pro fight and I was in his corner. He got man handled by Jake, but I thought it was pretty cool and I wanted to try it.

Two or three weeks later I had my first fight. I was kind of blowing smoke, and he (Deryck) told me he got me a fight in three weeks, so I thought well, okay, he called my bluff, so now I’ve got to do it.

 

1MR: After not fighting at all in 2011, how did that affect your training and preparation coming in to 2012?

LC: I had a lot that happened (in 2011). I was cut by the WEC after losing two in a row. I had won three in a row and had a number one contender match with Josh Grispi. He won and got the title shot against Jose Aldo. Then, I lost a close fight to Rafael Assuncao, another tough guy. That was just after Zuffa took over the WEC, so there was that added pressure of making sure I had a good performance. Shortly About two weeks later, I got cut by the WEC. Instead of trying to win, I was trying not to lose.

After I got cut, I got right back up on the horse and signed a deal with Titan. I had a great training camp and felt great, but shortly before the fight I hurt my knee really bad. I didn’t have insurance, so I didn’t go to the doctor. I stayed off my knee for a week, and then had to cut weight the next week. I ended up pulling out of that fight. It was the first time I ever pulled out of a fight in my career.

The week after that fight was to happen, I got a call from my girlfriend and she told me she was pregnant. So in a month’s time, I get cut from the WEC, hurt my knee, and find out my girlfriend is pregnant.

I did some rehab on my knee for a while and it started getting better. I was getting back in to training, and then the Ultimate Fighter came up (for 134 and 145lb fighters. Dodson and Brandao were the winners on that season.). My manager told me I needed to audition, but I told him I didn’t have the time or money. He told me to send in a video, so I did. I got called to the final audition, and the casting directors were impressed that I made it that far for not having been to the auditions. After doing all of the interviews and everything, I came back, and all my friends were telling me that I needed to get in shape for the show.

The first day back in training I felt me knee pop and this time I was bad. It swelled up really bad and I knew it didn’t look good. A few days after that I got the call that I hadn’t made the show.  I knew I had to get some insurance.

At this point, I didn’t have a job. I had been making over $60k a year fighting at the top level, so I didn’t have to worry about money or anything. But since I got cut (from the WEC), I didn’t have any income or insurance or anything, and now I also had a baby coming. Luckily, God blessed me and I got insurance and had the surgery on my knee. I was nickel and diming jobs until I got the job here (Title’s Fight Store)… and was able to open up my gym.

In 2012, after having the surgery and having our baby, I decided I was ready to take a fight. I signed on to fight in February against a guy with a 3-0 record. He had fought twice in Strikeforce at 170, but was fighting me at 145. It was in his home town in Indiana, and I ended up losing a split decision. It was a tough fight. He was so big that he kept taking me down and I was fighting to get up, but I just couldn’t get back up. He was just too big and strong. After that fight, I decided to make the move down to 135.

1MR: Rumor has it you have a fight coming up in August?

LC: Nothing signed yet. I’m hoping to have a fight in August or September. It’ll hopefully be here in KC for Titan or another option possibly in San Diego or San Jose.

 

1MR: How has fatherhood changed your outlook on your fighting career?

LC: It hasn’t changed too much. If anything it’s helped give me more motivation. It does make it harder to train at other gyms and things like that. As far as my views on fighting and my career, they’ve stayed the same. I still have the same goals and passions.

1MR: So I’ve got to ask, Sonnen or Silva?

LC: My heart is with Anderson. I hope Anderson wins. What I think will happen, I think it could be a lot like the first fight. I think Sonnen could pull it out. I don’t see Sonnen winning any part of the stand up this time.  I think he’s going to be shooting in fast, if not he’s going to get hurt. I think once he (Sonnen) gets him down, he can establish control and set up a submission.

1MR: Do you think that having the first fight experience against Sonnen will give Silva an advantage for this fight?

LC: He (Silva) knew what to expect going in to the first fight. That’s how Chael beat Nate Marquardt and everybody else, just taking them down and grinding them out. It should help seeing it and everything. I think this time Silva’s going to knock him out or hurt him really bad, or Chael will win like he did the last time, but not get caught in a submission.

 

1MR: Who are the two fighters, past or present, from any weight class, you’d like to see fight?

LC: Right now, the two I’d like to see fight the most are Jon Jones and Anderson Silva. Outside of that, I’d like to see Jake Ellenberger fight GSP. I’m a huge Jake Ellenberger fan, and really a fan of both of them.

1MR: How has having the gym changed your approach to training?

LC: It’s harder, but in a lot of ways it helps. It keeps me in the gym all the time. There were times before where after a fight I wanted to take a break, but now, usually the day after a fight I’m right back in the gym. So, it’s good that I’m always in the gym. It helps me stay in shape.

1MR: A lot of times when a fighter becomes a trainer, it changes their approach to their own training. You start to see things differently. How has being a trainer changed the way you train?

LC: Well, my first fight back I just trained on my own. I didn’t really have any coaches. I just did my classes at the gym and kind of winged it. For my last fight, I had a strength and conditioning coach, a boxing coach, a Muay Thai coach, a Jiu Jitsu coach, and a wrestling coach.

1MR: One last question: We talked about Sonnen vs. Silva, so what about Ortiz/Griffin III?

LC: I hope Ortiz wins. I want to see him go out on top. He helped bring the UFC to where they are now. The first two were pretty close , but I think Tito can win.

The bottom line for LC is to make his way back to the UFC. He feels confident in his ability to stand with the best in the bantamweight division, just as he did as a featherweight. With another two or three years left in his fight game, he wants to go out on top, and ultimately leave a legacy for his son. 

A truly gifted athlete and all around nice guy, LC is nothing to laugh at in the cage. With his most recent victory in Titan Fighting Championship coming by way of a TKO, he's shown that he's back with a vengeance.

Davis and training partner, Strikeforce and UFC veteran Jason High, own HD MMA in Leawood, KS (http://www.HighDavisMMA.com). Their upstart school has produced some serious talent, and from the looks of it, they'll crank out a lot more in the coming years. 

Be sure to follow LC on Twitter @LC_Davis.