Rundown of Strikeforce “Tate vs. Rousey” post-fight news and notes…
— Following recent proclamations that he was going to personally take control of Strikeforce and turn it into a UFC-level promotion, Dana White has completely stepped away from the organization and declared himself “100% UFC.” And no, he doesn’t sound happy about it. In response to a fan request on Twitter to make changes to the Strikeforce announcing team, Dana sounded more like a rival promoter than a partial owner exclaiming that Showtime “runs that shit” and he’s “out.”
So what happened? Well, according to Dana, Showtime decided not to implement the tweaks to the production that he suggested and they didn’t even have the courtesy to call him directly to tell him.
“I almost missed the first UFC fight in 11 years, and then I get the phone call from Pete Dropick when I’m in Japan,” White said. “‘Yeah, listen, they’re not going to change pretty much any of the stuff you wanted.’ So I said, ‘[Expletive] them.’ You flew out to Las Vegas and wasted my time. Go talk your boxing [expletive] to somebody else.”
“These guys are letting a D-level producer run their organization, and that’s exactly what I told Espinoza,” White said. “You want to let a D-level producer run your organization? Go for it brother. Knock yourself out. I’ve got [expletive] to do. I’ve got another job.”
Despite his animosity towards Showtime at the moment, Dana says they still have every intention of honoring their contractual obligations to Showtime. He also says Strikeforce will “never suck” as long they own it, so while Dana won’t be personally involved with Strikeforce, the promotion isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
— It seems Miesha Tate and her boyfriend Bryan Caraway took all the pre-fight trash talk a little more personally that Ronda Rousey did. After the weigh-ins Friday night, Caraway got a little carried away on Twitter saying that if Ronda “wants to challenge a man I’ll knock her teeth dwn her throat the break her arm!” Predictably, Caraway was then bombarded by the angry Twitter mob and spent the rest of night trying to explain that he wasn’t advocating inter-gender violence and was merely trying to say that women can’t compete with men athletically. Nevertheless, it was a dumb thing to say and ended up blowing up in his face.
Moreover, it didn’t even have it’s intended effect on Rousey. She explained at the post-fight press conference that she found the whole thing quite humorous.
“[Caraway] and Miesha were up all night tweeting and trying to defend themselves, and it was all over the front page of MMA.tv, and me and my friend and my mom were just sitting there laughing that they’re stressed out and tweeting all night, and we’re like, eating trail mix and watching ‘The Fifth Element.’”
“People have to realize about Twitter, it’s not just chatter,” she said. “You’re constantly releasing written statements that even if you delete it right away, it’s out there.
“So people (such as Caraway) have to think a little bit more before they say something sexist like that. Because I was like, ‘Dude, you ever heard of (tennis player) Billy Jean King?’ I mean, who says that? That’s my comment. Tweet it.”
While it’s doubtful that Rousey and Tate will ever become BFF’s, Rousey did give Tate props after she broke her arm for being a “tough chick.”
“She’s a tough chick,” Rousey said of the former champ. “That hurts. I’ve had my elbow dislocated before, and that’s no fun. But the rule is in judo that even if it’s dislocated, and they don’t tap, you’ve got to keep going. I don’t think the referee should be criticized for not stopping it because those are the rules I’m used to.”
— With the Strikeforce bantamweight title in hand and the Tate rivalry behind her, it’s time to look towards her next challenge. Who that will be isn’t set in stone, but it could be former bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman. Kaufman made it clear in her post-fight interview that she wants the title shot, but realizes that she may not get it.
“I’ve been told before my next fight is a title fight and it didn’t happen,” Kaufman told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) after the bout. “At this stage of the game, it is saying what I believe and making sure the fans know what I know, and that they want the same things I do.”
I would say the chances are pretty good mainly do to a lack of depth in the division. If not Kaufman, who else would Rousey fight?
— Josh Thomson was pretty down on himself following his win over KJ Noons last night. It wasn’t the most exciting performance of his career and that really bothered him. He made it clear after the fight that he wants to entertain the fans first and foremost.
“People don’t pay hard-earned money to watch that, especially in this economy,” an emotional Thomson said following “Strikeforce: Tate vs Rousey.” “They pay for people to go out there and show their talent.”
“We got the ‘W’ – that was the important thing,” Thomson said. “But I can tell you know you guys will never see me fight like that again.”
“This is the entertainment business, not the boring business,” he said.
It’s unclear what’s next for Thomson, but it could very well be a rubber match against Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.
— A little controversy erupted online last night when it discovered that preliminary fighter Brandon Saling had neo-Nazi tattoos and an criminal record as a sex offender. Strikeforce said they were unaware of either when they signed Saling and only learned of it last night during the show. They do however find the tattoos to be unacceptable and said the Ohio commission will be launching an investigation into Saling this week.
“We had no knowledge about that until someone brought it up to us this evening,” Coker said of Saling’s background. “It came to our attention during the course of the fights.”
“They’re going to launch a full investigation on Monday,” he said. “So that’s where that’s at. As far as you guys know, the policy for Strikeforce and the UFC is that kind of body art, offensive behavior, (and) offensive art is not going to be allowed.
“So that’s something we went to the athlete (with). He responded, and we’re going to investigate further and see what the truth is.”
According to the OAC’s Bernie Profato, Saling could face a potential suspension pending the outcome of the investigation.
Image via Rey Del Rio for FOXSports.com
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