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411 Fact or Fiction: Was Ronda Rousey Overprotected in Training?

February 1, 2017 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III, and it is my pleasure to bring you another round of what’s fact and what’s not in the biosphere we know as professional mixed martial arts. Thank you, for your votes and comments last week. It is appreciated and I encourage you to show some love, or hate, this week. Before moving onto this week’s contest let’s take a brief look at last week’s. Todd Vote and Wyatt Beougher wasted no time in trying to knock one another’s head off. Both competitors rushed forward throwing haymakers as they toiled over Travis Browne changing camps, Paul Daley fighting Rory Macdonald, and a fight between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen losing steam in addition to other subjects. Wyatt landed some heavy leather but Todd was able to bring down the thunder and lightning. Congratulation Todd on your 16-to-10 victory and thank you both for your efforts and contribution.

This week, I’ll be stepping in on short notice to tangle with the “Handsome” one, Dan Plunkett. Look for fireworks as we lock horns over Julianna Pena’s claim’s Rousey was protected during her training camp, Stipe Miocic vs. Junior dos Santos bringing some excitement to the heavyweight division, Donald Cerrone’s lost to Jorge Masvidal, and much more! It time to grab some grub and get comfortable because it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! Let us proceed…

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
Lorenzo “Corpse Grinder” Vasquez III
Host/Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
4-3-0

VS

BLUE CORNER
“Handsome” Dan Plunkett
Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
2-4-0

If the rumors are true as Julianna Pena says—Ronda Rosuey’s sparring partners could be sued for $1-million for disclosing anything related to her training and that she was not to be hit—Ronda Rousey was destined to fall and she is likely done for good as it shows she was never fully committed to professional mixed martial arts.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT I don’t really like saying fact about Rousey never fully committing to professional mixed martial arts. By her competitive nature, she was definitely committed to professional mixed martial arts each time she stepped into the cage, including against Amanda Nunes. But that doesn’t say she was always prepared correctly (mentally and physically). If Julianna Pena’s statement is true then it’s a fact, in my opinion, that Rousey was not prepared for a comeback bout against the champ and she was somewhat destined to fall that night. You have to put in the work. If your training staff and outside crew are telling your training partners to not hit you, or anything of this nature, to protect you, then they are committing a huge disservice to you. If you’re agreeing with them, you’re committing a huge disservice to yourself.

Further, if this was the case and we can say Pena’s statement is true, Rousey was likely concerned about damage affecting her appearance and it elevates her own notion she is close to hanging the gloves up. So, yes, this further elevates the notion Rousey is likely done for good. Now, this is really only dealing with the second part of Pena’s statement as we know Rousey had training partners sign a disclosure agreement but I doubt it had a big say on whether or not Rousey was destined to fall or if she is hanging up the gloves for good.

Dan Plunkett: FACT I’m going fact, but I take umbrage with the statement that Rousey was never fully committed to professional mixed martial arts. There is a different between incompetence in training methods and lack of commitment. Even if her training methods were grossly incompetent, that has no bearing on whether she was committed to the sport. I don’t think you can question that she was fully committed to the sport. As for the remainder, yes, if hiring sparring partners with the caveat that they couldn’t hit Rousey is true, it was only a matter of time until she fell. As we’ve seen in a few different cases, you can get pretty far in MMA without reacting well to being hit, but you’re days on top are numbered. Most likely, Rousey isn’t coming back, although I can’t shut the door on that completely given how fighter retirements usually turn out.

Daniel Cormier is right to say Gina Carano shouldn’t advise Ronda Rousey because she left when “things got tough.”

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FICTION To some degree, I guess we can say Cormier is right. When Carano tasted her first dominating defeat she took the high road out of MMA–albeit she was scheduled to return however she was scrapped before the Strikeforce event. Still, there are certain parallels to Carano’s MMA/Hollywood career and Ronda Rosuey’s. And, ultimately, Carano was just trying to show support. Because there are some similarities, I think she is in bounds and Cormier is overacting a little. Carano’s advice was rather broad and essentially said Rousey “should do what ever she wants to do.”

Dan Plunkett: FICTION I have no idea where Cormier is coming from here. Carano is one of the few that has experienced something similar to what Rousey is going through, albeit not quite to the same level. Carano didn’t simply leave when things got tough. She lost to Cris Cyborg in a big fight, but gained a new career opportunity because of it. She took advantage of that opportunity as any logical person in her situation should have. She was in her prime and making good money, but not retirement money. The door to that money – the UFC – remained firmly closed for women even when Carano, who would have been a tremendous star in the UFC, became available. The logical decision was for her to pursue acting while it was there and prepare for a life after fighting. What Cormier ignores is that Carano signed for a fight in 2011, but an injury took her out of the fight and other opportunities led her away from MMA again.

That being said, Carano was a very popular female fighter that lost a big fight and took advantage of acting opportunities that were presented to her. Rousey became a bigger star than anyone could have imagined, then lost two big fights, and has an uncertain future of whether to pursue acting, which she has a major interest in, or continue fight. It seems to me that Carano, having gone through a similar experience, is one of the best people to advise Rousey.

Stipe Miocic vs. Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Title at UFC 211 is the best thing to come out of Cain Velasquez injury mess, Fabricio’s Werdum’s refusal to fight JDS, and Stefan Struve’s injury.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT I do not mind the end result of the little mess Cain Velasquez and Stefan Struve left us with. How can you? If you’re not sold on this you must have missed the first fight between Miocic and JDS. In that case, I advise you to go back and watch them throw down at UFC on Fox 13. They showed tenacity, grit, and skill for five full rounds. Sure, things were a little sloppy towards the end, but for two heavyweights they took it up a notch and left it all in the octagon.

It was a classic and I’m excited we finally get the rematch. It’s been two years since UFC on FOX 13. Since then, Miocic has won four straight, winning the title from Fabricio Werdum and defending it against Alistair Overeem. JDS was out for a year, then returned to taste defeat at the hands of Overeem, but bounced back this past April to dominated Ben Rothwell. Miocic has made some tweaks and he’s the heavyweight champ now. JDS looks deadly and back to form. You’re damn right this best thing to come out of Velasquez’s injury, Struve’s injury, and Werdum’s refusal to fight JDS.

Dan Plunkett: FACT Unless something is slipping my mind, the first Miocic vs. dos Santos fight was the best UFC heavyweight fight of the past few years. It was five rounds of brutality that gives me a headache just thinking about all of the shots both guys took. Ultimately, dos Santos took a close decision, which makes the rematch more compelling since the rising champion wants to avenge his last loss. Sure, maybe dos Santos doesn’t deserve it; he’s traded wins and losses dating back to 2012 after all. However, the heavyweight division is so bad that him getting a title shot isn’t an injustice, and it’s a really interesting fight that could be a classic championship match.

SWITCH!

Conor McGregor’s next fight will not be in boxing and he will not win a fight with the UFC if he decides to push against the promotion.

Dan Plunkett: FACT It’s not outside the realm of possibility that McGregor could push against the UFC contract and, with much patience and perseverance, win the battle. Every other challenge has been settled outside of court, so we don’t know how it would be decided in a courtroom. However, most likely if McGregor pushes against the UFC, the UFC will push back harder, as they did when they pulled McGregor from UFC 200. Certainly, McGregor did not win in that scenario. As I wrote on Monday, there are serious obstacles in the way of the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight, mainly having to do with the third wheel, UFC. For that reason, if it happens, I don’t see that fight being McGregor’s next.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT As far as his next bout is concerned, there is definitely good reason to say fact. But I can also see people hanging on the fence about this. McGregor appears confident he’d like to take a swing in the boxing arena and it’ll be the next thing we see him do. He has a foe in Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather claims he wants the fight and Dana White has even thrown his hat on the table. It’s a huge money maker and if anyone has the possibility to get it done, it’s McGregor. We have three big parts of the equation, but the equation is not complete, and is far from solved. I don’t see it happening soon as I do not see the UFC agreeing on their portion of the split (Mayweather, too) and what McGregor and Mayweather would earn, and I have a hard thing seeing the UFC co-promoting (but you never know with the new regime).

Plenty of hurdles still need to be cleared. And one more thing, all three parts of the equation I’ve listed are fabulous talkers—charmers/showman—when it comes to building hype. It should go without saying; hyperbole is part of their persona, particular to Mayweather and McGregor. Dana White is most often full of you know what. What I see is two men trying to keep their name alive and fresh in our minds. They would fight if it was possible (for the big pay day) but it doesn’t seem possible, just yet.

Then you have a promotion that would put it on, but only if they stand to benefit the most as is their current practice. For this reason, I find it more likely McGregor steps into the octagon next than in a boxing ring. As for the second part of the statement, that’s an easy fact. I understand what McGregor is doing/creating—the persona, the larger than life character/the man who calls the shots—and it’s fine. I also see why in his social media post and recent pay-per-view interview he was hostile towards the UFC. They stripped him of his belt, and then created an interim belt in his current division. He also can’t walk away and into another venue with ease (binding contract). From McGregor’s standpoint it’s ridiculous and he has a right to be angry and defy the promotion somewhat—they created the monster, after all.

I, for one, thought the stripping of his featherweight was fine (not how the UFC handled the situation with featherweight interim titles and giving a featherweight title) but like it or not, he has a right to be upset, then you take into consideration the UFC’s usual demands. Anyhow, at this point, no single fighter is bigger than the UFC. A fighter may have grounds to beat the promotion, but that doesn’t mean it will work. As an active fighter, they will leave you behind—off major cards, smaller venues, hold-off on giving you a fight, diminished push. Essentially, they’ll bury you and wait for the next big star. Pursuing them in court is less forgiving as they have the money to drown you. Until there is a fighter who has deeper pockets than the UFC, or the UFC starts falling apart at the seals or legislation like the Ali Act changes things up, this is a simple fact.

The manner in which McGregor verbally attacked Nate Diaz during his pay-per-view interview shows us the Irishman is really angling for a fight with Diaz than a fight with Mayweather or any other UFC lightweight.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION He’s angling for both Diaz and Mayweather. The desire for the Mayweather fight is very real on the side of both McGregor and Mayweather, there’s just a lot involved in putting it together. Whether under boxing, MMA, or sumo rules, McGregor wants the Mayweather fight because it’s the biggest fight he’ll ever have and one of the biggest fights – boxing or MMA – ever. His two fights with Diaz were the two most successful pay-per-views in UFC history, so of course he’s interested in a third fight there, particularly as I’m sure he believes that at 155-pounds the odds tilt in his favor.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT But I’ll admit I’m still on the fence about this one and I sure as hell can’t read minds. As I stated above, I don’t think McGregor’s next fight will be in boxing and his boasting and attacks during his interview may be nothing more than the Irishman trying to keep his name fresh, doing what he does best. In a perfect world, McGregor has to defend his lightweight strap next and against the true number one contender. This is a plausible fight and we may get McGregor versus Tony Ferguson or Khabib Nurmagomedov when the champ returns. The catch is, McGregor is in the business of making the most money he can. At this point, he’s in all for himself to build his brand and rake in the cash. That should be obvious by now as we do see him chasing history but don’t see him trying to replicate the runs of the likes of Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva.

But who knows, that may be next on his hidden agenda. But I doubt it. He’s living high profile, building his brand, and spending large amounts of money. The money fight will always come before any other fight for McGregor. This leans me in the direction of calling this statement fact. He wants the trilogy. He needs it done while it is still relevant. And considering the current direction the UFC is paving it wouldn’t be too hard to get it done. McGregor’s ego needs to seal the Diaz chapter and the UFC will be willing to give in despite holding up the lightweight division. Diaz may in fact be the fight McGregor really wants next. It’s easy money with the greatest probability of winning. He’s a smart man and he knows a third dance with Diaz is more likely than a boxing match with Mayweather.

Jorge Masvidal’s win over Donald Cerrone has more to do with the fact this fight was Cerrone’s fifth fight in 12-months.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION I contend that the primary influence in Cerrone’s loss was getting punched in the face by Jorge Masvidal. It was a slow start from Cerrone, but he’s been prone to those before. Ultimately, I can’t say the loss was due to Cerrone’s activity or the short notice because we’ve seen Cerrone be tremendously successful while being very active and fighting on very short notice. Of course, the damage from the Brown fight probably hurt, but it’s tough to take away much credit from Masvidal.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT To a degree. Let’s not downplay Masvidal’s game and accomplishment that night. He was on point, shooting down the middle with slick boxing, lighting up Cowboy until Cowboy fell off the horse. Big congratulations to Masvidal for his fine work. Now, despite who stood opposite of Cerrone in Denver, I didn’t like that he was coming off a fight with Matt Brown nearly two months earlier.

Prior to this fight, Cerrone had fought four times in a span of 11-months—5 in the span 13 months. I’d say he needed a break after his win over Brown. But this not the way of the “Cowboy” and I believe he paid for it. I’m not saying under different circumstances he would have beaten Masvidal, but perhaps the fight would have been a longer more competitive fight. Cerrone looked off Saturday night (he does tend to start slow). A multitude of things could explain this and I’m certain fighting back to back had something to do with it. The body needs rest and fine tuning, and in his tremendous run at welterweight, that’s the one thing he has lacked.

So who won? Did Dan run roughshod over your host, or did I bury Dan with easy? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Saturday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!

And that’s it for today but, as always, we’ll be back next week with another contest! And please, be sure to vote!

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