UFC turns down Vancouver’s request for extra police at UFC 131

The UFC broke down another barrier at UFC 115 by getting Vancouver to acquiesce and then regulate an event at Rogers Arena. The fastest selling event in UFC history drew 17,669, and by all accounts was a huge success. Now we find out, three weeks before UFC 131 returns to Vancouver, that there's still some resistance in city.

Tom Wright confirmed to MMAFighting that Vancouver P.D. asked the UFC to pay for extra security around the arena on the night of the event. Wright didn't see the need for extra policing.

"I spoke with the VPD [Thursday] and advised them that we would not be funding any 'expanded police presence' for community areas in the general vicinity of the Rogers Arena," the director of Canadian Operations wrote.

Residents thought UFC 115 brought a bad element to their area before and after the event.

Residents complained of public drinking, rowdy drunks and public urination before and after the UFC event. Chu and representatives of Rogers Arena have since met with the False Creek Residents' Association to discuss safety and security.

Aside from an increased police presence, portable toilets are expected to be placed outside Rogers Arena and along routes used by pedestrians to get to and from the venue.

Wright was quick to defend the sport and say it's no different than a hockey crowd.

"I explained that while we remain supportive of law enforcement in every city we bring shows to, we weren't prepared to be 'treated differently' than other events/concerts/shows (Canucks, Rolling Stones etc). This is a particularly important consideration when 'incidents' at UFC events are typically fewer than other big events. As I explained, if I were the Chief I'd be more worried about Canuck fans (celebrating or crying in their beers) than UFC fans."

Apparently, there's been buzz for the extra security since it came to light that two residents were attacked in the area near the arena. The two men arrested had attended UFC 115. Adding fuel to the fire, the victims were also gay and the suspects were accused of shouting homophobic slurs during the beatdown.

Are MMA crowds worse than hockey, boxing and football crowds? I've never seen an example.

Getting MMA to Vancouver was never an easy process for the UFC. Just weeks before UFC 116, the promotion nearly pulled the event because of an insurance squabble with local officials.

Blatte
Bskinny Coffee
Argmatrix
Boresha
Boresha International

Rampage Jackson Satisfied, Despite Not Finishing Matt Hamill

Filed under:

LAS VEGAS - Matt Hamill said he planned on breaking the will of Rampage Jackson in their main event at UFC 130 on Saturday. But when Hamill took a knee after the final horn, Jackson had turned the table.

Jackson warded off all of Hamill's takedown attempts - despite coming into the fight with a fractured hand, he revealed at the post-fight press conference - and cruised to a unanimous decision victory. The win is likely to put Jackson in line as the top contender for Jon Jones' light heavyweight title later this fall, provided his hand heals on pace.

But the boo birds were out several times during the night, including most notably the main and co-main events. With just three finishes going into the co-main and main, the fans appeared to want some excitement - and many seemed certain they didn't get it in the last two bouts.After the fight, Jackson said he was disappointed he wasn't able to score a knockout, which the fans seemed to want even more than he, but said he wasn't about to blame it on his hand injury - which he said came from a drunken mishap with a friend in Japan.

"I was OK with my performance, (but) I wanted to do a little more," Jackson said. "I knew I could stay on my feet. He had a great game plan, and I could tell he was setting me up to take me down. He had some great low leg kicks, and it made me not do what I wanted to do. I'm a little bit disappointed. I wanted a knockout. Matt's never been knocked out before, and I took it as a personal challenge."


Jackson said he fractured his hand last December in Japan, "drunken fooling around fighting my friend in the hallway." And during training, he said he aggravated the injury. But he said even without the fracture, he doesn't believe he would have been able to knock Hamill out.

"That guy's got a hard head," Jackson said. "I think Matt's got a long future in this sport. I take nothing away from Matt - fractured hand or not, I still wouldn't have knocked him out tonight. I think I needed a hammer. That guy can take a punch. I hit him with everything but the toilet."

Hamill, who saw his five-fight winning streak snapped, said he thought he would be able to use his wrestling to take Jackson down. Hamill was a three-time Division III national champion wrestler.

"I was very surprised," Hamill said. "My takedowns could have been better, but it was a good fight. I'll probably feel it tomorrow. I wasn't really happy with my performance. I'll go back and try to learn from my mistakes. I gave 100 percent, and did all I could. But Rampage is a pretty good fighter."
%VIRTUAL-Gallery-124698%
In the co-main, heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson put on an exciting first round before Nelson gassed in the second, with Mir not far behind. Mir dominated his fellow Las Vegas resident en route to a unanimous decision. And though he landed quite a few big shots, including knees to Nelson's head, the fight often stalled out, eliciting stronger boos from the crowd as it went deeper.

The Jackson-Hamill fight also heard a few boos, especially as Hamill's takedown attempts appeared to get slower and his striking attempts as he tired late in the fight were light.

But UFC president Dana White said after the post-fight press conference he didn't have any problems with the card in general - though he maintained he continues to be unhappy with Mir's performances.

"Was I thrilled with the main event and co-main? No," White said. "But everything can't be a knockout or submission. I think considering the time off Rampage has had, he looked good. He dominated, he gassed - but that's all part of staying active and busy. I think people's expectations are unreasonable sometimes. Guys will be fighting a great fight and you'll hear people booing - it's like they expect guys to get in a football stance and run across at each other. There's skill, technique, game plans - there's a lot of things involved."

If White was disappointed in the two main fights, his spirits were likely lifted by the performance by Brian Stann in the pay-per-view's opening bout. Stann delivered a TKO against Top 10 middleweight Jorge Santiago, getting the night's loudest ovation on an emotional Memorial Day weekend for the military hero, a Silver Star winner.

"He's on his way to becoming a superstar," White said of Stann. "Chuck (Liddell) said, 'When (Stann) fought in the WEC, I never thought he'd get to this level.' But not only are his skills getting better, everything that comes out of his mouth is a home run. This guy's going to be a superstar."

UFC 130 was not without injuries, some of them perhaps significant in the scheme of future matchups - most importantly, Jackson's fractured hand. Stann was at the post-fight press conference with a broken right thumb. White said Mir went to the hospital with a fractured jaw and rib, though Mir's wife said on Twitter early Sunday morning Mir's jaw was not broken but had complained about his bite after the fight. And Stefan Struve, Santiago, Michael McDonald and Rafaello Oliveira hospital all went to the hospital after their fights.

UFC 130 had a reported attendance of 12,816 fans for a $2.57 million gate. Last year's Memorial Day weekend card, also at the MGM Grand, drew 14,996 fans with a $3.895 million gate and more than 1 million pay-per-view buys. That main event featured a grudge match between Jackson and Rashad Evans. The original main event of UFC 130 was to be a trilogy lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who fought to a draw at UFC 125. But both fighters were injured in training earlier this month and the fight was scratched.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Blatte
Bskinny Coffee
Argmatrix
Boresha
Boresha International

Johnson pulls mild upset on Torres at UFC 130

LAS VEGAS - Demetrious Johnson continues to clash with bigger fighters in the bantamweight class and take them down with his non-stop approach. The 5-foot-3 Johnson made former WEC champ Miguel Torres his latest victim. Torres found himself on his back too often and lost a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three cards.

Torres (39-4, 1-1 UFC) did a good job of moving and try to pick apart Johnson in the first, but became way too stationary in the final rounds.

Johnson (10-1, 2-0 UFC) scored multiple takedowns in the second and third. Torres worked for submissions, but more often than not MMA judges won't reward fighters for offense from the bottom. And the reality was, Johnson countered every Torres' move and stayed out of real trouble.

"It was a tough fight," Torres said. "He took me down and he just held me. I had a couple of submission attempts that gave me the chance to put him away. This was my fault tonight. He's slippery and he was able to get the takedowns. I just didn't take advantage when I should have."

Johnson said he thought the difference was controlling the pace and pushing forward in spite of what he thought was an injured leg.

"I thought I had a great game plan," Johnson said. "My goal was to kick his front leg, but at one point, he checked my kick and hit a soft spot (on my right leg). It really limited my mobility. My legs are my engine and he took that away from me. Fortunately, I was able to recover and secure good takedowns.

Torres, who raced out to a 37-1 start to his career, has now lost three of five. This was a costly loss for Torres, who was working toward a title shot or slot on a future "Ultimate Fighter" against the winner of the UFC 132's fight between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.

The 24-year-old Johnson has a bright future. Frankly, he should be fighting down at 125 pounds, but the UFC hasn't added the flyweight division yet. So for now, look out bantamweights and expect to go hard for at least 15 minutes against "Mighty Mouse."

Blatte
Bskinny Coffee
Argmatrix
Boresha
Boresha International

Senator or fighter? Stann sticks with the Octagon for now

Give Brian Stann credit, the guy doesn't need to be fighting in a cage. At age 30, Stann could pretty much choose any profession and be successful. As we witnessed today during the UFC 130 press conference, he'd be a great politician .

"I've been given an amazing opportunity by the UFC. I really make it a point to enjoy every minute I'm in that Octagon because in the blink of an eye that could be taken from any one of us. How many people get the opportunity to be a professional athlete, have an entire arena screaming at you for moment in time? I mean, we're gods in there for 15 minutes," Stann said. "That's gonna pass us by. I savor the opportunity and I'm just very lucky to be fighting a champion like Jorge [Santiago] on Memorial Day."

Before each fight, Stann's military background (Naval Academy grad and a Marine, who served in Iraq and was awarded the Silver Star in 2006) makes for a tremendous story, or does it?

At the presser today, a media member asked if Stann was tired of talking about his heroic history in the military. Most people might have popped off, but not Stann. He took it in stride.

"It's never easy to talk about because it always feels like I'm bragging about my military history and that's not my intention. I'm sure some of the hardcore fans get sick of hearing about it but I'm not the one asking the questions. I think this being Memorial Day that was obvious this was going to happen. I'm sorry if people are getting sick of hearing about it," said Stann.

Sorry? For what? There's no need for Stann to apologize. There's new viewers and fans, at and around each UFC event. Why not keep telling the story? The work he's doing as the executive director of Hire Heroes is pretty incredible.

When it came time to talk about the fight against Santiago, he paid the Brazilian nothing but respect. In doing so, he actually took a mild shot at his original opponent Wanderlei Silva.

"When you get to legend status like Wanderlei Silva, some fights pique your interest and some fights don't," Stann said. "In all honesty, let's face it, I got a tougher opponent, who's better for my career."

Many fans may argue that point. Silva is still a huge name and win by Stann would've moved him towards a fight with a top five opponent at middleweight. Stann pointed out that Santiago is a champion, who's 11-1 over the last four years. Stann has won two straight and 4-of-5. That loss came at 205 against fast-rising prospect Phil Davis.

You can watch UFC 130 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Blatte
Bskinny Coffee
Argmatrix
Boresha
Boresha International