| Jon Friedland: Transitioning into New Positions |
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| Written by Dom Velando | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 24 March 2009 13:54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"It's been that way for the whole last year," Friedland said. "Just because that's the first year where we started producing [competitors] in a significant number." The Pedro Sauer black belt said that he hates how taking a fight means not being able to coach his students to the fullest. Next Saturday, April 4, Friedland, 18-3, meets Ernie Paulson at King of the Cage: Insanity in Fond du Lac, WI. "A perfect example is that weekend. I'll be missing five of my guys grappling at Waukesha MMA's event," Friedland explained. "It'll be all their first time grappling in a cage and I won't be there for that and that's all I'll be thinking about on the same night I'm fighting. "It's even worse when they're actually fighting on the same night I am," Friedland said. "I refuse to sit in the back while they're fighting. I wanna be ringside with them...and I get so exhausted with each one of those guys, and then I fight usually in the main event. So, I'm exhausted by the time I ever go out there. It's not fair to my guys, because I'm always thinking about my fight, and it's not fair to me because I'm always thinking about theirs." Friedland faces a man who, despite losing his leg from the knee down to a rare form of cancer, doesn't plan on letting his handicap slow him down. In fact, Paulson, who wears a prosthetic limb into battle, recently scored first and second place finishes at the Arnold World Grappling Championship earlier this month. However, Paulson competed as a blue belt, and has not fought since 2005, when he suffered his second career loss. It was also his second career fight. Paulson clearly seeks to make his comeback in a big way. "I have a lot of respect just for wanting to fight me," Friedland said. "He kinda called me out, you know? He wants to fight me." Win or lose, what's next for Friedland? In July, he faces Ryan Hall, the master of the triangle choke, at the Midwest Triple Crown grappling tournament. Though he anticipates that his coaching and teaching duties will limit his training for the submission super fight, he stated the he would like to enlist the help of similar grapplers, such as Tom Mueller, Omar Choudhury, Aaron Bridges and Greg Schliesman. "That'd be my little 'dream team' of local people to imitate the way he moves," Friedland said.
Even if he is crazy, if Friedland wins his first fight in almost five months, he will lead the pack with a five-fight win streak.
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Comments (42)
Ernie Paulson
said:
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Not only is Jon "White Trash" Friedland, owner and head coach of Neutral Ground Jiu Jitsu, a fairly popular guy, he's the number one ranked welterweight in Wisconsin. This makes him all the more popular amongst fighters vying to make a name for themselves. In a way, that's fine with Friedland, because he wants out. And he's felt this way for a while now.
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... I really look forward to and appreciate the opportunity to fight Jon. He seems to be a great competitor and phenominal martial artist. To clarify my experience, my record should stand at 2-2-0. I won at KTK #1 in Wausau Feb. 2006, submitting Jesse Christiansen via gillotine. I fought in July 2008 at the Extremity Games in Detroit going 1-1-0 in that tournament. I hold a blue belt in Jiu-jitsu under Doug Moore (Carlson Gracie Sr. student) and a purple belt in Go-Shin Karate under Sensei Rob Shepard. Ernie Paulson |
Luke Summerfield
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... It's looking like that. He said it's probably is in practice tonight. I have a feeling he may do one last one in Green bay or Milwaukee (his home towns) We will see. |
Dom Velando
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... thanks for the comment, Ernie. We go by the two most credible record keepers I know of, sherdog and mma.tv, and they only had 2 of your fights logged. |
Ken Sitsler
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... Good luck Ernie.Try to get up there saturday so you guys can beat the shit out of me to get ready. |
Brian Massman
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... Were pumped up for you in Dubuque Ernie. Your a winner!  Brian Massman DCC Corp |
Red Schafer
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... That Ryan Hall matchup is sick. Hall's triangles are great, but I fear his 50/50 leglocks a lot more. That WI 'dream team' will definitely help him get ready. Good luck to Jon. Good luck to Ernie, but 0-1 (or 2-2) versus 18-3 is a very bad matchup. Rather see both guys fighting opponents at similar experience levels. |
demian decorah
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... The way I understand it White Trash ducked the Unbreakable for this event. Maybe the promoters didn't want pay James??? Who knows, but I call shenannigans. James is a way better fight than a one legged man. No offense to the one legged dude. I'm sure your good. Btw I love John. Just think this is very shady. This is why there will be a commision in town soon. |
Ernie Paulson
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... Demian: Having one leg has nothing to do with my skill level. Red commented on my record and experience, that I agree with. The fight is one sided on paper. I asked for the fight as I will enjoy the challenge. In the future it may be best to address people by thier names and not terms like "one legged dude" Thx. E.P. |
Nate Schafer
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... Yeah I agree this is a bullshit matchup on paper but I've never had high expectations from KOTC. They've never put on compelling matchups in the past, why would they start now? Jon's pro record on Sherdog is (18-3) vs. (0-1) of Paulson or (2-2) if we include his ammy fights. This definately isn't the first time Jon has fought lower-level competition, Travis Nath last May comes to mind who was (0-1) at the time. On the other hand, Warfield hasn't fought the highest level of competition either with a win over Travis Nath as well who was (0-3) when they fought. Ryan Scheeper twice, who was (2-9) and (2-13) at those fights, Ian Meerisch (0-1) and Jay Ellis who was (7-19) all in 2008. Warfield has however publicly offered to fight guys like Pettis and Friedland which says a lot in his desire to fight the best guys out there and take the number one spot. That is respectable. On the other hand, I think Jon's students, fans, and the WCS MMA community in general has put a lot of unwanted pressure onto his shoulders that he's never really wanted to bear or cared about, so I think he's probably the most talented fighter in Wisconsin who never gave a crap about being the best or wanting to test himself. No offense to Ernie Paulson but I think this is a bad matchup for him. His strength is BJJ and he's going against one of the most talented black belts in the state when he's a high level blue belt. His opponent also has 20 times the experience at MMA and BJJ so I think the odds are stacked against him. I don't think however that his handicap hinders him at all if he's able to place first at the Arnolds tourney. The biggest thing he has going is that he has everything to gain and nothing to lose in this fight. If he wins he becomes a recognizable name instantly knocking off the #1 ranked WCS welterweight and if he loses it's because he wasn't suppose to win anyway. Should Jon retire from MMA? In my opinion, if he doesn't want to fight the best or test himself, then yes he probably should and focus on coaching his students. On the other hand, there's plenty of crappy fighters out there who fight only for the money and don't care if they win or lose and that's on every show in this state and I'd rather see Jon fight then pay to watch their sorry ass embarass themselves for a couple of hundred bucks and waste everyones' time. |
Pat O'Malley
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... Nate we've made offers and accepted fights for Warfield to fight the best around - Friedland, Pettis, and Kuester (to name a few). All fights have been scratched or not accepted for one reason or another. Getting Warfield quality competition is difficult when the people with similar records come up with a plethora of reasons not to fight him. You forgot to mention that he knocked out David Gaston (who at the time was 5-0 4 KOs)in 2008. We look forward to any and all challengers. The reality is KOTC offered 500/500 for an opponent to fight Friedland - we accepted that even though it was low. Problem is they were looking for exactly that - an opponent not someone to put on a good show. Warfield is moving to 155 permanently and we hope to find him quality competition regionally and nationally. |
demian decorah
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... one legged dude(a.k.a. Ernie) re-read my post. it said "i'm sure your good." i would love train with you sometime. that being said... calling you one-legged isn't a false statement. no different than when people describe me as the fat guy standing next to faircloth. shit happens. faircloth is always around. another reason this is not a good fight is your apparent thin skin. will you cut easily? john is tough as nails. he wouldn't be offended if i called him one-legged. on the plus side. you only have to defend 1/2 as many footlocks or stomps. Ernie I mean no harm. You do the same shit I love to do. Really just think Warfield should be fighting. The only thing I questioned was John's willingness to test himself. If anybody should be mad it's him, sensitive-one-legged-dude. Demian |
Luke Summerfield
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... I don't know all the details... but IN MY OPINION: i don't think Jon has a "lack to test himself" or is trying to duck an opponent... Jon's last handful of opponent's have been great fighters with good records and he's stepped up. (win or loss) Mikhail Malyutin: Red Devil Fight Team and M1 Fighter - (9-7) - Jon WIN Derek Abram: (8-6) - Jon WIN Jesse Lennox: Gladiator's Champion, Adrenaline MMA, and WEC Fighter - (10-1) - Jon LOSS Ted Worthington: Waukesha Wrecking Champion - (22-14) - Jon WIN ... Just to name a few of the more resent ones. (these are 4/6 of his last fights) I just couldn't see Jon trying to avoid Warfield... I would see Jon as seeing it as a "challenge". _________________________ I know he wants to focus on other things like teaching, running a marathon, and possibly competing at Jiu Jitsu nationally... if this is his last fight... so be it. He's laid it out on the line over 30 times in MMA Fights (sherdog is missing some). He has nothing to prove anymore. He may be good at MMA... but just because your hung like a horse doesn't mean you have to be a porn star. |
Red Schafer
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... The facts are that Jon has turned down fights with James, but the thing is that he will admit it. He has said he does not like fighting and really doesn't care if he fights the top guys. His last 6 fights that you state are (without spinning the data)... Ted Worthington 8-6 versus 13-2 Jesse Lennox 5-0 versus 14-2 Derek Abram 5-4 versus 14-3 Mikhail Malyutin 3-3 versus 15-3 Travis Nath 0-1 versus 16-3 Quinton McCottrell 3-3 versus 17-3 There are some tough guys (especially Lennox and Worthington), but not one is a "step-up" from his record. Lennox has the best record, but even he had 9 less wins and 1/3 the fights at the time and was the challenger to the belt. In fact in all his 21 recorded fights he has never fought a guy with a better record (Lennox being the closest thing). The facts are that Jon IS a great fighter and faught some tough guys, but he admittingly never liked fighting and could probably care less about "stepping up" to prove anything. You have to respect him for what he has done, but don't twist the truth. |
duke roufus
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... I think the issue here is Rankings. WCS has done a great job getting Wisconsin Fighters & fans to follow the rankings. I have fought in Karate, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, K-1 & Boxing, anytime you have rankings fighters & keeping score FIGHTERS are gonna want to be number #1. Fighters do not make enough $, they fight for Pride. That being said, what is the solution here if the #1 fighter does not want to the other contenders????? A lot of the fighters want to get the big leagues but do not have the opportunity. A lot of the local fighters take pride in the rankings & want to work there way up them. I know Pat O'Malley wants to knock Polish Dave's block off to be #1. I think it is great that there are rankings great for the fighters the promotions! Look for Wisconsin Fighting Association coming soon! A group of Wisconsin promoters united to create bigger fights on the pro side & an amateur league. |
nathan bates
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... I think all you that think the one legged dude is not a contender you are going to be quite surprised. I train with him daily and I hope Jon is taking him a little more serious than you guys seem to. Because he is no joke and my opinion he is going to stomp friedlands ass. Jon is an amazing BJJ guy and I respect him. But I think he may be surprised DON'T UNDER ESTIMATE THE ONE LEGGED DUDE AS YOU GUYS CALL HIM HIS NAME IS ERNIE PAULSON YOU WILL BE HEARING ABOUT HIM MORE AND MORE AFTER KING OF THE CAGE. |
Red Schafer
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... I have respect for Ernie, watched a few of his matches last night (http://vids.myspace.com/index....D=47452752), but that does not change the fact that his experience level and record do not match up with Jon's... Ernie is tough, but why not fight someone with a similar record? Bottom line is that there are mismatches on paper all the time (and fight records do not always tell the whole story). Sometimes due to injury or cancellation a mismatch can occur even with the best intentioned matchmakers. As a fighter sometimes we are the heavy favorites, sometimes we are big underdogs, and sometimes we are evenly matched; but it requires some moral responsibility to keep it atleast appear somewhat competitive on paper. It is this lack of responsibility that is going to tarnish MMA and result in a commission needing to take over. No one is saying Jon has to fight a killer everytime, but 18-3 versus 0-1 is bad for the sport. |
Unbreakable Heavy Hitter
said:
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... First off I would like to wish the best of luck to Jon Friedland and Ernie Paulson. I would have liked to have had that fight with Jon, I think he would have been the best challenge in my career so far, I was willing to even take table scraps for that fight, to prove that I am one of the top pound for pound fighters in Wisconsin. As a fighter the only way to do that is to beat the best around, and he is ranked the best 170 in Wisconsin. But things did not happen the way I would have liked it, and that is okay. And whatever Jon decides to do either fight or just teach I wish him the best. And to Ernie, Demian meant no disrespect, he just kids around like that, if you knew him you would understand! I have love and respect for anyone who is man or woman enough to get into a cage and fight! And to Nate I have fought fighters of less caliber due to the fact that they are the only ones so far that have stepped up to fight me. And with that said even though I have fought lower level competition, I am far from a pushover. I am just waiting patiently like a good fisherman for my chance to put on a show. And I am not fighting out of my class anymore, I am officially fighting at 155lbs. I have a great camp behind me and I am going to represent for Chosen Few. And with that said, everyone should please move there focus back to the fight between Jon and Ernie, that is where it needs to be. |
mcfeejr
said:
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... I think everyone is missin tha point.E.P. should NOT BE underestimated..if you do your tha dipshits that are goin to get K.O.d...E.P. is well rounded,more passionate about martial arts than anyone i know not to mention one of the best instructers PERIOD..and damian show some respect..this is a competition in mixed martial arts not a brawl ANYTHING can happen.. |
Douglas Moore
said:
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... As the leader of Team Covenant BJJ I would like to extend a personal thank you to Mr. Friedland for competing against Ernie. Our team considers it an honor to have one of our team members compete against a reputable martial artist and fighter that Mr. Friedland is! I do have the utmost confidence in Ernie that he is going to put on the best fight of his life and is there to put on a great show and is going to give Mr. Friedland 100%! I am extremely confident in Ernie's ability he is a phenominal fighter! I would also like to say that anyone who badmouths Mr. Friedland or any of his students is not part of our group and we will never condone that type of behavior. We are a group of martial artists that believe in respect for everyone and enjoy competiting and training hard! |
Ryan Williams
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... You can say what you want about someone not being underestimated, that's fine and may be true. However, it does not change the fact that an Athletic Commission would never sanction this bout, ever, period. The mismatch on paper may not reflect Ernie's chances, but his record is what matters, and is what a Commission would look at. It doesn't matter how good Ernie is, it just doesn't. His record states that he should be fighting other fighters that are at the 5 fight mark, not someone who is 20 fights into a career that has spanned close to a decade. All the budo/respect talk in the world doesn't change the fact that this fight should not happen. People talk about wanting to legitimize the sport, until of course their buddy is fighting someone they shouldn't, then they just talk up all the reasons why logic should be ignored. Can't have it both ways fellas, either this is a sport with legimitate rules, regulations, and sanctioning bodies or it is a freak show where drunk cans out the crowd can fight a 15-0 fighter just because it gives the home crowd something to drunkenly cheer for. |
Demian Decorah
said:
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... Did mcfeejr just call me out? We can brawl, fight mma, or pistols at dawn. I don't care. Nothing I said about Ernie was disrespectful. Disrespect would be me calling somebody a faggot-fuck. Unless you are a faggot-fuck. Then its just the truth again. |
nathan bates
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... Come on Demian lets not get out of hand I dont think Mcfee called ya out no big deal let it go. |
Douglas Moore
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... Mr. Decorah: Why are you getting so upset about the fight between Mr. Paulson and Mr. Friedland? Why should you even care? They both agreed to fight so its really none of your business! I agree there should be a commission to help guide the sport of MMA and it should consist of professionals from the area such as Mr. Schafer, Mr. Friedland, Mr. Roufus,and I am sure several other well trained professional competitors! You also commented in a couple of your posts you'd like to train with Mr. Paulson and your desire is fine but I can tell you this! With your vulgarity you are not welcome in my gym at any point or time! |
Michael Broderick
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... Rdub said:You can say what you want about someone not being underestimated, that's fine and may be true. However, it does not change the fact that an Athletic Commission would never sanction this bout, ever, period. The mismatch on paper may not reflect Ernie's chances, but his record is what matters, and is what a Commission would look at. It doesn't matter how good Ernie is, it just doesn't. His record states that he should be fighting other fighters that are at the 5 fight mark, not someone who is 20 fights into a career that has spanned close to a decade." Humm, that comment is strange because if this were the case, how did Lesner get sanctioned by Nevada to fight Couture or Mir for that matter? I think it is a stretch to say that no comission would sanctioned this fight because of EP's recored compared to Jon. MB |
Ryan Williams
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... Are you fucking kidding me? Lesnar was a NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Champion, who also happens to be a freak athlete (remember his Vikings try outs?) to compare Paulson to Lesnar is idiotic, which pretty much what you are idiotic. You want to bastardize the sport and act like your doing Wisconsin a favor with your bullshit show that's fine but don't piss in my face and tell me it's rain. It's ignorant douchebags like you, looking to make a dollar off a sport you most likely didn't follow until you saw some money in it, that will fuck things up for everyone else. You and your ilk are the reason the governmental oversight is necesscary. We can talk about all the intangibles, but the reality it's a bullshit match, Jon is my friend and I still call bullshit, Ernie may be a good guy and from what I have heard a great up and comer but let's be realistic he has nothing to lose. A scary mo fo from Madison once said "It easy to take a fight you should lose, what's hard is to take the fights you are supposed to win". You fucks can continue to blow each other over this being a good match up, but you're fucking dellusional. Go peddle your snake oil somewhere douchebag. |
mcfeejr
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... the way you act u said it..u must be a faggot fuck then...people have names for a reason |
Red Schafer
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... I have much respect for Jon and Ernie, both guys are warriors. I don't agree with the match-up due to the extreme experience mismatch, but it is a free country. Would rather see them fight guys at their same experience level, but I wish them the best anyway. Hopefully it turns out to be a great war... |
Whitetrash
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... i've been trying to stop fighting mma since my last fight in russia, early 2008, haven't trained mma since then. hesitantly took a couple "last" fights since then as favors to friends or otherwise, this KOTC is no exception. Warfield or anyone else even close to his caliber would surely bury me, no doubt. i know him and his camp and respect them a ton. Unlike me, he/they still train hard for mma. To continue fighting and hold my overrated #1 spot, i'd have to train again at my former level to come even close to defending it. I'm just not interested in that anymore, i'm a coach now and am pushing my guys to their individual next levels. You'll continue to see impressive results from their bjj or mma competition throught the state and beyond. But for now, i'm looking forward to this weekend and the total rock out with my friends that will surely ensue after the fights. Good luck to E.P., i've heard nothing but good about him, can't wait to meet what i hear is an up and coming stud athlete/fighter and can't wait to share ideas afterwards. He won't be underestimated and won't leave lac du flambeau without a drink with me. Cheers! Then i'm out. Oh, and the commision can't come soon enough! WT out! |
Ryan Williams
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... Jon - I respect the fact that you are going out on your own terms and are satisfied with your choices. You are/and will be a great coach and were/are a great fighter. None of this is conversation is disrespect towards you, we understand your position in the matter. Good luck with the new focus. However, for people to go on thinking that this kind of matchmaking is acceptable is ridiculous. This is the reason that I have to hear Wisconsin MMA talked about like garbage on the side of the road every time it is brought up in the MMA Media, whether it be radio or print. In order for people to take the athletes in Wisconsin serious, and we have some seriously talented athletes, then we have to treat MMA as serious sport with guidelines, structure, and principals. Most of us clearly love MMA, our teams, and our team mates, let's treat that way and not continue the path that makes our state the bud of jokes in the MMA community. Let's not let the Johnny Comelately's dictate our image, until we have a commission we are responsible for the future of our sport. Let's act accordingly. |
Michael Broderick
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... Rdub; Umm huh? What’s that? I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention as I am too busy preparing for our sold out show on Saturday. However I can see you are a very educated and eloquent man Rdub. You should be very proud of yourself, as you are a great representation of Wisconsin MMA. Heck, I think we should have a meeting soon with all of the schools and gyms in this great state, (lets have the meeting in Milwaukee since it is obvious by your previous posts and observations no other area is legitimate), and vote to have you as our spokesperson. Also I can see as you have stated here that you are a very, very loyal and good friend to Jon even though you are trash talking a fight that he agreed to fight. Yes, I can see that you are a very good representative for the state and for Jon. I can also see that you really have the best interest in mind for all fighters by degrading the work I personally do (and notice how I say personal, like you are personalizing it), which happens to be sponsoring individual fighters as well as camps for thousands of dollars a year allowing them to continue to train and strive for their dreams in MMA, not to mention the fight bonuses we pay out for show performance, amateur or professional. I am sure the fighters and schools who receive these monies will agree with you 100%. And you are right , I am terrible for the sport as a whole since I book these shows at my venue at a loss, giving an opportunity for fighters to apply what they have been training so diligently on a national platform, or supporting the different MMA media outlets by purchasing advertising or hosting their staff at my events. Not to mention how obvious it is that KOTC is a terrible promotion, and it is obvious by your posts that you do not have any ulterior motives or subjective biases. Yes, the promotion that brought national pay per view for the first time in Wisconsin, the promotion that gives an opportunity for fighters from this state to springboard onto a national stage, the promotion that help start the careers of Rampage Jackson, Reshad Evans, Diego Sanchez, Joey Villasienor, and Mat Danzig (just to name a very small few) the promotion that is affiliated with the current number one show on MTV in its demo, is the worst thing that ever came to the state, because God forbid there is competition with whatever local, homegrown promotion you are affiliated with. In all seriousness though, please man, get help. I really think you need to talk to someone who might be able to help you professionally, and I mean that with no rancor because based on your last post, it just made me feel really, really sad for you. MB |
Ryan Williams
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... Hey Clown, KOTC used to be the organization that you try to peddle it off as now. They used to have compelling match ups with up and comers, they used to be a reputable organziation, and I would love to see that be the case again but currently it is not. It's a franchise that has been licensed to scum bags who put on horrendous shows. I am glad you are doing such marvelous things for fighters, but it's like the dope dealer who hands out turkeys and shoes to kids at Christmas, sure they are doing a few things good for the community but overall they are destroying it. There is a reason that KOTC events are usually held on reservations, because half the BS they pull wouldn't be sanctioned. This is the event that allowed women to fight men, nazi's to fight on their shows, and had full out motorcyle gang riot. Real reputable. If you were a real fan of the sport you would know KOTC has a horrible reputation and is often regarded as joke for it's gimmicky match making. This isn't 5-6 years ago when KOTC would have been arguably the number 2 promotion in the US no matter how hard you try to make it look that way. You want to come talk to me? Are you going to be the condecending little bitch that you clearly are? Because you might get slapped. I don't care what you think about me or what anybody else thinks for that matter, that much should be clear. I don't propose to be the spokeperson for Wisconsin MMA I will leave that to reputable and more composed individuals. What I will do is call bullshit when I see and you sir are bullshit. Keep throwing the tired lines justifying your actions, keep pretending KOTC is relevant, keep pretending that you're the savior of Wisconsin MMA. |
Michael Broderick
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... Oooo. Tough guy. I’m so scared! But yea, your right Rdub. Everything that comes out of your mouth is right. You win, I lose. I’ll just hang my head low in shame while the showroom fills to capacity this Saturday or when we have 4,000 people in the amphitheater this summer. It is just sad though. Sad that you have to resort to name calling and violence to try and prove your point. Sad that you obviously have an anger management issue and probably other underlying psychological problems that need to be addressed. Sad that you can’t prove your point without resorting to thuggish tactics. Sad that you clearly have an axe to grind and a hidden agenda against KOTC. Out of curiosity what camp are you affiliated with? Like I said, you’re an excellent representative for MMA in Wisconsin. It’s because of meatheads with comments like yours that gives MMA a bad rep with civilians, communities, and legislators as a whole. You’re a real stand up guy. MB |
Red Schafer
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... My name is Eric Schafer, I train at Roufusport, but I do not represent them in my opinions. I have been training since 1996 and fighting in Wisconsin since 1997. I have seen the good and bad in the state for over a decade. I guarantee you that every promotion in the state has had bad matchups, so no one is free of sin, but at least call a spade a spade... This is an extremely bad matchup, period. No legit commission would allow it. I do not like all the hostility, and I think it diverts from any intelligent discussion. So let's have one... At 18-3, Jon should be atleast fighting a journeyman-type fighter with a decent number of fights (there are plenty of 5-5ish level fighters out there), and 0-1 Ernie should be fighting someone with less than 5 pro fights to match his level. No disrespect to either guy, just the facts. Either call a spade a spade or make an intelligent counter-point... |
Griff
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wow Much respect to Red, WT, Duke and Warfield for showing alot of class here. Wisconsin probably does need a commission of some sort soon. I will say this though.. By his own admission, WT has said his ranking is overrated and that he does not train for MMA anymore.I would argue that does change things a bit. Ernie on the other hand has not fought much "professionally" but has been as dedicated and driven as anyone I have ever seen. If I remember correctly, he wasn't even training BJJ yet at his last pro fight. He has proven himself outside of "pro-mma" quite a bit. Everyone here understands that on paper this looks absolutely one sided. The backstory brings these two a BIT closer. Just my humble opinion. I am not going to say whether this fight should happen or not.. Not my place. Is Ernie facing some tough odds? For sure. WT is one of the best BJJ fighters around and will always be extremely dangerous whether he decides to keep fighting or not. I promise you Ernie is no can, and will give WT a hell of a fight, win or lose. And say Ernie wins, what does that change (if anything)? Just curious. So how about you other guys who want to argue and rant about matchups/legitimacy/whatever, start another thread and belittle each other as much as you would like. As I see it, these are 2 grown men who have agreed to fight each other and both seem to have a healthy respect for each others abilities. Maybe we should respect that and let it be their fight.. Not ours. Respectfully, Griff |
Ed Bostetter
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... In order to have a viable ranking system, all of the promoters have to respect the ranks of the fighters and match fighters accordingly. In the Ranking section on this site it shows that there are 16 active fighters below Jon. No disrespect to either fighters but I beleive that this fight underminds the ranking system that is evolving. Not one person on this thread has doubdted Ernie's ability as a fighter. As a matter of fact, it sounds like he is a pretty tough dude. With that being said, I wish both fighters the best of luck. Lots of respect to Ernie for stepping up. |
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