Official MMA Thread

NCRadioMan · 09-03-2009, 07:36 AM

At this past weekend's UFC 102 event at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore., the groin shot hurt plenty badly. Plenty badly.

But even more frustrating for UFC newcomer Chris Tuscherer was the lack of answers he received from Oregon State Athletic Commission officials after opponent Gabriel Gonzaga tagged him with one of the worst groin shots in MMA history.

On today's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio (http://www.mmajunkie.com/radio), Tuscherer, who ultimately suffered a brutal knockout via head kick and follow-up punches, said that lack of information eventually led him to the disastrous decision to continue in the fight.

Early in the heavyweights' preliminary-card bout, Gonzaga caught Tuscherer, a Minnesota Martial Arts Academy fighter and teammate of Brock Lesnar's, square in the family jewels. While many such kicks ultimately graze the groin area and are intended for an inside leg, Tuscherer said the fighters' positioning led Gonzaga's to being a "straight up punt kick" to the junk.

"It's the most excruciating pain I've ever felt in my life," the 33-year-old said. "I'm still sore, but I'm luckily not getting worse."

Most infuriating, though, was what Tuscherer said was a complete lack of information about the fight's status. In a pivotal promotional debut, Tuscherer knew he needed to impress or risk getting cut from the UFC's roster. But even if he decided to continue and fight through the pain, which initially left him sprawled out on the canvas and dry heaving, Tuscherer didn't know if he'd be tagged with a loss, if the fight would be declared a no-contest, or if Gonzaga would suffer a disqualification defeat (something he said he absolutely didn't want happening).

"No one knew what was going on," he said. "Right now I think about it, and it's really screwed up because no one could tell me what was going on ... between the doctor and the referee. No one could tell me a straight answer on if I couldn't finish what would be the result. So I was out there and didn't know what to do."

"I asked the doctor many times what would happen if I can't continue. 'Is it a no-contest? What happens here?' And the doctor and the ref couldn't tell me. They kept passing the buck on to each other out there, so no one could tell me what was going on."

About that time, Lesnar came cageside to check on Tuscherer. The heavyweight champ first inquired on his training partner's health, at which time Tuscherer told him he thought, "My testicle is up inside my body."

Ouch.

Ultimately, he felt like he was rushed into a decision.

So then the doctor is standing there and asking me if I can continue," said Tuscherer. "I'm like, 'What happens if I can't continue? I feel like my testicle is up inside me.' The doctor said to me, 'Do you want to go in the back and look at it?' I'm thinking to myself, 'What the hell is this guy talking about? Does that mean we go in the back and check it out and come back and fight?' He couldn't tell me what would happen if I couldn't continue. So I'm sitting there thinking the worst. I don't want to take a loss because I can't continue, and you've got all these emotions going on, and it's your first UFC event. I'm a tough guy, and I have a stubborn head, but with it being my UFC debut, I didn't want to go out like that.'

"So basically, I got pissed off and said, 'Let's just do it.'

But even before that conversation, Tuscherer could be seen wrestling with officials. He said it was indicative of his frame of mind soon after the brutal kick first landed.

"I was passed out for whatever amount of time it was, and I had come to, and what I remember is that I thought I was on the ground fighting," Tuscherer said. "That's the part where you kind of see me going wild there. That was me coming to and thinking I was still fighting, and basically whoever was in front of me was who I was going after."

A couple minutes later, after the in-cage antics and decision to continue, Gonzaga picked up his third win in four fights and blasted a still-ailing Tuscherer with a kick to the head. The TKO stoppage came mere moments later.

Looking back, Tuscherer knows he should have never continued.

"All I was wondering was if it'd be a no-contest," he said. "Would that have been the deal? If someone could have been telling me ... it would have been a no-contest, I think my mind would have thought a little different that way. I would have thought to myself, 'Hey, we're not fighting on some small show here. This is a huge fight. I'm fighting a guy who's a top-10 heavyweight in the world. I've got to be a 100 percent if I'm going to be out here.'

"That's probably what would've went through my head."

Now stuck with just his second loss in 19 professional bouts, Tuscherer is just hopeful he'll get another shot in the UFC. After five years of professional fighting to get him to MMA's biggest stage, the former two-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler just wants another shot to prove he belongs here.

"I talked to a few of the UFC guys on the night of that fight, and they apologized that it was done that way and that the Oregon State (Athletic) Commission didn't really know what was going on, that it was the first time the UFC had been out there," he said. "I don't blame the UFC at all. I blame the other guys for not knowing what was going on. That's out of their hands, so I can't blame them.

"So I'm hoping they'll give me another shot so I can prove again that I do deserve to be out there. "

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Josh Neer Replaces Sherk at UFC 104

Josh Neer will replace an injured Sean Sherk in a lightweight bout against Gleison Tibau at UFC 104 on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles, according to a source close to the matchup.

Sherk, 36, suffered a shoulder injury in training that will keep him out of the gym for approximately four weeks, according to his manager Monte Cox. The injury is a setback for the former lightweight champion, who is 1-1 in his last two Octagon appearances since failing to recapture the crown from B.J. Penn at UFC 84 in May 2008.

Neer dropped a tough decision to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101 in August and is 2-2 in his last four UFC performances. The tough-as-nails Iowan submitted Mac Danzig in a memorable tilt at UFC Fight Night 17 last February.

Tibau returns to action after a close split-decision loss to Melvin Guillard at “The Ultimate Fighter 9” Finale in June. A wrestler fighting out of Florida’s American Top Team, Tibau had defeated Jeremy Stephens and Rich Clementi before dropping the bout to Guillard.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/nee...-ufc-104-19457

09-03-2009, 07:36 AM	#11
NCRadioMan Chutney Lovebusciut Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Chutney Location: On the shores of Loch Shiel Posts: 4,281 Trading: (66)	Re: Official MMA Thread At this past weekend's UFC 102 event at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore., the groin shot hurt plenty badly. Plenty badly. But even more frustrating for UFC newcomer Chris Tuscherer was the lack of answers he received from Oregon State Athletic Commission officials after opponent Gabriel Gonzaga tagged him with one of the worst groin shots in MMA history. On today's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio (http://www.mmajunkie.com/radio), Tuscherer, who ultimately suffered a brutal knockout via head kick and follow-up punches, said that lack of information eventually led him to the disastrous decision to continue in the fight. Early in the heavyweights' preliminary-card bout, Gonzaga caught Tuscherer, a Minnesota Martial Arts Academy fighter and teammate of Brock Lesnar's, square in the family jewels. While many such kicks ultimately graze the groin area and are intended for an inside leg, Tuscherer said the fighters' positioning led Gonzaga's to being a "straight up punt kick" to the junk. "It's the most excruciating pain I've ever felt in my life," the 33-year-old said. "I'm still sore, but I'm luckily not getting worse." Most infuriating, though, was what Tuscherer said was a complete lack of information about the fight's status. In a pivotal promotional debut, Tuscherer knew he needed to impress or risk getting cut from the UFC's roster. But even if he decided to continue and fight through the pain, which initially left him sprawled out on the canvas and dry heaving, Tuscherer didn't know if he'd be tagged with a loss, if the fight would be declared a no-contest, or if Gonzaga would suffer a disqualification defeat (something he said he absolutely didn't want happening). "No one knew what was going on," he said. "Right now I think about it, and it's really screwed up because no one could tell me what was going on ... between the doctor and the referee. No one could tell me a straight answer on if I couldn't finish what would be the result. So I was out there and didn't know what to do." "I asked the doctor many times what would happen if I can't continue. 'Is it a no-contest? What happens here?' And the doctor and the ref couldn't tell me. They kept passing the buck on to each other out there, so no one could tell me what was going on." About that time, Lesnar came cageside to check on Tuscherer. The heavyweight champ first inquired on his training partner's health, at which time Tuscherer told him he thought, "My testicle is up inside my body." Ouch. Ultimately, he felt like he was rushed into a decision. So then the doctor is standing there and asking me if I can continue," said Tuscherer. "I'm like, 'What happens if I can't continue? I feel like my testicle is up inside me.' The doctor said to me, 'Do you want to go in the back and look at it?' I'm thinking to myself, 'What the hell is this guy talking about? Does that mean we go in the back and check it out and come back and fight?' He couldn't tell me what would happen if I couldn't continue. So I'm sitting there thinking the worst. I don't want to take a loss because I can't continue, and you've got all these emotions going on, and it's your first UFC event. I'm a tough guy, and I have a stubborn head, but with it being my UFC debut, I didn't want to go out like that.' "So basically, I got pissed off and said, 'Let's just do it.' But even before that conversation, Tuscherer could be seen wrestling with officials. He said it was indicative of his frame of mind soon after the brutal kick first landed. "I was passed out for whatever amount of time it was, and I had come to, and what I remember is that I thought I was on the ground fighting," Tuscherer said. "That's the part where you kind of see me going wild there. That was me coming to and thinking I was still fighting, and basically whoever was in front of me was who I was going after." A couple minutes later, after the in-cage antics and decision to continue, Gonzaga picked up his third win in four fights and blasted a still-ailing Tuscherer with a kick to the head. The TKO stoppage came mere moments later. Looking back, Tuscherer knows he should have never continued. "All I was wondering was if it'd be a no-contest," he said. "Would that have been the deal? If someone could have been telling me ... it would have been a no-contest, I think my mind would have thought a little different that way. I would have thought to myself, 'Hey, we're not fighting on some small show here. This is a huge fight. I'm fighting a guy who's a top-10 heavyweight in the world. I've got to be a 100 percent if I'm going to be out here.' "That's probably what would've went through my head." Now stuck with just his second loss in 19 professional bouts, Tuscherer is just hopeful he'll get another shot in the UFC. After five years of professional fighting to get him to MMA's biggest stage, the former two-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler just wants another shot to prove he belongs here. "I talked to a few of the UFC guys on the night of that fight, and they apologized that it was done that way and that the Oregon State (Athletic) Commission didn't really know what was going on, that it was the first time the UFC had been out there," he said. "I don't blame the UFC at all. I blame the other guys for not knowing what was going on. That's out of their hands, so I can't blame them. "So I'm hoping they'll give me another shot so I can prove again that I do deserve to be out there. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josh Neer Replaces Sherk at UFC 104 Josh Neer will replace an injured Sean Sherk in a lightweight bout against Gleison Tibau at UFC 104 on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles, according to a source close to the matchup. Sherk, 36, suffered a shoulder injury in training that will keep him out of the gym for approximately four weeks, according to his manager Monte Cox. The injury is a setback for the former lightweight champion, who is 1-1 in his last two Octagon appearances since failing to recapture the crown from B.J. Penn at UFC 84 in May 2008. Neer dropped a tough decision to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101 in August and is 2-2 in his last four UFC performances. The tough-as-nails Iowan submitted Mac Danzig in a memorable tilt at UFC Fight Night 17 last February. Tibau returns to action after a close split-decision loss to Melvin Guillard at “The Ultimate Fighter 9” Finale in June. A wrestler fighting out of Florida’s American Top Team, Tibau had defeated Jeremy Stephens and Rich Clementi before dropping the bout to Guillard. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/nee...-ufc-104-19457 __________________ The path to loyalty is trust.