Exclusive: Jesse Taylor Talks Regrets, Missed Opportunities, and New Beginnings

Jesse Taylor is responsible for several firsts in Ultimate Fighter history. He’s the first fighter to voluntarily pee his pants for entertainment on the show, as well as the first to fight his way into the finals only to be kicked off for a drunken rampage after the show finished filming.

Now Taylor’s poised to get his shot in the UFC against CB Dollaway on July 19th. In this exclusive interview he talks to CagePotato about finally getting his shot at the big time and trying to learn from his mistakes to make the most of his second chance.

CagePotato.com: When did you find out that you were going to get a shot in the UFC on this July 19 card? Where you already in shape and ready for a fight, or did it come as a surprise to you?

Jesse Taylor: I was just staying active, and you have to remember the show ended back in March, so after training so long and fighting so much it was a big layoff. Ever since it ended I was trying to get back in, but I found out just recently, just about three and a half weeks ago that I was back in. I was just so pumped up, so happy that I felt like sure, let’s go, I’ll fight anybody.

Do you think it was the UFC’s need to put this card together on short notice that made them call you so soon?

I think it was a combination of things. I think that show definitely helped. But I had this spotlight on me anyway because I was the guy who won every one of his fights and then I got this horrible punishment. I definitely wanted the fight, and I think people were interested in, you know, what could have happened with Jesse Taylor, so next thing I know I’m back in the UFC.

Do you think they would have called you so soon if it wasn’t for this event?

I think they would have definitely called me again, I just think it would have been a little bit longer.

Looking back on it now, what do you make of the punishment Dana White handed down to you? Was it too harsh, in your opinion?

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Exclusive Interview: Lyoto Machida

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

After Lyoto Machida scored the biggest win of his undefeated career by out-pointing Tito Ortiz to a unanimous decision at UFC 84, he immediately became the subject of intense debate in the MMA community. While his fans praise his impenetrable defense and technically perfect counter-attacks, there are others who find his stick-and-move style to be boring — or worse, cowardly. Our resident Brazilian Luiz de Souza called Machida at his home base in Belém, Brazil, to get his take on the criticism, and to find out where he thinks he stands in the UFC’s light-heavyweight title picture.

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CagePotato: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us today. Do you have any idea who your next opponent will be?
There’s been a lot of speculation, but there’s no confirmation of anything yet. But I think it could be Thiago Silva, or even Quinton Jackson.

We’ve heard that multiple fighters have turned down fights with you. Why do you think people are trying to avoid you?
It’s like I said in other interviews, this is a business, and so many times people don’t want to fight, not because they are scared, but because they want to get to the top quicker. Many times, fighters have better opportunities of getting higher-ranked in other fights, which makes them choose their fights sparingly, not accepting all challenges. It’s not a matter of being scared.

Some UFC fans refer to your style as “boring.” How do you respond to that?
The truth is that my style of fighting is very technical, and many times people do not understand what I am trying to show them. But this is my style. I can add to it, try to get better combinations, improve my aggressiveness, but this is my style; it’s each person’s characteristics. There are fighters that try to add to their styles, but it’s very difficult to change completely. I fight for a positive result, and I believe that if I add a few things to my style I can still get these positive results.

I don’t feel that this is the only way fans see me. There are many of them who compliment me, and tell me they enjoy watching me fight, so it’s not only negativity coming from them. But it’s something that depends on each person’s point of view, and how the person is looking at the fight. If the person is only looking at it as a brawl, then it gets harder for the person to understand. But when they look at it with a more technical view, looking at the martial arts in it, maybe they’ll understand it better.

Has the UFC ever asked you to press the action more, or are they content with how your fights have been going?
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CagePotato Chart #1: Comment Breakdown

Click for larger image!

This weekend, I decided to go through all 13,768 comments that CagePotato has received from readers since we launched seven-ish months ago, and classify them into a multi-colored pie-chart. (I also did some totally crazy, badass stuff this weekend. I swear.) The results are above. It’s possible — though very unlikely — that I left out some significant categories, so if you notice any omissions, holler in the comments section.

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Exclusive: Forrest Griffin Interview

Forrest Griffin may have started in the UFC as the original “Ultimate Fighter,” but since then he’s proved himself in several tough bouts and endeared himself to fans. This Saturday he faces his first title bout against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 86 and another career-defining moment.

In this exclusive interview, Griffin spoke with CagePotato about his experiences coaching drunken fighters, his plans for “Rampage,” and much more.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with me, Forrest. Tell me, how have you been getting ready specifically for “Rampage”?

You know, a little of this, little of that. I’ve just been having people scowl at me a lot. That’s the first thing you’ve got to prepare for with Rampage. He’s got a good scowl. If you’ve ever watched him fight, have you ever watched him fight?

Yes, I’ve seen him fight.

He’s got a nice little scowl, doesn’t he?

It’s not bad. What else do you think he has in his arsenal, aside from the scowl.

He’s got a good chin. He’s a powerful guy, very explosive. He hits hard.

His trainer mentioned that he expected you to try and stay away from “Rampage” for most of the fight.

Sounds good. I think I’ll do that. Stay on the move. I like that. No, but I don’t want to stand in front of him for too long. Unfortunately he hits harder than I do and has a better chin than I do, so that’s not a good idea.

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Exclusive Interview: ‘TUF 7′ Finalist CB Dollaway

(CBD, reppin’ the MTX Audio Fight Team.)

Pretty much everyone had CB Dollaway as a lock to get into the Ultimate Fighter 7 finale, and the former All-American wrestler from Arizona State seemed to have it clinched on last night’s episode, kicking Amir Sadollah’s ass all over the Octagon. And then it happened — an armbar in the third round put a shocking end to the fight, and seemed to derail Dollaway’s dreams of making it into the UFC. Good thing Jesse Taylor can’t handle his liquor, because now the Team Rampage standout has a chance to battle Amir again, this time for all the marbles. Talk about drama. In this exclusive Q+A, Dollaway chats with CagePotato about his rematch with Sadollah, the drawbacks of having Rampage as a coach, Jesse Taylor, and the bullshit one has to endure when living in the TUF house.

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CAGEPOTATO.COM: What do you think went wrong at the end of your semi-final match with Amir?
CB DOLLAWAY: I think conditioning came into play. We’d been fighting two-round fights previously, and it kind of slipped my mind that it was gonna be a three-round fight. Towards the end of the third round I was just exhausted, and I got sloppy. I wasn’t doing things right, and he was. He kept his composure and caught me in that armbar. I definitely think I was controlling the whole fight, and I believe I was ahead on the scorecards, but you have that mental lapse for a minute and the other guy capitalizes on it.

How confident are you that you’ll have him figured out when you fight him again?
Pretty confident. I believe I took care of the mistakes I made in the first match. I think it should be a similar fight, but with me winning at the end. He’s a hard competitor to finish — I already know that from fighting him once — so I’ve taken measures to make sure I’ll be in great condition.

What did you miss the most while you were trapped in the Ultimate Fighter house?
The freedom, I guess. We were told what to do and when to do it, and we didn’t have access to anything. You can’t call anyone, you can’t get on the Internet and browse around, you can’t go to the mall — you’re just there. In a sense, it’s like being in jail.

We’ve heard a lot about how some of the castmembers were made to look a certain way on the show through editing. Jeremy May says he wasn’t really that much of an asshole. Amir told us the “confessional” scenes involved very leading questions. How accurately do you think you were portrayed on the show?
It seemed like they portrayed me to be a cocky asshole, and I’m not really like that. I just want to be confident and I don’t want to put negative thoughts in my head before I fight. They basically edit out everything you say except for the parts where you’re being confident…

Or when you’re referring to yourself in third-person.
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BetUS.com Presents: MMA Betting for ‘Tards

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

Nothing amps up the drama of watching a sporting event like knowing you have a little extra riding on the outcome. UFC 85 is tomorrow, and for me, that “little extra” is the possibility that I’ll be hard-barfing afterwards. For the rest of you, it might be throwing a few 20-spots down on your favorite fighters. If you still have some disposable mad-money left from your economic stimulus check, why not open an account at BetUS.com? And if you don’t know the first thing about what to do when you’re there, read on…

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Let me first begin by saying thanks to the Bens for allowing me to take time away from eating the souls of virgin gypsy orphans to come on here and try to corrupt the minds of the Cage Taters.

For those of you who are too damn lazy to know who I am, my name is Damon Durante, and I’m the host of BetUS Sports Radio, a series of sports betting-related podcasts. To review: BetUS.com is a sportsbook, I am their radio host.

I cover pretty much every sport you can bet on, but I’ll let you know that football is pretty much the Cat’s Cotton Pajamas around here and is essentially 90% of what we do. I friggin’ love all sports, but MMA is my secret mistress.

I have made it my personal goal to bring MMA as far to the forefront of sports wagering as I can; football might pay the bills, but MMA burns deep in my loins, to which the only soothing balm is more MMA. (There have obviously been others in my industry attempting to capitalize on the popularity of MMA using different tactics, but through sheer lameness they ended up sucking donkey pouch.)

Unfortunately the newness of mixed martial arts as a whole contributes to the betting naivety of most people. I mean we’ve all seen football point spreads since we were kids, but the appearance of money lines for MMA fighters is still seemingly non-existent. Without a doubt the #1 question I get asked is “What the #%*$ does ‘minus 200′ mean?”

That’s why I’m writing this bad boy; to turn you all into degenerate gambling bastards.

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Ben vs. Ben: The UFC 85 Argument

(Can Swick go from snoozefest to Fight of the Night?)

We’re at it again. In this edition, Cage Potato editors Ben Goldstein and Ben Fowlkes debate whether UFC 85 is worth the money, which match-up will provide the most fireworks, and who’s likely to get cut once this one is in the books.

Is this card worth buying on pay-per-view? If so, do you wait until the evening re-broadcast, or go ahead and blow your load on Saturday afternoon?

Fowlkes: For hardcore MMA fans, the phrase “worth buying” is almost meaningless. Of course we’re going to buy it. We’re suckers. We factor the cost of a pay-per-view or two into our monthly budgets without even thinking about the card.

For a casual viewer, UFC 85 may not be worth the trouble. The main event isn’t exactly compelling for most people, and much of the rest of card is tailored more for the British fans than the Spike TV crowd. Considering all the events that have been crammed together recently, less fervent MMA fans may take this Saturday off and spend time with their families or some stupid shit.

As for when you watch it, some purists might wait until the re-broadcast to simulate the experience they’ve grown accustomed to, but I love daytime drinking too much for that. Normal PPV’s don’t start until 10 pm on the East Coast, and that’s just a touch too late for my tastes. I love the idea of an afternoon of fights. It leaves my evening free to pursue other interests, such as nighttime drinking.

Goldstein: If I wasn’t independently wealthy, this would definitely be a “wait until the fights show up on RuTube” kind of event. To be fair, I think UFC 85’s main card has potential, but where “Bedlam” really suffers is the undercard — no stars, no exciting newcomers, and no fights that have any impact in the league outside of determining who will be sunk in the next wave of roster cuts. (Not that it makes much of a difference in terms of the pay-per-view broadcast, since they’ll only show the most exciting undercard fights anyway.)

Still, if you’re hardcore enough to shell out for this one, there’s no reason not to catch it live. In this day and age, you’d have to go to extreme lengths to avoid having the results spoiled for you before the re-broadcast — like not coming onto this site all day, which is pretty much retarded. When there’s an excuse to get blasted before dinner, the wise man takes it.

What will be the “Fight of the Night”?

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