Wednesday, April 24, 2013

US Olympian turned E! Reality Star

11x Olympic Medalist, Ryan Lochte

This past year at the 2012 Olympic summer games, swimmer Ryan Lochte captured five Olympic medals to bring his lifetime total to 11. Lochte’s main goal at the games was to out perform his teammate, the most decorative Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps. Even though Phelps found more success than Lochte did that summer, Lochte was able to beat Phelps in their first head-to-head competition, where Phelps didn’t even medal. And with that, a star is born! But not exactly in the way that you expect.

The future looked bright for this kid, as he could have been one of the most famous competitive athletes in the world, perhaps even surpassing Phelps. But after a handful of post Olympic interviews, the world soon realized that there Olympic poster-boy is one of the dumbest people on the planet! And like every other star in show-bizz, Lochte’s stupidity has landed him a reality show called What Would Ryan Lochte Do? on E!. The same network that embraced Kim Kardashian, Kendra Wilkinson, and many other infamous stars. What a great group of people to be categorized with.

What Would Ryan Lochte Do? Trailer

The show What Would Ryan Lochte Do? is basically a show about nothing but get it straight, this is no Seinfeld episode. The show portrays Lochte as a professional public idiot, and the whole time he seems to not even have a clue. While we’ve seen our fair share of professional dummies, from the outside, Lochte doesn’t seem like he would fit that personality. He’s a decorated Olympian, he’s a good-looking dude, and he gets chicks! But have you heard talk?? Check out this pair of Fox 29 news anchors who loose it after "conducting" an interview with Lochte live on air.


With the combination of his stupidity and stereotypical frat boy image, many people would conceder Lochte to be a douchebag, except himself. Because he doesn’t know what a douchebag is!?! Yet Lochte seems to possess an big heart and has strong family ties so I must respect the man for that. And not to mention, he’s still an Olympic champion who has many years of swimming to do for this country.

With water already under the bridge, the only way is can see Lochte’s reputation being restored, even by the slightest bit, is by dropping the show and focusing on the pool! Lochte would be doing himself and this country a great deed if this were to happen. Doesn’t everyone else think so? #Jeah !!!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

'Ronda Rousey' and the Future of WMMA

Above: Ronda Rousey, first and currently UFC's Women's Bantamweight Champion

For all you MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Junkies out there, the world of sports "entertainment" is about to take on a whole new meaning with the introduction of the feared, yet beautiful Ronda Rousey to the UFC. Before recently joining the UFC, Rousey had compiled a resume that is very impressive for any athlete. She was a Junior World Champion (Judo), World Silver Medalist (Judo) the former Strikeforce (MMA Organization) Women's Bantamweight Champion, the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo (Beijing 2008; Bronze), Pan Am Games Champion (Judo), 4th degree Black belt in Judo and is the first and currently UFC's Women's Bantamweight Champion (MMA record: 7-0).
(Ronda Rousey WMMA Highlight reel)

After Rousey's historic win at UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche on Feb. 23, 2013, the media cant seem to get enough of
Ronda Rousey on the cover of ESPN Magazine
this chick and it's not just because of her performance in the sport. With only one UFC win under her belt, Rousey has landed on the cover of ESPN's Magazine for "the BODY issue". Since no other MMA fighter has been on the cover of ESPN's Magazines, its safe to say that she didn't land that spot because of her successful performance in the ring. Rousey has also captured the headlines of many after and an interview on the Jim Rome show regarding her views on sex before fights. Rousey states, "For girls, it raises your testosterone so I try to have as much sex as possible before a fight, actually. Not with like everybody. I dont put out a Craigslist ad or anything, but if I have a steady, I'm going be like 'yo, fight times coming up'" Rousey said with a laugh. With Rousey being the attractive athlete that she is, the media seems to have changed their journalistic perspective from strictly covering sports news to this E! News kind of feel to it. Its almost as if the media is robbing her of her MMA accomplishments and trying to turn Rousey into a Kim Kardashian kind of figure. Yet Rousey continues to stay true to herself by not getting to caught up in the limelight of fame.
Ronda Rousey (left) President of UFC, Dana White (right)

As for Dana White, President of The UFC, he believes that the recent success of Rousey can only do good things for the sports of WMMA and the UFC. When asked about the future of WMMA in the UFC White stated, "If you think about it, when we started this company, we had heavyweights, light heavyweights, middleweights, and welterweights. That was it. We've been adding weight classes, and the sport keeps getting bigger and bigger. The same will happen with the women. You think that after it starts to generate some excitement and interest that other women will pop out of the woodwork. I think over the next couple of years, we're really going to see a big boom."  It seems that White has taken a 180 degree turn on the subject matter as he had previously reported to TMZ that "women will never fight in the UFC". Could it be because of the sex appeal that Rousey brings to the sport? Or do you think White is really interested in the integration of WMMA to the UFC? Either way he know that guys love to watch chick fights and the more people watching, the more moneys he bringing in.  Also being the biggest star in WMMA and one of the biggest stars in MMA period has helped change Whites views towards WMMA in the UFC.


MMA overall has grown over the past few years to a global level and with the addition of WMMA to the UFC, the sport will only continue to get bigger. If Rousey and other female fighters continue to excite White and fan during their matches, WMMA will flourish in the future.

Ronda Rousey is set to defend her title against Cat Zingano, her second opponent in the UFC. Cat also made history going down as the first mother/wife to fight in the octagon. It has yet to be announced when this fight is to take place but its sure to be a must see match. The two are also set to be host's/coaches for next seasons The Ultimate Fighter reality show, where in the past  coaches square up against one another at the end of the season. So this could be the making of a long time rivalry. I know for me, I'm all about the intergrading of WMMA into the UFC. I believe it will attract me viewers/fans and will help to evolve sport of MMA. What do you guys think about the change? Are you planning on watching Rousey vs. Zingano fight? Keep it tuned it for more info regarding time times and dates for upcoming fights.

Rousey with an armbar on Carmouche at UFC 157