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JerseySmarts.com

Exclusive Interview with Jamie Varner

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Eddie T and Justin Travis of TBLWrestling.com and XHeadlines.com, respectively, have snagged another big interview. This time they are talking with “Showtime” Jamie Varner – the reigning WEC Lightweight Champion, and one hell of a fighter (he just successfully defended that title over the past weekend).

This is a great interview and one that fans of mixed martial arts will definitely appreciate. Click here if you want to listen to the interview, but bear in mind that this page takes a minute or two to load and once it loads it will begin playing immediately (you can then pause it after it starts).

Enjoy!

Brett Favre to the New York Jets

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Have you heard? Living Legend and resident NFL crybaby Brett Favre has moved from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets. There’s not too much commentary that I can offer on this trade in this forum, but I would be happy to offer a comment or two on how this story was reported.

In short, the video clips and video packages were great! The commentary over the packages and the anchors (on ESPN, at least) were abysmal! Stuart Scott may have the least acumen for dramatic effect out of anyone that I’ve ever had the displeasure of listening to on the television. Bro, here’s a tip – not every fucking word has to be dramatic. And stop trying to use big words because you don’t use them the right way and it sounds stupid. At one point last night Scott tried to wedge the word “pantheon” into a sentence and it was so horribly chopped up that the sentence does not bear repeating here.

But none of that matters. Favre is in New York and I wonder if there are any real winners here. The Jets get a future Hall of Famer…but you can’t build a young team around Favre. And remember, the Jets lose a future draft pick and salary money. And then there is Rodgers out in Green Bay. The first time that kid makes a mistake he’s going to be destroyed by the media. Same goes for Favre in the New York media. And of course there is the fact that Favre is a future Hall of Famer who wanted to finish his career in Green Bay (which he ruined on his own accord).

Anyway, what a mess. Go Giants!

Exclusive Interview with Amir Sadollah

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The seventh season of UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter featured a lot of great fighters. However, there can only be one champion. At the end of a pretty intense season, it was Amir Sadollah who became the new Ultimate Fighter. TBLWrestling.com and XHeadlines.com recently had the chance to sit down with Amir for an exclusive phone interview. The discussion covered just about everything from the Ultimate Fighter – from life in the house, to the insanity of the Jesse Taylor situation, and everything in between! Amir shared some great personal inside and viewpoints that are must-hear! Unfortunately the audio quality is horrible in the first few minutes, but stick around and keep listening to this exclusive interview!

Exclusive Interview with the UFC’s C.B. Dollaway

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As some of you may know, JerseySmarts.com is part of a larger network of sites including two wrestling and mixed martial arts sites: XHeadlines.com and TBLWrestling.com. Both of these sites have begun collaborating on interviewing some of the famous faces in the wrestling and MMA world. To that end, please see the interview below – the first of TBL and XH’s exclusive interview series!

July 16, 2008 — C.B. Dollaway made a name for himself as a pretty tough dude on UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter. We recently had the chance to conduct an interview with him discussing his upcoming fight with Jesse Taylor, the show on Spike, and current weight-class talk in MMA, among other topics! Enjoy!

C.B., thanks for joining TBLWrestling.com and XHeadlines.com! We’re talking to the finalist of The Ultimate Fighter Season 7, one hell of a fighter who showcased his ability throughout the season.
What was it like being in the house with 15 other dudes for so long?! From what the cameras didn’t show us, who was it that you got along with most, and who did you have problems with? Who did you
feel, besides yourself, was the best fighter in the house?

The living circumstances were not all that bad. You get used to the cameras and other then the fact that the guy you are befriending could be your opponent. I got along with everyone, Pat Schultz and Matthew Riddle were likely the funniest cast mates. I was actually one of the last people on my team defending Jeremy May. I thought the best fighters were Jesse Taylor, Tim Creduer, Gerald
Harris and Brandon Sene seemed tough.

While on the show, Forrest Griffin noted that he couldn’t stand you because you were “cocky, and you backed it up.” How do you respond to his words?

WOW he noticed me? He really was busy with his team and he and I had little to no interaction. Being first pick somehow made me a favorite and from that people thought I was a jerk. I could not control much on that show.

Speaking of Forrest, what did you make of the two coaches on the show? Rampage Jackson admitted in the beginning of the program that he’s never coached before in his life. Did you learn a lot from Quinton, and how do you feel both coaches did in their roles?

I think Forrest did his homework and the results paid off for him. It is impossible to get 8 guys ready (simultaneously) and not know who they are fighting and when. Our coaches did the best they could and what they could not teach us in the ring they taught us from their
life experiences.

How did you feel about having to fight Amir Sadollah twice? Walk us through your two matches, including your strategy and approach. Were you trying to avoid the submission the second time around?

Initially I knew Amir was durable. I go into these modes where I am moving forward and trying to destroy my opponent. I need to pay more attention to them and what they want to do to me at this level. Amir was tough and hung in to win a tough first fight. Second fight. well he caught me again the same way. I worked on not getting into that position but really it all happened so fast. I am focused on doing what I need to do to get better and put the loss behind me.

C.B., one of the most popular topics of discussion when it comes to the UFC and MMA in general these days is the change in weight-classes that has been proposed and “accepted” by some. Dana White has made it clear that the UFC does not support the newly-proposed weight classes. How do you feel about the proposed changes verses what the UFC does?

I leave that stuff up to smarter men then me. I am a fighter and if Dana and my management want me to put on a few pounds and fight at a higher weight I will. I want to fight the best fighters in the world and I thank the UFC for bringing me into the organization where that will be possible.

What do you make of the Jesse Taylor situation, and what are your thoughts on his character?

He really is a funny guy and his poetry was classic. I think he has a problem when he gets drunk and I am glad he got that under control. He said something at the beginning of the show that stuck out to me. He said in life he always gets to the finish line and fucks up. I think doing that on national TV was a turning point for him. I hope he has trained hard, unfortunately for him I have to use this fight to show the world and Zuffa I belong at the UFC.

Finally, speaking of Jesse, we know you have your next UFC bout scheduled for this weekend as you take on him. I know you’ve been working very intensely to be in great shape for the match. What’s your strategy and approach and how do you think the fight will go?

I am a better fighter on the feet and unless I stopped evolving since college and he continued I am the better fighter on the ground. I need to avoid the lay and pray and this fight should go my way.

C.B., we want to thank you for giving us some of your important time as you prepare for this huge fight, and we wish you the best in the octagon against Jesse!

Thanks and thanks to MTX Audio, LG Sports Marketing and AZ Combat Sports.

DVD Review: Lipstick & Dynamite

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Lipstick and Dynamite: Piss and Vinegar is a 2005 documentary by Ruth Leitman that follows around some of the women wrestlers from the 1950’s – 1970’s. Thanks go out to my uncle for passing this DVD on to me over a year ago – I only recently had the chance to watch it and I’m glad that I did. As a wrestling fan, I’m always interested in learning more about the beginnings of the sport when it existed as part of the local carnivals or as sideshows. For their part, women wrestlers were an even bigger attraction than the regular men wrestlers.

Leitman interviews women wrestling legends like The Fabulous Moolah and Johnny Mae Young. Current wrestling fans are sure to recognize those two WWE Hall of Famers, but I found myself most intrigued during the documentary by the women like Gladys “Kill ’em” Gillem. Gillem was, in today’s terms, a jobber – or a wrestler whose “job” it is to lose and make their opponent look great in the process. Also, the bitterness that some of the older women wrestlers have towards Moolah is interesting. As one of the women wrestlers put it, “Moolah loves money. That’s the perfect name for her.”

I certainly wouldn’t begrudge anyone from making money at their chosen profession, but some of these women are definitely bitter about Moolah’s long-term success. The women wrestlers commented on how Moolah and Young’s presence in WWE in the early 2000’s in actual wrestling matches takes away from the accomplishments of the women’s wrestling movement. I don’t know if I necessarily agree (especially when groups like TNA are bringing back real women’s wrestling). By the way, Moolah passed away last year so some of these topics are a moot point now.

Fans will enjoy hearing the stories about one of the original promoters of “girl wrestling” and how he manipulated the sport so that his wife could retain the title. Moolah talks at length about her disgust for this guy and how she was glad to take the title from his wife and then put him out of business. At that time, Moolah became the number one trainer, promoter, and booker of women wrestlers in the world.

I have to recommend this DVD to any wrestling fan who thinks more of the sport than just a generic set of moves leading to a generic ending to a generic match. This is a DVD that follows around these women wrestlers and talks about the many hardships that they had to endure during the early years of their business. If you enjoy knowing more about the wrestling business than just what you see on Monday, Thursday, or Friday nights, then you’ll enjoy this DVD.