Two roads diverged in a yellow wood....
I don't think it is what poet Robert Frost had in mind when he penned "The Road Not Taken" but it described my experience at the Tachi Palace Fights on July 9. It was here that I came to corner and support Razor Rob McCullough and War Machine. While the two fighters are remarkably similar in many ways, their careers and lives were taking dramatically different roads and the diverging paths would begin here.
Tachi Palace
On July 10, I had two fighters, Ricco Rodriguez and Jake O'Brien, scheduled in huge fights in Dream in Japan. While Dream is an entertainment spectacle of epic proportions, and I thoroughly enjoy attending, I had committed to attending the TPC in rural Lemoore, California, where I had two other very important clients in very different places in their lives and careers. The consolation was the Tachi Palace is a first-rate organization and they really take care of me and my guys, so if I had to miss Dream and attend a smaller show, I was glad it was here. I was looking forward to seeing my buddy Jeff Sherwood from Sherdog, who got me into the sport and moved up there, John Morgan from Junkie who was doing the play by play, and Jeremy Luchau and Richard Goodman who run the organization and have become social friends as well.
The Tachi Palace was the first home of the WEC before it was acquired by Zuffa. Next it housed The Palace Fighting Championships, and now it has a house show. I have booked more fighters here then any other show except the UFC, and Razor Rob McCullough has been the guy I have booked here the most. It had been almost four years since Razor fought at The Palace and in that time they had constructed a Four Diamond Hotel. Razor drew national acclaim for being on the giving end of one of the greatest knockouts of all time, against Olaf Alfonso here, and through his dominant performances and success, has become a local fan favorite and huge draw. War Machine, too, had fought at The Palace and was robbed in a split decision to local David Mitchell.
Similarities
In approaching our "Yellow Wood" wherein our roads diverge, it is important to note that both Razor and War had striking similarities both professionally and outside the cage up to this point.
In 2010, Razor Rob wed Penthouse Pet and award-winning porn star Lexxi Tyler (she only did girl scenes). War Machine, too, had a foray into the porn world as an actor. Against my vehement objections, War pursued this career to supplement his income while injured and unable to fight. He explained to me that his name is War Machine and he has a hand grenade tattooed on his neck and an anarchy symbol on his hand. The local law and accounting firms all rejected his resume. More importantly, he added, he was not robbing houses or selling drugs, and it was an honest living. While morally I took issue, I respected his logic. Of course, this plan took a detour when he beat up his agent... long story.
Like Razor, War tied the knot as well, recently wedding someone who seems so right for him, and giving him a reason to think a little more before acting out. They form a healthy balance. Lexxi, too, complements Razor and balances him to perfection. She is a great Yin for his Yang, so to speak. Did I just write that?
Both Razor and War had gained national acclaim on major shows and were working their way back after losses. Razor had been the champion and poster boy for the WEC. He was also a coach for Team Tito Ortiz on the most recent season of "The Ultimate Fighter." War was a show-stealing star of "The Ultimate Fighter IV" and won the Fight of the Night on the finale.
Because of their charismatic and controversial personalities, both Razor and War are in extremely high demand for booking. They get more calls for interviews than any of our other 60 clients, and we have 20 employed by Zuffa. Amongst our free agents, Razor and War are neck-and-neck in terms of the most offers for fights.
In support of their "Bad Boy" images, both have a certain vanity that requires they lift weights regularly, make regular stops at the tanning salons, over-groom, and both have affinity for tattoos. Okay, so this one sounds like 90 percent of MMA fighters.
Lastly, but certainly not least, both come from broken homes and were forced to fend for themselves at very early ages. Neither was given opportunities that are afforded to many and they have had to make their own breaks and have less guidance than most for critical life decisions. I mention this because although they may not think it is cool if people knew, they are both extremely intelligent individuals and, given different circumstances, I truly believe that either could have been a lawyer or doctor.
And it is here that the common path in the yellow wood diverges at the crossroad.
Razor Rob
Razor arrived with his entourage. Trainer Ben Moreland and I drove the four hours with him in the MMAagents Navigator. Following close behind were his chief second and close friend Tito Ortiz and Pride veteran and trainer Brady Fink. A van filled with his training partners would follow the next day as would his wife, newborn son Cruz, and his nanny (that would be Cruz' nanny, although I wouldn't put it past Razor for having a few nannies as well). Upon his arrival, at the main event, the Palace provided him with an immaculate two-story jacuzzi suite.
The fight would be at a catch weigh of 160 instead of his natural 155, so the cut would be simple and there was very little stress in preparation. This was reinforced by the support and presence of his team. Razor and I had weighed many offers, made calculated decisions, and were following a career plan. After a structured eight-week camp he was very ready.
Even though his opponent was local, Razor would enjoy a warm welcome and a big pop from the fans. His opponent was a very accomplished Isaac De Jesus. The dude was 9-1, coming off a KO of Nam Pham, saw Razor as an opportunity to get into a big show, and was not afraid. An online casino was taking action on the fight and actually had Rob as a slight underdog. I had done extensive research on De Jesus and knew he was right for Razor's first comeback fight. After a first round KO win, Razor made me look like a genius.
The next day the McCullough family would be off to Maui for a long-awaited honeymoon. Upon his return, camp will begin again and he will start preparing for a September 9th Palace fight and continuing on the comeback trail. It is good to be Razor Rob McCullough.
War Machine
About two weeks before the fight, War called me and I could hear in his voice there was a problem. He informed me that he would have to go to jail for a solid year. A while back he had gotten into a fight outside his gym after practice with a patron who was coming out of a bar in the same mall. Even though the patron opted not to press charges, given injures that resulted, War was prosecuted and pled guilty. He was given a suspended sentence that would have to be served if he was arrested again.
About a year later, War was involved in another altercation; you may have seen the tape on TMZ with War wearing the spit bag over his head. While he very much wanted to come to the aid of his buddies that were fighting, he was restrained by the bouncers. Being "War Machine" and perhaps being a bit emotional when the police arrived didn't help and he was arrested. While he probably had a good chance of beating the charges if he had the money to fight them, he was going to have to serve the time for the original sentence as a result, so he pled guilty once again on the condition that the sentences be concurrent. War was going to jail.
Faced with the prospect of leaving his new bride for a year, a bride that was Hungarian and didn't have work papers yet, he was distraught. He asked if there was any way I could get him a fight. Just by coincidenc, my client Brad Blackburn suffered a cut in training and had to pull out of his fight at the Palace against John Alessio. John had been a training partner and close friend for years at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Despite not training in preparation and having subsisted on diet of root beer floats and brownies, he took the fight.
War, too, had a four-plus-hour drive and arrived at The Palace with just his wife early in the day before weigh-ins. He began his cut from 190 to 170. When we arrived at midnight I went to the weigh room to find him laying on the floor all by himself, in a sauna suit and sweats, drenched and completely exhausted. I helped him get to his room because he was going to need all the rest he could muster to lose the weight the next morning. Despite a game effort the next day that dehydrated him to the point that his voice was inaudible, he fell short by two pounds. We asked Alessio's agent, Robert Roveta, who did not attend the fight, to grant him the two pounds considering he stepped up on a week's notice, thus preserving the payday for Alessio, the combatants being friends, and as I explained he was fighting to leave his wife some money before he went to jail. The response was basically "F@#k you, pay the 20% penalty."
War's corners arrived the morning of the fight and we sat down for a team meeting. In making a game plan, War acknowledged that he probably had a round of cardio in him so he planned on swinging for the fences. He said he didn't want his wife to watch this fight and was going to make her stay in the room. He said that no matter what happens, though, he would refuse to tap out.
While Razor hears the cheers of the crowd in Lemoore, War Machine is a villain and was showered with boos. Even though he brought the fight to Alessio and did his best to finish by throwing everything with bad intentions, he couldn't win over the fans or win the first round. At the start of the second round, War's mouth was open and he was gasping. With the vision of the win bonus in his head he survived the second.
As the third began it was obvious that he had nothing left in the tank. It was painful to watch because I knew why he was fighting, the reason he got into the cage, and the reason he got off the stool for the third round. While we usually have to be sticklers for the rules, I was also bothered by the 20 percent that Roveta had taken from him given the totality of the circumstances.
War stumbled out and mustered all he could with one final "Hail Mary" kick-punch combination. While the kick was intended to be an inside leg kick to put Alessio off balance for the punch, it missed its mark and displaced the family jewels. Recognizing War's condition, Alessio took a brief moment of the allotted five-minute break and quickly took War down and sunk the rear naked choke. True to his commitment he refused to tap. War gurgled for nearly a minute before going to sleep.
While Razor packed up and headed for Hawaii to relax before his next showcase fight, War Machine had a week for a few more root beer floats and some quality time with his wife before turning himself in and going to jail. It isn't so good to be War.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...
Ken Pavia is the owner of MMAagents.com, a full-service sports agency that represents over 55 elite-level MMA fighters.