Rosi Sexton, media darling

Sometimes I get a bit blasé about the fact I share the mat at Straight Blast Gym Manchester with a bona fide celebrity like Rosi.

Rosi isn’t just a training partner though - she’s a good friend and a colleague, so I do sometimes take for granted the fact she is a rather exceptional person.

She’s intelligent (when she’s in the mood, fiercely so). She’s talented (you don’t win fights against world class opposition by pure luck). She’s a very generous person (my neck would probably consist of ground-up bits of leftover vertebrae without the many free sessions of osteopathy she has kindly given me) and recently, she’s been the centre of attention for British and international press.

Believe it or not, the multi-talented Ms Sexton is actually quite shy, although you might not think it from her many TV and radio appearances (everything from Richard and Judy to independent documentaries). She’s becoming quite the professional - it’s a shame I can’t find the Richard and Judy piece online, although there is this following two-minute segment from a local TV station here in Manchester. Enjoy.

Hype is (mostly) pointless

I was reading one of the major MMA news websites the other day. It was prior to a fairly large event taking place, and a certain ‘news’ item concerned something relating to the event that could have been perceived as negative if judged on the facts alone.

Who does Kimbo beat up now?

“God-fucking-damnit”

No prizes for guessing what’s on Gary Shaw’s mind after Ken got KO’d. The rumours were that Kenny was going to square off with Kimbo in the next few months, not that anyone would admit it before the fight. When Buzz planted one square on Shamrock’s shoulder and the ageing wrestler went down, you could feel the question being silently asked. Who the hell does Kimbo beat up now?

Henderson vs. Silva, and why I hate giving predictions

I don’t like doing previews (usually because I get them wrong when asked to make a prediction). Also I hate having to actually register my opinion on how a fight will go, preferring to just watch the fight and enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

The up-coming Dan Henderson-Anderson Silva encounter is one of the most closely matched title fights of all time, even with their vastly different styles, and it is giving pickers fits.

Paul Daley retires, journalists and fans alike despair

The way that news is now disseminated has changed beyond belief compared with only a short while ago.

The internet has always been a massive driving force behind this sport (see my latest Notes from Ringside column in Issue 36 of the mag, out Thursday 6th March for more on this). Forums especially, and more recently blogs, are where news is most often broken. The ‘major’ news sites are positively tectonic in their response to breaking news when compared to the flighty bloggers and civilian journalists.