Bader, Dolloway & Simpson Leave Arizona Combat Sports…

Now, this is interesting.

These three guys were all Arizona State Alums, and they make up a decent portion of the roster at ACS. However, they are moving on to greener pastures, according to MMA Madness:

The move by the three UFC competitors and Arizona State alums comes at a curious time as all are coming off the biggest wins of their careers. Bader defeated Keith Jardine via third round TKO at UFC 110, Dolloway took home a unanimous decision that same night against Goran Reljic and Simpson defeated Tom Lawlor at UFC Fight Night 20 in January.

There is a way to look at this as an overdue occurrence. Bader and Dolloway both were considered scalding hot prospects when they came off their respective season of TUF. Both have stalled in their careers in some way.

Dolloway has had an up and down run in the UFC, Losing to Amir Sadollah (twice, although once doesn’t count because it was on TUF) and Tom Lawlor. He is 4-2 in the UFC, but has underacheived in the eyes of many.

Bader is yet to lose in the Octagon, or anywhere else for that manner, but really has failed to impress in his last couple of fights. After knocking out Vinny Magalahes in the TUF 8 Finale, he has won three fights. He went to decisions against inferior fighters Carmelo Marrero and Eric Schafer and needed a third round knockout to defeat Keith Jardine at UFC 110. In all three fights, he has gassed after the first round, and showed exactly zero improvement in the standup game. His boxing remains rudimentary, and he relies too much on the Dan Henderson approach, trying to knock everyone out with one big right hand.

Of course, a move like this not without fallout. ACS member and all-around MMA villian Jamie Varner had something to say about this on The UG:

“I’ve been at AZ combat for 6 years now this gym builds fighters from the ground up! None of those guys would be where they are with out there training partners and the Lallys! Some douche bags like to talk shit but our gym is battle tested and proven! When Riggs left he started losing and got cut from the UFC. When Fickett got kicked out he started losing and got kicked out of the UFC! I’m very interested to see what happens with those guys I wish them nothing but the best in there careers, but they made a HUGE mistake!”

Jamie Varner

Okay, here is my plead to all athletes. I understand wanting to be in touch with your fans. That’s cool. That’s why things like Twitter (Especially our Twitter!) are awesome. However, don’t directly make statements like this without thinking about it. Varner is already in enough trouble with MMA fans, and now he comes out with this statement which makes him sound bitter. Did he really have to point out that Joe Riggs and Drew Fickett left they started losing? Was it ACS, or simply that neither of those guys could compete in the UFC?

Expect these three guys to land together somewhere on the west coast. The question is where?