John "hit me with your best shot" Lewis is punchy!

[Americana]

After disgracing himself against Carlson "George Kastanza" Gracie, Jr., Kenny Monday, Jens Pulver and assorted others, John Lewis is shooting his mouth off about a non-existent UFC against a fighter who never heard of the fight.

In the latest ADCC, Lewis discusses his upcoming March UFC fight against Dennis Hallman:

"I think my hands are a little better but he is very good. He is naturally heavier so he will come in strong. He is good on the ground as I am. I don’t think he is weak in any position. It’ll be a great fight."

Two problems: (1) there is no UFC in March; (2) Hallman is on the Underground saying he never heard of the fight.

Please retire John!

[John Matao]

I got to agree with you Americana. Lewis was never any good in MMA or even Grappling competitions.
He got his break in Extreme fighting when Perretti built him up as the greatest fighter in the history of MMA. He put him up against bums and still Lewis barely won.
That fight against George Kostanza Gracie was an embarresment for all MMA fans.

Theres something about a little skinny guy covered in unfinished tattoos that always makes me think "LOSER".

[John Matao]

Something else that I thought was odd in that ADCC interview. Rafiel Torre refers to Lewis as a BJJ black belt!
I knew Lewis had some BS belt from Gene Lebell but when did he buy a BJJ Black Belt? I never heard about that one.

Maybe he got it from the same place Rafiel Torre got his "BJJ Black Belt" LOL!

This sport is full of frauds, its sickening.

[Mr. Miyagi]

I thing John Lewis is a good fighter but that last interview is total bs. He wants a rematch with Jens and thinks that Jens is avoiding him? He should wait till his broken jaw heals before talking smack like that. Lewis has a certain image which is responsible for his popularity, more so than his performances in the ring. As for his black belt it seems like it is probably legit, but that doesn't make him a top fighter for having one since he doesn't know how to avoid strikes.

[Ronin]

One KO and the guy sucks.

Lowell Anderson must be a freaking push-over according to you geniuses.

[Ronin]

I suppose the draw with Sato was a fluke too?

I wish I sucked as bad as Lewis.

"John Matao", I doubt you could last as long as Charles Taylor against Sato.

[Jaguar Wong]

He has a bjj black belt from Andre Pedreneiras. You can find out more at his site: www.lewisjiujitsu.com

I wish I had his ground skills, whether you guys think he sucks or not. He's a real nice guy when you talk to him, and I don't think getting KO'd, or losing fights makes him a bad fighter/trainer, he's just not a superstar. I'm sure plenty of you guys are well above his level.

BTW, isn't that UFC in April?

[SweepEm]

Originally posted by John Matao
Something else that I thought was odd in that ADCC interview. Rafiel Torre refers to Lewis as a BJJ black belt!
I knew Lewis had some BS belt from Gene Lebell but when did he buy a BJJ Black Belt? I never heard about that one.

Maybe he got it from the same place Rafiel Torre got his "BJJ Black Belt" LOL!

This sport is full of frauds, its sickening.

John,
I am going against you on what you just stated.
Have you met either John Lewis or Raffiel Torre?
These two are legitimate in Jiu Jitsu and I am sure that as others see your post, they will make comments also.
Raffiel was a valued contributing member on this forum and used to pop into chat quite frequently.
If you weren't impressed with someone's performance, that is your opinion, but my opinion is that you are wrong and that these two guys deserve more respect than you're giving them.
Look, this is a forum and you have the right to say what you want, and I am not slamming you as the current trend is to insult your intelligence or question your sexual preferences.
This is the freedom to speak your mind. I am just debating and questioning what you said.

If you are close enough, go check out Lewis' school in Vegas. Most people visit Vegas sometime and I would suggest that you pop in and watch John train or teach. Raffiel's school is in the middle of no where, 29 Palms, almost all of his classes are full of jar heads but they are tough muthers. Raffiel is a writer for ADCC and has gone on the mat with many famous BJJ dudes. Raffiel has gone to most of the major BJJ and NHB tournaments and matches. If he is a fraud, I doubt if he would be a writer to cover those matches and also to train with the competitors.

[Ian The Machine Freeman]

RESPECT

Come on guy's. You have to respect any man that steps into the ring.

I'm not sure if the interview is true or not, but sometimes a little self exposure gets used now and then.

Not picking sides here, just speaking as a fighter.

[John Matao]

Ian, I do respect anyone that gets into the ring. Maybe I came across as being harsh on Lewis.

Sweepem, now I know that Lewis is a legit BJJ Black Belt I apologise for questioning his stats. I really thought his BB was only under Gene Lebell and didnt know he also had a BJJ BB. TorreJJ on the other hand is a different matter.
I know the guy is skilled and he is a good teacher and a nice guy. He always called himself a BB in TorreJJ which was a style developed by his father. He said it combined karate & Ju Jitsu but that their ground game was not in the league of BJJers. That was cool.
Then when he joined ADCC they claimed he was a BJJ BB, he never denied it. Twice in the chat room here he was asked the direct question "Are you a BJJ Black Belt" and he replied "Yes". When pushed for details he waffled something about his dad knowing Carlson and Carlson remembered him form the old days. When pushed further he left the chat room. There are no listings of any Torre's at BJJ.org which made things even more suspicious. He tried to get away with it for a while until he was confronted on The Underground where he denied ever claiming to be a BJJ BB and did a major back pedal. I guess he realized he would get found out if he kept saying he was a BJJ BB.

Like I said, I know he is talented but that really made me mad. In any case, if he was a real BJJ Black Belt its unlikely he would have been raped by a Purple belt within 25 seconds at ADCC a couple of years ago.

Peace.

[sccr06]

I've only seen 3 of Lewis' fights and I was really only impressed with one of them. That was his fight against Lowell Anderson. I thought he forced Lowell to fight his way and that is hard to do in a competition. But other than that, I think there are lots of lightweights that show better skills than he does.

The other point I wanted to make is that just because I said this doesn't mean I don't respect the guy for getting in the ring. I've never been there and probably never will but that doesn't mean I can't give an opinion about a pro fighter. I'm not a boxer either; but I hear HUNDREDS of people comment on Tyson et. al. without any experience to back up their claims.

Just b/c you aren't an expert doesn't mean you can't share your opinion.

[Evilution]

I'd have to agree with Ian Freeman. It's easy to talk shit, a lot harder to get in the ring. Although nobody likes an arrogant fighter.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Pros are pros and fans are fans. We are allowed to say John Lewis sucks if we feel like it, we don't have to be as good as him. We can say that Ryan Leaf is a sucky quarterback, but that doesn't mean any one of us could go out there and do better. But Ryan Leaf sucks. Let's not kiss ass like the Underground, let's call things as they are. It makes for much better discussion.

[Americana]

Mr. Miyagi is right. The argument that you can't criticize unless you've actually been in the sport is absurd. Professional football, baseball, basketball are billion dollar fan supported sports all based on the notion of fans watching, CRITICIZING, cheering, etc. who've never played the game.

You want to say the Raiders sucked the other week? Sorry, you can only say "I really admire them for playing." You think Shaq is overrated and can't shoot free throws? Hold on there! Have you ever played center for an NBA team. If not you better hold your tongue.

Miyagi is also correct in that the Underground is a kiss-ass forum, but one with an incredible double standard. You are free to accuse the Shamrocks of illegal drug taking or call Rickson a coward and a fraud. But say anything negative about stiffs like John Lewis or Shannon "the Cannon" and you're banned.

[Ronin]

Not understanding the difference between criticism and insults is why this Forum has plummetted into the depths of hell.

One KO doesn't make Lewis a crappy fighter. Over-rated, maybe. Two-dimensional, maybe. But he is still a top Lightweight.

This is something you bandwagon-jumpers will never understand.