Thursday 19 June 2008

Personal Update

Hi all

Just a note to explain the lack of posts the past few weeks. I have been very ill, and ended up in hospital. I only came out today, and I am not yet up to full strength so won't be posting regularly just yet. Give me a few days, and my reports will be back.

Thanks for all your support

Emmy

Monday 9 June 2008

David Baron Signs UFC Contract

It has recently been reported that former Pride and Shooto fighter David Baron has signed a contact with the UFC.

Baron is a French fighter who rocleted to fame with a win over Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at a recent Shooto event. This win was a complete suprise that shocked the MMA world. This fight is potentially the reason that Baron was brought to the UFC's attention.

Baron also fought for Pride, losing to Takanori Gomi via rear naked choke at Bushido 12. Baron holds a professional record of 15-2, with losses to Gomi and Per Eklund. It is unclear which weight class Baron will fight in, as his official weight currently stand at 165lbs. With the current state of the UFC divisions, I would expect to see him at Lightweight, as the Welterweight division is currently stacked, but don't be suprised to see him at welterweight either. There is no news on when he will make his debut as yet.

Dan Lauzon Signed For WCF

Dan "The Upgrade" Lauzon has signed for rising promotion World Championship Fighting (WCF) and will feature on their June 20th Event in Wilmington, Massachussetts.

The card features 14 fights, many featuring local fighters. It will be the WCF's third event held in Wilmington. Here is the full card:


Dan Lauzon vs. Brendan Hoxie
Mike Campbell vs. Rich Moskowitz
John Benoit vs. Travis Lerchen
Jamie Campbell vs. Jose Valentin
Dan Bonnell vs. Barrington Douse
Chris Grandmaison vs. Jon Bermudez
Jon Jones vs. Parker Porter
Davin Wesinger vs. Jose Lopez
Ken Stone vs. Mike Oakes
Joe Cushman vs. TBA
Kevin Corrigan vs. Ruben Gonzales
Scott Ledoux vs. Chris Foster
Dan O'Keefe vs. Garth Krane
Stephen Stengel vs. Chad Hart

Many special guests are expected to appear at the event, including UFC Fighters: Marcus "The Irish Handgrenade" Davis; Kenny "KenFlo" Florian; Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon; Sean "The Gladiator" Gannon; Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera, and coaches Mark DellaGrotte and Peter Welch

Cage Warriors Forced To Cancel Show

We have recently learned that the Cage Warriors Quannum Fighting Challenge scheduled for this evening has had to be cancelled at the last minute. Here is the statement released on the subject:

Warrior Promotions & Quannum Fighting Challenge are disappointed to announce that the upcoming show on June 8 at the Frontier Nightclub in Batley has had to be cancelled due to circumstances out of their control.

Following a series of repeated pull outs and injuries over the past 4 weeks, the CWFC matchmaking team have faced the gruelling task of replacing fights almost on a daily basis. The pull outs included the withdrawal of Manuel Garcia who was matched to fight Matt Thorpe. In an email sent to Ian Dean of CWFC, Garcia stated some concerns over facing Thorpe and simply pulled out, after receiving his paid for and confirmed flights from Barcelona.

Despite all of this the CWFC Matchmaking team finally established a 10 bout card from its target of 12 and believed they had rescued the show featuring by now only 2 remaining Quannum members. Waiting in the wings however were Yorkshire Police who by their actions this week have prevented the fight going ahead. Following a court hearing yesterday which was ruled in favour of Warrior Promotions, the Police raised further objections and as a result the event has been cancelled. As this is now the matter of an ongoing legal dispute, further details cannot be given at this time but will be made public once this dispute is settled.

In the early hours of this morning, having exhausted all other possibilities it was decided between Quannum & CWFC to cancel the show and to re-stage the confirmed card including the World Title Bout between Paul McVeigh & Steve McCombe in Nottingham on July 12.

Sunday 8 June 2008

UFC 85 Awards

The fight of the night, submission of the night and KO of the night bonuses have been awarded.

The fight of the night was awarded to one of the undercard bouts, which proved to be suprisingly exciting and well worth the award. The fighters to receive this were Matt Wiman and Thiago tavares. Wiman has been training with California based fight team The Pit, headed by John Hackleman and home of former Light Heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. This new training regime seems to have worked wonders on Wiman, who was more dynamic and exposive than we have ever seen him before. Both fighters were constantly working for submissions throughout the fight, until Wiman was able to secure the finish with a flurry of punches.

In a stunning finish, Thiago Alves took KO of the night for his brutal knock out of former Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes. Alves delivered a flying knee to Hughes' chin which sent him careering into the mat, and finished it off with a few solid punches to the face before it was stopped. There is some controversy amongst fans, as many believe that, as Alves didn't make weight, he shouldn't be awarded the bonus.

The submission of the night came from an unaired prelim fight, although fans were treated to a highlight of the finish in between fights. The award went to UFC newcomer Kevin Burns for his submission over Roan Carneiro. Burns submitted Carneiro via triangle choke in round 1. This is an amazing feat for so many reasons. Kevin Burns took the fight on less than two weeks notice, as Carneiro's original opponent, Ryo Chonan, pulled out of the event. Burns is a blue belt in jiu-jitsu, and managed to submit a world champion jiu-jitsu black belt in less than one round. This was, to most fans, an unthinkable outcome.

All fighters mentioned received a bonus of $50,000 dollars.

Mirko Cro Cop Pulls Out Of Grappling Match

The world may never know how Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic would fare in a grappling match against Ralek Gracie, a member of the notorious Gracie Clan.

Cro Cop was scheduled to fight Ralek Gracie at DREAM 4, in a modified rules grappling comtest. Cro Cop has announced today that he is unable to compete due to a reaggravated elbow injury.

Many Cro Cop fans will be glad to hear that he is no longer fighting this match, as they were uncertian of how Cro Cop would perform, given that he is a noted striker, not a grappler. Cro Cop is expected to fight next at DREAM 5 next month, against proposed opponent Jerome Le Banner. This match is not yet confirmed.

Sengoku Third Battle Results

Here are the results from World Victory Road's Sengoku: Third Battle, which took place earlier today:

Hidehiko Yoshida def. Maurice Smith via submission (neck crank) Rd 1, 2:23
Travis Wiuff def. Kazuyuki Fujita via KO (punches) Rd 1, 1:24
Kazuo Misaki def. Logan Clark via unanimoous decision
Nick Thompson def. Michael Costa via submission (kimura) Rd 2, 4:13
Sanae Kikuta def. Chris Rice via submission (arm-bar) Rd 2, 3:54
Marcio Cruz def. Mu Bae Choi via submission (rear-naked choke) Rd 1, 4:37
Rodrigo Damm def. Jorge Masvidal via TKO (punch) Rd 2, 4:38
Fabio Silva def. Yoshiki Takahashi via KO (knee) Rd 2, 0:24

Saturday 7 June 2008

UFC 85 Results

Here are the results for this evening's fights

Antoni Hardonk def. Eddie Sanchez by TKO at 4:15, R2

Paul Taylor def. Jess Liaudin by split decision, R3

Luis Cane def. Jason Lambert by TKO at 2:07, R1

Kevin Burns def. Roan Carneiro by submission (triangle choke) at 3:56, R2

Matt Wiman def. Thiago Tavares by KO at 1:57, R2

Martin Kampmann def. Jorge Rivera by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:34, R1

Fabricio Werdum def. Brandon Vera by TKO (punches on the ground) at 4:40, R1

Thales Leites def. Nate Marquardt by split decision (28-27, 28-27, 27-28)

Mike Swick def. Marcus Davis by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

Michael Bisping def. Jason Day by TKO (punches on the ground) at 3:42, R1

Thiago Alves def. Matt Hughes by TKO (strikes) at 1:02, R2

Friday 6 June 2008

June 27th Sho XC Show Postponed

Elite XC have announced that their June 27th Sho XC show has been postponed today, as they have been unable to secure a venue.

This event was scheduled to include the King of the Cage Middleweight Championship fight as well as numerous fights also announced from their own roster. It is unknown at this time if the event will be rescheduled, or if the card will stay the same.

Mark Coleman Expects To Fight Again In Fall

Mark Coleman has spoken out about his injury, stating that he doesn't need surgery and hopes to make his UFC debut sometime in the fall. The injury was pretty serious and needs some intense rehab. Here is what Coleman had to say:

"It's just going to take some time to heal," Coleman said of his knee. "The good news is no surgery. I'm rehabbing it hard. ... I plan on coming back stronger because of this. I'm building the muscles that are going to take care of my knee even better."

He still wants to compete for the UFC and is looking forward to making his debut.

UFC 85 Full Weigh In Results

The weigh ins for UFC 85 took place today. As we posted earlier, Thiago Alves failed to make weight, so the fight will take place at a catch weight of 174 lbs. Apart from this, all fighters made weight successfully. Here are the official weights for each fighter:

Thiago Alves (174) VS Matt Hughes (170)

Jason Day (184) VS Michael Bisping (184)

Mike Swick (170) VS Marcus Davis (170)

Thales Leites (185) VS Nate Marquardt (185)

Fabricio Werdum (247) VS Brandon Vera (228)
Martin Kampmann (186) VS Jorge Rivera (185)

Thiago Tavares (154.5) VS Matt Wiman (155)

Roan Carneiro (171) VS Kevin Burns (170)

Luiz Cane (204) VS Jason Lambert (205)

Jess Liaudin (169) VS Paul Taylor (169)

Eddie Sanchez (244) VS Antoni Hardonk (247)

UPDATE: Kimbo Slice Versus Brett Rogers May Happen In September

After all the smack talking from Brett Rogers last weekend, he has got his wish.

Kimbo has announced that a fight between himself and Brett Rogers will take place at an Elite XC event in September.

Many fans believe that this will be a tough test for Kimbo, and will be the first time he has faced a worthy opponent. It seems Brett Rogers knew what he was doing when he called out Kimbo. This match may never have happened if Rogers hadn't been so vocal.

DREAM 4 Preview On HD Net Fights

HDNet Fights have announced a show to be aired tomorrow night on HDNet Fights.

The show is an in depth look at DREAM 4, and the atch ups. The show is hosted by Inside MMA's Ron Kruck, and will air at 7PM ET.

Here is the write up about the show:

Ron Kruck previews the Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal match-ups scheduled for DREAM 4. Fighters on the June 15th card include Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Gegard Mousasi, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba.

Thiago Alves Fails To Make Weight

At today's weigh ins for UFC 85, welterweight fighter Thiago Alves failed to reach the 170lb weight limit.

Instead of having to drop the extra weight, Alves and his opponent Matt Hughes agreed to fight at a catch weight of 174lbs.

Alves was found guilty of using a banned diuretic before one of his fights, which is a sure sign that he struggles to amke weight for his bout. We will have to wait and see if this heavy weight cut will take it's toll on Alves.

UPDATE: UFC 85 Official Fight Card

We have held of posting the full fight card for UFC 85 since there was so many changes, even in the final two weeks. With the event beginning in just 24 hours, we decided it was safe to post the card now. So here it is:

Main Card:


-Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
-Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
-Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera
-Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day
-Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick

Preliminary Card:

-Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera
-Kevin Burns vs. Roan Carneiro
-Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman
-Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor
-Eddie Sanchez vs. Antoni Hardonk
-Jason Lambert vs. Luiz Arthur Cane

UPDATE: UFC 88 In Atlanta, Chuck Liddell To Fight

Nearly two weeks ago, we announced that the UFC was looking to host their September event in Atlanta, Georgia. (See here for original story http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/05/ufc-88-headed-back-to-atlanta.html)

This location has now been confirmed by Dana White himself, although a venue has not yet been mentioned. It will be the first time the UFC has headed to Georgia under Zuffa control. The last time they were there was at UFC 13, which was promoted by former UFC owners, SEG Sports.

Dana White has also announced that Chuck Liddell will be appearing on the September card, although no opponent has been named yet. It is expected that he will face Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, as he was originally booked to do at UFC 85. Both Shogun and Liddell were forced to pull out of the event due to injuries, but both fighters expect to be ready by September.

Kid Yamamoto To Compete At DREAM 5

Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto will return to the ring in July at DREAM 5. This will be his first fight in seven month.

Yamamoto is expected to take on Joe Benavides, who has had just one professional fight in his MMA career. Very little is known about Benavides, apart from the fact he is a very strong jiu-jitsu fighter.

The main event on this card is expected to feature Mirko Cro Cop against Jerome Le Banner. The event takes place on July 21st. We will prost further details of this card as we learn them.

Randy Couture Comments On Future

In an interview with Sportsnet.ca, Randy Couture talked about the possibility that he may never fight again, depending on the ruling of the Nevada Court system. here is what Randy had to say:

"I'm confident I'll fight again. I'm also OK with the idea that it may not happen," Couture said Saturday at the opening of his seventh Xtreme Couture gym. "I may get a bad (court) ruling and I can't really see myself at this point going back and fighting two more times for the UFC if that's what the state says I have to do. So there's the potential I could be done fighting and I'm OK with that too."

"I expect things will go well, that in a right to work the state will rule that I have the right to go and work in my chosen profession after the term of the contract and some time this fall hopefully, with the help of Mark Cuban and maybe potentially Affliction ... that they'll find a way to make the Fedor fight happen."

"I'm in a unique position in my life and my career that I've kind of been there and done that as far as the fighting goes," Couture told The Canadian Press. "I still love to fight, I'm physically capable of doing it, so having the passion I have for it, I want to do it. But if doesn't work out that way that's OK too."

DREAM 4 Card Finalized

With just over a week to spare, the fight card for DREAM 4 has been finalized.

Here we will see the final match up for the Lightweight Grand Prix Quarter finals, and the quarter finals for the Middleweight Grand Prix. There are some highly interesting match ups here. Here are the fights for this event:

Alistair Overeem vs Tae Hyun Lee

Alavutdin Gadzhiyev vs Cacareco

Mirko Cro Cop vs Ralek Gracie (grappling match)

Hideo Tokoro vs Darren Uyenoyama

Shinya Aoki vs Katsuhiko Nagata (LWGP)

Zelg Galesic vs Taiei Kin (MWGP)

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs Jason “Mayhem” Miller (MWGP)

Gegard Mousasi vs Dong Sik Yoon (MWGP)

Kazushi Sakuraba vs Melvin Manhoef (MWGP)

Paul Daley's Return Fight Announced

As we reported last month, former Cage Rage champion Paul "Semtex" Daley has returned from his retirement, which lasted only two months.

His opponent has now been named as Bojan "Zelva" Kosednar. The pair will meet at "Enter The Rough House 7" on July 12th. This event is run by Northen England based promotion Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Kosednar is a Slovenian fighter who is currently working his way up the European rankings, with impressive wins over fighters such as Eiropean Top five welterweight Fabricio Nascimento.

This will be Daley's first fight after his return from retirement. He is expected to return to Pro Elite and fighting in America after this event.

Bouts Added To Cage Rage 27

Four further bouts have been added to the Cage Rage 27 card to be held at Wembley Arena on July 12th. Added bouts include a womens bout between Aisling Daly and Tevi Say, and a bout for the Lightweight British Title between Dean Jones and Francis Heageny.

Here is the full line up as it stands at the moment. There are two bouts missing from the schedule.

Robert "Buzz" Berry versus Neil Grove for the Cage Rage Heavyweight Title

James McSweeney versus Mustapha Al Turk For the British Heavyweight Title

John Phillips versus Tom Watson

Scott Jansen versus Joe Mac

Dave Legeno versus Kev Sims

Ashleigh Grimshaw versus Robbie Oliver for the British Featherweight Champion

Dean Jones versus Francis Heageny for the British Lightweight Title

Tevi Say versus Aisling Daley (womens bout)


Umidjon Mavlyanov versus Ricki Andrews


James Elson versus Dave Van Gas

Catch Up: Tito Ortiz Looks To Start Own Promotion

After a few days of silence from Tito Ortiz, he has announced some of his plans for his future.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz is currently a free agent after his fight contract with the UFC ran out. Tito has plans to sign for another organization, but has kept quiet about which one this might be (although if Donald Trump has his way, we will see Tito in Affliction before too long, see here for story: http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/06/update-donald-trump-to-try-to-sign-tito.html)

After hearing past comments from Tito over the way the UFC is run, it is perhaps no suprise that he wants to have a go himself. But Ortiz isn't as sure of this as you would expect. At the moment, he says he is 65% sure he wants to start his own promotion. Here is what Ortiz had to say on the matter:

“When I was in the UFC, they talked so much about how I wanted to get out of it and how I wanted to stop fighting. It was a bunch of baloney. I still see 3-4 more years of competition left (in me) and I want to build. I want to make a (rival) company neck and neck with the UFC. I think it’s going to be about taking care of the fighters and that’s what I’m going to do."


UPDATE: Mac Danzig Not Fighting At UFC 87

Last week we posted that Mac Danzig was rumored to be fighting Clay Guida at UFC 87. (See here for original story http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/05/danzig-versus-guida-signed-for-ufc-87.html)

Today we have learned that this fight will not happen at UFC 87. mac Danzig has stated that he will not be fighting in August at all. He is instead expecting to fight in September. It is not yet known whether Danzig will still face Guida in this match up, or if Guida will remain on this card and a new opponent will be found for both fighters.

We will keep you posted on any developments.

UPDATE: Vitor Belfort Officially Signed For Affliction

A few weeks ago we reported that Vitor Belfort was looking to sign a deal with Affliction. (See here for original story http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/05/vitor-belfort-to-affliction_28.html)

We now have confirmation that this is true. Vitor has signed with Affliction and will amke his debut on their first card, Banned, which takes place on July 19th. Interestingly, Affliction have asked Belfort to fight at Middleweight, rather than his usual Light Heavyweight.

Belfort has also joined famed Brazilian fight camp Chute Boxe. He believes this will greatly help his training and give him the skills he need to fight top level opponents such as those offered by Affliction.

No opponent has yet been named for Belfort, although there is a rumor that he may face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, brother of UFC Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Randleman Out Of Godz Of War

Former Pride and UFC fighter Kevin Randleman has been forced to pull out of a Godz of War event due to injury.

The bout was due to take place on June 21st in Charlotte, North Carolina. Godz of War have succeeded in finding a replacement in the form of Ricco Rodriguez. Rodriguez will take on former UFC heavyweight Jeff "The Snowman" Monson.

This is another major setback for Randleman, who has suffered many injuries in the past few years. His current injury is a recurring shoulder injury he has suffered with for a few years. He aggravated the injury in training and has been forced off the card. He also suffered other serious health issues such as kidney failure, and a staph infection that left a very large, very deep hole in his chest.

Rodriguez now gets his chance to face Monson for a second time. The pair first met at UFC 35, where Ricco came out the victor. Monson can now look to avenge this loss.

Dana White Set To Make A Big Announcement

In an interview with ESPN magazine, Dana White said that he had a big announcement to make.

What he actually said was that he has an announcement that will blow your mind. Only he isn't going to tell us yet! How infuriating!

This announcement is apparently a done deal, but he hasn't told his staff yet. Dana's plan is to rent out a room somewhere and tell his staff. Then, later that day, he will tell the press. This event is believed to be happening next Thursday, so we will have to wait until then.

In the meantime, Fight Line have some more excerpts from the ESPN article here http://www.fightline.com/news/2008/65/dana_white_326010.shtml which might be of interest. There is news on a few potential fights in there that might keep you going until next week.

Paulo Filho Versus Chael Sonnen Rematch Arranged

The fight that WEC fans everywhere have been waiting to see is finally set.

Middleweight champion Paulo Filho will fight Chael Sonnen at a WEC event on September 10th. The pair originally fought at WEC 31 in December, where Filho won via verbal submission due to an armbar. Despite the nature of the finish, there was some dispute over the winner of the fight, and the pair were scheduled to rematch in March, but Filho's career took an unexpected turn.

Paulo Filho puuled out of the match and checked himself into a drug rehabilitation facility due to chemical dependancy and depression. Filho spent a few months there and has since been discharged and declared fit to fight. This has cleared the way for the rematch to take place.

Catch Up: Karo Parisyan In For UFC 87

According to Karo Parisyan, he will make his return to the Octagon in August, after suffering a loss to Thiago Alves.

Parisyan took the loss hard, going so far as to say that this next fight is "do or die" for him. In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, he made this comment:

“At this point in my life I’m trying to change a lot of stuff in my life,” Parisyan said. “It’s either do or die for me now. God forbid. I can’t handle two losses in a row.”

An opponent has not yet been named for Parisyan, although he says he was once slated to fight TUF 6 contestant George Sotiropolis, but that bout has been scratched due to an injury suffered by Sotiropolis.


Catching Up

A personal note from myself:

I apologise for any stories that I have missed over the past few days. My computer has been down for essential upgrades. Parts broke, and I made no less than six trips to computer shops to upgrade the original broken parts and return the replacements which also came broken. I am largely finished with this process now (although I have to go back again on Saturday to return two faulty DVD writers) and so the posting has returned to normal.

I will post any and all new info from this point onwards, and will also catch up on the stories I have missed. Look for catch up news regarding Tito Ortiz's plans for his future, and another fight for UFC 87 amongst this missed news. Again, I apologise for these lapses.


Emmy

Brett Rogers Explains Actions At Elite XC Press Conferece

After all the drama at the Elite XC Press Conference concerning Kimbo Slice and Brett Rogers, Rogers has issued an open letter fromhimself and his fight camp, Team Bison.

In this letter, he explains his actions and his frustrations with the way Kimbo is promoted. The letter is very well articulated and explains Rogers actions very well. Here is the link to the letter, which was first published a few days ago at Cage Potato.com. This is the first time I have seen this, so I apologise for the lateness.

UPDATE: Donald Trump To Try To Sign Tito

Affliction held a press conference yesterday, outlining new additions to their company. As we reported earlier, Andre Arlovski has signed for the promotion.

Yesterday we reported that Donald Trump was going to announce an affiliation with the company (See here for original story: http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/06/donald-trump-to-announce-affliction.html) Now we have the full announcement.

Trump is acting as an equity partner to the organization. He will have a say in anything that goes on in the company, and will provide a great deal of financial support.

Trump announced that he will be looking to bring Tito Ortiz into the organization. Ortiz has left the UFC and is currently a free agent. He has a friendship with Trump after starring on the reality TV show, The Apprentice, where he competed against other celebrities to win a job with Trump.

Tito has not made any sort of announcement as to who he will be fighting for in the future, but could prove invaluable to Affliction's roster.

Thursday 5 June 2008

UPDATE: Reasoning Behind Zuffa's Lawsuit Against Tito Ortiz

We have done a bit of research and have found out exactly why Zuffa have a ligitimate case against Tito Ortiz. Found on Fightlinker.com was this excerpt from a standard UFC fighter contract:

Unless Fighter receives prior written approval from ZUFFA, Fighter shall not utilize any of ZUFFA’s intellectual property rights, including, but not limited to, the names and marks “Ultimate Fighting Championship,” the “Octagon,” “Ultimate Fighting,” “Ultimate Fighter,” and any logos, pictures or other representations of ZUFFA’s intellectual property.

Without limiting the scope of this prohibition, Fighter expressly agrees to not use an UFC championship belt without the prior written approval of ZUFFA, and further agrees that any such belt he obtains is on loan and will at all times remain the property of ZUFFA. Upon ZUFFA’s written request, the belt must be returned within forty-eight (48) hours to ZUFFA. (emphasis added)

When reading this, it becomes clear that the UFC has a ligitimate case against Tito, and I'm not sure that Tito will be able to get out of this one. It may be time for Ortiz to being a reprint of the cover for his book.

Shonie Carter To Return At Strikeforce

UFC Veteran Shonie Carter is scheduled to be back in the cage at Strikeforce's show this month. The card is headlined by Josh Thomson versus Gilbert Melendez.

Carter's opponent will be Luke Stewart, one of the rising stars in Strikeforce's Welterweight division. Stewart is 5-1 in his professional career, and is coming off a loss to Tiki Ghosn at Strikeforce's Shamrock Versus Le event.

Carter, however, is a seasoned veteran of the sport, with a record of 39-17-7. This fight will make his third fight in as many months, which is a tough pace for any figter. Shonie is coming off a two fight winning streak, and looks to make this three in a row. The event will take place on June 27th at the HP Pavillion.

Kurt Otto Steps Down As IFL Commissioner

Founder and Commissioner of the IFL, Kurt Otto, has stepped down from his commissioner position as of today.

Otto will still have a role in the company, acting as a matchmaker alongside MMA legend Bas Rutten, and Shannon Knapp. Otto remains the compaies largest share holder.

Otto began the IFl with his friend and business partner Gareb Shamus. Shamus resinged his post within the company last year, and his job was handed to Jay Larkin, the current president. No reason has been given to these new changes in the IFL.

Tito Ortiz Being Sued By Zuffa

Tito Ortiz is being sued by Zuffa for use of their intellectual property.

This charge is being brought in relation to the book that Tito has released detailing his life story. On the cover of this book he is weaing his UFC Light Heavyweight belt. Zuffa claims that the belt is their intellectual property and any use of this in promotional material is subject to their discretion, as is stated in fighter contracts. Tito didn't ask permission to use this image for his book, so Zuffa has started proceedings for a cease and dissist order against him.

Any further information on this story will be updated here as it happens.

Andre Arlovski Leaves The UFC

According to a report on Sherdog, Andre Arlovski has now officially left the UFC.

This news has been expected for a long time now, but this is the first time it has been confirmed. Arlovski has signed a three fight deal with Affliction. His first fight will take place at Afflictions first event, Banned, on July 19th. His opponent will be Ben Rothwell, as was rumored on this site.

Arlovski has fought 8 times for the UFC, and is their former heavyweight champion. He has been in a renegotiation period with the UFC for quite some time, but they ultimately lost out to Affliction, as they have with Tim Sylvia and potentially other fighters in the future.

Wednesday 4 June 2008

WEC 34 Medical Suspensions


In the aftermath of WEC 34, the California State Athletic Commission has announced the list of medical suspensions. Half of the fighters who took part in the event have been issued with a suspension, including both of the title fight contenders. Here is the full list:


Alex Nogueira: 60-day suspension due to a cut; coincides with a 45-day suspension (with no contact for 30 days) due to suffering a knockout

Luis Do Santos: 45-day suspension with no contact for 30 days due to suffering a knockout

Jeremy Lang: 180-day suspension days due to a left-ankle injury; coincides with 60-day suspension for a cut and a 45-day suspension (with no contact for 30 days) due to suffering a knockout

Will Ribeiro: 180-day suspension due to a right-hand injury (can be cleared early by doctor)

Rob McCullough: 60-day suspension due to a cut

Chuck Grigsby: indefinite suspension due to a head injury (must be cleared by a doctor)

Mark Munoz: 180-day suspension due to a right-hand injury
Yoshiro Maeda: 180-day suspension due to a right-eye orbital injury; coincides with 45-day suspension with no contact for 30 days due to suffering a knockout

Miguel Torres: 60-day suspension due to a cut

Jens Pulver: 180-day suspension due to a right-eye orbital injury

Urijah Faber: 180-day suspension due to a right-hand injury (can be cleared early by doctor)

RUMOR: UFC Considers Nebraska Show

When looking for new destinations for the UFC shows, Nebraska has come out on top of the pile.

The UFC has begun planning to take it's show to Nebraska for the first time in nearly 14 years. The event is expected to be Ultimate Fight Night 14 in September, which will precede the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8. The arena for this event is expected to be the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

No official word has been received regarding this matter yet, as the UFC will only comment on a location once it has been confirmed. We will update this story as soon as it is confirmed.


RUMOR: Matt Riddle and Dante RIvera To TUF 7 Finale

The UFC has announced a new fight for The Ultimate Fighter Finale 7, held on June 21st at The Palms, Las Vegas.

The bout is between two members of the season 7 TUF cast, Matthew Riddle and Dante Rivera. Both cast members have been eliminated from the competiton. Riddle won his forst battle to get into the house by breaking his opponents jaw, but lost his first round match up to Tim Creuder.

Dante Rivera won his first round match against Brandon Sene, before losing to Jesse Taylor in the quarter finals. If confirmed by the UFC, this bout will be added to an already stacked card, with less fights coming from TUF cast members than is usual in the Finale events.

Donald Trump To Announce Affliction Partnership

After seeing his face pop up on more than one photo of Affliction events, we finally get to find out why.

Affliction have just released a press statement to announce a conference to be held tomorrow. This event is specially designed to announce Trump's involvement in the promotion. We will bring you updates after tomorrow's conference. Here is the official statement issued by Affliction:

WHAT: “Affliction Banned” Press Conference

WHO: DONALD J. TRUMP Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization

WHEN: Thursday, June 5 – 12 PM/ET

WHERE: Trump Tower, 25th Floor, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
WHY: To announce a partnership between Affliction and Donald J. Trump, who will outline his involvement with Affliction and “Affliction Banned,” the star studded mixed-martial-arts show July 19th 2008 on pay-per-view television, featuring the return of Russian combat fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

“Affliction Banned” will be distributed on Pay-Per-View and air live (9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT) on cable and satellite viewing in the USA and Canada via iN DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewer’s Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice for a suggested retail price of $39.95. The telecast will be available in both standard and high definition television.

Tickets for “Affliction Banned,” ranging between $50.00 and $1,000.00, are on sale at the Honda Center box office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.

Tuesday 3 June 2008

RUMOR: Hermes Franca To Return In August

Exactly a year after his suspension for steroid use, Hermes Franca is expected to make his return.

According to a source close to Franca, he ahs signed a contract to fight Frankie Edgar at UFC 87 in Minnesota. Edgar is a confirmed addition to the fight card, although an opponent has not yet been confirmed.

We are looking for confirmation of this rumor, and will let you know what we find out.

All Fighter Test Clean At UFC 84

The Nevada State Athletic Commission have announced that all fighters tested at UFC 84: Ill Will have tested clean for performance enhancing drugs and recreational drugs.

The commission had already tested several fighters in the weeks leading up to the event, including Sean Sherk, BJ Penn and Lyoto Machida. They also tested a larger portion of fighters at the event.
Those tested were Sean Sherk, BJ Penn, Keith Jardine, Wanderlei Silva, Tito Ortiz, Lyoto Machida, Rousimar Palhares, Ivan Salaverry, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Rich Clementi, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Shane Carwin, Thiago Silva, Goran Reljic and Dong Hyun Kim.

Alessio Sakara Out Of The Ultimate Fighter Finale

UFC Middleweight Alessio Sakara is unable to participate in The Ultimate Fighter Finale 7 on June 21st at The Palms, Las Vegas.

His replacement will be fight veteran and UFC newcomer Rob Kimmons. Kimmons holds a professional record of 20-3, and has won 11 of his last twelve fights. Ten of those 11 wins were via first round stoppage.

His opponent will be Rob Yundt, who is coming off his first career loss to Ricardo Almeida, who he fought as a last minute replacement for Alan Belcher at UFC 81.

WEC Salaries Released

The payroll for the WEC has been released. The total amount paid out came to $260,000. Here are the individual salaries for each fighter:

Urijah Faber ($44,000) def. Jens Pulver ($33,000)
Miguel Torres ($28,000) def. Yoshiro Maeda ($6,000)
Mark Munoz ($16,000) def. Chuck Grigsby ($3,000)
Rob McCullough ($32,000) def. Kenneth Alexander ($3,000)
Donald Cerrone ($10,000) def. Danny Castillo ($3000)
Mike Brown ($10,000) def. Jeff Curran ($10,000)
Will Ribeiro ($6,000) def. Chase Beebe ($7,000)
Tim McKenzie ($12,000) def. Jeremy Lang ($4,000)
Alex Serdyukov ($6,000) def. Luis Sapo ($3,000)
Jose Aldo ($6,000) def. Alexandre Franca Nogueira ($8,000)
Dominic Cruz ($6,000) def. Charlie Valencia ($7,000)

Monday 2 June 2008

Gabriel Gonzaga Versus Justin McCully Announced

The UFC is expected to announce a bout between Justin McCully and Gabriel Gonzaga for UFC 86.

The bout will take place on July 5th in Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Gabriel Gonzaga is coming off 2 losses, to fellow heavyweights Fabricio Werdum and Randy Couture.


Justin McCully is a member of Tito Ortiz's Team Punishment, and is coming off a victory over Antoni Hardonk in April 2007. After a long lay off, McCully looks to make his return.

Elite XC A Big Hit On CBS

Despite fans opinions of the event, Elite XC's first Saturday Night Fights, held on Saturday night on CBS, was a big hit.

In the first two hours of the broadcast, the show had over 4 million viewers. Here are the official statstics for the event:

According to preliminary Nielsen ratings for Saturday, the 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern portion of the show did a 2.7 rating and a 5 share, an audience of 4.3 million viewers. "Saturday Night Fights" swept the two-hour time slot in adults and males, leading the ratings’ pack in the following demographics: adults 25-54 (1.9/6 share), adults 18-49 (1.9/6), adults 18-34 (1.9/7), men 25-54 (2.6/8), men 18-49 (2.5/8) and men 18-34 (2.6/10).

Prime Time Fighting Championship Results

Here are the results from last night's Prime Time Fighting Championship: Inception card:

-Shonie Carter def. Demi Deeds by TKO at 4:21, R1
-Jay Estrada def. David Lowe by KO at 1:53, R1
-Steve Kinnison def. Will Sholt by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:52, R1
-Ron Fields def. Bobby Martinez by Submission (Arm Bar) at 2:42, R1
-Kevin Knabjian def. Mario Staple by TKO at 2:02, R1
-Demain Decorah def. Sean "Omega" Sallee by TKO at 4:07, R1
-John Murphy def. Jeremy Ashley by Unanimous Decision
-James Warfiled def. John Fields by TKO at 2:40, R1
-Tony Martin vs. Kris Boydon - no contest due to injury
-Antonio Cansa def. Paul "Small" Martin by TKO at 4:42, R2
-Romy Daovd def Christian Nelson by Submission (Heel Hook) at 0:36, R1

WEC 34 Results

Last night sasw the conclusion of WEC 34: Faber versus Pulver.

Here are the results:

-Urijah Faber def. Jens Pulver by Unanimous Decision to retain the WEC Featherweight Title

-Miguel Torres def. Yoshiro Maeda by TKO (Injury Stoppage) at 5:00, R3 to retain the WEC Bantamweight Title

-Mark Munoz def. Chuck Grigsby by TKO (Strikes) at 4:15, R1

-Rob McCullough def. Kenneth Alexander by Split Decision, R3

-Donald Cerrone def. Danny Castillo by Submission (Armbar) at 0:30, R1

-Mike Brown def. Jeff Curran by Unanimous Decision

-Will Ribeiro def. Chase Beebe by Split Decision

-Tim McKenzie def. Jeremy Lang by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:40, R3

-Alex Serdyukov def. Luis Sapo by TKO at 5:00, R1

-Jose Aldo def. Alexandre Franca Nogueira by TKO at 3:22, R2

-Dominick Cruz def. Charlie Valencia by Unanimous Decision, R3

Sunday 1 June 2008

Welterweight Title Announced For August WEC

WEC have announced a welterweight title fight for their August 3rd event.

Current Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit (22-4) is expected to face Hiromitsu Miura (9-4) at the event. It will be one of three title fights scheduled for this event.

Condit is currently on a seven fight winning streak, with four of those coming from the WEC. His most recent victory was a revenge match against Carlos Prater, who he had previously lost to in 2004.


Kimbo And Brett Rogers Exchange Words

In the aftermath of last night's Elite XC/CBS event, members of the media were almost given an exclusive fight at the post fight press conference.

Heavyweight fighter Brett Rogers, coming of a win to Jon Murphy, decided to question Kimbo's ability to fight, and his performance against James Thompson earlier that night.

"I seen some [expletive] today," Rogers said. "I seen some [expletive], some garbage-ass [expletive]. I'm a heavyweight, and I feel I'm a true heavyweight. (James) Thompson? Much respect. But I'm saying it like this. Kimbo Slice, man, that was just garbage, man."

Other heated exchanges occurred, including this little back and forth:

"I'm going to speak it real," Rogers said. "It was garbage. You did tap. You did tap out (and) I was right there."

Kimbo responded immediately."That sounds like a challenge, big dog,"

This exchange resulted in Kimbo's enoturage shouting abuse at Rogers, with Kimbo being held back by Gary Shaw and Jared Shaw, and Phil Baroni holding back Brett Rogers. The pair may well meet up in the cage sometime in the near future.

AFL Sign Tara Larosa and Jan Finney

Atlanta based promotion AFL have announced that they have signed female fighter Tara Larosa.

The announcement was made at their AFL:Bulletproof event, at the same time as their announcement regarding Bobbly Lashley.

In a statement released by the promotion, they explain why they have decided to bring in more women:

"One of the main things we brought Tara on for and bringing in other strong, female athletes – Jan Finney is another one – is to build a proper women's platform. We're going to build that first and then we'll decide on a championship structure.

"There's no doubt she could be the champion. She's ranked number one, and that's what she is. We're going to do this smart. We're going to do this right."

Tara Larosa holds a professional record of 15-1, and holds wins over fighters such as Julie Kedzie and Roxanne Modaferi. She has been signed on a four fight deal, and it is reported that her contract fee makes her the highest paid female fighter in MMA.