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.

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.

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)

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

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.

WEC 34 Weigh In

The weigh in's for tonight's WEC 34 have taken place in Sacramento, California.

The main event features Jens Pulver taking on featherweight champion Urijah Faber for the WEC Featherweight title.

Here are the full results for the weigh ins:

WEC Featherweight Championship Bout: Jens Pulver – 145 versus Urijah Faber – 144.5

WEC Bantamweight Championship Bout: Yoshiro Maeda – 135 versus Miguel Torres – 135

Chuck Grigsby – 204.5 versus Mark Munoz – 205.5

Kenneth Alexander – 155.5 versus “Razor” Rob McCullough – 155.5

Danny Castillo – 155 versus Donald Cerrone – 155.5

Mike Brown – 145 versus Jeff Curran – 144.5

Will Ribeiro – 135 versus Chase Beebe – 136

Jeremy Lang – 183.5 versus Tim McKenzie – 184.5

Luis Sapo – 170 versus Alex Serdyukov – 169.5

Alexandre Franca Nogueira – 145.5 versus Jose Aldo – 145.5

Dominick Cruz – 135 versus Charlie Valencia – 135.5

Elite XC Result Updates

Here are the results as they happen for tonight's Elite XC card. It is currently being broadcast on CBS.

Prelims

Joe Sampieri defeated Mike Groves via TKO (strikes) in Round 1

Zach Makosky defeated Andre Soares via unanimous decision

James "Binky" Jones defeated Calvin Kattar via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1
Wilson Reis defeated Justin Robbins via submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1
Matt Makowski defeated Nick Serra via TKO (fighter unwilling to continue) in Round 2
Carlton Haselrig defeated Carlos Moreno via TKO (fighter wouldn't answer bell) in Round 1
Chris Liguori defeated Jim Bova via TKO (cut) in Round 2

Main Card

Brett Rogers defeated Jon Murphy via TKO (strikes) in Round 1
Joey Villasenor defeated Phil Baroni via TKO (strikes) in Round 1

Gina Carano defeated Kaitlin Young via TKO (doctor stoppage) in Round 1

Robbie Lawler versus Scott Smith was ruled a no contest due to an accidental eye poke. The fight was stopped in round 3 by the doctor. Smith argued that he was ok to continue. Gary Shaw announced that he would award both fighters their win bonuses and there will be a rematch.

Kimbo Slice defeated James Thompson via TKO (strikes) in round 3