Thursday night's 10th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards just added a little more punch, as UFC heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez will be in attendance at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas to join with Alicia Keys and Eva Longoria to salute the finest in Latin music, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on the Univision network.
Velasquez, fresh from his impressive second round TKO of Ben Rothwell in the co-main event of UFC 104 last month, is also featured with Reggaeton stars Wisin & Yandel in the show's opening video segment, which was filmed Sunday night in a Porsche Cayenne on the Las Vegas strip.
And while Velasquez is seen in his UFC 104 walkout shirt in the video clip, tonight he will be dressed to the nines in a custom-fitted Prada suit and Salvatore Ferragamo shoes as he walks the green carpet at 4 p.m. local time before his first – but certainly not last - awards show appearance.
The Countdown to UFC 99 begins tonight -- Tuesday night -- on Spike, taking an inside look at the main event between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin, as well as Cain Velasquez and Cheick Kongo.
UFC welterweight Mike Swick inadvertently got caught in the middle of last week's scandal du jour when he was "exempted" from UFC president Dana White's 24-hour purge of sorts at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.
Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, with Fitch and AKA manager "Crazy" Bob Cook brokering a deal with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to bring the number two ranked welterweight back--video licensing agreement signed and all.
The fate of AKA teammates Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez, and Christian Wellisch remains unknown, but it appears the spat has opened doors on new negotiations.
It was a jarring series of events, one you'd think would create some awkward situations in the gym. Swick shot down that idea in a recent interview with MMAInsider, saying it's going to be business as usual at AKA.
"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and their own views, that's why this whole thing happened," Swick said. "I'm on great standing with the UFC and I'm appreciative to be where I'm at to be fighting for them. I'm not against my team, there's no animosity between us. My team and my management have always been supportive in my stance with the UFC.
"It has nothing to do with me and Fitch and Kos or anyone else. We're not against each other."
Swick says he signed the promotional agreement at the center of controversy two days before Fitch was cut, taking him out of the equation.
"No one told me that I need to go against the UFC or I need to go with them," he continued. "I make my own decisions."
Swick's next fight is against Jonathan Goulet at UFC's "Fight for the Troops" event on Dec. 10. The two have a small beef to settle; Goulet called Swick out on the internet, lighting the spark that got the fight booked. Swick is hoping above all else for a stand-up war.
But as for the drama, he's happy it's over.
"I'm appreciate of what I've achieved in my career," he said. "I've been in the sport for eleven years. I'm happy where I'm at, and I don't want to get in any kind of business that's going to go against anyone. I'm just fortunate to be living my dream, and that's all I want to focus on."
Copyright 2009 MMA Weekly LLC. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of MMA Weekly content is expressly prohibited without expressed written consent of MMA Weekly. MMA Weekly will not be liable for any errors in content or any action taken in reliance thereof.
MMA Insider Blog RSS Feed
