The Countdown to UFC 101 airs Tuesday night at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV. UFC 101 features lightweight champion B.J. Penn defending against No. 1 contender Kenny Florian, and middelweight champ Anderson Silva once again moving up to light heavyweight to take on Forrest Griffin.
The video trailer for the showdown between UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn and challenger Kenny Florian. The fight takes place at UFC 101 on Aug. 8 in Philadelphia.
MMA Insider caught up with Sityodtong head trainer Mark Delagrotte in Las Vegas as he assisted Frank Mir and Forrest Griffin for their upcoming fights.
Delagrotte suffered a disappointing loss last month at UFC 99 when prized pupil Marcus Davis lost a close decision to Dan Hardy in a heated grudge match. Afterwards, Davis lobbied the MMA media for an immediate rematch, but Delagrotte advised him against such a tact.
"I told Marcus I have a different view, a different perspective," said Delagrotte. "I have an emotional attachment, a financial attachment to Marcus. He's my guy. I've known him a long time, and he's a very close friend of mine. So, of course, when you have an emotional attachment and a financial attachment to the fighter--we both lost half our money that night.
"I went home in a Hilton bathrobe from Germany, I lost my shirt when I was there. But we never question judges; they're in their place to do what they do. They're there to protect the integrity of the sport. We agree with the decision. I saw the fight a little bit differently because of my involvement with Marcus.
"I told Marcus to try not make a big thing about it, to be humble and if we get that opportunity to redeem our self, we'll do so, if not, we're not going to waste our time looking at the past."
Another prized pupil, Kenny Florian, has a lot to look forward to when he gets his second title shot against current lightweight champion BJ Penn.
Recently, Penn waged a bland offensive over Florian's pre-fight rhetoric, issuing two video blogs on his website (shot in somebody's living room) that welcomed the UFC 101 fight.
Delagrotte hadn't kept tabs on the viral salvo and dismissed Penn's chatter.
"BJ gets very emotional and wrapped up in his opponents," said DeLagrotte. "He needs things to hate his opponents. He needs things to help him get up for a fight. Kenny doesn't need that. He doesn't need to like you or dislike you. He's just going to go in there, train hard, do his job, and get paid. We're looking to play the smart role and outwit BJ in this fight."
Even if there is post-fight trash talk, Delagrotte said there's power in numbers.
"I guarantee there will be a lot more Bostonians than there will be Hilo boys, for sure," he said.
A little more than a month away from his Aug. 8 UFC lightweight title defense against Kenny Florian and B.J. Penn is already down to 166.8 pounds. Not far to go to make 155.
Is B.J. over the "greasegate" issues surrounding UFC 94 and ready for the return to 155 and Kenny Florian?
UFC president Dana White, former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, and No. 1 lightweight contender Kenny Florian, were guests for a brief spot on Friday's episode of Dr. Phil.
The major theme of the show was the dangerous things that teenagers are involved in these days. The segment with the UFC centered around kids who think they're going to get into the fight game by participating in their own backyard fight clubs, video recording them, and loading them up on YouTube.
The trio of White, Griffin, and Florian quickly shot down any ideas that the youngsters may have had about getting into the cage via the backyard. Even Dr. Phil pointed out that the fighters that compete at the level of the UFC are "highly trained athletes."
It was all of about a five-minute segment on the 1-hour show, but as the sport grows in popularity, it's a good, if not small, step in clearing up the misgivings of just what type of fighter is able to compete at the professional level of mixed martial arts.
The latest edition of B.J. Penn's video blog as he prepares to defend his UFC lightweight championship against Kenny Florian at UFC 101 in Philadelphia.
On Thursday, newly minted lightweight contender Kenny Florian was among several industry veterans to speak to legislators on behalf of the sport's regulation in Massachusetts.
Florian, who attended the meeting with manager and fight promoter Joe Cavallaro and several UFC officials, said the meeting was a positive step towards legitimizing the sport in the Northeast state.
"There was really no opposition whatsoever, and it seemed like they were very informed," Florian told MMAWeekly Radio last night. "They were asking good questions that they were concerned about."
Since 2005, the sport has operated in a legal gray area, with the Massachusetts Boxing Commission attending, but not overseeing, MMA fights.
"Really, the basis of our argument is that you look at all the other states and how successful it's been, both economically and as far as a logistics standpoint, it’s great. To have a standardized set of rules, and look out for the safety of the fighters is important, and that’s why we want it regulated."
Cavallaro is an active promoter in the Commonwealth, and tells MMAInsider he tries to model state athletic commissions who regulate the sport, employing most of the safety procedures they are required to perform by law.
"Some promoters are going to look to cut corners, and that’s when there can be trouble, and some fighters are going to get hurt," said Florian. "So it’s very important that we get it regulated, and it looks like that’s going to happen."
UFC president Dana White, a resident of Boston in his twenties, announced the promotion was working on an event in the city for November. Florian was optimistic about the prospect.
"There’s so many fans here that want to see a UFC event and more mixed martial arts in the Commonwealth, that I think we’re closer than ever, no doubt about it," he said. "I don’t see why it’s not going to happen. God willing, we’ll have a UFC fight here before the end of the year."
If it happens, though, don't call him for tickets.
In a recent posting on the popular mixed martial arts message board, "The Underground," UFC executive Lorenzo Fertitta wrote that the yet-unannounced UFC 101 may not take place in Portland on Aug. 8, as widely reported.
Instead, the Northwest card would be moved to the final Saturday of the month, Aug. 29, with former Gresham resident and heavyweight champ Randy Couture headlining the card against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102.
MMAWeekly.com first reported that UFC 101 would take place in August, although a date was not available at the time of publication. A subsequent report on mmamania.com stated that Philadelphia had replaced Portland as the city under consideration for the event, leaving "the city of roses" high and dry for the second time since it was passed over for UFC 91.
Not so, according to Fertitta.
Fertitta stated that a lightweight showdown between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian was in the works for the Philadelphia event. Pennsylvania recently passed legislation to legalize MMA in the Northeast state.
UFC 101 and 102 would represent the 22nd and 23rd US states visited by the UFC for a pay per view event.
The fight between Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn only made it to 4 rounds, but the story after the fight keeps on going. After allegations surfaced from the fight and the application of Vaseline to St. Pierre by one of his cornermen, just about everyone has chimed in with their thoughts on "Grease-gate."
One of St. Pierre's main training partners, Nate Marquardt, spoke up recently at the thought that somebody in his camp cheated by purposely putting the Vaseline on the Canadian to give him an advantage in the fight.
"It's so ridiculous (that) it doesn't really make me mad," Marquardt told MMAWeekly Radio recently. "It's so over the top ridiculous that it's almost laughable. That fight was so one-sided and for B.J. to sit down and look at something silly like a grease thing, and the commission caught it anyway so it's like they wiped his back off and it was their decision to say okay he's fine to fight. Obviously it didn't play anything into the fight. It really shows a weakness on B.J.'s part."
Marquardt saw the fight that night and says there is no question that St. Pierre executed the perfect gameplan en route to a 4th round TKO win.
"He demolished him. It made B.J. look like he was on a lower level, like an amateur or something," Marquardt commented. "It was just a one sided fight."
Regardless of the talk surrounding the controversy, it appears that all sides involved are starting to move on as St. Pierre will likely face top contender Thiago Alves this summer, while Penn gets ready to fight Kenny Florian for the lightweight title presumably at some point in 2009.
B.J. Penn spoke recently with Fox News Fight Game's Mike Straka both about Georges St. Pierre and the controversy around their fight. He also confirmed that he is in negotiations to fight Kenny Florian in defense of his UFC lightweight title in his next bout.
During a media teleconference for Diego Sanchez's lightweight debut against Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 in London, a reporter asked Stevenson who he thought would win in an expected bout between Kenny Florian and BJ Penn.
Stevenson chose Penn--not too surprising given his admiration for "The Prodigy." But he incorrectly assumed Sanchez would mirror his pick.
Sanchez had something else in mind.
"After seeing BJ's performance against St. Pierre, man, I'd say it's a bad time for him to fight anybody right now," Sanchez said. "Man, that guy has zero cardio—and he goes into the biggest fight of his life with that type of cardio and endurance? I've never gotten tired in a UFC fight. I've never gotten caught tired in a fight. And to see this guy be that exhausted after one round? I know GSP is tough, but c’mon. He burned himself out in the first round just defending those takedowns."
But that wasn't all. He gave Florian more than a fighting chance.
"I think its a bad time for him to fight Kenny Florian," he continued. "As long as Kenny Florian lasts past the first, second round, I think he's going to take over with conditioning. I don't care how talented you are. If you don't have gas in the tank—if the Ferrari doesn’t have the gas in the tank, it ain't going to finish the quarter mile, and that's the bottom line."
Stevenson chimed in quickly.
"You make a good point, dude," he said. "I didn't even think about that."
Kenny Florian, in his latest MMA For Dummies courtesy of ESPN.com, provides that one escape maneuver that we all could have used as kids, let alone in an MMA fight. The escape from a headlock.
UFC fighter and MMA Live's Kenny Florian hosts a new series of training based tips on ESPN.com called MMA For Dummies. In this episode, Florian shows a heavy bag workout that anyone can do.
ESPN's MMA Live team talks about the top stories of 2008 along with handing out a series of awards. The team also starts the analysis of UFC 93 in Ireland
Many of us spend Thanksgiving Day with family watching football and filling our stomachs with excessive amounts of well-prepared food, enjoying time with friends and loved ones. MMAInsiderBlog spoke with several fighters and broadcasters to find out how they'll be spending holiday. And we found out they're just like us.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Chuck Liddell will be spending Thanksgiving at his California home with his family and his fiance's family. The former champ said, "It's usually a pretty good time."
UFC lightweight No. 1 contender Kenny Florian is excited to celebrate Thanksgiving in Boston with family. "The best part of the holiday is I get to eat. I don't have to worry about fights coming up," said Florian. "My family, we do it right. There's a lot of food that's not good for you. I like to get fat through the holidays. I put my winter coat on."
World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight titleholder Jamie Varner will spend the day of football and feast with his immediate family. "I'm going to spend time with my immediate family for Thanksgiving," said the Arizona Combat Sports trained champion. "But I have two workouts that morning and taking the rest of the day off for the family!"
No. 1 ranked bantamweight and WEC bantamweight titleholder Miguel Torres defends his belt against Manny Tapia on Dec. 3, but that isn't going to stop the 135-pound fighter from fully partaking in the assortment of holiday grub. "I'm going to enjoy my Thanksgiving dinner," stated Torres. "My weight is perfect right now...I'm going to eat my tamales, my turkey some rice and potatoes man."
Legendary mixed martial artist and broadcaster Frank Shamrock's holiday plans revolve around his wife and baby daughter (Nicolette). "I'll be staying at home with my wife and new baby," Shamrock told MMAInsiderBlog. "It's the first Thanksgiving for Nicolette. No work for three days and lots of turkey and dressing."
"I was going to spend it with Bill Goldberg," he added. "But too much travel."
Dean Lister faces YushinOkami at UFC 92 on Dec. 27 in Las Vegas and due to his training schedule and diet, this Thanksgiving will be a little bitter sweet for the middleweight fighter. "I will be in Phoenix to meet up with my family. Going to be a little bit of torture since I will be limited to eating vegetables since my fight at UFC 92 will be only a month away. Gotta watch what I eat around the holidays. But I'm hungrier for Anderson's belt."
Asked what edibles he'll miss the most, Lister quickly responded, "ham and pies."
Broadcaster and fighter Frank Trigg will be spending the holiday at his Las Vegas home with friends, cooking for his wife, Nici, while she watches the Dallas Cowboys game and helps prepare the turkey and vegetables.
"I am cooking. I cook a lot, believe it or not," Trigg told MMAInsiderBlog. "We're all coming over here to the house to have a little home cooked turkey, potatoes and carrots, French green beans. Of course you've got to have gravy and cranberry sauce."
UFC welterweight TamdanMcCrory's Thanksgiving plans are simple. "I'm visiting family then possibly getting drunk on the town with some old homies."
The Ultimate Fighter 7 finalist CB Dollaway will spend Thanksgiving with his girlfriend. "I'm just going over to my girlfriend Gabs' house for the last feast before I have to start trying to get down to 185 . Hope everyone has a great holiday."
UFC welterweight fighter Matt Brown gets to actually enjoy this year's holiday, but plans to immediately get back to the gym on Friday. "I feel like I am extremely fortunate this year in that this is the first Thanksgiving in maybe 3 or 4 years that I am actually able to pig out," commented Brown. "I have been in training camp for fights the past few years so I wasn't able to really tear it up. I am planning on eating a decent amount of food, but I want to be careful not to overdo it as I want to train on Friday."
"I don't have a fight in the near future or anything, but I want to maintain a high level of cardio and stay light and improve as much as possible so that when my next fight comes around you guys see the best Matt Brown you have ever seen. I plan on being in the best shape of my life and being as strong as I have ever been and my skills being as sharp as anybody's in the world," added Brown. "I am now 2-1 in the UFC and the one fight that I lost I felt like I won. I have always been confident in my abilities and always believed that I belong in the UFC, but a lot of people are just simply unfortunate and things just seem to go wrong for them once they get in the octagon. I have been fortunate that this is not the case for me and I feel like in the next 2 years I will be prepared to start making a serious run for the title."
"The point is, this holiday I get to pig out, but it is just one day," continued Brown. "Friday I will be back in the gym and doing everything in my power to improve my skills, cardio, strength, and speed so that I can be the best fighter that I can possibly be. I'll let everyone else get fat. As for me, I will take one day, pig out, and be back at it within 24 hours."
Dale Hartt fights Corey Hill on Dec. 10 at UFC Fight for the Troops. He won't be spending the holiday with is family due to his dedication to fight preparation. "Honestly I thought about driving up to my sponsors guy's house for a real Thanksgiving as I'm 400 miles from home. Pretty much that would be me driving 5 hours to watch people eat, fun. But ultimately I'm pissed no gyms are open as that is my last week of work for Corey Hill. I will probably go for a run on Mt. Charleston and have a small meal."
Tim Boetsch emerged in the UFC light heavyweight division by dismantling David Heath at UFC 81. He has a 2-1 UFC record finishing in each of his wins. Boetsch will spend a portion of the day hunting followed by eating. "I am going to be hunting whitetails all day, then I am going to devour a turkey in the evening," said the 205-pound fighter.
"The Fight Professor," Stephen Quadros, will follow a long tradition he's established for celebrating Thanksgiving. "When I'm in town, I have a long standing tradition of going to my friend Rhonda's for Thanksgiving. She is a record/film company exec. who I have known since the 1970s, yes, before there was MMA on TV. During this time of year, I just resign myself to getting FAT...without guilt. "One more chocolate brownie please." SLuuuuuRP!"
"It's a great time to spend with loved ones and close friends, a time to NOT talk about business...too much, hahaha," added Quadros. "Her son is a pretty rockin' guitar player and wants me to play drums on his album. We'll see... The whole time I'm there, in between eating, drinking, hugging, kissing, talking, I will have an internal narrative going constantly, planning 2009. I can't wait!"
UFC President Dana White presents the 5th edition of his video blog for UFC 91.
In this episode, Dana holds court at the UFC 91 pre-fight press conference, takes viewers behind the scenes with the production crew, continues his media onslaught, checks a cut on Rich Franklin's right eye, harasses Kenny Florian, and breaks from his hard boiled egg diet.
ESPN's MMA Live was live at the UFC 91 weigh-ins on Friday, broadcasting with the Octagon as the backdrop for the show. They discussed the Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar and Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson bouts with UFC president Dana White.
ESPN has been all over UFC 91, providing an unprecedented amount of coverage for the event. We'll see if this an anomoly or if the venerable sports network is committed to now cover MMA.
UFC lightweight contender and MMA Live correspondent Kenny "KenFlo" Florian provided his expert opinion to MMAWeekly Radio breaking down the UFC 91 main event between Randy "The Natural" Couture and Brock Lesnar, and picks Couture to be the victor.
"It's going to come down to Randy's experience vs. Brock's size and power game." said the Bostonian. "First of all, I have to say this, you can never bet against Randy Couture. I think it's a sin and you're probably going to lose a lot of money. Randy's been proving people wrong since day one. I love him for that because I've kind of been in the same boat. You've got to love the underdog.
"Randy is undersized. He's coming back. He's an older guy. But I think his experience is going to win out. I really believe that," further commented Florian. "I think with his wrestling ability, again, as much as Brock has been an All-American wrestler, Randy has wrestled at the international level. He's on Olympic teams. I think that says a lot.
"The guy, since day one, has faced big guys. He's fought in the heavyweight division. He's fought in the light heavyweight division against tremendous competitors. I think that's just a tremendous amount of experience," added the 32-year-old lightweight fighter. "So, for Brock, if he wins, I think that's a huge upset despite the age difference, despite the size. I still think it's a huge upset. I expect Randy to win it out. I think he's got more experience. I think he's got the better all-around skills.
"I don't think he's as powerful as Brock," conceded Florian. "I don't think he's going to hit as hard as Brock, but overall I think he has the better skills. It's going to be a very, very interesting fight. Randy's going to have to use a lot of tools to win, but I think it's going to be his experience that wins out."
Heading into an important fight at UFC 91 - a fight that should boost the winner into title contention - Joe "Daddy" Stevenson got a big boost from his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor over the weekend. Robert Drysdale awarded Stevenson his black belt on Saturday.
Both Stevenson and Florian have only one loss since their respective moves into the UFC's lightweight division. Stevenson's only loss was at the hands of current lightweight champion B.J. Penn, while Florian's was to former champ Sean Sherk.
The winner is likely to get a shot at the title once B.J. Penn is done with his mega-fight against Georges St. Pierre on Super Bowl weekend.
It's Election Day and voters are pulling levers, punching chads, and clicking electronic ballots in a frenzy to determine the next president of the United States of America. A record number of voters are expected to turn out at the polls for one of the most highly charged elections in U.S. history.
Despite his upcoming opponent, Kenny Florian, saying he doesn't plan on voting in this election, Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender Joe Stevenson told MMAWeekly Radio on Monday night that - like former welterweight champ Matt Hughes - he endorses Republican candidate John McCain.
Asked if he was casting a vote, Stevenson said, "I am, definitely... You're not allowed to complain unless you voted."
The 26-year-old fighter went on record saying, "I'm actually, I'm supporting McCain. That's where I stand if anyone is wondering that.
"That's the cool thing about the country, we do get to vote," Stevenson continued.
"I live in California now, so I think the biggest mistake is a lot of people are counting him out in the state. They're just going to just assume that McCain can't win in California. But I think if everyone gets up and votes, he can."
UFC lightweight contender, Kenny Florian, and his brother Keith, have opened their own training center in Brookline, Mass to help build and teach MMA to new students throughout the area.
In the following video, Keith demonstrates some grappling techniques while Kenny explains what students will learn training while at the Florian Martial Arts Center.
The latest episode (#22) of MMA Live from ESPN features Jon Anik, Kenny Florian, and Franklin McNeil focusing on the Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock debacle that occurred at the recent CBS-EliteXC Saturday Night Fights in Florida.
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
