Spike TV will air a stacked two-hour block of "never-before-seen on cable (non-pay-per-view)" counterprogramming to the Nov. 7 telecast of Saturday Night Fights on CBS.
"UFC Main Events" airs head-to-head with "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers," both events starting at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Fedor vs. Rogers marks Strikeforce's debut on CBS and Fedor Emelianenko's first fight for the promotion.
Spike and the Ultimate Fighting Championship have lined up four of the UFC's most highly regarded fights of the year from its three most recent pay-per-view events, highlighted by Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria.
The fights airing in the UFC Main Events telecast include the following:
UFC 102: RANDY COUTURE vs. ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA This highly-anticipated battle featured UFC legend and former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture against former Pride heavyweight and then UFC interim heavyweight king Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
UFC 103: VITOR BELFORT vs. RICH FRANKLIN A battle of veteran former UFC champions featured former light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort returning to the Octagon against former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin.
UFC 101: B.J. PENN vs. KENNY FLORIAN Lightweight champion B.J. Penn, in his second title defense, took on top contender Kenny Florian in a battle of Brazilian jiu-jitsu experts.
UFC 101: FORREST GRIFFIN vs. ANDERSON SILVA UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva moved up in weight class for a non-title bout against former UFC light heavyweight champ and "The Ultimate Fighter 1" winner Forrest Griffin.
UFC president Dana White's video blog return continues with the second episode of his UFC 104 video blog. Surprise appearances by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and actor/comedian David Spade.
In the face of all the controversy surrounding Dan Henderson's status with the UFC, he tells Inside MMA that he expects his next two fights will probably be Nate Marquardt and Anderson Silva, although he is currently without a contract with any promotion.
(Inside MMA airs each Friday night on HDNet at 9 p.m. ET)
The Ultimate Fighting Championship's first foray into Philadelphia was nothing short of a rousing success. Two of the promotion's top stars got back on track, B.J. Penn defending his UFC lightweight belt from Kenny Florian, and Anderson Silva laying further claim to the mythical pound-for-pound title with a first-round knockout of Forrest Griffin.
All this before a stellar crowd.
The early return numbers -- as announced by UFC President Dana White at the post-fight press conference -- put total attendance at 17,411 for a Pennsylvania record gate of $3.55 million.
"(We've) never had a night where the first prelim of the night there were over 11,000 people there," commented White. "Halfway through the prelims there were 16,500 people, and then over 17,000... it was 17,411, $3.55 million gate. The biggest in the history of Pennsylvania."
Now on to the pay-per-view numbers... isn't there some sort of crazy stunt -- like White's commitment to base-jumping off of Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas -- that we can get him to commit too in Philly if UFC 101 tops UFC 100 in PPV buys?
Radio show host Carmichael Dave of Sports 1140 KHTK AM was just one of many to weigh in on today's news that Fedor Emelianenko was not UFC bound, but he relayed some interesting -- if unverified -- details about the UFC's deal with the Russian and his reps.
We know now that Fedor and his M-1 business partners, including manager Vadim Finkelchtein, had a teleconference with UFC officials yesterday, in which the UFC made an offer to secure Emelianenko's services.
According to Carmichael Dave -- who has had regular access to UFC president Dana White for some time -- this is the offer that M-1 ended up turning down. (But again, we must stress that this is unverified.)
- A 6-fight, $30 million contract
- An immediate title shot at UFC 103 against Brock Lesnar
- A cut of the UFC 103 pay-per-view on top of Fedor's purse
- The ability for Fedor to wear as many M-1 logoed items as he wished
- The ability for Fedor to compete in combat Sambo
At a press conference held in Anaheim on Wednesday, Finkelchtein stressed that without co-promotion between the UFC and M-1, Emelianenko would not grace the Octagon any time soon.
Whether the parties come together for a second round of negotiations remains unknown, but Finkelchtein said he and Emelianenko were currently fielding offers from multiple promotions.
---UPDATED 6:30 ET ON JULY 30---
Since initial reports of Carmichael Dave's comments on the UFC's contract offer to Fedor, there have been several other reports contradicting the terms mentioned.
One of the most substantial is Loretta Hunt's report on Sherdog.com. She spoke to Joost Raimond, CEO for M-1 Global, who "called the report 'completely ludicrous' and said negotiations never even reached the point where the number of fights contracted for Emelianenko was decided."
Raimond did, however, characterize negotiations with the UFC as "very professional, productive and respectful."
CNBC's "Ultimate Fighting: Fistful of Dollars," premiers tonight -- Wednesday, July 29.
CNBC will take viewers inside the Octagon revealing how the UFC continues to grow - even as other professional sports face financial crisis. While the recession is putting a beat-down on the economy, Ultimate Fighting's revenues are up more than 30%.
CNBC's Scott Wapner travels to Germany for the UFC's first-ever event in mainland Europe and speaks with Dana White, as well as billionaire backers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. Hear what they have to say about the sport's successes, challenges and growth. And, in just 18-months since CNBC first took viewers inside the UFC, see how this controversial sport has flexed its muscles worldwide to include major sponsors, product endorsements and brand extensions.
Legalized MMA is inching closer to reality in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday passed "An Act To Regulate The Sport Of Mixed Martial Arts" with a favorable review, clearing it for a debate and vote on the Senate floor.
There are still more steps to go. If the Senate passes the bill, it will be read in the House and examined for amendments, and any amendments suggested by the House will need to be approved by the Senate.
If the bill gets through the amendment process, called "engrossing," the House and Senate will vote on whether to enact the bill.
From there, the bill goes to the Governor, who signs, vetoes, or amends the legislation.
It's a long and exhausting process, but so far, all signs have been pointing in the right direction, meaning we could see MMA in Boston by the end of the year or early 2010.
In a move to bring the UFC experience one step closer for mixed martial arts fans in Japan, the Ultimate Fighting Championship officially launched the first Japanese-language UFC web and mobile sites. Japanese fight fans can now access UFC via the new and only UFC branded Japanese PC and mobile sites across all three major carriers’ 3G networks in Japan.
The UFC Official Mobile sites will offer the latest news and enhanced content of the UFC to 3G network users of all three major mobile carriers – NTT Docomo, KDDI and Softbank in Japan. Content such as breaking news, fight previews, video interviews, photos and editorial columns will be offered on a daily basis.
Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama is the latest addition to the UFC, with his debut fight taking place at the historic UFC 100 event Saturday, July 11 in Las Vegas. In addition to Akiyama, UFC has a steady stream of talent coming out of Japan including Yushin Okami, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, and Caol Uno.
To access the UFC Japanese site on your web mobile device, please visit http://m.ufcjapan.jp
To access the UFC Japanese site on your desktop PC computer, please visit UFCJapan.jp
Canadian UFC vets Victor Valimaki and Joe Doerkson have been absent from the MMA scene in 2009, but that's soon to change.
According to a source close to the fighters, the two will return to action on separate cards late this month.
Edmonton, Alberta native Valimaki will face Palace Fighting Championships vet Isaiah Larson (6-3) at Canadian Fighting Championships on May 30nd in his hometown. Larson trains alongside EliteXC and Strikeforce veteran Brett Rogers at Team Bison in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Valimaki is on a four-fight win streak, having last fought at M-1 Challenge 10 last November, where he submitted Rodney Glunder in the first round.
Winnipeg, Manitoba native Joe Doerkson will also keep it local, facing Greg Babene (6-4) at "The Fight Club" on May 22. The jiu-jitsu specialist has racked up a two-win streak, having last appeared at Sengoku Sixth Battle, where he defeated Izuru Takeuchi by TKO.
Author's note: the dates of Valimaki and Doerkson's were reported incorrectly as the 22nd and 30th of May, respectively, and changed to reflect the accurate dates.
In celebration of UFC 100, Spike TV will present a 5-part special, highlighting the best 100 bouts in UFC history, as voted on by the fans. Voting will begin on May 1 on Spike.com (Ultimate100.spike.com) where fans can choose their top 100 fights from an extensive list of bouts selected by the UFC and Spike TV.
Each episode of "UFC's Ultimate 100: Greatest Fights" will count down the top 100 with action-packed moments from each contest. The first one-hour installment will premiere Sunday, July 5 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, with the next three episodes airing Monday July 6-Wednesday, July 8 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. The final episode airs Saturday, July 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, which will conclude a re-broadcast of the entire voted UFC bout.
UFC 100 will air Saturday, July 11 at 10 p.m. live on pay-per-view from the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas.
New York State Assemblyman Bob Reilly has drafted a document outlining his arguments against the legalization of MMA in New York state.
This week, the paper was distributed to members of the Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development Committee, according to a source in Reilly's Albany office. The committee, chaired by Assemblyman Steve Englebright, is expected to vote on bill that could regulate the sport by the year's end.
A vote on the bill, titled A.2009-A, has been delayed due to legislature addressing the state's budget shortfall.
The budget was passed last week, but the bill has yet to be put on the committee's agenda, according to sources MMAInsider spoke to.
Last June, a similar bill titled A.11458-A did not pass the committee after it was unable to come to a formal vote.
Subsequently, Mr. Reilly emerged as a self-proclaimed "accidental opposition" to the legalization of the sport. In January, Mr. Reilly gave an interview to MMAWeekly.com where he outlined many of the arguments now formalized in the document.
In addition to the arguments outlined in the paper, Mr. Reilly claims he was verbally threatened by mixed martial arts proponents and reported the threats to New York State Police.
MMAInsider has posted a copy of the paper here, just click on the link to download it in PDF format.
MMAInsider has followed the long, convoluted saga of Pro Elite Inc., since the MMA company first announced it was closing its doors last October.
Following it's rapid collapse, a handful of suitors emerged to vie for the company's assets, including Mark Ecko, the UFC, Terri Trebilcock, and Strikeforce. After a botched attempt by Showtime to auction the spoils of the company, the deal went underground. The winning bid seemed to change weekly, sometimes daily.
In recent weeks, several industry sources have confirmed that Scott Coker and Strikeforce have emerged as the likely candidate to purchase Pro Elite's assets. In December, the San Jose-based promotion was on the cusp of a deal to purchase parts of the company, but last minute hike in the price of the deal shelved it.
However, multiple sources who wished to remain anonymous said last week that negotiations between the companies had resumed and were entering their final stages.
On Wednesday afternoon, multiple reports surfaced that Strikeforce had agreed in principle to a purchase of Pro Elite assets and an announcement was forthcoming by the end of the week.
Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz confirmed to MMAInsider that negotiations were progressing, but the deal was not done.
"That's incorrect," he said. "Any reports of a done deal are a complete fantasy."
Afromowitz said the deal with Pro Elite was far more complex than reports had stated.
"It's complicated, and that's why I don't want to speculate," he continued. "If anything is done, it will be very technical. It's not as straightforward as you think."
If a deal between Strikeforce and Pro Elite comes to fruition, Pro Elite's television deals with CBS and Showtime, as well as select fighters on their roster, are valuable spoils of the transaction. Though Strikeforce has an existing contract with NBC to air pre-recorded fight specials, a live TV deal has eluded them. A deal with CBS could remedy that issue, or perhaps provide leverage in future negotiations with NBC.
Afromowitz said he would have more information soon, but stressed it was too soon to close the books on the saga.
Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, Randy "The Natural" Couture, is one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history, but the man behind the Xtreme Couture trademark doesn't put much weight in pound-for-pound rankings.
"It's such a hard thing to really objectively look at and determine. You can make a case for a lot of the guys out there," Couture told MMAInsider.
Pound-for-Pound rankings are the most subjective rankings out there. The criteria is speculation derived from hypothetics.
"St. Pierre is firing on all cylinders right now. BJ Penn looks great at 155-pounds. I think it's the best I've seen him look. Anderson Silva, until this last fight, has been impressive in his performances," commented Couture. "For Fedor [Emelianenko] to walk through a top-five fighter like Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds was certainly a statement."
It's complicated and probably unattainable, and Couture agrees.
"How you sort all that out in a pound-for-pound equation, I don't know that it can really be done," said Couture. "But it certainly makes for good talk over the water-cooler."
While expectations were high for Canadian, Jonathan "The Road Warrior" Goulet, to return to the next UFC show in Montreal, he will have to sit things out this time with a ruptured tendon in his knee according to his manager, Ken Pavia. Rumors had placed Goulet in a match-up against fellow welterweight, Tamdan McCrory, but the injury will keep him out of action for an extended period of time.
"He really wanted to fight in front of his home fans so badly that he couldn't get it out of his mouth that he was physically unable to," said Pavia who explained that Goulet actually avoided phone calls for 2 days trying to find a way to make the fight happen.
According to his manager, Goulet's knee will not require surgery, but he will have to undergo extensive rehabilitation to get back to fight shape.
At UFC 83, the promotion's first trip to Montreal, Goulet won a "Fight of the Night" bonus for his performance against Kuniyoshi Hironaka.
There is no set time table for Goulet to return following this injury.
While nobody can knock him for not taking tough fights, Reese Andy, after going 0-2 in the UFC has been released by the promotion as confirmed by his agent, Ken Pavia, on Thursday.
"In the short term, he was released from the UFC," Pavia told MMAWeekly Radio.
Since moving to the UFC from the now defunct International Fight League, Andy took two very tough fights, but unfortunately things didn't go his way in either. His first bout against Brandon Vera did not live up to expectations for either fighter, but Vera was able to squeeze out a decision win.
Andy's next fight took place at UFC 92 where he lost to former "Ultimate Fighter" competitor, Matt Hamill, by TKO in the 2nd round.
While the release is disappointing for Andy, his agent says that they are already working on finding him a new workplace and offers are starting to come in since his release became official.
"We're going to re-build him a little bit, you know Strikeforce is going to Seattle so that might give us a chance to have him fight in front of his local fans. I've actually had some interest in him already," Pavia commented.
It's a Zuffa night of MMA on television on Wednesday night. The UFC finishes up the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV with the final two episodes of the season beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
WEC 37 takes over Versus at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The main event features a showdown between bantamweight champion and No. 1 ranked Miguel Torres and No. 7 ranked Manny Tapia.
ESNP's MMA Live discusses Jon Fitch's 24-hour UFC whirlwind, Affliction and Golden Boy's partnership and head-to-head events, the UFC's march on Germany, and more...
It is a tough time, with a tough economy, especially in the U.S. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, however, has finally started to hit a stride amongst sponsors that help drive major sports throughout the world.
According to a recent article by MarketWatch, a leading publication that tracks market trends for investors, the UFC has scored huge by signing on Anheuser-Busch and Harley Davidson.
Anheuser-Busch sponsors dozens of sports and leagues throughout the world, but its own market research led the beer manufacturer to elevate the UFC into the upper echelon of its priorities.
Tony Ponturo, the company's vice president of global media and sports marketing, told MarketWatch's William Spain, "We did some research against the male beer drinker aged 21 to 27 and (the UFC) was showing up second in interest (among sports) to the NFL and almost half of that group said they were avid fans."
Although the UFC hasn't reached National Football League or Major League Baseball (MLB) status with the brewer, Ponturo said that his company's deal with the UFC is on par with deals Anheuser-Busch has with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL).
Harley-Davidson's senior director of integrated consumer marketing, Scott Beck, told MarketWatch that although the motorcycle maker has small deals with "pretty much all major sports," the company's commitment to the UFC is its largest.
Both company representatives expressed specific interest in the UFC's ability to extend into the global market and its attraction to the younger demographic.
Every great fighter in the world has to take time out of a busy training schedule to relax and enjoy some down time...even the best pound for pound fighter on the planet.
That's what UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, did recently when along with manager Ed Soares and others attended an Usher concert.
"I'm actually headed over to pick up Anderson (Silva), heading out to the Usher concert right now," Soares told MMAWeekly Radio on Wednesday.
"You wouldn't think that we'd be going to an Usher concert but Usher and Anderson got to meet each other and Anderson's a big fan of Usher, and as you saw in his fight against James Irvin, Usher was there in the audience watching his fight."
The R&B superstar has sold out hundreds of arenas and sold millions of records around the world, but having the best fighter in MMA in your corner may be one of the best people to have around!
Fitch Back With UFC by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
Less than 24 hours after the news that welterweight stand-out Jon Fitch has been released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the situation has been resolved and Fitch is back with the UFC.
The news was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by members of Zinkin Entertainment, Fitch's management team, who said that the deal was brokered between their executives, Jon Fitch and UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta just earlier today.
Zinkin executive and American Kickboxing Academy trainer, Bob Cook, spoke to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday after Fitch was officially invited back to the UFC.
"Jon and I spoke with Lorenzo Fertitta and we managed to put everything back together," Cook told MMAWeekly.com.
Cook also says that everybody from the American Kickboxing Academy, including Fitch, Cain Velasquez, and Josh Koscheck would be signing on to the video game contract that seemingly brought about part of this departure from the UFC.
"Yes, the guys will be part of the video game program and the conversation with Lorenzo, they're comfortable with the situation and everybody's moving forward," stated Cook.
The day started with a conversation between Fitch and UFC president Dana White according to Cook, and eventually UFC owner, Lorenzo Fertitta stepped in the negotiation as well and things were soon settled.
"I just think that Jon's and Lorenzo's personalities mesh a little better," Cook said of the negotiations.
Fitch first spoke to MMARated.com about his return to the UFC on Thursday afternoon saying, "Communication kind of broke down with Dana (White) so we talked with Lorenzo," Fitch explained to MMARated. "(I) just got off the phone with him and we came to an agreement. We're going to move ahead and I'll be back in the UFC."
On Wednesday, Dana White made several inflammatory statements about the American Kickboxing Academy, their fighters, the management and the team at Zinkin Entertainment. Cook says now with the situation resolved, he hopes to speak to White and get back to work.
"I've got a call out to Dana (White) right now, he's doing some interviews right now, but hopefully he'll give me a call back and we'll patch things up."
UFC President Dana White's comments on Wednesday about welterweight Jon Fitch's dismissal from his company perked up more than a few ears in the industry.
One party interested in Fitch's services: Tom Atencio, Vice President of Affliction Entertainment. White named the "t-shirt guys" as a potential home for the American Kickboxing Academy fighter in the wake of his unemployment.
MMAInsider spoke to Atencio Thursday afternoon, where he confirmed Fitch would be welcome to fight for Affliction.
"Yes I am," Atencio said of his interest. "Does that mean we're going to get him? Don't know."
Atencio commended Fitch for standing up to the proverbial 800lb. gorilla.
"I think if you don't agree with something, than you should stand up for what you don't agree with," he continued. "And I've got to give it to him, he's got balls for doing it."
Though he admits Affliction's welterweight division is thin at the moment, he says the problem can soon be fixed, and Fitch could sign a non-exclusive deal with the company.
"We're still working both ways," Atencio said of Affliction's contracts. "There's some guys that want to fight in Japan and want to fight in Canada. Until we get going full bore and get 12 fights a year or whatever we'll end up doing, it's really hard for us to hold these guys to anything and make them sit on the bench. If they're not making money, they're not paying their bills. If they're not fighting, they're going to get ring rust. I don't want to do that to them."
For over two years, filmmaker David Vahey followed cult MMA hero Matt Lindland around, picking his brain about life and fighting. The result, "Fighting Politics," is a story about the business of mixed martial arts and Lindland's attempt to persevere through its fickle politics.
The film draws upon a variety of fighters and industry insiders to flesh out Lindland's background as an Olympic wrestler who found himself well suited for cage fighting. Lindland's failed bid for an Oregon State Senate seat is also chronicled.
The film's trailer, viewable on the its website, www.fightingpolitics.com, paints Lindland as a fighter poised to be one of the world's best until a snafu involving a tshirt causes his ouster from the fight game's industry juggernaut.
One of the biggest characters in the story, UFC president Dana White, is conspicuously missing from the film. Vahey began corresponding with White in mid-2006 until White found out the true subject of the documentary.
"When we first texted Dana to try to get interviews, he was pretty nice," Vahey says. "When it was a general MMA documentary. As soon as we mentioned (Matt's) name, he blew up on us, saying 'nobody gives a (expletive) about Matt Lindland, and neither do I.' Saying that Dan Henderson was ten times a better fighter than he is, just going on and on about bad a fighter Matt was."
Vahey said after threats that included legal action, White issued a final proclamation that cut off all communication.
The film has been submitted to 25 film festivals between January in March of 2009. Vahey hopes it will pick up a national distributor.
"It’s really not an MMA documentary, it's really more a life story documentary," he said. "There's not a lot of blood and guts--I don't know if the MMA fans are going to like that or not. It's a documentary my mom's watched and liked, so hopefully that it will appeal to more people."
In the recent edition of Fox News Fight Game, the panel talks with UFC president Dana White about the struggling U.S. economy and how it has effected the MMA, specifically the UFC.
It hasn't been done thus far, but World Extreme Cagefighting vice president Peter Dropick told the media on Tuesday that it is a possibility... that being a WEC fighter vs. a UFC fighter.
"You know, Dana (White, UFC president) has said from the beginning that anything's possible," said Dropick, before adding, "Currently, we don't have plans for it, but if there's the right match-up or the right scenario, I think everyone is open to it." It will happen in a way because the WEC, following its November and December events, will be closing up shop on its 185- and 205-pound divisions.
"From there (following December), (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva will take a look at who he is going to move over to the UFC and who they'll release."
One name that is consistently brought up to challenge the UFC's fighters is WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit. The promotion has had a difficult time finding new challengers for Condit and he's got to be tiring of rematches.
He proudly says that he is a WEC fighter and wants to continue to defend his crown as WEC champion, but there will have to come a day when he's exhausted enough of the competition that he'll be ported over to the UFC. Who knows, maybe he will be part of the first WEC/UFC unification bout.
Dropick certainly left it open. "It's the same family. (Dana) said that from day one, but currently we don't have any plans on paper to do that."
UFC president Dana White has been outspoken about other mixed martial arts promotions in the United States. Regularly the most influencial man in MMA criticizes the competition, but White doesn't hate all promotions.
Reacting to Strikeforce on NBC recently generating 1.1 million viewers, White said, "I think that's awesome. I think that's great. Strikeforce is a good show. They've been putting on good fights for a long time. They run a great business. It's good. That's a good thing. It's a positive thing."
"These guys run a real promotion," added White. "They know how to run a promotion. They don't try to tamper with fights. They don't have (expletive) goofballs from backyard barbecues fighting. It's a good thing. I hope they do ten million viewers next week."
Despite Strikeforce gaining popularity and the possibility of them being competition with the Zuffa brand, White hopes them the best. "I wish them all the luck in the world," said White. "I have nothing bad to say about people who run the right promotion."
Georges St. Pierre was a guest recently Fox News Fight Game. The UFC welterweight champion discussed his thoughts on rematching B.J. Penn on Super Bowl weekend, the upcoming bout between UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, Matt Hughes, gorwing up and his beginnings in mixed martial arts, and much, much more.
This is a really good interview with St. Pierre that especially goes in depth about his training and various aspects of martial arts and how things apply to MMA.
Brock Lesnar on Tuesday night appeared on ESPN's magazine show E:60. The segment on Lesnar provides some great background on the man who is challenging UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas.
Ever since their words of war on The Ultimate Fighter, there has been a tremendous wall of friction between former UFC welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Both fighters and fans seem to think the only way it will be resolved is in the Octagon.
Well, that may just happen. Matt Hughes posted the following information on his official website Monday night, indicating that the UFC is looking towards a battle between the two Matts this spring:
"This week, I talked to Joe Silva at the UFC and a possible date for Serra and I is in April. I don’t know the exact date right now or venue. So, that is something that I can look forward to and I can set my training up for that schedule."
American Kickboxing Academy standout Mike Swick might have been the only one not cheering for Marcus Davis after his UFC 89 fight with Paul Kelly.
On the DQ list after a longstanding injury to his right elbow forced him into surgery, Swick had healed enough to accept a fight with Jonathan Goulet at "UFC Fights for the Troops" on December 10. His last fight, a unanimous decision victory over Davis at UFC 85, had been a positive step forward in his career as a welterweight. But when Davis gave a victory speech on Saturday, his opinion of the popular welterweight changed.
"I would have never mentioned it had he not said anything, but it really upset me," Swick told MMAInsider on Monday. "The first thing he said is 'it's really tough coming off a loss and an injury.' He talks about being a warrior, and as soon as he loses, he starts making excuses."
In interviews leading up to the Saturday night fight, Davis said a shoulder injury had contributed to his loss, a statement Swick bristles at.
"That's very disrespectful to take the fight away from somebody when they dominate you," Swick said. "It's especially disrespectful when a guy who dominated you is more injured than you are. I was told not to even take the fight. I took the fight, I never said a word about anything, and then after the fight, I went straight back here and had surgery. Basically just recovering enough to fight in December, and he gets done with the fight and takes another fight instantly. And he's gonna go with all these excuses about being injured. I just don't think it's very warrior-like."
Swick was particularly caught off guard by the comments because Davis had been so friendly in the past. In the ensuing chatter after Davis' most recent fight, Swick says the comments have armed critics who were looking to bash him at every turn. He felt he had to fire back.
"You're talking about a guy who says we're going to fight chin for chin, then for the first two rounds, he tries to take me down," Swick said. "What's up with that?"
Though he hasn't written off Davis completely, Swick says the experience was an eye-opener.
"You can't knowingly take a fight and if it doesn't work out in your favor, cry injury," Swick said. "That's just the bottom line."
Typically, most people automatically say whoever holds the title in the UFC is the No. 1 guy in that division, at least in the UFC, right?
Well, Keith Jardine isn't so sure... and that's not because he's bragging and saying that he is the No. 1 guy in the UFC's 205-pound division.
Obviously referring to a crazy round-robin of wins and losses, the UFC's light heavyweight division does make for some strange MMA math. Rampage beat Liddell who beat Wanderlei who beat Jardine who beat Forrest who beat Rampage and is the champ. Say what?!
"This was a huge fight," said Jardine after his win over Brandon Vera at UFC 89 before adding, "The division is weird. Forrest (Griffin) is the champ right now, but who knows who the best guy is? It could be the number one guy. It could be the number ten guy. There's a lot of undefeated guys. There's a lot of guys coming up. I think it's going take a year or so to sort this thing out."
Junie Browning's drunken exploits and out of control behavior has been the prominent focus of The Ultimate Fighter season eight. After his alcohol induced tirade attacking several housemates, most, including Browning, thought he would be kicked off the popular reality show on Spike TV. The decision to keep Browning in the house was made solely by UFC president Dana White, and according to White, "It had nothing to do with ratings."
White explained he got the call from the producer alerting him there was a problem in the house. White then viewed the tapes of the multitude of incidents that transpired that night. The Spike TV producer was prepared to send Browning packing.
"That day that I got there, she (the producer) said, 'okay, so we've got his plane ticket home. We've got everything set.' And I went in and said, 'I don't if I'm going to kick him off the show,'" explained the outspoken UFC president. "She was like, what? Everybody knew for a fact that I was kicking him off the show. They knew."
"I went to the house that day and said, I don't know if I'm going to kick him off," added White. "She said, 'what do you mean you don't know?' I said, 'I don't know. I don't know what is going on. I just don't know if I'm going to do it.' I wanted to go inside and see how he was going to act. If he was a punk, I was going to kick him off the show. I went inside. He was upset. He looked like he was going to cry. He was apologetic about it, so I didn't do it."
When Browning remained in the house after shattering a glass off of Kyle Kingsbury's forearm, causing a laceration, push kicked Tom Lawlor to the ground, while trying to start fights with Ryan Bader and Krzysztof Soszynski, the only rational explanation was he remained due to ratings. White said, "It had nothing to do with the TV ratings. It had nothing to do with it."
Either way, Browning remains and ratings continue to rise.
Beyond the opportunity to earn a six figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the fighters who make their way to the show also have the chance to train with world class coaches like B.J. Penn, Matt Serra, Tito Ortiz, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuira and others.
But as seen on the most recent episode of the popular reality show, the members of Team Nogueira got the opportunity to train with the best fighter on the planet when UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva stopped by to help them train their stand-up games.
Arizona Combat Sports based fighter Ryan Bader was shown sparring with the champion during the episode and he says that Silva really is just that good.
"He's just phenomenal, he's just so fluid and just so loose in there and elusive, it was crazy," said Bader recently on MMAWeekly Radio. "He's amazing and light years above anybody else that I've sparred with."
During the televised portion of the broadcast, Bader and Silva seemed to be having a pretty hardcore sparring session, with both fighters landing some pretty heavy shots.
"We were going pretty good and he was punching back and doing normally what you'd do, and the clip they showed was at the end of our workout when he was getting me a little bit and I was kind of getting frustrated so I started swinging kind of hard at him and then he kind of invited me to come and get him in a friendly manner, so that's what you saw on TV," Bader commented.
"I hit him pretty good a few times, but he's got a pretty good chin, he's hard to hit, I mean you go in there and he's very elusive. It was just awesome getting the experience training with a fighter like that."
Along with popularity comes an exponential amount of rumor and speculation and the Ultimate Fighting Championship is no exception... by far. If anything, having such a hardcore following on the Internet only adds fuel to the speculative fires surround the MMA juggernaut.
Accordingly, UFC president Dana White spends a lot of his time answering questions about things that just aren't true or at least haven't even been considered yet. One such rumor has been regarding plans for the UFC's century mark in numbered events.
There has been a lot of chatter on the boards lately that the UFC has planned to put all of their titles on the line at UFC 100... a true "Night of Champions" type of fight card.
Not true said White recently in England. He said that he has, "No ideas for UFC100," but it's not going to be a case of all five of the current weight classes putting titles on the line. That would just be too long of a night.
All UFC title bouts are five rounds of five minutes each. If you were to factor in that all five bouts could possibly go the distance that alone takes up most of the time alloted to a pay-per-view event, leaving little or no time for introductions, pre-fight hype, or instances where a fight may have to be put on hold for a doctor's check or other unforseen circumstances.
Not too many of today's newer fans probably remember who Lee Murray is, but his name came up on Friday when UFC president Dana White addressed fans in the U.K.
A little background... Murray was a once promising British mixed martial artist with a professional record of 8-2-1. He holds wins over fighters such as Jose Pele Landi-Jons and, at UFC 46, Jorge Rivera.
Asked about Murray facing Anderson Silva again - Murray lost to Anderson in a Cage Rage bout in 2004, which was Murray's most recent MMA action - White told the crowd, while he is definitely a tough guy "fighting Anderson Silva is the least of his problems."
That's probably putting it mildly. To most MMA fans - and UFC fans in particular - Murray is probably most famous for a brawl with former UFC star Tito Ortiz outside of a bar in England after UFC 38. Tito denies the incident happened, but Murray and others say that the Brit dropped Tito during their fight before fleeing the scene.
What White was more likely referring to though is Murray's more recent legal troubles. He is currently in a Moroccan prison for his involvement in the largest cash heist in British history... 53 million pounds!
Less than two weeks ago The Sun newspaper in the U.K. reported that Murray and his partner, Paul Allen, were named in court as the masterminds behind the heist. Allen is being held in the U.K., but Murray is still in a Moroccan jail cell because he is actually a Moroccan citizen and a judge there has yet to determine if he can be extradited to the U.K. to face up to the alleged crime.
Below is his 2004 Cage Rage fight with Anderson Silva. The fight is broken up into three parts, thus the reason for three videos below.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia might be making another big move soon--to the land of the Rising Sun.
Sylvia's manager, Monte Cox, confirmed to MMAInsider that Japanese promotions Dream and Sengoku have expressed interest in importing the tree-limbed fighter. No agreements have been signed, but negotiations are ongoing.
Sylvia's non-exclusive deal with Affliction allows the move, although Cox says he would also like to see Sylvia face off with Paul Buentello or Roy Nelson on Affliction's January card--i.e., someone a little less lofty than Fedor Emelianenko--to lay the groundwork for a comeback.
Save for a few marquee names, Dream and Sengoku's heavyweight divisions are paper thin. If Sylvia's in the mood for sushi, he might do some serious damage in Japan.
Tickets for the Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Live Finale go on sale to the general public beginning Saturday, Oct. 18 at Noon PT. There are presale options, however, to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public.
Starting tomorrow - Thursday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. PT - tickets for The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale go on sale to UFC Fight Club members. And on Friday, Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. PT, tickets go on sale to newsletter subscribers.
The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Palms in Las Vegas. It will feature the final bouts from this season's show and several other bouts, including a rumored rematch between Kevin Burns and Anthony Johnson.
Yes, we know this is a little dated, but this documentary on Marcus Davis and his fight team, Team Irish, gives some extensive insight into Davis' background. He talks in depth about his boxing career - more than 20 wins - and how his interest in MMA was sparked much like several other fighters... watching the UFC.
Marcus has made his fifth consecutive trip across the Atlantic for the UFC, as he is scheduled to fight undefeated Paul Kelly on Saturday night at UFC 89 on Spike TV. He is 6-1 in the Octagon, his only loss being a unanimous decision in a his last fight, to Mike Swick, at UFC 85. He looks to rebound against Michael Bisping's Wolfslair teammate at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England.
Our friends over at BetUs.com have odds up for many of the upcoming UFC and WEC fights. Of course, they've got a couple of lines for Saturday's UFC 89 event in Birmingham, England.
The latest odds for UFC 89 as of Tuesday evening have Michael Bisping favored over Chris Leben, and Brandon Vera over Keith Jardine.
The UFC is heading to Blu-ray disc, according to High-Def Digest. The release of "UFC: Ultimate Comebacks" marks the promotions debut on the Blu-ray format, which earlier this year knocked out the competing HD DVD format.
UFC: Ultimate Comebacks will be released on Nov. 18 alongside the DVD edition of the title. It features highlights of fights that originally aired on Spike TV.
The disk is produced by First Look and will carry a list price of $24.98 for the Blu-ray version.
Blu-ray is basically the next generation in DVDs. It offers at least five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs making it much more suitable for high-definition video, according to Blu-ray.com.
Since making his move to the middleweight division, popular British fighter Michael Bisping has had a very hard time keeping his name away from matchmakers across the globe putting him in a title fight against current UFC champion Anderson Silva.
Bisping takes the fans enthusiasm as a huge compliment, but also knows ultimately it's up to the UFC who he fights and when.
"Me personally, I take the compliment from it, but I don't read too much into it," Bisping said to MMAWeekly Radio recently. "Obviously, it's very flattering."
Never one to jump ahead of himself, the Brit admits that he'd always accept a title shot, but it's not something he wishes for yet at this point in his career as a 185-pounder.
"If a title fight was offered in my next fight, obviously I'd take it, but right now if I had a say in it, I wouldn't want that just yet," Bisping stated. "I'm still maturing as a fighter. I'd still want two or three more fights before I got that opportunity."
First things first, Bisping takes his shot at Chris Leben this weekend in England at UFC 89.
Not that it's a big surprise, but Bernie Profato, head of the Ohio Athletic Commission, told the "The Plain Dealer" in Cleveland that the UFC has tentative plans to return to the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on March 7, the same weekend as the Arnold Sports Expo.
The promotion has run events in Columbus the past two years, both times the same weekend as the Arnolds, pulling from the huge crowds that flock there for the fitness expo. The demographic for both has a huge crossover, so it is a "no brainer" for the MMA juggernaught.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship debuted in Columus at UFC 68 in 2007, setting what was at the time a North American attendance record with 19,079 fans in attendance. The Octagon was set up again in Columbus in 2008 for UFC 82, drawing more than 16,000.
UFC lightweight contender Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon, 17-4, 4 KOs, 13 submissions), star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show, leaves Tuesday on a 10-day goodwill trip visiting U.S. military troops in Iraq.
Fellow mixed-martial arts fighters Jorge Rivera and Heath Herring are among the other athletes on the trip. "It's going to be an amazing experience," 24-year-old Lauzon said. "I can't wait to go overseas and see the troops in Iraq."
For more information about Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon, who has a Bachelor's degree in computer networking from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, go online and visit www.joelauzon.com or myspace.com/lauzonrsd.
UFC president Dana White, in a video interview that appears on YouTube.com, commented on the recent EliteXC controversy surrounding Seth Petruzelli and his knockout of Kimbo Slice. White explains what he believes to be the alleged illegality of the situation.
WARNING: A word of caution, in typical Dana White fashion, there is is some rather harsh language, laced with expletives throughout the video.
Most UFC fans realize that the promotion has been involved with THQ in developing a completely new video game based on the action in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. If it lives up to the hype and the public demos, it is sure to be the best mixed martial arts based video game on the market.
This video has a demo of the game, extensive details about its playability, and ames many of the fighters - Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson, Anderson Silva, more - that are slated to be included in the UFC 2009 Undisputed final roster.
The video comes to us via IGN.com and is the E3 2008: Live Wire Demo of UFC 2009 Undisputed.
There's no denying that Chris Leben will be the one stepping into the lion's cage when he faces Michael Bisping at UFC 89 on Saturday night... and that's fine by him.
Bisping is far and away the biggest mixed martial arts star in England and the crowd will be whole-heartedly behind him when he and Leben enter the Octagon.
Leben addressed the crowd situation in a recent UFC conference call promoting the fight:
"Michael's a star over here and it's an honor to fight him over here. I wouldn't want it any other way. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I like being the bad guy. I really do.
There's nothing cooler than... he can make thousands of people scream, that's cool, but when, come the 18th, when I make 'em all go dead still and quiet, that's going to be something real special."
Of course, Bisping couldn't let that lie, and you could hear the Cheshire grin on his face through the phone line when he responded, "Well, just don't count on that experience."
UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre seems to find success wherever he goes, even when he isn't in the Octagon. He's been filming a new movie, signed with the highly touted CAA Sports alongside David Beckham and Derek Jeter, and is preparing for a likely mega fight against lightweight champion B.J. Penn.
On Saturday, however, he achieved another milestone in his martial arts development. St. Pierre was awarded his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, according to Gracie Magazine.
St. Pierre evidently went to train jiu-jitsu at the Tristar Martial Arts Academy in Montreal and, unbeknownst to him, his instructor, Bruno Fernandes, had determined it was to be the day that St. Pierre received his black belt in BJJ.
Laying out three of the high points of his career, according to Gracie Magazine, St. Pierre said, " When I received my black belt in karate, when I conquered the UFC belt, and today."
Fernandes is a Gracie Barra black belt and holder of several jiu-jitsu titles. He has been one of St. Pierre's instructors for several years.
This is the Ultimate Fighting Championship's official promotional video for UFC 90 in Chicago. The Oct. 25 fight card features a main event between current middleweight king Anderson "The Spider" Silva and Canadian Patrick Cote.
The main card is scheduled to air live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT: -Anderson Silva (#1 Middleweight in the world)* vs. Patrick Cote -Thiago Alves (#3 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Diego Sanchez (#8 Welterweight in the World)* -Fabricio Werdum (#6 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Junior dos Santos -Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk -Thales Leites vs. Goran Reljic
Before UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn step into the Octagon for their much anticipated superfight, they'll do battle in front of the camera. Not with each other, sadly, but in a movie coming soon to a theater near you.
Tentatively titled, "Sex, Blood, and Fight" - a family film, no doubt - St. Pierre will appear in three scenes alongside other UFC veterans.
"It was very fun," St. Pierre said of his first film experience. "The producer of the movie really helped me a lot. In the movie, when you punch somebody, it isn't by the book when you learn how to punch. You don't keep your elbow close and you don't rotate with your core. You have to really show the move, totally the opposite of what you learn in the academy."
Penn's manager and brother, J.D. Penn, confirmed B.J.'s participation in the movie, but said he was not shooting any scenes with Georges. "I wish," he said.
Georges hopes his new relationship with CAA sports will open new opportunities for him in the entertainment realm. The talent agency is among the vaunted "big three" in talent agencies, and St. Pierre is the first MMA fighter they've signed.
It's unknown whether the movie is MMA-themed or not - heaven help us if it's a sequel to "Never Back Down" - but St. Pierre's participation certainly adds to MMA's visibility, and a shade of class to the project.
Unless, of course, he plays a psychopathic killer.
Fighting each other, though, you'd think B.J. and Georges would have a little less trouble getting into character.
This is the Ultimate Fighting Championship's official promotional video for UFC 89 in England. The Oct. 18 fight card features a main event of Ultimate Fighter alumni Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben.
The main card is scheduled to air on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET/PT on a tape delayed basis: -Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben -Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (#8 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Luiz Cane -Keith Jardine (#10 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Brandon Vera -Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly -Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle
ESPN.com has a UFC video interview with Brandon Vera, who is slated to face Keith Jardine in a light heavyweight showdown at UFC 89 in England next week.
As he told MMAWeekly.com, weight cutting was a problem for Vera in his last fight, he hadn't cut weight in nine years, fighting primarily at heavyweight. Vera says he's ready for Jardine's awkward style and has a game plan for the Greg Jackson-trained fighter.
Mike Swick is one fighter that has always been on the cutting edge of media. Taking advantage of the vast resources available on the Internet, Swick has started his own video channel over at YouTube.com.
Included here is Mike's first video blog, where he confirms his participation against Jonathan Goulet at Dec. 10's UFC Fight For The Troops. As Mike says, the event is actually a fundraiser for a very good cause. Rising up above the current fiery election season, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund raises money to support U.S. troops and their families.
Watch the video above for Mike's blog, but check out the Fallen Heroes Fund website for more information and to make a donation.
The wheels of justice slowed a bit Thursday as Quinton Jackson's pre-trial hearing was postponed until Oct. 24.
As Jackson prepared to exit the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, Calif., with his lawyer, a female reporter from TMZ.com approached him asking for comment.
"Why you guys gotta do me like that?" Jackson told the reporter, glaring. "You guys always try to make me look stupid. That's the reason I don't talk to y'all. You try to make everybody look stupid. We're just people like everyone else."
An awkward pause ensued.
"I wrote that you were getting better," she responded, attempting her best smile. "Sometimes they just, you know, have to..."
Jackson continued glaring.
"He's the nicest client I've ever had," Jackson's attorney, Carol Lavacot, interrupted. "With my pro-bono mindset, I'd probably take the case for free. I've had thousands of clients, and he's the nicest one I've ever had."
Jackson finally smiled. "You're just being nice cause' I'm paying you a lot of money," he said with a laugh. The lawyer and reporter joined in nervously.
Whew, that was close.
When Jackson became a UFC star, his relationship with TMZ started cordial, but relations eventually soured. After the site posted some questionable off-the-cuff remarks of his outside a club, Jackson changed his tune. Things deteriorated further with TMZ's coverage of the car chase that landed him in the Orange County courthouse. Jackson was splashed all over the page, pictures of him arrested by Orange County police officers front and center.
Jackson just got back from the United Kingdom, where he helped Paul Kelly and Michael Bisping prepare for their fights at UFC 89 and 90, respectively. The former champ recently signed a management contract with Bisping's home gym, the Wolfslair.
Most celebrities chased by TMZ have more of a hate-hate relationship with the muckraking gossip site, so Jackson's reaction was not new. When your business is the superficial, you're bound to get on a person's bad side.
Junie Browning has become the focus of The Ultimate Fighter 8 and has turned the Spike TV reality show house upside down with his antics, drinking and aggressiveness toward his housemates. Light heavyweights Ryan Bader and Eliot Marshall confirmed on MMAWeekly Radio Thursday night that a plan was launched to rid The Ultimate Fighter house of Junie Browning.
"Krzysztof was like, 'You know what? We're going to make him go home for sure. I'm going to get him to swing on me and just try to rile him up a little bit,'" Bader told MMAWeekly Radio. "Junie thought he was out. You throw a glass at somebody and break it on somebody, you think you're out. He was trying to go out and bring people down with him."
"Kristof said he would take a punch just to get Junie out of the house so we didn't have to put up with him anymore," added Bader.
Fellow house guest and Junie Browning teammate Eliot Marshall confirmed Bader's statements. "That was our plan. We kind of had all set that up. After Junie threw the glass at Kyle and was walking around with a bottle, we were all like, he needs to go. Lets get him to punch us in the face. We were all kind of egging him on that way to try to get him to go home.
"Our plan was to get Junie to fight, fight somebody, punch somebody. That way he would get kicked off. That was the plan," added the Colorado fighter.
Efrain Escudero also confirmed the plog against Junie Browning.
Joe Son, who fought in UFC 4 back in December 1994 (famously receiving a brutal beating about the groin area from Keith Hackney), is being charged in connection with a gang rape that took place in 1990 after the former fighter and actor was arrested for a different crime all together.
TMZ.com has the scoop. Apparently Joe Son was arrested and charged with felony vandalism back in May. Part of the process had him submit a DNA sample and the investigators on the case were able to link his DNA to that of an unsolved gang rape from 1990 in which "a woman was pistol-whipped, raped, threatened with death and eventually blindfolded and released naked."
Here's the count of what he is being charged with in relation to the crime: five felony counts of rape, two felony counts of forcible sodomy, two felony counts of sodomy in concert by force, seven felony counts of forcible oral copulation, and one felony count of sexual penetration by foreign object by force.
If convicted, Joe Son faces a maximum penalty of 275 years to life in prison.
EliteXC star Gina Carano and UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture are part of an impressive cast of actors that take part in the upcoming release of Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3. Above is a pre-release look at the women and men that portray various characters in the game slated for release on October 28. (Courtesy of GameTrailers.com)
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