Seriously, I'm not blowin' smoke up yer ass about the alleged smoker Din was charged for promoting on October 30, 2007.
According to The Palm Beach Post:
"FORT PIERCE — Prosecutors this morning decided not to file charges against a nationally-renowned mixed martial arts fighter who was arrested in October after investigators alleged he organized "illegal cage fighting" matches in a St. Lucie West warehouse."
However, Assistant State Attorney Jeff Hendricks said today the state attorney's office has decided not to file formal charges against Thomas, and filed paperwork dismissing the charge on which he was arrested.
Hendricks said several things factored into the decision, including an exception to the "prohibited competitions" statute for training.
He said if the fighter or participants were students of Thomas' school, and the purpose of the school is to teach martial arts, then they meet the exception to the law.
"He said Thomas' attorney would have likely won a motion to dismiss the case by filing an affidavit stating that all the participants of the match that law enforcement officers observed on Oct. 19 were students of the school where Thomas teaches, American Top Team.
Hendricks also said it was revealed after Thomas' arrest that the school didn't profit from the match because all the money collected was raffled off, and that one of the students present was an emergency medical technician.
Those two points don't affect whether the statute was broken, but Hendricks said "it would have made it difficult to convict beyond a reasonable doubt in this case were this case to even go far."
Final words from Assistant State Attorney Hendricks:
"What is important is that the road patrol officers present had to determine whether they had probable cause to believe the statute was violated, and given the information at the time, they acted appropriately," Hendricks said. "I have a different, higher burden of proof, as well as the hindsight advantage of full knowledge of the facts from both sides, and that is what formed my decision."
Friday, November 30, 2007
Din Thomas "Smoker" Charges Dropped
Rampage Joins the Marines
UFC Champ visits combat vets
Story by Cpl Ray Lewis
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson visited Marines and Sailors here Nov. 20. The mixed martial arts star made his first stop at Camp Horno’s Single Marine Program to take pictures, sign autographs and play video games with some Marines.
Most were star-struck.
“I have been watching UFC since the beginning,” said Sgt. Eddie Hernandez, a radio operator with 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Regiment. “Since the war started they have been giving a shout out to the troops. I’m a big UFC fan and I’m just happy to see this guy.” Others were glad to see that Jackson was a regular person.
The topic of most side conversations was that Rampage, at six-foot-one and 205 lbs, is not as big as he looks on television--especially when he’s playing a game of Halo 3 on the big screen TV with Marines.
“It kind of shows that everyone’s human, that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it,” said Sgt. Todd L. Luginbuhl, a squad leader with 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment.
After the games, Rampage headed to the range to meet with the Marines of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance to see them shoot some rounds from their Light Armored Vehicles. Marines were more than anxious, to see him.
“To meet Rampage was awesome,” said Capt. Jeff B. Tennen, a LAV officer with Company A, 1st LAR Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. “He’s the baddest man in the world right now. All the Marines are so excited to know Rampage is coming and it says something about him to take time out of his day. It’s a good day for Alpha Company.”
LAV Marines usually spend the majority of their time in dusty fields, so it was a breath of fresh air to see Rampage sporting a flak and Kevlar beside them.
“He fits right in here, just another human being, a normal guy,” said Pfc. Kevin J. Bonovich, a LAV crewman with 1st LAR Battalion.
“He talks a lot of stuff but he can back it up,” said Bonovich about the bulky fighter.
Rampage, who is from Memphis, ended his tour with a visit to the Wounded Warriors Battalion West to spend some time with Marines there and play another couple games of Halo 3.
“It’s great that a guy with a busy schedule like that would take time out of his day to show support,” said Cpl. Alan D. Webster, a rifleman with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. “I admire him for what he’s doing. It’s a dream job to be that good at kicking people’s butts.”
There was a mutual respect between Rampage and the Division Marines.
“He supports the troops and recognizes that the Marines have the same fighter mentality as well,” said Cpl. Anthony Duran, a rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Rampage displayed admiration for all the Marines but took specifically to one Marine, who survived an improvised explosive device blast that threw him 600 feet from a humvee during a deployment to Iraq.
“You’re the toughest man on the planet,” yelled Rampage, so everybody in the barracks could hear.
Rampage then stopped signing autographs just to get an autograph from the Marine. The Marine obliged but remained humble.
“Everybody says I’m a hero but the real heroes are the Marines over there deployed,” said Cpl. Michael R. Cole, a rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
When Rampage left he made sure to thank the Marines for what they do for their country.
“Marines are the coolest people in the world,” Rampage said. “God bless and my prayers go out to y’all.”
Inside MMA - Sean Sherk Speaks!
Sean "Shroid" Sherk speaks so softly & sullenly about his steroids substance abuse scandal and pending CSAC decision tonight on HDNet for Inside MMA with Bas and the boyz.
Here is a preview with Sherk explaining his O.J. Simpson case.
Inside MMA - Randy Couture Exclusive Interview
In case you missed Inside MMA on HDNet or don't have HD yet, I have it for you here as well, you can view past episodes right here. Inside MMA is the very best show that gives you a total round-up of all things MMA that happened in the past week. I keep the link in the Best MMA Links at the bottom of the page in case you need to find it again!
@ 27 minutes in, Randy Couture does some splainin'
Thursday, November 29, 2007
DO NOT FUCK WITH ANDERSON SILVA!
Even when he's fooling around with a Bruce Lee impression, he still has the potential to crush your skull accidentally without even knowing what he's done.
I ripped this from MMAMania for being first on the scene with it... he owes me a couple anyway :-)
Shonie Carter Sounding Off on UFC
Nice interview by Percy Crawford @ FightHype.com with Shonie Carter.
PC: Is that something you're pursuing, a rematch with him when you get back right?
SC: As soon as I get back, I'm going to see what's up because I know the UFC was tripping about me fighting. I'm like, look, I can't sit around and wait all year and they didn't use me all year. I mean, my rent was due. Even me going to Canada…I mean, the whole story behind me fighting goes beyond the fight. I owed child support and I was paying the mom instead of paying the state. I go to renew my passport and they cease my passport and give me 24 hours to pay it or I'm going to get a knock on the door by the sheriff. You know they don't play that shit. I had to go with a cashier's check for damn near $4,000 for two child support payments. I was giving up money, so I did that and then what happened, the promoter Mark Pavelich forwarded me most of the money so I could pay it off. I go and pay the department of child support and I got a copy of the check to show that I paid it and everything. I went up there and fought for the little bit that was left over minus the Western Union fees. I had to pay the corner licenses, you know, all of the good shit that comes along with fighting. I paid that off and barely broke even on this fight. After that, I do the fight and I come back and I'm still breaking bread, so really, it was nothing to be gained from that.
I'm like, this young kid is getting a lot of press and they gonna fuck around and put him on a WEC or UFC card and he's a fucking victim. They'll murder him. He looks up to par though; big Dolph Lundgren, shaves his head and muscled down, but real lean kid. He's bigger than Jason Macdonald. I fought Jason Macdonald and I beat him. Everybody wants to use me as a measuring stick on how good they are or ain't. It's been like that because I could name so many fucking fighters that got into the UFC by fighting me, winning or losing. It's like, fuck man, you put these guys in the UFC after they fought me, but you won't put me in at all in my weight division. They want me to sit back on my thumbs and get older and older, but I'm not 25; I'm 35. If the UFC is not going to put me on, then fucking cut me. I want my UFC Hall of Fame award, but ain't no award, no medal, no plaque or no belt paying my bills. It's to that point and I'm like, this is some bullshit. Dana White can give himself a 5 million dollar raise and a $700,000 swimming pool and Monte Cox just got himself a brand new Cadillac Escalade and a 1.8 million dollar house and I'm like, motherfucker, I'm trying to upgrade to a 2 bedroom apartment. I'm like, what the fuck man; none of those guys have taken one punch. Well, Monte may have because he's done some boxing, but that's pussy ass boxing. I respect them for what they do, but ain't none of them got in a cage and did the shit I did. These young kids think they did something because of a sparring match with me because that's what it was, a warm-up because of a freak accident; a slight workout. Dude you got lucky.
PC: You feel like you are overlooked?
SC: Yeah. There's guys in the UFC that have dropped like 3 or 4 fights in a row. People mimic their shit off of me and I can't get in. I'm up to…that was my 203rd fight. What the fuck else do I gotta do? I look at guys like Chris Leben, Pete Sell and Phil Baroni; all had 3 or 4 losses in a row and they can still get in. Guys come into the UFC, first gift is to fight Quinton Jackson for a world title and now he's about to fight Anderson Silva for the title.
PC: You've been in the game so long Shonie, it seems like you should have more opportunities.
SC: Right. I'm doing a seminar at the Martial Arts Expo and they were calling me begging me to do a seminar. They got guys doing shit in Jiu Jitsu that I was doing in '98 and they getting on the cover of a magazine. I'm like, that shit's old. Karo getting credit for judo and I've been throwing people since 2000 and 2001. He was in high school when I was doing that shit. Joe Riggs told me one time, "You know Shonie, when I saw you fight for the first time, I was in 4th grade." I'm like, ain't that a bitch. He's in main events and I've had 5 legitimate world titles. Go look at my MySpace page and tell me what belts you see and 3 or 4 belts were missing. I have respect for the young guys. I don't have nothing against them because they doing what they do, but I'm like, what the fuck? I love Randy Couture to death, but he came off of a TKO loss and fought for a title. Grant it, he won, but what the fuck man! I'm fighting 3 or 4 fights in that many weeks and if I didn't have a pinched nerve, I would be fighting this week. I called California for the seminar and they want me to do a 2-hour seminar and I'm like, sure, why not, just tell me where the funky dividends are at. I'm not making it hard; fly me out, put me in a hotel and put me in the Expo. People ask why do I think I deserve this. Man, before you could spell mixed martial arts…before you seen it, I did it. I was there before Matt Hughes. When Matt Hughes was a wrestler and he was a freshman, I beat him. They don't want to hear that.
PC: How is your confidence man? It sounds like you think you can't win for losing?
SC: It's to the point now to where if I drop a decision or whatever the fuck, excuse me, but let's count the ones that didn't get away. I walked up to Brock Lesnar at the Silva and Franklin rematch and I tell him, "Congratulations, welcome to the big show." He ain't had a good fight yet and he looks at me and smirks like, who's that guy. I walked away like, oooh weee, respect your elders young man. Dude, he gonna get tore up. They talking about he's used to the big show; wait until he realizes that this shit is real. Wait until he's in that 3rd five minute round and that other heavyweight is across the cage from him bouncing up and down. I told him, "don't worry about me, I'm a welterweight buddy." He's lucky I never had a growth spurt. Hey, mark me in this interview. You will see him (Brad Zazurak) in the UFC or WEC before you see me. Watch. That's what they tried to do when they had me fight Jason Macdonald, Jason Black and Steve Berger. The only one I give credit to is Jon Fitch because that boy has been whooping peoples ass. He can squab. They also did it with Karo and Josh Haynes. He was a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter and dude, I clowned him. He got clowned by Bisping. I give Bisping a little bit of credit.
PC: Were you surprised Rashad didn't knock him out?
SC: I don't know why Rashad didn't drop a straight right hand on him. I was like, Rashad, please get this over with. I don't want to be out here all night. I'm trying to go to the club after the fight. He was dragging out a 3 round fight for nothing. That's a knockout bonus that he let get away. I fought Rich Climente and he's on his 5th fight of a 6 fight contract. What the fuck man? Now he's fighting Melvin Guillard on the 29th. They just like fucking me. They either going to put me in 5 UFCs next year or cut me; 1 of the 2. I already have other companies begging and bugging me and I tell them I can't negotiate until I get the official cut from the UFC; that's a breach of contract. I'm just hanging in there waiting.
PC: We're going to get a lot more of you on FightHype.com. We'll put this out there and let them know they need to holla at you.
SC: Somebody needs to holla at me brother. Put me in a movie. Did you see Forrest Griffin on the show; Randy and all these guys? What the fuck man? I'm cost affective. I come with my own wardrobe. All of the fighters getting sponsorships and you see my shorts be looking blank as fuck. No Toyo Tires, no Ecko or Xyience. What's up Affliction and Tapout? Put this in the interview: space for hire on Shonie's trunks. I'll even wear boy shorts if I have to and you know I hate wearing them fuckers. I'll wear biker shorts. I don't care. Fuck that, put patches on them. It could be Mom and Pops Greasy Spoon. I don't care.
Racial Rampage
It seems that current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has stirred up the melting pot of equality with a colorful statement during what appears to be an ambushed video interview while he was liquored up.
Rampage was questioned about the recent death of NFL Football player, Sean Taylor who died from a gunshot wound to the leg this past Monday.
Here's the statement that has kicked sand in the race relations vagina:
"Black folks, when you get in trouble [and you] call 911, please sound white when you call ... We all sound white when we need to."
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wandy's Blog Post w/Shredded Abs Pic
No shit, The Axe Murderer is a keyboard warrior too.
"Hi folks, I`m inaugurating this space so that we can exchange ideas and for you to know what is going on to me. Here in the United States the training is hard, I`m fully devoted to the show ahead for you. I`ve been training an average of 4 hours a day. I`m training in the morning and in the afternoon, always assisted by all coaches. We make a pretty close MMA family. Await to see you here and God bless you."
Jiu Jitsu... For Real Men!
That's Shogun enjoying Wanderlei Silva on the mat in a camp they call Poop "Chute Boxe". Wand has since left the Poop Chute and now enjoys male encounters with Randy "The Can" Couture at Xtreme Couture in preparation for his return to the UFC in December for UFC 79: Anus... err.. I mean.. Nemesis.
This one still cracks me up. I stumbled upon it again today and thought I'd share with those who are less fortunate than I in a demented kind of way. All I've got to say to Mr.Liddell when he faces Wand is, "Watch yer corn hole when you roll with the Axe Murderer, dude!".
Fuck'd Chuck
Is it me or does The Iceman looked all fucked up in this Sports Illustrated photo op?
Here's the caption to the photo:
"With an appearance on HBO's series Entourage, and then a walk down Spike TV's red carpet at the Guys Choice awards, UFC's Chuck Liddell keeps cultivating his star."
More like cultivating his buzz to me.
Chuck Liddell is set to fight Wanderlei Silva at UFC79 in Vegas so let's hope Wand doesn't Fuck Chuck like he said he wants to 'cause it appears that Chuck is quite capable of fucking himself without a little help from his friends.
UFC 80: Rapid Fire - Isn't Free!
I still want my money back from UFC 78 and now I have to get drunk on a fine Saturday afternoon instead of the evening as the show begins - noon PT / 3pm ET / 20:00 GMT.
I'll have a nap when it's over or maybe even during the event like I did for UFC 78 & 72. Get a DVR if you don't have one already for this card... trust me :)
I'm pickin' Baby Jay to win the fake Lightweight belt so I can post a "Who's your Daddy?" follow-up piece about Penn's win. No bias to see here folks, move along!
Another fine post by BK at The Fight Network
By Brian Knapp (bknapp@thefightnetwork.com)
UFC 80 “Rapid Fire,” which features the interim lightweight title bout between Joe Stevenson and BJ Penn, will be carried live on pay-per-view on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Radio Metro Arena in Newcastle, England. UFC.com confirmed the plan to air the show on PPV. Two of the promotion’s previous three events originating from the United Kingdom were carried on tape delay by Spike TV.
Penn (11-4-1, 7-3-1 UFC), arguably the top pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world, defeated rival Jens Pulver by rear-naked choke submission at “The Ultimate Fighter 5” Finale on June 23. The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Penn, who was on the rebound following defeats to former UFC welterweight champions Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes.
Stevenson (28-7, 5-1 UFC), the welterweight winner on season two of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, will enter the bout on a four-fight winning streak. In fact, he has lost just once – a unanimous decision loss to Josh Neer in February 2006 – in the last five years. The 25-year-old defeated Kurt Pellegrino by unanimous decision at UFC 74 in August.
UFC 80 “Rapid Fire”
Saturday, Jan. 19
Radio Metro Arena
Newcastle, England
Interim UFC Lightweight Championship
BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum
Kendall Grove vs. Jorge Rivera
Marcus Davis vs. Jess Liaudin
Sam Stout vs. Per Eklund
James Lee vs. Alessio Sakara
Paul Kelly vs. Paul Taylor
Colin Robinson vs. Antoni Hardonk
GSP - Quote of the Day!
“I have something very specific that I’m going to do against Hughes,” St. Pierre said. “People are going to be shocked.”
This was quoted from a recent article posted by our friends at The Fight Network in a recent interview with Georges "Rush" St.Pierre.
I wonder what it could be?
A Reggie Warren Jr. Tiger Claw?
Maybe a Chuck Norris Roundhouse kick!
“I want to beat Hughes,” St. Pierre said. “Then after [that], I’m going to take care of Serra. That’s what I want to do. I’m a nice guy, but when I’m going to fight, I’m somebody else.”
Thems some fightin' wordz l'il chil'ren...
--------------------------------
ST. PIERRE, KANG TO UNITE
Canadians Join Forces as UFC 79 Title Bout Nears
By Brian Knapp (bknapp@thefightnetwork.com)
Two of the mixed martial arts world’s brightest young superstars have decided to join forces north of the United States border.
Georges St. Pierre will train alongside former PRIDE stalwart Denis Kang for the first time, as he prepares for his interim UFC welterweight championship bout against Matt Hughes at UFC 79 “Nemesis” on Saturday, Dec. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. St. Pierre made the revelation Tuesday on Fight Network Radio.
Based out of the American Top Team, Kang (27-9-1) once went 21 fights without a loss. He has been rumored as a potential participant at K-1 “Premium 2007 Dynamite!!” on Monday, Dec. 31 in Japan.
“He’s always [been] somebody I respected a lot,” St. Pierre said. “He called me, because he has a fight coming up at the end of December – probably. I’m fighting, as well, so we’re going to train together.”
St. Pierre (14-2, 8-2 UFC) indicated he would remain close to his Montreal, Quebec home while he gears up for his third – and perhaps final – match with Hughes, a future UFC Hall-of-Famer and one of only two men to beat him. Nathan Marquardt and Keith Jardine, two of his teammates from Jackson’s Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, N.M., will join St. Pierre in Canada.
St. Pierre defeated Hughes by second-round TKO to capture the UFC welterweight crown last November, only to relinquish it in a stunning upset loss to Matt Serra five months later. Ironically, it was Serra’s back injury that paved the way to a rubber match with Hughes (41-5, 15-3 UFC). Serra withdrew from his scheduled title defense against Hughes last week.
“It was the best scenario I could wish for,” St. Pierre said. “I was in pretty amazing shape. I was training for it, just in case that scenario happened. When I learned Serra got hurt, I right away called my manager and told her if [the UFC] needs somebody to step up, I’m ready for it … I’m up for the challenge. My manager let the UFC know, and the UFC called us back.”
Almost universally received as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, St. Pierre rebounded from his TKO loss to Serra to beat rising contender Josh Koscheck at UFC 74 in August. The 26-year-old French Canadian also holds victories over BJ Penn, Frank Trigg, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Sean Sherk, all of them former or current titleholders. He vowed to wow the crowd in the third chapter of his trilogy with Hughes.
“I have something very specific that I’m going to do against Hughes,” St. Pierre said. “People are going to be shocked.”
An eventual rematch with Serra, provided he recovers from his injury, remains tucked in the back of St. Pierre’s mind. For now, his focus rests solely on Hughes, who submitted him with an armbar at UFC 50 in 2004.
“I want to beat Hughes,” St. Pierre said. “Then after [that], I’m going to take care of Serra. That’s what I want to do. I’m a nice guy, but when I’m going to fight, I’m somebody else.”
POSTED -- 11/27/07
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
GSP vs. Mini Hughes Flashback to Flashforward
I always thought that Sean "The 'Roids Shark" Sherk was the Mini Me to Matt Hughes. Both have wrestling disciplines, are friends and fight in a similar style akin to being victimized by some big sweaty dude laying on top of you to keep you warm on your first night in major pounding in the ass prison.
Now that GSP and Hughes are confirmed to fight at UFC 79: Nemesis in Vegas, I thought it would be interesting to provide my early prediction along with some video footage that just might be a carbon copy of what will be when it goes down December 29.
Here we have Georges St.Pierre dominating Sherk (32 - 2 - 1) at UFC 56. GSP is to this very day, the only human to win by stoppage against Sherk. The other loss Sherk suffered was by decision against the one and only, Dr.Evil - Matt Hughes.
If you've never seen GSP before the Matt Serra fight then you're really missing out on this mixed martial arts phenom from a little town on the outskirts of Montreal in Canada. Pssst - Edith Larente is from Quebec too!!!
Cro Cop Back in January 2008
I love how Cro Cop refers to himself as Cro Cop. I also appreciate the part where Mirko says he's wearing a "special helmet" now after his nose surgery.
I am picturing CC wearing the helmet, rocking back and forth in the front of the short school bus for "special kids" with drool running down his face onto his velour sweater stained with cheesie residue.
Seriously, the dude is all but done in the UFC if he can't pull off a win in his next showing.
Hat tip to mirko-crocop.com
Dnevnik.hr: Is CroCop back?
Mirko: CroCop is recovered, it will take a month to begin with sparrings again, although I have a special helmet for protection. The stripes are affecting my visibility so it's not like the real thing, but the regular sparring sessions start in about a month.
I think my next fight is going to happen in January.
You recently had a nose surgery?
Mirko: The nose problems have nothing to do with my defeats. I had trouble breathing, my nose was broken, one side was at 30%, while the other side was blocked completely.
It's important when you face such an intense efforts.
Is this the toughest period in your career after you left K1?
Mirko: Not only that, this is the toughest period of my entire career.
Did you think about ending your career?
Mirko: I did think of it the night after my last defeat, but I'm not going to end my career soon. I will have 5 or 6 fights at least. Maybe even more, who can tell. Every fight could be your last one. You can suffer from a fatal injury, you can break your leg or arm. If I'll be able to fight I'll fight, it's my life and my choice and I enjoy doing it. I have a very strong motive, especially beacuse of number of „wise“ Internet users saying that I'm done. I will prove they were wrong.
Did you ever think about taking a year off to rest and come back stronger?
Mirko: In my case that would be a very long break. Of course, I would train a lot still if it would happen. Sometime you have to end your career, in a year, 3 or 5 years, or even 10 years - look at Randy Couture, he was the champion at 44. I will always train hard, but long breaks like that are not for me.
Are you in touch with Dana White and how does he feel about your defeats?
Mirko: We keep in touch, but you'll have to ask him about that.
So, your nose is recovering well, you are wearing a special helmet. Your return is set for January due to a medical reasons?
Mirko: Yes, because of the surgery I'm not allowed to fight sooner. My nose is not fully recovered and I still have stiches in it.
Are there any rumors about your next opponent?
Mirko: None that I'm aware of.
Who you would like to fight next? Someone with a big reputation or?
Mirko: It's up to the UFC's management. I will fight anyone who they put me against. I have never turned down any opponent.
Anything left to say?
Mirko: I'll be back (smiling).
++++++++++++++++++++++++
In another interview, Cro Cop was asked the following juicy questions:
What do you think you should change in your trainings?
Mirko: "I want to gain more weight, from 100 to 105 kgs. In fights gainst Gonzaga and Kongo I realized that I need more power when fighting heavier
opponents- I was spending too much power in clinching and ground game."
Who would you like to fight next?
Mirko: "I would gladly fight Minotauro. Due to a septum deviation I had problems with my stamina, but now when I don't have such problems anymore I will prepare for my next fights with joy. I'll go to Amsterdam to train with Ivan Hyppolite and to spar with his fighters."
The Canadian Who Saved Christmas & Dana's Ass
No, not THAT Canadian, Jim Carey but another popular Canuck who gave ding-a-ling Dana White a ring-a-ding to ask for the match in Serra's absence. The one and only Georges St.Pierre.
What a nice guy to take the initiative to call Dana White for permission to be the Master of Ceremonies at Matt Hughes' retirement party on December 29 in Lost Wages, also known as UFC 79: Nemesis.
The Canadian Who Saved Christmas
By Thomas Gerbasi
Thanksgiving. A time for celebration and to get away from it all for at least a day or two.
Not for Dana White though.
Instead, the UFC President got hit with the worst possible news on Thursday night – the main event on the organization’s big year-end show on December 29th – a welterweight title bout between champion Matt Serra and former 170-pound boss Matt Hughes – was off after Serra suffered a herniated disc in his back last Monday night.
“I was on suicide watch for about five hours,” joked White during a media teleconference Monday. “But you’ve got to bounce back and we started working on what we could do.”
The next day, ironically the huge shopping day known as Black Friday, the UFC started shopping for a replacement, not even sure if Hughes would agree to fight another high level opponent on short notice and risk his guaranteed title shot at Serra. Soon, Hughes made it known that he wanted to fight. Then another call came in from a fighter looking to give White and UFC fans an early Christmas present – former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, who eagerly tossed his name in the hat for consideration in the UFC 79 sweepstakes.
By Saturday night, Hughes was in, GSP was in, and the UFC had a main event rubber match possibly even bigger than the fight it replaced. And no one was happier than the 26-year old from Montreal, who couldn’t contain his joy when told the news that night.
“I’m so excited to get this fight,” said St-Pierre, who broke off between sentences to shout to his friends about the impending bout. “I’m fighting Matt Hughes for the interim title right now, and then after that I’m going to go after Serra. I’ve wanted that rematch against Serra, and this is the best scenario that can happen.”
Monday with reporters, two days after the interim welterweight title bout was announced, St-Pierre was a little more subdued, but no less excited, not only because he will be fighting a man in Hughes he stopped in two rounds in November of 2006, but that a win will give him the chance to redeem his upset loss to Serra from last April. But St-Pierre isn’t about to take Hughes – who handed him his first pro loss in 2004 – lightly.
“I’m not overconfident at all,” said St-Pierre (14-2). “I remember that Matt beat me once and I beat him once. Now it’s equal. We’re both going to be different fighters this time. We both grew up from our wins and losses and it’s going to be a totally different match.”
Both fights between the two were vastly different, with Hughes winning the first via submission, and St-Pierre evening the score with a dominating two round stoppage. It was after GSP’s huge win that everything got a little cloudy for “Rush”.
Expected to dominate the division for as long as he wanted to after his one-sided win over Hughes (which was preceded by big wins over Jason Miller, Frank Trigg, Sean Sherk, and BJ Penn), St-Pierre was a heavy favorite against Serra in their UFC 69 bout in Houston. Instead, Serra blitzed St-Pierre via a first round TKO to send the 26-year old crashing back to Earth. It was a costly lesson for St-Pierre, who later admitted to a number of outside distractions in the lead up to his first title defense.
“I faced the greatest honor by winning the world title before, and I also faced the humiliation,” said St-Pierre. “I know what I want and what I don’t want right now. This loss to Matt Serra was probably the best thing that ever happened for my career. I don’t want to give any excuses. If you look at any sport, for example baseball, it’s not always the best team that wins the game. The team who is the most well-prepared and who plays the best wins the game. It’s the same thing in fighting. It’s not always the best fighter who wins the fight, but the fighter who is the most well-prepared and who fights the best. I will come very-prepared and my mental game can not be better than it is right now.”
Many questioned St-Pierre’s place among the welterweight elite after the upset loss to Serra, but in August, he silenced the critics who questioned his mental toughness under fire with a lopsided three round decision win over highly-regarded Josh Koscheck that not only got him back in the win column, it got him a measure of confidence back.
“I went through a lot of things in my life, a lot of personal issues, and I just had the worst time in my life,” said St-Pierre of his past. “But right now it’s behind me, and I just look up to the future. This win (over Koscheck) made me a way better fighter, and I’m the type of guy who won’t make the same mistake twice. I learned from it (the loss to Serra), I grew up from it, and what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
So when the opportunity to face a fighter like Hughes on short notice came up, St-Pierre didn’t shy away. In fact, he asked for it.
“I’m at the top of my game right now, and I’m in great shape,” he said. “I’ve been training with Rashad Evans to get him ready for his fight, and the only thing I was doing wrong was not eating as well as I should have. I just have to change this and keep training like I was doing.”
It’s the mark of a champion, just like Hughes’ acceptance of the fight marks him as one of the greats to ever grace the Octagon. Now, what it all comes down to is training, gameplan, and execution. They’ve each won one fight each. Who will break the tie?
Georges St-Pierre has some ideas.
“I have a lot of respect for Matt Hughes, but that night when I put my shorts on, and my gloves, I’m gonna come out with my killer instinct,” he said. “I have a job to do and my job is to destroy my opponent.”
Visit UFC.com later on Tuesday for Matt Hughes' take on his rubber match with Georges St-Pierre at UFC 79.
Ali Says Goodbye to UFC
Well, it's official... Ali Sonoma has left the UFC according to her November 24th MySpace blog post. As you may or may not know, Ali fell victim to the "Dirty Sanchez" and was never the same again.
That's ok, we wish you well in your "acting" *wink* career.
Isn't Jenna Jameson and actress too?
From Ali Sonoma:
Goodbye UFC
Hi everyone,
I hope this reaches you all in good spirits...first of all, thanks for the love and support. Sorry if I can't email everyone back all the time, just know I am appreciative. For those of you wondering, I have left the UFC as an Octagon Girl to pursue my acting career. My first feature film comes out this winter, called 'Say Goodnight.' (I received my SAG card from this.) I have also been cast to be in 3 films next year. On top of all that I have a hosting job that starts filming in January 2008.
"I am proud to say I am moving on to bigger and better things. The UFC has been a wonderful experience and has opened up many doors for my true passion-acting. Although I worked with the UFC for only one year, in helping them reach an international audience, I am proud to be instrumental in their rapid rise to success and dominance in the field of MMA".
Much Love,
See you on the big screen ;-)
Ali Sonoma
=====================================================
Edith Larente fills in Ali's gaping hole... err... I mean her spot... I mean... fuck it, you know what I mean.
Monday, November 26, 2007
GSP on The Hour
Give it up to Strombo, he is an excellent interviewer and a new music walking encyclopedia. GSP was interviewed shortly after UFC 76 by Strombo on 'The Hour', a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) production that is actually worth watching.
Here's the two Georges talkin' shit in Toronto...
"I'm Not a Poosie" - Roman Mitichyan
Well, Roman Mitichyan will get his chance to show the world that he is not a "poosie" when he fights Muay Thai ace Dorian Price at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale on Deccember 8, 2007 On SPIKE TV at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Here is the best part of TUF6 which happened in the first episode:
Roman Mitichyan flips out when he's told he can't fight.
Here's Roman's bio by who else, Roman Mitichyan:
Roman Mitichyan feels that since he's a hot blooded Armenian and if he's going to fight, he should get paid for it.
Dorian Price's bio:
Dorian has 8 weapons: 2 hands, 2 elbows, 2 knees, and 2 shins.
Here is the TUF6 Finale Fight Card in progress:
Main Card:
-> Two finalists from TUF 6
Clay Guida vs. Roger Huerta
Jared Rollins vs. Jon Koppenhaver
Preliminary Bouts:
Jonathan Goulet vs. Paul Georgieff
Troy Mandaloniz vs. Richie Hightower
Dorian Price vs. Roman Mitichyan
GSP vs. Hughes III - UFC 79: Nemesis
Yep, it's officially on since Matt Serra declared that he was injured and could not fight at UFC 79 against Matt Hughes and there is an interim Welterweight title at stake too according to UFC.com
Dana White: “Obviously, the loss of Matt Serra was brutal, but the great thing about the UFC is that we can put together great fights like Hughes-St-Pierre at a moment’s notice and bounce right back,” said UFC President Dana White. “I have the utmost respect for both Hughes and St-Pierre for stepping up for this fight, and not only are the fans going to see two of the greatest welterweights of all-time settle their score in a rubber match, but they're going to do it in a five round interim title fight, and the winner is going to face off next year against Matt Serra for the undisputed title.”
GSP: “I’m so excited to get this fight,” said St-Pierre. “I’m fighting Matt Hughes for the interim title right now, and then after that I’m going to go after Serra. I’ve wanted that rematch against Serra, and this is the best scenario that can happen.”
Matt Serra: “I can’t believe the position this puts me in,”.“I’m actually rooting for Matt Hughes so I can beat his ass.”
Friday, November 23, 2007
Inside MMA - Loretta Hunt, Justin McCully & Kurt Angle
In case you missed last week's episode.
Hosts Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice bring you the latest rankings, highlights and news. Highlights from EliteXC "Renegade" in Corpus Christi, ... World Cage Fighting in LA and Global Showdown in Oklahoma.
Guests include MMA fighter Justin McCully, Managing Editor of "The Fight Network," Loretta Hunt, and former WWF Champion Kurt Angle.
Inside MMA airs Fridays at 9:30pmET.
Kalib Starnes Nasty Forehead
That's gonna leave a mark, fo show!
Kalib spoke earlier about the cut that stopped the fight at UFC 77 against Alan Belcher
Hat tip to BloodyElbow
Wandy's Ass Wipe Commercial
I have no fuckin' clue what Wanderlei Silva is saying. Maybe he's saying that he'll wipe his ass with Chuck Liddell after he fucks him. Either way, both cunning linguists (a-thank you:) will face off December 29 for UFC 79: Nemesis to end the exhausted debate as to which fighter is the best LHW in the world.
Wait, this isn't 2006... it's 2007... Rampage is still the man regardless of this outcome.
Chuck Lid"DELL" Commercial
Chuck is clearly wasted all of the time which is why he is a favorite fighter of mine. I appreciate the fact that I can't make out a damn word he's saying because that's Chuck's charm of being wasted and incoherent.
Chuck is the man and a role model for all the kids out there.
Be sure to finish your blow before you go!
Serra Sidelined with Back Injury
From UFC.com
Serra Injured, Withdraws From UFC 79 Card
UFC President Dana White announced Thursday that Matt Serra will have to withdraw from the UFC 79 card on December 29th due to an injury sustained during training earlier this week.
The current UFC welterweight champion, who was scheduled to fight Matt Hughes on the year-end card, suffered a herniated disc in his lower back on Monday following a routine training session in his Long Island gym.
“This is devastating news because they were so looking forward to fighting each other," said White.
“Unfortunately injuries happen and I look forward to Serra recovering quickly, and to getting him back into the Octagon.”
Serra had just finished a Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling training session and was demonstrating a move when he fell to the floor in excruciating pain. Serra went to the hospital and underwent an MRI, which revealed the herniated disc in his lower back.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” said Serra. “I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday – All I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.”
Despite the disappointment of Serra-Hughes being scrapped, UFC 79 still features the long-awaited superfight between the two greatest 205-pound fighters of all-time, Chuck 'The Iceman' Liddell and Wanderlei 'THe Axe Murderer' Silva, as well as an intriguing bout between Lyoto Machida and PRIDE star Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who will be making his UFC debut. Tickets are on sale now.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Yushin Okami Re-signs with UFC
From MMAWeekly.com
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has re-signed middleweight contender Yushin Okami to a new contract sources close to the fighter confirmed to MMAWeekly.com.
There was much speculation about Okami’s future with the promotion after his last fight – a bout against Jason MacDonald that was widely regarded by fans as a No. 1 contenders match in the 185-pound weight class – was shelved to the prelims of UFC 77.
The Japanese fighter, a veteran of many promotions including Pride and K-1, was on the last fight of his previous contract when he defeated MacDonald. Despite rumors that Okami was fleeing the promotion, the UFC has negotiated a new deal with the fighter.
Okami’s name was conspicuously left out of the contenders list when UFC president Dana White spoke at the post-fight press conference at UFC 77, leading many to believe he would not return to the Octagon.
In his time with the UFC, Okami has amassed an impressive 5-1 record with his only loss coming to former middleweight champ Rich Franklin. He currently holds a disqualification win over 185-pound divisional king Anderson Silva, which makes a future match-up between the two an interesting bout.
After his last fight and his contract expiration, rumors circulated that Okami would appear on K-1’s New Year’s Eve card, but his new deal obviously puts those rumors to rest.
No word has come from the UFC or Okami’s camp about the details surrounding the new deal or when he might fight again.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Paul Buentello on Miami Ink Tonight!
...on TLC at 10 EASTERN / 9 CENTRAL tonight, bitches!
You'll need a DVR to check Forrest Griffin on the SVU and Paul Buentello on separte channels at the same time.
Herschel Walker & Jose Canseco in MMA Reality TV Show
I caught wind of this when I was watching Inside MMA and heard Herschel Walker mention that he was transitioning into mixed martial arts along with Mr."Juiced", Jose Canseco. Apparently, both will take part in an MMA reality series and they would have an official MMA fight at the conclusion of the show.
Well, I brought Herschel and Jose to you so you can enjoy too, mofo!
Jose talks shit but it's a palatable shit with a nutty flavor that leaves a subtle taste in your mouth... he claims to be a black belt holder in Muay Thai, Karate and Tae Kwon Do, check it!
UPDATE: Jose Canseco to face off with Hong Man Choi on May 26, 2009.
Forrest Griffin on Law & Order: SVU Tonight!
Forrest Griffin plays the role of, you guessed it, an "Ultimate Fighter" who becomes a suspect in the death of a teenager. Griffin actually plays the role of a bad guy instead of being his normal grown-up Opie Taylor character.
Guest star Coco (the wife of cast member Ice-T) plays Griffin's girlfriend in the one-hour episode. - Check THAT out!
"SVU" (which stands for "Special Victims Unit") is the highest-rated version of the popular "Law & Order" series. The "SVU" version of the show debuted in 1999 and nows airs on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Fedor to Fight Hong Man Choi?
What The Fuck?
According to Sherdog:
Fedor Emelianenko will fight Hong Man Choi on New Year's Eve in Japan, a source close to the negotiations told Sherdog.com.
Emelianenko (26-1-0), whose most recent bout was a win over Matt Lindland (Pictures) in April, will be fighting for the first time since inking a non-exclusive promotional deal with M-1 Global.
The fight marks Choi's return to MMA for the first time since defeating Bobby Olgun in just 16 seconds at K-1 Dynamite 2006. The 27-year-old Korean, 1-0-0, was denied a license to fight in California in June due to irregularities in his pre-fight medical tests.
At 7-foot-2-inches tall and more than 350 pounds, Choi will have substantial height and weight advantages over the Russian.
Emelianenko, 31, stands 6-foot and weighs in around 230 pounds.
The promoter of the Emelianenko-Choi fight has not been confirmed.
=====================================================
Monte Cox deserves a kick in the ballsack for this one.
Here is 1-0 Hong Man Choi in his MMA debut against a 6'1" tomato can in Bobby Ologun.
Joe Silva Speaks @ UFC 78...
Joe Silva is the guy who does the brilliant fight matching and with the assistance of the Mother Fuckin' President, Dana White, arranges all of the UFC fight cards that you have seen and will see in the future.
Unfortunately, Joe Silva does not step into the light very much for a photo op so I got you the next best thing.... (shamelessly) a pic of Arianny Celeste with new UFC Octagon Girl, Edith Larente :)
Take it for what it is....
My friend is at UFC 78. Before the weigh in's Joe Silva talked to the fans for about an hour he said. According to Joe Silva, Anderson is attempting to train with Chuck, and told him if Wandy beats Chuck, he will move up to fight Wandy. Here is a recap of everything Joe Silva said:(From my friend)
Next title fight for A. Silva
Said he hopes it is Hendo and they are working on that now. BUT
Dan Henderson
Henderson really, really, REALLY wants to fight Tito Ortiz. Also, admitted Hendo only has 1 fight left on his contract but they are working on an extension.
Tito Ortiz
Said injuries have ruined his career. Stated some injuries and their severity that people probably do not know, or should not know. Tito's "back" injury that has plagued his career, actually is a spinal injury. Silva explained this is why Tito no longer is explosive, showing that there was a time when if Tito wanted to get you down, you were going down.
Rampage
Said he thoughti t would be a great idea for Rampage to be a coach on TUF
Martin Kampmann
Stated his surgery was one of the most complicated he had seen. Said he will be out for awhile, but will probably return the middle of next year. Said he will be very important for the future of the MW division, and said he will be in immediate title contender level if he can prove he has not dropped off since injury.
Rich Franklin
Said he will stay at 185, and they are currently exploring very interesting options for him. I asked if he was staying in the UFC and Silva said yes, but it was with a hesitated duration of time between the question and the response. Said he is in a unique position, because he said he believes Franklin is one of the best fighters in the world at any weight class, however he falls perfectly into Silva's style and gameplan.
Machida v. Sok
Said this is the perfect fight to set one of them off as legit upper level fighters. Said Sok should be able to make Machida aggressive.
Shogun
Will return before the middle of next year. He is spending time with his new wife. Said he knows there was a time when there was a rift between Shogun and Wandy, but now they are on pretty decent terms. Unsure of if they would fight. More interesting news on an old ChuteBoxe rift coming at the end.
Monte Cox
Said he is close friends with Monte and his relationship with M1 will not effect his fighters in the UFC. Stated though, that Monte has so many fighters, he cannot see him staying as an agent and president of M1.
TUF
Said they should probably never have anther season of TUF HW's. Stated the simple lack of depth and true HWs as the reason. Pointed out the only 2 good fighters still in the UFC from the HW part of TUF are Jardine and Evans, and they are both really LHW. Stated the lack of depth is one of the reasons as soon as they acquired WEC he cut the HW division.
Serra
Will never drop to 155. Stated he thought if there was a 160 division that Serra would be one of the best.
Vitor Belfort
I think he was talking about Vitor when he said someone had been kickedo ut of BlackHouse. I don't know who else he could be talking about. Maybe Filho since he is going to be training in Mass. with GG.
Antonio Silva
Said he has 2 fights left on his EliteXC contract. Said he loves the fact he got the tumor removed, because it stopped his huge growth which now allows him to make 265. Said if he wins his final 2 fights, he will definitely be in the UFC.
Jake Shields
Admitted he couldn't talk to shields about a contract, but said Shield's people contacted him asking if the UFC would be interested. Silva said they said they were, however at the 23rd hour EliteXC offered Shields a crap load of GUARANTEED money.
Nick Diaz
Said he just thinks the cut is far too much for him. Said this is why he seems so slow.
Cro Cop
Cro Cop thinks he is fighting in January, however Silva said they ahve not even been able to contact his management
Griffin Jardine II
Said he liked the possibility, and said it was one of the options they were looking into for the future of the LHW division.
Evan Tanner
Tanner has signed. Tanner actually was the originally scheduled opponent for Terry Martin when Leben ended up fighting him. Said Evan turned down the deal for no reason given.
Matt Hammil
Said they are not sure what fight he will have next, but said they are looking out for his best interest. I felt like this meant they were looking for the best fighter he could fight while still beating them. Will fight in first half of next year after he recovers from surgery.
Wandy Silva
Basically hinted towards the fact that if Wandy beats Chuck he will get a title shot, said he didn't think Chuck would get one for beating Wandy though. Which is understandable. More to come later.
Welterweights
Said Kos and Fitch are basically in the same agreement as Jardine and Evans as in they will never fight eachother. Stated he would love to set up Karo and Fitch if Karo wins. Also, it was interesting to note that Marcus Davis stated that when he wins in Newcastle, he wants to fight someone in the top 10, i said Karo, and he said that is exactly who i think they will match me up with. Davis says he feels Fitch will get the title shot after GSP almost no matter what.
Dropping weight class
Said he has been telling Vera ever since he joined the UFC to drop to 205. Stated he has told Bisping to drop, and also Rashad.
CBS Deal
Said they are constantly in talks with almost everyone, including CBS and HBO.
Japanese Fighters
Fighters like Gomi, Aoki, and others. He said they offered them the biggest fight purses of any orgs, however most of those fighters make big money off of sponsorships in Japan and commercial spots. He said until the UFC has a tv deal in japan, he doubts they will be able to sign high-class Japanese talent.
Yushin Okami
Stated they did not plan to let Okami leave. He said he wanted to see how he performed in the final fight of his contract before deciding what to do. Said the performance and absurdly large contract demand caused him to leave.
Dennis Kang
Said they never had a chance to sign him, since he is half-korean which makes him a gold mine for K1 in Korea.
First Andre Arlovksi
The UFC has offered him multiple contracts, all with significant increases in wages, but Silva made it sound like AA was asking for around 1 mil per fight. He did say though, that no matter what AA will be fighting probably at or before March.
Brock Lesnar v. Frank Mir
Said it will be a big test for both. Said this could possibly be Frank's last big fight. Also talked about how Mir has degrees in karate, so he may just try to go crazy on his feet to get brock to take him down. Said the key to the fight will be when Brock takes down Mir, will Brock be in Mir's guard or not. Also admitted that state athletic commissions refused to approve Mir v. Slyvia II.
Randy Couture
Nothing new, but confirmed Randy has been officially offered a fight with Nog, and they are awaiting his response. Said their main problem with Randy was not with what he was saying and how he felt, but they were angered when Randy lied. This is why they put out all the facts about the contract, and also why Randy has not said anything since.
Fedor
He said he respects Fedor and admits he is great. He said he feels like Dana does as well, but dana gets very frustrated with the fact that everyone always just boasts and boasts about Fedor. Said he thinks Fedor is #1, but wondered how long he would stay #1 if he no longer fights real competition. ADMITTED during negotiations with Fedor, Fedor wanted the following: Red Devil fighters under contract and possibly on the main card of fights he was on, A co-promoted show with Russia on multiple occasions, and his management wanted control over who he would fight, and admitted his management expressed concern over Fedor fighting Big Tim. He said their offer to Fedor was by far the largest, but they could not give into his demands when they were paying him that much money.
One night tournaments
I asked him his opinions on tonight's strikeforce tournament. He said it isn't that they don't like the idea of tournaments, however that he and dana feel that it is not the best fighter who wins the tournament, but the fighter with the easiest fights.
Josh Barnett
Said Barnett is a pain to deal with, and not worth it dispite his talent. Said he seems to love Japan, so he doubts he would come to the UFC anyway.
Keith Jardine
When jardine faced Houston Alexander, he was originally scheduled to face Machida.
Edith Larente Enters as Ali Sonoma Exits
Well, Diego Sanchez's fuck muffin, Ali Sonoma is no longer a UFC Octagon Girl. Ali has decided to persue greener pastures. This is a quote from Ali off of her MySpace page:
“I am no longer a ring girl for UFC…I am proud to say I am moving up to bigger and better things. There is always a time when you get comfortable at a job…you seem to lose focus on what your main goal is…I guess I got a little comfortable myself, of course, I loved the fights, loved the experience, but my real dream is to actually speak on camera, to act, not just shake my booty for the crowd. (even though it was a lot of fun while it lasted and I met some amazing people)” - Ali Sonoma
Best of luck Ali... enter Edith (wouldn't you want to?)
Joe Doerksen's Post Fight Blog Post...Fight...Blog...
...Whatever, here are some words collected into a thought or two by Joe Doerksen after his UFC 78 third round loss to Ed "Short Fuse" Herman who successfully avenged his previous loss to Doerksen.
Joe is under medical suspension following the fight due to a cracked orbital bone in his face. Doerksen will be out for 60 days indefinitely.
Disappointed but not discouraged
November 18, 2007
My experience in New Jersey at UFC 78 was great. The result against Ed Herman wasn’t what I wanted and I made a few mistakes that were 100 per cent my fault - strategic and technical errors - and I also got hurt early on. But considering all the bad things that happened to me, I actually had a chance, so overall it was a pretty good fight. The crowd saw what they wanted to see.
I got hurt when I pushed him against the fence in the first round and went for a take down and gave him an opportunity to throw a knee. I got cut under my left eye and suffered a fracture. From that point on, I had no vision in my left eye.
I had a chance to submit him right at the end of the second round. Everything was perfect: he left an opening and I got the triangle choke in pretty tight but the bell rang. Five more seconds and I would have won.
I should have beaten him, and I think I would given another chance. I didn’t lose because I have less skills, I lost because I made a mistake and he got in a good punch. I definitely don’t think taking the fight on short notice hurt me. I’ll just have to go back and find some things that I can learn from and come back stronger and smarter.
I still feel I’m growing and learning as an athlete and I still feel I have a lot more to offer to the fans. I’ve got to let my eye heal up but I’ll be ready to start training again soon enough. The loss is going to bug me for about a week, but my excitement about fighting will stay. Simply put, I’m disappointed but not discouraged.
Regarding my future, I’m in the best possible place right now as far as my life and career goes. I’m in the best fight organization there is and I couldn’t ask for a better situation.
Sean Salmon Tribute
Don't get me wrong, I like Sean "Smoked" Salmon. He's that kid that tries real hard and no matter what he does, he ends up failing every step of the way. That's heart people... or sheer stupidity!
Sean Salmon recently fought Jorge Santiago at Strikeforce on November 16, 2007. Although the fight lasted 24 seconds, Sean Salmon will forever be known as the guy that gets, "Knocked The Fuck Out" - KTFO.
Thank you Sean!
From MMANews.com
"Following the loss, Salmon was taken to the Valley Medical Trauma Center to undergo a number of tests, including a CT scan.
The tests came back negative and it was determined that Salmon had also not suffered any bleeding of the brain, nor a skull fracture."
Salmon, who confirmed those reports with a simple quote:
"I'm good. All the tests came back negative. I'm doing good now."
Salmon's next fight is scheduled to be in the main event of the second ever HDNet Fights show, against top-ranked Jason "MayheM" Miller. That show is scheduled for December 15th at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.
There is no official word yet as to whether or not Salmon will still be able to compete on the card."
Monday, November 19, 2007
The Best Part of UFC 78...
Edith Larente - New UFC Octagon Girl
Check out more non-work safe photos of Edith from UFCGirls.com
Thiago Silva - Very Bad Man!
...and the saviour of the snoozer that was UFC 78
UFC 78: Validation - RESULTS:
- Rashad Evans defeats Micheal Bisping via Split Decision
- Thiago Silva defeats Houston Alexander via Ground 'n' Pound TKO(Strikes)
- Karo Parisyan defeats Ryo Chonan via Unanimous Decision
- Frank Edgar defeats Spencer Fisher via Unanimous Decision
- Ed Herman defeats Joe Doerksen via Rounf 3 Knockout
- Thiago Alves defeats Chris Lytle via technical knockout (Cuts - End of R2)
- Joe Lauzon defeats Jason Reinhardt via submission (Rear Naked Choke)
- Marcus Aurelio defeats Luke Caudillo via TKO (Strikes)
- Akihiro Gono defeats Tamdan McCrory via submission (Armbar)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Karo Parisyan - Quote of the Day
QFT
From UFC.com
“Chuck (Liddell) was the most recognizable person in the sport at the time he fought Quinton (Jackson),” explains Parisyan. “When he got knocked out (at UFC 71 in May), at the press conference I saw him leaning against the wall by himself, just sad because he lost his belt, and everybody was around Quinton. Nobody even looked at Chuck.
This is how #$%$ up life is today. The guy can knock out five guys in a row, including our heavyweight champion back-to-back, and beat all these good fighters, and he loses one fight and everybody goes ‘well, he lost.’ When you don’t lose that often and then you lose once, everybody remembers that one loss.”
UFC 79: Nemesis - Fight Card Set
According to MMAWeekly that is...
UFC 79: DECEMBER 29, 2007 IN LAS VEGAS
venue: Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes (UFC Welterweight Championship Match)
Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida
Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Mohr
Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard
Tony DeSouza vs. Roan Carneiro
Dean Lister vs. Jordan Radev
Doug Evans vs. Mark Bocek
Eddie Sanchez vs. Soa Palalei
UFC 78: A Night of Decisions
For various reasons, "decisions" will be prevalent when determining the majority of the outcomes of these televised fights as well, the decision for the "casual' fan to continue to watch and support the UFC afterwards.
My prediction for UFC 78 is by Unanimous Decision for the UFC and its fans to hang on to the hope that is UFC 79: Nemesis.
As there are no title fights in UFC 78, we, the viewer will bare witness to 15 minutes of back and forth action in almost every bout resulting in educated judges making the final decision as to which fighter deservedly won the match.
Think the opposite of Bisping/Hamill of UFC 75 and you have UFC 78.
I've slagged this card for this very reason short of the Alexander/Silva fight, you'll need to hold on to your beer consumption and keep your ADD in check if you're gonna enjoy this one.
I'm not a casual fan and yes, I do enjoy the odd barn burner however, I do not want to see two fighters fighting a sloppy match, with sloppy punches and sloppy submission attempts only to climax with a sloppy outcome by competent judging?
This is what will be wrong with UFC 78... mark my words.
Here are my picks for UFC 78: Validation
Rashad Evans (-320) vs. Michael Bisping (+240)
Look for a very cautious bout between the two TUF champions. Lots of takedown attempts resulting in more takedowns from Rashad than strikes from Bisping which will be the ultimate deciding factor in this Main Event.
A takedown contest that will see Rashad in the top position for most of the Lay and Pray fight resulting in, you guessed it, a Unanimous Decision for "Sugar" Rashad Evans.
Whoopie!!!
Karo Parisyan (-350) vs. Ryo Chonan (+250)
There is only one other fighter on this card that knows the downside when waiting for the judges decision and that is Chris Lytle... more on that later. Karo Parysian is the disputed champion of taking his fights to the judges scorecards. The only difference this time when he faces Ryo Chonan is that his hand will be raised when his 15 minutes of fame are up in the judges eyes.
Karo is always a bridesmaid and never a bride however, expect the angry Armenian to throw his bouquet at Dana White for a chance at a Welterweight title fight following his Unanimous Decision win.
Still with me or have you fallen asleep yet?
Houston Alexander (-140) vs. Thiago Silva (+110)
Without a doubt, both fighters have MMA attention deficit disorder and don't know what a second round is or even, what it's for. This is going to get your MMA juices flowin' for a spectacular display of "Which guy will get caught first".
Both have knockout power and are true finishers in a sport that Tito Ortiz hasn't fully figured out yet. Either fighter would end the days of Tito resulting in a second instance of Tito driving his pickup into a pine tree... true story!
I would say toss a coin a few days ago but now I have the confidence to say that Houston will prevail over the undefeated Silva by ground and pound TKO stoppage victory in the first.
The MMA Community will be screaming for a title match with Rampage Jackson or in the least with Forrest Griffin for his fourth octagon experience that has yet to total 5 minutes in the octagon.
Houston IS the real deal, not taking anything away from Thiago Silva of course but Alexander fights like a man possessed who is also fighting against the ticking clock that ages the 35 year old who happens to be the second coming of Iron Mike Tyson in combat sports.
Houston's big pay day will come in 2008 and MMA fans will be pumped for "Big Card" matches next year like Dana White has promised recently.
Wouldn't you want to see Houston Alexander fight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for the Light Heavyweight belt?
Spencer Fisher (+100) vs. Frankie Edgar(-130)
Ah, the KING against "Win by decision against Tyson Griffin" Frank Edgar. Spencer has more experience than the young 7-0 Edgar however, when I compare Edgar to Sam Stout, I see that cloning has been going on undetected for years which leaves very little room to contrast Sam Stout and Frank Edgar's styles.
Why mention Sam Stout?
Sammy has beaten Fisher by decision once and recently lost to KING at UFN10 in June of this year. This is significant because Fisher will fight Edgar in the same slugfest manner as Edgar fought Tyson Griffin.
This looks like it will be the Fight of the Night with balls to the wall brawling for 3 full rounds however, "The Answer" will not come to Frank Edgar as the KING will raise his hand in victory, sing "Suspicious Minds" then leave the building with Edgar's broken MMA record cherry.
Joe Doerksen (+140) vs. Ed Herman (-170)
As a Canadian myself, I've bet against Canadians and lived to endure the shame for months to follow... Patrick Cote KO-ing a former TUF Champion in Kendal Grove is definitely a deep bruise to my ego that hasn't healed yet for me. I should have listened to my brother when he said, "Never bet against a Canadian".
Joe Doerksen is Canadian who already has a win over "Short Fuse" Ed Herman just over three years ago... 3 YEARS AGO!
Doerksen is a last minute replacement for Herman because he was to fight Dave Terrell who fell to injuries and could not test the short fuse. Doerksen recently blogged about his biggest challenge in cutting a bunch of weight to make 186Lbs to be eligible to fight the Middleweight bout with Herman.
Hmmmm.... Canadian nationalism aside, I'm giving this one to Herman by Unanimous Decision victory due to multiple submission attempts and escapes from the submission specialist, Doerksen. Avenging a previous loss to Doerkson will be enough to carry this battle of cardiovascular fitness in favor of Ed "Short Fuse" Herman because of the limited prep time and huge weight cut for Joe.
NON-TELEVISED BOUTS:
Thiago Alves (-200) vs. Chris Lytle (+160)
Lytle who has 16 fights of his result in 13 decision losses with 3 wins will inspire Karo Parisyan to win in the same fashion over Ryo Chonan. You see, Lytle is a tough muthafuckah who is brilliant at Jiu-Jitsu who fought Matt Hughes to a decision loss.
Thiago Alves is a force for sure against lesser fighters that do not have the MMA experience that Lytle has and that will be the deciding factor in this match. Lytle, who is as exciting to watch as a geriatric pornographic movie has the Viagra power to outlast the anaerobic Alves for the Unanimous Decision win.
Akihiro Gono (-280) vs. Tamdan McCrory (+220)
Gono is an MMA journeyman with a 27 - 12 - 7 MMA record against relative upstart and unknown and undefeated, Tamdan McCrory 10-0-0. McCrory is a giant amongst men in the 170Lb division as he is 6 foot 4 fighting against the 5 foot 9 inch Gono.
Gono has seen his own fair share of decision victories in his career however, he will add another decision to his record that will be the upside for McCrory as "The Barn Cat" will prevail over the old dog by Unanimous Decision.
Marcus Aurelio (-500) vs. Luke Caudillo (+350)
Marcus is coming off three consecutive losses that span all the way back to June 2006. He lost his UFC debut against "The Carpenter" Clay Guida by Split Decision at UFC 74 at the end of August 2007.
Now, "L'il hulk" Luke Caudillo is 14-8-0 in his MMA career and lost his UFC debut against Nate Mohr at UFN 11 by you guessed it, decision.
As both fighters are coming off decision losses in their UFC debut, the jitters of the big stage will still be there enough for both to end this one the same way except one will be the victor and that fighter will be Marcus Aurelio by Unanimous Decision.
Joe Lauzon (-400) vs. Jason Reinhardt (+280)
If Joe Lauzon loses, I'll be more surprised than "The fight we dare not speak of" (Serra/GSP). Jason Reinhardt is 18-0 yet the difference here is that he hasn't fought any top tier talent in his MMA career... until now for his UFC debut.
Lauzon by submission in the first... I'm thinking RNC due to Jason Reinhardt being overwhelmed by the attention (the chicks) that the UFC brand and Las Vegas offers the young gun.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There you have it... 7 out of 9 fights I have predicted as Unanimous Decision victories instead of fighter/referee stoppage.
Why unanimous decision? Because any fight ending in split decisions will turn off more people from MMA and the UFC in particular than the UFC 78 fight card itself. Besides, the judges for UFC 78 are MMA veterans who know the sport and understand that the unified rules bithplace is in fact in their home state of New Jersey therefore, we will not encounter any judging debacles like many, many recent UFC events.
Validation is the correct name for this fight card on so many levels.
The good thing is that you can expect more fighting coverage with less commercials to fill the void.
Enjoy and as usual, MMA Fever will break the rules and have the fights posted right here... Stay tuned.
P.S. If you know process mapping then you got the joke ;)
Married With Mixed Martial Arts
Ed O'Neil a.k.a. "Al Bundy" speaks candidly about mixed martial arts and its evolutuion through the years including its inferiority to the striking excellence of Boxing.
From the Couch Warrior...
Joe Doerksen Blogs about his Bout with Short Fuse
From Sportsnet.ca
Keeping focus
November 15, 2007
When I woke up Thursday I weighed 196, so I’m about 10 pounds away from making weight. I’m fighting in a non-title fight, so if I make 186 that will probably be good enough for the commission. If I don’t have to cut that extra pound, I’ll be happy.
Thursday was much more relaxed than Wednesday. I did a photo shoot and interview for UFC.com at 9 a.m. I had two small meals during the day, but the night before the weigh-ins I drink half a litre of water and eat a banana. That way I feel pretty good in the morning and I’m not too hungry.
I’m done working out at this point. I’m just doing the treadmill where I work a sweat and get down to a walk just to warm up. I’m ready to go. I’ve been ready for about a week.
For the most part I’ve stayed in the hotel since I’ve been here. I’ve been watching a lot of TV and that’s about it.
Some guys like to go out, but when I’m fighting I don’t like to leave the hotel. I have to focus so hard on cutting weight and being mentally ready, I just don’t like to distract myself.
I came here to do one thing.
Joe Doerksen is a Canadian middleweight mixed martial artist out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who has a career MMA record of 39-10. He blogs this week for Sportsnet.ca as he prepares for his fight Saturday against Ed Herman at UFC 78: Validation in Newark, New Jersey.