There have been a lot of searches linking people to FiveOuncesOfPain.com today with people using Brent Hatley as the search phrase.
Brent is the producer of the Bubba the Love Sponge Show on Sirius Satellite Radio. I’m a huge fan of all the Howard Stern channels and of the Stern show, the Ferrall show, and Bubba’s show. Whenever I’m working, their shows are usually what I’m listening to.
While I’ve never met Brent, I am a huge fan of his and I find that I surprisingly have a lot in common with the guy. Yes, I’ve never met the guy but I listen every day and after awhile you start to feel like you know the people a little bit.
Hatley, a former Marine, trains at the Gracie franchise in Tampa, Florida under the guidance of Rob Kahn. He trains both Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu and has lost a ton of weight since he began training. After only several months of training, Hatley made his amateur Muay Thai debut this past Saturday.
According to the show, Brent lost his match via TKO at 0:39 second of round one. It’s ashame he lost his first match because he talked about training just about every day on the show. As someone who has also done amateur MMA and Muay Thai and lost his debut, I know how much the feeling sucks. Hopefully Brent sticks with it and gets back in the ring ASAP. Losing a fight can leave a crappy taste in your mouth for a long time and sometimes the only way to get over it is by fighting as soon as possible.
Because of the nature of the show, I’m sure he’s taking a lot of crap from people. However, give the man credit for having the stones to step in and take a fight.
In another MMA-related story, I’m sure by now you’ve all heard about the news pertaining to Phil Baroni, Sean Sherk, and Hermes Franca and their dealings with the California State Athletic Commission this morning.
Well, Hong Man-Choi also had a hearing today as well.
Hong Man, who won in a kickboxing rules match this weekend in Japan, was denied a medical license because of a tumor near his pituitary gland that causes him to continue to grow. He was supposed to have fought Brock Lesnar at Dynamite USA!! on June 2 but couldn’t fight without a license. Antonio Silva was also scrapped from the card for the same reason but has since undergone surgery to have the tumor removed.
For some reason, Hong Man doesn’t want the surgery. He should just have it and then put the tumor up on eBay. He’d make millions.
His case was today and according to the California State Athletic Commission, his denial of a medical license was upheld. Until he has the tumor is removed he’s not going to get licensed in California and it will be difficult for him to get licensed anywhere else in a regulated state in the U.S.
“Despite being suspended from competition until July 5, 2008, the suspension will have no bearing on Franca being able to corner fighters. Hermes stressed the importance of being able to corner his fighters to the commission and the commission ruled that the suspension will have no affect on him obtaining a corner-man’s license.”
For more background information on Franca testing positive for the banned illegal anabolic steroid known as Drostanolone following his unanimous decision loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 73 click here.
Damon Martin and Jeff Cain of MMAWeekly.com are reporting that Hermes Franca’s one-year suspension for testing positive for steroids at UFC 73 was upheld today by the California State Athletic Commission. Franca had requested a lighter sentence.
Also, individual requests by Phil Baroni and Sean Sherk to have their appeal hearings delayed until October were both granted by the commission.
Sherk tested positive at UFC 73 while Baroni tested positive for the June 22 show co-promoted by Strikeforce and EliteXC in San Jose.
For more details, check out Martin and Cain’s reports at MMAWeekly.com by clicking here and here.
Former UFC heavyweight champion looked fit last night at the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) event for which he was one of two ringside announcers.
He’s turned in better non-fighting performances for sure. But it didn’t phase me much because once again I got sidetracked, thinking that maybe at UFC 74: “Respect” he will return to pre-motorcycle accident form against Antoni Hardonk.
It’s a general assessment, considering he was all professional looking. Nonetheless, it’s an intriguing prospect and one that is shared among numerous fans.
After sub-par performances against Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz, Dan Christison and Brandon Vera since his return, it’s safe to say that there is only one way for him to go — and that is up.
Here’s what Mir had to say in a recent MMAWeekly.com article:
“Everything’s really good. Everything’s as good as can be expected. Everybody knows my career and accidents happen and I’ve been stumbling along the way ever since. I’ve been trying to make sure I get back up on my feet and go strong and have a good showing. He’s dangerous on his feet, he’s an Ernesto Hoost student. Obviously I want to keep the stand-up with him to a minimum and obviously he’s going to want to keep it to the maximum. I think its going to come down to whoever gets what they want.”
I want a convincing win. Does that count for anything?
Kurt talked about the semifinals that were just held on Thursday, the possibility of doing live shows in the future, why Bart Palaszewski qualified for the lightweight WGP instead of Shad Lierley, and much more.
Paul was extremely candid in addressing reports that claim Bodog is making cutbacks and in giving his thoughts about who would be favored if a match between Tara LaRosa and Gina Carano was ever signed.
Matt and I also discussed the big stories in MMA right now, including Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca’s appeal hearings before CSAC on Monday, our early thoughts on UFC 74, whether Liddell vs. Jardine is a legitimate main event, and much more!
Special thanks to our producer, John Floyd, and also to Matt, who did all the post-production work in getting the show posted.
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The Fight Network has issued an update in regard to a story it had reported last week in which Joe Riggs was quoted as saying he’s likely to be fighting for the WEC in October against Jason Miller.
According to Miller, he knows nothing about a potential fight against “The Diesel.”
“I re-affirm what I told you [The Fight Network] Friday,” said Miller (19-5). “I know nothing about a fight with Riggs, and to say I wouldn’t confirm the fight was misleading. I guess I’m honored to be the one that Riggs has decided to call out, but I have absolutely not been contacted regarding a fight against him.”
A potential match between Miller and Riggs piqued my interest, so I made a few calls and apparently the WEC also knows nothing about a match between the two. My guess is that maybe Riggs is freelancing a bit and trying to get a match booked for October. If that’s the case, I like where he’s going.
To read the update from The Fight Network, just click here.
Spike TV has issued a press release regarding their plans for a Randy Couture marathon…
NEW YORK – As Randy Couture prepares for his heavyweight title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74, on Thursday, August 23, Spike TV pays tribute to the champion with a marathon of programming featuring some of his greatest moments inside the Octagon™ entitled Couture: 100% Natural. The complete schedule is as follows:
10:00 PM – 11:00 PM, ET/PT
UFC® UNLEASHED™ After losing a light heavyweight championship bout to Chuck Liddell in April of 2005, Randy Couture retired from the UFC and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. In March of 2007, almost two years after retiring, “The Natural” came out of retirement and stepped up to the heavyweight division to take on champion Tim Sylvia at UFC 68. In front of a sold out crowd inColumbus, Ohio, Couture put on a performance for the ages in pulling off one of the greatest upsets in the history of mixed martial arts.
11:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT
COUNTDOWN TO UFC® 74Spike TV takes a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming pay-per-view which is headlined by Couture’s bout with Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74, along with The Ultimate Fighter alumnus Josh Koscheck squaring off against Georges St. Pierre for #1 contender status in the UFC welterweight division.
Midnight – 12:30 AM, ET/PT
UFC® ALL ACCESS™: RANDY COUTURE Hosted by Rachelle Leah, UFC All Access will take a look at Randy Couture’s life and intense training regimen as he prepares to defend his heavyweight title against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74.
12:30 – 1:30 AM, ET/PT
UFC® UNLEASHED™
From UFC 54: Boiling Point, Randy “The Natural” Couture battles Mike Van Arsdale in his first fight following a loss to Chuck Liddell in their second meeting at UFC 52. Other bouts include Frank Mir vs. Tank Abbott and Chuck Liddell vs. Jeremy Horn.
1:30 AM – 2:30 AM, ET/PT
PROS VS. JOES SEASON 2Pros vs. Joes is the show where ordinary guys face off against some of the greatest professional athletes in the world. In this episode, three regular guys step inside the Octagon to square off with Randy Couture in a wrestling match. Other featured athletes include Michael Irvin, Jose Canseco and Kevin Willis.
WEC, how do I love thee? Let me count the FREE. Yes, FREE.
Last night's WEC event was nothing short of nifty. From the opening bout to the main event there were few letdowns and only one fight went the distance. Oh, and did I mention that it was free? Yeah, well here are some random notes from last night's event:
-After officially being announced as Tiki, not Tiki Ghosn, the MMA Madonna got his ass kicked my a MMA fighter who was 0-1 in his MMA career. Ouch.
-To drive my point into the ground, the one-named-wonder (our boy Tiki Torch) has also lost four in a row and 5 of is last 7. Retire? Maybe that's not a strong enough word, 'cause the paychecks aren't going to get any better.
-Speaking of ouch, who else wanted to purchase life insurance after seeing Jamie Varner drop Sherron Leggett on his head? To say that it affected the rest of the fight is an understatement.
-Varner looked like a real contender in the WEC, I don't know what this "A-level" BS he was speaking is about? The only opportunity he's had to establish himself as a true contender was against Hermes Franca, and losing by armbar doesn't constitute a passing grade.
-I like how the WEC is trying to legitimize themselves in the eyes of the fans, they have a nice array of champions right now and haven't been "feeding" them UFC talent too much.
-Jeff Curran has some sick Juijitsu, but overall he didn't empress me with his Heath Herring-like takedown defense. How can a fighter think he can make it that next level without being able to defend a basic double leg?
-Did Jeff Curran experience the infamous Octagon shock (or cage in this case)?
-Just another day at the office for Paulo Filho. I've seen more emotion on Wal-Mart employees.
-Joe Doerksen had Jeremy Horn in his corner, maybe he'd have had a better chance if it was a 2-on-1 tag team. Nothing against Doerksen, but I seen better swings on a tee ball team.
-I like how Doerksen has the nickname "El Derke," or something like that, because it works soooo well hiding the fact that Dork is in his name. I can hear the conversation now, "If I have the nickname El Derke, the fans will stop calling me a El Dorke."
-Carlos Condit's arm triangle was sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, and did I mention sick?
-Brock looked damn good for the first minute and a half, then he lost my win streak. Thanks Brock, now I'm 4-1 for the card (as all the favorites won).
-Carlos Condit has made a believer out of me, he's one of the most well rounded 170lbers in the MMA world.
