August 31st, 2007
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In my latest CBSSports.com article I become the latest journalist to go on the record and publicly smooch Randy Couture’s butt.
I wanted to write about Randy because I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately (no, not in that way!) but I wanted to say things about him that haven’t already been said a hundred times this week.
I then started thinking about the win over Gabriel Gonzaga and began to try to put the win in perspective by comparing it to some of his past wins. The funny thing is, as big as the win vs. Gonzaga was I felt that it really didn’t even rate in the top five, believe it or not.
You can click here to read the article. Feel free to let me know your thoughts.
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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I didn’t hear the show but I’ve read in several places that Tagg Radio reported today that the show heard from a reliable source in Fedor Emelianenko’s camp that he’s been offered a four fight deal worth $2 million per bout that would also allow him to fight in Russia. The reports I am reading suggests that Fedor is close to accepting.
If that story is in fact being reported I can tell you that a reliable source I spoke to from the UFC left me with a completely different impression of Thursday’s meeting. I did not ask the source specifically about Tagg Radio’s report and simply asked about how the meeting on Thursday went. The answer was not good and no indication was given that a deal was even close to being agreed to.
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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A day after it was announced that Renato “Babalu” Sobral would no longer be fighting for the UFC, the beleaguered Brazilian appeared in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Friday morning.
According to MMAWeekly.com, the commission elected not to suspend Sobral but did not rule out a fine and will continue to withhold his $25,000 win bonus that he was due to receive following his win over David Heath at UFC 74 this past Saturday.
Richard Wilner, Sobral’s manager addressed the commission at length but Sobral also attended and spoke to the commission as well:
“When he tapped, I didn’t feel it. I then looked to the referee, and he shook my shoulder, and then I let him go. I didn’t understand why this whole thing happened. I’m kind of surprised that it happened, the crowd booing me and stuff like that. I don’t know, maybe it was from the blood. I don’t know. I would like to say sorry to David Heath and the UFC for bringing trouble to my sport that I love a lot. There’s one thing that I know how to do in my life is be a professional fighter. I don’t have like a regular job.”
You can get the full scoop at MMAWeekly.com by clicking here.
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Showtime’s countdown show for EliteXC’s next card on Sept. 15 in Hawaii featuring Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Robbie Lawler for the EliteXC middleweight title will debut tonight at 1 a.m. ET on Showtime.
I recommend that loyal 5 Oz. readers check out the countdown show because a certain someone you know might be appearing on the show opening his big mouth about the matchups.
If you’re not able to see tonight’s showing, here is a schedule of future airings:
DAY DATE TIME CHANNEL
Friday Aug. 31 1 a.m. SHO
Saturday Sept. 1 12:30 a.m. SHO
Monday Sept. 3 4 p.m. SHO
Tuesday Sept. 4 Midnight SHO
Wednesday Sept. 5 Midnight SHO
Sunday Sept. 9 11 p.m. SHO
Monday Sept. 10 7:30 p.m. SHO
Wednesday Sept. 12 1:30 a.m. SHO
Thursday Sept. 13 Noon SHO
Friday Sept. 14 1:15 a.m. SHO
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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MMAWeekly.com is reporting that Dean Lister will be training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and will be returning to the UFC on the fight promotion’s December 29 card (which is expected to be held in Las Vegas).
According to Lister’s manager, Jerry Villasenor, Lister would like to fight the winner of the middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin at UFC 77. I don’t see that happening until Lister gets 1-2 wins under his belt.
You can read the entire report by clicking here.
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Yes, I am ripping this idea off from Steve Sievert’s blog on the Houston Chronicle’s web site. Since I’m also a pollster on Yahoo! Sports’ pound-for-pound top ten it doesn’t make sense for me not to post my votes.
Here’s the official 5 Oz. of Pain top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the world (with comments):
1) Fedor Emelianenko - Inactivity is a concern a this point but his last win against Matt Lindland on a BodogFIGHT card in April is strong enough to last another month or so.
2) Dan Henderson - Henderson’s reputation before his win over Wanderlei was nowhere near what it is now but how can you not be high on a guy who holds world titles in two different weight classes?
3) Randy Couture - His last two wins have been against top contenders and both have been dominant performances.
4) Georges St. Pierre - Being in this poll isn’t just about stature, it’s also about pure fighting skill, which GSP has on loan from God. Yes, I’m officially back on the bandwagon.
5) Mauricio Rua - Doesn’t hold a title yet but put him in there with Chuck Liddell, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, or Dan Henderson and I’d install him as the favorite.
6) Anderson Silva - His pure Jiu-Jitsu is strong but his MMA Jit-Jitsu is suspect. However, a fighter hasn’t exposed his lack of wrestling in quite some time. His recent wins have all been impressive with the exception of his performance against Travis Lutter in February.
7) B.J. Penn - His recent win list doesn’t measure up in comparison to other fighters on this list but I think pure ability should account for something.
8 ) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - Is lacking a big recent win against an impressive opponent but few heavyweights are a total package like he is.
9) Matt Hughes - The win over Lytle was not overly impressive and there’s the loss against GSP but I can’t ignore his entire body of work over the course of the past several years.
10. Quinton Jackson - I’m not sure what Rampage we’ll see at UFC 75 but a win over Chuck Liddell and the UFC light heavyweight title around his waist speak volumes.
The two names omitted from my ballot that I’m sure will cause the biggest complaints are Chuck Liddell and Takanori Gomi.
In regard to Gomi, I can’t put him in my top ten due to inactivity. In the eyes of NSAC his match against Nick Daiz might be a win. But my eyes saw what they saw. Gomi lost. At the very least, he shouldn’t be credited with a win.
Liddell was a tough call and some will ask why I have Hughes ranked on his overall body of work and not Liddell. When it came down to it, I don’t think the competition Liddell fought during his reign was top-notch. It was due to no fault of his own but I’m not overly impressed with wins over Tito Ortiz and Jeremy Horn. Losing to Rampage in under two minutes was a big negative.
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua and Georges St. Pierre and Matt Hughes and Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva and Quinton Jackson and MMA.
Back by popular demand — Apologies for slacking on the FFF vids.
Here’s a nice MMA highlight video put to one of the best films ever, “Boondock Saints:”
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Renato “Babalu” Sobral today appeared before the The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) and issued a public apology to David Heath and the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) for his actions at UFC 74 on August 25, according to FightNetwork.com.
Here’s a snip from the Brazilian:
“I would like to say I’m sorry to David Heath and for anything I’ve done to the sport I love.”
Sobral, of course, is in hot water for refusing to release a chokehold during his bout with Heath, which resulted in the light heavyweight falling unconscious. For more background on this situation click here.
During the hearing today the NSAC ruled unanimously to withhold his $25,000 win bonus (Sobral did pocket an additional $25,000). In addition, Sobral will have to appear before the NSAC at a future disciplinary hearing and could be fined more and even suspended for his actions.
However, the NSAC Executive Director, Keith Kizer, sounds as if a suspension will more than likely not happen.
Here’s a snip:
“I’ve looked at the tape a lot. While I do believe there was some intent here, I don’t think this rises to the level of some other things we’ve seen [i.e. the infamous Mike Tyson ear-biting attack on Evander Holyfield in 1997].”
The interesting defense laid forth in this case is that Sobral did not intentionally maintain the choke despite attempts from the referee, Steve Mazzagatti, to peel him off. Sobral is now saying he “did not feel Heath submit or Mazzagatti tapping him on the shoulder.” That’s a far cry from his post-fight remarks that he did it to teach Heath a “lesson” and “some respect.”
Regardless, Babalu has since been cut from his UFC contract, fined $25,000 and now faces even more possible sanctions.
Does the punishment fit the crime?
For more on the hearing check out MMAWeekly.com.
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on UFC Light Heavyweight Division and David Heath and UFC 74 and Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and MMA.
EliteXC heavyweight fighter Jon Murphy’s next fight will be for the Extreme Challenge promotion on October 6 in Trenton, NJ at the Soverveign Bank Arena (the same venue BodogFIGHT ran a show at earlier in the summer). Murphy will be defending his Extreme Challenge Northeast heavyweight title on the card.
We’ll have more details about the card as they become available.
Written by admin on August 31st, 2007 with comments disabled.
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