Tickets for UFC 78: “Validation” at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on November 17 go on sale tomorrow, September 29 at noon ET for the general public, according to UFC.com.
The Web site indicates that Fight Club members and newsletter subscribers have already had their early chances at tickets this week through exclusive presales.
We did not learn about the sale until today — apologies for not passing the news along sooner.
UFC 78 features a solid undercard with a welterweight bout between Karo Parisyan and Octagon newcomer, Hector Lombard. Frank Edgar and Spencer Fisher are also expected to clash in a lightweight showdown.
For the most recent rumored fight card click here.
There is some recent speculation as to the main event of the evening. Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans were expected to rematch; however, TAGG Radio issued a report that “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” would take on Dan Henderson.
Based on the title of the show, “Validation,” it would appear that the intention is to settle the score between Ortiz and Evans, who fought to an unceremonious draw at UFC 73: “Respect” in July.
Then again, that’s all speculation. At this point let’s wait to hear official word from the UFC, which should be coming very soon.
Here is a clip of Andrei Arlovski on Jerry Springer as a guest bouncer. Some bouncy lady out of the audience asks to take off his shirt, and Andrei obliges. The show featured some really obese people with their shirts off too. Gross.
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) will face Dan Henderson (22-6) — not Rashad Evans — at UFC 78 on November 17 in Newark, N.J., according to a TAGG Radio report today.
UFCmania.com calls to Ortiz to confirm the report were not immediately answered at the time of this write up.
UFC President Dana White stated Ortiz and Evans would rematch immediately after fighting to a disappointing draw at UFC 73: “Stacked” on July 7. However, the situation could have changed since UFC 78 is now without a main event because of the Sean Sherk steroid appeal.
“The Muscle Shark” was expected to defend his 155-pound title against BJ Penn at the Prudential Arena but his appeal before the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) will not be heard until October 31. “The Prodigy” is now booked to fight either Sherk or Joe Stevenson (for the vacant lightweight strap) at UFC 79 in December.
While Ortiz-Evans is a nice match up, it perhaps does not have the punch to headline a show. Adding Henderson into the mix, however, would provide a much-needed lift for a rumored card that is solid but lacks high-profile names.
And often names — not great fights — put more butts in seats.
“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has not had a convincing win over a top opponent since his return to the Octagon in 2006. He destroyed an old Ken Shamrock (twice), eked out a split decision with Forrest Griffin, lost to Chuck Liddell and went to a three-round draw with Evans.
A win over a fighter the caliber of Henderson would certainly quiet all the cynics.
Henderson just dropped a hard-fought five round unanimous decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” earlier this month.
There was some discussion that the UFC wanted “Dangerous” Dan to join the middlweight fray (he is the current PRIDE FC 183-pound champion); however, he seems reluctant to make that commitment because he feels comfortable at light heavyweight.
Stick around for more updates to see if this pans out.
For the latest rumored UFC 78 fight card click here.
This has been making its rounds on the hardcore sites, therefore it also belongs on 5 Oz of Pain. UFC WiRED is making its debut on Oct 6th. It’s hosted by Joe Rogan and looks to be a mix of ALL Access with fights like on they air on Unleashed. It’s a good move for the UFC, bringing their brand in front of the casual fan.
“I think (beating) Forrest [Griffin], I was a lot more excited. It was a knockout finish. After this fight [with Chuck Liddell], I wasn’t running around. I was physically exhausted.”
– Keith Jardine talks about his split-decision win over former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell at UFC 76: “Knockout” on September 22. “The Dean of Mean” also mentions that he wants a crack at the current 205-pound titleholder, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, in early 2008. And if he can’t get that bout he’ll rematch Houston Alexander because “that fight should happen.”
Lightweight veteran Din Thomas will be on the shelf for possibly up to four months because of the knee injury he suffered in his first round submission loss to Kenny Florian during the UFC Fight Night 11 main event, according to MMAWeekly.com.
Here’s a snip:
“Thomas appeared to suffer the knee injury when shooting in for an unsuccessful wrestling takedown on Florian. Moments later, Florian was on his back peppering him with punches and then locking in a rear naked choke for the submission. Results from an MRI showed that Thomas suffered a torn meniscus, stretched anterior cruciate ligament, and bruised femur and tibia.”
“Dinyero” will see a specialist next week and more than likely have surgery sometime in October. The rehabilitation is expected to take two weeks, at which time he can resume light training.
And while the rehab time seems short, the report indicates that Thomas might not get back in the cage until early 2008. That’s certainly a set back for an experienced fighter who was in the hunt for a title shot less than three weeks ago.
Thomas mentioned that he would like to rematch Florian once he is healthy.
I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with overnight UFC sensation, Houston Alexander yesterday. Just talking to Houston, you get the feeling that he feels blessed just to be in the situation that he’s in right now with the UFC. Well, that and he’s very anxious to show you his ground game. He had some very interesting things to say and I hope you all enjoy the interview as much as I enjoyed doing it.
Thanks to Houston for taking the time out of his day to sit down and give us his thoughts on a number of topics, including who he might be looking to fight next, his ground game, his thoughts on the online MMA community and much more. Enjoy.
Adam Morgan: You’re a UFC fighter, a radio DJ, a hip hop lecturer and enthusiast, and a single dad of six children. What’s it like balancing all that?
It’s almost military. Everything has to be precise, everything has to be organized and everything has to be time driven, so it’s almost like the military.
Adam Morgan: So what is a normal day for Houston Alexander? Do you get up, take the kids to school, or what’s a normal day for Houston?
A normal day for me is waking up at 5 or 5:30 in the morning to go work out first. Go to work out, get a good hour or two hours of training in and that’s the first workout of the day. Then I come back home and take the children to school and then I work out again after I drop them off. In between the kids, I get to work out.
Adam Morgan: So it’s basically just taking care of the kids, training, and then you have the radio show on Sundays?
Yeah, I got the radio program through NRG Media (POWER 106.9 in Omaha, NE) from 7-10 and the show is called Sunday Nite Raw and I play independent music from all over the world, hip hop, and R&B. I also do promotions for the station and I also work with seven other different radio stations throughout the week. They’ve been working with me as far as the time goes, but I enjoy doing radio, so I don’t think I’m going to stop doing that.
Adam Morgan: So you’re saying even if you’re a full time fighter, training full time, radio will always be a part of your life?
Yeah, because I enjoy playing the music and I enjoy playing the music that no one’s heard. I enjoy helping artists out who are, you know, trying to get on and get that help.
Adam Morgan: Now a lot’s been said about your Culture Shock School Tour where you lecture the students about hip hop culture. Is there one underlying theme about hip hop that you stress in those segments?
It’s funny that you ask that because there is one underlying theme that we stress. It’s that hip hop culture is about music, dance, and art. Period. It’s a culture and a lot of people see rap music being set up as the only element in the culture, so we let the kids know that the hip hop culture is about music, dance, and art. It’s not about the gold chains or the trucks or the 22 inch rims or the 30 inch rims or however they’re doing it nowadays. The hip hop culture is about music, dance, and art. It’s not about the commercialized stuff they’re seeing now.
Editor’s note: WATCH some Culture Shock Tour video HERE
Adam Morgan: Right, so it’s not all about the benjamins, it’s about the culture itself.
It is about the culture itself. And if anyone knows anything about the culture, they’ll know that Justin Timberlake is not hip hop. Only MTV wants to categorize him in that situation.
Adam Morgan: Now you’re a graffiti artist as well?
Oh yeah, been a graf artist since I was 12 years old.
Adam Morgan: Do you still do graffiti regularly?
Houston Alexander: Yes, I’m still doing walls and as a matter of fact, about two months ago I did a project for Red Bull. So yeah, I’m still doing walls and I can proudly say that.
Adam Morgan: You’ve got your mixed martial arts career, your radio deal, and your Culture Shock School Tour. These are sort of your jobs on the side and I know you said you’d continue to do radio even if you are a full time fighter, so is it enough to just be getting paid to fight or what’s your take of the fighter pay scale in the UFC?
Houston Alexander: I let my manager handle all that. Right now I’m happy with what I’m getting paid. I have no complaints about what I’m getting paid and I know that being in the UFC and being a rookie, so to speak, I’m going to have to earn my way up just like anyone else, so I’m willing to do that. I’m willing to work and that’s something that a lot of people don’t like doing in some cases. But I like to work, I like to train, and I like to get it done because I like to see the results in the ring. So I have no problem earning my way.
Adam Morgan: Alright Houston, you know I have to ask this, it’s the standard interview question for fighters. Do you have any idea who or when you might be fighting next?
Houston Alexander: And I’m going to give you the standard answer that I’ve been giving everyone else. The UFC can decide whatever they want to decide on that. For me it’s been every three months. I’m thinking over the next month and a half they’ll let me know who it will be.
Adam Morgan: I saw a little interview with Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle with you. He mentioned Michael Bisping as someone you might like to fight?
Houston Alexander: I wouldn’t mind fighting Bisping. He seems like a pretty good competitor and he seems pretty fired up about fighting so I wouldn’t mind fighting him. But I wouldn’t mind fighting anyone that’s any type of top caliber. I want to test my skills and see where I stand in the 205 lb. division also, so I wouldn’t mind fighting anyone, but I think that he stands out the most to me. He’s very outspoken like I am.
Some people thought this would be an off week for MMA, but it’s really not. There will be plenty of good viewing available this weekend between the TV and Internet streaming.
Here’s what’s on tap:
- Masters of the Cage XVI tonight at 9 p.m. ET via Internet PPV at WatchThisFight.com. The card is $14.95 and apparently offers a money back guarantee. Scheduled to fight are all four members of Team Takedown, Jake Rosholt, Eric Bradley, Johny Hendricks, and Shane Roller. Another former college wrestling standout, Paul Bradley is on the card as well as IFL veteran Wayne Cole.
- “Inside MMA” on HDNet tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET with hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten. John McCarthy, Kimbo Slice, and Chris Bruno are scheduled to appear as guests.
- “Human Weapon” on the History Channel tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET. Mixed martial arts will be featured this week with appearances by Randy Couture, Bas Rutten, and Cung Le, among others.
- EliteXC “Uprising” replay tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET during Showtime’s free weekend preview. That’s right, if you get basic cable then you can watch the replay for free. You’ll get a chance to see Robbie Lawler vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Gina Carano’s big win, and exciting fights between Nick Diaz vs. Mike Aina and Joey Villasenor vs. Riki Fukuda.
- Strikeforce from the Playboy Mansion at 12 midnight tomorrow during a free Internet stream on Yahoo! You can go to their Boxing/MMA section for more info but Gilbert Melendez will defend the Strikeforce lightweight title vs. Tetsuji Kato, Bobby Southworth defends the Strikeforce light heavyweight title vs. Bill Mahood, Joe Riggs makes his Strikeforce debut vs. Eugene Jackson, Josh Thomson vs. Adam Lynn, and Daniel Puder will be in action as well.
First off, FiveOuncesOfPain.com soft-launched the debut of its new rankings area earlier this week. You can check them out by clicking the “rankings” tab at the top of the homepage or by clicking here. Special thanks to Matt for getting that section all set up. Right now I’m the only one who voted in the ratings but the plan is to get Matt, Adam, and Ben involved next month as well.
Also, the votes are in for Yahoo!’s top 10 pound-for-pound September poll. You can check that out by clicking here.
Just like last month, I’m making my ballot available to the public so they can see who I voted for and why:
1. Randy Couture - He’s been active and has been dominant in his last two wins. Plus, in head-to-head situations I feel he’d beat most people on this list. I was surprised I was the only one on the poll who voted Randy number one.
2. Fedor Emelianenko - I vote on three polls now (Yahoo!, FIGHT!, and “Inside MMA” on HDNet) and the easy thing to do is to just jot down Fedor as number one. But I really put thought into my rankings and had to ask myself, is Fedor still number one considering his inactivity as of late? The answer is no.
3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson - When your last two wins are over Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson it’s hard to question a guy.
4. Georges St. Pierre - As I mentioned last month, my criteria is based on fighting frequency, quality of wins, and pure fighting ability. The loss to Serra still weighs in my mind but GSP earned my respect back by dominating Josh Koscheck in August. And there aren’t many fighters in the world with more pure talent than St. Pierre.
5. B.J. Penn - Is a win over Jens Pulver all that impressive at this point? Perhaps not but Penn took care of business and the pure fighting criteria used for GSP is also a factor in this vote.
6. Anderson Silva - He’s just so dominant within his own division that it’s hard to rank him any lower. He’s fought well against top quality opponents.
7. Paulo Filho - Undefeated and has looked dominant most of the way. I’d love to see him against other top middleweights such as Silva, Henderson, Matt Lindland and Denis Kang.
8. Dan Henderson - He lost to Rampage but fought well.
9. Kid Yamamoto - He wasn’t on my top ten last month because of inactivity. Well, after fighting and winning for K-1 HERO’s earlier this month there was no way I could keep him off.
10. Gesias “JZ Calvan” Calvancanti - He rocketed up my rankings. Two dominating wins in one night will do that for a fighter. He also looked strong at USA Dynamite!! Nam Phan was giving up size but he’s still a good fighter and JZ cut right through him.
