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For part two of this interview click here.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Marcus Aurelio (14-5) and Luke Caudillo (12-8) will throwdown in a lightweight scrap at UFC 78 “Validation” on November 17 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., according to FightNetwork.com.
This latest announcement finalizes the most recent UFC event to hit the Garden State since UFC 55: “Fury” back in 2005.
Aurelio is a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter who trains with the prestigious American Top Team camp in South Florida. He dropped his Octagon debut to Clay Guida via split-decision at UFC 74: “Respect” in August.
It’s been a rough stretch for “Maximus” recently — he is looking to bust out of an uncharacteristic three-fight losing streak.
Caudillo also lost his first fight inside the Octagon when he was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Nate Mohr at UFC Fight Night 10 in June. Aurelio will no doubt be one of the stiffest challenges to date for the Nebraska native.
It’s time for Caudillo to start drilling the submission defense hard.
To check out the latest rumored (and complete) UFC 78 fight card click here.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Props: The Underground Forum
Quoteworthy:
“Getting in shape. I’m doing rehab for my injuries. I’m sick of fight 75%. I’m trying to pay my bills injured and making guys like evans and forrest look good. I can’t do it anymore. I’m going to take some time to take care of myself. Everyone wants the old Tito back and I’m going to give it to them.”
– Tito Ortiz — who posts under the handle FUTA1 in the UG forum — explains the reason he is not fighting sooner. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was expected to rematch Rashad Evans at UFC 78: “Validation” on November 17. Instead, Evans will take on Michael Bisping in the main event at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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The year-long back-and-forth negotiations between the UFC and premium cable channel HBO have broken down for good, according to comments from HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg in a NewsDay.com report today.
Here’s the snip from Greenburg:
“After lots of discussion it became apparent that the business model doesn’t make sense for either one of us. So, we agreed to go our separate ways. You never know what the future holds. We have enormous respect and admiration for the executives we dealt with at the UFC. We wish them well.'’
Not an outright nail in the coffin, but the prospect of watching UFC fights on HBO are dashed once and for all at least for the near term.
UFC President Dana White has been adamant for months that a deal would ultimately be struck. He has also been quoted as saying the he “is the problem” for the deal not being forged sooner.
Control of the production of the shows on HBO seemed to be the major hang-up. Both parties wanted the authority to produce the events and in the process protect their valuable brands.
It seems now that a compromise could not be reached.
The UFC planned to feature the international events on HBO such as UFC 70, UFC 72 and UFC 75 — all of which took place in Europe. In addition, the HBO cards would have showcased up-and-coming fighters who were headed to more prestigious pay-per-view (PPV) events.
In short, the talent would be better than UFC Fight Night cards but not quite ready for the PPV audience.
Don’t forget that the arrest of former CEO Chris Albrecht — who was later fired from his post — more than likely also had an affect on the stalled negotiations. He was the man who championed bringing the UFC into the HBO fold.
For now EliteXC is the only mixed martial arts promotion that has a deal with a major premium cable channel (ShowTime).
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Yes, I just referred to myself in third-person form in the headline. But there are four of us contributing to this site so saying “me” wasn’t going to cut it at this point.
Anyhow, it was bound to happen but my string of positive coverage on Fightlinker.com has ended. Nobody is immune and to be honest, Linker was surprisingly gentle (he even warned me ahead of time).
That being said, my plans of naming my next kid after him are off. Instead of “Fightlinker Caplan” I think I’ll go with “Sprawl-N-Brawl Caplan.”
Read the carnage for yourself.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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If you’re jonesing for some live MMA and are within driving distance of Trenton, NJ, get your ass to the Sovereign Bank Arena for Saturday night’s Combat in the Cage event. 5 Oz of Pain is going to be there, so if you’re going, let us know, Sam will buy you a beer.
Jon Murphy will be headlining the event (see the full card here). Murphy is a hot prospect in the Heavyweight division, recently winning his debut in ShoXC in late Aug against Dave Huckaba by a vicious KO.
Here is fight video of another Murphy KO from earlier this year against Sherman Pendergarst at Extreme Challenge 75
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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“There’s some sacrifice involved with fighting Rashad. I wont be able to fight on the upcoming [UFC] UK shows, but right now I just want to get back in there. I know some people didn’t like what they saw. MMA fans, especially Internet MMA fans, are fickle; they jump from one fighter to the next and this is my chance to prove myself again…. I won’t lie, initially [the Jackson camp] wrestling worried me. Ever since ‘TUF’ I’ve realized it’s what I’ve needed to work on and I’ve been doing it…. I don’t want the belt tomorrow, I’m still not ready. I need a lot of improvement and need to keep maturing steadily as a fighter. I’m happy to make a slow and steady progression.”
– Michael Bisping shares his initial thoughts with FightNetwork.com on his upcoming main event tilt with Rashad Evans at UFC 78: “Validation” on November 17 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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First, we had Duke Roufus, world renowned kickboxer who was supposed to make his MMA debut at CFFC 6, start a thread on the Underground Forum that he’d received a call from Chris Geraghty and that the show was off.
Now we have final confirmation from Felix Martinez, the promoter himself:
It is with deep regret that I have to announce the cancellation of Cage Fury’s October 12th event. I did everything in my power to make this show happen for the fighters and the fans. However, I could not overcome the loss of a major investor for this show who decided to pull out at the last moment. With the loss of this investor, I cannot proceed with another first class event. It has always been my intention to provide the best combative sport entertainment that I could. I am very sorry for having to cancel this event and sincerely apologize to all the fighters, the fans, and our dedicated staff.
Felix Martinez, President, Cage Fury Fighting Championships
Just great. I was really looking forward to this card, too. I was looking forward to seeing how far Kimbo Slice had come since his last fight and how he would stack up against better competition. Not that Tank Abbott is top competition, but he’s a far cry above Ray Mercer when it comes to MMA. I was also looking forward to seeing Duke Roufus’ debut as well as seeing Ricardo Almeida make his way back into MMA.
Definitely a sad day for all the Kimbo marks like myself. Oh well, let’s hope EliteXC or Strikeforce picks him up. He would be perfect for one of these organizations.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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There’s been so much recent talk about the mental implosion of Joe Scarola on the season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6. That’s because the Matt Serra-trained fighter packed his bags and quit the show because he couldn’t hack it in the house.
It ranks right up there with Gabe Reudiger’s “shenanigans” during TUF 5.
Serra has been vocal about his disappointment and displeasure with Scarola’s ridiculous decision. And he puts a ribbon on it in a recent NewsDay.com blog post.
Here’s a snip from the champ:
“… let me give you some background on how Joe got on the show. He wanted to be on ever since Luke was on Season 2, but I had my doubts about his ability to take it in the house. He was persistent in asking, so in time, we considered it, and had our sports psychologist, Dr. Sherry Wulcan, talk to him for an evaluation. In her professional opinion, she didn’t think he could make it in the house for six weeks, and her recommendation was not to send him. I respected her opinion, and wasn’t planning on sending him to Las Vegas for the show. Still, he persisted, and, eventually Ray Longo persuaded me to reconsider saying ‘Look, let him find out for himself. He’s an adult, and if he can’t hack it, he’ll live with those consequences.’ I eventually gave him my seal of approval and he got a tryout for the show….”
Talk about volunteering yourself for the firing squad.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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Even in the fact of reports earlier this week that Kurt Angle was recently arrested on charges of DUI, reports linking him to a potential crossover into MMA simply won’t die.
Alex Marvez, who covers the NFL and MMA for FoxSports.com, has dedicated his latest syndicated column to Angle’s ongoing flirtation with mixed martial arts. The current object of Angle’s MMA affection appears to be the International Fight League:
“Other organizations were pushing for me to fight right away for big money - bigger money than any other fighter has ever made,” Angle said during a ringside interview at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. “But I think they were doing it for my name because I had a lot of exposure in (World Wrestling Entertainment) and TNA. When I talked to the IFL, it wasn’t like they came at me with the biggest contract, but they made a lot more sense.
“The IFL is giving me an opportunity to get my feet wet without affecting my job with TNA whatsoever. (The IFL) said they would be second priority and make sure TNA is happy all the time and they’ll take me when they can get me.”
Angle still believes he can make the transition into MMA and be successful against the sport’s biggest names:
“Randy Couture is a good leg-attacker, but he’s not even close to me and he’ll admit that to you,” Angle said. “I could take Silva down 10 times a round. That’s how quick and agile I am. I’ve just never had the opportunity (to show it).
“They’ve never seen a Kurt Angle in the ring or my style, which is explosive. I think a lot of heavyweights and light heavyweights won’t expect it.”
Coming from someone who was once convinced that Angle was going to try his hand at MMA, I become more skeptical the more he talks about it.
Written by admin on October 5th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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