October 31st, 2007
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The show starts, as usual, with the recap of last week’s fight. Great fight, Ben Saunders and Dan Barerra really gave it their all with Saunders coming out on top to put Team Hughes down 5-1. Matt Hughes is not happy.
Back in the locker room he tears into Barerra for not following the gameplan and tells his two remaining fighters, Jared Rollins and Tommy Speer, that they better do what they say they’re going to do. Hughes is down in the dumps and sitting by the Octagon when Dana White comes in and gives him a pep talk. Many F bombs were dropped and Dana basically told Hughes he needs to beat the piss out of his fighters in order to whip them into shape.
Somehow I don’t think Hughes will have a problem with that, especially seeing as he’s done it all season long already.
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Nick “The Goat” Thompson posts his thoughts on smoking a cigarette during one of his ring entrances:
“I thought it would be funny but it damn near gave me a heart attack during the fight.”
Nick Thompson is, by far, one of the funniest guys in the sport.
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My partner in crime, Euan Taylor, sat in on today’s Showtime/EliteXC conference call to promote the Nov. 10 Renegade show. The call featured: Jake Shields, K.J. Noons, Gary Shaw and new heavyweight signing Kimbo Slice. We have the audio available for your listening enjoyment.
You can download the file in MP3 format by clicking here.
Euan tells me that the audio does drop in spots but it is nothing major. He also tells me that in his opinion, Kimbo was the star of the show. I hope everyone enjoys the audio.
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The ever controversial Frank Shamrock, in an interview with Nokaut.com, elaborates on why he thinks he’s a bad matchup for Cung Le at this point in his career:
Nokaut: Will you be facing Cung Le, or is that a fight that you are saving for later?
Frank: I think Cung Le needs some more time and experience. I don’t think it is a good fight right now because I would just smash him and ruin his progress. Everyone is pushing for Cung because he has been very exciting so far. I think it would be a waste of money and it would crush him when I crush him. I would like to wait till 2009 for that fight. I don’t really know who is on the horizon right now. Robbie Lawler’s name has been thrown around, but I am good with whoever they decide.
As cocky as Frank is, he’s probably right. A lot of people, including myself, doubted Shamrock in the fight with Phil Baroni and he made us all look like complete fools. He smashed Baroni thoroughly, even calling his shots at one point.
Cung Le is a great standup fighter, but the level of competition he’s faced and the lack of experience in the world of mixed martial arts are two things working against him. The sanshou clinic he put on against Tony Fryklund was an amazing thing to see, but Frank Shamrock is no Tony Fryklund.
Robbie Lawler is a much better fight for Shamrock and one that I would gladly pay to see.
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According to Sherdog.com, Baroni’s suspension has been reduced by the CSAC from a year to six months and it will be retroactive, meaning that while waiting for his hearing, he has been basically serving the suspension:
Phil Baroni, who tested positive for boldenone and stanozolol metabolites following his submission defeat to Frank Shamrock on June 22 in San Jose, has had his suspension reduced from one year to six months, the California State Athletic Commission ruled on Wednesday afternoon.
The suspension will run retroactive from June 22, making Baroni, 31, eligible to return in December. The New Yorker’s fine of $2500 was upheld.
The CSAC shot down two motions: one to upload the year-long suspension and the other to lift all sanctions. The third and final motion had three votes in favor, two against and one tally for an extension.
This is not only good news for Baroni, but good news for Sean Sherk as well. I would expect the CSAC to reduce his suspension and also make it retroactive from July, meaning he would be eligible to fight in January. BJ Penn v. Joe Stevenson? Hold your horses on that one just yet.
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EliteXC held a conference call for the media on Wednesday afternoon to promote their next card on Nov. 10 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The card is scheduled to be televsed by Showtime at 10 p.m. ET.
Available on the call were EliteXC live events president Gary Shaw, recent heavyweight acquisition Kimbo Slice, Jake Shields, and K.J. Noons. Nick Diaz was advertised for the call but was not available.
There were several items of note revealed during the call, including Shaw announcing a clear definition of the fight promotion’s weight classes. The promotion will officially have divisions at 140 lbs., 150 lbs., 160 lbs., 170 lbs., 185 lbs., light heavyweight (186-205), heavyweight (206-265), and a super heavyweight (265-plus). EliteXC’s 160 lbs. division will be referred to as its lightweight division.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG
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As you know, Mike Bourke, Kimbo Slice’s opponent for EliteXC’s November 10th card, has been forced to withdraw due to a broken clavicle.
At today’s EliteXC press conference, however, it was announced that Bo Cantrell would be taking his place. This will be Cantrell’s second fight in three weeks. He was the victim of yet another Brad Imes gogoplata last weekend at a King of the Cage event in Reno, NV. Cantrell is 10-10 overall and coming off of four straight losses.
Also announced at the press conference was the fact that former IFL fighter and current Xtreme Couture team member, Mike Pyle, will be fighting his last fight under the EliteXC banner next weekend. I’m assuming Pyle will become a free agent.
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Quoteworthy:
LAS VEGAS, NV October 31, 2007 – At a hearing in Los Angeles today, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) granted a second continuance for UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk’s appeal of his positive test for the banned substance “Nandrolone” after his July 7th win over Hermes Franca at UFC 73 in Sacramento.
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Props: FightLinker.com
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UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk will go before the The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) at 12 p.m. ET today to appeal his steroid suspension.
“The Muscle Shark” tested positive for a banned illegal steroid known as “Nandrolone” after his successful 155-pound title defense against Hermes Franca at UFC 73: “Stacked” back in July. Franca also tested positive for steroids; however, he admitted to the charge and accepted the punishment ($2,500 fine and a 12-month suspension).
On the other hand, Sherk has denied taking any banned substances and has stretched out his appeal to put together a solid defense.
If the ruling is upheld Sherk will more than likely face a similar fate as his UFC 73 counterpart. In addition, UFC President Dana White has indicated that he will be stripped of his title.
In that case, BJ Penn is penciled in to fight Joe Stevenson for the vacant lightweight title later this year (UFC 79) or early next.
Stay tuned to see what happens … finally.
Note: Phil Baroni (EliteXC), Kazuhiro Nakamura and Adam Smith (StrikeForce) are also scheduled to appeal similar cases before the CSAC this afternoon.
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