November 3rd, 2007
You are currently browsing the articles from MMA Factor written on November 3rd, 2007.
Rumors have circulated within the last 36 hours that middleweight fighter David Terrell will be unable to compete at UFC 78 due to injury.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com (www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com) has confirmed through its sources that Terrell is in fact off the card due to what was termed as a severe ankle injury that was sustained during training.
This is yet another in a long line of setbacks that has limited the talented middleweight to just one fight in the last year and a half. Terrell first took the UFC by storm in 2004 when he upset Matt Lindland at UFC 49 when he knocked Lindland out in just 24 seconds into round one.
Terrell did not fight again in the Octagon until UFC 51 in 2005, losing to Evan Tanner via TKO. He rebounded with a win over Scott Smith in 2006 at UFC 59, submitting Smith with a rear naked choke at 3:08 of round 1.
Terrell had been scheduled to make his UFC return on Nov. 17 against Ed Herman at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. There is no word as to whether a replacement has been named.
All indications are that he was truly motivated for the fight as he dropped a lot of weight in preparation for the bout. Unfortunately, an MRI revealed torn tendons and Terrell has been walking with the aid of crutches since the injury.
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on David Terrell and UFC 78 and MMA.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com (www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com) has learned from a source close to super heavyweight fighter Antonio Silva that Silva has received the medical clearance from the California State Athletic Commission needed to in order to fight Jonathan Wiezorek on next Saturday’s EliteXC event in Houston, Texas.
While Silva has yet to receive the documents in the mail, he was assured by CSAC officials that the paperwork had been completed and was en route to him.
Silva was placed on medical suspension in June by CSAC after a tumor was located near his pituitary gland. He underwent surgery per the commission’s recommendation to have the tumor removed in hopes that he would be cleared to fight in the future.
Siva, who fought at over 300 lbs., in the past is expected to come into his match against Wiezorek in the 275-280 lbs. range. The two had been scheduled to fight originally on June 2 during FEG’s Dynamite USA!! show in Los Angeles
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Antonio Silva and Jonathan Wiezorek and EliteXC and MMA.
Yahoo! Sports boxing and MMA columnist Kevin Iole spoke with UFC president Dana White on Friday and was informed that due to the California’s State Athletic Commission’s handling of Sean Sherk’s appeal of a one year suspension for testing positive for steroids, Sherk will not be stripped of his lightweight title regard of whether the commission ultimately votes to uphold Sherk’s suspension.
Steve Cofield was able to catch up with Iole and interview him on his radio show in Las Vegas on Fox Sports Radio. You can access that audio by clicking here.
What White is essentially saying with this decision is that CSAC’s pending decision is irrelevant at this point and that Sherk in his mind is his champion regardless of whether the commission finds him guilty.
There’s no denying that CSAC’s reasons for delaying their ruling on Sherk’s appeal this past Wednesday were completely unprofessional but it feels as though White is using it as license to allow Sherk, a fighter that he has called a personal friend, off the hook because of a technicality. Iole raises a good point in that if CSAC refuses to overturn or even amend Sherk’s suspension, that White could look bad in this situation.
As Iole also states, White could look good if CSAC rules to either overturn or reduce the suspension but what if they don’t? How can a fighter test positive for steroids and receive a suspension for it from a major state athletic commission and still retain his title?
It’s possible that Sherk’s attorney, Howard Jacobs, has a strong defense and that Sherk is truly innocent. But shouldn’t White wait until CSAC rules on the appeal one way or the other? White said from the get go that Sherk would be stripped if he lost his appeal and he’s going back on that statement simply because CSAC dropped the ball?
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Sean Sherk and Dana White and UFC and MMA.
When IFL co-founder and commissioner Kurt Otto announced several months ago plans to hold the league’s first-ever World Grand Prix event to crown champions in each of its individual weight classes, it seemed like a great idea.
But in hindsight, it might have been asking too much, too soon. When the 2007 season began the WGP concept was not written into the contracts of the IFL’s fighters. Agreements had to be extended and it was later determined that fighters not committed to the league for 2008 would not be allowed to compete.
As a result, Ben Rothwell was removed from the heavyweight draw while Mike Whitehead was removed as a seed in the light heavyweight division. Antonio McKee was yanked from the welterweight division after he violated his contract and attempted to sign with the Brawl for it All promotion for an October event in San Francisco that ended up being canceled.
Injuries have also taken a toll on the field with top fighters such as heavyweight fighter Reese Andy and Andre Gusmao unable to compete.
The latest hurdle in the IFL’s attempt to put on a tournament featuring its top talent competing as individuals took place on Friday when four of 18 fighters involved in tonight’s card were unable to make weight.
According to The Fight Network, Delson Heleno, Gideon Ray, Donnie Liles, and Matt Horwich all failed to meet their contracted weights during weigh-ins.
Heleno, Ray, and Liles have all compromised the integrity of the promotion’s welterweight division by failing to make weight. Heleno and Ray will compete at a catch weight of 175 pounds while Jay Hieron has agreed to a seven-pound weight difference in order to face Liles at 177 lbs.
Liles and Ray were late replacements, with Liles being named to the tournament field within the last week while Heleno is a fixture in the IFL.
Horwich is also a veteran in the league but weight 187.5 pounds, or two and a half pounds over the middleweight division’s 185 lbs. limit. Brian Foster, Horwich’s opponent, still accepted the fight.
Below are the weigh-in results (according to The Fight Network) by matchup with my predictions:
Middleweight semifinal: Brent Beauparlant (185) vs. Benji Radach (186) - I’m picking Radach via TKO in the first round as he’s head and shoulders above anyone in the IFL’s middleweight division.
Lightweight semifinal: Bart Palaszewski (155.5) vs. Chris Horodecki (154) - This will be Palaszewski’s sixth fight this year while Horodecki has had to fight since June. I expect the fresher Horodecki to win via unanimous decision.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG.
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on IFL and MMA.
“[Din Thomas] did not break the law that he is being charged with breaking…. These were sparring sessions to get participants experience…. We see this as training sessions, sparring sessions between teammates.”
– Cory Sucher — the lawyer for UFC lightweight fighter Din Thomas — responds via TCPalm.com to recent charges that his client coordinated illegal “cage fighting” matches near his American Top Team training facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida. To see the actual arrest warrant click here.
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Din Thomas and UFC Lightweight Division and UFC Quick Quotes and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and MMA.
Damon Martin of MMAWeekly.com writes that UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock continues to hint at a lawsuit against Zuffa:
“The fact is, we have a lawsuit going on right now,” Shamrock stated in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “They released me from my contract. I had one fight left. Now, we’re going to go after them for the damages and that’s why I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t fight because I was holding up to my end of the bargain with them. Then they turn around and didn’t hold up to their end of the bargain because they released me from my contract illegally, they breeched my contract, I am now open and ready to fight.”
I’m not sure Shamrock has much of a case. While I have never seen an actual UFC fighter contract, I have spoken to managers and fighters off the record who have conveyed many details that pertain to a standard UFC deal.
One of thing that has been relayed is that in most UFC contracts the promotion demands exclusivity from its fighters (a fighter usually needs written permission to compete outside a UFC contract) yet retains the right to “accelerate” (a nice word for terminate) at any time for any reason.
While I’ve heard that there are a couple of fighters that have guaranteed contracts, there are many top names within the UFC that do not have a guarantee that the number of fights they originally signed for will be honored. While it’s possible that Shamrock has a guarantee in his contract, it’s highly unlikely.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG.
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Ken Shamrock and Frank Shamrock and UFC and EliteXC and MMA.
The official website for M-1 Global has published an “open message” from Fedor Emelianenko in which the current PRIDE heavyweight champion raises the possibility that his next MMA bout could take place in Japan on New Year’s Eve.
According to the post, which is written in broken English and appears to be a translation, Emelianenko has received a great deal of fan response from fans asking that he take part in the country’s recent tradition of promoting major kickboxing, pro wrestling, and MMA events on New Year’s Eve.
Emelianenko indicates that he hopes he can satisfy the requests of the fans by competing on New Year’s Eve, assuming that a fight can be arranged.
To read the entire post, just click here.
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on M-1 Global and Fedor Emelianenko and MMA.
While EliteXC and Showtime have yet to make an official announcement, preparations are already underway for the next ShoXC event, which is currently expected to take place in New Jersey on Dec. 7.
While no fights have formally been signed for the event, FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned that a proposed main event between Cage Rage welterweight champion Paul Daley and Jose Rodriguez is being discussed.
The bulk of the undercard would primarily be comprised of some of the top undiscovered talent from the Northeast corridor of the U.S.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com has also learned that promoters are trying to secure bout agreements for a match Jim Bova vs. Wilson Reis and also Aaron Miesner and Zach Mavosky in separate bouts.
Miesner and Makovsky are top prospects that train out of separate fight camps in Philadelphia.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG.
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Jim Bova and Paul Daley and Zach Makovsky and Wilson Reis and Aaron Miesner and EliteXC and ShoXC and MMA.
Saturday’s live broadcast of the first round of the IFL World Grand Prix could be the most crucial event in the league’s brief history.
While new IFL president and COO Jay Larkin has understandably tried to downplay talk that this could be a make or break show for the company regarding whether the ratings performance will determine the IFL’s viability as a live product, I firmly believe that whether the Dec. 29 show gets picked up will have a lot to do with how many people watch on Saturday.
The bottom line is that IFL co-founded and commissioner Kurt Otto has said that the league needs to secure live television in ‘08 if it wants to remain competitive and tonight’s numbers will go a long way in determining whether we’ll see more live IFL telecasts.
MyNetworkTV is not a highly rated network so I don’t even want to begin to guess what numbers would be considered good and what wouldn’t. On average, I would say the league draws between a 0.4 and a 0.7. I’m not a television expert, but I think anything below 0.9 would be considered a disappointment.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG.
Written by admin on November 3rd, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Jay Larkin and Kurt Otto and IFL and MMA.
« Older articles
No newer articles
