November 12th, 2007
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The first wave of open tryouts for season seven of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is set to take place at the Newark Airport Hilton Hotel in Elizabeth, N.J., on Monday, November 19 at 8 a.m.
It seems UFC President Dana White and production executives for the mixed martial arts reality series that airs on the Spike television network — Craig Piligian and Brian Diamond — will try and make the most of their trip to the Garden State this weekend.
The trio will already be in town for UFC 78: “Validation” on Saturday, November 17, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
As expected, the casting call is for middleweight fighters (185 pounds) “who think they have what it takes to compete in the world’s pre-eminent MMA organization.” For those who cannot make it to New Jersey there is also an online application that must be completed and submitted along with video footage no later than November 26, 2007.
There’s no set date for the first episode of TUF 7 to air. However, expect to catch it on the airwaves sometime in early 2008.
We’ll keep you posted on any other updates or further developments.
Written by admin on November 12th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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MMAWeekly.com is reporting that UFC president Dana White revealed during a press conference on Monday to promote UFC 78 in Newark, NJ this Saturday that he will honor the California State Athletic Commission’s ruling by stripping Sean Sherk of the lightweight title if Sherk’s appeal is upheld on Dec. 4.
White had been quoted by Yahoo! last week as saying that Sherk would remain champion regardless of CSAC’s ruling.
B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson are scheduled to fight for the interim lightweight title on Jan. 19 in New Castle, England. If Sherk’s appeal is overturned, White indicated that he will fight the winner of Penn vs. Stevenson as soon as a match could take place. The bout would unify the lightweight and interim lightweight titles.
“B.J. Penn and Joe Stevenson are going to fight for the interim title,” MMAWeekly.com quoted White as saying. “We’ll see what happens with Sherk. If Sherk is found guilty, we’ll support the (California) State Athletic Commission and he’ll probably be stripped of his title. If not, then he’ll keep his title and it will be champion vs. champion.”
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The UFC held a conference call this afternoon with UFC 78 headliners Michael Bisping and Rashad Evans to promote Saturday’s “Validation” pay-per-view (PPV) as well as address a variety of other hot topics.
Whether it’s conservative optimism or grasping at straws, many in attendance took notice at the mention of contact between Randy Couture and UFC president Dana White.
According to White:
We officially offered (a title defense against top contender “Minotauro” Nogueira) and we haven’t heard back yet. He texted me yesterday and said he wants to sit down and talk.
Interesting that Couture would be willing to have dialogue with the UFC after the recent smear campaign by both sides. While the rumor mill has Couture considering an offer from Mark Cuban to join the staff of HDNet Fights, a return to the company that he’s recently dominated - even if it’s just to fulfill the remaining fights on his contract - would be the happiest ending I can think of for all involved.
Then again that’s probably just wishful thinking.
Also discussed were the lingering questions over Sean Sherk and his ongoing steroid appeal with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC). Contrary to recent reports, White does indicate that he will strip Sherk of the title if found guilty by the CSAC.
Here’s more:
BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson are going to fight for the interim title. We’ll see what happens with Sherk. If he’s found guilty, we’ll support the (CSAC) and he’ll probably be stripped of his title. If not, he’ll keep his title, and it’ll be champion versus champion.
Hopefully we’ll know the answer to that on December 4th when the CSAC (finally) rules on Sherk’s appeal.
In regard to the genesis of Bisping versus Rashad, White stated he had little choice after Hamill got injured and Tito declined the fight because of injury (that White claims was an excuse to film “The Apprentice” for Donald Trump).
As far as upcoming events, the UFC plans to air its next Fight Night on January 23 and is looking to hold a PPV in Florida at some point in 2008. White is also starting to turn his efforts toward sanctioning in the state of New York.
MSG in 2009, anyone?
When asked about a potential deal with CBS, White was tight-lipped about any negotiations, but teased with big things on the horizon for 2008 and beyond.
A reconciliation with Randy Couture would certainly be a step in the right direction.
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Brian Knapp of The Fight Network reported earlier today that the IFL has changed its lineup for the World Grand Prix on Dec. 29 in Connecticut. Knapp first reported that Shad Lierley will replace Wagnney Fabiano in the lightweight final against Chris Horodecki while the IFL will crown its first-ever featherweight (145 lbs.) champ that same night in a bout featuring Fabiano.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com (www.FiveOuncesOfPain.com) has learned that the IFL could officially announce as early as Tuesday that the card for Dec. 29 has been changed with Lierley facing Horodecki in the WGP lightweight final. We’ve also learned that L.C. Davis will be Fabiano’s opponent for the championship of the newly-created featherweight division.
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Tito Ortiz held an MMA seminar for young fighters this weekend in Edmonton, and the former UFC light heavyweight champion was certainly not at a loss for words about where he stands in the UFC’s 205-lb. pecking order. Tito told the Edmonton Sun that since he lost his rematch to Chuck Liddell, he feels that the UFC no longer values him as championship material…
“When I lost to Chuck Liddell I took a step down. When I fought Rashad (Evans) I thought I won the fight. It was supposed to happen again, but it ain’t happening. I looked at a thing on UFC.tv and it said the light heavyweights are Rashad vs. (Michael) Bisping* and there were others that were contenders, but my picture wasn’t on it.”
Maybe it’s me, but wasn’t it Tito who elected not to sign an agreement for a rematch with Evans for UFC 78?
Either way, Tito says he’s still gunning for championship glory…
“They (the UFC) are just trying to hold on and make sure the fighters don’t get more powerful. I am going to work to get the right fights and that belt will be around my waist.”
Ortiz announced in a recent press release that he plans to return to action early next year, and according to the Edmonton Sun article, Ortiz hopes to fight the winner of Evans vs. Bisping.
*The article cites Evans’ UFC 78 opponent as Michael Bisby, which isn’t too far off phonetically, but I went ahead and made the correction for this post.
Read more at FiveOuncesofPain.com (http://fiveouncesofpain.com).
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Props: FightNetwork.com
Quoteworthy:
“This is a really good fight for me. He [Ed Herman] is obviously not an easy opponent, but style wise, we match up really well. This is a really good opportunity for me to get some of that notoriety and to get my name out there. I think he’s going to get hurt. If things go my way, he’s not going to make it out of the second round.”
Middleweight Joe Doerksen — who replaced an injured David Terrell — talks about his return to the Octagon against Ed Herman at UFC 78: “Validation” on Saturday, November 17, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. In 2004, Doerksen choked “Short Fuse” unconscious with a triangle at SportFight 7: “Fright Night.”
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Light heavyweights Alessio Sakara (11-6) and James Lee (12-2) will throwdown at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” at The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England, on January 19, 2008.
MMAmania (www.mmamania.com) first learned about the match up earlier this morning from members of the Sakara management team. In addition, representatives indicated that this will be the last fight for Sakara at 205 pounds in the near future — he plans to dip down to middleweight (185 pounds) regardless of the result in the United Kingdom.
It’s been an up-and-down experience for the Sakara since his Octagon debut in October 2005. The Italian-born brawler has been unable to string together consecutive wins in six attempts (2-3 with one “No Contest). His last time out at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” he got flattened by Houston Alexander in 61 seconds via technical knockout.
Without question this is a must-win for Sakara, which would also give him some momentum and confidence heading into his next fight at middleweight.
Lee is a UFC newcomer who has had tremendous success under the King of the Cage (KOTC) banner. In fact, in 14 professional contests not one of them has went the distance. He has a remarkable list of submissions to his credit and has never been stopped via strikes — his two losses are via submission.
For the most recent rumored UFC 80 fight card click here.
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“I think at 35-years-old you’re a lot more grounded. I think you have a few more responsibilities, so you’ve actually got something to fight for. In 2000, my daughter needed a kidney and a lot of people ask, ‘why does he have this scar on the side of his stomach?’ Well the scar on the side of my stomach is from me giving my daughter a kidney in 2000. When your kids need something like that, you don’t think twice.”
– Light heavyweight Houston Alexander tells MMAWeekly.com about his life as a fighter and a father of six during a recent interview (Note: He did not get shot like some people like to suggest). The “Assassin” takes on Thiago Silva this Saturday, November 17, during the televised main card action at UFC 78: “Validation” live on pay-per-view (PPV).
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“UFC Countdown” to “Validation” debuts tonight at midnight on the Spike television network, promoting the upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) event that is set to go off this weekend live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Headlining the show is the clash between two undefeated light heavyweight talents and winners of different seasons of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality series, Rashad Evans and Michael Bisping. It’s a showdown that will vault the victor near the front of the line for a shot at Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s 205-pound title strap sometime in 2008.
“Sugar” and “The Count” have been going back-and-forth with the smack in personal blogs over at UFC.com for the past few weeks. Expect that trend — real or contrived — to continue during tonight’s episode.
Of course, we’ll also get a taste of the other light heavyweight fight on the card between Nebraskan-banger, Houston Alexander, and undefeated Brazilian ChuteBoxe powerhouse, Thiago Silva.
Other notable bouts include a welterweight tilt between Karo Parisyan and Ryo Chonan, as well as a lightweight scrap between Spencer Fisher and Frank Edgar. For the complete UFC 78: “Validation” fight card click here.
Remember: We’ll have LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the PPV event on Saturday, November 17 and complete post-event coverage and recaps.
If midnight is past your bedtime and/or you can’t catch the premier episode of “UFC Countdown” to UFC 78 the one-hour special will re-air on Thursday, November 15 at 11 p.m. ET and Saturday, November 17 at 6 p.m. ET.
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“We’ve both got explosive styles which are going to match up well. He likes to knock people out and so do I. Someone is getting knocked out – probably in the first round – at UFC 80.”
– French welterweight Jess “Joker” Liaudin tells UK’s The Sun to expect a quick knockout finish in his fight against heavy-handed Marcus Davis at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” on January 19 at The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England.
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