We’re starting to feel the UFC 82 adrenaline building and it’ll certainly be hitting on all cylinders by this Saturday. Check out these vids from ESPN of the two headliners dishing about their battle.
Anderson Silva doesn’t believe Dan Henderson is his toughest challenge.
Dan Henderson talking the style match-up and why he believes he will beat Anderson Silva.
— Cage Rage vet and current EliteXC fighter Paul “Semtex” Daley has posted on-line that he is calling it quits when his EliteXC contract is over on March 29th.
This is for the fighters, fans, promoters and trolls alike.
As of now i will be stepping down as Cage Rage Champion (British and world), FX-3 Champion and KOTR champion. I vacate all these titles. Futher more i consider my self retired (from all MMA/Thai boxing) as of March 29th. March 29th i will fullfill my contracted commitment for Pro Elite, against a yet un named opponent.
No speculation, No futher annonucments, once i’ve found the path i originally set out on in the Martial Arts, i may return to this SPORT, Maybe 6months-Maybe 6 years, who knows.
Who will be the next welterweight CRC champ. FX-3 champ????…
Thanks
Although this message is put together with a wordsmith’s touch, it’s hard to believe “Semtex” would be bowing out of the sport at this time in his career. 5oz of Pain seconds that backed by personal interaction with the fighter. The guy is 17-6-2 and can command a solid payday in several organizations. Maybe that’s what this is about…drawing a big payday from the dudes willing to “pull him out of retirement”.
— The IFL is adding to its exposure by partnering with the social media network imeem. The organization already has agreements with other media and networking sites such as Break.com, YouTube and PalTalk. The IFL’s press release says that imeem’s 23 million users will be able to view and interact with media from the IFL at www.ifl.imeem.com.
The partnership will create an IFL TV channel on imeem where fans can find engaging and fresh media content from the professional mixed martial arts sports league, ranging from match highlights to athlete and coach interviews and instructional segments. The imeem community can also express themselves with their favorite IFL content by creating and sharing custom video playlists with friends on imeem and through embeddable widgets on third party sites across the Web.
— An update on the state of MMA in the, um, state of Maryland. Today the Maryland Senate went to committee over Senate Bill 649. You’ll recall that the bill proposes the legalization of MMA in the state - amateur and professional. If you want to put in your two cents, go here. Delegate Kirill Reznik (District 39, Montgomery County) has been pushing to make MMA legal in the state and Luke Thomas over at BloodyElbow was even asked to speak to the Senate committee today about the matter. That’s the proactive action MMA needs. Keeping our fingers crossed for you guys. (more…)
It was announced today that boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. will pocket a very-real $20 million for fake-fighting “Big Show” at WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando on March 30. Let’s put that figure into perspective: $20,000,000 is 40 times more than the UFC’s highest-paid star, Chuck Liddell, made for real-fighting Wanderlei Silva. It’s 166 times more than Anderson Silva made for his last title defense. If you laid every one of those dollars end-to-end, it would stretch from Mayweather’s ass to the back of the garage he keeps his Bentleys in.
“Wrestling takes care of business right on the spot,” Mayweather said in the AP article. “There’s no waiting three, four, five months. Quick results, quick money. Quick big money, too.” And at the press conference, this happened:
Mayweather incited the couple hundred of already hyped fans at Staples Center by whipping out a thick wad of cash and repeatedly tossing $100, $50 and $20 bills into the crowd that had nearly as many women as men.
A mad scramble ensued, with a light pole nearly getting knocked over and two small children caught in the chaos.
As Mayweather’s manager Leonard Ellerbe very astutely put it, “Either I’m going to be a genius with this or I’m the biggest idiot.” Hey, why not both?
One of the most embarrassing aspects of pro wrestling (and there are many) is that it forces men to trash-talk about a fight that isn’t even real. A WrestleMania XXIV preview on WWE.com quotes Big Show as saying “At WrestleMania, I’m going to show you that wrestling can hurt…Look at the size of my fist. It’s the size of your head. Once you get a load of this, it’s ‘BOOM!’ You’re out.” Paul? Something tells me you’re going to lose this one.
Let’s hope this doesn’t distract Floyd from his budding MMA career. Oh, you already forgot about that, didn’t you?
There are so many things about this video that confuse me — the three-minute first round, the standing 8-count, the “hey, no hitting!” stoppage at 2:39 — but basically what you’re watching here is kickboxer Ray Sefo beat the crap out of Min Soo Kim in Sefo’s MMA debut at K-1 Hero’s 2 (7/6/05). If you’re an expert on K-1 history, let us know if the Hero’s rules were all screwy in the promotion’s early days, or if they’re using a hybrid kickboxing/MMA rule-set to ease Sugarfoot Sefo into the world of MMA. Anyway, despite his serviceable grappling, Kim is basically knocked out twice at the beginning of the second round — once by a kick, once by a punch. Since Sefo (along with roommate Jan Nortje) just joined Xtreme Couture’s fight team, we’ll hopefully see more beatings like this in the future.
It’s official: UFC Fight Night 13 has been extended to a three-hour SpikeTV broadcast and will feature six televised fights that begin at 7 p.m. ET in front of a sold-out Broomfield Events Center crowd in Broomfield, Colo., on April 2, according to UFC.com.
Here’s a snip from UFC President Dana White:
“I knew that bringing the UFC back to the state of Colorado would be big. But thanks to our fight fans in Broomfield and Denver and all across Colorado, this is going to be one of our best UFC Fight Night events ever. Not only is it going to air as a three-hour special on Spike TV, it will also be a house packed with UFC fans ready for great fights.”
It’s the first time that a UFC event will be held in Colorado — the state in which the first-ever event for the promotion was staged — in more than15 years.
And it seems as if the UFC is making up for lost time, booking 12 spectacular fights for the Wednesday night special event that features the main event between top lightweights, Kenny Florian and Joe Lauzon.
Here’s how the entire card shakes up:
Main event:
155 lbs.: Kenny Florian (7-3) vs. Joe Lauzon (16-3)
Main card (televised):
170 lbs.: Karo Parisyan (18-4) vs. Thiago Alves (13-3)
205 lbs.: Matt Hamill (3-1) vs. Tim Boetsch (7-1)
155 lbs.: Nate Diaz (8-2) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (11-3)
155 lbs.: Frank Edgar (8-0) vs. Gray Maynard (4-0)
205 lbs.: Houston Alexander (8-2) vs. James Irvin (13-4)
Under card (may not be broadcast):
155 lbs.: Spencer Fisher (20-4) vs. Marcus Aurelio (15-5)
155 lbs.: Din Thomas (20-7) vs. Josh Neer (23-6-1)
155 lbs.: Manny Gamburyan (7-2) vs. Jeff Cox (9-4)
155 lbs.: Clay Guida (22-9) vs. Samy Schiavo (10-4)
170 lbs.: George Sotiropoulos (8-2) vs. Roman Mitichyan (5-1)
170 lbs.: Tommy Speer (9-2) vs. Anthony Johnson (4-1)
UFC Fight Night 13 serves as the lead-in to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7, which debuts at 10 p.m. ET on SpikeTV on the same night with light heavyweight coaches, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Forrest Griffin.
Remember that UFC Fight Night 13 tickets can likely still be purchased through StubHub.com (a ticket broker) even though this event is “sold out.”
With the UFC 82 showdown between middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, and the Pride FC 183-pound champion, Dan Henderson, just five days away it got me thinking about the division’s depth as a whole.
Some argue that it is the UFC’s thinnest division; heck, I’ve even argued this as recently as Wednesday. That said, the division is growing.
Both Hendo and Michael Bisping have dropped down from 205, Wanderlei Silva is considering it, the UFC has brought back Ricardo Almeida and former division champion Evan Tanner, Martin Kampmann will return from injury this year, and even Jeremy Horn returned to the Octagon just three weeks ago at UFC 81.
But could the UFC do more to sign contenders capable of facing Anderson Silva?
The UFC currently has contracts with four of the top 10 middleweights listed in MMAWeekly’s latest world rankings — Silva, Rich Franklin, Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami (Zuffa also has Paulo Filho contracted under its WEC promotion).
By comparison to the depth represented in its other divisions, the UFC has 6.5 heavyweights (Randy Couture is in limbo and Cro Cop just left), nine light heavyweights, eight welterweights (nine if you count WEC 170-pound champion, Carlos Condit) and just two lightweights
However, the sheer volume of 155-pound fighters in the world makes this last statistic a bit deceiving.
The problem, in my eyes, isn’t that the UFC has opted not to sign other top 10 middleweights; it’s that the UFC is allowing start-ups like the new Japan-based Dream promotion (owned in part by the former PRIDE owners) to pick off top contenders, which in turn gives them credibility.
Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that the UFC was on a mission to buy up all the talent in the world to finally find out who the real champions are.
So why leave open a window of opportunity?
It was recently announced that Denis Kang (29-9-1) has signed with Dream and will debut at the middleweight grand prix on April 29 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
Kang’s last fight was a loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama in October 2007 under the K-1 banner. Akiyama is also now with Dream, as well as a host of other middleweight veterans, including Kazushi Sakuraba (23-10-1).
Word has it that Matt Lindland (20-5) is also set to sign with Dream. The former UFC fighter’s lack of activity is the only thing keeping him off most organizations’ Top 10 Rankings. His last fight was a loss to heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko back in April 2007 for BodogFight.
Why pass on Lindland and Kang? It’s no secret that UFC President Dana White and Lindland haven’t been on good terms since forever, and his association with the International Fight League (IFL) does not help matters, but if White can reconcile with Tito Ortiz, he can reconcile with anybody.
Right?
And what about Robbie Lawler, another top 10 middleweight contender? He was last featured as an assistant coach for Team Hughes in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6. That seemed like as good a time as any to ink him to a fight contract.
I don’t fault the UFC for releasing David Terrell. The guy’s list of injuries are an unfortunate punch line.
But as a fan who would prefer to see as many top contenders able to fight each other as possible, I only hope Dana White keeps his eye on the prize that he promised us only a year ago.
Chris Wilson is in a difficult spot. The Team Quest welterweight and former member of the IFL’s Portland Wolfpack was offered his first UFC fight just a few weeks ago, against one of their toughest, most highly touted 170-pound contenders: Jon Fitch. Of course he accepted, but now oddsmakers have him as one of the biggest underdogs going into UFC 82. In this exclusive interview he indulges in a little straight-talk about taking a pay cut to fight in the Octagon, training with Dan Henderson, and how he plans to prove everyone wrong on Saturday night.
CagePotato: Jon Fitch is obviously a tough fighter, and he’s riding a fourteen-fight win streak. What are you expecting from him and how are you planning to deal with it?
Chris Wilson: I expect him to come in and do the things he does best, which is throw hard punches, try to get you in a corner, and get on top. That’s his game plan. That’s where he’s most comfortable and that’s what’s worked for him, and I don’t see him trying to change that now. If he were looking to come in and show how good his striking is, I think he would try and do it against someone with much less chance of knocking him out. But if he’s going to stand in front of me it will make his night a lot harder.
A lot of people talk about Octagon jitters when a guy has his first UFC fight. You’ve fought in front of big crowds before in several different organizations, so how do you think your first UFC fight will affect you?
It’s hard for me to say that I won’t be affected by it because I haven’t been there yet. But like you said, I have fought in front of crowds of many thousands of people. Maybe not as many as the UFC brings in, but I know what that kind of pressure feels like. There are certain things that I think will help me deal with it. Being an underdog helps take some of the pressure off me. Also, it helps that I’ve been to UFC events and cornered my teammates there. I’ve walked through that tunnel and out into the arena with the screaming fans. Even if it wasn’t me who was fighting that night, at least I know what to expect. I guess I just have to wait and see.
The new Japanese DREAM organization from FEG and DSE has announced - via press conference and their website - the addition of three more fights to their debut event, DREAM 1, on March 15th. The show will of course go down in Japan.
Gesias “JZ” Calvancante vs. Shinya Aoki has already been announced for DREAM’s 16-man lightweight tourney, and now they have added Tatsuya Kawajiri against Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill, Joachim Hansen versus Kotetsu Boku, and Kazuyuki Miyata facing Luiz Firmino. Andre Amade, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Caol Uno, Gilbert Melendez, Artur Oumakhanov, and Jung Bu-Kyung, are all expected to fight in the tournament as well but opponents have not been named.
Aside from the Lightweight Grand Prix, Cro Cop may also fight at the event. No opponent has been named, although it’s being reported that Ray Sefo has turned down the fight - via the Xtreme Couture blog. The fighter didn’t feel he had enough time to prepare since the match was just offered to him last week. He does hope to fight Cro Cop, maybe even this summer. So a Cro Cop fight is still up in the air for March 15th.
“… I had to make a decision and my decision was either to go down to 155 and be an enormous 155-pounder or stay at 170 and get stronger, hit the weights … I had to go back to the basics, start powerlifting again. I started doing some kettlebell training … it was obvious I needed to get stronger. [Jon] Fitch was able to hold me down and outposition me with his strength and leverage and that’s something that will never happen again. Because I’m much stronger and I’m ready for this…. It’s going to be a very, very game Diego Sanchez on March 1.”
– Diego Sanchez talks about his decision to remain a welterweight and what he’s doing to remain competitive there in a recent Canadian Press article prior to his fight with Octagon newcomer David Bielkheden at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion’ this Saturday (March 1) at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio .
Light heavyweights Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (4-2) and Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7) will look for their first wins inside the Octagon when the two Pride FC veterans lock horns at UFC 84 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24, according to MMAWeekly.com.
Both fighters lost to Lyoto Machida in their respective debuts under the UFC banner. In fact, Sokoudjou lost via submission (arm triangle choke) in round two of his bout with Machida at UFC 79: “Nemesis” back in December 2007.
It was a hard trip back to reality for the “African Assassin” after two impressive back-to- back knockout wins against top 205-pound fighters, Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira while competing for Pride FC.
The Team Quest fighter— a decorated Judo practitioner—is up against a tough opponent who shares a similar fighting background.
Nakamura trains under Hidehiko Yoshida — a 1992 Judo Olympic gold medalist who is also a Pride FC veteran. He (Nakamura) lost to Machida via unanimous decision and after the bout was suspended for three months because of a positive test for marijuana.
The Japanese fighter has been tested against some of the top talent in the sport throughout his career, competing against standouts such as Murilo Bustamante (win), Kevin Randleman (win), Igor Vovchanchyn (win), Dan Henderson (loss), Wanderlei Silva (loss), Josh Barnett (loss) and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua (loss).
This is an important fight for Sokoudjou and Nakamura because a loss could send one of them packing and looking for a new employer.
For the most recent rumored UFC 84 fight card, which includes the lightweight championship bout between BJ Penn and Sean Sherk, click here.
