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It had to happen sooner or later — the moment when Average Joe really starts to abuse his own power.
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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(Skip Hall, right, poses with his last opponent, spring chicken Kelly Rundle.)
Fightlinker had a good find today from a recent NBCSports story about Skip Hall. Skip is reportedly the oldest active MMA fighter in the world at a spry 63-years-old. He’s said to have fought in over 12 pro fights, although “pro” may be a loose term — Sherdog has his record at 2-4. It’s a pretty decent article about a man who is clearly nuts to still be taking shots to the gut at his age.
The piece also announced Hall’s retirement, which will take effect after Saturday night’s Dixie Throwdown V in Alabama. He will face the 1-1 Kelly Rundle. What Skip Hall is probably best known for is setting the unofficial combined age record for an MMA match when he fought Dan Severn back in 2006. However, he’ll break that on Saturday when he and Rundle creak into battle — they are a combined 111. That makes Rundle…well, I don’t have my calculator watch handy, so do your own math.
The article brings up other old dudes in sports, like Billy Crystal taking a bat recently for the Yankees a day before his 60th birthday (which is ridiculous), and the 59-year-old fart who barely played Division III football last year. But really, the only other comparisons would be like your grandfather being a starting lineman for the Packers or playing wing for the Flyers. The question is posed “how good would he have been” had Hall been a young man when MMA started up. While that’s up for debate, there’s no denying that just having the balls to still do this at the age of 63 is kinda’ cool. Even if he does poop his pants when he takes a shot.
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Coolest video we’ve come across today — the classic 1996 Pancrase battle between Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock, with narration by Bas himself. Video’s 25 minutes long, so grab a couple beers and settle in.
Bonus: Here’s a new interview where Frank calls out his brother Ken for his lifelong steroid abuse. Money quote: “Why do you think that his mind is so fried? Why do you think he crumbles before the big fights? He’s got no psyche. He let steroids give him a false sense of security and the moment that stuff is gone he’s no longer superman.”
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Props: UFC.com
(Note that the deadline for applications is Saturday, April 5, 2008.)
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on TUF 8 and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and UFC The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and MMA.
(Seriously, click it.)
A new link on UFC.com (shown above) is soliciting applicants for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will apparently focus on the big boys and the wee ones. The link takes you to TUF’s standard application; the deadline is just two weeks from now, so if you’re actually thinking about giving it a shot, get movin’. Or just sit on your ass and let life pass you by, either way.
In other Octagon news…
— Jason “The Punisher” Lambert will likely be returning to the cage at UFC 85 (June 7th, London) against Luis Arthur Cane. Both men are coming off of losses — Lambert due to an out-of-nowhere comeback knockout at the fists of Wilson Gouveia at UFC 80, and Cane due to an illegal-knee disqualification loss against James Irvin at UFC 79.
— Lanky TUF 6 weirdo Ben Saunders may be returning to the Octagon at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas, headlined by Rampage vs. Forrest). Saunders is 5-0-2 professionally, and has been training with the murderer’s row at American Top Team.
— Speaking of ATT fighters, Marcus Aurelio may actually be facing UFC newbie Ryan Roberts at UFN 13 rather than Jim Miller. Spencer Fisher is definitely still injured.
(Props: MMA Junkie)
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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“…you may wonder why a former world champion, a man who has fought in front of millions, a man who just weeks ago fought in front of millions, and man who is recognized on the street every time he leaves his house, a man whom you would think had plenty of money, had to resort to scraping together change to buy food. I’ll tell you the story. I’m completely broke. My bank account is negative. I got myself into a pretty deep hole in more ways than one, in the two years I took away from fighting. I started getting my life straightened out about five months ago. I signed the March 1st fight and began training. I had some very good friends help me out with some money and help me get settled down in Vegas so I could focus on training…. I feel a little worn out physically. It does suck to have to scrape together pocket change to buy food. But I wouldn’t take anything back. I went for it. I put [what money he had left] all on the line [at the casino]. I always will. I knew what the consequences would be if I failed, and I was willing to accept them. So any of you reading who might be feeling a twinge of sympathy, don’t. I made my decisions, and I accept the consequences. I’m no victim. And to those who are thinking about preaching at me, don’t bother. I won’t hear you. I haven’t accomplished anything in this life worth remembering by playing it safe. That’s boring to me anyway.”
– Former middleweight champion Evan Tanner talks about gambling for a week straight in an attempt to make more money to pay off his bills in a recent blog post. His plan didn’t work. Tanner lost his most recent comeback fight to Yushin Okami at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” via knockout earlier this month.
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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The EliteXC and CBS have dropped more details about their debut show slated for May 31st in Jersey. We already know Kimbo will be headlining, but now we’ve learned that Middleweight Champ “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will be defending his title against “TUF 4″ cast member Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith. Both fighters love to throw bombs and are sure to swing for the fences. On that, check out Scott Smith’s battle with Pete Sell at the “TUF 4″ finale. Between hi-fivin’ and huggin’, both guys stood in the pocket and bloodied each other during the first round, with Smith mixing power punches and leg kicks. But the best is the KO punch from Smith in the 2nd round as Sell moves in for the kill. Just sick.
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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“The Ultimate Fighter 7″ is just around the corner and Spike TV has some new vids of the coaches hyping the April 2nd premiere. You can go here for more “TUF 7″ videos and if you’re feelin’ badass, you can use the same link to apply for season 8 of the show.
Rampage waxes eloquent about Forrest Griffin’s lack of ass-wiping ability:
Forrest Griffin doesn’t know his assistant coach’s name and is all about the new car:
Props: BloodyElbow
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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EliteXC and CBS today issued their highly anticipated news about the debut of mixed martial arts programming on CBS, revealing that EliteXC Middleweight Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) will put his 185-pound strap on the line against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 alum Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (13-4), according to ProElite.com.
As expected, heavyweight bareknuckle brawler turned professional fighter, Kimbo Slice, will headline the show at The Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., against a soon to be named opponent.
Here’s a snip from Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President, CBS Primetime:
“We’re excited to introduce broadcast television viewers to America’s fastest growing sport with this prime time event. EliteXC is putting together a lineup card that showcases the unique personalities, world-class athleticism, and raw power and emotion that characterizes mixed martial arts.”
The match up between Lawler and Smith was talked about for Smith before his EliteXC debut against Kyle Noke at Street Certified: “Kimbo vs. Tank” last month. Shaw mentioned that the winner of the bout would probably be next in line for a shot at Lawler’s title.
Shaw is apparently a man of his word … at least in this case.
This will be Lawler’s first defense of his title since winning the belt with a third round technical knockout of Ninja Rua back in September 2007. He’s a fighter who loves to sling the leather — 12 of his 15 wins have come via (technical) knockout and he’s currently riding a four-fight win streak.
Smith also has enjoyed recent success, winning his last two fights with first- and second-round (t)ko’s over Jeff Morris and Noke. His style is also to stand and bang with his opponent, making a match up with Lawler a recipe for a stand up war.
This is the reason EliteXC signed Smith. He adds a recognizable name to the company’s roster and provides exciting match ups with guys like Lawler who are also looking to stand and trade.
This is a decent start for what needs to be a great card — there’s a lot riding on this CBS partnership. EliteXC has a lot of pressure on them to put the best fights together that they can for the debut of MMA on network television.
We’ll have additional updates on this show as soon as possible, including female MMA sensation, Gina Carano, also possibly making a return to action this same evening. For now things appear to be off to a good start.
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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(“The Predator” hanging out with a member of the Gay Yakuza, Godzilla, and Godzilla’s girlfriend.)
Sherdog has learned that Don Frye will no longer be fighting in YAMMA Pit Fighting’s inaugural shit-show, which is scheduled to go down April 11th. Frye was slated to face UFC old-schooler Oleg Taktarov, who will now be fighting Patrick Smith (14-13), a 45-yr-old fighter notable for his participation in UFC 1, 2, and 6. At UFC 2’s marathon 16-man tournament, Smith choked out Ray Wizard in 58 seconds, knocked out Scott Morris in 30 seconds, and choked out Johnny Rhodes in 67 seconds before losing to Royce Gracie (submission due to strikes) in the final.
No word yet on what led to Frye’s pull-out, though BloodyElbow is floating the theory that EliteXC poached him to be Kimbo Slice’s opponent for their first CBS show on May 31st. Yes, another old man for Slice to beat on. But Frye is a legitimate legend — talented and tough as nails — and he could easily put Slice in trouble. Just think of the potential staredown! We’ll let you know more as it develops…
Written by admin on March 20th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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