Antonio Silva
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(”The Athlete” is ready to get back after it.)
- Jason “Dooms” Day has been forced to pull out of his UFC 88 bout with fattie-turned-middleweight Jason Lambert because of a biceps injury, but those of you who are fans of seeing Lambert’s man-boobs in the Octagon needn’t worry. Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald is stepping in as a replacement for Day, despite the fact that he just went three rounds in a losing effort against Demian Maia at UFC 87. Good move for MacDonald. If you can’t win ‘em all, the next best way to keep the UFC happy is to fight ‘em all, especially when called upon on short notice.
- Poor Nate Quarry just can’t catch a break. After coming back from a nearly career-ending back injury only to be forced to chase Kalib Starnes in circles, Quarry has now been sidelined with an eye injury that is strangely not related to fighting. Apparently Quarry was at a party where people were hitting golf balls into the woods — like you do, just for kicks — and he accidentally walked into someone’s backswing. Despite breaking the Orbital Floor bone in his eye, Quarry is not seriously hurt, though he will be kept out of action for at least a few more months.
- American Top Team coach Andrei Benkei is leaving the squad due to “ideological disagreements” with head coach Ricardo Liborio. Benkei told Tatame that he’ll still work with several high profile ATT fighters like Thiago Alves and “Bigfoot” Silva, among others, but it’s been reported that Benkei disapproved of the way Liborio was turning ATT into “a big McDonald’s” by selling its name to karate gyms. For shame, Ricardo. Karate gyms? That’s the MMA gym equivalent of giving hand jobs in the Wal-Mart parking lot. You never need money that badly.
- It’s not MMA news, but it’s worth mentioning: Sumo wrestling has been rocked by a drug scandal. A totally lame drug scandal. Russian Sumo wrestler (they exist?) Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev was arrested for possessing a third of a gram of weed. According to CNN, it’s “enough to land him in prison on a diet of forced labor for five years if he’s convicted.” Five years for a third of a gram in Japan? Nick Diaz should really be informed about that before returning to fight for Dream again.
Written by admin on August 19th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Japan and fight and General and UFC 88 and arrest and Sumo and Ricardo Liborio and Andrei Benkei and Jason Day and weed and Thiago Alves and News and UFC and Jason Lambert and Jason MacDonald and marijuana and Antonio Silva and american top team and MMA.
(Eilers, jobbing in the “fat guys with shirts” circuit.)
Sam Caplan at 5oz. reports that a verbal agreement has been reached for a bout between EliteXC heavyweight standout Antonio Silva and Justin Eilers, which would go down at EliteXC’s second CBS broadcast on July 26th. Jared Shaw indicated that the league’s vacant heavyweight belt would “more than likely be at stake,” though he stopped short of an actual confirmation.
Let’s just say this is a step down from those Sergei Kharitonov rumors. A 19-6-1 veteran of various MMA leagues, Eilers won his Octagon debut against Mike Kyle at UFC 49 (8/21/04), but was bounced out of the league after consecutive losses to Paul Buentello, Andrei Arlovski, and Brandon Vera (all by first-round KO/TKO). Since then he’s gone 10-1, but hasn’t beaten anybody noteworthy, unless you consider Sherman Pendergarst and Jimmy Ambriz noteworthy.
In short, he’s a successful journeyman, but doesn’t quite deserve to fight for a major title on network television. If this is the best heavyweight EliteXC can scare up right now — and honestly, where the hell is Roy Nelson? — they’d be much wiser to save the credibility of their heavyweight strap while it’s still non-existent, and use Silva/Eilers as a non-title squash match to open the CBS broadcast, introducing viewers to the scary power of Bigfoot. If Silva does well, fans would surely welcome him back to fight for the title against someone legitimate. We’ll keep you posted…
Written by admin on June 30th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on CBS and heavyweights and Jared Shaw and Rumors and Antonio Silva and EliteXC and Justin Eilers and MMA.
(Joe Riggs won’t be fighting tonight. Sucks, buddy. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)
Yesterday, we passed along a Sherdog report that claimed Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva had agreed to face Sergei Kharitonov in an EliteXC heavyweight title fight. Awesome matchup, right? Unfortunately, EliteXC’s Jared Shaw refutes it, telling FiveOuncesofPain “That fight is 100 percent not happening.â€
When asked about whether an opponent was in place for Silva, Shaw indicated that one has been selected that is worthy of fighting for a title but that a deal was in the process of being finalized.
Worthy? Possibly. As worthy as Kharitonov? Probably not. But J. Shaw wasn’t quite finished peeing on our parade. Regarding previous reports that Kimbo Slice was slated to face Brett Rogers in October, Shaw said “A fight could possibly take place between Kimbo and Rogers within the next 12 months,†but nothing was official yet. And as for rumors that Gary Shaw was on his way out of EliteXC, Jared denied those as well:
“I’m not gonna lie to you; the Tim Russert episode really struck a cord with Gary. He has an extensive travel schedule and is a workaholic much the way Tim was… And (the) truth is he’s getting up there in age. So Gary is at a point now where he just can’t keep up the constant back and forth to California from his home (in New Jersey). And so he’s just taking a step back in his life, not in the company (and) not being pushed. Just taking some time to be healthy and enjoy everything he’s built from the ground up. The creator rarely gets to smile at his artwork because he’s so busy making more.”
Moving from EliteXC to Strikeforce, we mentioned yesterday that Joe Riggs had stepped in for Shonie Carter in a bout against Luke Stewart scheduled for tonight, despite having major back surgery just four months ago. Well, he’s still on painkillers, and that’s apparently a no-no. MMARated had the scoop:
According to Riggs’ agent, Ken Pavia, Riggs was not cleared to fight because he took a prescribed percocet three days ago and while there was a chance it would not show up in a drug test his camp felt it was only right to tell the CSAC. According to Pavia, Riggs’ camp was faced with a similar situation prior to his December 2006 fight against Diego Sanchez in San Diego where they informed the CSAC that he took a prescribed drug and nothing came of it. Same commission, different outcome this time around.
MMARated also claimed that Drew Fickett had been selected to replace Joe Riggs as Luke Stewart’s opponent, at a catch-weight of 178, but that bit of news is being contradicted by TKO Xtreme, who report that a contractual obligation is blocking “The Master” from taking the fight, and Luke Stewart is still without an opponent:
For weeks now, Fickett has been slated to face Ryan “The Real Deal†Ford at MFC 17: Hostile Takeover on July 25, 2008 at the River Cree Casino and Resort in Edmonton, Alberta. With the bout being only a month away, it would make no sense for Mark Pavelich and his staff to allow Fickett to fight and risk injury.
Good lord, who can keep it all straight? I think I’m going to start my drinking a little early today…
Written by admin on June 27th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Sergei Kharitonov and Antonio Silva and Luke Stewart and Jared Shaw and Bigfoot and Gary Shaw and Strikeforce and Kimbo Slice and EliteXC and Drew Fickett and News and Joe Riggs and MMA.
According to Sherdog, Antonio Silva has verbally agreed to fight Russian PRIDE standout Sergei Kharitonov for EliteXC’s vacant heavyweight crown at “Saturday Night Fights” on July 26th, pending approval from the California State Athletic Commission; the CSAC previously blocked Silva from competing at K-1 Dynamite!! USA last June due to a pituitary gland tumor, but “Bigfoot/Pezao” underwent surgery last summer to have it removed.
Kharitonov holds a career record of 15-3, with notable wins over Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, and Semmy Schilt. If the matchup comes together, it would certainly alleviate some of the concerns we’ve had regarding the EliteXC heavyweight title’s legitimacy, considering that Kharitonov is more talented and deserving of a belt than any other heavyweight currently on their roster. So keep your fingers crossed, and you might just see Silva vs. Kharitonov headlining the three-fight Showtime card that will lead into the CBS broadcast.
In other news…
— Vernon “Tiger” White has been dropped from the Affliction: Banned lineup after testing positive for a banned diuretic after competing at a regional event. Replacing White in his light-heavyweight bout against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria will be Edwin Dewees, the TUF 4 alum who snapped a four-fight losing streak recently by submitting Richard Blake at a NoLimit Fighting card in Houston.
— Phil Baroni’s first opponent as a welterweight will be Scott Jansen, a Cage Rage Contenders vet with a record of 3-2. The match is slated to go down at Cage Rage 27 on July 12th.
— Karo Parisyan’s next fight is likely to take place at UFC 88 against Yoshiyuki Yoshida (who choked out Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver during his Octagon debut at UFC 84), and Luke Cummo (6-5) may be looking at a “win or get fired” match when he faces Tamdan McCrory at UFC 87.
Previously: Sergei Kharitonov vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua
Written by admin on June 26th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Sergei Kharitonov and Bigfoot and Pezao and Rumors and Antonio Silva and EliteXC and Pride and News and MMA.
(Let the search for an opponent begin.)
Elite XC officially announced its July 26 event in a press release sent out to the media today, noting that the card will feature three title fights: Robbie Lawler-Scott Smith for the middleweight title, Jake Shields-Nick Thompson for the vacant welterweight title, and Antonio Silva-TBA for the newly created Elite XC heavyweight title. Because nothing says ‘this belt isn’t very important‘ like announcing a title fight with only one participant a month out from the fight.
The Silva bout, along with two others, will air live on Showtime. The other two title fights will air live on CBS alongside two other bouts.
Said Pro Elite Executive Chairman Doug DeLuca, “One venue, two networks and seven exciting world class fights adds up to an entertaining and memorable mixed martial arts event in prime time.”
That one venue is the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif., home to such sports teams as the Stockton Thunder and the Stockton Lightning.
As you may have guessed, the Nick Diaz-Thomas Denny bout is one that Elite XC is relying on to drive ticket sales, and it is expected to be one of the four bouts featured live on CBS. We had originally hoped that Diaz would face Elite XC 160-pound champ KJ Noons on the card, but after Noons’ father’s negative remarks about the Diaz brothers and the city of Stockton, it’s may be best for that not to happen.
There’s also word that CBS is using its increased financial stake in the company to try and influence matchmaking. CBS apparently felt there weren’t enough stars on this card and MMA Payout claims it has sources attesting to “significant internal pressure” to put a big name like Gina Carano on this event in order to generate more fan interest.
Written by admin on June 25th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on fight and General and KJ Noons and Elite XC and Stockton and Scott Smith and Antonio Silva and Jake Shields and Nick Diaz and News and Robbie Lawler and MMA.
Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that CBS wants to build on the success of the May 31 EliteXC: Primetime show by holding another show on July 26 on the network:
While not finalized, Elite XC promoter Gary Shaw said that CBS is requesting his company’s next two live specials for late July (believed [...]
Written by admin on June 14th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Antonio Silva and Scott Smith and CBS Saturday Night Fights and Gina Carano and Robbie Lawler and EliteXC and Jake Shields and MMA.
(Shocking.)
Four wild knockouts to one dull decision — not a bad ratio for Saturday’s EliteXC card. About 80 of you threw in predictions for how the “Street Certified” main event would turn out, and we’re pleased to announce a winner. On 2/15, at 2:37 pm, commenter “charles” said:
kimbo TKO in 42 sec
Sure, it was actually a KO, but the fight was called at 43 seconds, and that’s pretty damn close. So Charles, if you’re reading this, e-mail feedback@cagepotato.com with your address and we’ll send you a copy of Iceman: My Fighting Life, signed by Chuck Liddell himself. We’d also like to give special recognition to commenter “skeet,” who said “kimbo :37 tko kimbo will have him on the ground face down.” Psychic much?!?
Next order of business: Can we all agree that it’s time for Kimbo to face someone as good as he is? Not an old boxer, not a food-poisoned pussy, not a one-dimensional brawler 12 years past his prime, but a legitimate heavyweight with some talent? If there’s one thing that EliteXC proved on Saturday, it’s that its heavyweight division is at least as deep as the UFC’s — I know, not saying much — especially when you factor in Pro Elite sub-promotions like Cage Rage. I’m willing to accept that Antonio Silva had an off night (due to a possible pre-fight injury) and that he’s still a couple steps ahead of Kimbo as far as ability, but I would love to see how Kimbo would do against Ricco “Bacon Double-Cheeseburger” Rodriguez. Undefeated Brett Rogers, who knocked out James Thompson on Saturday, seems like he’d be the perfect guy for Kimbo to face if he wants to demand a little more respect. And at the end of the “Street Certified” broadcast, Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros suggested that Kimbo could take on the winner of the Ken Shamrock/Robert “Buzz” Berry match at Cage Rage next month. Berry would be a great option — especially since he’s already called out Kimbo — but putting Kimbo against Shamrock’s legendary submission expertise (and willingness to take a beating) in just his fourth MMA bout might be asking too much.
Here’s what I’m afraid EliteXC might actually do: 1) Put Kimbo up against James Thompson so their franchise star can rack up at least one more guaranteed knockout before they start challenging him, or 2) Track down Sean Gannon so they can settle their grudge. As much as Kimbo might want to avenge his only loss as an “amateur,” the match-up just wouldn’t be competitive anymore, and wouldn’t do anything to prove that Kimbo should be taken seriously now.
One more thing: We went a perfect five-for-five in predicting the winners of “Street Certified”’s main card, and called three of them perfectly (winner/round/method). Damn it feels good to be right once in a while…
Written by admin on February 18th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Recap and Street Certified and Announcement and Antonio Silva and Tank Abbott and EliteXC and Kimbo Slice and MMA.
Damn. I was pulling for a rare Tank Abbott victory in this one. Seriously, the dude has only won 1 fight in the last decade, right? Oh well, I was still giving him a punchers chance, and at least he came out swinging. He looked frustrated after his first few punches didn’t do what he wanted them to do, then he started getting connected on. Tank went to the mat after a Kimbo Slice punch, but Tank kept hold of Kimbos ankle, so Kimbo started raining down punches to the back of Tanks head. The referee stopped the fight to warn Kimbo of the illegal punches. The fighters started back on their feet, but Tank took more punishment, and fell flat on his face. KIMBO SLICE, Knockout, Round 1.
The Ricco Rodriguez/Antonio Silva fight was good, although it went all 3 rounds to a split decision. I had Ricco winning rounds 1 and 3, and Silva winning round 2. However, the judges decided differently and the victory went to Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
Written by admin on February 16th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Ricco Rodriguez and Tank Abbott and Antonio Silva and Kimbo Slice and UFC and Kimbo and EliteXC and MMA.
(”Make this quick, fellas, I got a softball game in like two hours.”)
What it do, nephews? Kimbo, Tank, Ricco, Bigfoot, and the rest of the gang are about to do battle at Miami’s Bank United Center. Watch the action on Showtime starting at 10 p.m. if you can, and/or follow our round-by-round results and commentary after the jump. Click the “more” link and refresh the page every few minutes, and let’s have some good clean fights out there. WAR FERGUSON!
(more…)
Written by admin on February 16th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Antonio Silva and Street Certified and liveblog and Tank Abbott and Ricco Rodriguez and EliteXC and Kimbo Slice and MMA.
w00t! Tank Abbott and Kimbo Slice are due to fight in about an hour or so, this should be entertaining whether it’s a good fight or not. I would like to see Tank Abbott KO Kimbo, but I really don’t see it happening. I figure Kimbo will score a takedown and submit or TKO Tank, or, Tank will gas out.
I’m also hoping to see Ricco “Rehab” Rodriguez win his match against Antonio Silva.
Be sure to sign up on our MMA Forum if you haven’t already!
Written by admin on February 16th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Ricco Rodriguez and Tank Abbott and Antonio Silva and Kimbo Slice and UFC and Kimbo and EliteXC and MMA.
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