(Brock Lesnar will get his gross sweat all over you. Look out, Randy.)
Brock Lesnar is preparing for Randy Couture with his jiu-jitsu coach Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros, who as you might recall was the man to help Lesnar figure out the mystery of the kneebar after his loss to Frank Mir. Comprido tells Graciemag.com that Lesnar is training at a new academy, mixing it up with world class submissions guys like himself and decorated wrestlers like Cole Konrad. As for a prediction, Comprido isn’t shy:
“I know Couture is a very strategic fighter, but I believe Brock will take this fight in the first round.”
I’d rather fight Brock than Randy. Randy has been dealing with MMA for a lot longer and he knows how to fight off submissions to a greater degree than Brock does. Brock’s only trained for two or three years. I’ve been doing it a lot longer.
But Randy’s ability to stop my submissions would be about the same as my ability to stop his takedowns. He’s been wrestling for 18 years - I’ve been doing martial arts since I was four, so I’ve been practicing for 25 years. For him to catch up on the submissions game is going to be one heck of a feat.
That’s all very interesting, Frank. But maybe you should think about how you’re going to get past Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira first.
Here’s a little taste of Brock Lesnar’s appearance on ESPN’s E:60 tonight at 7 pm EST (which is like, now). The interview seems to be taking place in a barn for some reason. I’m sure it will all make sense when we see the whole thing. In other news…
- Luke Cummo was arrested and charged with “driving while impaired with drugs” in Lynbrook, New York last week. He wasn’t drunk, but was reportedly tested for a drug that officials would not name. Fightlinker says Cummo claimed, at least briefly, that he got a contact high from being in a room full of people smoking pot, and this was exacerbated by eating a bunch of chicken wings. Seriously. He’s pleaded not guilty, and we really hope he decides to represent himself in this case because that would be awesome.
- Matt Hughes says on his website that he talked to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva this week and he may finally get his shot at Matt Serra in April. He also went bowhunting and bagged a deer.
- The UFC sent out a press release today officially announcing three fights for the stacked UFC 92 event on Dec. 27. As expected, Rashad Evans/Forrest Griffin, Wanderlei Silva/”Rampage” Jackson, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira/Frank Mir are on tap. Said Evans:
“Forrest fights from the heart just like me, and everyone underestimates Forrest until they get in there with him, like me. I think he and I are going to be like Ali vs. Frazier – this will be the first time we meet, but it won’t be the last, so I want to set the precedent.”
MMA Junkie reports that the UFC and SpikeTV are finalizing details for UFC Fight Night 14, which will take place on September 17th and will lead in to the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 8, which beings filming this month. Though no names have been announced yet, the UFC has already begun contacting fighters for UFN 14, which could possibly be held in Florida.
Speaking of TUF 8, the Las Vegas Review-Journal says that the fight between the season’s coaches — UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir — will be held “probably on New Year’s weekend.” Oddly enough, nobody from the UFC has told Nogueira yet that he’ll definitely be fighting Mir in his first title defense. “Next week I will have a meeting with the UFC directors in order to find out everything about the reality show,” he said. “Maybe I’ll find about my next fight.”
Nogueira is currently assembling his team of assistant coaches for the show, and has already mentioned Amaury Bitteti and his twin brother Antonio Rogerio as guys you might see in Team Minotauro’s corner. We can only hope Nogueira’s partner at Ultimate MMA shows up once in a while to teach the TUF castmembers crazy shit like this:
SPIKE TV AND THE UFC TURN TO SOME REAL HEAVY HITTERS FOR SEASON EIGHT OF “THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®â€
Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira And Former Heavyweight King Frank Mir To Star In New Season Beginning September 17
New York, NY, May 12, 2008 — The coaches for season eight of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate [...]
SpikeTV has announced that UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will serve as the coaches for the eighth installment of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality television series.
TUF 8 will feature lightweights and light heavyweights and will premiere on Wednesday, September 17, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
The release also confirms [...]
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir has been tabbed as one of two coaches who will appear on season eight of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which will begin taping soon and is expected to debut on Spike TV on September 17, according to Yahoo!Sports.com.
His opposing coach is none other than UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, setting up an eventual blockbuster title match on New Year’s Eve 2008.
This is quite a reversal of fortune for “The Baddest Man on The Planet.” Less than 18 months ago, most were quick to write off Mir as a gifted and technical fighter who could not replicate his previous exploits inside the Octagon after recovering from a near fatal motorcycle wreck.
In fact, he lost two of his first three bouts when he returned to action — and his lone win over Dan Christison during that span was less than impressive.
But things began to turn around for Mir when he submitted Antoni Hardonk with a textbook kimura at UFC 74: “Respect” in August 2007. He did what everyone was waiting for him to do and he looked good doing it.
The “old” Frank Mir was back.
That was no more evident than when in his next bout Mir weathered a brutal attack from the massive Brock Lesnar at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” to pull off a crafty fight-ending submission (kneebar). It appears that the two back-to-back wins, as well as a visible re-dedication to training, has earned Mir another shot at championship glory.
First, however, he will have to train and manage a team of mixed martial arts hopefuls in front of a national television audience. That shouldn’t be a problem because Mir is comfortable in front of a camera thanks to his role as ringside announcer at World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) events.
He also knows a thing or two about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA overall. Mir has a ton of fight experience and he’s not even 30 years old.
Nogueira — who defeated Tim Sylvia to win the interim heavyweight championship at UFC 81 — is the first man ever to hold Pride FC and UFC belts. He is undefeated inside the Octagon (2-0) and will look to win over several new fans (and students) while on the show.
Despite his talent and unrivaled accomplishments, it appears that Nogueira has yet to gain widespread respect and notoriety from casual fans. That could all change … soon.
TUF 8 is expected to feature light heavyweights and lightweights, breaking from recent tradition of focusing on just one weight class. Filming is set to begin soon and the show will run from September through December.
Should be good … and the eventual fight between Mir and Nogueira should be even better.
Check out 1:53-2:04 for Mir’s literally tight-lipped response. Here’s the general rule: If a person can neither confirm nor deny something, they’re confirming it. We’ll just have to wait for a public announcement to see if we actually scooped the MMA blogosphere on this one…
Mir is also asked about a potential gig as coach on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which he refuses to answer. However, he doesn’t do so with his best poker face.
Earlier today, we reminded you that a fight between heavyweights Frank Mir and Justin McCully was slated to go down at UFC 86; shortly after, the matchup disappeared from the UFC 86 fight card page. So what happened? Well, if you’ll remember way back to last week, we reported that Mir had signed to be a coach on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, competing against a team led by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. We stand by that report, but it would also make sense that the UFC would now try to convince Mir and Nogueira to headline UFC 85, which still lacks a credible main event — unless they give up and put the card on SpikeTV for free, in which case Bisping vs. Leben is fine by us. We’ll update you if anything is formally announced.
In other UFC news…
— Charles McCarthy has retired. When I first saw that headline I was like, “OMFG, no more Krazy Horse?!” Then I realized they weren’t talking about Charles Bennett, but about that douche who couldn’t fight nearly as well as he trash-talked vs. Bisping last weekend. Good luck with all your future endeavors…?
— The UFC is reportedly negotiating with FOX for a network TV deal, but is going through their entertainment division as opposed to the sports division, just as it tried to do with CBS and NBC. As MMAPayout writes, “In theory, the promotion would enjoy greater editorial control as an entertainment property, which was reportedly a sticking point in its negotiations with HBO and CBS.”
— Brandon Vera’s one-year goal is to win both the UFC’s heavyweight and light heavyweight titles. After he steamrolls through Nogueira (or whoever, really) and Quinton Jackson (or Forrest?), he plans on buying Rampage a car with a vanity plate that says “LOSER.” Just another sad example of the delusional behavior brought on by extended Norco abuse.
(Frank Mir poses in front of the world’s ugliest ring girls.)
Some UFC-related notes as we build up to tonight’s four-hour block of awesomeness…
— Josh Koscheck, who recently signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC, confirmed yesterday that he will be facing Chris Lytle at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas). “Lights Out” Lytle (25-15-5, 4-7 UFC) has lost to a who’s who of welterweight stars during his time in the Octagon — Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Robbie Lawler, and Karo Parisyan among them — but may be on the comeback trail after beating the dogshit out of Kyle Bradley at UFC 81.
— Frank Mir and Justin McCully have also been booked for a bout at UFC 86. With the heavyweight class as thin as it is right now, we wouldn’t put it past the UFC to offer Mir an immediate title shot depending on his performance in July; his disposal of Brock Lesnar at “Breaking Point” proved that he could still be a viable contender. McCully won a decision against Antoni Hardonk during his UFC debut last April, and has won his last four fights overall, but the matchup still feels like it’s intended to be a tuneup for the former champion.
— Xyience Inc. was sold yesterday to Manchester Consolidated Corp. for $15 million. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal:
The sale price will cover only part of the secured debt at Xyience, debtor attorney Laurel Davis said after the hearing. As a result, unsecured creditors and stockholders in Xyience will recover none of their money, she said…
Manchester, which submitted the only approved bid, will pay $200,000 in cash and will assume $14.8 million in debt…
Separately, unsecured creditors on Monday filed a lawsuit in federal court, saying the judge should take $14.8 million in assets from the Fertittas for the benefit of Xyience creditors.
