Rumors
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(One of MMA’s greatest rivalries is about to get a completely unnecessary epilogue. Photo courtesy of ko.susumug.com.)
Bloody Elbow and The Sun are both reporting that the UFC is currently in negotiations to have dethroned heavyweight champion Randy Couture and former light-heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell face each other for a fourth time in Cologne, Germany, on June 13th. As BE’s Michael Rome writes:
The UFC wants to have Randy on their [first-ever] Germany show because he speaks the language and can do all the promotion. The winner of the fight would face the heavyweight champion in a big fight at the end of the year.
Couture is uninterested in moving down to 205 where Forrest Griffin is champion and Wanderlei Silva is also a contender. Both are close to him and in his camp, and weight cutting takes a toll at his age…
For Liddell, the thought is that…whereas he would have to win a bunch of fights to get back at contention at 205, the heavyweight division is thin enough where he could jump in and be an immediate contender with a win.
It is believed internally that Couture/Liddell will draw better than Silva/Liddell, and they know that a potential Liddell/Lesnar match would probably be the biggest PPV in the history of MMA.
You can’t really argue with the business logic of angling for a Liddell/Lesnar superfight, what with Anderson Silva’s disappointing PPV numbers. And if Couture vs. Liddell IV goes like the previous two installments in 2005 and 2006 (which Chuck won via knockouts), the UFC will get their wish. But where does this leave the Spider?
Well, it leaves him with a superfight that’s maybe a little less super. Here’s how The Sun hears it:
[UFC] matchmaker Joe Silva is considering offering the Brazilian a fight with the loser of one of the two big light heavyweight clashes taking place at UFC 92 on December 27. That line up sees reigning 205lbs champion Forrest Griffin defend his title against Rashad Evans, while Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson faces Wanderlei Silva for a third time. And we understand middleweight champ Silva is being lined up as an opponent for one of those four men in a light heavyweight bout at [London’s] O2 Arena on February 21.
It should be noted that the personal relationship between Anderson and Wanderlei could sink any chance of a fight between them ever happening, which is too bad because I’d cut off one of my girlfriend’s toes to see Silva vs. Silva — preferably, one of the extra ones on her right foot. Still, the other possibilities here are just as compelling. I don’t see the Spider having an easy stroll through any of these guys, and that’s a good thing.
As for Chuck and Randy, it’s a bittersweet situation. It looks like their days of being champions are officially over, so they’ll have to be content with competing in crowd-pleasing and profitable, though ultimately meaningless fights in a weight class that they aren’t really built for. If Couture beats Liddell in their next fight, maybe the UFC can use them to break open the Phillippines market with a best-of-five rubber-rubber match. Still, you have to admit that “Liddell vs. Lesnar” has blockbuster written all over it…
Written by admin on November 23rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Brock Lesnar and Rumors and Germany and News and Randy Couture and UFC and Chuck Liddell and Anderson Silva and MMA.
(Legislation! Sweet!)
Some victories in the ongoing battle to convince ignorant states that MMA is truly The Greatest Sport on Earth. First, Tennessee has passed legislation calling for the sanctioning of mixed martial arts. Memphis native Quinton Jackson and UFC VP Marc Ratner can share much of the credit, as they both met with lawmakers to sing MMA’s praises. Governor Phil Bredesen will put the legislation into effect today, and Tennessee plans to create a state athletic commission to regulate the sport. Said Ratner:
“[O]nce the new Tennessee Athletic Commission is formed and has all the rules in place, we will be looking at Tennessee as a state to host a fight. We believe that with their beautiful arenas and diehard fan base, Memphis or Nashville would be great hosts for a UFC event.”
Meanwhile, the executive director of the Florida Athletic Commission told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that amateur mixed martial arts will also become fully sanctioned today in his state. Amateur MMA is already allowed in Florida (to some extent), but head strikes on the ground are prohibited. Now the ammys can ground-and-pound just like the pros. God bless America.
And finally, though reports surfaced yesterday that legislation has been introduced which would ban MMA events and “Toughman competitions” (!) in Delaware, a post by “Poleverisor” on the UG today said the following:
Just got home from spending the past 10 hrs. at the Delaware state Capitol building in Dover. I successfully fought the Ban on MMA in Delaware. Myself and some legislators were able to get the law re-written and passed through the house of representatives, it is now in the Senates hands. the “new” bill will call for state regulation of MMA in Delaware. This will, in the short term, put a moritorium on MMA in Delaware but will not ban the sport we all love.
Written by admin on July 1st, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on florida and legislation and Tennessee and sanction and Rumors and UFC and News 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.
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.
(Photo courtesy of DanHenderson.com)
MMA Weekly reports that Dan Henderson’s next Octagon appearance will be a middleweight bout against Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88 (September 6th, Atlanta). Palhares (8-1) is the Brazilian Top Team rising star who pwned Ivan Salaverry so hardcore during his Octagon debut at UFC 84 that Salaverry retired from fighting. Henderson is coming off of back-to-back title fight losses, to Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 and Anderson Silva at UFC 82. Palhares has serious potential, to be sure, but his relative lack of experience puts him at a great disadvantage against one of the most accomplished fighters in the world. Still, if Palhares can pull off an upset, he’ll put himself in the mix for a middleweight title shot.
In other UFC fight-booking news…
— Joe Lauzon has agreed to fight Kyle Bradley at UFC Fight Night 15 (September 17th; Omaha, Nebraska). Bradley, a Team Voodoo product and veteran of various regional leagues, made his Octagon debut as a welterweight at UFC 81, where he was destroyed by Chris Lytle in 33 seconds. He’ll now be fighting at his natural weight of 155.
— Rory Markham, a Bettendorf-based IFL standout who most recently submitted Jay Ellis at Adrenaline 1 on June 14th, will be making his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 14 (July 19th, Las Vegas). His opponent will be Brodie Farber, a former Rage in the Cage middleweight champion who’s won his last six fights in the MMA Xtreme organization.
— Thomasz Drwal, the Polish light-heavyweight whose 13-fight win streak was snapped by Thiago Silva at UFC 75, will make his second Octagon appearance at UFC 87 (August 9th, Minneapolis) against 5-0 IFL veteran Andre Gusmao. Drwal was slated to fight David Heath in February, but was forced to pull out of the bout with a knee injury.
Written by admin on June 25th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Kyle Bradley and Rumors and Rousimar Palhares and Rory Markham and News and UFC and Joe Lauzon and Dan Henderson and MMA.
(Silva, Machida, & Silva: Attorneys at Brawl)
Via FiveOunces:
According to the June 23 print edition of the Wrestling Observer, [Wanderlei] Silva’s likely next opponent is undefeated light heavyweight prospect Thiago Silva. The bout could take place in October despite the fact that Wanderlei Silva has reportedly asked not to be scheduled to fight again until December.
The Observer indicated that Wanderlei Silva was given a choice of facing either Thiago Silva or Lyoto Machida. A specific reason for why Thiago Silva is considered the more likely option than Machida was not given, although Dave Meltzer indicated that the UFC is having trouble finding willing opponents for Machida.
Damn son, this Machida got everyone shook! But I ain’t mad: With their similarly aggressive styles, Wandy vs. Thiago has the potential to be a fantastic fight. Still, the UFC will eventually have to throw one of the Silvas at Machida, because it seems that only a hyper-aggro fighter who’d be willing to literally chase Machida around the cage (and absorb some damage in the process) would stand a chance of beating him. In the meantime, the UFC needs to go to their hungry/struggling 205-pounders and demand that they fight Machida; preferably, their LHWs who are sloppy enough for Machida to submit or knock out (lookin’ at you, Lambert). The Dragon will almost surely be fighting for UFC’s light-heavyweight title one day — it’s time to start getting him over with fans, and he’ll need to finish some fights before that happens.
Written by admin on June 24th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on General and Rumors and light-heavyweights and Commentary and Thiago Silva and UFC and Wanderlei Silva and Lyoto Machida and MMA.
According to GracieFighter.com, Nick Diaz will no longer be fighting Hayato “Mach” Sakurai at DREAM.5 (July 21st; Osaka, Japan) for the league’s vacant welterweight title, due to contractual obligations with EliteXC: “Apparently EliteXC has other plans for Diaz and the July date might conflict with their plans.” You could probably figure out what those plans are, but for the record, sources have informed FiveOuncesofPain that a rematch between Diaz and K.J. Noons for EliteXC’s 160-pound title will be added to the next “Saturday Night Fights” broadcast on July 26th.
Though the event was initially rumored to be held in St. Louis, it looks like that idea is being scrapped, as several major sporting events (including a monster truck rally; go figure) are already scheduled to take place in the Gateway City around that time. Now, the buzz is that the Diaz/Noons bout will take place somewhere in Stockton, California, the city that spawned those rotten Diaz brothers. Obviously, it’s a wise move from a marketing standpoint — just as EliteXC’s “Street Certified” event featuring Kimbo Slice was a hit in Kimbo’s hometown of Miami, and “Shamrock vs. Le” did bang-up business in San Jose, Nick Diaz’s rabid civic pride could translate into a wild sellout crowd in Stockton, which would be a perfect backdrop to a live television event (providing that there are no riots in the arena, of course).
At this point, EliteXC: Unfinished Business (working title) will still be headlined by the middleweight championship rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, as well as Jake Shields vs. TBA for the vacant welterweight belt.
Written by admin on June 23rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on DREAM and Japan and Stockton and St. Louis and Rumors and KJ Noons and EliteXC and Nick Diaz and News and Hayato Sakurai and MMA.
(Do not do a Google Image Search for “Patrycja Mikula” unless you want to see this woman naked.)
When I was skimming through the coverage of Saturday’s Adrenaline MMA show — Russow submits Guida, Terry Martin gets repeatedly kicked in the nuts, yada yada — I saw a mention of Tim Sylvia being spotted with Andrei Arlovski’s ex-girlfriend. At the time I didn’t think much of it, assuming that the X-GF in question was some skank that Arlovski dated before Patrycja Mikula (the lovely nude model who we’d previously featured here). Dude, no. Arlovski and Mikula are apparently dunzo, and the Maine-iac, in the words of Sir Mix-a-Lot, pulled up quick to retrieve it. Steve Cofield reports:
Word out of Chicago this weekend says Arlovski got the ultimate kick in the groin when arch-rival Tim Sylvia was seen hanging with the Russian’s old flame Patrycja Mikula. Sylvia was attending the Adrenaline MMA show at the Sears Centre in Arlovski’s backyard.
Is this a WWE-style ploy to build to a fourth Sylvia-Arlovski fight? The angle has ‘Chris Benoit stealing Kevin Sullivan’s wife, Woman’ written all over it.
Is Mikula actually smitten with the 6-foot-8 ‘Maine-iac’ Sylvia? Or is she using poor Tim as a pawn to get back at her old boyfriend? And is it cheesy for Sylvia to be scooping up Arlovski’s leftovers? …
Sylvia’s tryst with Mikula was confirmed by solid Miletich Camp sources, who said the Playboy model is simply a ‘wallet and belt chaser.’
I like the idea of this being Monte Cox’s retardo-crafty ploy to get people interested in Sylvia/Arlovski IV under the Adrenaline banner. If not, I just hope that for the sake of Ms. Mikula, the WAMMA belt doesn’t have any sharp edges.
(Props: FightOpinion)
Written by admin on June 18th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Adrenaline and Patrycja Mikula and Rumors and Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia and Ring Girls and MMA.
(Photo courtesy of myspace.com/nathandiazmma.)
The UFC’s next “Fight Night” card on SpikeTV will reportedly go down September 17th at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska, and matchups are beginning to be sorted out. TUF 5 winner and Stockton-repper Nate Diaz has agreed to fight Josh “The Dentist” Neer in a lightweight bout on the main card; Diaz has gone 4-0 in the UFC since his reality show stint, including a legendary no-hands triangle choke victory over Kurt Pellegrino at UFN 13, while Neer (24-6-1, 3-3 UFC) last defeated Din Thomas by decision at the same event, and holds notable wins over Joe Stevenson and Melvin Guillard.
Omaha’s own Houston Alexander is also expected to appear, taking on Eric Schafer. The fight marks Schafer’s return to the Octagon after picking up a couple of wins in the Gladiators Fighting Series organization; he’d previously dropped two in a row to Michael Bisping and Stephan Bonnar. A middleweight fight between Ed Herman and Alan Belcher has been rumored as well.
In other UFC news…
— Dana White has denied that his mind-blowing announcement is related to New York MMA regulation. Epic Fail averted, for now.
— BloodyElbow is floating a rumor that Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami could fight in October, at the UFC’s next U.K. show. We’d rather see the Spider in a light-heavyweight super-fight, but sure, why not, clean out the division once and for all.
— French welterweight David Baron has reportedly signed with the UFC. Baron is the former 168-pound champion of Shooto Europe who most recently pulled off a huge upset at Shooto Tradition 1 by submitting Hayato Sakurai in the first round.
Written by admin on June 12th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Eric Schafer and Josh Neer and Rumors and David Baron and UFN14 and UFC Fight Night 14 and Nate Diaz and News and Anderson Silva and UFC and Yushin Okami and Dana White and Houston Alexander and MMA.
(Satan and his minions.)
From UFC.com:
Dana White and heavyweight sensation Brock Lesnar will appear live on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” today to announce an exciting new UFC deal. The show airs at 12:40pm ET.
Previously, White promised a major announcement to come this Thursday that “is going to blow people’s minds.” Could he be spilling the beans early? And what’s Lesnar’s role in all this, unless the major deal is somehow WWE-related?
Which is a distinct possibility, of course. MMAPayout had this to say:
[F]inancial giant Morgan Stanley has reportedly been working on a collaborative/financial deal between Zuffa and another party…
Sources have told MMAPayout.com that a significant licensing deal may be part of the planned announcement. Licensing and merchandising has long been identified as a major untapped revenue stream for the UFC. Adding even more intrigue is WWE’s rumored involvement in the deal. The WWE also has a press conference scheduled for Thursday.
Last night a poster on the Underground Forums added the following rumor “from a reliable source” to the mix: “a group of investors led by Dana White have agreed in principle to purchase the UFC from Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta for an undisclosed amount. Included in this investment group is WWE’s Vince McMahon who will now own a minority stake in the company. They also have plans on taking the company public by years end.”
It’s possible that today’s announcement will be about a licensing deal with a tangential relationship to the WWE, and White’s saving the real mind-blower — which he said would require the renting out of a separate venue for his employees — for Thursday. We’ll let you know what comes of it…
Written by admin on June 10th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on wwe and Rumors and Brock Lesnar and Dana White and UFC and MMA.
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