2 Bouts Ignite Spark For K-1 Dynamite
(mmaweekly.com)At a press conference today in Japan, K-1 announed 2 more big fights for it's Dynamite!! NYE event on 12/31. Confirmed were fights between Kazushi Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura as well as an expected fight between DREAM Lightweight Champion Joachim Hansen & Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante. No word yet on if Hansen-JZ will be a title fight.
Kim Couture Files Restraining Order Against Affliction
(mmaweekly.com)It's not easy being Kim Couture these days. Mrs. Randy Couture, through no fault of her own, has apparently found herself the target of threats from Affliction CEO Todd Beard stemming from Randy's decision to rejoin UFC, and thus Kim has filed and been granted a restraining order against Beard-who then had some less-than-kind words of encouragement for Randy on his fight Saturday.
A Brief Reflection on 15 Years of the UFC
(sherdog.com)by Jordan Breen (jbreen@sherdog.com)
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"Hello ladies and gentlemen. You are about to see something you have never seen before ... the Ultimate Fighting Challenge."
Uttered 15 years ago to this day, the introduction for the promotion that would bring mixed martial arts to the masses wasn't even competent, let alone stirring. More like taking forceps to the eyeball during delivery.
"Hello, I'm Bill Wallace, and welcome to McNichols Ar ... "
The birth moment went from awkwardly inept to outright ignominious as the man dubbed "Superfoot" quite literally belched through the foreword to fighting history. This was not "Call me Ishmael." More like dropping the newborn skull-first on the floor.
A difficult delivery, fortunately, didn't have any bearing on the spectacle of the evening's proceedings. With a thunderous kick to the face in less than 30 seconds, Gerard Gordeau liberated the teeth of hapless sumo Teila Tuli, freeing them to explore the thin Denver air. And that was just a prelude to the skinny Brazilian fellow in his pajamas.
Yes, every ardent MMA fan, whether they were watching live on pay-per-view from day one thanks to a Black Belt magazine subscription or whether they became smitten with the sport one Saturday night on Spike TV, can appreciate the milestone, the magic and the mockability of the first Ultimate Fighting Championship. By now, it is nothing short of cultural fact that Royce Gracie revolutionized fightsport with his early UFC dominance and fully held up his end of the bargain to his big brother Rorion in what began as an infomercial for Gracie jiu-jitsu. Today, the magnitude of that moment is a mandate to the point where it becomes almost drained and dull.
Hector Lombard Joins ATT
(mmajunkie.com)Cuban Judoka and former Australian resident Hector Lombard has relocated to the U.S. and joined the growing roster of American Top Team.
MMAjunkie.com was able to confirm Lombard's switch with American Top Team general manger Richie Guerrero.
A four-year veteran of MMA, Lombard has fought in some of the world's biggest organizations -- including PRIDE, DEEP and Spirit MC -- but has not yet competed in the U.S.
Armando Garcia’s Top Ten Greatest Misses
(fiveouncesofpain.com)Word broke over the weekend that Armando Garcia had tendered his resignation as executive director of the California State Athletic Commission and his resignation is scheduled to be accepted when the CSAC convenes on Nov. 17.
Many people responded to the news by hailing the development as good for MMA and ripping Garcia. However, most people neglected to say what was bad about Garcia and seemingly were just repeating someone else’s ideology rather than having formed their own opinion.
But there was a site that actually took the time to lay out the case of why Garcia’s departure is a good thing. Fightlinker.com listed a myriad of links outlining all of the controversies that Garcia had been involved in during his three-year tenure as CSAC’s executive director. The article was much more than a simple proclamation that Garcia was bad for the sport; it served as a detailed outline of just exactly why he is bad.
Even though I covered most of those controversies, I was still overwhelmed by the sheer volume of them. Being that I like to be organized, I decided to compile a top ten list of Garcia’s greatest misses in honor of his impending departure
Sean Sherk on Armando Garcia resignation
(mmamania.com)“I knew some stuff about him throughout the entire appeal process that I was going through. You know, I was doing my homework, I was doing my research and I knew the guy had some issues. I mean, I knew that just by the way he treated me during my case. I knew that it was just a matter of time…and I am glad to see that is finally taking place. I think that you don’t really deserve a position of power if you are going to take advantage of it like that. So, hopefully, they get a good commissioner in there and hopefully things can get fixed up…. The UFC was actually there when I was going through my appeal. They saw the way my case was handled and they were sickened by it. You know it’s not right that you treat somebody’s life like that. You know, this is my life. They should at least give me a fair opportunity to defend myself and they didn’t do that. They treated my case like complete garbage.”
Able and ready: Kenny Florian UFC 91 interview
(mmamania.com)Kenny Florian was widely regarded as the clear cut number one contender in the crowded 155-pound division following his win over Roger Huerta via unanimous decision at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” on August 9.
But his second chance at championship gold never came.
That’s because current lightweight champion, BJ Penn, will rematch welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, 2009, putting the division strap temporarily on ice.
Mark Munoz Ready For WEC 37, Jump To UFC
(mmaweekly.com)With his last fight in WEC coming up next month before the promotion does away with its Light Heavyweight Division, Mark Munoz has signed a deal to make the move to UFC afterwards, win or lose. Munoz faces Ricardo Barros in WEC's final LHW division fight.
Wanderlei SIlva: Forrest Fight Would Be "Sad Situation"
(mmamania.com)Apparently Wanderlei Silva isn't a fan of fighting guys he trains with, even though it's sometimes part of the business. And although there's no guarantee this could happen, if SIlva beats Quinton Jackson at UFC 92, he thinks his next fight could be such a situation-current UFC LHW Champion and sometimes-training partner Forrest Griffin.
Ultimate Challenge UK Replaces Cage Rage Promotion
(mmauniverse.com)From the promoters behind Cage Rage and Fighting Hurts comes Ultimate Challenge UK, a bigger, faster, tougher MMA experience delivering all the drama, glory and full contact fighting from the best of British fighters.
Ultimate Challenge UK kicks off with an explosive line up at Ultimate Challenge UK: Bad Breed, The Troxy, Commercial Road, London on Saturday 6th December featuring title fights between James McSweeney VS Neil Grove and Tom Watson VS Matt Ewin.
Dave O’Donnell, Director, Ultimate Challenge UK, said: “This is our chance to put fighting first, delivering more excitement, bigger events and all the drama of full contact fighting that the fans have been waiting for. We are no longer affiliated with Cage Rage or EliteXC and have made the decision to found Ultimate Challenge UK to ensure we retain complete control of our future. Ultimate Challenge UK allows us to deliver professional, high profile MMA events and continue to represent the best of UK MMA to a global audience.”
“We started out in this business on our own and now, older and wiser, we are back on our own. I can’t comment on EliteXC or Cage Rage for legal reasons, but I can say that Ultimate Challenge UK has the support of the UK’s top MMA fighters. Ultimate Challenge UK’s first event is lined up at The Troxy in December where title fights between James McSweeney VS Neil Grove and Tom Watson VS Matt Ewin headline a packed fight card including JD Hlyton, Leigh Alliss, Jason Young, Dyson Roberts and the French superstar Mohamed Khacha.”
Following the success of the knockout reality MMA show ‘Fighting Hurts’ broadcast on Nuts TV, Ultimate Challenge UK can confirm that a second series will be in production in 2009.
Couture-Lesnar a muscled chess match
(sports.yahoo.com)Trying to handicap Saturday night’s Randy Couture-Brock Lesnar Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title match is almost an exercise in futility.
There are two contradictory ways of looking at the match.
From a pure physical standpoint, it looks like no contest. Lesnar is bigger, stronger, faster and a whole lot younger, at 31, going against the 45-year-old champion, Couture.
Worse, Couture, a former alternate on the U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling team, has always relied on his wrestling as his great equalizer. Due to an expected 50-pound weight difference when they hit the cage, Couture is in danger of having his wrestling neutralized against Lesnar, a former NCAA wrestling champion.
Escape from EliteXC: The Legal Strategy
(mmapayout.com)As the attempted auction of ProElite fighter contracts by Showtime on November 17th draws near, there are sure to be a flurry of legal proceedings and attacks being launched by all parties involved. MMAPayout.com has obtained documents detailing one fighter’s strategy for liberation from ProElite, using legal precedents and CSAC bylaws to make the case for the voiding of his ProElite/EliteXC contract.
The fighter in question is looking to use California law and past precedent in George Foreman Associates LTD vs George Foreman and Oscar De La Hoya vs Top Rank Inc, both of which require going before CSAC to obtain its approval of the contract and Section 230 of CSAC regulations which requires contracts to be done using official CSAC forms as well as any blanket contracts (multi-bout agreements) necessitating Commission approval.
Dustin Hazelett finding comfort in cage
(mmajunkie.com)Dustin Hazelett is a true student of the fight game – a newly minted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who, instructor Jorge Gurgel will tell you, drills every aspect of his craft for hours on end.
But Hazelett (11-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who meets fellow prospect Tamdan McCrory (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at Saturday's UFC 91 event, hit a learning road block when it came to his professional fights.
Up until his June bout with Josh Burkman, everything that happened in the cage remained a blur. He could remember the outcomes, but what happened blow by blow, minute by minute was mostly a mystery after each contest.
Burkman Sidelined Indefinately With Back Injury
(mmaweekly.com)Following his third loss in a row in the UFC, Josh Burkman has decided to take some much needed time off to repair a serious back injury. The injury is similar to those suffered by other fighters such as Tito Ortiz and Nate Quarry.
Burkman spoke exclusively to MMAWeekly.com about the injury, which he originally suffered during his fight against Dustin Hazelett at the moment when he slammed his opponent to the mat. He then felt a numbness striking down his arm that lasted for a week after the fight was over.
“This is the first time in my career I’ve got to seriously be like I’ve got to get this better. I’ve got to take some time off,” Burkman said.
The injury consists of two bulging discs in his back and another bulging disc in his neck, and the Utah native is hopeful for a natural rehab, but may have to consider surgery if the healing doesn’t happen.
Manager Clarifies Faber's $14k Payday
(mmaweekly.com)When Urijah Faber lost his fight to Mike Brown at WEC 36 last week, just about everybody saw their collective jaws drop as one of the top featherweight in the world fell to defeat for the first time in over two years.
Fans were just as stunned to see the official payouts from that event and learn that based on his contractually obligated fight agreement; Faber only earned $14,000 for his efforts.
On Monday night, Faber’s manager, Mike Roberts of MMA Inc. addressed the pay situation when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio.
“Absolutely not. Not even close,” Roberts answered when asked if $14,000 was all that Faber was paid. “That was an accurate statement of the check he received that night. Some contractual issues came up after the September fight was postponed and that $14,000 was the remaining balance of what was owed to him. That is not what he made.”
Former Chute Box Coach Muredered
(fightersonlymagazine.co.uk)Former Chute Boxe coach Osmar Dias Fernandes, 38, has been shot dead in Brazil after resisting a robbery attempt.
Dias was with his girlfriend in the Reboucas district of Curitiba early on Tuesday morning when he was approached by two armed men, the Curitiba Journal reports.
When he resisted their efforts to take his vehicle, they shot him three times. The fatal shot entering his skull and he died at the scene before an ambulance could arrive.
Dias was a key part of the Chute Boxe coaching staff in the 1990s and his students included Wanderlei Silva and the Rua brothers, Shogun and Ninja.
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