Sokoudjou Contemplates Career In Porn And (Hopefully) Luis Cane
(mmarated.com)With just two years of professional experience, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has quickly become one of the more successful and likable new figures in MMA. At 24 years old, early signs indicate Sokoudjou will have a bright future in the Octagon … as long as the UFC doesn’t lose him to the pornography industry first.
In this short Q&A published in advance of his upcoming bout with Luis Cane at next Saturday’s UFC 89, the Cameroonian judo practitioner says if he hadn’t gotten into MMA, he’d be a porn star. We assume he was joking, but with Sokoudjou you never can tell.
Remember, this is the same guy who once famously played up his nickname as the “African Assassin” by telling Japanese reporters that he trains with “animals in the jungle.” This is the same guy who responded to a glut of Photoshopped pictures of him on the Internet by showing up for his UFC debut wearing a Predator mask. The same guy who claims that he got “beat down by a girl” the first time he trained in Muay Thai.
Boxing Imitates The UFC
(mmamemories.com)London-based boxing promoter Frank Maloney has decided to incorporate a new concept into his business - he is now offering bonus money to the ‘Boxer of the night’ on his future shows.
The idea of bonuses for fighters would be a new innovation for boxing event producing but it is standard procedure for the UFC which has been awarding bonuses to match winners for many years now.
Maloney is best known in the boxing world for being the long-time promoter of former Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis as well as his flamboyant Union Jack outfits which he wore to many world title fights. These days, Maloney mostly promotes local shows in England and says he will offer a 500-pound bonus to the ‘Boxer of the night’ which will be determined in a yet-to-be specified way (by text, posting a coupon from the show program or logging onto Maloney’s web site).
Cordeiro: “Quinton wanted to train with me”
(tatame.com)Considered one of the best MMA coaches of the world, Rafael Cordeiro is running the Chute Boxe branch in USA, and celebrates the good moments of the team. With more than 70 athletes and training in it’s own training center, Rafael believes that now Chute Boxe will show her work in America. In an exclusive chat with TATAME, Cordeiro revealed that one of the biggest opponents of the team in the past, Quinton Jackson, that fought Wanderlei Silva, Maurício Shogun and Murilo Ninja, wanted to train with him to face Wanderlei again, at UFC 92.
“I heard something that he wanted to train with me and, when I knew it was his reparation to fight Wanderlei, I didn’t accept.
Chris Leben is older, wiser and … better?
(mmamania.com)“They say as we get older, we get smarter. I guess I’ve kind of got to agree a little bit. I still like to have fun, I still like to get my heart rate up, do exciting things. After my last little stint in jail, a lot of things that have happened to me in my life, I’ve realized there’s a lot of situations that are good fun, safe fun, beneficial fun - and then there’s other kinds of fun and situations that I now choose to abstain from…. Believe or not, moving to Hawaii definitely is not a difficult move. For me or for anybody for that matter. I had just an awesome opportunity. (Icon’s) T.J. Thompson offered me a job out here, being the head coach at Icon Sport. I came out to check it out. Everything clicked great and just things started falling into place and I tell you what I couldn’t be happier. I can’t tell you the future but I can tell you I’m definitely happy right now…. More than anything, a gradual progress. I think obviously maturing as a person and again as a fighter and being a coach, now I can’t tell the guys I’m training with, do this, don’t do that - when I’m doing something different. To some extent, I’ve got to walk the line.”
PETRUZELLI ADDRESSES PAYOFF CONTROVERSY AND FUTURE WITH ELITEXC
(mmaweekly.com)In just a matter of 2 hours, Seth Petruzelli went from an undercard fighter to the man who would soon knock out Internet and YouTube legend, Kimbo Slice, in a scant :14 seconds in their main event fight last Saturday night.
Originally, Petruzelli was scheduled to face Aaron Rosa in a light heavyweight contest and he explained during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio exactly how it all went down to put him in a fight that will now live in infamy.
“I was actually warming up for my fight against Aaron Rosa in the back and Elite XC came back and said we need to talk to you for a second,” Petruzelli commented. “I automatically got nervous thinking that Aaron backed out or something like that and then he’s like, ‘look I’ve got a huge opportunity if you decide to take it, Ken got cut on his eye and can’t fight, and we want you to fight Kimbo.”
“It took about :10 seconds to let it all settle down and I said heck yeah.”
The fight with Kimbo lasted only about 4 seconds longer than it took Seth to decide to take the match-up, but almost immediately after the fight controversy struck.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: Back surgery spurs Tito on
(mmaweekly.com)This was the biggest decision of my career… back surgery
Since the Randy Couture fight, I have had lower back problems. Each fight it got worse. I have made it though the last eight fights by physical therapy, methylprednisolone pills, and spinal injections for last three fights.
I fought injured time and time again for the fans. After the Rashad (Evans) fight, I told the fight doctor I was having excruciating back pain. It was so bad that my security had to carry me from the Octagon to my dressing room to the press conference and back.
This continued for the next four months. If anyone has had back pain, you know the pain I deal with. It got to be so bad that I was barely able to get up off the couch or drive for longer than 20 minutes.
Now try to imagine training for eight hours a day and having to fight formidable opponents like Rashad, and (Lyoto) Machida. From November of 2007 to May of 2008, I did two separate injections and worked my ass off in physical therapy so I was able to fight Machida.
During the second round of the fight I felt the same pain as I did in the Rashad fight. After the fight, I told the fight doctor I was having back pain. It never got better. I didn't want to fall into the terrible life of having to take painkillers in order to be capable of making it through training.
I simply refuse to fall into that trap. I started to look into other ways to help my back pain. I have done everything from rehab to injections to make it better and nothing has succeeded.
Noons: 'I’m a Free Agent'
(sherdog.com)Karl James Noons is looking towards greener pastures, which may or may not include his return to the EliteXC cage, he says.
“I’m a free agent,” Noons told Sherdog.com Monday, the result of EliteXC taking back his championship belt.
Noons, 25, was stripped of his EliteXC 160-pound title on Sept. 19 after the promotion said he refused to defend his title against Nick Diaz.
Noons bested the mouthy Stockton, Calif. native with a first-round TKO on cuts in November 2007. Words between the fighters and their families ensued in the cage, and a rematch loomed.
EliteXC attempted to promote said rematch on three separate cards since July. But Noons took umbrage with Diaz’s pay scale, which was nearly three times more than his.
Private discussions spilled into the public forum when an EliteXC rep announced Noons had been given a 24-hour deadline to accept the bout.
Though Noons was subsequently removed from EliteXC’s champions mantle, he said a piece is missing from the timeline.
“We weren’t coming to agreements on the fight, so I gave them written notice that I’d give them the belt back five days prior before they stripped me,” he said, in the hopes of “working something out.” “I didn’t make it public, and I guess to prove a point, or maybe out of ego or whatever they want, they stripped me.”
Noons said his contract, of which two fights remain, only pertains to his reign as a titleholder.
"Since I’ve been stripped, I’m no longer the champion and I don’t owe them the fights," he said. "I owed them fights for being a champion.”
Jeremy Lappen, EliteXC’s Head of Fight Operations, doesn’t agree.
"KJ still has two more fights on his contract," Lappen said Monday. “I’m hoping we’ll work something out, but there’s really not much to work out. He’s still under contract with us.”
Gabriel Gonzaga interested in Brock Lesnar clash of monsters
(mmamania.com) “[Brock Lesnar] was never proposed to us, but Gabriel Gonzaga would love to fight him because he’s a big name and I think it would be a clash of two monsters. I think it would be a huge fight so if the UFC gave Gonzaga that honor he would be happy to fight Brock Lesnar.”
– Marco Alvan — the head trainer for former UFC heavyweight number one contender Gabriel Gonazaga — tells BostonHerald.com that he and his fighter would be interested in a fight with Brock Lesnar in the near future. “Napao” is among the larger fighters in the division (like Lesnar) who also has a tight submission game (unlike Lesnar), which would more than likely be another dangerous test for the former professional wrestling star. Lesnar takes on Randy Couture — who beat down Gonzaga last year — at UFC 91 on November 15. Gonzaga will also compete on that same card against Octagon newcomer Josh Hendricks. If Couture defeats Lesnar and Gonzaga defeats Hendricks it would be real interesting to see if the promotion would book a fight like this, which would once again put a big pay-per-view (PPV) money machine at risk of losing to a much more experienced fighter.
Cage fighters 'behind £53m raid'
(news.bbc.co.uk)I know Lee Murray has long been rumoured to be involved in this robbery, but this is the first time to my knowledge that he has been formally named/accused:
Two cage fighters masterminded the £53m raid on a Securitas depot in Kent and then fled to Morocco, a jury was told.
Paul Allen and Lee Murray, 29, were at the heart of the raid in Tonbridge in February 2006, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Allen, 30, of Chatham, was extradited to the UK while Mr Murray remains in a Moroccan jail.
Mr Allen is on trial along with Michael Demetris, 32, of Bromley Common, south London. Both deny conspiracy to rob, to kidnap, and to possess a firearm.
Mr Allen and Mr Demetris, a hairdresser, are accused of conspiring with five other men who were jailed in January after being found guilty of kidnap, robbery and firearms charges in connection with Britain's biggest cash raid.
During the raid, depot manager Colin Dixon and his family were kidnapped at gunpoint by men posing as police officers.
After "depressing" July loss, Jorge Gurgel next meets Aaron Riley at UFC 91
(mmajunkie.com)
After dealing with the first bout of depression in his entire life, submission specialist Jorge Gurgel (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) will next fight at UFC 91 against Aaron Riley (26-10-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who returns to the UFC for the first time in nearly three years.
Gurgel today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that bout agreements have been signed for the Nov. 15 fight, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Gurgel, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, looks to rebound from his disappointing submission loss to Cole Miller at UFC 86.
Although seemingly on his way to a tough-fought unanimous-decision victory in the July bout, Gurgel ran into disaster in the fight's final moments. While scrambling for position after securing a trip-takedown, Gurgel was trapped by Miller's triangle choke and forced to tap out with just 12 seconds remaining in the fight.
It would have been Gurgel's fourth UFC victory in a five-fight span. Instead, he suffered just the second submission loss of his career -- and his first in nearly five years.
"It was extremely difficult for me," Gurgel said. "I never in my life -- never in any circumstance -- I've never been depressed. Depression can't get to me. I'm always happy. I don't get depressed. But, I got to the point where I couldn't sleep.
"My parents were disappointed. My family was very hurt, and the first words out of my step-dad's mouth, as soon as he walked down the aisle in the arena (at UFC 86) and saw me -- he goes, 'This is the first time in my life, Jorge, that I saw a fighter win and lose a fight in the same fight.' And that quote has never left my head because that's exactly what happened. ... I lost my focus for one second, and it cost me 14 minutes and 30 seconds of beating [Miller] up. It was my best fight yet. I didn't even have a black eye, but I just lost focus for that split second."
After such a stunning and stinging loss, Gurgel heard the same thing over and over from friends, family and fans.
"It was either 'tough break' or '[expletive] happens,'" Gurgel said. "I'm just ready to get in there and put it behind me."
Standing in his way is Riley, who returns to the octagon for the first time since a first-round TKO loss to Spencer Fisher at UFC Fight Night 3. Ten fights and four years earlier, the former PRIDE and BodogFIGHT veteran made his UFC debut with a unanimous-decision loss to Robbie Lawler.
Since his latest UFC appearance, Riley has posted a 3-2 record in a variety of organizations; the losses came to notables Eddie Alvarez and Ryan Schultz.
Riley, a former Golden Gloves champion who made his professional MMA debut as a 16-year-old in 1997, has won seven of his past 10 fights.
St. Pierre Snagged by CAA
(sherdog.com)While the fight world awaits confirmation of a rematch with UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn on Jan. 31, Georges St. Pierre has signed on another dotted line.
St. Pierre, 26, has joined the ranks of Derek Jeter, LeBron James and Tony Hawk, as the UFC welterweight champion has been picked up by CAA Sports, a division of the Creative Artists Agency.
Looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of GSP in the public.  This is another sign that MMA has almost entirely "made it"
Brian Stann Off UFC Fight Night 16 Due To Injury
(mmanews.com)Former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann will not be able to fight on the December 10th UFC FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS show which is to be held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Sources close to the fighter today confirmed to Fiveouncesofpain.com that an injury to the fighter’s foot would not allow him to fight in his scheduled bout with Steve Cantwell.
Abdul Muhamed Signs With The UFC
(mmajunkie.com)The Ultimate Fighting Championship has further added to its growing roster of European talent by inking a deal with top U.K. lightweight Abdul Mohamed (16-6-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
Sources close to Mohamed told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the signing on Monday, though terms of the contract were not undisclosed.
Mohamed is expected to make his debut at UFC 93, which takes place Jan. 17 in Dublin, Ireland.
No opponent has been determined.
Pay Andrei Arlovski $500,000 Lose 100,000 Viewers
(bloodyelbow.com)Dave Meltzer reports on the TV ratings for EliteXC Heat and its not bad:
Based on the fast nationals ratings, the show did a 2.65 rating and 4.31 million viewers from 9-11 p.m. (which aired live everywhere except the West Coast). That doesn’t factor in the 11-11:20 p.m. segment featuring the 14-second Kimbo Slice loss to Seth Petruzelli, which based on metered market data was the most watched part of the show and should slightly increase the final average.
“It was a great number as far as I was concerned,” said CBS senior vice president of program operations Kelly Kahl. “The people saying it’s the end of Elite XC and the end of Elite XC on broadcast television are misinformed.”
...
Based on the data available, the Carano vs. Kelly Kobold fight was the hit of the night, adding 950,000 viewers from the previous segment. That makes Carano two-for-two as the top ratings mover. Carano’s fight with Kaitlin Young on May 31 added 1,020,000 viewers.
But there was one glaring exception, Affliction star Andrei Arlvoski:
The disappointment of the night was Andrei Arlovski. The former UFC heavyweight cham
'Big' John McCarthy Leaves The Fight Nework, May Return As Referee
(thefightnetwork.com)Well this is my farewell from the Fight Network. While I will not miss what has happened or transpired at the company, I am really going to miss some very special people that I have come to know and respect in my short time with them.
The Fight Network started out as the vision of Mike Garrow. Mike's vision for the network was one of the reasons I decided to leave refereeing and start a new career in commentating and analytical work. Mike has an incredible energy and is always coming up with new ideas and he did a miraculous job in getting The Fight Network from a simple idea into a fully functioning cable channel that covers the sports of Mixed Martial Arts, Boxing and Professional Wrestling 24 hours a day. It is very hard for anyone not associated with something like this to understand how much really goes into 24 hours of programming. Mike, thank you for the opportunity, thank you for believing in me, you will always be a friend.
Mauro Ranallo..... Wow. I don't really think many people truly know how talented Mauro really is. First off, he loves all combative sports, and he knows them better than most people. He is incredibly smart and has a photographic memory that makes the rest of us look retarded. Most people on TV are reading everything they are saying from a teleprompter. A very handy little gadget that fits in front of the camera lens and displays the words you are suppose to say. All you really have to do is know how to read and keep things moving. Mauro does not have or use a teleprompter. Mauro looks over a complete page filled with information and then systematically runs it down like he had 2 days to memorize it in only 60 seconds. He is remarkable. He has the ability to make bad fights good, good fights great, and great fights legendary with his commentary. Mauro, thank you for helping to teach me the trade. I listened to every word even though I was not smart enough to remember it all and was not fortunate enough to work with you near as much as I would have liked.
Quote of the Day: Anderson Silva
(bloodyelbow.com)I think it's going to be real fun." "Cote is going to come out and stand up with me and it will be exciting and entertaining. He's going to hit me and I'm going to hit him a few times and we'll see what happens."
"I believe in every opponent there are some weak points that I can capitalize on." "He may find some weak points in my game where he can capitalize on me, but I am very confident and I'm training very hard. I think Patrick Cote is right: I am beatable."
"I believe the confidence that Patrick Cote has is a good thing." "Every fighter should be confident and the same way he's confident I'm confident. If Cote thinks he's going to knock me out or submit me in the third round that's a good thing to think that. But there is an opportunity that he might get knocked out or submitted. I believe everybody is beatable and that's what makes this sport so interesting."
Eddie Bravo: Joe Rogan Is One Bad Mofo
(mmamania.com)While it's not clear if he'll ever trade punchlines for real punches, Joe Rogan apparently is pretty good when it comes to jiu-jitsu...so much that his teacher, Eddie Bravo, thinks Rogan could go straight to Welterweight if he ever wanted to do MMA and do quite well.
Ivan Serati Debuts At UFC 93
(mmajunkie.com)UFC has announced that new acquisition Ivan Serati will make his debut at UFC 93 in Ireland. He'll be the second Italian to compete in the Octagon (Alessio Sakara). No opponent has been named yet.
Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov moved to WEC’s Dec. 3 event; Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik added
(fiveouncesofpain.com)The debut WEC debut of former NCAA champion Johny Hendricks has been postponed for the second time, as his planned welterweight bout vs. Russian Alex Serdyukov has been moved from WEC 36 on Nov. 5 in Florida to WEC 37 on Dec. 3 in Las Vegas.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news with Hendricks’ manager, Team Takedown’s Ted Ehrhardt, after being alerted to the news by an unnamed source earlier in the day.
Hendricks and Serdyukov had been scheduled to face each other past September at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. but the entire fight card had to be postponed as a result of Hurricane Ike.
Hendricks was a standout wrestler at Oklahoma State and is a perfect 3-0 since making his MMA debut in September of 2007. Known for being a charismatic competitor throughout his All-American career, Hendricks has won all three of his pro fights inside the distance.
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