Penn Files Formal Complaint with NSAC
(mmaweekly.com)After a month of telegraphing their intentions, B.J. Penn and his representatives have filed a formal complaint against Georges St. Pierre.
The 20-page document, filed on Monday with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, requests sanctions against St. Pierre, his cornermen, and other unknown licensees of the commission, and requests a formal hearing into the matter.
The Dragon to Face Sugar at UFC 98
(fiveouncesofpain.com)According to a new published report, it appears that Lyoto Machida receive his shot at the UFC light heavyweight title sooner rather than later.
The Britsh tabloid The Sun is reporting that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will be unable to accept an offer to headline UFC 98 on May 23 in Las Vegas against current 205 pound kingpin Rashad Evans. The Sun adds that with Jackson’s hand injury preventing him from fighting at UFC 98, Machida has been tapped to challenge Evans.
War Rampage...oh wait.
Dale Hartt Returns At UFC 99
(mmajunkie.com)In his first fight since his gruesome TKO victory over now-injured Corey Hill at UFC Fights For The Troops, Dale Hartt is set to return to action at UFC 99. He's scheduled to face Dennis Siver in what likely will be a prelim match.
UWC Pursuing Legal Action Against Chase Beebe
(fightticker.com)After former WEC Bantamweight Champion Chase Beebe pulled out of a scheduled fight at UWC: Man 'O War last month claiming an injury, it ultimately turned out to be an apparent case of Beebe pulling out to avoid getting hurt before his fight last weekend at DREAM 7. As a result, UWC owner/promoter S. Marcello Foran has issued a statement noting that UWC will be pursuing legal actions against Beebe to cover costs and contractual obligations among possibly other things.
Nick Nolte and Tom Hardy to star in MMA drama
(kungfucinema.com)Nick Nolte has been picked by Lionsgate and writer-director Gavin O'Connor to head a cast including Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Morrison in WARRIOR, a drama set in the world of mixed martial arts.
Nolte plays an ex-Vietnam veteran boxer-turned-steel mill worker whose family was torn apart by alcoholism. The now-sober and remorseful dad welcomes back his youngest son (Hardy) and trains him to compete in an MMA tournament. He and his older brother (Edgerton) are on a collision course in the ring.
The film's script was co-written by Anthony Tambakis. O'Conner will produce with his brother Greg O'Conner.
Art Jimmerson: Where Is He Now?
(sherdog.com)One glove.
It's one of the most powerful and provocative images of the past century: The XIX Olympiad. October 16, 1968. Mexico City. Tommie Smith and John Carlos. The black glove. Black power.
Despite the symbol's cultural resonance, if you're part of the MMA cognoscenti, "one glove" means something much different to you: UFC 1. November 12, 1993. Denver. Art Jimmerson. The boxing glove. Ridicule.
"It's funny looking back, I just never knew," says Jimmerson, now 45 years old and retired from ring and cage. "But I said, 'No problem,' because it was only going to take me one punch."
Three decades before lacing up his one glove and banking on one punch, Arthur Lee Jimmerson Jr. was a shock-headed youth raised in St. Louis, his childhood coinciding with the cultural crumbling of the city. By the time he had reached grade school, the city's culturally rich Gaslight Square -- which played host to the likes of Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsberg, Lenny Bruce, Miles Davis and Woody Allen -- had become victim to urban decay, beginning its uneasy alteration from a cultural capital to a perennial contender for "America's most dangerous city."
"I got picked on a lot in grade school basically," says Jimmerson. "There was one guy who always bullied me, so there was a point where a friend of ours in the neighborhood who took us to the boxing gym and I went. The rest is history."
Jimmerson become part of St. Louis' next-gen boxers looking to follow in the footsteps of Olympic gold medalist and world champion brothers Leon and Michael Spinks. After winning the National Golden Gloves as a middleweight in 1983, Jimmerson turned pro in 1985. Success was hard to come by, and he tallied only a 9-2 mark through his first 11 bouts. However, in July 1988, Jimmerson was selected as a tune-up opponent for regionally popular light heavyweight action fighter Lenny LaPaglia. Jimmerson, then known by his long-discarded nickname "Zorro,” brutally bashed LaPaglia in a stirring six-round upset, giving his career a shot in the arm.
Photo Courtesy: Art Jimmerson
Jimmerson was born and
raised in St. Louis.
"[UFC 1] doesn't really bother me because I know who I am as a fighter," says Jimmerson. While Jimmerson often sounds as though he's talking about another lifetime when he speaks of his boxing career, the LaPaglia bout remains a clear touchstone for him.
"If you go on YouTube, and see me fight LaPaglia, that shows the real me," he assures.
He wouldn't go on to become a world champion, like St. Louis contemporaries Eddie Cook, Ed Hopson and Carl Daniels. However, Jimmerson became a solid journeyman, putting together 15 straight victories in the lead-up to UFC 1, and was in the running for a considerable payday as an opponent for an aging legend in Thomas "Hitman" Hearns.
While Jimmerson was eyeing a crack at a hall of famer, Rorion Gracie and Art Davie were looking for willing participants in their grand infomercial for Gracie jiu-jitsu. To sell the UFC, it would require the Bloodsport-esque style-versus-style hook, and to validate the strength of jiu-jitsu, there certainly needed to be a representative of the sweet science...
Snubbed by TUF 9 Wallhead is calling out UFC fighters
(sports.yahoo.com)He's regarded by many as the No. 2 welterweight fighter in the UK, behind Dan Hardy yet he fell short in making the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 9: U.S. v. U.K.
That has Brit Jimmy Wallhead in a surly mood especially when youngsters like Tom Egan are calling out bigger names in the UFC. Egan, an Irishman, lost in his UFC debut against John Hathaway at UFC 93.
For some reason, Egan is now calling out Dan Hardy. Wallhead trains with Hardy and told MMAUnlimited he isn't happy with Egan's attitude:
Filho Wants Lawler In Strikeforce
(fightersonlymagazine.co.uk)Former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho (16-1) is looking for a meeting with Robbie Lawler on a Strikeforce show.
"We have offered Paulo to Sengoku or Strikeforce and that is where we want, if possible straight into a fight with Robbie Lawler,” his coach Jorge Guimaraes told Tatame today.
UFC Looks To Make Early Stop Right For Riley
(mmaweekly.com)“The UFC is looking to make things right, so hopefully I’ll get a rematch in with Shane at some point, but I’m just really looking to get back in action as soon as possible,” he said. “I’ve already expressed that to Joe Silva, and he’s looking to make that happen.
“He told me they were booked through August, but he also told me that if there was a chance to get me in, he’d try to get me in. If anything happens where somebody drops out or gets injured, he can look to juggle the schedule around and get me in.”
Rashad Claims 'Rampage' Is Ducking Him
(fightersonlymagazine.co.uk)“Just listening to Rampage when we were in the ring talking he was kind of like, ‘Yeah man you’re lucky I wasn’t 100 percent’ and he started making excuses,” said Evans.
“I was thinking like it sounds like an excuse-fest is about to happen, so I know he ain’t going to take no fight with me. He’s making excuses now.”
Respect To Rampage, Jardine Upset With Loss
(mmaweekly.com)Though he came up short on judges’ scorecards, Keith Jardine won a moral victory against Quinton Jackson at UFC 96 by sticking with the game plan and staying in the fight when things got tough.
“The fight went pretty close to the way I thought it would go,” Jardine said at the UFC 96 post-fight presser.
In the past, he had paid for straying from his plan. Wanderlei Silva ended his night early at UFC 84 when he went against coaches’ advice, exposing himself to punches with a leg kick.
Is Bad Kickboxing the Future of MMA?
(bloodyelbow.com)Josh Gross:
Perhaps it's too soon to call it a trend, but the lack of submissions during UFC 96 is worth discussing. Saturday's card in Columbus marked the third event in the organization's last six that failed to produce a submission (tapout to choke or joint lock).
Prior to UFC 96, 94 and 92, the last time a UFC card finished submission-less was February 2007, at UFC 67 -- a span of 36 events. Over the course of 94 Zuffa-era UFC events, only eight have failed to yield some sort of submission. That three of those cards took place in the past four months is at a minimum noteworthy, at worst disconcerting.
Just once has the UFC come up short on submissions in consecutive events. Way back when, in 1996, UFC 9 and 10 saw plenty of finishes, just not a tap from a rear-naked choke, triangle, armbar or countless other ways to end a fight via lock or choke. Understandably, that was an entirely different era.
Sell Fine, Lavigne Admits He Screwed Up
(cagepotato.com)In comments made by both earlier today, Pete Sell did not criticize referee Yves Lavigne for his refereeing in his fight with Matt Brown at UFC 96, and Lavigne acknowledged that he "screwed up" and he'll learn from his mistakes in refereeing the fight.
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