Franklin Views Henderson As Just Another Fight
(mmaweekly.com)Teaching has always come natural to Rich Franklin. From his days as a math teacher back in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, the former UFC middleweight champion has always taken to his ability to teach and help a new generation learn.
During the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show, Franklin took his teaching skills to the mat and helped a group of young fighters follow their dreams in making it to the UFC. Fighters eager to learn under Franklin included Marcus Davis, Keith Jardine, Seth Petruzelli, and new UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.
Since then Franklin has had a very busy and storied career, but the chance to revisit the days of The Ultimate Fighter don't particularly excite the Ohio native, as he is set to do that very thing if he defeats Dan Henderson at UFC 93 in Ireland.
Report: Griffin Out Most Of 2009
(mmamania.com)It now appears that the broken hand Forrest Griffin suffered against Rashad Evans at UFC 92 is worse than expected. Griffin apparently needed to have pins surgically inserted into the hand to expedite the healing process, and now it's expected he'll be out until Fall '09, well past his medical suspension that runs until June.
UFC Considering 2009 Event In San Antonio
(mmajunkie.com)The UFC is hoping to return to San Antonio, Texas later this year, probably sometime between September & December. They're hoping to run an event at AT&T Center, but NBA schedule conflicts could force UFC to the smaller Freeman Coliseum instead.
End of an Era: Fighter-Manager Handshake Deals Die as MMA Grows
(sherdog.com)Widely regarded as the dean of MMA managers, Monte Cox has always relied on handshake deals with his fighters.
That just might change in the near future.
As MMA continues to grow, so does the money in the sport, attracting a new breed of fighter representatives -- agents, as opposed to managers -- from outside the game. These agents attempt to jump on the MMA gravy train, Cox and others contend, by poaching fighters from their existing managers with inflated promises of bigger paydays.
Cox, a 13-year MMA veteran who boasts the biggest stable of name fighters in the game, of late has lost a couple of those handshake clients to other managers or agents.
And thus, he said he is seriously considering switching to written contracts.
“It’s becoming more of a business than a sport,” said the Bettendorf, Iowa-based Cox, whose 60 some fighters include Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Rich Franklin, Jens Pulver and Robbie Lawler.
“I’m an odd character in that I don’t do contracts,” he said. “For 13 years, I’ve gone on a handshake. But now, it’s become a little different in that you take somebody that you’ve developed and you’ve built and they’re making a lot of money and then they jump to somebody else. And it leaves you holding the bag.
“So now I’m definitely thinking about” going with written contracts, said Cox, who is also a veteran promoter with Extreme Challenge, which he owns, and other promotions.
While Cox does not believe that the few fighters he lost, most notably Roger Huerta, were actually poached, he said he hears poaching horror stories from smaller managers all the time.
“All the smaller guys tell me how bad it is,” he said.
Chad Bergmeier, based in Waterloo, Iowa, is one of them. Like Cox, he too has lost some fighters, including Kevin Burns, with whom he had handshake deals. Bergmeier said he also is going to start instituting written contracts with his fighters.
“It’s so strange,” said Bergmeier, who manages about 30 fighters -- including Rob Kimmons, Ryan Thomas and Travis Fulton -- though none with quite the star power of Cox’s A-listers. “I’ve been involved in this sport for about 11 years now and it definitely has changed a lot, gotten bigger. And naturally, as that happens, you do have more of the poacher-type people showing up.”
Another smaller fighter rep is Mike Camp of F1 Management in Akron, Ohio, whose biggest name client is Dave Herman.
“I’d like to do all my business with a handshake,” Camp said. “But in this climate, you just can’t do that. The sport has changed where you gotta be more guarded with your clients...
Pros Pick: Coleman vs. Shogun II
(sherdog.com)Coleman and Rua are set to square off again this Saturday at UFC 93. Sherdog.com contacted dozens upon dozens of pros for their thoughts on the rematch, but not many were brave enough to put their reputations on the line:
PETE SELL VS MATT BROWN AT UFC 96
(mmaweekly.com)In what could be a sleeper nominee for Fight of the Night, MMAWeekly.com has confirmed with sources close to Pete “Drago” Sell that he will be making his Ultimate Fighting Championship return on March 7 against Matt Brown at UFC 96 in Columbus, Ohio.
Tom Atencio: "No truth" to rumors of poor Affliction ticket sales
(mmajunkie.com)Although Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio is tight-lipped about specific sales totals for the Jan. 24 "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" event, he maintains sales are "comparable" to its first show that took place in July 2008.
However, despite his satisfaction, many reports in the past week have pegged actual sales numbers for the event at just 1,500 to 2,000 of the 15,000 available tickets for the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Denis Kang’s best day may still not be enough against Alan Belcher
(mmamania.com)“If I could fight the guys in the UFC in a Muay Thai fight, I think I would destroy them, it wouldn’t even be close. I wouldn’t have to hold back. But you’ve got to worry about the takedowns and stuff like that…I’m getting to the point where it’s hard for anybody to take me down. I mean [Kang’s] going to have to work really hard. If he’s on his best day, his best performance, it’s still going to be hard for him to take me down at all and then if he does then I’ve got a couple of tricks up my sleeve for him. You never know, I’m might slap a triangle or something on him.”
Mirko Crocop Surgery Complete
(dreamfighters.com)Once recovered from a virus which has been hit by the return from Japan, Mirko Filipovic today undertook surgery right knee. As was announced two weeks ago, Cro Cop has decided to repair the injury which he had since 2004. and the fight against Alexander Emelianenko, and the surgery was performed doctor Damir Hudetz in Zagreb clinic for trauma. The orthopedic surgeon a few months “sredio” Filipovicevo left knee, and today they came to the red cross and lateral ligaments and meniscus right knee.
Mark Hominick off Jan. 24 Affliction card with pneumonia, replacement secured
(mmajunkie.com)A bout of pneumonia has forced veteran featherweight Mark Hominick (16-8) off the Jan. 24 "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" card, Affliction Entertainment today announced.
Hominick was set to meet L.C. Davis (12-1) on the event's HDNet-televised preliminary card. The main card for the event, which takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., airs on pay per view.
Tom Atencio today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) a replacement for Hominick has been secured, and he said the fighter will be revealed in the next few days once a bout agreement has been signed.
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