A Labor of Glove
(sports.espn.go.com)Action in the cage has a way of being chaotic. What goes on backstage to ensure fighters get paid and fans get their money's worth is anything but, thanks to commissions like the CSAC.
UFC contender Phil Davis taking time off to improve, plans to fight by year's end
(mmajunkie.com)To the naysayers who've said he isn't the future of the light-heavyweight division, Phil Davis has something to say.
Did you think of that one on your own, or did you need help?
"So I'm not the best in the world," Davis (9-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Guess what. I will be one day."
Less-than-stellar feedback on his most recent performance and a series of nagging injuries have prompted Davis to realign his priorities. Improving his skills is now the most important part of his career.
Former Champ Jeff Lacy Ready to Silence Nick Diaz’s Boxing Talk
(mmaweekly.com)Challenge extended, challenge accepted.
Just days after Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and his manager Cesar Gracie stated they were focused on a professional boxing match for the Stockton, Calif., native’s next fight, names like Fernando Vargas and Jeff Lacy starting popping up as potential opponents.
Judges Try To F*ck Up Bellator 41, Fighters Do Work
(cagepotato.com)Well kids, it’s another lazy Sunday, and another look back on Bellator’s last card, conceived and executed for maximum entertainment. Bjorn Rebney and company pour their hearts and souls into each season, and if something goes wrong, there’s only one party to blame: the terrorists. Bellator 41 popped off under the desert sun in Yuma, Arizona yesterday, and we’re tempted to call this a mistake — an outdoor event in the harsh late afternoon sun, where it’s 99 degrees in April? Sure, it sounds harsh and perhaps cruel to the fighters who spent Thursday and Friday purging any spare liquids out of their bodies, but anyone believing that just can’t grasp the next-level meta-thinking that goes on inside Bellator HQ. There’s a higher purpose here, and we’re just too pedestrian in our thinking to follow it.
Amateur MMA fighter Kearn Nedd dies fending off robbery
(mmamania.com)Tragedy strikes again for the world of MMA, I hate seeing things happen. Kern was a personal friend of mine.
Amateur Canadian mixed martial artist, Kearn Nedd, was killed Saturday afternoon (April 16, 2011) while attempting to foil a robbery at a charity poker game at the Rozz Restaurant and Entertainment Complex in Brampton, Ontario.
Bellator 44: Lyman Good vs Dan Hornbuckle booked for welterweight tournament qualifier on May 14
(mmamania.com)CHICAGO, Ill. (April 18, 2011) - Bellator Fighting Championships continues to add to its already stacked Atlantic City fight card, this time adding a Season 5 welterweight tournament qualifier fight between former Bellator Welterweight World Champion Lyman "Cyborg" Good and Season 2 tournament finalist Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle.
Headlining the May 14th show will be a non-title Super Fight featuring reigning Bellator World Middleweight Champion and former Judo Olympian Hector Lombard against dangerous Hawaiian UFC veteran Falaniko Vitale. And, rounding out the nights stacked card is a Lightweight Tournament Championship fight between Brazilian Knockout artist Patricky Pitbull and undefeated NCAA Champion Mike Chandler.
"Good vs. Hornbuckle is a fight a lot of MMA fans, myself included, have wanted to see for quite some time," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "These two guys have Bellator in their blood, and on May 14th one will move into our next Tournament and one will go home. This promises to be a great fight on May 14th at Caesars."
'Banha" Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov at UFC Rio
(mixedmartialarts.com)Following two aborted starts, Stanislav Nedkov will once again attempt to make his Octagon debut on Aug. 27, when he meets fellow light heavyweight Luis Cane at UFC 134 “Rio.”
The UFC announced on its official website Sunday that Nedkov and Cane have “verbally agreed” to square off at the event, which takes place at the 18,000-seat HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. While not officially announced, a middleweight title clash between champion Anderson Silva and challenger Yushin Okami is expected to topline the promotion’s first Brazilian event since 1998.
JZ Cavalcante: DREAM hasn't paid me, Strikeforce is all talk
(mixedmartialarts.com)Marcelo Barone: How’s the situation with Dream? Did they give you any response to your complaints about not being paid?
JZ Cavalcante: Not so far. My manager called them, but nobody respond, nobody answers. It’s disrespectful, the guys disappeared. The situation in Japan’s not good, because of the tsunami, but it’s no excuse, because it’s been a year. They should, at least, answer me, because there’re people saying they plan to produce another event.
MB: Do you intend to start a lawsuit so you’ll get paid?
JZ: I’m considering, I’m looking for a lawyer, trying to find another agency in Japan, somebody from there, who’s closer to it, so that I can get this cleared up.
MB: What do you think about this MMA market crash in Japan? Does that surprise you?
JZ: Over the years, after 2007, I realized it’ll all the same thing. I guess Japan didn’t keep up with MMA’s boom, its professionalization. The guys from Ultimate are much different than the guys in Japan, that schedule you to fight at the last minute, with two or three weeks in advance. It’s hard to promote the event that way… I realized that, if they didn’t change its concept, and started to think world wildly, it’d happen, like it did.
MB: And how are things with Strikeforce now?
JZ: Not good at all. They’ve been promising me a fight since December and every month they say the same thing: that I’ll be on their next card, next month… Meanwhile they’ve offered me two bouts with five days in advance and I asked them sometime to think about it. They called me in the morning and I asked them to give an answer in the evening. Then, when I called them, they have found someone already, and they didn’t tell me anything, they didn’t call me… I hope that with Strikeforce’s purchase, its organization will improve, and also its structure.
Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago Tavares at UFC Rio
(mixedmartialarts.com)An intriguing lightweight affair between the always-exciting Spencer Fisher (24-7 MMA, 9-6 UFC) and Brazilian submission ace Thiago Tavares (15-4-1 MMA, 5-4-1 UFC) is in the works for "UFC: Rio."
MMAjunkie.com has confirmed with sources close to the event that verbal agreements are in place for the matchup, which was first reported by Brazilian outlet Portal do Vale Tudo.
UFC vet Dustin Hazelett puts fighting career on hold, heads back to school
(mmajunkie.com)Former UFC welterweight and lightweight Dustin Hazelett has put his fighting career on hold and gone back to school.
The 24-year-old also is focusing on teaching and jiu-jitsu competitions during the break from MMA.
The Ohio-based fighter discussed the plans with MMAjunkie.com's Dann Stupp in today's MMA Insider for the "Dayton Daily News."
Hazelett (12-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC), a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Jorge Gurgel, made his pro MMA debut as an 18-year-old and signed with the UFC just two years later. He won five of his first seven UFC fights while winning two "Submission of the Night" bonuses and a "Fight of the Night" award.
UFC 132: Tito Ortiz Feels He Matches up Well With Ryan Bader
(bloodyelbow.com)Former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz will face up and comer Ryan Bader at UFC 132 in July. Ortiz has been hampered in recent years by a long string of back injuries. He gives his thoughts on the fight and has some advice for fighters who want to avoid ending up like UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes:
"I think (Ryan Bader and I) match up really really well. He only has one loss on his record. He's a tough kid, really great wrestler; his stand up skills are fairly decent. His ground game is ok. I think I have my (work) cut out for me. I have to be in great shape and I have to press the pace."
"I haven't had a win since 2006. But people have to understand, watch all the fights I have lost. I lost them by a little bit. I fought Forrest Griffin the second time, I thought I beat him two rounds to one. When I fought Rashad (Evans), I thought I beat him, but they took a point away, made it a draw, I didn't think I grabbed the fence. I’m competing against the top guys of the world, each and every time. There's never no gimmies and I want to thank Dana and Joe Silva who give me these matches to show I'm still competing against the top guys in the world."
Kang Prevails at Light Heavyweight in Bizarre Win at Road FC2
(sherdog.com)SEOUL -- “He is a tough kid who came to fight,” Denis Kang said after his victory. “Everyone was telling me how quickly they expected me to win, but everyone is tough now days.”
Friday night at the Grand Hilton Hotel Convention Centre, Kang earned a unanimous decision over fellow Pride Fighting Championships veteran Eun Soo Lee in the headliner of Road FC 2 “Alive.”
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