August 2011 MMA News Archive - Page 6

UFC and Fox agreed to a deal for seven to eight years, starting in 2012, Sports Business Daily reports. While the agreement calls for up to four UFC shows a year on the Fox network, most of UFC's programming currently carried by Spike TV and Versus would move to Fox's FX and Fuel cable channels, the industry trade publication says. Spike has been UFC's primary cable outlet since the 2005 debut of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Ratings for UFC's live programming -- Fight Night shows and preliminary cards before pay-per-views -- have remained relatively stable over the years. TUF ratings remain in the 1.0 range despite a time shift to accommodate Spike's new Coal program. But the audience for UFC's taped shows has fallen, Sports Business Daily notes: Sources said Spike ultimately passed over concern that its UFC shoulder programming stopped growing. Shows like Unleashed,Knockouts and Countdown averaged 1 million viewers in '05. This year, they are averaging 492,000. Bidding for UFC's programs reportedly reached $90 million annually, Money has never been the only factor considered by Zuffa, which views free TV in North America as a vehicle for exposure and promotion for its core product, pay-per-view entertainment. "We're never going to be in a situation where we're making money on those networks," UFC President Dana White said earlier this year. "We'll have to come out in a situation where we break even. That works." Although Zuffa has negotiated with commercial networks before, as well as HBO, talks usually broke down over control issues. Zuffa has always insisted on keeping control of the broadcast, which is generally anthema to sports networks. Sports Business Daily did not say whether the Fox deal was with the network's sports arm or its entertainment division.

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Manny Gamburyan has suffered a shoulder injury and has been forced out of his UFC 135 fight against Diego Nunes. Gamburyan announced the news via his Twitter account on Monday. “I’m off from the UFC 135 card, I hurt my shoulder and MRI is not looking good,” Gamburyan wrote. “I just wanna say sorry to all my friends and fans, I’ll be back!”

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Jens Pulver said he's found a winning recipe for success in MMA. Or more accurately, one for finding success again. The former UFC champ got back on the winning track this past Saturday with a second-round KO victory over WEC vet Coty Wheeler (14-4), and today, he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) about the ingredients that have gone into his reinvention. Mostly, it's about limiting his appetites between fights. "People want to know the biggest thing that makes a difference? I'm not going to go out after this fight and get up to 195 pounds, 20 percent body fat, sit for three months, and then go, 'Oh, it's fight time again?' Then spend my entire camp trying to get in shape," Pulver (25-15-1) said of his pay-per-view win at "MMA Fight Pit: Genesis." "That's how I rolled for the last four years. "Now, I'm 156 this morning with six percent body fat, and I'm training this afternoon." There, he'll don a jiu-jitsu gi and work with trainer and fighter Jeff Curran, with whom he took residence with this past November. The gym boasts a stable of impressive newcomers and veterans alike, but Pulver gave special attention to Curran's cousin, Pat Curran, who is scheduled to meet Marlon Sandro in the finals of the Bellator "Summer Series" bantamweight tournament on Saturday. "I think Pat Curran, he definitely leads the way," Pulver said. "That's a powerful kid. He's leading the charge, dominating people in Bellator. It's hard not to follow." Pulver has struggled to overcome mental blocks in 12 years of competition, and in recent years, he has met a rising tide of critics who say he should hang up his four-ounce gloves. As for now, he's ignoring them. The only appetite he's looking to feed is new information gleaned from the gym...

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In the main event of Sunday's UFC on Versus 5 card, British slugger Dan Hardy finally got the fight for which he had long pined. And yet somehow, even though fellow scrapper Chris Lytle stood in front of him for a little more than 14 minutes, Hardy still came up short. UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta put an end to all speculation by tweeting post-fight that Hardy will get at least one more fight in the octagon. But "The Outlaw" isn't quite sure when he'll take the UFC co-owner up on the offer.

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Sources: Renowned MMA trainer Shawn Tompkins dead at 37 by Steven Marrocco on Aug 14, 2011 at 8:44 pm ET A fighter close to Shawn Tompkins says the renowned trainer passed away this morning. Veteran lightweight John Gunderson today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Tompkins "didn't wake up," but he was still unclear on the details surrounding his passing. Longtime friend and confidant Chris Horodecki said the trainer was in Canada and had spoken to him yesterday but was unaware of the bad news when contacted today. Additional sources ultimately confirmed the trainer's death with MMAjunkie.com. Tompkins first emerged on the national MMA scene as a coach in the now-defunct International Fight League. He was first an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Anacondas and was later promoted to head coach after MMA legend Bas Rutten stepped down from the role to assume a commentator position. He later split with the company. Tompkins then migrated to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and served as a coach there before splitting with the gym and joining the TapouT Training Facility. The coach, who also competed professionally for a handful of fights a decade ago, nurtured the careers of several notable fighters in his career, including Gunderson, Horodecki, Sam Stout and Mark Hominick. Tompkins, who frequently appeared on MMAjunkie.com Radio, was 37. Check back with MMAjunkie.com for an update on this unfortunate news.

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The winner of tonight's UFC on Versus 5 main event will leave Milwaukee with more than just a victory and win bonus. UFC officials today announced that either Chris Lytle or opponent Dan Hardy also will receive a 2012 Harley-Davidson Blackline motorcycle. In the buildup to tonight's UFC on Versus 5 event, the UFC teamed up with Milwaukee's Harley-Davidson Museum to host pre-event festivities.

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When Phil Davis went down with an injury just weeks before UFC 133, Lyoto Machida was initially tapped to replace him against Rashad Evans. Then "The Dragon" decided he wanted "Anderson Silva money" and freshly minted company man Tito Ortiz stepped in to save the day. That left both Machida and Davis out in the cold with no dance partners.

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MILWAUKEE – Perhaps there's a reason UFC welterweight Chris Lytle said he's willing to stand and trade with British slugger Dan Hardy. Apparently, it doesn't really matter where a win or loss puts him in the UFC's 170-pound division. Lytle on Saturday informed his employers that Sunday's UFC on Versus 5 contest would be his last in the octagon

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MAIN CARD (Versus) •Dan Hardy (170)* vs. Chris Lytle (170.5) •Ben Henderson (156) vs. Jim Miller (155.5) •Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Charles Oliveira (155) •Duane Ludwig (170.5) vs. Amir Sadollah (170) PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook) •C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Jared Hamman (185) •Joseph Benavidez (135.5) vs. Eddie Wineland (136) •Ed Herman (186) vs. Kyle Noke (185) •Ronny Markes (205) vs. Karlos Vemola (205.5) •Alex Caceres (146) vs. Jim Hettes (145.5) •Cole Miller (155) vs. T.J. O'Brien (155.5) •Danny Castillo (156) vs. Jacob Volkmann (156) •Edwin Figueroa (136) vs. Jason Reinhardt (135) * - Missed weight on first attempt (171.5 pounds); made weight on second attempt

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Kimbo Slice, the former street fighter turned MMA fighter who has been out of the fight game since the UFC cut him 15 months ago, stepped into the ring for his first professional boxing match on Saturday night. It went about as well as he could have hoped. According to multiple accounts of the bout posted on Twitter, Kimbo knocked out his opponent, a man named James Wade, in just 17 seconds.

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According to his coach from China Top Team, Chinese superstar, Zhang Tie Quan will be making his return to the Octagon against Darren Elkins this October. Tatame has the report: Another fight is coming up to UFC 136 card. The event, headlined by two title fights (lightweights Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard and featherweights Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian), will mark the return of Zhang Tiequan to the octagon. His coach at China Top Team, Ruy Menezes told TATAME that his protégé is set to fight Darren Elkins at UFC 136, on October 8th.

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MILWAUKEE – British welterweight scrapper Dan Hardy (23-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has been begging for someone to stand on the opposite side of the UFC's octagon and offer him a slugfest. Despite the dangers in doing so, longtime veteran Chris Lytle (30-18-5 MMA, 9-10 UFC) promises he'll do exactly that in the main event of Sunday's UFC on Versus 5 card. The five-time "Fight of the Night" winner insists it's not a suicide mission. At nearly 37 years old, "Lights Out" still has eyes on the UFC's welterweight title – he's just not "pulling an Anthony Johnson" to get there. "I want the type of fight that everybody afterward says, 'That's the best fight I've seen in a long time,'" Lytle told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "So, there's no thought in my head of pulling an Anthony Johnson (because) I've got to get that 'W.' I'd rather lose a fight than get a win like that, to be honest with you.

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MILWAUKEE – Former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson proved naysayers wrong when he successfully made his UFC debut in April. Henderson outclassed Mark Bocek en route to a decision victory and proved WEC talent is on par with the UFC's. Henderson's next foe is tough veteran Jim Miller, who has only seen defeat once in his UFC career. And if victorious in the UFC on Versus 5 headliner, Henderson has a Georges St-Pierre-inspired speech planned.

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Junie Browning, the former Ultimate Fighter bad boy who was cut by the UFC after an arrest in 2009, has his biggest fight since then on Saturday night, on the MMA Fight Pit: Genesis pay-per-view. But if Friday's weigh-in is any indication, Browning still doesn't have his head screwed on right. Browning weighed in at 162.25 pounds for the lightweight fight, or 7.25 pounds over the limit. A fighter coming in overweight by any amount is unprofessional, but coming in overweight by that much is absolutely inexcusable.

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MILWAUKEE – Three-time WEC title challenger Donald Cerrone is the type of explosive fighter who can capitalize on a single mistake made by any opponent. And if Cerrone's predictions for his upcoming UFC on Versus 5 fight with Charles Oliveira hold true, the Brazilian youngster may have already made an unfortunate move: an errant smirk pointed "Cowboy's" way. "I seen him looking at me the other day, smirking; that to me is cocky," Cerrone said. "Come Sunday night, it's on. I can't wait to peer across that ring and see his little cocky ass standing there. I'm excited."

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Less than 24 hours after announcing that UFC television partner ESPN declined to air this weekend’s Hardy vs. Lytle event across British airwaves, the promotion has come back full force, providing several options for U.K. fans.

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Despite all the swirling talk about the UFC poaching all of Strikeforce’s top fighters, Gilbert Melendez won’t be one of them if that situation comes to fruition. Melendez will be defending his Strikeforce belt in his next bout.

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Jorge Lopez has signed with the UFC and will fight Justin Edwards at UFC Fight Night 25 on Sept. 17 in New Orleans.

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Newly signed light-heavyweight Gerald Harris (18-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) and Japanese veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura (15-10 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) are penciled in for DREAM.17. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the matchup from sources close to the bout, who said verbal agreements are in place with contracts expected shortly. DREAM.17 takes place Sept. 24 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Although broadcast plans have yet to be announced, negotiations are underway between the promotion and previous U.S. television partner HDNet to possibly air the event.

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An undisclosed injury has forced Josh Grispi (14-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) out of October's UFC 136 event. In his place steps featherweight replacement Nam Phan (16-9 MMA, 0-2 UFC), who now takes on Matt Grice (13-4 MMA, 1-4 UFC) at the event, officials recently announced. Featuring a championship doubleheader, UFC 136 takes place Oct. 8 at Houston's Toyota Center. The evening's main card airs on pay-per-view. However, Phan vs. Grice is expected to take place on the evening's preliminary card.

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