EliteXC News - Page 8

Elite XC is heading to “The Venue” at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind. on Friday, October 10 for Sho XC Challenger Series 9, which will air live on Showtime beginning at 11 p.m ET. The main event will feature undefeated heavyweight fighter Dave “Pee Wee” Herman (11-0) taking on Kerry “The Meat Truck” Schall (21-10). Herman’s last two wins have both been under the Elite XC banner against Mario Rinaldi and Ron Waterman, respectively. Both victories were by way of stoppage due to strikes. “Pee Wee” claims that he trains himself out of his own garage. If that’s true, then he is one heck of a naturally talented fighter. Rinaldi remains the only man to survive the first round with Herman. In each of his other 10 professional fights, he’s been able to dispatch the other man before the first five minute bell, usually with strikes. He’s a big athletic country boy with a strong wrestling base. Rinaldi had a ridiculously tough time taking him down and Waterman — who is a beast — couldn’t hold him there when he did get him to the mat.

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As Elite XC started to introduce titles last year, each weight class has started to receive attention as to when or who would be involved in championship fights. One of the open categories is the light heavyweight division, which still hasn’t been crowned, but top contender Rafael Feijao seems to be the leading candidate for a title shot. EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that Feijao would be involved in the upcoming Nov. 8 card on Showtime, but still didn’t know if a title would be on the line. “I can just tell you that there’s no guarantees that we will be introducing a light heavyweight title, but at this point any fight that Feijao’s in, it is a title worthy challenge,” Shaw stated. “He’s only going to be facing top notch competition.” With the EliteXC lightweight title now up in the air, as the promotion stripped champion K.J. Noons of the belt, the promotion also has to look at their heavyweight division where champion Antonio Silva is currently under suspension stemming from a positive drug test result following his last fight. “Antonio (Silva) is the EliteXC heavyweight champ and he will continue to be the heavyweight champ until he has his day in front of the commission,” confirmed Shaw to MMAWeekly.com about the status of their heavyweight titleholder. “When the commission comes and levies down on him with whatever ruling they have, EliteXC will huddle up and we will figure out what we want to do about the title at that point.”

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The current focus for EliteXC is the upcoming Oct. 4 show on CBS, which will pit top star Kimbo Slice against Ultimate Fighting Championship hall of famer Ken Shamrock. But the promotion is already working on its next major Showtime broadcast set for Nov. 8. The promotion has set the date and confirmed it will be a Showtime broadcast, but at this time no location has been announced or secured for the show. EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw did confirm a number of the competitors that will fight on the card including Joey Villasenor, Rafael Feijao, Brett Rogers, and Nick Diaz. No opponents have been secured for any of the fighters, outside of Shaw stating that Diaz would not be fighting lightweight champion K.J. Noons, who was stripped of his belt by the promotion on Friday. Speculation has Villasenor getting a rematch against Robbie Lawler, who he lost to while fighting in Pride a few years ago, and getting a shot at the EliteXC middleweight title for the second time in the process, although nothing has been confirmed at this time. Shaw also disclosed that the Nov. 8 show will be the final EliteXC show for 2008 as they gear up for the new year.

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After confirming exclusively to TATAME.com that he’ll do his next fight in EliteXC for the light-heavyweight title, Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante said that his trainings now are focused in one opponent. “It looks like I’m going to face Cyrille Diabate, who fought with Shogun (Rua) in Pride. I think will be him, 90% chances”, said the athlete, that will face at November 8th card. With three fast knockouts on the event, Cavalcante keeps training with Anderson Silva to win the belt.

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Preparing to embark on a stretch of three events in 15 days, EliteXC recently finalized their Sept. 26 ShoXC event from the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif. In addition to five previously announced bouts that will air on Showtime, the organization added five more untelevised bouts to the card. Scott Lighty (3-0) will take on Jamiah Williamson (3-0), Steve Gable (2-0) will meet Josh McDonald (3-3), Paul Arras (4-1) meets Mono Otero (3-2), Devin Howard (1-1) will face Luke Riddering (1-0), and fellow debutants Eric Franco (0-0) and Michael Gahan (0-0) will open the evening's action. Lighty debuted professional in January for the Palace Fighting Championship. His three victories have been varied in nature, with a submission, TKO and decision all in his favor.

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While EliteXC officials declined to offer specifics regarding a possible fight to determine a new lightweight champion for the promotion, sources informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com earlier in the week that the company had been considering an option that would involve Nick Diaz and Eddie Alvarez competing for the newly vacant title in a featured bout during a tentative Nov. 8 card.

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Following the the announcement by EliteXC's Head of Fighter Operations Jeremy Lappen that the organization would be stripping KJ Noons of the Lightweight Championship, I was able to send a few messages back and forth with Kj Noons for his thoughts on being stripped of the title.

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LOS ANGELES (Sept. 19, 2008) – KJ Noons of San Diego has been stripped of his EliteXC lightweight title. The announcement was made Friday by EliteXC Head of Fight Operations, Jeremy Lappen. The foremost reason EliteXC is taking this action, Lappen said, was due to Noons’ reluctance to defend against leading 160-pound contender Nick Diaz of Stockton, Calif. “We are stripping KJ of his championship belt for refusing to defend against Diaz,’’ Lappen said. “It’s a very unfortunate situation but we cannot have belt-holders who refuse to fight the top contenders.We want champions who will fight anyone, anytime, anyplace.That’s the mentality all champions should have.

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Amidst an approaching barrage of three fight cards in the next four weeks, EliteXC is busy filling out the supporting cast for their Oct. 10 ShoXC event from Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind. In addition to a previously-announced main event between Dave "Pee Wee" Herman (11-0) and Kerry Schall (21-10), EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw today confirmed several additional matchups to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). Mark Miller (8-3) meets Anthony Lapsley (12-3), Mamed Khalidov (14-3-1) will meet Jason Guida (17-17) and undefeated Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm (7-0) will meet an as-yet-undetermined opponent. Miller fought four times for the now-defunct IFL in 2007, earning victories over Brad Blackburn and Josh Neer before suffering a brutal knockout at the ends of IFL middleweight champion Jay Hieron in his most recent outing. Lapsley is a King of the Cage, Art of War and HDNet FIghts veteran who has maintained a torrid pace to start his professional MMA career. Fighting 15 times in his first two years in the sport, nine of Lapsley's 12 victories have come via submission.

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Showtime Networks filed public notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday announcing its intention to enter preliminary negotiations for the purchase of Pro Elite Inc. Showtime, a subsidiary of the parent conglomerate CBS Corporation, already enjoys broadcasting deals with the Los Angeles-based company on both its premium cable channel and CBS. Showtime also has a 20% ownership stake in Pro Elite

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In mixed martial arts' relatively short history, it has been a rare occasion in which a British fighter has been featured on a prominent card. At "EliteXC: Heat," Paul Daley (18-6-2) will follow in the recent steps of countryman James Thompson, as "Semtex" gets his opportunity in an Oct. 4 battle with Jake Shields (21-4) -- live on network television for the EliteXC welterweight crown. Daley recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he is relishing the prospect of this massive fight -- and that he feels he is more than capable of ending Shields' 10-fight winning streak while taking his title in the process. "This is a great fight for me," Daley said. "[Shields] has gotta do what his game is, I gotta do mine. So it should be an entertaining fight -- before I knock him out." Reigning over the U.K.'s local circuit for several years, Daley made his explosive entry to the U.S. scene with a 2007 knockout of eight-year veteran Duane "Bang" Ludwig at "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni." Currently riding a six-fight win streak -- all six by stoppages due to strikes -- confidence is at its peak for the 25-year-old.

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A pair of brothers who happen to be two of the best fight prospects in Ohio are set to make their EliteXC debuts in October. FiveOuncesOfPain.com was the first to report several months ago that half-brothers Torrance Taylor (pictured) and Tiawan Howard had signed multi-fight contracts with EliteXC. And now we can be the first to report that they have been added to EliteXC’s ShoXC event to take place on Friday, Oct. 10 at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. We confirmed the news while speaking with their manager, Mike Camp of F1 Management. While opponents have yet to be finalized, EliteXC officials have confirmed that tentative matchups have been set for the two. Taylor, a dynamic lightweight striker, is likely to face former UFC veteran Jeff Cox while Howard, who normally competes at welterweight, will move up to middleweight to face Hector Urbina.

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Jason Guida, who was shown last night on Spike TV and the UFC’s hit reality television series “The Ultimate Fighter” as being dismissed from the competition after failing to make weight, has signed with EliteXC.

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EliteXC will crown its first-ever bantamweight champion on Sept. 26 when highly touted Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Wilson Reis (5-0) meets King of the Cage 135-pound title-holder Abel Cullum (11-1) in a ShoXC main event. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) passed along news of the fight last month, and EliteXC today made the official announcement. The organization also announced a previously unreported middleweight bout between Giva Santana (11-0) and Jaime Jara (19-5). The Sept. 26 ShoXC event takes place at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., and airs on Showtime. Reis, a 23-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, pushed his career mark to 5-0 with a unanimous-decision victory over Bryan Caraway at "EliteXC: Unfinished Business" in July. It was the Philadelphia-based fighter's third consecutive win in EliteXC. Reis was originally slated to face Bo Quach, who owns a current nine-fight win streak, for the EliteXC title. However, Quach was recently forced out of the fight due to a facial injury.

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A heavyweight clash between undefeated sensation Dave “Pee Wee” Herman and Kerry Schall, a veteran of season two of “The Ultimate Fighter,” is set to headline EliteXC’s ShoXC event scheduled for Friday, Oct. 10 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news earlier today with both EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw and Herman’s manager, Mike Camp of F1 Management. Herman is 2-0 since making his EliteXC debut earlier this year and is 11-0 overall. Fighting on the undercard of EliteXC’s “Street Certified” in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. on Feb. 16, Herman TKO’d American Top Team heavyweight Mario Rinaldi at 0:33 of round 3. He returned on June 14 during the promotion’s “Return of the King” event and needed just 2:19 of round 1 to TKO former UFC and PRIDE veteran Ron Waterman.

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In addition to announcing a couple more new fights for next week's ShoXC event, EliteXC also announced a Wilson Reis vs. Abel Cullum fight as the main event to determine the inaugural EliteXC Bantamweight Champion Reis was to have faced Bao Quach but injuries forced Quach off.

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Thus far, Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson has made his living as a silent menace. In his spotlight-grabbing YouTube fights, he didn’t say a whole lot to his opponents before he threw down. Usually, it was a “let’s do this,” and the fists started flying. Slice graduated to professional mixed martial arts in 2007 and doubled his fame, largely with the same reputation. In pre-fight hype, he’s played a sort of a Darth Vader of the cage – quiet and ominous, speaking only to intimidate or promise doom for his opponents. He is, of course, a humble guy away from the lights – the menace just sells a little better. But against a guy like Ken Shamrock, how could he not have a little fun? “Just come ready to fight on Oct. 4,” he said to his foe during a recent EliteXC teleconference. “Yeah, I can hear you breathin’,” Shamrock spat.

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With "EliteXC: Heat" just three weeks away, one of the evening's main-event competitors may be taking a less-than-expected approach to the bout.

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Apparently Ken Shamrock views the upcoming EliteXC 10/4 fight against Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson as a bit of an insult. He made that feeling known during a teleconference yesterday and said "I will shut everybody up and make amends for those [defeats] by putting Kimbo’s lights out."

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Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua Update: ‘Coming to CBS’ EliteXC Middleweight Contender Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua talked with PDG about his victory over Tony Bonello, his upcoming fight against Benji Radach on the EXC-CBS Saturday Night Fights on October 4th and his brother ‘Shogun’ Rua.

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PDG: Your brother Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua is rumored to return later this year against Quintin ‘Rampage’ Jackson and other fighters. How is his knee and how often are the two of you training together? NINJA: A lot of rumors about ‘Shogun’ are running around on the internet. I read about ‘Rampage’ and Mark Coleman a few weeks ago and now most recently about Lyoto Machida. They are all just rumors; right now he is in the USA, training in San Diego. He was in Canada for a month conducting special training on the knee with a specialist and we kept contact by phone and radio. ‘Shogun’ is coming home next week and then I think that we will have the official news about his next fight. Right now the most important thing is to have him 100%, focus on the hard training and I’m sure that we will see him fighting again at the end of this year, for sure.

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