MMA Personalities News - Page 54

The Rebirth of the Monster – Kevin Randleman signs with Strikeforce Former UFC Champion, former PRIDE standout, former Hammerhouse member, former....just fill in the blank! Kevin "The Monster" Randleman sat down with PDG to discuss his return to fighting in North America with Strikeforce and the details of his return, training and much more including Ken Shamrock, Robert Drysdale and the passing of "Mask" Charles Lewis of Tapout.

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Ringstar, a martial arts shoe maker announced a deal with UFC Star Rich Franklin and American Fighter apparel to produce a complete line of shoes with the American Fighter/Rich Franklin brand. The announcement was made at the American Fighter pre-fight party at club Mynt Ulta Lounge prior to UFC 96. The shoe line will include casual, athletic and summer shoes. The shoe line is scheduled to hit retail stores by mid summer. Also announced was a partnership between Ringstar and the “Real American Fighters” program. The RAF program is a partnership between the Disabled American Veterans, Rich Franklin and American Fighter. The program donates dollars back to the DAV for apparel and other items sold by American Fighter. Ringstar joins the program and will sell a line of flip flop shoes through retail and give a portion of the proceeds to the Real American Fighters Program. “We are real excited to work with Ringstar” Stated Rich Franklin at the party. “These guys are nothing but class and we have a great future ahead. The designs are awesome. I am a shoe guy and this is going to be real nice” The Ringtar deal was inked in January.

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A sad day in Mixed Martial Arts.

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Watch "Mayhem" help out the kids who constantly get picked on in school, by turning the tables on the bullies!

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MMAPayout.com has mentioned previously the efforts to better reach the Latino demos. The UFC is not alone, though, in these efforts, as key sponsors of the UFC are looking for synergies with the UFC”s outreach efforts to better serve Latinos. One of these sponsors is Anheuser-Busch. Bud Light has consistently sought out a better grasp of Latino market share and they have recently boasted of their sponsorship efforts with UFC fighters in their overall spending in the Latino sports segment: Anheuser-Busch currently sponsors the Mexican National Soccer Team, Chivas de Guadalajara, WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Angel Torres and UFC Lightweight Efrain Escudero. ….. The company has the No. 1 and No. 2 beer brands in the Latino market — Bud Light and Budweiser. To learn more about these efforts, please visit http://www.Latinobud.com. While Torres has been mentioned in regards to Bud Light before, this is the first mention I have heard of Escudero in connection with a Bud Light deal. Efrain’s win in the TUF Finals gave him a high profile that Anheuser felt they could capitalize on to reach the Latino demographic. Torres and Escudero are proof that if you are young, Latino and have archived a level of accomplishment in the MMA, the world will be your oyster marketing-wise.

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Silver Star Casting and “Suga” Rashad Evans are both undefeated, on the rise, and serious contenders. With the union of two industry forces, Silver Star and Evans are creating a full collection of premium tops and accessories inspired by the the line’s signature high-octane look, and Evans’ status as an undefeated MMA champion. Evans, who holds the Light Heavyweight champion title, is best known for defeating MMA star, Chuck Liddell, and Ultimate Fighter 3 winner Michael Bisping. Most recently, Evans defeated Forrest Griffin, the winner of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV show, and retained his title of Light Heavyweight champion. Rapidly becoming the clothing choice for MMA fighters and fans, Silver Star Casting Company’s series of premium signature fighter shirts will be expanded to include the first full signature fighter collection, in collaboration with “Suga” Rashad Evans. By working with Rashad, we’ve brought a champion from the fight world into the apparel industry to bring a whole new vision and feel to the marketplace” says Silver Star owner, Luke Burrett. “Rashad has Silver Star’s full support and together we’re introducing a product line fight fans can wear with pride.” The “Suga” Rashad Evans signature collection will include the Silver Star’s signature graphics, premium cuts, and envelope-pushing details. The collection will hit stores in May 2009.

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Patrick Cote isn't shy about calling out anyone in the middleweight, or light heavyweight divisions. Cote also talks about how he his rehab is coming, and when he plans to get back into the cage.

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Although he wouldn't reveal too many details, Tito Ortiz said over the weekend he will be back in action in August. Rumors have this fight being at the next Affliction event, with Renato Sobral the most likely opponent.

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The UFC returns to Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday with an intriguing bout between former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and dangerous contender Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine. Sherdog.com contacted dozens of professional fighters and trainers for their opinions on the UFC 96 main event. Some were reluctant to give a prediction, but plenty were willing to lay their reputations on the line and try to forecast what will transpire in the Octagon.

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Tito Ortiz – “This is a fight that didn't need to happen. After Rampage got screwed on a rematch for the title, he KO’ed Silva unconscious! Evans was afraid to fight Rampage, so Rampage stepped up to murder Jardine. This won't be a fight to get excited about. KO after the 2:35 mark of the 1st round for My boy Rampage.”

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A former ultimate fighting champion facing sentencing for tax fraud broke down in tears today when he heard a friend describe in court his charity work helping his terminally ill son. Ian Freeman - dubbed The Machine by ultimate fighting fans - sobbed as David Scott told how he had helped his son Lewis, who is dying from cancer. Freeman was before Newcastle Crown Court to be sentenced for a three-year tax fraud.

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he should know the UFC will not co-promote ever

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I think Ken cut himself. It goes back to his giant ego and not being smart enough to understand the rest of the business. I think he got upset because Kimbo was making twice as much as he was and I don’t think his ego could take it. I know for a fact that he tried to hold the network up for more money the day before the show and unfortunately his parting words were, “Well, then you never know what will happen because anything can happen.” Then when he showed up with the cut we all thought he juiced himself. You know, he’s not to be trusted … a real fighter would have superglued it and put makeup on it and been and would have been out there fighting. Which (is something) I have done and many fighters have done many times … I have no idea what he’s doing. I just hope when he’s finished destroying himself that he has something left to live by. -Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock comments to Sam Caplan on brother Ken’s last-minute withdrawal from his EliteXC main event fight against Kimbo Slice last October due to (a possible self-inflicted) cut sustained hours for the bout. Frank — who had not been training for a fight and competes at 185 pounds — volunteered to fight the much larger Slice on two hours notice. Unfortunately CBS executives reportedly nixed the idea and opted to go with Seth Petruzelli instead. The rest, as “they” say is history. Despite moments of civility, the adopted and quasi-estranged brothers are back on bad terms following the illness of their father Bob. Family Feud, MMA style. For the rest of the interview click here.

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Well, it looks like I will be having ACL surgery next week. I have had a history of bad luck with my knees. I have already had two knee surgeries… meniscectomies on both knees. Those surgeries were relatively simple because they just go in arthoscopically and shave down the meniscus. There is no stitching and no repairing done. The surgery scheduled for next week will not be so simple. Unlike the last two times, I will need my meniscus repaired. Instead of just shaving that little piece out, they will be stitching it up and getting it to sit back in place.

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In his first action since a July 2008 loss to Fedor Emelianenko, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia will face Ray Mercer in the main event of Adrenaline MMA III. First reported as a possible bout by Fiveouncesofpain.com, Sylvia's manager and Adrenaline MMA promoter Monte Cox today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Sylvia vs. Mercer will be headlining the May 30 event at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. While first pitched as an MMA contest, Sylvia (24-5 MMA, 0-0 Boxing) will instead turn in his open-fingered gloves for a pair of boxing mitts.

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“Big” John McCarthy talks Vaselinegate and Strikeforce’s purchase of Pro-Elite

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As a referee in mixed martial arts for over a decade, “Big” John gave his thoughts on the recent controversy revolving around Vaselinegate with Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn: It has been a problem for a long time. It is one that we [referees] have addressed before. As much as people want to make of it; I don’t ever want to suggest that the performance by GSP in that fight was aided by Vaseline....that is ridiculous! His performance was not based at all by having Vaseline on him. He beat B.J. Penn soundly and because of the mistake by someone in his corner people try to make it a bigger deal than it really was. We stopped allowing fighters to have their corner men apply Vaseline to them in the locker-room because we did find that some people were applying it to areas that were illegal. You have commissioners in the back that work both MMA and Boxing matches and sometimes those lines get crossed because there are some differences between the two that sometimes get overlooked. So that is why the fighters get there pre-fight Vaseline at the cage now. This allows the referee or an inspector to watch the cut-man or cornerman when it is applied. Even now though there are times that Vaseline still ends up on a fighter’s back by accident. I don’t think it was intentional or an attempt to cheat but I agree it should have been stopped by the inspector and checked to make sure who ever was applying the Vaseline to GSP’s face didn’t touch him anywhere else. I think the situation was handled well and it wasn’t like they were rubbing handfuls of Vaseline all over his chest and back. I think it has been blown out of proportion and that it didn’t have any effect on the fight. The new rules established by the UFC should stop these incidents from occurring in the future but there is still going to be the chance that the cut-man accidentally touches the fighter somewhere other than his face. Its just human error and not cheating. As far as B.J. goes, I am sure he is upset that it happened but I highly doubt he is going to use that as an excuse for why he lost the fight.

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David Loiseau 'The Crow Returns to the UFC' PunchDrunkGamer's Justin Bolduc sat down with David “The Crow” Loiseau to talk about his UFC return against Ed Herman at UFC 97 in April. PDG: First, it is great to have you back in the UFC. How do you feel about your upcoming return? David: I feel great, man. It feels good to be back home. [The UFC] is my home. It was a long time since I've been back – since 2006, and I'm just very happy to be back, man.

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The Los Angeles Times takes a look at various cheating methods in combat sports today, from the illegal substance in Antonio Margarito’s glove to the Vaseline on Georges St. Pierre’s body. The message here is that cheating, or “gamesmanship,” as Bert Sugar charitably tags it, is nothing new. But of interest to MMA fans are remarks from former UFC referee “Big” John McCarthy, which suggest that greasing problems have persisted for some time now, and that it’s no big secret, either: "Guys will push the envelope in every way possible," former UFC referee "Big" John McCarthy said of mixed martial arts fighters. "Vaseline has always been an issue in MMA. It's a real problem." McCarthy has seen MMA fighters come into the octagon after taking a bath filled with soapy water or even baby oil. "You can't notice it when they're dry, but when they get on the ground and start to sweat, it starts to come out of their pores," McCarthy said. McCarthy also blamed the persistence of this problem on athletic commission regulators, who are accustomed to working boxing matches and don’t realize the advantage a little extra grease on the body can provide in an MMA fight. The issue raised by the greasebath version of events – and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that accusation – is tricky to deal with.

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Sounds like Kenny Florian isn’t buying B.J. Penn’s revised story about the alleged GSP greasing and ‘roiding tip off any more than we are. Talking with Fighters Only, KenFlo dismissed Penn’s claims outright, saying: "Yeah it went from an email, to a text to a friend of the camp. I think next it will be a fax, and then it'll probably be a bird that delivered a telegram to him from a roommate's brother's dog's owner's sister,” Florian laughed. "It's kind of ridiculous. BJ is known as a trash talker and he plays a lot of mind games. He does a lot of psychological warfare. …People have tried that on me in the past, but what they don't know is that they're playing checkers and I'm playing chess," he said. There you have it, B.J. Kenny Florian is not impressed with your attempts at mind games. Try again. Or just get in the gym and prepare yourself to kick his ass over the course of five rounds. Either one, though I hear the second option generally pays better.

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