MMA Personalities News - Page 64

An Open letter to all On behalf of Brett Rogers, Team Bison and everyone representing our camp: we would like to clarify a few issues that may be mis- interrupted by the press and the many many message boards. First we would like to start out by once again thanking Gary Shaw and Elite XC. Elite is our home and it is where we hope to be for a long time. They treat their fighters great. More then the day to day treatment of the fighters they are interested in developing fighters and making long term commitments to their fighters. Unlike other promotions who have a tradition of “one and done” and cancelling contracts without notice; Elite is standing by their fighters. We are proud to be with the organization that brought back Yves, Sammy and Phil when others wrote them off. We were proud to be part of an organization that gave James Thompson a chance at redemption (and in our mind earned another chance on Saturday!). Elite gave us an amazing opportunity to bring aboard great sponsors who could really get their money’s worth. We really believe in Elite and hope to bring more of our fighters up through their ranks. We do not want anyone to think for a second we are ungrateful, angry or otherwise disappointed with Gary Shaw, Elite, Showtime or CBS. And no; we have not been forced or threatened to say this and anyone who thinks we could be does not know Team Bison. Simply put; we will always speak our minds and will not be intimidated; which brings us to the Kimbo situation. Brett had won 6 fight before coming to Elite. He struggled on the local circuit to find fights. He was pretty much avoided from day 1. The guys he fought simply provided zero competition and he put them all away early. When he fought for the regional title he fought a guy who was 10-1 and suppose to be this great striker. Brett KO’d him in under 10 seconds. We went to Hawaii where despite changing the rules as we stepped through the ropes and again during the fight; Brett KO’d his opponent. Finally we got to go BIG and face serious competition in Elite XC in Texas. The main event on that show was Kimbo Slice vs Bo Cantrall. Bo is a sub .500 fighter who was on a 4 fight losing streak when he got the call to come to Elite. On that show Brett faced Ralph Kelly who a decent up and comer with a good amateur record. Brett had a tougher opponent but got less money and a on the Under Card...

Add your comment  

hey mod or anyone - sorry this isnt posted the right way but the site this is taken from is very messy and hard to navigate. more long winded version of Tito with Howard Stern Summary from Marksfriggin.com a Stern fan site: -------------------------------- Tito Ortiz Visits. 06/03/08. 9:00am During the break Howard took a call from a guy who talked about how great Rosie was during that interview. Howard said that she was an excellent interview. He got back to his commercial after letting the guy go. After the break we heard a prank call that High Pitch Eric made to a pharmacy about some ''twat cream.'' Howard came back a short time later and had fighter Tito Ortiz some in. Tito came in dressed in a suit so Howard asked him to model it for them since it was one of his company's suits. Tito is leaving the UFC and moving on to another company. Howard said that Tito is complaining that they don't get paid what they deserve from the UFC so he's moving on. The boxers only get about 3 percent of the money that comes in. Tito said that he thinks that they should be getting 10, 20 or even 30 percent. He said that he made about $210,000 the last time he fought. Howard asked what kind of numbers the Pay-Per-View events get. Tito said it's about a million at $50 bucks per subscription. Howard said that's like 50 million and he's looking for some of that money. Tito won't even mention the name of the guy who runs the UFC because he's moving on to a better place. He told Howard that he'd do the same thing if he were him. He said that if you're not with the company, you're against the company. Tito said that he's with his own company now and he's going to go out and find the toughest guy he can to fight him. Howard asked Tito if he's ever lost to anyone. Tito said that he just lost 2 weeks ago to a guy who was running away from him for 3 rounds. He said that he asked the guy to stop pussing out and just fight but he kept running away. Howard asked Tito what to do in a street fight. Tito told him to talk his way out of it, that's what he does. He said that he doesn't need someone pulling a gun on him because he doesn't' know those Matrix moves. Howard heard that Tito wasn't allowed into the press conference at the UFC the last time he fought. Tito said that a woman tried to stop him from getting in there so he told her to call security because he was going in. He said that he wasn't going to let them stop him from doing that. Howard said that Tito is with Jenna Jameson right now but they have no plans to get married. Tito said that they are going to have kids eventually and they are working on that. He said that he's been having sex without protection. Howard told Tito that he doesn't want any kids himself so he wears a condom all the time. Howard said that he'd imagine that Tito would be able to impregnate her pretty quick if he was trying. Howard read that Tito and Jenna were investigating Scientology and wondered what they have found out. Tito said that they have looked into a lot of religions but the whole Scientology thing might be too intense. Howard asked Tito why he waited a month to bang Jenna. Tito said that it was all about respect. Howard also asked him about cheating on his first wife which he wrote about in his book ''This Is Gonna Hurt: The Life of a Mixed Martial Arts Champion.'' Howard asked Tito about his family life, which he also wrote about, and how his mother was addicted to heroin. Tito said that both of them were addicted to heroin and they both basically abandoned him. He said that he never brought his friends back to the house because he didn't want them to see the trailer they were living in or the stuff they left behind while they were doing heroin. Tito said that he spoke to his father about 5 months ago after telling him that he never wanted to see him again. Tito said that his father basically quit on his family and that's what he sat down and talked to him about. Tito talked about how great his ex-wife is and how she and Jenna get along. Howard asked him if he would ever want to get the two of them into bed together. Tito said that he would never want that and Jenna wouldn't either. Howard said that he knows Jenna and he thinks that she loves women. Tito said that she's over all of that and she wants to start a family now. Tito said that he and Jenna have a lot of fun together and they don't need anyone else in the bedroom to do it. Howard was thinking that she was becoming a prude to get over the porn star stigma but Tito said that she's not a prude at home. Howard asked Tito about dealing drugs as a kid and if his parents kind of got him into that. Tito said that he did that to pay rent. He said that he didn't understand anything at all back then. He said that he managed to get into wrestling and got a scholarship to college and he wanted to teach for a while but then he got into the UFC. Howard asked Tito if his teeth were real because they looked perfect. Tito said they were real and he's managed to keep them because he's been so dominant in the fights. He said that he's 33 now but he wants to get out by the time he's 36. He said he wants to do promotions and find the next Tito Ortiz when he's done fighting himself. Howard asked which martial arts is the best to learn. Tito said that kids should learn to wrestle because it can teach kids a lot. Howard asked if he ever had a penis slip out when he was wrestling. Tito said that has never happened. He said that he's glad it never did. Howard gave Tito some plugs for some appearances he was making in the area and for his book. You can find out more at TitoOrtiz.com. Howard asked Tito when he last banged Jenna. Tito told him he'd have to use his imagination there. High Pitch Eric called in to challenge Tito to a fight. Howard hung up on him half way through his challenge. Gay Ramone called in next and asked if he had ever had his asshole eaten out. Tito said that he hasn't had that done but he has had men come on to him. He said he has no problem with that and has some gay friends. Artie said he fantasizes about Tito beating the shit out of Gay Ramone. A caller asked Tito why he can't just admit that the other fighter who beat him 2 weeks ago was just a better fighter. Tito said he never said he wasn't. Another guy said that he agrees with Tito and said that he did think that the other guy was running away from Tito. Howard wrapped up and went to break a short time later.

Add your comment  

never mind I was beat to it

Add your comment  

Tito Ortiz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion who's likely concluded his service to the organization, expects to launch his own fight promotion and co-promote shows with some of the sport's already established organizations. Ortiz, who's currently promoting his new autobiography "This is Gonna Hurt," briefly mentioned his plans while a guest on today's Howard Stern Show. Ortiz, who fulfilled the terms of his UFC contract after suffering a unanimous-decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84, also criticized the UFC's pay scale and took a swipe at his recent opponent during the interview. When asked about the UFC, Ortiz said he was "moving to a bigger and better company." When asked which one, he said he plans to launch his own. "I'll be doing my own promotions and I'll possibly be co-promoting with some other companies already in the business," he said. However, when asked about fighting on CBS (which has a deal with EliteXC), the 33-year-old said it was "possible." Ortiz, who made $210,000 in his latest fight (according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Ortiz himself), estimated that UFC fighters are making only "about three percent" of the UFC's per-event take "if they're lucky." He said that prompted his decision to get in the fight-promotion business. As for his latest fight, Ortiz said the UFC knowingly scheduled an opponent that would "run away from me for three rounds." "There were a few times when I was like, 'Come on, man. Don't puss out. Let's fight,'" Ortiz said.

Add your comment  

When Britain can’t beat Marcus Davis, that’s when “Britain Adopts Marcus Davis.” Or at least that’s what the UK Sun’s headline read after Marcus Davis KO’d Liverpool’s Jason Tan in Belfast, Ireland, at UFC 72, submitted Walsall’s Paul Taylor in UFC 75 at the O2 Arena, and knocked out London-based Jess Liaudin at UFC 80 in Newcastle. This Saturday, Davis will hop the pond for the fourth time in as many fights to take on Mike “Quick” Swick at UFC 85 in London, in what has finally become friendly confines for the Maine native. “Swick’s going into my backyard,” Davis says, “because I’ve already been there, I’ve fought there—I’m very comfortable there. Not that I’m thinking that’s going to affect him. I mean, it’s never affected me to go into anyone’s back yard, and I’ve done it a lot. I’ve always been the bad guy. I fought on a Marine base [against Shonie Carter] and he was a Marine. I fought Pete Spratt in Houston, he was from Houston. I fought Paul Taylor in London, he was from England. I’ve always fought guys in their hometowns, and I’ve always beaten them. But Swick’s going over there, and he’s going to be the outsider.” Whether or not his adopted hometown fans will come to his aid, one thing that seems inevitable is that pairing Mike “Quick” Swick and Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis will make for a super-charged war with plenty of immediate action. In all three of the aforementioned overseas fights, Davis won in the first round. In 2007 alone, Davis stole the show by earning four post-fight bonuses for knockout, submission and fight of the night. Of his eleven straight victories dating back to April of 2006, only two of those fights have gone the distance, and eight of them never made it past the opening round. In other words, Davis works fast. One might say faster than Quick, lately.

Add your comment  

DreamFighters.com has learned, and confirming a dreamfighters.com news release last week, GracieMag.com has confirmed that Vitor Belfort will be fighting at Chute Boxe academy in Brazil, and will fight under the Allfiction name in July. anybody thinking LIL NOG VS BELFORT going to happen?!?!!?!?!? i havn't been this excited for a card since, ... well ive never been this excited for a card EVER. war affliction.

Add your comment  

All fighters tested as part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's May 24 event in Las Vegas have tested clean for performance-enhancers and drugs of abuse. Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer today confirmed the clean UFC 84 tests in an email sent to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "UFC 84: Ill Will" took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. B.J. Penn defended his UFC lightweight title against former champ Sean Sherk in the night's main event. Both fighters passed tests prior to the event as part of the NSAC's new year-round, random drug testing initiative.

Add your comment  

“My left cheek and area surrounding the eye are looking pretty ugly today, but there was no major damage. Though it may have looked like it on tv, I never actually had an open wound. What you didn’t see was that the doctor actually cleared me to fight the third round but the commission said ‘no.’ I wanted to continue, my corner wanted to continue. The cut likely would have opened in the third but it was under the eye. If I had to guess, I would say that they didn’t want the visual of a woman with a bloody face on CBS. They also chose not to do a post fight interview with me or to include me in the post fight news conference and after party. I think the reason for that was my beat up appearance after the fight because I was not seriously injured and was completely coherent. I am very disappointed about that but cant help but wonder how people would have responded to that, as stupid as it is. “ – Kaitlin Young — who did not answer the bell for the third and final round of her fight with Gina Carano at Elite XC: “Primetime” on CBS — shares her thoughts via FighterGirls.com on the stoppage.

Add your comment  

In a recent interview, Tito Ortiz says he has 3-4 years of fighting left in him and wants to start a new promotion to rival UFC. He also said he's "65% sure" about starting the new promotion.

Add your comment  

On one night in February, Miguel Torres went from being a relatively unknown fighter from East Chicago (Ind.), to being the WEC bantamweight champion and being considered one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. His first real introduction to most casual fans was at WEC 32, when Torres defeated then-champion Chase Beebe via submission (guillotine choke) to win the 135-pound title. However, the scrappy Mexican-American has been beating people up — sometimes grown men who outweigh him by more than 25 pounds — for years in sanctioned and unsanctioned bouts for close to a decade . His nearly perfect professional record (46-1), which includes just about every submission and finishing result in the book, is nothing compared to his unbelievable “amateur” accomplishments. That number might seem different to you because Sherdog’s Fight Finder has Torres listed as 33-1. Torres acknowledges that they were small time fights that were unsanctioned “They were fights that helped build my career,” Torres told MMAMania.com. “They were the ones that got me into the sport. They weren’t weight classed, they were open rules.” Those early fights earned him a cult-like following on the underground Midwest MMA scene, as well as the respect of his peers such as UFC veteran and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) star, Stephan Bonnar. “When we were coming up, Miguel had the entire Chicago scene by the balls,” said Bonnar. “He could sell more tickets than anyone. He turned events into such a show, complete with Mariachi bands and everything.”

Add your comment  

Well, this is it, folks. After years of government and media backlash, countless steps back and some memorably disastrous runs at the mainstream, MMA finally makes its major network debut with none other than Gary Shaw leading the way. Hard to believe but EliteXC has made its mainstream push behind an odd assortment like reformed YouTube brawler Kimbo Slice and female MMA superstar Gina Carano. Both will be present and accounted for come 9 p.m. Saturday night on CBS and so should you if for no other reason than to see if John McCain shows up and tries to call the whole thing off. Gotta admit, it would be good for a few laughs.

Add your comment  

Former World Wrestling Entertainment performer and decorated amateur wrestler Bobby Lashley is the latest signing for the Kentucky-based American Fight League. A source close to the 31-year-old told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Lashley will be introduced as an AFL signee -- perhaps the organization's biggest to date -- during tonight's "Bulletproof" show at Phillips Arena in Atlanta. Rumors of Lashley's possible transition into MMA heated up over the past month, but few expected such a high-profile figure to sign with an organization so new to the national scene. AFL officials declined to comment today, but one executive said some "major signings" will be announced at tonight's show, which features a main event between AFL lightweight champ and former UFC fighter Diego Saraiva. Terms of Lashley's contract aren't known, but it's expected to be a non-exclusive deal. Lashley, a two-time NAIA national wrestling champion while at Missouri Valley College, also won two armed-forces titles while serving in the U.S. Army. He signed with the WWE in 2003 and debuted with the organization in 2005. His character won titles in both the WWE and Extreme Championship Wrestling organizations.

Add your comment  

The classical music blasting over the phone as I waited on hold for a World Extreme Cagefighting conference call was a real disconnect. And the swapping of compliments from one fighter to the other was another, given that they plan to annihilate each other in a cage over the weekend. But even given all that, Jens Pulver and reigning champion Urijah Faber made it clear that WEC 34 will be anything but a waltz. The June 1 battle for the featherweight title has consumed their lives, and rightly so. Heading into the biggest bout of both fighters' careers, neither are denying the case and both are out to prove just why. "I don't see the fight going 25 minutes," said Pulver. "At 145, I've knocked everybody out except for one submission. I think I've been in the third round once at 145. At the end of the day, I'm looking to win this fight by knockout. I'm taking the belt home. Period."

Add your comment  

Dan Henderson will be directing a clinic in Northern California on July 26th 10am to 4pm, this will be an intense event. For more info go to WWW.rankncs.com hope to see you there.

Add your comment  

On a crisp November morning in Culver City, Calif., Gina Carano pulled up in front of Sony Pictures Studios. It was the final day of cuts for "American Gladiators," the popular spandex-laden, physical-challenge driven TV series that thrived on Saturday night television from 1989-1996. Carano hadn't been aware of the show when news leaked of the latest guilty pleasure revival. She hadn't waited in the lines of thousands that churned out as many pull-ups as they could muster at rapid-fire pace or catapulted their bodies from end-to-end of a gymnasium in the hopes of catching the right producer's eye. Instead, NBC producers had seen Carano -- who had fought two of her five career MMA bouts under the newly-formed EliteXC banner that year on Showtime -- and wanted her. She had turned down audition after audition, until her coach of four months, six-time UFC champion Randy Couture, encouraged her to head down to Los Angeles and at least give it a try. Sitting outside the studio, looking up at the massive white building in front of her, Carano made a decision. She started her car, pulled out of the parking lot, and kept driving until she reached a friend's house in San Diego. "I didn't want it to take away from who I am. I wanted to live up to my responsibilities of being a well-known female MMA fighter," says Carano. "I wanted to be good for the sport." Carano's name, along with her beautiful face and a physique more suited for modeling then fighting, had become a regular fixture of EliteXC advertisements played in diligent rotation on Showtime. Carano's gutsy performance with fellow femme Julie Kedzie for EliteXC "Destiny" that previous February has not only helped launch the fledgling promotion, it had cemented at least a temporary home for female fighters. The dimple-cheeked 26-year-old was crowned "The Women's Face of MMA," and with good reason. EliteXC executives saw that same intangible quality that fueled NBC producers to go back to the raven-haired beauty one last time and convince her to finally join the "American Gladiators" cast the night before shooting was scheduled to begin. This time, Carano hesitantly agreed.

Add your comment  

Three events into a new year and the International Fight League has put in some of the most exciting match-ups in the organization’s brief history. Key to the in-ring success has come at the hands of the matchmaking. Lead by Kurt Otto, in conjunction with Bas “El Guapo” Rutten, the IFL’s change of format to individual fights with champions in six weight classes has proven to be a shot in the arm to the company’s live events. In particular, Rutten has grown into his role as Vice President of Fighter Operations, continuing his transition from fighter to MMA business professional, enjoying every minute of it. Recently Bas took time from his always hectic schedule to speak to MMAWeekly about the current status of the IFL, his foray into the world of video games and his always present endeavors into expanding the Bas Rutten name and brand.

Add your comment  

Andrei Arlovski will be holding a media day this Tuesday in Los Angeles to announce his plans for the future. Many are speculating that Arlovski will announce his departure from the UFC for either Affliction or Adrenaline MMA. Arlovski will hold the media day at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood where he'll be working on his boxing and conditioning with Freddie Roach and Alex Ariza.

Add your comment  

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was informed by Rear Naked Radio, a weekly MMA show heard every Saturday from 7-9 p.m. CT on Live 105.3 FM in Dallas, that former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was offered a contract by the UFC in the days leading up to last night’s fight against Lyoto Machida. While listening to the initial portion of an audio clip forwarded by Rear Naked Radio, Ortiz begins to talk about possible options outside of the UFC. “Either I go to Affliction; either I got to possibly something with De La Hoya; or start something on my own; HDNet; I mean there are so many opportunities for me,” said Ortiz. “Lorenzo (Ferttita) came up to me, actually, a day before the weigh-in and he’s like ‘UFC is the place you need to stay. You need to be here. We need you here.” And he was giving me the old fluff deal…”

Add your comment  

EliteXC held a conference call today to hype their upcoming CBS show 'CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights' which debuts May 31 at 9 p.m. ET. EliteXC president Gary Shaw responded in harsh fashion to Dana White's assertions that that the UFC's lightweight champion, BJ Penn, could defeat EliteXC heavyweight Kimbo Slice. "Dana White is a jerkoff," Shaw said via conference call. "That’s what Dana White is, a ******* idiot, and you can quote me on that. If he cared about mixed martial arts and the sport instead of caring about his big ass swimming pool and his own personal gains, he’d understand that statements like that make someone into a jerk. First of all, I love BJ Penn and he is a friend of mine. Kimbo Slice, one shot, would knock BJ Penn out, a 155 pounder. But they are never going to fight, it is an idiotic statement from a complete idiot… Dana White’s an idiot. And if he wasn’t an idiot, May 31 would have been the UFC instead of EliteXC. I rest my case."

Add your comment  

Brian Stann was on Howard Stern today. this is a summary from one of the biggest Stern fan sites out there. --------------------------------------------------------- Howard said that they had one of the fighters, Brian Stann, from the World Extreme Cage Fighting in to promote some upcoming fights. Howard spent a minute talking to that guy about his time served in Iraq as a Marine and things like that. Howard asked him about the mixed martial arts stuff that he does. He asked Brian what he thinks of the war over there. Brian said that he thinks that they should finish the war now that they're already over there. Howard asked Brian if he thinks they should have gone over there to begin with. Brian gave his thoughts on all of that. Gary said that Danielle hadn't taken her eyes off of him the whole time. Brian spent a few minutes talking to Brian about the war, the Marines and the cage fighting stuff. Brian claimed that he fought 15 gang members at the same time once. Howard that a bunch of the women in the room probably just orgasmed hearing that. Howard told Brian that he's a ''real man'' unlike Brian in the studio. Howard asked Brian about the kind of guns he was using over there in Iraq. He also figured that he wasn't afraid of black people or anyone like that. He asked Brian about his next fight which is coming up in August on the Versus network. Brian's wife is a former cheerleader. Brian said that he had to be persistent with his wife to pick her up. She said no to him at first when he tried to ask her out. Howard said that he felt sorry for Brian if he didn't get to kill anyone over in Iraq. Brian gestured that he had killed some people so Howard was wrong about that. Artie talked about how he feels kind of like a pussy for going over to Iraq to just do the comedy show over there. Brian told Artie that he should be fine over there when he goes. Howard asked Brian where you jerk off when you're over there. Brian said that you have to find a port-a-John or something to do it in. Brian said that when he was out there he was living in abandoned houses and stuff and it was pretty dirty. Howard read some notes about Brian and how they were ambushed when they were going over a bridge. Brian told a story about a suicide bomber attacking his group and how he thought that he had lost all of the guys. they ended up having some wounded but no one died so they really lucked out with that. Howard had Brian present the check to the winner of the contest. Brian told Tiffany that he hopes that she can put the money to good use and presented the 5 grand to her. Tiffany said she's going to use that money for a driving school.

Add your comment