Fantasy MMA Picks and Wagers for UFC and other MMA Events

Former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett is getting ready to take on his former training partner and friend Jeff Monson on Sunday. World Victory Road will be staging its second event at Sengoku II in Tokyo. Barnett recently explained his preparation for his fight with Monson. “Things are going pretty well,” said the Babyface Assassin. “Here I am taking another fight. Not real close from the last one, as far as time goes, but it's pretty quickly. I'm feeling pretty good about it. I just pro wrestled recently. I'm in good shape. It's just right.” In WVR’s first event, Sengoku, Barnett defeated Hidehiko Yoshida via heel hook. That fight was Barnett’s first fight in more than a year, so he naturally had some criticism about his performance. “I know there were things I could have been sharper at. Some of that had to do with the availability of sparring partners and what kind of workouts I was getting in prior.” Most Americans prefer to fight in their native land; however, fighting in Japan does not bother Josh Barnett one bit. “I love working in Japan,” he commented in a recent interview on MMAWeekly Radio. “For me, it's like being at home. It's no big deal for me to go out there.” One of the biggest reasons Barnett enjoys fighting in Japan is because of the differences in the rules as opposed to rules imposed in the United States. “You can't soccer kick, stomp or knee someone in America. They won't let you wear shoes anymore. If you want to go and fight under the more dynamic rule set, then you have to go out to Japan to get it done. I really like to have the freedom in the ring to do the techniques and kinds of things that are available to you as a martial artist.”

EliteXC President Gary Shaw made it clear Thursday that he would like to bring former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz into EliteXC. "I think I can reincarnate Ortiz," said Shaw. "He is a talented fighter and has all the mechanisms that you need to make someone a superstar."

‘The Legend’ Frank Shamrock recently took some time to talk with PDG about his recovery from arm surgery, his fight with Cung Le, the future of mixed martial arts and the extension of his career as a fighter. PDG: Let's start with your arm injury, how is the recovery coming? Frank: The arm is very good. I had a checkup yesterday and the doctors said that they will most likely remove the plate in about seven more weeks. If everything works out I will be back training again in 10 weeks.

Josh Barnett takes on his former training partner Jeff Monson The origanal web link did not work sorry,but sounds like a personall fight. I did not know him and Monson trained together. This might belong in a different forum.

"This guy went on Howard Stern and said he was getting $200,000 a fight,” White said. “That was such a lie. Tito made $5.8 million in 2006. He only fought once in 2007. He made $710,000 for that fight (with Rashad Evans) and that was the third match from the top (on the card). He goes around saying we made $231 million last year. He’s a moron. This guy talks about what a businessman he is, and he was on ‘The Apprentice’ and he doesn’t know the difference between revenue and profit." “There’s not going to be any bidding war,” White said. “Gary Shaw (promoter at Elite XC) should offer him $30 a fight, because we’re not going to match it.” So I think it's safe to say there will be no reconciliation

Finals are over at The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland), which means that recent graduate Tamdan McCrory can resume his mixed martial arts career inside the Octagon. “The Barncat” took a brief respite from competition to get his degree after falling victim to one of the most beautiful armbars in recent memory at UFC 78: “Validation,” losing to crafty veteran Akhiro Ghono in round two via submission back in November 2007. He will return against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 welterweight finalist, Luke Cummo, at UFC 87 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 9, according to FightTicker.com. Cummo is also looking to bounce back from a loss after dropping a unanimous decision to Luigi Fioravanti at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” back in March. Prior to the defeat Cummo was on a two-fight win streak after losing back-to-back fights. UFC 87 will feature the heavyweight tilt between Brock Lesnar and Mark Coleman, as well as the number one lightweight contender eliminator match between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta.

UFC Fight Night 14 will take place on September 17th and will be aired on Spike TV as the lead-in for the debut episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8, reports MMA Junkie.

If Urijah Faber gets past Jens Pulver on June 1st and continues to run through the competition in the 145-pound division, the former UC Davis wrestler will be open to changing weight classes.

Whether he wins or loses May 24 in Las Vegas against Lyoto Machida, it certainly appears Tito Ortiz will end his 11-year Ultimate Fighting Championship career. But there will be no televised celebration of his accomplishments when the fight is over. UFC president Dana White will want it to end as quietly as possible, with Ortiz as an afterthought, and the crowning of the undefeated Machida as a new top star. After years of a very public war between the promoter and one of his top stars, the UFC 84 fight essentially determines who gets in the last word. “He’s one of the most dishonest human beings I’ve ever met,” White said. “I put up with him when he was a good fighter. He’s not anymore. He’s done. I’m no longer in the Tito Ortiz business.”

For the first time in U.S. mixed-martial-arts history, a female fighter has tested positive for steroids. Carina Damm, who recently defeated Sophie Bagherdai at an April 3 Fatal Femmes Fighting event, tested positive for elevated levels of Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid that develops naturally in the human body. However, according to the California State Athletic Commission's Bill Douglas, Damm came in at 37.9 ng/mL, which far exceeded the 2 ng/mL threshold, after being tested at the Los Angeles event. Douglas today submitted the results via email. Damm (9-3), a four-year fight veteran who recently signed a three-fight contract with Elite Xtreme Combat, has been suspended one year (through April 2, 2009) and fined $2,500. She's the first U.S. female fighter to fail a test due to steroids, though she can request an appeal of the suspension. The Brazilian was riding a four-fight win streak and was scheduled to next fight Debi Purcell at a June 27 ShoXC event.

ProElite President Kelly Perdew has stepped down today as president of the company. Perdew will become CEO of the fantasy sports website rotohog.com.

Gary Shaw's plans to expand EliteXC's Women's divisionmay have just taken a hit. Recent EXC signee Carina Damm, who was to have fought on June 27, has tested positive for Nandrolone according to the CSAC and has been suspended 1 year and fined $2500. She'll be eligible to fight again on April 2, 2009.