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Contract issues resolved, Roy Nelson vs. Frank Mir targeted for UFC 130
A heavyweight bout between former champ Frank Mir (14-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and fellow contender Roy Nelson (15-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is in the works for a planned Memorial Day weekend event expected to be UFC 130.
A source close to the negotiations told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) verbal agreements are in place for the heavyweight tilt.
An additional source said the contract issues that forced Nelson out of an early-year event aren't expected to be an issue.
A blog for the BetUS.com sportsbook first reported the fight, which is expected to take place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Nelson vs. Mir likely will be part of the pay-per-view main card.
Mir is coming off an impressive third-round knockout of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in the headliner of September's UFC 119 event. In the four fights prior, the former titleholder alternated between wins and losses. A TKO victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (for the interim belt) was followed by a TKO loss to Brock Lesnar (a title-unification bout). He responded with a submission win over Cheick Kongo but then suffered a quick KO loss to Shane Carwin.
Nelson, meanwhile, looks to rebound from a recent high-profile loss. The former IFL champion won "The Ultimate Fighter 10," which he entered as a heavy favorite, by knocking out Brendan Schaub in the finale. He then posted a 39-second knockout win over Stefan Struve. But in a fight that UFC president Dana White said would earn the winner a title shot, Nelson dropped a decision to fast-rising Junior Dos Santos at UFC 117.
While initially booked for a UFC 125 bout, opponent Carwin was forced off the card with an injury, and Nelson then was sidelined due to contract issues, according to UFC president Dana White. White declined to name the promotion, but sources close to "Big Country" confirmed that former boxing great Roy Jones Jr.'s Square Ring Promotions is the company that claimed to have Nelson tied down.
Nelson headlined a MMA/boxing hybrid card Jones Jr. promoted in March 2009 entitled "March Badness" and was defeated by former UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson via unanimous decision.
"These guys go out and sign with these rinky-dink little promotion companies and sign these bad contracts, and let's just say Roy Nelson is involved in a bad contract right now that he had before," White said back in November. "There's a couple of different organizations out there that do it."
Apparently, those issues have been resolved.
A heavyweight bout between former champ Frank Mir (14-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and fellow contender Roy Nelson (15-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is in the works for a planned Memorial Day weekend event expected to be UFC 130.
A source close to the negotiations told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) verbal agreements are in place for the heavyweight tilt.
An additional source said the contract issues that forced Nelson out of an early-year event aren't expected to be an issue.
A blog for the BetUS.com sportsbook first reported the fight, which is expected to take place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Nelson vs. Mir likely will be part of the pay-per-view main card.
Mir is coming off an impressive third-round knockout of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in the headliner of September's UFC 119 event. In the four fights prior, the former titleholder alternated between wins and losses. A TKO victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (for the interim belt) was followed by a TKO loss to Brock Lesnar (a title-unification bout). He responded with a submission win over Cheick Kongo but then suffered a quick KO loss to Shane Carwin.
Nelson, meanwhile, looks to rebound from a recent high-profile loss. The former IFL champion won "The Ultimate Fighter 10," which he entered as a heavy favorite, by knocking out Brendan Schaub in the finale. He then posted a 39-second knockout win over Stefan Struve. But in a fight that UFC president Dana White said would earn the winner a title shot, Nelson dropped a decision to fast-rising Junior Dos Santos at UFC 117.
While initially booked for a UFC 125 bout, opponent Carwin was forced off the card with an injury, and Nelson then was sidelined due to contract issues, according to UFC president Dana White. White declined to name the promotion, but sources close to "Big Country" confirmed that former boxing great Roy Jones Jr.'s Square Ring Promotions is the company that claimed to have Nelson tied down.
Nelson headlined a MMA/boxing hybrid card Jones Jr. promoted in March 2009 entitled "March Badness" and was defeated by former UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson via unanimous decision.
"These guys go out and sign with these rinky-dink little promotion companies and sign these bad contracts, and let's just say Roy Nelson is involved in a bad contract right now that he had before," White said back in November. "There's a couple of different organizations out there that do it."
Apparently, those issues have been resolved.
anybody watch Challengers tonight?
Rhadi Ferguson beat some mini Duffee with a knee bar/heel hook
Julia Budd got KOd by Nunes
Cormier dominated some wannabe Tim Sylvia for a decision
OSP and Abongo both gassed after a round, OSP won a decision. His 7th win in the past 11 months.
T Wood outgrappled Saffiedine. Boring fight but it answered a lot of questions about T Wood's wrestling and Sponge's takedown defense.
Rhadi Ferguson beat some mini Duffee with a knee bar/heel hook
Julia Budd got KOd by Nunes
Cormier dominated some wannabe Tim Sylvia for a decision
OSP and Abongo both gassed after a round, OSP won a decision. His 7th win in the past 11 months.
T Wood outgrappled Saffiedine. Boring fight but it answered a lot of questions about T Wood's wrestling and Sponge's takedown defense.
http://www.greenseamedia.com/budofights.htm
live fights being broadcasted out of Bend Oregon. half way through
live fights being broadcasted out of Bend Oregon. half way through
Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos named "The Ultimate Fighter 13" coaches
After months of speculation and more than a dozen rumored names, UFC president Dana White today announced heavyweight contenders Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos will be coaches on the upcoming 13th season of "The Ultimate Fighter."
White made the announcement during a media call.
"The Ultimate Fighter 13" debuts March 30 on Spike TV, and a live finale is slated for June 4. The coaches meet in a season-ending fight in June, possibly at UFC 131 in Toronto.
Although initially announced as a middleweight and welterweight season of the UFC's long-running reality series, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported earlier this week that producers instead opted to make "TUF 13" a welterweights-only show. Production begins this month in Las Vegas. In an elimination round of fights, 28 hopefuls will fight for 14 official cast spots. The show uses a 32-slot tournament, which includes two "wild card" picks who earn a second life in the quarterfinals.
Over the past couple months, many UFC veterans had been rumored for potential "TUF 13" coaching slots, including Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Brian Stann, Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo and others. Ultimately, though, officials went with the big men, Lesnar and Dos Santos.
White said Velasquez's recent shoulder surgery and long layoff opened the door for Lesnar and Dos Santos, which then "made all the sense in the world." However, no interim title will be on the line when the coaches fight, though the winner gets an immediate title shot with Velasquez.
Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is a former titleholder who lost his belt to current champ Cain Velasquez in October. The former WWE star has emerged as the UFC's top pay-per-view draw, and his inclusion in "TUF" should translate to big ratings.
Dos Santos (12-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC), meanwhile, recently claimed top-contender status by posting a 6-0 record in the UFC. Recent wins have come over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gilbert Yvel, Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson.
"TUF" debuted in 2005 and proved a ratings hit. It also helped the UFC's and MMA's move into the mainstream. Since the debut season, the show has launched the career of more than 100 UFC fighters, and past cast members Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Matt Serra went on to win UFC titles.
After months of speculation and more than a dozen rumored names, UFC president Dana White today announced heavyweight contenders Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos will be coaches on the upcoming 13th season of "The Ultimate Fighter."
White made the announcement during a media call.
"The Ultimate Fighter 13" debuts March 30 on Spike TV, and a live finale is slated for June 4. The coaches meet in a season-ending fight in June, possibly at UFC 131 in Toronto.
Although initially announced as a middleweight and welterweight season of the UFC's long-running reality series, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported earlier this week that producers instead opted to make "TUF 13" a welterweights-only show. Production begins this month in Las Vegas. In an elimination round of fights, 28 hopefuls will fight for 14 official cast spots. The show uses a 32-slot tournament, which includes two "wild card" picks who earn a second life in the quarterfinals.
Over the past couple months, many UFC veterans had been rumored for potential "TUF 13" coaching slots, including Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Brian Stann, Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo and others. Ultimately, though, officials went with the big men, Lesnar and Dos Santos.
White said Velasquez's recent shoulder surgery and long layoff opened the door for Lesnar and Dos Santos, which then "made all the sense in the world." However, no interim title will be on the line when the coaches fight, though the winner gets an immediate title shot with Velasquez.
Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is a former titleholder who lost his belt to current champ Cain Velasquez in October. The former WWE star has emerged as the UFC's top pay-per-view draw, and his inclusion in "TUF" should translate to big ratings.
Dos Santos (12-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC), meanwhile, recently claimed top-contender status by posting a 6-0 record in the UFC. Recent wins have come over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gilbert Yvel, Gabriel Gonzaga and Roy Nelson.
"TUF" debuted in 2005 and proved a ratings hit. It also helped the UFC's and MMA's move into the mainstream. Since the debut season, the show has launched the career of more than 100 UFC fighters, and past cast members Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Matt Serra went on to win UFC titles.
It's gonna be crazy as hell to see 280 pound Brock Lesnar training with 170 pounders. Dude has over a hundred pounds on them.
Though, I'm surprised he's fighting JDS. I was thinking UFC would give him an easy fight like Nog or Nelson to keep his name big. And if he does manage to beat JDS, he's just gonna get stomped by Cain again. But he probably didn't want any shortcuts and wanted the toughest fights possible. People may not like him but you gotta give him that. He gets his ass handed to him and still wants another shot at the guy.
Though, I'm surprised he's fighting JDS. I was thinking UFC would give him an easy fight like Nog or Nelson to keep his name big. And if he does manage to beat JDS, he's just gonna get stomped by Cain again. But he probably didn't want any shortcuts and wanted the toughest fights possible. People may not like him but you gotta give him that. He gets his ass handed to him and still wants another shot at the guy.
Vitor leaves trainer Shawn Thompkins right before biggest fight of career....
Former Xtreme Couture trainer Shawn Tompkins expresses his disappointment over Vitor Belfort's decision to "wander" from camp to camp prior to his UFC 126 showdown with Anderson Silva on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas. Tompkins, who has a history of impatience with "Brazilian time," still "hopes for the best" for his former pupil but wasn't short on words when it came to Belfort's loyalty. Any "Phenom" fans think this is cause for concern heading into perhaps the biggest fight of his career?
Former Xtreme Couture trainer Shawn Tompkins expresses his disappointment over Vitor Belfort's decision to "wander" from camp to camp prior to his UFC 126 showdown with Anderson Silva on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas. Tompkins, who has a history of impatience with "Brazilian time," still "hopes for the best" for his former pupil but wasn't short on words when it came to Belfort's loyalty. Any "Phenom" fans think this is cause for concern heading into perhaps the biggest fight of his career?
Jon Jones involved in car crash...
Earlier today UFC star Jon Jones was involved in a car crash just weeks out from his February 5th fight with Ryan Bader at UFC 126.
Thankfully the 23 year-old and his passengers emerged from the incident unscathed.
“I just got into a car accident, police said it wasn’t my fault.. I walked away without a scratch, GOD IS GOOD,” Jones wrote on twitter after the crash.
Jones and some team-mates had been traveling to the park in-between training when the incident occurred, but luckily they were all wearing seat-belts at the time.
The driver of the other car may not have been quite so fortunate however, with Jones showing concern for her health, noting that, She was taken away on a stretcher.”
Despite being shaken by the unexpected turn of events Jones has no intention of calling off his upcoming bout.
“I refuse to allow this situation to steal my joy, the fight will go on.”
In fact, with the light-heavyweight fighters car left a right-off after the collision he now has added motivation to emerge with a win next month.
“Hopefully I get blessed with one of the fight bonuses, my insurance hasn’t kicked in yet and I may have just taken a major lose,” he wrote.
Judging by the state of the car he’s very lucky indeed that things didn’t turn out worse than they did.
Earlier today UFC star Jon Jones was involved in a car crash just weeks out from his February 5th fight with Ryan Bader at UFC 126.
Thankfully the 23 year-old and his passengers emerged from the incident unscathed.
“I just got into a car accident, police said it wasn’t my fault.. I walked away without a scratch, GOD IS GOOD,” Jones wrote on twitter after the crash.
Jones and some team-mates had been traveling to the park in-between training when the incident occurred, but luckily they were all wearing seat-belts at the time.
The driver of the other car may not have been quite so fortunate however, with Jones showing concern for her health, noting that, She was taken away on a stretcher.”
Despite being shaken by the unexpected turn of events Jones has no intention of calling off his upcoming bout.
“I refuse to allow this situation to steal my joy, the fight will go on.”
In fact, with the light-heavyweight fighters car left a right-off after the collision he now has added motivation to emerge with a win next month.
“Hopefully I get blessed with one of the fight bonuses, my insurance hasn’t kicked in yet and I may have just taken a major lose,” he wrote.
Judging by the state of the car he’s very lucky indeed that things didn’t turn out worse than they did.
Bob Sapp explains Dynamite!! 2010 no show...
The massive heavyweight known around the world as Bob Sapp admits he was haggling backstage with Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) executives just prior to curtain time at DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010."
Just what he was haggling over is his bone of contention with the Japanese fight promotion's officials.
Sapp on Monday evening told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that promoters were supposed to pay him $30,000 to fight Shinichi Suzukawa in a modified-rules bout at the year-end show in Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
AdChoices
Instead, he claims FEG executive Sadaharu Tanikawa offered him $15,000 shortly after he arrived in the country the week prior to the event. He refused and made a counter-offer of $25,000, a sum which he claims is half of what the promotion owed him for previous services.
What followed next, he said, was a parade of different executives who continued to negotiate with him right up to showtime. When he made a final refusal of the original offer, the promotion pulled him from the fight card and announced on air that he wanted to renegotiate his contract, or more specifically, ask for more money.
Sapp claims he has a contract with FEG that verifies the rate of pay he was expected to receive for the Dec. 31 fight, as well as other fights, though he said the promotion has yet to honor the terms of that deal. During the promotion's heyday in the mid-2000s, he said he was routinely paid between $350,000 and $400,000 to fight.
Usually, Sapp requires promotions to put his purse in an escrow account long before fight time to avoid financial disputes. This past July, he was pulled from a fight card for the startup Impact FC promotion after officials failed to do so. With DREAM, he decided to press his luck, which was a decision he now regrets.
The fighter returned to the U.S. late this past week after an extended stay in Japan where, he said, sponsors paid him his New Year's Eve purse to apologize for Tanikawa's behavior. DREAM's official website lists Sapp's fight as a win in favor of Suzukawa.
"They were apologizing for the horrible state that K-1 is in," he said. "The No. 1 problem is that K-1 is extremely broke. So is DREAM. They're paying some fighters as early as in six months, and the other fighters, they're just stiffing."
Of course, that's no news to stateside MMA fans who for several months have heard fighters complain about the promotion's payroll policies. MMAjunkie.com reported this past month that Gary Goodridge, who took to the Internet to complain about his financial woes with FEG, would be paid after nearly a yearlong wait. Goodridge's manager, Steve Ruisch, subsequently confirmed the payment earlier this month, though he noted that Goodridge had been paid only $11,000 of an expected $20,000 purse, with the remaining amount taken out to pay Japanese taxes.
DREAM's U.S. representative, Mike Kogan, told MMAjunkie.com that Goodridge was required to pay Japanese consumption tax, though Goodridge said he never had a contract with the company where that was specified. Sapp said consumption tax amounts to no more than 10 percent of earnings.
Sapp also said current reports are just the tip of the iceberg in tallying fighters who haven't been paid. He claims the promotion no longer occupies a formal office and has taken residence in the office of one of its advertising companies.
Japanese MMA blog Nightmare of Battle today quoted an interview Tanikawa gave to Japanese magazine "Sports Graphic Novel" in which the executive gave a dire assessment of FEG's future.
"The current course is that FEG will die," Tanikawa said. "There are probably staff members that will leave as well. The event name will be left but the promotion will change. If the current structure remains as it is it will be impossible to continue. If many investments from companies overseas do not come in we cant survive."
With both ratings and attendance down in recent years, the Japanese fight promotion has been trying to raise additional funds through a recent partnership with PUJI Capital, an investment banking group, though the success of those efforts is unclear.
While Sapp (11-6-1) has written off the purse he was supposed to receive, he said he wanted to speak out because he feels he has been unfairly blamed for the no-show.
"(Tanikawa said), 'Bob walked out because his fighting spirit wasn't good,'" Sapp said. "And I'm just like, 'You know what? I'm done with all the talk about me. I'm done with them stiffing the fighters. I'm just done with it. I've seen too much. Start paying people to show up.'"
Stay tuned to MMAjunkie.com for an update on this story and a response from DREAM.
And for more on DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010," including an official event recap, check out the MMA Events section of MMAjunkie.com.
The massive heavyweight known around the world as Bob Sapp admits he was haggling backstage with Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) executives just prior to curtain time at DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010."
Just what he was haggling over is his bone of contention with the Japanese fight promotion's officials.
Sapp on Monday evening told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that promoters were supposed to pay him $30,000 to fight Shinichi Suzukawa in a modified-rules bout at the year-end show in Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
AdChoices
Instead, he claims FEG executive Sadaharu Tanikawa offered him $15,000 shortly after he arrived in the country the week prior to the event. He refused and made a counter-offer of $25,000, a sum which he claims is half of what the promotion owed him for previous services.
What followed next, he said, was a parade of different executives who continued to negotiate with him right up to showtime. When he made a final refusal of the original offer, the promotion pulled him from the fight card and announced on air that he wanted to renegotiate his contract, or more specifically, ask for more money.
Sapp claims he has a contract with FEG that verifies the rate of pay he was expected to receive for the Dec. 31 fight, as well as other fights, though he said the promotion has yet to honor the terms of that deal. During the promotion's heyday in the mid-2000s, he said he was routinely paid between $350,000 and $400,000 to fight.
Usually, Sapp requires promotions to put his purse in an escrow account long before fight time to avoid financial disputes. This past July, he was pulled from a fight card for the startup Impact FC promotion after officials failed to do so. With DREAM, he decided to press his luck, which was a decision he now regrets.
The fighter returned to the U.S. late this past week after an extended stay in Japan where, he said, sponsors paid him his New Year's Eve purse to apologize for Tanikawa's behavior. DREAM's official website lists Sapp's fight as a win in favor of Suzukawa.
"They were apologizing for the horrible state that K-1 is in," he said. "The No. 1 problem is that K-1 is extremely broke. So is DREAM. They're paying some fighters as early as in six months, and the other fighters, they're just stiffing."
Of course, that's no news to stateside MMA fans who for several months have heard fighters complain about the promotion's payroll policies. MMAjunkie.com reported this past month that Gary Goodridge, who took to the Internet to complain about his financial woes with FEG, would be paid after nearly a yearlong wait. Goodridge's manager, Steve Ruisch, subsequently confirmed the payment earlier this month, though he noted that Goodridge had been paid only $11,000 of an expected $20,000 purse, with the remaining amount taken out to pay Japanese taxes.
DREAM's U.S. representative, Mike Kogan, told MMAjunkie.com that Goodridge was required to pay Japanese consumption tax, though Goodridge said he never had a contract with the company where that was specified. Sapp said consumption tax amounts to no more than 10 percent of earnings.
Sapp also said current reports are just the tip of the iceberg in tallying fighters who haven't been paid. He claims the promotion no longer occupies a formal office and has taken residence in the office of one of its advertising companies.
Japanese MMA blog Nightmare of Battle today quoted an interview Tanikawa gave to Japanese magazine "Sports Graphic Novel" in which the executive gave a dire assessment of FEG's future.
"The current course is that FEG will die," Tanikawa said. "There are probably staff members that will leave as well. The event name will be left but the promotion will change. If the current structure remains as it is it will be impossible to continue. If many investments from companies overseas do not come in we cant survive."
With both ratings and attendance down in recent years, the Japanese fight promotion has been trying to raise additional funds through a recent partnership with PUJI Capital, an investment banking group, though the success of those efforts is unclear.
While Sapp (11-6-1) has written off the purse he was supposed to receive, he said he wanted to speak out because he feels he has been unfairly blamed for the no-show.
"(Tanikawa said), 'Bob walked out because his fighting spirit wasn't good,'" Sapp said. "And I'm just like, 'You know what? I'm done with all the talk about me. I'm done with them stiffing the fighters. I'm just done with it. I've seen too much. Start paying people to show up.'"
Stay tuned to MMAjunkie.com for an update on this story and a response from DREAM.
And for more on DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010," including an official event recap, check out the MMA Events section of MMAjunkie.com.