MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Blinded by the light … er … right: Update on Heath Herring UFC 87 ‘orbital fracture’

The post in question:

“What are fractures of the orbit? When one or more bones surrounding the eye are broken, the condition is called orbital fracture. The orbit is the bony structure around the eye. An orbital fracture usually occurs after some type of injury or a strike to the face. Depending on where the fracture is located, it can be associated with severe eye injury and damage.”

Does this imply that Herring damaged his orbital bone in his August 9 fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 87? It would seem so. It probably doesn’t help that referee Dan Miragliotta seemed to have poked Herring in the eye before the fight even started!

Here’s the story from Heath’s perspective:

“Yeah, I don’t know where all that came from. Right off the bat when I got caught with that right hand, obviously something hit my eye, but I think we’re going to be okay with it. We’ve gone and talked to several doctors, so everything is going to be okay, I think.”

So does this mean there is no orbital bone fracture? I was confused.

“Well it’s not that I fractured it. I think it’s going to repair itself, I think everything’s going to be fine. There’s nothing the doctors can do. The swelling’s already gone down a lot. I heal quick, I’m real fortunate in that regard.”

Speaking of that first punch, it clearly set the tone for the rest of the fight. From watching the fight, you’d think that punch rocked Herring enough to keep him cautious for the remainder of the fight. Perhaps it did. But it also didn’t help matters that he was blinded in his one eye from the outset — all thanks to that one punch.

He couldn’t see a thing.


“Oh sure. I mean you go into the fight and you start off right away blind. So you’re handicapping yourself right from the getgo. That’s never a good thing, of course, especially in this sport. But we went out there and got caught early on and suffered the consequences from that and then just tried to push on through the rest of the fight. Unfortunately we weren’t able to mount the best of offenses at that point. It’s a little bit difficult with only one eye … you’re favoring that side. It was a lot more difficult task than I had first anticipated.”

Having been blinded in the one eye, it wouldn’t be out of the question for a fighter to throw in the towel. After an eye poke or a cut that’s pouring blood into your eye, if you can’t see out of one eye, the ref will call the fight.

But Herring’s a warrior and decided to carry on and try to put on a good show.

“I can only go out there and fight to the best of my ability and fight with what I got at that time. It’s bad luck that night, but I tried to stay out there and put on a good show, and if he’s going to do his antics afterwards that’s up to him, I guess.”

Speaking of Brock’s post-fight antics, which seem all the rage in the blogosphere (this post alone took on 224 comments), I wanted to get Herring’s take on it:

“He’s a pro wrestler, that’s what he does, isn’t it? That’s kind of his thing. I think that’s what people were kind of expecting. I actually was kinda surprised pre-fight that he wasn’t talking a whole lotta trash. But post-fight, I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t aware of everything that went on — I was told afterwards. Guys are gonna do what they’re gonna do.”

Personally, I thought Lesnar looked like a child, or at least an idiot. But then again, I enjoy the Thiago Silva throat slit or even the Tito Ortiz cemetery burial from time to time. It wasn’t so much Lesnar’s rodeo roping as it was the pointing and laughing.

But Herring took the high road:

“Like I said, that’s all on him. I can only affect to what I’m able to do. I went out there and made a mistake and got caught early and paid the price for it and tried to rectify it the best I could at the time.”

What’s next for “The Texas Crazy Horse”?

“I don’t know, it’s not even been a week, so … The doctors were actually happy yesterday when I saw them. I have to see them in another week to see how things are going. I can see out of both eyes now fine. I’m wearing contacts in them, so everything’s fine in that respect. Just trying to get the swelling down and hopefully everything will heal up good.”

Here’s to a speedy recovery for the heavyweight. God speed.

 

[RED HEAD STEVE]

GOOD SHIT SHOGUN. THANKS PIMP.

 

[Shogun Locc]

^^^^^^No prob

 

[Shogun Locc]

Hamman Exacts ShoXC Revenge

Jared Hamman (Pictures) needed less than one full round to avenge the only loss of his career -- a disputed 15-second stoppage at the hands of Poai Suganuma (Pictures) four months ago.

Hamman weathered Suganuma’s quick start in the rematch and made his move midway through the first round, as he stopped the Hawaiian with a series of stout hammer fists in the featured bout on the ShoXC “Elite Challenger Series” Friday at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, Calif.

In trouble early, Hamman (10-1) unleashed a ringing three-punch combination that left Suganuma dazed. The Hawaiian moved in for a takedown but left himself defenseless, as his opponent sprawled and bombarded him with fight-ending strikes from top position.

While controversy clouded their first encounter in April, there was little to dispute in this one. Suganuma had to be helped to his stool when it was over, as he became Hamman’s fourth knockout victim in five fights.

“I lost the last fight and had to get back to work getting focused on my profession,” Hamman said. “Poai’s a good guy. I give him all the respect in the world.”

The defeat snapped Suganuma’s four-fight winning streak, which included victories inside the K-1 and Icon Sport promotions. He had Hamman on his heels at the beginning, as he clipped the Californian with an overhand right and opened a cut on the bridge of his nose. Suganuma (9-2) secured a takedown and moved to side mount in the first minute of the fight, but Hamman escaped unscathed.

A rubber match between the two fast-rising light heavyweights seems likely.

“He gave me a rematch, so I’d give him a rematch,” Hamman said. “I love to fight. I love the challenge.”

Hamman was not the only prospect to impress.

Brazilian Fabricio Camoes (Pictures) made quick work of UFC veteran Sam Morgan, as he scored with a powerful takedown, moved seamlessly to full mount and locked in a rear-naked choke for the tapout just 47 seconds into round one. A loser in three straight, Morgan (19-11) was powerless on his back.

“I established my mount, waited for him to turn and choked him,” Camoes said. “That’s it. Sammy’s a very tough guy. He was a big challenge for me.”

Camoes (9-4) has rattled off five consecutive wins and could soon be a key player in EliteXC’s lightweight title picture.

“Where’s the big boys?” Camoes asked. “I want a belt. I know there are a lot of tough guys in my weight class, but I came here to challenge.”

Meanwhile, French striker Cyrille Diabate (Pictures) carved up the tough but overmatched Jaime Fletcher (Pictures) en route to a lopsided unanimous decision in his North American debut. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 in Diabate’s favor, as the Pride Fighting Championships veteran made a triumphant return from a 16-month layoff.

“I’m not pleased with myself, but hey, it’s a win,” Diabate said. “I had a little ring rust being out for a year and a half. I should be back at 100 percent next time.”

Diabate (12-6-1) -- who owned a seven-inch height advantage and a nine-inch edge in reach -- was systematic in his approach. Effective standing, he damaged Fletcher most when the fight hit the ground, as he opened three cuts with elbows to the head.

Fletcher’s offense was limited, though he scored with a few takedowns. He made a last-ditch effort to stymie Diabate in the third, as he pulled guard on a guillotine choke with 2:10 to go in the fight. Unable to maintain the hold, he wound up on the receiving end of punches and elbows to the head and body. A training partner of former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett (Pictures), Fletcher (6-4) has dropped four of his last five fights.

Female mixed martial arts had its moment in the spotlight, as well.

Cage Warriors champion Rosi Sexton made a successful promotional debut, as she outlasted veteran Debi Purcell (Pictures) in a closely contested bout at 130 pounds. Sexton (9-1) was tireless in her efforts to close the distance and won the fight in the clinch, where she worked for takedowns, avoided any heavy damage and neutralized Purcell’s striking advantage.

“That was a really tough fight; she’s got really strong kicks,” said Sexton, whose only career defeat came against Gina Carano (Pictures). “We’ve been working a lot on [closing the distance]. It paid off.”

By the end of round one, Purcell (4-2) was noticeably fatigued, but her competitive fires burned until the end. Fighting for the first time in more than two years, she landed a nice spinning backfist and countered Sexton’s attempted Superman punch with a crisp right hand in the third. However, the late offense was not enough to sway the judges, two of whom scored the bout 30-27 in Sexton’s favor.

Elsewhere, King of the Cage middleweight champion Keith Berry (Pictures) left himself open for punishment in a non-title affair contested at a catch-weight of 190 pounds, and Ray Lizama (Pictures) capitalized.

With Berry’s defenses down in the second round, Lizama (6-5) went to work with sharp, accurate strikes. He overwhelmed the 20-year-old Berry with a torrent of punches and ultimately finished him with a flurry against the cage. Two vicious body shots were more than the bloodied Berry (6-3) could withstand, as he crumpled where he stood and forced the referee to intervene. The end came 2:15 into round two.

Lizama, who nearly succumbed to a rear-naked choke in the first round, entered the bout with losses in three of his last four fights but became just the second man -- UFC veteran Terry Martin (Pictures) is the other -- to finish Berry.

“Any kind of win like this erases anything that’s happened in the past,” Lizama said.

Katrina Alendale and Jesse Brock were decision winners in preliminary action, along with Roberto Vargas and Lucas Gamaza (Pictures). In the night’s opening bout, David Douglas (Pictures) finished William Jacobsen in just 72 seconds, as he coaxed a first-round corner stoppage.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Minowa Kneebars Frye in Deep Main Event

OKAYAMA, Japan -- Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) defeated Don Frye (Pictures) in the main event at Deep “Gladiator” on Saturday at the Momotaro Arena, as the Japanese journeyman submitted the American with a first-round kneebar.

The always entertaining Minowa (40-28-8), appearing in his 76th career fight, was a heavy crowd favorite and entered the arena to noisy applause. The tension mounted as the two Pride Fighting Championships veterans met in the center of the ring for pre-fight instructions, as it became clear both had come to win.

At the bell, Minowa brought the action to Frye, as he attempted a takedown that his opponent initially defended. He then put Frye (19-7-1) on his back with a beautiful double-leg takedown. Minowa locked on to Frye’s leg and immediately went for a heel hook, and though the American was in obvious pain, he refused to tap out. After a few minutes and several more submission attempts, Minowa transitioned to a kneebar and coaxed the tapout at 3:56 of the first round.

In a pair of K-1 rules bouts, Gary Goodridge (Pictures) dropped a unanimous decision to Hiromi Amada, and Jan Nortje (Pictures) finished Tom Erikson (Pictures) in just a shade more than a minute.

Goodridge got off to unlucky start, as Amada fired a low kick that missed its mark and struck the Canadian in the cup. When the action resumed, Amada was the aggressor, as he threw punching combinations punctuated by powerful left low kicks.

Round two brought more of the same, and while Goodridge landed a big punch that seemed to drop Amada momentarily, the referee ruled it a slip. After absorbing another low blow, Goodridge ate a nasty kick from Amada that floored him briefly. By the third round, Goodridge was limping noticeably from the low kicks but continued to push forward, though his efforts were in vain. All three judges saw the bout in Amada’s favor.

Nortje and Erikson, meanwhile, came out swinging heavy leather. Erikson was first to land and sent Nortje crashing to the canvas. The 6-foot-11 South African recovered, however, and almost immediately scored a knockdown of his own. Erikson survived the count, but Nortje flattened him again, and the referee called an end to the action 65 seconds into round one.

Four of the five bouts held under the Japan vs. Korea Friendship Match theme were won by the Koreans. Jutaro Nakao (Pictures) was the lone victor for the Japanese side, as he stopped Yong Fun Lee (Pictures) on second-round strikes.

In other Japan vs. Korea action, Chul Hyun Jung handed Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures) his third straight defeat, as he earned a unanimous decision over the UFC veteran. Meanwhile, Min Sok Ho victimized Pancrase regular Hikaru Sato (Pictures) with a vicious hammer fist attack that forced the referee to step in 1:08 into round one. Lee Sang Soo and Kim Tae Kyun were also victorious.

Elsewhere, Daijiro Matsui (Pictures) failed to damage Eun Soo Lee (Pictures), and after three rounds, the judges awarded Lee a unanimous decision. With it came the CMA KPW open weight championship. In another K-1 rules bout, Bernard Ackah (Pictures) -- a man perhaps best known for knocking out former NFL wide receiver Johnnie Morton (Pictures) -- was himself the victim of a brutal KO, as he fell to Keigo Takamori 1:36 into the first round.

Finally, Karate prodigy Tsuyoshi Yokoyama put on an impressive display in his K-1 rules debut, as he defeated Marcel Nascimento by unanimous decision.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anthony Ruiz returns at Sept. 20 Strikeforce event

Anthony Ruiz (21-11) looks to climb back into the light-heavyweight title picture when he returns Sept. 20 at "Strikeforce at the Mansion II."

The fighter's camp today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Ruiz has agreed to fight at the upcoming event, which takes place at the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif.

An opponent has not yet been determined, and Strikeforce hasn't officially announced Ruiz's participation.

It'll be Ruiz's third fight in a three-month span.

Ruiz, who most recently scored a unanimous-decision victory over Jeremy Freitag at EliteXC's July 26 event, will fight for Strikeforce for the first time since a loss to light-heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth. Ruiz won their first meeting -- a non-title bout -- via second-round TKO (due to a cut) in 2007, but Southworth cruised to a decision victory in the second meeting back in June.

It remains Ruiz's only loss in his past eight fights; he's also won 12 of his past 15 fights.

 

[Shogun Locc]

IFL champ Roy Nelson says choice to sign with Affliction was easy one

After the seemingly defunct IFL closed its doors on July 31, IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson found himself among the many of the organization's fighters forced into free agency.

Nelson recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the choice to sign with upstart promoters Affliction was an easy one. Of course that was only after Nelson found out very unceremoniously his time with the IFL was over.

"Actually the first time I actually heard of [the IFL folding] was when I was doing a taping for 'Inside MMA' a couple of weeks back," Nelson said. "They actually announced it on the show, and that's when I found out."

Nelson said the disappointment of the league folding was tempered by his realization of new opportunities on the horizon.

"It really wasn't that tough just off the pure fact that with any business if your employer's not really sound and they don't take very good business strategies -- I knew there were bigger and better things," Nelson explained. "If [the IFL] had the potential to go get a Fedor (Emelianenko) or a Randy (Couture) or a top-10 guy like an (Andrei) Arlovski, then I would have been 10 times more happy. But I knew that wasn't going to happen."

Once on the open market, Nelson fielded offers from several organizations. But the decision to sign with Affliction was based on the organization's wealth of talent in the heavyweight division as well as its willingness to cross-promote.

"With Affliction [the contract] is pretty open," Nelson said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you even see me fighting with [EliteXC] or something. I'm always in talks with every organization. The only organization that doesn't talk with fighters that want to talk with other organizations is the UFC.

"The biggest one for me is Affliction. (It) has the best heavyweights in the world. For me, the only way I can move up the ladder in the ranks is to beat the best in the world. Or the other way is to go to the UFC and have the UFC PR machine do the work for you. And then you still don't fight anybody good."

Nelson said he wasn't opposed to the idea of fighting in the bright lights of the UFC's octagon. But the financial structure of the UFC's contracts made the opportunity unappealing.

"I'm always open for the UFC," Nelson said. "It's just kind of the Roger Huerta type of thing. Like when (UFC President) Dana (White) says, 'I'm paying all of my fighters over $50,000 a year.' That's good if you work 20 years. But you only work maybe six (years). So it's not that good of a deal."

With his Affliction deal in place, Nelson now has his sights set on the pinnacle of Affliction's heavyweight division.

"If I could get Fedor (Emelianenko) first, I'd take it," Nelson said. "I want to be on the fast track. The fast track to first is in a straight line instead of trying to go around.

"I think it would be a really good fight. We're both guys that are willing to bang with you, but we're also willing to go to the ground. I think it would be an exciting fight just off the pure fact that I always tell people if Fedor was 260 (pounds), he would look like me. If I was 230 (pounds) I would look like him."

Before Nelson can take the path to Emelianenko he must first pass the test of Affliction, UFC and Strikeforce veteran Paul Buentello. The two will meet at Affliction's second event, "Day of Reckoning," at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on Oct. 11.

Nelson was on hand at July's Affliction debut to witness first-hand Buentello's decision victory over last-minute replacement Gary Goodridge.

"I think it was just a show fight," Nelson said. "Just give Paul (Buentello) a warm-up match. Just kind of like a freebie. ... It looked like a glorified sparring match."

Despite Nelson's disdain for Buentello's performance, "Big Country" realizes the benefit of a victory over the well-recognized fighter.

"From a fighter standpoint, it's a good matchup," Nelson said. "You're going to see some good banging. Same from an entertainment standpoint.

"Actually the fans actually know Paul Buentello from being in the UFC -- the PR machine. Everybody knows that Paul's a guy that's legit. If can beat him, then it kind of gives me a little more stature among the actual fans."

While Nelson's pot belly and "Big Country" moniker don't emulate what most fans have come to expect from a top-tier heavyweight, Nelson hopes that his performance in October will earn him a new group of loyal supporters.

"The only people that kind of don't respect me -- or respect my ability -- is usually the fans," Nelson said. "If you're a hardcore fan, you know. If you're the casual fan -- I'm slowly turning all those guys. Last time I fought I had guys out in the stands rubbing their bellies, too. It's a cool thing."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Promoter says "Contenders" cancellation unrelated to canceled EliteXC show

Less than 24 hours after news surfaced that ProElite, Inc. had canceled an EliteXC event scheduled for Sept. 20 in New Mexico, a second event -- scheduled to be held tonight in the U.K. under the ProElite banner -- has also been scrapped.

Tonight's "Cage Rage Contenders 11" event in East London, U.K., was canceled by parent company ProElite just 24 hours before its scheduled start.

Cage Rage officials claimed the cancellation was in no way related to the fate of the Albuquerque, N.M., EliteXC card.

"This show has only been canceled so we can concentrate on our November Contenders show," Cage Rage promoter Dave O'Donnell told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Our November event will be a big deal as it will be the culmination of a reality TV show and will be broadcast live on Nuts TV. We do not want to spread our resources too thin."

Cage Rage, a six-year old promotion purchased earlier this year by ProElite, has been under public scrutiny in the U.K. for a perceived lack of quality competitors and matchmaking on its cards. Recent layoffs have left the organization with just three full-time front-office employees.

O'Donnell could not offer specific names at this time but said "some" of the fighters scheduled for tonight's event will be moved to a later Cage Rage event. The remainder will be released from their contracts.

EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Contenders event series serves as a feeder system for Cage Rage and also showcases new, young talent -- not unlike EliteXC's ShoXC series.

On Friday EliteXC broadcaster Maura Ranallo broke the news that the Sept. 20 EliteXC event, which was expected to be headlined by Joey Villasenor, had been scrapped. EliteXC has yet to make an official announcement.

Some of the event's scheduled fighters, including British fighter Paul Daley, were unaware of the cancellation until contacted by MMAjunkie.com. It's likely that some of the fighters could be rescheduled for EliteXC's third event on CBS, which takes place two weeks later in Florida.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Benkei: “ATT became a McDonald’s”

Responsible for the physical preparation at American Top Team, André Benkei called TATAME to announce his leaving from the team. One of the biggest names of the world on the physical preparation at MMA, Benkei is responsible for the preparation of all ATT athletes, but now leaves the team. “I left the team because of some idealogical disagreements with the ATT headcoach, Ricardo Libório. I had no trouble with the Dan Lambert or Conan Silveira”, said Benkei, taht will continue working on some ATT athlete’s preparation.

“The main athletes of the team will continue working with me as a freelancer at Prime Time, but now I’m free to work with any athlete of different teams. I don’t fight for a team now, but Thiago Alves, Antônio “Bigfoot”, Thiago Silva, Gesias Cavalcante and Marcus Aurélio confirmed that they’ll continue with me. ATT will continue its life witha new guy and Liborio’s way of working”, told Benkei to TATAME, explaining other whys for his left.

“I’m leaving to fight for better conditions to train my athletes, because I don’t agree with what ATT is doing with its name, selling our work for persons that takes on advantage our name and never went to ATT, owners of karate gyms, that simply does a seminary and now has a right to teach MMA with ATT’s name. Liborio made our brothership dream and hard work in a big McDonald’s. I’m definately out of ATT”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Thiago Alves via knockout of Diego Sanchez at UFC 90

”I know I’m going to knock him out. It doesn’t matter what round…. I want to put on an exciting fight for the fans. Diego is a pretty tough guy, but I can knock him out. But I have to take him down and submit him, I’ll do that. I’ll be on top of my game.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

More On ProElite

Just as a follow up on Kelsey’s EliteXC/ProElite post from this morning, reading over ProElite’s latest SEC filings, it looks like they are going back to the Showtime/CBS guys for a cash infusion per their 10-Q Report

The Company is actively negotiating to consummate a financing of approximately
$3.5 million in secured debt (with a funded amount of $3.0 million after an
original issue discount of $0.5 million) and believes a successful closing is
reasonably likely, but there is no assurance that it will be successful in doing
so at all or on a timely basis. Any such failure to obtain financing in the
immediate future would also have a material adverse effect on the Company’s
liquidity and capital resources and ability to continue as a going concern.

While CBS/Showtime is not mentioned explicitly in the filing, the deal stated is an exact replication of the deal they did with CBS in June. With the $3 million in hand, that should fund ProElite through their crucial October 4th card on CBS.

Just as an aside, many folks on the various MMA blogs are mentioning the sudden increase in the ProElite stock and trying to read the tea leaves as to what it could mean. The answer is: not much. The ProElite stock is very much a low trade stock, sometimes going days and weeks without a trade. The sudden jump in price was based on a minuscule sale of stock, around 5,300 shares. It wouldn’t even be fair to call this a drop in the bucket when compared to the 55 million shares of outstanding stock in ProElite. More than likely the reason the price was that high was because of a locked in option to sell the stock at that price on that date.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Satoru Kitaoka had public training.

Satoru Kitaoka, who faces Clay French in SENGOKU 4 on Aug 24, showed his training the press at P's LAB TOKYO.

Kitaoka:
When my opponent was announced, Aoki told me that I and French had a great difference in out ability; although, I shouldn't take his words seriously because he sometimes says something irresponsible. My strength lies in my grappling and submitting techniques. I don't need anything else to win. In my last fight, I was convinced that I was doing right thing to be a strong fighter. I don't worry about who I fight with. The most important thing is how I show my ability in my fight. All fighters in GP are strong; however, I am superior to the others in abilities to express myself, because I believe I have better experiences as a professional MMA fighters than others. Nobody knows who fights against Gomi at the end, yet I believe everybody know who the best opponent for him is.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Baroni calls out Sakurai - DREAM 6 Possible?

We all know that Sakurai was meant to fight Nick Diaz for the DREAM welterweight championship belt at DREAM 6. This fight was later taken off/moved due to Nick Diaz's Elite XC commitments.

On Sherdog's discussion board today, Baroni has said it would be "an honor to face Sakurai". I normally would not make a big deal out of fighters calling each other out, it happens all the time and its part of the game. BUT I really hope DREAM makes this happen! Baroni vs. Sakurai would be an awesome fight and it would be good to see Baroni back in Japan!

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fedor Featured on HDNet's 'Inside MMA'
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/Fedor-Featured-on-HDNets-Inside-MMA-1740
On this week's HDNet "Inside MMA," Bas Rutten (Pictures) and Ron Kruck were joined by Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures).

Guests include "Ultimate Fighter 7" winner Amir Sadollah, Martin Kampmann (Pictures), and sports writer Gary Herman.

 

[heyzel]

CAN LIGHTNING STRIKE TWICE FOR AFFLICTION?

by Mitch Gobetz


It's been almost a month since Affliction's debut event and the buzz is still flying. Even though Affliction, on paper, spent a reported $3.3M on the roster for the first show, most fans believe it was a successful event. After all, Andrei Arlovski had possibly his best performance in years against Ben Rothwell. Josh Barnett was successful in his revenge victory against Pedro Rizzo. The main event, albeit short, grew Fedor Emelianenko's legacy even further with his 36-second demolition of former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.

With all of the success that Affliction had in its debut event, it needs to keep the momentum going. Pay-per-view buys will be crucial to the promotion's success. Affliction does have the backing of multi-billionaire Donald Trump to help its credibility. Affliction vice president Tom Atencio insisted that their debut event did over 100,000 pay-per-view buys, which would be considered a good start.

Affliction's second event will take place on Oct. 11 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. While the hype may not be as high for their sophomore show, Atencio remains optimistic that everything will go fine. “We're gonna go out and do the best we possibly can,” he said in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “That's really what it comes down to. If we go out there and do our job and do it right, everything else will happen. It's part of marketing. There are so many different aspects that we have to bring to the table. All we can do is our job and if we do it right, we'll be successful.”

The production in Affliction's debut show was good for the most part considering it was their first foray into a mixed martial arts event. There were some kinks to work out, particularly in the fighter's entrances. Realizing the mistakes made, Affliction is looking to build upon the foundation its built and work out any problems in the subsequent show.

“I think anybody that says that they're happy with everything they do is lying,” stated Atencio. “There's mistakes. Did a lot of people see them? No, a lot of people said that they didn't. Did people see them? Absolutely. It was our first show out of the gate. It's not like we did this before. I think as a whole, if you look at it that way, we did a good job. Did we make mistakes? Absolutely. Are we going to correct them? Absolutely. Can we get better? 100%. I believe that. There were a lot of things that we were anticipating and that's okay. I think we did better than a lot of other companies did and I'm proud of them. Just minor tweaks. For the most part, everyone seems happy with what we did.”

The hardest part for any upstart MMA organization is to differentiate itself from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The UFC has dominated the mixed martial arts market for the past 15 years and doesn't show any signs of slowing. Other organizations such as the International Fight League, Pride Fighting Championships and the World Fighting Alliance have tried to compete with the UFC only to be either bought out or to fail financially.

Affliction will be striding into the lion's den on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas, which is the UFC's hometown. The main event will be between two former UFC heavyweight champions: Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski. The card is also set to feature Antonio Rogerio Nogueira taking on Vladimir Matyushenko, as well as Ben Rothwell vs. Pedro Rizzo.

Affliction believes that Las Vegas is the perfect spot to showcase its second show considering Las Vegas' reputation for hosting big fights. “MMA fighters like to fight in Vegas,” explained Atencio. “Fans like to be in Vegas. I know I like to be in Vegas. It's a big event city. It makes sense to bring something there. It's a party town. It's an event town.”

In some ways, the second event may be even more important than the first mainly because anybody can have a debut event. The second event is what establishes what possible longevity the promotion may have in this sport. However, Atencio and Affliction feel confident that they can hold their own and that they will be here to stay.

They have already signed an influx of talent thus far and most recently signed lightweight standout Chris Horodecki as well as established welterweight Jay Hieron. If Affliction continues to sign top talent, its stock with the fans will rise, as should their pay-per-view buys.

 

[heyzel]

5 Oz. Feature: Breaking down ProElite’s current situation

by Sam Caplan


I’ve made a lot of phone calls and have done a lot of reading and can report with confidence that ProElite and EliteXC and are not on the verge of collapse as some have speculated. EliteXC canceled the Sept. 20 show for various reasons. First, it was behind the eight-ball when it came to finalizing a card and getting it approved with officials at SHOWTIME. The card also lacked a marquee main event needed to sell enough tickets to make a 18,000-plus seat arena look full and make the show profitable.

Another reason why ProElite canceled the show is to focus more on its Oct. 4 show on CBS. As of today, the card for that show has not been completely finalized. That task becomes a lot easier with all the displaced fighters from the Sept. 20 show now available. While I do not know this to be the case, it would not surprise me if there was another one-hour pre-show on SHOWTIME prior to the CBS telecast at 9 p.m. ET.

The first SHOWTIME pre-show prior to a CBS telecast on July 26 did not draw an impressive rating, but it may be a tough sell to put a 140 lbs. clash between Wilson Reis and Bao Quach as well as have a second female fight featuring Cris Cyborg on the network show. The Oct. 10 ShoXC event could be a possible landing spot for both those fights. It will be interesting to see what happens with Paul Daley. Daley’s erratic behavior have turned some people off but he remains an exciting fighter with star potential. Putting him on CBS would be a great way to expose him to a large audience.

The cancellation of Cage Rage’s “Contenders” event is being sold as a way for the UK-based promotion to focus on its bigger November event. The reality is that cost cutting is taking place. The promotion is down to three full-time employees and they are now renting out smaller venues. You don’t cancel an event days out before it is supposed to take place because you want to focus more on a future event. When an event is canceled that close out, it’s done because the promoters anticipate taking a loss and they cancel it to cut those losses.

The huge jump in the value of the stock on Friday is not something that is clear to me. I’m an investor in stocks but hardly an expect. The way it was explained to me is that people are reading too much into the new price and that it really isn’t that big of a deal. The same applies to the company’s decision to file for an extension in regard to reporting their second quarter results. Many micro-cap stocks are repeatedly requesting extensions because they lack the staff resources needed to do full financial reporting while still trying to run a viable business.

As a micro-cap company that is not attached to a major exchange and isn’t carried by major firms because it’s a pink sheet, there isn’t a lot of volume trading going on. According to the financial information that is out there, a single investor recently bought 5,300 shares and that is what pushed the stock up. And unlike a major stock, a micro-cap’s asking price often has little to do with its true market value. Just because someone bought the stock at $8 a share doesn’t mean they will be able to sell it for anywhere near that much. If you try to sell stock in General Electric, you’ll have no problem unloading it because it’s a high volume stock. There are always people looking to buy stock in GE. The same cannot be said for such a small company such as ProElite. ProElite stock often goes weeks without a trade. The next time it’s sold it probably will be for a lot less than $8 a share and when it does sell, that will likely be the new price.

The one thing I do not understand is why someone would pay $8 per share. If the stock price is at $8 a share, it means someone sold it at that price. And if it was sold at that price, someone had to buy it at that price. I’m not sure how someone could unload 5,300 shares of stock at $8/share when it had been trading at $2.50/share. Even if they were contractually locked in to buy at $8 a share, why would you strike at that price considering it’s trading so low? Since it was only one investor, maybe they got some bad advice? Or maybe they were being generous and trying to get someone some money? Or, maybe someone decided to spend $40,000-plus dollars to try and take away some of the negative attention for the Sept. 20 cancellation? Again, I’m no stock expert so I could be way off the mark here. The important thing to know here is that the company is not on the verge of being bought by the UFC, CBS, or anyone else.

Also, some have speculated that the stock jumped because of a possible merger with Affliction. Well, a merger with Affliction is out of the question for now. On paper, a merger makes sense. Affliction would get access to EliteXC’s major distribution platforms and EliteXC would get to feature Affliction’s high-priced talent on its platforms. But from a pure business standpoint, a merger makes no sense. It remains to be seen if Affliction can afford to pay its talent for what they are contracted to be paid. If EliteXC wasn’t able to go out and sign guys like Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, and Fedor Emelianenko in the first place, how could they afford to take on their six-figure guarantees now? Neither company is in a position to take on the other company’s problems. But for the sake of ensuring that there’s a viable competitor in existence to rival the UFC, they may need to find ways to work together and support one another.

So for now, EliteXC is not in danger of suddenly going out of business. According to their SEC filings, it appears they have enough capital on hand to get them through the year. Will they be able to go out and land major free agents such as Tito Ortiz? Most certainly not. Can they afford Frank Shamrock’s six-figure guarantee and book him for a show? I have my doubts. No matter how you want to spin it, the promotion is underfunded, as it came well short of its goals for executing a raise. The $3 million it did raise several months ago is believed to be nothing more than a loan from corporate partner SHOWTIME. The fact that the company was not able to attract new major outside investors following the strong numbers that its May 31 show did on CBS is a major cause for concern.

But the changes and cuts we’re seeing made are being done to help insure that the cash to get them through the end of the year is there. In addition to the management changes involving the resignations of Gary Shaw and Doug DeLuca, I’ve heard that other staff cuts were made. I can’t get confirmation as to who was let go at EliteXC but MMA Hawaii is reporting that Patrick Freitas, a matchmaker and marketing guy at ICON Sport, who was a vital part of the company’s success, recently resigned. It is surprising because Freitas was often an active voice in the Underground forum and quite often came to ProElite’s defense and sounded very positive about the company’s long-term prospects.

One thing to take note is that even though Shaw and DeLuca have taken on reduced roles, they are still being paid the same. The Wrestling Observer even reported that DeLuca received a bonus upon his resignation. Why would such moves take place? This is pure conjecture on my part, but if someone has a guaranteed contract then a company can only take their salary off the books if they have just cause to fire them. If ProElite wanted to get some new leadership in place with a different vision for the company’s long-term growth then they just couldn’t cut the contracts of Shaw and DeLuca without winding up in court.

If the company can’t reduce its costs by cutting back on upper management then they will have to find other ways. Not going through with shows such as the Sept. 20 event that they may started to believe would be a money-loser is one way. Investing less money in smaller shows such as Cage Rage and ICON Sport that offer EliteXC little exposure is another way. If you look at the August ICON show, it featured Phil Baroni and then Quach vs. Mark Oshiro. Baroni doesn’t fight cheap and while a match between Quach and Oshiro isn’t going to break a show’s budget, it’s a pretty good fight that easily could have headlined a ShoXC event and been presented to more potential viewers. It was essentially a title eliminator fight that hardcore fans would have cared about but had no way of watching.

One idea for ProElite to consider until it improves its financial position is to stop promoting mid-level EliteXC shows such as at the one that had been planned for Sept. 20 and instead just focus on doing ShoXC events and major CBS shows. ShoXC events appear to be money makers. Most promoters I have spoken to indicate that most casinos pay an event fee for promotions to bring a boxing or mixed martial arts event to their casino. In this situation, a promotion doesn’t have to worry too much about ticket sales, marketing the event, or rental costs for a venue. The fighter budget for a ShoXC event is also much less than what a show such as the Sept. 20 event would have cost, plus, there is no rental fee. Renting out a 18,000-plus seat arena for a night is not cheap.

If EliteXC cut back from mid-level shows for the time being, they would then have the depth to bring more star power to the ShoXC events. Proposed fights for Sept. 20 such as Daley vs. Lyman Good and Reis vs. Quach for the vacant EliteXC 140 lbs. title would fit in well for planned ShoXC events on Sept. 26 and Oct. 10.

In order to make it into next year, ProElite must secure financing. In order to continue to operate like a major national promotion, it needs to secure lots of it. I’m not sure it’s going to be able to do that. For one, the economy sucks right now. This is a terrible time for startups and young companies to have to go out and try and secure investors. Second, investors aren’t as bullish about MMA as they once were. If an MMA company makes a pitch and presents a PPM to a prospective investor, that investor is going to do its due-diligence. And when the investor does his or her research, they are going to see that the IFL, WFA, BodogFIGHT, and several other promotions faded into oblivion. The reports of low ratings and poor attendance for the July 26 show didn’t exactly do much for investor confidence either.

Some are speculating that it will be CBS who rides in and saves the day. That was my prediction at one point. However, CBS isn’t going to make a play for the company anytime soon. I know that some network executives at CBS were pleased with the quality of the July 26 show but I don’t think many people can be happy with the ratings even in light of the fact that expectations were tempered. The reality is that the masses want to see recognizable names fight each other. You could put on the greatest card in the world that has hardcore fans foaming at the mouth but it’s not going to draw a strong rating if the starpower is lacking.

As much as I love it when corporate executives pay attention to blogs, perhaps CBS paid too much attention to them? The July 26 show was programmed in large part in response to what was written by members of the hardcore MMA community. Is that the right way to go? It was television pioneer Roon Arledge who once said in regard to “Monday Night Football,” “F— the fan, they’ll watch anyway. Let’s go after the casual viewer.”

Arledge was a man ahead of his time. If MNF was a pure football show, it wouldn’t have lasted more than a season. But because they jazzed it up, it changed the way people watched the sport. “Saturday Night Fights II” was a much tighter production than “Saturday Night Fights I” but SNF II looked more like a SHOWTIME event while SNF I was a new way to present how the sport was viewed and it hooked the casual television viewer that was channel surfing.

If you watch NBC’s prime-time coverage of the Olympics, you’re not watching a pure sports event. They are doing a lot of story-telling and selling a lot of human-interest drama. Such an approach angers pure sports fans to no end, but without the casual viewer, NBC would be better off running new episodes of “Deal or No Deal” as opposed to spending billions on the summer games every four years.

When you look at what CBS has done with MMA after its first two shows, I think they need to find a happy medium going forward. The production for the 5/31 show was a little overboard. But perhaps the production for the 7/26 show was a little too stripped down? You need something for everyone, which is the direction EliteXC when in for its “Street Certified” show this past February, a show that I consider to be the company’s most successful to date.

If you are looking at things from a business perspective, one thing that the company cannot afford to do on Oct. 4 is a match involving Slice and Brett Rogers. Rogers would be a heavy favorite in that fight and could possibly finish Slice early. Slice has the better technique when it comes to the standup, but Rogers will have a serious advantage when it comes to power. Slice’s fighting weight is 235 lbs. while Rogers cuts to make 265 lbs. and apparently has weighed at much as 280 lbs. on the day of his fights. Slice could be giving up as much as 45 lbs. if the two meet. So what you have is a lighter heavyweight fighter going against a super heavyweight. If this was Olympic-style boxing, Slice’s footwork and head movement would allow him to out-point Rogers. But Rogers has massive hands and if he touches Slice’s chin, he’s going to be dazed.

When Slice fought former heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer in an MMA-rules exhibition match in 2007, Slice’s camp decided for him to play it safe and take Mercer off his feet and not to stand with him for a prolonged period of time. The strategy worked like a charm but Mercer was in his mid-40s and abandoned any attempt to learn ground fighting after a couple of classes at Ricardo Almeida’s. Rogers is not a master of ground fighting but reports on him is that he’s a good natural wrestler. I would think a man that big and strong would be rather difficult to take of his feet. What I’m getting at here is that Plan B isn’t an option for Slice. He’s going to have to stand and slug it out and the odds are against him. He might want to fight Rogers, but he’s not ready.

EliteXC has not built many stars and Kimbo is one of their few exceptions. If he loses to Rogers in his hometown, that will kill him completely as a draw. The promotion needs more drawing cards, not less, which is likely why the promotion is holding off on promoting a match between Gina Carano and Cyborg. Coming off Slice’s disappointing performance vs. James Thompson during the 5/31 show, EliteXC needs to build him up again and give him more time to develop. Hardcore fans will bitch and moan that he’s not fighting top competition, but after three pro fights, should he be fighting top competition? Many will point to Brock Lesnar as a guy going out there early in his career and taking on top guys but Lesnar is an aberration. Slice is not Lesnar. But how many fighters are?

The company needs to choose wisely when finalizing Slice’s next opponent. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why they wouldn’t do Ken Shamrock vs. Slice. The promotion is believed to have soured on Shamrock following his upset loss to now-retired Robert “Buzz” Berry during a Cage Rage event earlier this year, but how many people saw that fight? And did Thompson not lose to Rogers in February yet he was brought back to headline vs. Slice? I don’t see anyone complaining about the ratings for Slice vs. Thompson.

EliteXC needs to bring back the casual viewer for the Oct. 4 show and the Shamrock name could help in that regard. Plus, the loss to Berry could be viewed as a positive in some ways. The average casual fan will be oblivious to the loss and a promotion that is looking to cut costs could use it against Shamrock when trying to negotiate a guarantee for a fight with Slice.

Those speculating that CBS is about to buy EliteXC need to realize that it is not going to invest heavily into ProElite coming off the numbers from the 7/26 show. Being a network television executive is a high-pressure job that doesn’t usually offer a lot of job security. A network television company buying a mixed martial arts promotion has never been done before. If executives push CBS to buy ProElite and the bottom falls out, chances are they’ll not only be looking for a new job, but they could be looking for a new career as they could be branded as untouchable in the television industry. It’s too high risk for CBS to buy the company out now and whether they’ll be interested in doing so in the future will have a lot to do with how Oct. 4 goes. If the ratings aren’t strong, why would the network buy programming that it may end up canceling or not renewing in the future?

EliteXC has to make sure the ratings are good for Oct. 4. They need to use the same formula they used for “Street Certified” to make things work. Slice vs. someone like Shamrock and Carano vs. Kelly Kobald-Gavin will be a good hook for the casual fans. When filling out the final two matches on the show, they should keep the hardcore fans in mind. Sure, they’ll bitch about Kimbo but if you give them Jake Shields, Eddie Alvarez (who is not expected to be on the show as he takes time off to get married… but man, they really need him), Quach, Reis, etc. that will get them talking enough for them to tune in. They also need to do a better job building up the K.J. Noons to Nick Diaz feud. Trying to pretend the melee that happened on June 14 never took place is a bad idea. EliteXC is handed a gift and it wants to take it back for a refund?

We already know the Oct. 4 show will have a stronger lineup from a marquee name standpoint than 7/26 but will it be enough? May 31 got a great number because all of the planets were aligned perfectly. There wasn’t much competition for the 18-34 demographic and they had months to promote the show to a targeted demographic during events such as the NCAA tournament. But you know the UFC will counter-program the Oct. 4 show again and EliteXC could be going up against both college football and the Major League Baseball playoffs that night. Also, how much promotional resources can CBS devote to “Saturday Night Fights” in August and September when it has to promote its new fall lineup?

There’s also the curiosity element to factor in. A lot of people tuned in on May 31 just to see what all the buzz about MMA was and exactly who this Kimbo Slice guy was. A lot of new fans were created while a lot of people will never tune in again. The first telecast of mixed martial arts in prime-time network television history was a big marketing hook that can never be used again.

If the Oct. 4 show does not hit it out of the park in all facets then CBS will not be the corporate savior some expect them to be. And without their support, I do not see how ProElite can survive. If EliteXC folds, I don’t think that will be good for fighters or the fans (competition brings the best out of everyone) but this is how I see things breaking down. If something doesn’t change and change soon, we could be living in a UFC-only world by next summer. Having four major national promotions compete for the same nut might not be the best thing for the growth of the sport. However, I am not sure having one major national promotion is good for the sport either

 

[Shogun Locc]

Imanari Submits Another Black Belt

TOKYO -- Deep’s first bantamweight championship bout between Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) and Hiroshi Umemura (Pictures) didn’t get out of the first minute Sunday at Korakuen Hall.

Imanari, known as the Ashikan Judan, lived up to his nickname by putting away the jiu-jitsu black belt at a mere 29 seconds into the Deep 37 main event. After a missed Imanari middle kick, Umemura circled back to the center of the ring, obviously not expecting Imanari to go for his usual baseball slide into a foot lock.

Once Imanari had the foot, however, Umemura’s face twisted into a grimace of pain. He tapped to the heel hook but not before sustaining considerable damage.

“Somehow I won today, but before long, I think I’ll want to fight in a place one step up from here,” Imanari told the crowd while Umemura limped out of the ring. “Please cheer me on.”

Shigeru Saeki, Deep’s corpulent captain, has stated in previous interviews that the bantamweight division in Deep was created in line with Dream’s new featherweight class, hovering between 137 and 139 pounds. With today’s comments, the expert leg locker appears to be all but announcing his participation in next year’s rumored featherweight grand prix.

Deep women’s lightweight champion Miku Matsumoto (Pictures) not only kept her title but also kept good to her word by knocking out long-time nemesis Misaki Takimoto (Pictures) late in the second round. Blitzing Takimoto from the opening seconds of the fight, Matsumoto showed no fear for her opponent’s karate skills. She slammed punch after punch after kick after brutal body knee to the midsection of Takimoto.

Takimoto tried in earnest in the first round to stifle Matsumoto in the clinch and on the ground, only to end up evading armbar and triangle attempts. Matsumoto’s dominance appeared to wear on both women, however. Both slowed considerably in the second round, turning the bout into a standup war.

Matsumoto pulled ahead in the exchanges after a resounding head kick left Takimoto stumbling. The next crushing blow came in the form of a hard body kick that made Takimoto cringe over in pain, followed by a second kick that dropped her for good at 4:40 for the second-round knockout.

The judges robbed Jong Man Kim (Pictures) in his bout with Pancrase standout Daiki Hata (Pictures). After three rounds of tagging “DJ Taiki” with hard left hooks and the occasional lunging right, Kim looked to be on his way to a unanimous decision. To his credit, Hata had proven that he had a solid chin, taking Kim’s best shots and not showing any sign of fading. Hata also consistently found his mark with low kicks, none of which Kim defended throughout the three rounds.

Yet it was Kim who scored consistent head shots and arguably deserved to win the fight on damage. The judges didn’t see it that way, though, ruling the bout a unanimous draw after three rounds of Kim’s standup dominance.

Deep fan favorite Ryuta Sakurai (Pictures) steamrolled Kozo Urita (Pictures). In the opening moments, he clipped Urita with a left that sent him down on his back. From there, Sakurai grinded Urita into ineffectiveness before moving into position for an armbar at 3:22 of the first round.

Yasuhito Namekawa (Pictures) showed no love and even less respect for Claudio Silva in their 198-pound catch-weight bout. After failing to finish with a north-south choke, Namekawa went for an armbar and pulled Silva’s arm clearly beyond the point nature had intended it to go. The arm snapped, and Namekawa threw it aside 2:59 into the first round before standing up to parade around the ring.

Though he always comes to fight, the exciting Yoshihiro Tomioka (Pictures) bit off more than he could chew in Katsunori Kikuno (Pictures). Kikuno started off by blasting “Barbaro44” in the chin with a high kick followed by volleys of punch combinations. Whether on the feet, in the corner or from the guard, Kikuno hammered Tomioka with heavy hands until the referee called the fight at 2:34 of round two.

Eiji Ishikawa (Pictures) dominated Kousei Kubota (Pictures) on the feet and on the mat in their 172-pound catch-weight bout. Coming to the ring with a large bandage on his head, it looked as if Ishikawa had been injured from training. However, Ishikawa got Kubota to the ground and eventually pounded him out 55 seconds into round two.

In the last bout of the evening’s “Deep vs. Wajutsu Keishukai” attraction, Riki Fukuda (Pictures) sealed the deal for team Deep by defeating Hiroki Ozaki (Pictures) by unanimous decision. After stuffing Ozaki’s takedown attempts in both rounds, Fukuda dragged Ozaki to the mat, where he transitioned to the back to deliver the occasional rear-naked choke attempt between hard punches to the body and side of the head.

Though Seigo Inoue (Pictures) had been knocked down twice in the first round, he appeared to catch onto Koichiro Matsumoto (Pictures)’s striking game and adapt for the second round. However, when he changed levels for a takedown, Matsumoto landed a perfect uppercut to his face. Referee Yoshinori Umeki then overreacted and called the bout for an early stoppage at 1:32 of the second round.

In the only Wajutsu Keishukai win of the evening, Yusaku Tsukkumo (Pictures) latched a rear-naked choke on Yasushi Kitazaki (Pictures) at 3:04 of the first.

Shinobu Miura (Pictures) proved tougher than Luiz Andrade I’s usual opponents, not allowing Luiz to bang him out. Only one judge scored it for Andrade I, while the remaining two ruled the bout even for a majority draw after two rounds.

In the evening’s only open-weight bout, Evgeny Maximkin tapped Jun Soo Lim at 3:08 of the first round by heel hook and then said he’d like to test his skills in Dream.

All three of the evening’s Future Fight prelims ended in stoppages: Muneyuki Sato (Pictures) punched out Yuya Osugi 3:00 into the second round; Kenta Takagi pounded out Makoto Kuwawa at 1:22 of the first; and Tomohiro Ishii hammered Teppei Hori from top position for the finish at 3:46 in the first round.

 

[Shogun Locc]

For Jon Jones, upset victory proved he belongs in UFC

Not much was expected of unheralded 21-year-old Jon Jones (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC 87. A late replacement for an injured Tomasz Drawl, Jones was regarded as little more than a sacrificial lamb for highly touted prospect Andre Gusmao (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

But after 15 minutes in the octagon at UFC 87, Jones had delivered a stunning unanimous decision victory. The win proved to Jones that only four months into his MMA career, the Team BombSquad fighter belonged in the UFC.

"[The win] meant a lot to me," Jones told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "It showed me that I can do this. A lot of people doubted me. They said, 'Jon's tough, but he hasn't fought anybody.' Now they can't say that."

Jones started the bout uncharacteristically. Despite owning four first-round stoppages in his previous five fights, Jones looked tentative in the opening frame. While much is made of first-time UFC fighters' "octagon jitters," Jones said it was the locker room that caused his challenges.

"I wasn't nervous at all," Jones said. "I was a little unprepared though. Usually before my fights I'm in a zone. My mind and body is one unit. I'm ready to go. My reactions are quick. I've got a great sweat going. My lungs are open.

"In this fight I'm fighting against a Renzo Gracie guy. I've got Wanderlei Silva hanging out in my locker room. Matt Serra's in my locker room hanging out. Renzo Gracie is walking in and out of my locker room. There's all these cameras in my face. I just couldn't really get in my groove."

The wealth of talent surrounding the young fighter was in stark contrast to the smaller stage on which he was used to competing.

"I wasn't as focused as I was if I was at a smaller show," Jones explained. "So when I went out there it wasn't that I was nervous. I kind of had cold feet. I didn't get that mental game together before I came out there.

"So it took me a while to get comfortable. The more I landed punches, and the more I avoided his attacks, my creative juices got flowing. My comfort got flowing. And that's when I started opening up a bit."

Once Jones began to open up, a vast array of strikes followed. Jones peppered Gusmao with unorthodox attacks from every angle. Gusmao claimed a few of those angles ended below his belt.

Much of the crowd in attendance, as well as Jones himself, disagreed.

"It definitely was frustrating to me," Jones said of the situation. "The first knee to the groin was legit. I definitely kneed him to the groin. It was a total accident.

"I'm a lot taller than most of my opponents. When I throw a knee it usually lands to my opponent's face or chest. Him being a tall guy, I kind of caught him a little low. It was a total accident.

"He took enough time and got to catch his breath. All the rest of the knees I think was just acting a little bit trying to get the crowd and the judges on his side. I had no respect for that."

Adding to the frustration was Gusmao scoring an illegal knee of his own below the belt on Jones.

"I definitely remember that moment," Jones said of being hit in the groin. "I definitely felt the knee. But you're in a fight. I felt the knee. It was a legit knee, but it wasn't enough to drop me, so you fight through it. Some guys just don't have that mental edge."

Jones fought through the controversy and delivered the upset victory. The importance of the win was not lost on the New York native.

"I fought a guy who's 5-0 in the IFL, and it showed me a lot," Jones said. "It shows me that I can do this and I do belong in the UFC."

The win also showed two other fighters in attendance that Jones belongs in the UFC. An invitation to train together soon followed.

"Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, his manager contacted me right after the fight, and we exchanged information," Jones said. "I know that Quinton and Cheick Kongo want to fly me out to their gym to give them a different look as far as workout partners.

"So I'm excited about that. I get to work out with one of the best 205-pounders in the game. I'm sure that's going to help me out a lot."

It's a safe bet that Jones will not enter his next UFC bout as such an unknown commodity. Although Jones believes he'll still be the underdog for quite some time, he hopes his performance in Minneapolis has earned him a bit more respect.

"I'm sure there will be lots more cases of me being the underdog," Jones admitted. "But I definitely think I earned the respect of the UFC with the performance I put on.

"Anyone who watches that fight knows that when it comes to stand-up, they don't know what to expect. I think it's going to be hard to train for a fighter like me -- especially when I get my jiu-jitsu a little bit stronger.

"I definitely think I have a lot more underdog fights to come. Especially with me being so young, being so new to the game. But I definitely know that even though I'm going to be the underdog, I'll be the respected underdog."

And for a fighter with six professional fights in just four months, the opportunity to step back into the cage can't come soon enough.

"I'm ready to step into UFC 88 or 89," Jones said. "I'm ready to get in there right away. I love staying in my groove. I don't really like to take too much time off.

"I'm hungry to fight more. Hopefully they throw me back in there as soon as possible."

 

[Shogun Locc]

HERRING MOVING ON, WANTS REMATCH WITH LESNAR

Heath Herring was convincingly defeated by Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 on Aug. 9 at the Target Center in Minneapolis by unanimous decision. Unhappy with his performance and the outcome, Herring looks to the future and would eventually like a rematch with the Division I collegiate wrestling champion and former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar.

Herring had high expectations heading into the octagon against Lesnar, but was caught by a right hand in the opening moments of the bout that sent him and his expectations crashing to the canvas.

"I think that shot pretty much changed the whole dynamic of the fight," said Herring. "I sure would like to know what would have happened if it hadn't landed."

"Once that right hand landed it was like I was fighting half blind, or pretty much blind at that point. It was all pretty much downhill from there," explained the 30-year-old heavyweight. " I just tried to come back and mount some type of offense. Unfortunately, I was never able to mount anything that significant...After getting rocked with a shot like that, and not being able to see, you're more in survival mode."

"It doesn't sit very well with me. I'll be honest. I mean, you go out there and right at the beginning of the fight get caught with probably the biggest shot ever and you're starting off right away in a negative position."

Lesnar's post-fight antics and conduct in the final seconds of the match have received as much attention as the right hand that nearly finished the fight in round one. When asked his thoughts on Lesnar's actions, Herring responded, "That's kind of what everybody expected. Isn't it? I mean, that's where he comes from. He's got the pro wrestling background. That's kind of what they do."

"If the fans don't like it, the fans need to make their opinions heard on it, but I expected as much," added Herring. "If that's how he's going to behave, that's how he's going to behave. I'd still like another shot at it, but we'll see how that goes later."

During the post-fight press conference, Lesnar commented that there was bad blood between the two camps leading up to the event that resulted in the taunting after the win. "That was for Heath's camp because on the way out to the Octagon there was some things said before the fight," stated Lesnar.

Herring disputes the bad blood claims. "I don't know really where all of that is coming from. I just recently heard any of that to be honest with you," said the UFC and Pride veteran.

Following the fight, rumors swirled about alleged injuries suffered in the loss. Herring assured MMAWeekly.com that the damage is minimal and expects a quick recovery.

"Everything should be all right," said the Texas native. "They thought I had a small orbital problem. But I think that's going to heal up and everything should be okay."

"The only thing I had was that left eye. That was it. I didn't have any bruises, aches or pains otherwise, but that left eye was enough to sway the battle in his favor."

Questioned where he goes from here, Herring answered, "You just try to move forward. I mean everybody can sit here and put their two-bits in, or their two-cents in about this and that. Right now, I've just got to move forward with this. I'm not happy with the loss. I'm not happy with the fight at all. I've just got to go back to the drawing board and start over."

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Patrick Cote will ‘take care of’ Anderson Silva on October 25

“We know how to beat Anderson Silva. The only way to beat him is to push the pace. Go forward all the time…. You can’t let him get confident and comfortable in the centre of the Octagon. You have to push the pace for five minutes every round. If I do that, I can catch him. I’ll take care of him.”

– Confident Cote strikes again — this time in the Edmonton Sun via Fight Network radio. The Canadian has been talking quite a good game leading up to his fight against 185-pound demon Anderson Silva at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., on October 25. However, the “Spider” has demolished virtually ever fighter who has adopted the “in your face” strategy inside the Octagon. See James Irvin, Rich Franklin (twice), Nate Marquardt and Chris Leben.