MMA News Thread

[heyzel]

What’s next for Rich Franklin?

April 21, 2008 – 12:52 pm by fightlinker

The question I really wanted to ask during the post-event press conference was “What’s next for Rich Franklin?” However, I was still a bit drunk off the crowd and was afraid if I opened my mouth everyone would point at me and scream “FRAUD! BLOGGER! DEATH TO THEE!”. They’d drag me from my chair, rip my fancy work shirt open to reveal the damning ‘FREE RANDY’ t-shirt beneath, and then they would rip me apart and eat my guts a la “Day of the Dead”.

So I kept my mouth shut.

But it’s still a damn good question, one that Mike Sloan from Sherdog also wonders:

Unless Anderson Silva loses the title, moves up to light heavyweight or retires, Zuffa will be hard-pressed to figure out what to do with Rich Franklin (Pictures) as far as a title shot goes. Not to sound disrespectful, but no matter how many wins he racks up and no matter whom he beats, how is Zuffa really going to market a third fight between the two when Silva has blown him out of the water both times? Unfortunately for Franklin, one of the classiest guys in the sport, he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.

With all the retardo talk of GSP moving up to middleweight, I’m not quite sure why no one is talking the same about Rich Franklin moving up to light heavyweight. It’s not like Rich didn’t used to fight at 205 in the past, and it cleans the middleweight division up so that Franklin doesn’t continue to whup all the potential contenders the UFC is trying to build. Honestly, Rich is too good to just bounce around in the MW class just kinda waiting till Anderson Silva gets struck by lightning or something equally improbable happening (like Silva losing).

 

[Shogun Locc]

Josh Barnett added to May 18 WVR card

Highly ranked heavyweight Josh Barnett (21-5), who's competed just once in the past 16 months, will next fight May 18 at World Victory Road's "Sengoku II" event.

The Japanese-based organization made the announcement earlier today.

An opponent hasn't been named for Barnett, who competed at the first Sengoku event and defeated Hidehiko Yoshida in March.

Barnett, a former UFC heavyweight champion and longtime PRIDE fighter, isn't the only big name appearing on the card, which takes place at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Japan.

The latest card, according to the official World Victory Road website, includes:

Kwang Hee Lee vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Satoru Kitaoka vs. Ian Schaffa
Jorge Santiago vs. Yuki Sasaki
Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Jim York
Dan Hornbuckle vs. Mike Pyle
Roger Gracie vs. TBA
Kevin Randleman vs. TBA
Josh Barnett vs. TBA

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dana White: Serra vs. Hughes still possible

After his loss to Georges St. Pierre in this past Saturday's UFC 83 main event, Matt Serra (9-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) could face Matt Hughes (41-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) when he returns to action.

Dana White mentioned the possibility in a post-event press conference at UFC 83.

Soon after Serra originally defeated St. Pierre for the UFC's welterweight title in April 2007, he was chosen to coach opposite rival Hughes on the sixth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The series was to culminate with a main event fight between the two coaches, but injury forced the cancellation.

Instead of Serra, who suffered a back injury prior to the fight, St. Pierre fought and defeated Hughes at UFC 79 and was awarded the interim title.

Serra was then slated to face St. Pierre -- not Hughes -- in Montreal this past weekend.

The Serra vs. Hughes fight, which built a lot of steam through the "TUF" series and because the fighters traded a lot of barbs in the media, could still be a solid pay-per-view draw. Rivalries -- even ones with mismatched fighters -- can be money-makers. Look no further that the Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock trilogy as proof.

At this point, though, the fight is still far from a definite, and White's comments could have been little more than off-the-cuff fodder for the press conference. However, with a very public feud and countless dollars already spent hyping the fight, a Serra vs. Hughes bout could probably do quite well as a pay-per-event co-main event -- or even as as a UFC Fight Night main event.

Of course, there's another possibility for Serra. If he weren't such an underdog in both fights, Serra would likely get an immediate rubber match with St. Pierre. In fact, St. Pierre said he feels he owes it to Serra to give him a fight in New York (if the state begins regulating MMA) since he came to St. Pierre's home in Canada.

However, with the UFC's welterweight division stacked with worthy contenders (including Jon Fitch, whom White said would probably get the next title shot), the St. Pierre vs. Serra III fight might not ever happen.

Serra vs. Hughes wouldn't be a bad -- or unlikely -- alternative.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matt Lindland booked for July 19 Affliction show

Highly ranked middleweight Matt Lindland (20-5) will next fight at Affliction's debut show, which takes place July 19.

Lindland made the announcement on Friday's edition of "Inside MMA" on HDNet.

Affliction, which recently announced its intentions to enter the fight-promotion business after building a popular clothing brand, will likely host a Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia main event at the show.

Lindland didn't mention an opponent for the fight but mentioned Murilo Bustamante and David Terrell as possibilities.

Lindland, who's currently running for the Oregon House of Representatives, will fight for the first time in 15 months when he debuts for Affliction. He last fought Fedor Emelianenko -- who fights two weight classes above Lindland -- at an April 2007 BodogFIGHT event. Lindland suffered a first-round submission loss.

It was just his second loss in his past 11 fights, which has included stops in the UFC, Cage Rage, and the International Fight League.

The July 19 Affliction show is expected to take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, and will likely air on HDNet. A number of top-tier fighters have been rumored for the event, though Emelianenko, Sylvia and Lindland appear to be the only locks at this point.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC cuts Kalib Starnes after UFC 83 track meet

The UFC didn’t waste much time, releasing former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) contestant and UFC 83 main card participant, Kalib Starnes, from his contract after a puzzling performance against Nate Quarry this weekend, according to Yahoo!Sports.com.

Starnes — a native of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada — spent most of the 15 minutes of his middleweight bout with “The Rock” playing keep away. He simply refused to engage. In fact, Quarry mocked him inside the Octagon toward the tail end of the fight for his performance.

Here’s a snip from UFC President Dana White:

“He just doesn’t belong in the UFC and after his performance the other night, he should consider a new line of work.”

Starnes was looking to rebound from a technical knockout loss to Alan Belcher that ended because of a grizzly cut. He was displeased with the stoppage (even though his skull was visible) and was even more displeased with the financial hit he took to recover from the axe wound.

There’s actually some unsubstantiated Internet chatter that Starnes was interviewed after the Quarry loss and indicated that the UFCs reluctance to cover his medical costs is part of the reason for his performance on Saturday night. However, the Yahoo! report was unable to confirm or deny that statement.

Regardless, Starnes did himself and his career a major disservice this weekend. He has much to prove going forward … if he’s even still interested.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta UFC 87 fight possible

As expected, top lightweight contenders Kenny Florian (9-3) and Roger Huerta (20-1-1) are penciled in to tussle at UFC 87 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 9, according to MMAWeekly.com.

The winner of the 155-pound tilt will more than likely earn a shot at the title against either UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn or Sean Sherk — the two are expected to face off at UFC 84: “Ill Will” on May 24.

Huerta last competed during The Ultimate Fighter TUF) 6 Finale in December 2007, outlasting a resilient Clay Guida in an epic battle for lightweight supremacy.

Following the fight “El Matador” announced a break from mixed martial arts after competing five times in 2007. His goal during the hiatus was to finish college and participate in outside endeavors like filming for the new Tekken movie (based on the popular video game).

He is undefeated inside the Octagon (6-0) and Florian would provide his toughest test to date.

“Ken-Flo” is on a tear since losing to Sherk for the vacant lightweight title in October 2006, reeling off four wins against some stiff competition and finishing them all within three rounds.

In fact, it’s his only loss inside the Octagon since he lost the original TUF middleweight final to Diego Sanchez in 2005 (30 pounds more than his current fighting weight).

Florian will wade into hostile territory for this one — Huerta lives and trains in the North Star State. It shouldn’t, however, affect the outcome of the fight, which should be a great fight between two very proud and gifted fighters.

There’s no quit in either of these guys.

UFC 87 will also feature the return of Brock Lesnar against former UFC heavyweight champion, Mark Coleman. Other fights are currently in the works for this one … stay tuned.

 

[Shogun Locc]

IFL 10-K Notes

The IFL released its 10-K annual report last week. The company has lost a total of $31 million through the end of 2007, including $21.3 million last year alone. The biggest news from the filing was the inclusion of an opinion from the company's independent auditors expressing doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. From the filing:


As a result of our continued losses, our independent auditors have included an explanatory paragraph in our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, expressing doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern. The inclusion of a going concern explanatory paragraph in the report of our independent auditors could make it more difficult for us to secure additional financing or enter into strategic relationships with distributors on terms acceptable to us, if at all, and may materially and adversely affect the terms of any financing that we may obtain...

We expect that our revenues from operations will be insufficient to meet our projected expenses, unless we are able to increase our revenues through other sources, such as entering into a strategic alliance with a significant television broadcaster or sports or entertainment enterprise or exploiting our digital rights. Unless we can successfully increase our revenues through these other sources (in excess of the costs we incur to generate these revenues), we will likely be required to raise additional capital through equity or debt financings by the end of the second quarter or in the early part of the third quarter of 2008. Such capital may not be available, or, if it is available, may not be available on terms that are acceptable to us. A future financing may be substantially dilutive to our existing stockholders and could result in significant financial and operating covenants that would negatively impact our business. If we are unable to raise sufficient additional capital on acceptable terms, we will likely have a cash shortage which would disrupt our operations, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or business prospects and could result in insolvency.
In other words, the end game is approaching for the company as it will need additional capital to continue through the end of the year. The inclusion of a going concern explanatory paragraph will make the company's efforts to find additional funding more difficult. At the end of 2007 the company had $6.1 million in cash.

The IFL's largest expense in 2007 was the promotion, staging, and production of live events. The company spent $15.9 million on 13 events last year, an average of $1.2 million per event. The company generated $5.7 million in total revenue including $2.4 million in live event revenue (mainly consisting of the live gate), $1.6 million in TV rights fees from MyNetworkTV, $1 million in international TV rights fees (with programming in 50 countries), $498,000 in sponsorship revenue, and $117,544 in branding revenue.

The company currently has 27 employees in two offices in New York and Las Vegas (20/7 split). The total staff payroll for 2007 was $4.5 million. Jay Larkin (CEO) and Michael O'Keefe (CFO) currently have base salaries of $325,000 and $240,000 respectively.

 

[Shogun Locc]

DREAM announced 4 more fights in DREAM 2

DREAM announced additional fights in the middle weight tournament 1ST round on Apr 29. Fights announced were Taiei Kin vs Minowaman, Tanakhmadov vs Zelg Benkei Galesik, Dong Sik Yoon vs Syungo Oyama and Ronaldo Jacare vs Frank Trigg. Sasahara said, "I heard about Akiyama's injury. He went to see a doctor for an examination today. We are not going to let him fight in the 2ND round as a recommended fighter like we did in the light weight tournament." Dream will decide if he fights in the tournament or not after all things considered. Kin, Minowaman and Oyama appeared after Tanikawa's speech and had short interviews.

Syungo Oyama:
Yoon and I have the same Judo background and jumped into MMA. I imagine many people don't think I get the title at the end, however, I'm confident about myself and will stand out from the rest of the fighters.
- Have you seen Yoon's fights since his debut?
Yes. I was excited to see how he adjusted himself from Judo specialist to MMA fighter.
- Have you seen him in his judo period?
Never. He was famous and watched his games.
- Yoon improves himself with fast pace.
He makes good use of Judo techniques proves himself as a Judo specialist in MMA. I learn a lot from him.
- His specialty is an arm lock.
He won't miss a chance of arm lock. My strong point was an arm lock as well when I was a Judo player, and I can tell the excellence of his submission. We both shared an experience and struggled to prove ourselves. I'm very excited to show our growth in the ring.
- Why do you think you can win this competition?
I've had lots of experienced since I started MMA. I suppose other fighters did same though. This is my time to get everything I learned together and shine.

Taiei Kin:
I'm from a country, K. I have an impression our fight will be heterogeneous martial arts. I will do anything to win.
- Are you training MMA now?
Yes, very hard. I started MMA training 4 years ago. I have been focusing on ground techniques since the end of last year. Will see what happens!
- What do you think about your fight?
I don't know yet. He has a long career in MMA and is a very experienced guy. I usually study a character and techniques of my opponent before fight. I will be driving myself crazy if I try to analyze him. I will just learn his fighting style.
- Minowaman is good at locking legs though.
I'm a striker. Our fight will show our specialty clearly and everybody can see our backgrounds are different. I think I can escape from his locking though and he cannot finish me.
- You have fought fighters who are from pro wrestling before. Do you think your experiences will help?
Minowaman is a bit different from other pro wrestlers. I have to be fully ready for this fight to defeat him. I want to move on to the 2ND round. I'm also thinking to participate in K-1 Japan in June.
- Are you aiming for both titles?
Fighting in 2 tournaments in the same month has some problems, I guess. Although, I want other people to stop complaining, and I want to do whatever I want.
- Who do you want to fight in the 2ND round? Sakuraba?
Sakuraba is the only Japanese fighter who may submit me by grappling. Before Sakuraba, I want to fight Akiyama or Misaki who doesn't fight in this tournament though.
- Akiyama may not participate in this tournament because of his injury.
Really? I think all fighters always have injuries. He should fight no matter what, without thinking deeply. He has nothing to lose even if he loses.
- Do you want to fight him because you don't agree with the fight result when you fought him before?
Nope. My debut fight in MMA was against him. He is strong and I want to fight him because I lost last time.

Minowaman:- What do you think about your opponent?
He believes in Karate. He supported Kick and K-1 from the time it was founded.
- When did you know about him?
He was popular and saw him in a magazine when I was 18 or 19 years old.
- He fights pro wrestlers and has good results.
I have more experiences in MMA. I will stop him.
- Are you training for this fight?
What I have to do now is conditioning of my body.

Sasahara:
- Did you know about Akiyama today?
Yes. I don't know anything about his condition except he was injured his knee during his training. I don't even know it's right knee or left. It was a big surprise.
- Have you picked his opponent yet?
Of course.
- You said you won't let him fight from the 2ND round?
I don't like to let one fighter start from 2ND round as a recommended fighter. As far as Uno, his achievement in the lightweight class is remarkable and has been fighting in MMA for long time. I think Uno should be OK to fight from the 2nd round. Akiyama won't get the same with Uno, based on his experience and achievements.
- He is a champion of HERO'S though?
That's something he should be highly evaluated for. Although, it's too soon since he just started MMA and he only got one title. No matter what happens, I will have 9 fights including Aoki vs Calvan.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Sengoku press conference on Apr 18

Sengoku had a press conference about Sengoku 2 on May 18. Sengoku announced Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao vs Big Jim Yokr and Mike Pyle vs Dan Hornbuckle.

Nakao:
I'm glad to fight such a good looking guy. I'm not only nervous but excited because I haven't fought for a year. My opponent is good striker as well as has good ground techniques. I believe I can show how much I developed myself by training for a year. My fans will be impressed to see my performance and victory, and they will expect me to fight Fujita.

Kuniyasu(Sengoku PR):
We picked 1 Japanese and 1 foreign fighter for Roger Gracie, however, both of them were injured. He has requested us to notify him of his opponent soon and now we are negotiating with another guy. Though Kevin Randleman canceled fighting IGF, I believe he can fight in Sengoku and we will announce his opponent next week. We are negotiating with a famous heavy weight foreign fighter and may be able to give you a big surprise. If this fighter sign up with us, he will fight in a main event. As for Yoshida, I hope he is ready to fight in June though we are too busy working on our upcoming event to talk the detail about his next fight. Regarding Kazunori Yokota who is a DEEP lightweight champion and requests to fight Gomi, Gomi's manager said he is pleased to hear about Yokota. We will definitely work on arranging their fight.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC 84 WEBSITE UP

http://84.ufc.com/

 

[Shogun Locc]

Monteiro ready to fight at Sengoku 2

Although the fight is not confirmed yet at Sengoku 2 card, that is schedule to May 18, at Tokyo, , Fabrício Monteiro is getting involved in return to Japanese rings. “I am expecting to fight in June, but if they give me the opportunity to fight in May, I will be prepared. Both of us, me and Antônio Braga Neto, pleased the audience and in my case, as the result of the fight was controversial, they want a return fight”, said Monteiro that, although the defeat to Nick Thompson, must not face the American in his next bout: “I don’t belive that his is my opponent this time. I think they are going to keep this fight to another more important event. If he continuous to win, maybe a belt dispute”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Belfort vs. Randleman at Sengoku 2?

Vitor Belfort Boxing coach, Josuel Distak, reveal to TATAME.com the new plans of the ex-UFC champion at MMA. Without fighting since September at Cage Rage 23, where he defeated James Zikic at judge’s decision and become the event champion, Vitor can face the American Kevin Randleman. “We are training hard and Belfort is close to a deal to face Kevin Randleman at Japan or at Pro Elite in June. He is waiting for the best offer to sign”, said Distak. Randleman don’t fight since his victory against Maurício Shogun in 2006 at Pride 32.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Re-Injured Nose! Akiyama Not In Middleweight GP

Yoshihiro Akiyama announced today at a press conference that he will not participate in this years DREAM Middleweight GP due to a re-injured nose that he sustained in training. Akiyama originally injured his nose in his fight against Kazuo Misaki at Yarennoka! on NYE.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Report: Liddell injured; UFC 85 main event cancelled

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell has been taken off of the card for UFC 85 scheduled to take place in London on June 7, MMARated.com is reporting.

The UFC has yet to issue an official statement.

Liddell had been scheduled to fight Rashad Evans. Evans is also expected to be removed from the card with the bout against Liddell likely to be re-scheduled for later in the summer.

Liddell had originally been scheduled to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on the card, but Evans was tapped as a replacement after Rua was forced to bow out after aggravating a knee injury.

There is no word if a replacement main event will be added to the UFC 85 lineup. A heavyweight title between Brandon Vera and Fabricio Werdum is currently the highest profile match that’s still scheduled.

According to the Wrestling Observer, the event, scheduled for the O2 Arena, has sold over 10,000 tickets, making it very unlikely that the event will be re-scheduled entirely.

It will be interesting to see if the show remains scheduled for pay-per-view, as drawing a strong buyrate could be difficult without a legitimate main event. UFC 85 will also be taking place just two weeks after UFC 84, which already an obstacle in regards to drawing a strong buyrate.

 

[B-Buzz]

wow, so the worst card of the year actually got even lower lol.

 

[UCDgreek]

weak i hope its nothing serious. i dont want to see lidell retire on bad terms.

 

[naner12]

According to Sherdog it looks like James Irvin might replace Chuck. Here's the story ..

Liddell Off UFC 85, Irvin Could Fight Evans

Chuck Liddell (Pictures) has fallen off UFC's June 7 card in London, England, due to a badly torn hamstring, Sherdog.com confirmed Monday.

The 38-year-old Liddell (21-5) was set to fight Rashad Evans (Pictures), himself a replacement for Mauricio Rua (Pictures), at O2 Arena in the main event of UFC 85.

Multiple sources tell Sherdog.com that Sacramento, Calif.-based light heavyweight James Irvin (Pictures) could be the man to fill Liddell's large shoes, though the bout with Evans (11-0-1) has not been filled at this point.

Irvin (14-4-1) would make a quick turnaround following an eight-second knockout of Houston Alexander (Pictures) on April 2.

 

[rylor206]

Damn i was looking forward to that fight. I hope it's not to bad.

 

[rylor206]

Its official at UFC.com check out the picture of Chuck's leg it is crazy lookin.

CHUCK LIDDELL INJURED; FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM UFC® 85The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC&#174 organisation Related News
UFC 83 Musings
Whoa Canada! GSP Regains Title with TKO of Serra
Franklin comes up Aces in win over Lutter; Bisping Halts McCarthy
Canadian Battlers Notch Three Wins in UFC 83 Prelim Bouts
Serra, GSP get Montreal Pumped up for Saturday Night

announced today that Chuck Liddell has been forced to withdraw from the UFC 85 event. Liddell tore his hamstring last week while training for his June 7 bout with undefeated light heavyweight Rashad Evans.

"Unfortunately, Chuck Liddell tore his right hamstring during training last week, and being the warrior that he is, he still wanted to fight, which is the reason why everyone in the world loves him," said Dana White, UFC President. "But I wouldn't let anyone fight with his leg looking that way. Let him heal and come back and fight when he is 100 percent."


White continued, "We're adding fights to the card and rearranging it so the UK fans won't have to worry, we'll still be bringing an amazing card to London
and the O2 Arena. The UFC® always delivers."

The UFC® will announce a new main event shortly, along with a full lineup of 13 fights for the UFC® 85 card, making it the biggest UFC® event in over a decade. The event will include a heavyweight eliminator between Brandon Vera and Fabricio Werdum, a welterweight showdown between popular striker Marcus Davis and The Ultimate Fighter® alumnus Mike Swick, a middleweight battle between Nate Marquardt and Thales Leites, and a light heavyweight clash between Luiz Cane and Jason Lambert.

Plus, undefeated British heavyweight Neil Wain will make his UFC® debut against dangerous kickboxer Antoni Hardonk.

The remaining bouts for UFC® 85 will be announced shortly.

 

[rylor206]

Here's the Chuck Picture.

Hamstring