MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

IFL ANNOUNCES BOUTS FOR RETURN TO MOHEGAN SUN

The International Fight League on Thursday announced several bouts to round out its May 16 card at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

Pennsylvanian fighter Lamont Lister takes on Team Quest fighter Aaron Stark. Lister comes off a stoppage victory over Oleg Savitsky at YAMMA 1, while Stark submitted Dallas Browning at Sport Fight 21.

Undefeated welterweight prospect Nick Calandrino faces off with Boston native John Howard. Calandrino submitted George Sullivan at Battle Cage Xtreme 4, while Howard knocked out Jose Rodriguez at Ring of Combat 18.

Oregonian fighter Joey Guel takes on former IFL middleweight champion Matt Horwich. Guel lost a decision to Falaniko Vitale at X-1: Champions in his last bout. Horwich also lost recently, dropping a decision to Ryan McGivern at an IFL event in Las Vegas.

IFL draft participant Josh Souder takes on lightweight wrestler Zac George. Souder comes off a submission victory over Craig Meagher at Legends of Fighting 8, while George dropped a decision to Mike Joy at Sport Fight 21.

Brazilian submission fighter Fabricio Camoes takes on Ring of Combat lightweight champion Jim Miller. Camoes submitted Joe Camacho at a recent ShoXC event, while Miler scored a decision over Bart Palaszewski at the recent IFL event in New Jersey.

Danillo Villefort, another IFL draft participant, takes on Team Bomb Squad fighter Mike Massenzio. Villefort earned a TKO stoppage victory over Todd Carney at Word Fighting Championships 5. Massenzio enters the bout having submitted Lance Everson at Ring of Combat 17.

Already announced for the card are three championship fights. IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz defends his title against New York lightweight Deividas Taurosevicius, middleweight champion Ryan McGivern defends his title against New Jersey middleweight Dan Miller, and heavyweight champion Roy Nelson defends his title against Hammer House fighter Brandon Lee Hinkle.

 

[Shogun Locc]

MAC DANZIG TALKS SUB OF BOCEK AND KNEE INJURY

“The Ultimate Fighter” season six winner, Mac Danzig, proved he belongs among the growing list of top lightweights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship after defeating Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Mark Bocek by submission at UFC 83 in Montreal.

After a tough first five minutes that saw Bocek take Danzig down, the newest member of Xtreme Couture stepped up his game coming out for the next session. Taking advantage of every situation, both standing and on the ground, Danzig was able to impose his will on Bocek, who seemed to fade a bit after the first round.

“It’s kind of the way I fight. I break people down, and it’s just something that I have an ability with. I think it’s good for me because I have the ability to notice when someone’s breaking down and I can tell,” said Danzig about his second round takeover. “Some people, they just fight and they don’t really have any intuition or any sense on what their opponent is feeling, but I could tell that he was starting to break down.”

As Danzig was working to finish the fight he went for a gogoplata, a rarely used submission in mixed martial arts, and he ended up hurting himself worse than he did his opponent.

“Unfortunately, I messed up my knee going for that,” Danzig stated about the submission attempt. “I didn’t realize how hard I pulled my leg and I heard a pop while I was going for that gogoplata, I heard my knee pop. I actually just got back from the doctor’s today and I got an MRI on it and I’m going to get the results tomorrow.”

Since that time, MMAWeekly.com was able to reach Danzig for further comment about the injury. He stated that he only suffered muscle damage, not a ligament tear. So no surgery will be required for the injury. He should be back in training in about three weeks.

In the third round, Danzig took over completely, opening a large cut on Bocek’s face and then ended the fight by submitting his opponent with a rear naked choke. Considering Bocek’s considerable pedigree in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Danzig admits winning by submission felt nice.

“I know how good my ground is, I know what level my ground is, and I know where I stand in that world,” Danzig commented. “It feels good to be able to show people that I’m pretty dangerous when it comes to grappling. But then at the same time, a lot of that has to do with how I wore him out and what I did in the fight leading up to that. I definitely take pride in that, and it means a lot to me. It’s like getting a knockout on a really high level kickboxer.”

Danzig admitted during the UFC 83 post fight press conference that he is his own worst critic, and while his performance was still phenomenal, he knows he can improve.

“I felt I could have done a lot better, but I look forward to building off that and my next performance is going to be ten times better than this one, I guarantee you.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

TUF 7 Rating - Week 4

MMAPayout.com has learned that the fourth episode of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.0 rating (1.3 million viewers). The program drew quarter hour ratings of 0.94, 0.88, 1.00, and 1.06. The demographic breakdowns were 1.49 in M18-34 and a 1.25 in M18-49.

The quarter hours actually average out to a 0.97, which rounds to a 1.0, but the series is very close to breaking the 1.0 support discussed on MMAPayout.com last week. The number is also under the 1.5 million viewers Spike averaged in prime time in the first quarter.

 

[PsyDaL]

A lil MMa Promo for the guys that hook me up in the lastest MMa apparel John and Dave @ MMa Fan Shop if your in the Roseville area Frank Mir is gonna be at the shop doin autograph signing May 30th 1850 Douglas Blvd Suite 414 Roseville, CA 95661.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Nakahara ready to face Sakuraba

When he started at Kyokushin Karate, the Brazilian Andrews Nakahara could even imagine in fighting at MMA rules in Japanese rings. The 25 years old black belt has many Karate titles and is going to make his MMA debut against the big Japanese MMA fighter in history, Kazushi Sakuraba, at the next middleweight DREAM GP, witch first round is scheduled for April 29. Andrews commented about his debut against the Japanese idol. “Sakuraba is a legend, it’s a honor to face him. It is a big opportunity to debut at MMA facing such a experience athlete as Sakuraba”, said the Brazilian.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves to Headline UFC 85

What do you do when your long-time friend Chuck Liddell goes down and your main event goes up in smoke? Well if you’re UFC President Dana White you call on another long-time friend in Matt Hughes to fill in. It was just announced via Matt Hughes’ official website that he will be headlining UFC 85 in London against Welterweight contender Thiago Alves. Hughes confirmed the fight by writing, “June 7th, in England, I fight Thiago Alves. The fight is confirmed”.
Alves is coming off of a huge victory over Karo Parisyan at Ultimate Fight Night 13 back on April 2nd, while Hughes is coming off of a loss over current undisputed UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 79 back in December.

Many expected Hughes’ next fight to be against Matt Serra but that fight will have to wait as Hughes may be working his way back up the Welterweight ladder for one more shot at St-Pierre. The Serra fight is still going to happen according to Hughes though as he wrote, “no matter what happens in this fight, I’ve got Serra next.”

Here’s what Matt Hughes wrote on his blog:

"June 7th, in England, I fight Thiago Alves. The fight is confirmed, it will be the main event for the card. Dana just called me with the news. Chuck got hurt and couldn’t fight, so he needed a replacement and called me and I said yes. More news as I get it. No matter what happens in this fight, I’ve got Serra next. -matt"

 

[Shogun Locc]

Report: Cro Cop vs. LeBanner at DREAM 4

MMA-ID (www.mma-id.com), proud sponsor of Mirko Cro Cop, has learned in the last few hours that Cro Cop will be facing dynamic heavyweight striker Jerome LeBanner. The bout is scheduled to take place at DREAMS 4 on June 16 in Saitama, Tokyo. LeBanner is 3-1-1 in mixed martial arts, last competing in 2006.

This shouldn’t be an opponent that gives Cro Cop a lot of trouble but it’s much better than him facing Tomato Can A or Tomato Can B. LeBanner poses an interesting matchup for Cro Cop but nothing that I don’t think the devastating striker from Croatia can’t handle.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Melendez vs. Thomson announced for June 27

Strikeforce’s next show is scheduled for June 27 in San Jose, Calif. at the HP Pavilion, the promotion announced via a press release on Friday morning.

The promotion also revealed in the release one of its feature matches scheduled for the card, which will be a Strikeforce lightweight title match by Gilbert Melendez against Josh Thomson.

The two had been scheduled to fight during the Strikeforce and EliteXC co-promoted event on March 29 that was headlined by Cung Le winning the Strikeforce middleweight title from Frank Shamrock. However, Thomson was forced to bow out after injuring his shoulder while preparing for the fight.

Melendez ended up defending his title vs. Gabe Lemley, whom he defeated via second round TKO.

Thomson vs. Melendez is the only match officially announced by Strikeforce for its June 27 show.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fabricio Camoes added to next IFL show

The IFL has announced the addition of seven fighters to its nine-bout show scheduled for Friday, May 16 at the Mogehan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The added fighters include Fabricio Camoes, Jim Miller, Josh Souder, Lamont Lister, Nick Calandrino, Joey Guel, and Danillo Villefort.

Souder and Villefort are both products of the IFL’s Draft tryouts that took place this past Fall, while Miller made his IFL debut during the promotion’s April show. Miller improved his career MMA record to 11-1 following after defeating Bart Palaszewski via unanimous decision.

Camoes, 9-4, might be familiar to MMA fans following his first round TKO over Joe Camacho during EliteXC’s most recent ShoXC event that was held on April 5. The Brazilian is still under contract to EliteXC but has the flexibility to fight outside of his existing contract in select situations.

It’s also interesting to note that Aaron Rosa, a light heavyweight who has competed three times for EliteXC’s ShoXC is also scheduled for June’s Adrenaline MMA debut in Chicago. However, after two consecutive losses in ShoXC, it’s unknown if Rosa is still under contract to EliteXC or simply fighting with consent outside of his existing contract.

The current lineup for the IFL’s May show is as follows (it appears as though the IFL is dropping its camp vs. camp format… at least for this show):

Preliminary Bouts

205 lbs.: Aaron Stark (Portland, Ore.) (Team Quest) (2-2 IFL, 5-4 overall MMA) vs. Lamont Lister (Philadelphia) (Team Bombsquad) (0-0, 5-3)
170 lbs.: John Howard (Boston) (0-0 IFL, 8-3 overall MMA) vs. Nick Calandrino (Emerson, N.J.) (Team Bombsquad) (0-0, 5-0)
155 lbs.: Zac George (Norman, Okla.) (Team Quest) (1-1, 12-2) vs. Josh Souder (Mason, Ohio) (Team Prodigy) (0-0, 10-6)
185 lbs.: Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) (Team Quest) (6-4, 21-10-1) vs. Joey Guel (Oregon) (0-0, 12-5)
155 lbs.: Fabricio Camoes (Brazil) (World Class Fight Center) (0-0, 8-4) vs. Jim Miller (Sparta, N.J.) (Team Bombsquad/AMA Fight Club) (1-0, 11-1)
185 lbs.: Danillo Villefort (Pompano Beach, Fla.) (World Class Fight Center) (0-0, 6-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (Paterson, N.J.) (Team Bombsquad) (0-0, 10-1)
Championship Bouts

185 lbs.: *Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) (Miletich Fighting Systems) (6-4, 12-5) vs. Dan Miller (AMA Fight Club) (Sparta, N.J.) (1-0, 7-1)
265 lbs.: *Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) (Lion’s Den) (5-1, 12-2) vs. Branden Lee Hinkle (Weirton, W. Va.) (0-0, 13-9)
155 lbs.: *Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) (Team Quest) (6-2, 19-9-1) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) (Renzo Gracie) (3-0, 9-2)

 

[Shogun Locc]

American Top Team on Starnes

There has been a lot of talk about Kalib's relationship with ATT since his fight in Montreal. There have also been comments attributed to our head coach, Ricardo Liborio about Kalib's future. We would like to set the record straight on this matter.
Obviously there were a lot of people disappointed in Kalib's performance, including fans, UFC personnel, our team and Kalib himself. We respect the opinions of MMA fans and believe that, most of the time, criticism of fighters from fans and media comes when it is deserved.

Having said that, ATT takes tremendous pride in creating an environment where our members are treated with loyalty and respect. It is no coincidence that "ATT Family" is a common tattoo on many of our coaches and fighters. Expelling a fighter following a poor performance would not be consistent with this philosophy.

Ricardo Liborio did in fact address our fighters following a recent training session regarding what it takes to represent ATT as a professional fighter. The essence of his statements (which were obviously meant to be private) was that ATT sets high standards for its members and it is not possible to reach those standards unless a fighter dedicates himself to the program 100% and participates in all team training sessions. He stressed that anyone deviating from that mandate will not be allowed to train with or represent ATT in the future. Kalib's preparation for this fight was used by Liborio as an example of what he does and does not expect of his fighters in the future.

We did not intend for this meeting to become public knowledge and regret that there was an inference of Kalib's dismissal from our team. We believe that Liborio's address, coupled with Kalib telling some friends he was contemplating retirement, fueled this speculation.

 

[Shogun Locc]

DREAM 2 Betting Odds

Kazushi Sakuraba -750 Andrews Nakahara +550

Kiyoshi Tamura -145 Masakatsu Funaki +115

Denis Kang -285 Gegard Mousasi +225

Jz Calvan -250 Shinya Aoki +200

Ikuhisa Minowa -325 Taiei Kin +265

Zelg Galesic -225 Magomed Sultanakhmedov +185

Dong Sik Yoon -225 Shungo Oyama +185

 

[Shogun Locc]

Travis Lutter: ‘I was a half-inch from breaking Rich Franklin’s arm’ at UFC 83

“… I got caught – I haven’t watched the fight yet but some of my buddies told me I got caught with a pretty good punch about 18 seconds in…. I thought I had him. I was really surprised when he was able to roll out. It’s pretty rare for somebody to get out. It’s just one of those things. Golf clap for Rich for getting out…. I was probably a half-inch, maybe even a quarter-inch, from breaking Rich Franklin’s arm. If we played that fight again I think I’ve got a real good shot at beating him. How close was I to getting my arm raised in both those fights? Sometimes luck is … And, I’m not saying that Rich got lucky. I don’t want people sending me hate mail saying I was saying Rich got lucky. I’m just saying I got unlucky.”

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 middleweight winner, Travis Lutter, talks about his technical knockout loss to UFC 83: “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2″ on April 19. In addition to discussing the loss, “The Serial Killer” goes in to details about all the unnecessary hate mail he receives for his past two losing performances.

 

[Shogun Locc]

More Details on 7/17 Affliction Event

More details are emerging on Affliction's first promotional effort which is set for July 17 in Dallas are beginning to emerge. So far the only "announced" fights for the event are Tim Sylvia v. Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Lindland v. TBA. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Sylvia's payout for the event is rumored to be $800,000. Other names rumored to be attached to the promotion/card are Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, and Ben Rothwell. Sources tell MMAPayout.com that the total bankroll for the event may approach $5-6 million.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jacaré faces a wrestler at DREAM

With only four days to the first round of the event, DREAM had officially announced that Frank Trigg is out of the card scheduled for next April 29th. To replace Trigg, Ian Murphy, an amateur wrestler is confirmed. The other doubt is the participation of Kazushi Sakuraba, that confirmed his participation at DREAM 2, but did not assured that his fight against the Brazilian Andrews Nakahara is valid for the middleweight GP. Check out below the card of the event:

COMPLET CARD (may change):

Dream 2 – GP Middleweight
Saitama, Japan
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

GP Middlewight:
- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Andrews Nakahara;
- Denis Kang vs. Gegard Mousasi;
- Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masakatsu Funaki;
- Ronaldo Jacaré vs. Ian Murphy;
- Magomed Sultanakhmadov vs. Zelg Galesic;
- Yoon Dong Sik vs. Shungo Oyama;
- Kin Taiei vs. Minowaman;

Lightweight GP:
- Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias Cavalcante.

 

[Shogun Locc]

The Eighth Fight! Manhoef In The GP After All?

Melvin Manhoef
What's your opinion that you're not fighting Aerts?
Bummer of course, not able to fight one of the biggest stars... If someone like me - someone who is relatively new in the K-1 scene - can fight against someone like Aerts, then that's something like a 'crown on my work' (translated literally, I think you can understand what he means). That's the way I see it, but it's a bummer still.

You're fighting Bonjasky now, made any changes in the preparation?
Yes, he fights different than Aerts. It was a change for me, but that's why you're a fighter.

Bonjasky has won the K-1 twice...
Yes, but he does not have the status that Hoost and Aerts have. You can tell me anything you want, but Ernesto and Peter are the pioneers of K-1. He may have won it twice, but that means less to me. When I was young I really looked up to Ernesto and Peter and we basically almost started the same and he* grew further. (*Guess he means Remy with he? Bit of a strange sentence) I already fought him, so to me it's less interesting to fight him again, really. But, now that the rematch is getting closer it's starting to get fun again. Back then it was my first heavyweight fight with, well, not that much experience. I have more experience now, so I can see if I have grown in the meantime.

You're not that heavy for a heavyweight...
I'm 88kg. But yeah, I knocked guys out who were 120kg. Karaev as well. Against Sefo I lost focus a little bit, I made a mistake there. I spar pretty well with Bjorn, I'm very prepared.

Remy is taking his knees out of the fridge again... (translated literally, means Remy will start using his knees again after a period in which he did not use his knees a lot, see Remy's interview.)
Yes, I'm prepared for everything. Whether they are freezing or thawed (thaw, took this word from the dictionary hehe), I don't care.

About the height difference
He is indeed taller, but Bjorn is also 2 meters (6'7) and I can hit him too.

How are you experiencing the transition from MMA to K-1?
I have a contract for MMA and next to that I have to fight a K-1 match once or twice. It can just come and then I have to fight. The transition is difficult. Because my main goal is to become Dream champion. I'm busy with groundtraining only really. You can see, the last time I made my first takedown, so yeah (laughs), people should stay focused. On the ground I'm training with guys like Remco Pardoel, Frederik van Oosterom, Jason Jones, American Top Team (Jayz).

American Top Team?
Yes, I will train there one to two months with the guys. The first time I went there I just wanted to quit fighting. I was getting folded up and thrown around by 60kg guys and thought what the hell is this... I was fighting everyone and I couldn't do anything. Now it's going much better. You're there with about 50 black belts. If we have two in The Netherlands we're lucky, the level is just much higher there. The first two weeks I couldn't do anything, but after the third week I was able to push someone off and I was so happy (Melvin has a big smile). The training is also a bit different, (stamina and strength) and I bring those methods back home.

Are you still doing the infamous circuittraining that we saw on the Mixfight.nl day?
Yes, I do those as well. It only became a little tougher.

Are you going to fight in the UFC, possibly against Anderson Silva?
I don't know. I just signed a contract for three years with K-1. UFC already offered me a contract once but I didn't take it. I can fight somewhere else, I may be 'rented' I believe, but I don't know how that's implemented in my contract.

Dream tournament
I'm also fighting in the Dream tournament. Well, I can qualify for that on May 11. My opponent will be Ralec Gracie.

Gegard Mousassi would like to fight you to prove he's the number one
He can (may) do that, then I'll won't fight against Dennis Kang. Then we'll meet in the finals

 

[Shogun Locc]

Zuffa Is Saving, Affliction Is Spending

Remember when Dana White used to brag in interviews about how many fighters Zuffa had under contract and about how big their organization was? Turns out, they’ve decided they don’t really need so many people after all.

After cutting Jake O’Brien and (more recently and understandably) releasing Kalib Starnes, Zuffa apparently has a taste for downsizing. Dave Meltzer and Adam Swift both report that Zuffa has plans to trim its fighter roster of around 200 down to as few as 150.

That’s still a lot of fighters under contract, even when split between the UFC and WEC. But it may be the case that Zuffa has figured out just how costly and unnecessary it is to keep lower-level fighters under contract, especially when the opportunity to fight on a UFC card is probably enough incentive for most of them to accept one-off deals.

Meltzer also reports rumors that a round of layoffs in the corporate office may be in the works as they try to trim the fat from the Zuffa juggernaut.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tracks, clothier-turned-promoter Affliction is shelling out the dough for their July 17 show in Dallas. The Fedor-Tim Sylvia main event alone is bound to cost them, with a rumored payout for Big Tim of…(are you sitting down?)…$800,000.

Just imagine what Fedor’s making for that fight.

While no other fights have officially been announced for that card, names like Ben Rothwell, Andrei Arlovski, and Josh Barnett have been floating in the wind. MMA Payout believes that the total bankroll for the event may be in the neighborhood of $5-6 million, which may or may not include annoying extras like production costs and marketing of the event.

Now you know why those Affliction shirts are so expensive.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Pete Spratt discusses his next fight, Kalib Starnes, GSP and more

http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content2519.html

On the current state of MMA...

"Coming up, we all hoped to get to this point. I knew it would, but I didn’t think I would be around to reap the benefits with the explosion of MMA. I’m still at the point where I’m going to be able to reap some of the benefits and I’m excited that there are so many different promotions out there and guys are able to fight on a national level. It’s a good thing. As a fighter, it gives us guys a lot of different avenues to compete with all of these organizations coming up and what’s better than good old fashioned competition? It gives us ways to make money and not just depend on just one promotion. We have options out there and the only thing we need now is a fighters union to make sure that we don’t get robbed and screwed around by different promotions."

On Kalib Starnes...

"Nah man, that was crazy. I couldn’t believe it, but from what I heard, he broke his foot in the 1st round I believe. If he broke his foot, he sure did do a good job of running if his foot was broke. He finished the fight and did what he had to do to finish the fight, but at the same time, it was disappointing for the fans, but I guess in hindsight, he did what he had to do to survive."

On GSP's win over Serra...

"Yeah, I checked it out man. He looked good man. He really pushed his gameplan and had Serra guessing on whether or not he wanted to stand or go to the ground or whatever the case may be and he had Serra confused. It was a good showing for GSP; very good showing."
On his fight this Saturday...

"They can expect what they always expect from me, a fight that's going to get finished or be finished. I’m going to try my best to do my thing to finish this guy and I’m sure he’s going to do the same to me. It’s going to be an exciting thing for the fans in the area man. They need to come out there and check it out because not only is my fight an exciting fight, but the whole card, from top to bottom, is a good card. You have some UFC vets on there, Aaron Riley, Carlos Condit, who has the WEC title, and Marcelo Brito, a great up and comer, so it’s a lot of exciting fights on the card."

On his future plans...

"Quite honestly, I would like to finish up my career where it kind of took off and that’s with the UFC. I’m looking at I’m 37 now and I only have a few years left, but that depends on how my body feels. If I still feel like I feel now when I’m 42, I’ll still be fighting. Right now, I’d like to get back in and get in the top 10 in the world at welterweight and fight for a title, whether it is in the UFC or wherever, but ultimately I would like to end my career in the UFC."

 

[Shogun Locc]

KJ Noons Talks Yves Edwards

MMAYOU: How are you doing?

KJ: I’m doing good man. Just got through training.

MMAYOU: How is your training coming along?

KJ: It’s going good man. Just training really hard, 3 times a day. Sleep, train, sleep, train, sleep, train.


MMAYOU: I spoke to Yves recently and he gave the impression that he is going to stand with you. Do you feel that your next fight is going to be decided on your feet?

KJ: Ah no, nobody will stand with me. I know that. Everybody says they are going to stand. The only chance to win, no disrespect to Yves, he is a friend of mine. Everybody says they are going to stand but nobody will stand with me. So, expect it for me to keep it standing as long as possible and then they’ll try to take me down and I’ll get it back up and we’ll keep it standing.

MMAYOU: Speaking of Yves, give us your thoughts on how you match-up against him.

KJ: I think he is a great opponent. First of all, he’s got a lot of class. He’s great for the sport and I am glad to be fighting somebody of that caliber that has that many fights and has fought that many great people in the sport. I think I match-up really good. He’s got great standup, I’d love for it to be standing and see where it goes but I like I say everybody says they want to stand and I just gotta really work on my ground game a lot for this and my takedown defense because usually people find out real quick they don’t want to stand anymore, you know?
MMAYOU: Nice. I want to go back to your last fight. After your last fight there’s been talk from the Diaz camp that you’re somehow ducking Nick by not rematching him immediately. Give us your thoughts on that.

KJ: I think that’s ridiculous. When you have the title you don’t, you can’t dodge anybody and why would the Diaz camp think I am dodging him? I gave him plastic surgery, on his face. That’s a fact. As long as he can get a doctor’s note, sure whatever, round two.

MMAYOU: After your fight you said you would still like to pursue a career in professional boxing. Is your focus entirely on MMA now or are you going to do boxing as well?

KJ: I would love to do boxing it’s just that training so much with the MMA and trying to defend the title so I’m just really trying to focus on this right now. I’m still working on my boxing and hopefully in the future I can get better at my boxing and pursue that along with doing MMA because I love both sports.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Yves Edwards

MMAYOU.com: How are you doing? How’s everything?

Yves: I’m good man. Just chillin.

MMAYOU.com: You’re last fight was very impressive with that amazing knee on Edson Berton. My question is; are there any other moves you are going to surprise us with in your next fight?


Yves: I got plenty of surprising type moves. Well, they ain’t surprising to me cause they’re mine, I know what they are.. I got a bunch of moves you guys will see and be like “What the hell did that dude just do?” I don’t necessarily know if I am going to pull them out in the next fight or the fight after that. I got plenty of fights in me and there are a couple of different things I am going to do and it is just going to take me a little bit of time to pull them all out.

MMAYOU.com: Maybe a jumping spinning back-kick or something?

Yves: That’s possible but you know I ‘ve seen that a couple of times and that shits not sexy enough for me. I’ve got some other stuff for you.

MMAYOU.com: Speaking of KJ, that fights on the horizon, give us your thoughts on how you match up against him.

Yves: I think it is going to be a good fight. Stand-up game both guys are really confident and really accomplished in the stand-up game. I think my ground is going to be better then his but I’m not the kind of guy that looks for the ground all the time, you know? If the fight goes there I’m going to be really comfortable there. And then the wrestling part of the game is, both guys, nobody wrestled at a D1 school but both guys look pretty good at it. I’m looking forward to this fight man. I think it is going to be a good fight for everybody. Two guys doing it and everybody watching.

MMAYOU.com: You seem to have rejuvenated your career with three solid wins. How much has training at American Top Team helped your game?

Yves: Oh man it has helped quite a bit. When your training with high level tough guys all the time, guys who have already made a name for themselves and established themselves. They have respect for you also but you know exactly how good these guys are and you know what is going on in the room. Nobody is really getting beaten up, everybody is giving each good work, good real hard work, you know the level of the guy you are training with and you know where your level is. And I think I forgot that for a while as I didn’t have that kind of guy to train with consistently. Now that I do, I am pretty excited about it and I think those guys brought me back to the threshold and I’m excited about everything now.

MMAYOU.com: In closing, is there anything you would like to say to your fans?

Yves: Um….shoot…. Just thanks for supporting me. Those guys supported me through thick and thin and they’ve always been there and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. I just want to thank them for that, always being there and always having my back

 

[UCDgreek]

More Details on 7/17 Affliction Event

More details are emerging on Affliction's first promotional effort which is set for July 17 in Dallas are beginning to emerge. So far the only "announced" fights for the event are Tim Sylvia v. Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Lindland v. TBA. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Sylvia's payout for the event is rumored to be $800,000. Other names rumored to be attached to the promotion/card are Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, and Ben Rothwell. Sources tell MMAPayout.com that the total bankroll for the event may approach $5-6 million.

thats a lot of money. how are they going to make anything off this event?