MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson analyzes fast victory

Considered the best pound-for-pound athlete of the world, Anderson Silva dominated the UFC middleweight division and, at UFC Fight Night 14 show, did a great fight at light-weight category. Facing the tough James Irvin, that was coming from a huge eight seconds knockout, Silva showed why he’s pointed as the best fighter of the MMA world. “Funny, huh? I wasn’t expecting such victory that fast and easy, but we train to do the work perfectly and I go to the octagon to do what I train. Thanks God everything was alright. The only bad thing is that he (Irvin) got hurt, cut the face, but it’s part of the job”, commented the middleweight champion, that is now thinking on his next title defense.

Anderson confirmed with exclusivity to TATAME that he may fight at September, and the opponent is defined. Yushin Okami, which would likely face him for the title, broke a hand while training, so Anderson may now face Patrick Cote. “We came to Las Angeles now and will help Rafael (Feijão) to prepare for his fight at Elite XC. After that, we’ll go back to to train for my fight at September. I believe I’ll face Patrick Cote”, told Anderson , that faces the opponent that beat Ricardo “Cachorrão” Almeida at his last fight. “I haven’t seen his that fight, I’ll take a look at that”, said Anderson .

 

[Shogun Locc]

Gono comes back in UFC89

Gono updated his blog.

I suppose everyone already knows... I make a comeback to the UFC on Oct 18. I signed on the contract last weekend.

The UFC told me that I could announce my fight schedule anytime in Japan last time; although, they asked me to wait this time until they made an official announcement. I asked them when they were going to announce and I was waiting to hear from them. I found out that my fight schedule was official in the UFC website when I read comments from my fans in my blog. Japanese MMA news sites already posted articles about my next fight before I announced in this blog. I regret very much that I couldn't let my blog readers know first about my comeback.

I received many warm comments, so I decided to train hard yesterday. Preparing to run on a treadmill, I was scratched on the back by a sharp edge of the metal fittings. It takes longer than 30 min. to stop bleeding. Sweat smarts when it is put on a cut. I also have a symptom similar to an asthma with coughing.

My next fight is a complete away game, for I fight a British guy in England. There is no direct flights from Tokyo to Birmingham, which means I have to layover somewhere in Europe. I wonder how long it will take to get there. Flights will be longer than flights to New York for sure.

Though it seems like things go against me, I actually do better in unfavorable circumstances. I could win last 2 fights even though I broke my fist in the early phase of the fight. I think mental and physical conditionings are the key to win. So, I train hard next 3 months to show you a good fight.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Affliction Pay-per-view Expectations & Bar Sales

The pay-per-view numbers for Affliction: Banned will be among some of the most anticipated and watched of the year. A strong number will be evidence that there is a market for MMA outside of the UFC. A weak number will provide support to the notion that there is no market for MMA, only for the UFC. The obvious question then is: what constitutes a good or a bad number?

Last week, Affliction Entertainment COO Michael Cohen told MMAPayout.com that he guaranteed the event would do above 50,000 buys, while Affliction VP Tom Atencio has publicly stated that it would take 250,000 buys for the show to break even. Based on the fact that no MMA event outside of the UFC has broken 100,000 buys, conventional wisdom around the industry is that anything above that mark would be a success.

MMAPayout.com has learned that bar sales for Banned are believed to have been around 700. For comparison, it is believed that the UFC typically has between 750-1,000 in bar sales. However, it should be noted that it isn’t clear whether or not the Affliction event was offered at a discount to the UFC’s events.

That number may give credence to what appeared to be a growing sense of optimism concerning the event’s chances on pay-per-view within the industry over the last week. Officials at InDemand were also reportedly excited about the event’s prospects.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Analysis of Reported Zuffa Acquisition of the IFL

Last week MMAPayout.com published a report from HDNet’s Inside MMA that the IFL is expected to eventually be purchased by the UFC. While the IFL is attractive acquisition target because of its potentially undervalued assets, namely its roster of talented young fighters and a 400+ hour video library. However, it does not have much to offer the UFC that it does not already have.

The UFC is already stocked with a majority of the sport’s A-level fighters and has enough B and C level talent to make a plenty of compelling match-ups. Nor does it need the IFL’s stock of fight footage. With over 80 PPVs, 7 seasons of cables most popular MMA reality show and the occasional “free” SPIKE TV fight night, the UFC easily has the deepest archive of quality fights.

It seems that the company’s primary motivation in purchasing the IFL is to keep the company out of the hands of one of its competitors, such as EliteXC who was rumored to have strong interest in the company. This wouldn’t be the first time the company has purchased other promotions for purely competitive reasons, it previously purchased the WEC in order to block a competitor from a deal with the Versus Network and reportedly purchased Pride at least in part to keep it out of potential rivals hands.

The UFC’s gain may be best understood in terms of EliteXC’s loss. The acquisition of the IFL by ProElite would greatly bolster its talented, but thin roster, while the tape library would add more hours to one of the largest MMA libraries in the world thanks to the company’s M&A binge last year.

With a reported asking price of between $750,000 and $1 million, purchasing the IFL is a small price to pay for Zuffa to block its competitors, particularly when it can pick up several talented fighters and the footage to promote them in the process.

 

[Shogun Locc]

MMANews Interview With Frank Trigg
Michael Moody was in Anaheim, CA this weekend and had the chance to sit down with former UFC welterweight contender and former Pride commentator Frank Trigg.

Frank talks about working with Affliction as well as his new role working with TNA wrestling. He talks about training to have pro wrestling fights in the future.

 

[Shogun Locc]

KID apologized to his fans for canceling his fight

Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto updated his blog.

Much to my regret, I was unable to participate DREAM.5. My condition was excellent, so I had a confidence that I would show my fans fantastic and cool performances. Unfortunately, I don't think I can come back this year. I will recover completely and have a fight next year. I start my training tomorrow and do what I can do now for my next fight.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Joachim Hansen: Dream 5 Post-Fight
videolink: http://videos.mmaweekly.com/view_player.php?id=2660
Joachim Hansen talks about his big win over Shinya Aoki to claim the Dream LIghtweight Grand Prix title.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Fight Night 14 medical suspensions issued to 13 fighters

Pending clearance from doctors, Cain Velasquez's and Tim Credeur's knee injuries, Anthony Johnson's eye laceration and Brad Blackburn's broken left thumb will keep the fighters sidelined for extended periods of time.

The competitors were among 13 total fighters whom the Nevada State Athletic Commission issued medical suspensions after this past Saturday's UFC Fight 14 event.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today received the list of suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The event took place at The Palms Las Vegas and aired live on Spike TV.

Surprisingly, the event's worst injuries were suffered by three winning fighters -- and one who lost in controversial fashion. Johnson had won the first two rounds of his fight with Kevin Burns (based on MMAjunkie.com's scorecards) but was struck in the eye in the third round. The fight was ruled a TKO victory for Burns, though Johnson was adament that his injured eye was the result of an eye poke and that he should have been given time to recover.

Johnson is currently preparing an appeal of the bout, which netted him an indefinite medical suspension. The conjunctival laceration can be cleared by an ophthalmologist, though a minimum suspension runs until Aug. 19.

The other suspensions included:
James Irvin -- Suspended until Sept. 3 with no contact until Aug. 19 due to a right-cheek laceration
Hermes Franca -- Suspended until Aug. 19 with no contact until Aug. 10 for precautionary reasons
Frankie Edgar -- Suspended until Aug. 19 with no contact until Aug. 10 due to a chin laceration
Jake O'Brien -- Suspended until Sept. 3 with no contact until Aug. 19 for precautionary reasons
Cain Velasquez -- Suspended until Jan. 7 due to possible meniscal/ligament tear in left knee (can be cleared early by an orthopedic doctor); minimum suspension until Aug. 19 with no contact until Aug. 10 for precautionary reasons
Anthony Johnson -- Suspended indefinitely due to a conjunctival laceration in right eye (can be cleared by an ophthalmologist); minimum suspension until Aug. 19 with no contact until Aug. 10 for precautionary reasons
Tim Credeur -- Suspended until Jan. 17 due to a right-knee injury (can be cleared early by orthopedic doctor); minimum suspension until Aug. 19 with no contact until Aug. 10 for precautionary reasons
Cale Yabrough -- Suspended until Sept. 13 with no contact until Aug. 19 for precautionary reasons
Brodie Farber -- Suspended until Sept. 18 with no contact until Sept. 3 for precautionary reasons
Rory Markham -- Suspended until Aug. 19 with no contact until Aug. 10 for precautionary reasons
Nate Loughran -- Suspended until Sept. 13 with no contact until Aug. 19 due to multiple lacerations
James Giboo -- Suspended until Sept. 13 with no contact until Aug. 19 for precautionary reasons
Brad Blackburn -- Suspended until Jan. 7 due to broken left thumb (can be cleared by orthopedic doctor)

 

[Shogun Locc]

"Affliction: Banned" official salaries: payroll tops $3.3 million

Main-event winner and new WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko earned a base salary of $300,000 for his first-round submission victory over Tim Sylvia, who earned $800,000.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today received the list of salaries from the California State Athletic Commission. The event took place this past Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

In addition to the headliners, other top earners included Andrei Arlovski ($750,000), Matt Lindland ($300,000) and Josh Barnett ($300,000).

The total disclosed payroll for the event was $3,332,100.

The full list of salaries included:

Fedor Emelianenko: $300,000 (no win bonus)
def. Tim Sylvia: $800,000

Andrei Arlovski: $750,000 (includes $250,000 win bonus)
def. Ben Rothell: $250,000

Josh Barnett: $300,000 (no win bonus)
def. Pedro Rizzo: $70,000

Mark Hominick: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
def. Savant Young: $7,000

Renato "Babalu" Sobral: $90,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def: Mike Whitehead: $50,000

Matt Lindland: $300,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus)
def. Fabio Nascimento: $20,00O

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $50,000 (no win bonus)
def. Edwin Dewees: $15,000

Mike Pyle: $20,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
JJ Ambrose: $5,000

Ray Lizama: $3,000
vs. Justin Levens: $6000*

Vitor Belfort: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
Terry Martin: $30,000

Paul Buentello: $80,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
vs. Gary Goodridge: $25,000

* - Fight postponed due to time constraints. Both fighters paid negotiated salaries.

Now, the usual disclaimer: the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter's income. They also do not include any other special bonuses the organization may have paid its fighters.

In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the commission and do not reflect entire compensation packages for the event.

 

[Shogun Locc]

EliteXC and FSN Deal In The Works?
While nothing is official, all signs are pointing to a possible collaboration between EliteXC and FSN to bring additional MMA programming to the sports network. George Greenburg, VP of Programming for FSN, dropped a hint at the final Affliction: Banned press conference about the a possible EliteXC deal ….stating “We are about to show ProElite…”, check out the clip here:

This echoes a statement made by ProElite Executive Doug DeLuca during last week’s conference call that EliteXC was negotiating a deal to increase their programming outlets:

Doug DeLuca: No, no, not at all. You’re actually a visionary. I can’t talk too much about it now, but we’re probably going to announce another broadcast deal pretty soon with a cable network that will do similar to what you’re saying — where you’ll see all our brands in action.

Such a deal would go a long way to replacing FSN’s IFL programming if the troubled fight promotion ceases to put on any further cards. Expect movement soon in regards to an announcement on the EliteXC/FSN deal.

 

[Shogun Locc]

AFFLICTION "BANNED" ATTENDANCE & GATE RECEIPTS

The California State Athletic Commission on Monday released the attendance and gate receipts for the debut mixed martial arts event of Afflcition, dubbed “Banned.” The event took place on Saturday, July 19, 2008 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

According to the CSAC, Banned had a paid attendance of 11,242; complimentary attendance of 3,590; and was left with 740 deadwood or unsold tickets. The total attendance of the event was 14,832.

Gross receipts for paid attendance was $2,085,510 compared to a total fighter payroll of $3,321,000. The total value of the complimentary tickets was $600,500. The total value of unsold tickets was $157,400.

Affliction “Banned” Paid Attendance/Gross Receipts*:
$2,085,510

 

[Shogun Locc]

Affliction, Fedor Prove MMA is Bigger Than UFC

There’s much to be said for selling out. For Affliction, it happens to be a good thing.

The clothing company turned mixed martial arts promoter packed the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday. Nearly 14,000 fans were treated to highlight reel moments of Dominique Wilkins proportions throughout the night. But it wasn’t all fashionable fun in the organization’s inaugural show.

From the try-hard red carpet that ushered VIPs in and out of the arena to the distracting, unnecessary smoke machines that went on through most of the event, Affliction’s presentation had enough plot holes to compete with the latest batch of summer blockbusters.

Ask Paul Buentello (Pictures). Staying warm is essential to a fighter’s performance, and the American Kickboxing Academy representative and opponent Gary Goodridge (Pictures) were both iced. They were brought to the ring, attempted to stay warm and were eventually sent backstage before finally returning because the promotion mishandled its presentation. Buentello is also still waiting for his postfight speech to be heard since the microphone was never turned on.

The production was abrupt and awkward. Vitor Belfort (Pictures) entered to delayed entrance music. Megadeth -- one of the premier staples of any self-respecting metal fan’s diet -- was met with so much indifference they could have been playing at a dirt mall. Not for lack of performance.

A captive audience doesn’t always make for the best one. Megadeth’s powerhouse riffs ironically sucked the adrenaline out of the night post-Arlovski and pre-Fedor. This allowed for enough time to reflect on the company’s poor fact-checking when its graphics claimed Ben Rothwell (Pictures) is a former IFL heavyweight champion.

However, Affliction hit a stride when Michael Buffer started the pay-per-view with his million-dollar-phrase: “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!” Thinking about the IFL’s vanilla debut, the resurgence of the WFA, and yes, the Yamma, Affliction seems like the stork drank jet fuel and listened to “The Black Album” while making its deliveries. Before fans knew it, they were in a sold-out arena watching elite mixed martial arts competition.

Affliction’s identity crisis of being high-end and underground could have steered the night in the direction of a K-1 Dynamite repeat, confusing and angering fans. The series of mishaps made Affliction the “nu-metal” of MMA promotions. None, however, were unforgivable. Chalk it up to rookie mistakes. Lucky for Tom Atencio (Pictures) and crew, fights have a way of speaking for themselves.

Abraham Mercado, a business consultant for public relations firms, likened Affliction’s inaugural show to recent UFC shows he’s attended.

“It’s the same energy, same feel,” said the 25-year old, whose familiarity with the sport prompted him to attend the much-hyped show.

Linda Simon, an older woman with stylish, close-cropped blonde hair, had no idea what she got herself into. But she loved it.

“Barnett!” yelled the hairdresser.

She was vocal throughout the night, starting chants for fighters she had never known. Simon plans on watching all fighting now, including the UFC. Unaware of Zuffa’s counter-programming happening on the same night, she was not conflicted like others in the know.

The two fans -- the hardcore and the neophyte -- enjoyed the fights from the third deck. Mercado offered up a simple explanation for co-existence in fighting: “It’s MMA. It’s just the same sport, different people. And in some cases, the same people going back and forth.”

If only it were that easy. Randy Couture (Pictures), Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Pat Miletich (Pictures), “Big” John McCarthy, Frank and Ken Shamrock (Pictures) were all present in Southern California. Standing in a row, they can be viewed as the “victims of Dana White” lineup. Add in Matt Lindland (Pictures), Renato Sobral (Pictures), Josh Barnett (Pictures) and Andrei Arlovski (Pictures), who all fought on the card, and there is an array of disgruntled and exiled UFC employees. Individually, they have criticized the UFC’s business practices for not acting in the best interest of fighters and the sport. As a unit, they have made a definitive statement: MMA is not UFC.

Then there is Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) -- White’s big “what if?”

From the start of the pay-per-view bouts, Emelianenko received the biggest pops. His cheers overlapped Megadeth’s performance. Russian flags popped up throughout the audience.

Celebrities were ever-present -- featuring such stars as James Toney, Manny Ramirez and Michael Madsen -- but the Red Devil fighter shattered assumptions that he lacked drawing power when he brought about bigger cheers than all the celebrities combined simply by showing up on the big screen.

Each fight received progressively louder fan reactions. Even referee Herb Dean (Pictures) was cheered by fans, a sign they appreciated more than brain rattles and limb torques. By the time Emelianenko demolished the former UFC heavyweight champion in 36 seconds, the arena was deafening.

There is a reason money magnet Donald Trump -- a man who garnered a serious ovation himself -- involved himself with Affliction and the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts, which crowned its inaugural champion in Emelianenko on Saturday night. Trump sees the long-term monetary gain, the impact on the sport. Indeed, UFC President Dana White’s current model of exclusivity was directly challenged when Emelianenko became the first independently recognized champion.

What better fighter to mark a starting point in MMA history?

The defunct nature of Pride left Emelianenko without a viable strap, but it did not strip his credibility as an elite pound-for-pound fighter and the heavyweight king. Had Sylvia won, Dana White could have championed his criticisms of Emelianenko. But instead he has to retract them. With Emelianenko having twice dominated current UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), White is left with little recourse to continue perpetuating the UFC as the entire MMA world. His steadfast anti-anything-not-UFC stance has taken a concussive blow.

Meanwhile WAMMA -- like the fighters and personalities that came out to make Affliction a success -- is setting the most positive precedent in MMA since rules and weight classes were instituted. Whether Affliction sinks or soars, the belt around Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures)’s waist is a direct call to make MMA a unified sport, to create battles between the best of the best.

Will the UFC president give up his hard-line position?

Maybe it’s time for Dana White to sell out.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Affliction likely to return Nov. 8

With Affliction's first show in the books, the organization has already turned the focus to its next one.

When asked by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) for a definitive date and location -- a question he was undoubtedly asked dozens of time throughout this past weekend -- Affliction Vice President simply smiled and offered what he could.

"When? The beginning of November," Atencio said. "Where? We haven't finalized that yet. We're still looking at a couple different locations."

As expected, Affliction will use many of the fighters that took part in this past Saturday's "Affliction: Banned" debut show at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Now boasting the majority of the world's top-10 heavyweight fighters, Atencio said the big guys will again be on display in November.

"We're obviously going to use the guys who won (on Saturday)," Atencio said. "Josh Barnett definitely. Who we're going to set him up with -- we're going to talk about that as well. (Also), Andrei Arlovski definitely. We have three-fight contracts with these guys.

"And ... obviously Fedor. Everybody I'm sure wants to watch him fight. Is that guy amazing or what?"

One other possibility is Aleksander Emelianenko. The Russian fighter, a PRIDE veteran and the younger brother of Fedor Emelianenko, was scratched from the event just minutes before he was headed to the scale for weigh-ins.

Emelianenko was scheduled to fight Paul Buentello in an FSN-televised fight, but he was replaced by Gary Goodridge 24 hours before the fight.

Other than saying Emelianenko didn't meet licensing requirements, the California State Athletic Commission has been unable to divulge additional information. And while rumors have surfaced of Emelianenko testing positive for Hepatitis B, the fighter's camp repeatedly stressed to MMAjunkie.com over the weekend that the issue was non-medical.

"I hope so," Atencio said when asked about Emelianenko's possible inclusion on the second fight card. "That was the one glitch (from the weekend), but I'm a big fan of Aleksander's, and I'd love to see him come back."

Atencio said Buentello, who defeated Goodridge via unanimous decision, is expected to take part in the next event, as well.

A source close to the organization tells MMAjunkie.com that Nov. 8 is the most likely date for the event. And although far from definitive, one rumored location for the next show is Atlantic City, N.J., which would allow Affliction to from jump from the West Coast for its debut to the East Coast for the follow-up. In addition to its proximity to lucrative New York-area markets, Atlantic City is home to Affliction executive Donald Trump's A.C. properties, including Trump Taj Mahal.

"There's competition now," Atencio said. "That's all I can say. We didn't start out to do it. We didn't start out to compete with anyone."

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Fight Night 14 peaks with 3.8 million viewers

This past Saturday's UFC Fight Night 14 event, which featured a rare appearance by UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva on free basic cable television, scored a 2.1 rating and an average of 3.1 million viewers.

The night's main event, which featured Silva's light-heavyweight debut and a first-round TKO of James Irvin, drew a peak audience of 3.8 million viewers.

Spike TV today announced the ratings for the event, which took place at The Palms Las Vegas.

According to near-official figures, Saturday's three-hour Spike TV broadcast outdrew every other channel -- both network television and cable stations -- with men ages 18-34 (903,000), men 18-49 (1,550,000), men 25-34 (622,000), and persons 18-34 (1,326,000).

Saturday's event, a late booking put together to counter Affliction Entertainment's debut event, also featured notables such as Brandon Vera, Hermes Franca, Frankie Edgar, Anthony Johnson and C.B. Dollaway.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) previously reported, the two highest-rated events in UFC-Spike TV history are UFC 75 and UFC Final Chapter: Ortiz vs. Shamrock III. Each event peaked with approximately 5.9 million viewers.

The highest-rated MMA event on U.S. television -- including network and cable TV -- was the May 31 "EliteXC: PRIMETIME" event on CBS. The nation's first-ever live MMA event on U.S. network TV peaked with more than 6.5 million viewers.

 

[Shogun Locc]

CBS Title Bout Saturday, Bar Exam Monday

Nick Thompson (Pictures) has eaten "chicken, brown rice and spinach to the point of nausea." He doesn’t see his friends, rarely spends time with his family and never goes out on weekends. Vacations? The man didn’t even go on his honeymoon.

This ascetic lifestyle represents only a fraction of the sacrifices professional fighters like Thompson make to compete in the dog-eat-dog world of mixed martial arts.

Training alongside former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk (Pictures) at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, Thompson pushes his conditioning to the limit day after day with the same type of insane “caveman workouts” that garnered Sherk attention at the Athletic Performance Institute. If you recall the pre-event broadcast for UFC 73 last July, those same drills had Sherk growling and gnashing his teeth like a feral beast.

Sherk caught a lot of flak for his steroid debacle, but his grit cannot be questioned. As Sherk’s training partner, Thompson feels a lot of the “Muscle Shark’s” blue-collar mentality has rubbed off on him, which, in turn, has been critical in transforming him into a consummate professional in everything from training to dieting.

“I know that, for me, training at that level is something I would have never imagined before I trained with Sean,” says Thompson, who will face Jake Shields (Pictures) for the vacant welterweight championship at EliteXC: Unfinished Business this Saturday in Stockton, Calif. “He showed me the importance of pushing yourself as far as you can every time you train, and I think that is what is so inspiring about him. You have to respect someone with that kind of work ethic.”

As if his grueling training regimen were not taxing enough, Thompson spends what little free time he has preparing for the bar exam at the University of Minnesota’s School of Law. While he has often put his studies on the back burner in order to prepare for fights, Thompson has still managed to maintain a respectable 3.0 grade point average and hopes to one day practice in the field of contract or tax law.

Like many MMA athletes, Thompson breaks the stereotype of fighters, which pigeonholes them as inarticulate and brutish. In fact, if everything goes according to plan, Thompson could become the first MMA champion to practice law. Laughing in disbelief, Thompson reveals he is “actually taking the bar two days after the fight [with Shields].” Imagine the look on people’s faces if Thompson walks into the exam room sporting a black eye or busted lip.

The strain of pursuing two equally challenging and time-consuming careers, however, leaves Thompson “feeling suffocated” at times, and on most Sundays, he crashes in bed and does nothing. Two things force him to jump out of the sheets and back into the grind.

“First and foremost is my wife,” Thompson says. “She likes to say that every relationship has a flower and a gardener, and the gardener’s job is to tend to the flower. My wife doesn’t get the recognition, but she makes just as many sacrifices in order to ensure that I can study and train as hard as I need.”

Even with his wife’s support, there are days when he questions why he’s at the gym and oftentimes finds himself looking for excuses to skip a workout and go home early. He’s human after all.

“On those days, I try and picture my opponent working out,” Thompson says. “I hate the idea of going home early and letting someone get better than me.”

Thompson’s Herculean discipline seems fed by his acute competitive nature. Like former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures) confessing he hates losing even at checkers, Thompson admits he’s gung ho about everything he does. A recent training session drove the point home.

“Many of our API caveman sessions end with us challenging one another to some sort of feat of physical strength,” Thompson says. “I lost a pull-up competition to an API instructor the other week, and I am still pissed. I’ll be damned if he is going to beat me in any competitions in the future. I am getting all riled up just talking about it.”

Such drive helped Thompson (36-9-1) -- a self-professed B-level fighter earlier in his career -- emerge as a legitimate contender after a career-defining TKO stoppage against Eddie Alvarez (Pictures) in 2007. Moreover, with Alvarez’s scintillating victories over elite fighters inside Japan’s Dream promotion, Thompson’s stock continues its rise. He has posted 20 wins in 21 fights, including 12 in a row.

“Frankly, I think I beat anyone on my best day and their best day, save [UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (Pictures)] and maybe [Josh] Koscheck,” the former Bodog Fight welterweight champion says. “If I can use my reach to out-strike someone as good as Eddie, I like my chances against anyone at 170 pounds.”

Thompson will have the chance to test his mettle against a legitimate top 10 welterweight in Shields (20-4-1) in a matter of days. He was second -- to UFC veteran Drew Fickett (Pictures) -- on EliteXC’s list of potential opponents for Shields, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who will carry a nine-fight winning streak into the match. When Fickett fell out of favor with the promotion recently, it opened the door for Thompson.

As it turns out, Thompson had actually called out Shields around the time Fickett’s relationship with EliteXC soured. When Shields caught wind of Thompson’s challenge, he immediately approached the EliteXC brass about a potential bout between the two. The result was a fighter’s fight put together by the fighters themselves. Thompson’s motivation for calling out Shields was simple.

“Jake and I are the best welterweights not in the UFC,” he says. “We both are riding significant winning streaks, we both have beaten top competition, and we both were the champions of our previous organizations. This fight just makes sense.”

The bout also sparks interest from a stylistic perspective. Thompson -- who, at 6-foot-1, looks like a Giacometti figure -- will have a definite reach advantage against Shields and will try to use his crafty footwork to volley strikes from a distance.

“I would definitely like to keep the fight standing,” Thompson says, “but Jake’s hands are underrated, and I am unsure how much of an advantage I truly have in muay Thai.”

Shields, on the other hand, owns one of the best top games in the welterweight division. The fact that he has been finishing opponents of late, either through vicious ground-and-pound or slick submissions, makes Shields even more dangerous. In fact, he has stopped his past five opponents, the last four inside one round.

In addition to his daily training with Sherk, Thompson has also worked out with the University of Minnesota wrestling team. He hopes his investment will pay dividends against Shields.

“It will not be the first time I have faced that kind of control or pressure,” Thompson says.

The Thompson-Shields showdown will be carried as part of the CBS broadcast, which will be anchored by a rematch between EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler (Pictures) and UFC veteran Scott Smith (Pictures). The opportunity to compete live on major network television has not been lost on Thompson.

“Winning the Bodog title by knocking out Eddie Alvarez (Pictures) was huge, but now I have the opportunity to win a world title by beating someone of that ilk, and it will be broadcast on mainstream TV,” he says. “What more can a guy ask for?”

 

[Shogun Locc]

OKAMI OFFLINE, SILVA VS COTE LIKELY AT UFC 88

There has been a lot of speculation about how UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva would do fighting up in the 205-pound weight class. Some of those questions, and a few more that were posed, were answered on Saturday night in Las Vegas as Silva disposed of James Irvin in the first minute of the first round of their light heavyweight showdown at UFC Fight Night 14.



Though Silva proved that he has what it takes to fight at 205 pounds, his immediate plans don’t include another light heavyweight bout. Instead, he has plans to go back to middleweight and defend his title belt.



Even as the fight with Irvin was first announced, UFC president Dana White said that Silva would be making a quick stop at 205 and then defend his belt on Sept. 6 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship stops in Atlanta for the first time.



“Anderson Silva, being the monster that he is, you all know is going to move up to 205 on July 19… If everything goes well, he wants to move back to 185 and fight Sept. 6 in Atlanta, probably against Yushin Okami, then he wants to fight again two months later,” said White at the time.



But even the best-laid plans sometimes hit a snag, and so has Silva’s planned title defense at UFC 88 in Georgia.



“Okami’s out of that fight. He broke his hand. If (Silva) fights in September it’ll be (Patrick) Cote,” stated White at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference at the Palms in Las Vegas.



Cote recently solidified his spot in the queue of fighters waiting for a shot at Silva when he defeated Ricardo Almeida on July 5 at UFC 86.



“(Silva) said he wants to defend his 185-pound title. He said he wants to test the waters at 205. He did (on Saturday night),” continued White. “He’s going to defend his title again in September and then probably try to take another fight at 205.



“I think he wants to take his time. I think he wants to stay at 185 and completely clean out that division, go from there.”



Silva’s ambition puts him on task to fight at least two more times this year after already having fought twice earlier in 2008. It’s something that White admires about his champion.



“(Silva) took the fight (with Irvin) on short notice, moved up to 205, wants to fight all the best guys in the world at 185 pounds, wants to fight all the best guys at 205 pounds, wants to fight every three months… uh, yah. It’s a little difficult for us to move things around, but when a guy has that mentality… I love it.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

ALVES VS SANCHEZ MOVED TO UFC 90 IN CHICAGO

After first breaking the news that top welterweights Thiago “Pitbull” Alves and Diego Sanchez would meet at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England, MMAWeekly.com has just learned that the fight will instead take place on the as of yet unannounced card for UFC 90 set to take place in Chicago, Ill.

MMAWeekly.com confirmed the change with sources close to the fight. UFC president Dana White, in speaking to the Chicago Sun Times on Monday, announced an Oct. 25 date in confirming UFC 90 for the Allstate Arena in Chicago. He did not confirm any bouts for the event.

UFC 90 follows one week after the UFC 89 show in England. UFC 89 is currently still rumored to be a free show on Spike TV, but again, there is no confirmation for that yet from the UFC.

Alves and Sanchez were set to be part of the co-main event for UFC 89, but the promotion decided to push up the light heavyweight bout between Thiago Silva and Lyoto Machida as the other headliner behind the main event featuring Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben.

It is now believed that the Alves vs. Sanchez fight will be part of the main event set up for the card in Chicago for UFC 90, but no other fights have been rumored or announced as of yet.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Matt Hughes injury could keep him out seven more months

“Went to the doctor yesterday, he performed quite a few tests on my knee. With the results of the tests on my knee and from what I have told him, he definitely thinks the MCL and the PCL is rebuilding itself. The next time I go back up there, in a month to a month and a half, I will get an MRI and that way he can get a picture of the knee and he can see better what’s going on. So right now, I’m going to work out lightly, try and build up my quadricep as much as I can. Do nothing with the hamstring really, from what he said and he says possibly being able to fight in 6-7 months.”

– Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes provides an update via his official blog on the knee injury he sustained in his technical knockout loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 85: “Bedlam” last month. He elected to pass on surgery and let the injury heal on its own, which could keep him out until early 2009. There’s no telling if his likely next opponent, Matt Serra, intends to wait that long to return.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Vitor Belfort finishes Terry Martin at Affliction ‘Banned’ with broken hand

“The first punch I threw. It was a straight left. I knew right away it broke. But I had to keep going. I couldn’t throw my combinations I had worked on. Coach Tompkins was yelling at me to throw my combos. At the end of the first round I went back to the corner and Tompkins was yelling at me, ‘Why don’t you throw your combos?’ I said, ‘My hand is broken.’ He said, ‘Ok’ and Randy said, ‘Just go first. Go for it and finish the fight.’”

Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort talks about a hand injury that he sustained early in his bout against Terry Martin over the weekend at Affliction: “Banned.” It didn’t appear to affect his performance — “The Phenom” connected with a crushing flying knee in the second round, which set up a fight-ending combination that put Martin out for the count. It was an impressive middleweight debut for the Brazilian.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Gina Carano and Kimbo Slice Elite XC autograph session set for July 26

Elite XC: “Lawler vs Smith II” is set to take place at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif., this Saturday (July 26). Possibly the company’s two biggest names — Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano — will be sitting this one out as far as competing goes, but that doesn’t mean the pair won’t been in attendance.

In fact, Elite XC just announced through its Web site (ProElite.com) that both Slice and Carano will not only be in Stockton for the event, but that they’ll be on hand to sign autographs for the fans.

It’s being dubbed as fan appreciation, so apparently they’ll be signing for free.

Also, if you have a piece of Kimbo or Gina Carano memorabilia you want signed as opposed to the standard eight by ten photo, they’ll sign that for you instead.

The autograph booth will be set up near one of the entrances at the Arena so fans can get their souvenirs and photos right as they come in. The doors for “Unfinished Business” open up at 2:30 p.m. local time and the booth will be set up for about an hour.

Therefore, get to the venue early if you want to take advantage of this opportunity.