MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Luigi Fioravanti dropped from the UFC welterweight division

Despite having garnered a reputation for being one of the toughest welterweight competitors in the UFC, Luigi Fioravanti will have to work his way back into the Octagon upon being released by the promotion shortly after his first round TKO defeat to Anthony Johnson at UFC Fight Night 17 this past Saturday.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was informed of the personnel move on Monday afternoon from a source speaking on the condition of anonymity.

With the loss, Fioravanti’s overall record fell to 14-5 with his lifetime record in the UFC reduced to a sub-.500 level (4-5). Despite having recorded a unanimous decision over Brodie Farber this past December during the promotion’s “UFC Fight for the Troops” event, Fioravanti had still dropped two of his last three bouts in the Octagon. The second loss came via a third round TKO against Diego Sanchez during the live finale for the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter this past June.

A former Marine, Fioravanti has worked his way back to the UFC in the past. He had been dropped by the promotion following a unanimous decision loss to Forrest Petz at UFC Fight Night 10 in June of 2007 but returned soon after having won a fight outside of the organization.

Returning against Luke Cummo during the undercard of UFC 82, the American Top Team trained fighter recorded a unanimous decision victory.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC cuts lightweight competitor Rich Clementi

With over 50 lightweight competitors under contract, UFC veteran Rich Clementi’s strong track record was not enough to survive a two fight losing streak in the Octagon.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was informed by a source Monday afternoon that Clementi was dropped from the UFC roster shortly after Saturday’s first round submission loss against Gleison Tibau during UFC Fight Night 17.

The defeat was Clementi’s second in a row after having also dropped a unanimous decision to Gray Maynard at UFC 90 this past October.

Prior to the consecutive defeats, the Louisiana native had won five consecutive fights with four wins coming while competing under the UFC banner against Anthony Johnson, Melvin Guillard, Sam Stout and Terry Etim.

The release completes Clementi’s third stint in the UFC. His first tour of duty with the promotion ended at UFC 41 in 2003 following a third round submission loss to Yves Edwards. He then made a successful return to the UFC after having been featured during the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter, which was subtitled “The Comeback.”

Despite losing to Din Thomas via second round submission during the TUF 4 finale, Clementi was brought back for UFC Fight Night 8 in January of 2007, where he submitted Ross Pointon in a welterweight matchup. However, he was not resigned after losing a unanimous decision to Roan Carneiro at UFC Fight Night 9.

After recording a win outside of the UFC, Clementi returned to the promotion at UFC 76 in September of 2007, where he recorded a upset second round submission against Johnson.

 

[Shogun Locc]

ProElite planning to stay in the MMA business

With recent news that Strikeforce has acquired select assets from ProElite, Inc., there has been some confusion about the status of ProElite going forward.

However, ProElite CEO Chuck Champion is quoted in a recent press release as saying that the company will continue to exist and intends to promote MMA shows under its King of the Cage brand.

“With the sale, ProElite can now operate substantially debt free,” Champion is quoted, “and devote more resources to the development of our King of the Cage brand which founder Terry Trebilcock has managed profitably from its inception. Terry is one of the most capable leaders in the MMA space. He’s staged hundreds of successful events and I’m confident that under his guidance King of the Cage will continue to be a major force in the sport.”

While ProElite sold approximately 42 fighters contracts and a vast majority of the EliteXC tape library to Strikeforce, it still retains ownership of King of the Cage, ICON Sport, Cage Rage, Rumble on the Rock, and a partial stake in the South Korean-based SpiritMC. Additionally, the company still owns the EliteXC brand name, its interactive web site, ProElite.com, as well as over 100 fighter contracts that could be utilized on King of the Cage shows in the future.

Champion has come under a great deal of scrutiny since EliteXC stopped promoting shows in October and executed mass layoffs. While Champion and his skeleton staff worked towards a sale of assets, many of the company’s top fighters suffered financial hardships as they were forced to sit on the sidelines. However, the former YouBet.com CEO believes last week’s deal with Strikeforce was a win/win for all parties involved.

“Getting to this point has been a long hard road and I’m grateful to Showtime, Strikeforce, the fighters and their managers for their patience and their perseverance,” said Champion. “The company has managed its way through a very difficult time and it has done so in a way that has built bridges rather than burn them. Everyone involved deserves a lot of credit for the outcome.”

As a part of ProElite’s deal with Strikeforce and the subsequent absolution of its debt to CBS and Showtime the company will no longer have its events televised on the CBS Corp.-owned networks. However, Showtime still holds a 20 percent ownership stake in ProElite. ProElite also has an existing television agreement with Fox Sports Net and continues to shop a fighting-based reality television show through a prior agreement with television producer Mark Burnett.

 

[Shogun Locc]

HDNet Fights Inks Long-Term Deal with World Victory Road

DALLAS (February 9, 2009) - HDNet Fights announced today that it has agreed to a long-term partnership with World Victory Road to exclusively air the Sengoku Mixed Martial Arts promotion on HDNet. The deal marks the first time that the promotion’s events will be seen in their entirety in North America.

In 2009, HDNet will feature twenty-five events from Asia alone, due to the network’s partnerships with World Victory Road, DREAM, K-1, and K-1 MAX.

“We’re very happy to announce this partnership with World Victory Road and to bring the action of Sengoku to HDNet,” said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights. “This continues our commitment to deliver the best MMA in the world. No one promotion or network can match the depth and breadth of MMA broadcast on HDNet.”

“SENGOKU held its very first match in March 2008, and the upcoming competition on March 20 will mark the promotion’s eighth event,” said Takahiro Kokuho, Executive Managing Director of World Victory Road Co. Ltd. “The high quality of our fighters and our competition have earned rave reviews from many of our fans and the media, and we are honored to have created a partnership with a renowned American network such as HDNet. We look forward to sharing the ultimate martial arts form with the U.S. and MMA fans around the world, and we are confident that MMA fans will be excited as well. We look forward to taking unified steps to establish Sengoku as a top MMA brand in the U.S.”

HDNet’s coverage will begin with World Victory Road’s Sengoku Seventh Battle at Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium on Friday, March 20. The event will feature Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal v. Ryo Kawamura in addition to the first round of a 16-man featherweight tournament.

So far, eight of the sixteen fighters in the tournament have been named. They are Hatsu Hioki, Masanori Kanehara, Tetsuya Yamada, Malron Sandro, Ronnie Ushiwaka, Chris Manuel, Nick Denis, and Jung Chan Sung.

The stars of World Victory Road include Middleweight Champion Jorge Santiago, Lightweight Champion Satoru Kitaoka, Takanori Gomi, Kazuo Misaki, Olympic Judo Gold Medalist Hidehiko Yoshida, undefeated “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal. Past events have also featured Josh Barnett, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Dave Herman, and Antonio Silva. Air dates and times will be announced at a later date.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Wanderlei Silva Invitation

Wanderlei Silva made a special blog post on Inviting some students to come train with them!

 

[Shogun Locc]

Former UFC fighter Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver arrested on battery charges in Las Vegas

Former UFC welterweight Jon Koppenhaver, now legally known as War Machine, has found himself in more legal trouble.

A source speaking on the condition of anonymity informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com early Monday morning that Koppenhaver had been arrested by Las Vegas Metro Police over the weekend.

Jay Rivera, a representative with the Public Information Office of the Metro Police Department, confirmed that Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver was arrested Saturday, February 8 at approximately 4 a.m. local time. According to Rivera, a citizen’s arrest was made of Koppenhaver on charges of misdemeanor battery.

Koppenhaver, a cast member on the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter, had received three years probation and was ordered to pay $2,300 in restitution last February for his felony assault of Darren Zutkow outside a California gym in September of 2007.

Known for his often-erratic messages left via his official MySpace account, Koppenhaver recently was released by the Bellator Fighting Championships following a blog in which he endorsed a potential assassination of United States President Barack Obama.

Koppenhaver, 6-2, had been signed by Bellator as a participant in its upcoming eight-man welterweight tournament, which is scheduled to commence in April.

The current Las Vegas resident had also been released from his contract with the UFC after reportedly turning down a fight against Brandon Wolff and then also publicly speculating about the death of former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Source: Faber not fighting Fabiano at WEC 40 in April

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was contacted earlier this evening by a source close to Urijah Faber that was speaking on the condition of anonymity regarding a previous report by Tatame.com that quoted Wagnney Fabiano as saying his next fight possibly could be against Faber.

Fabiano indicated that he his next fight will be at on Sunday, April 5 at WEC 40 in Chicago and that Faber has been discussed as a potential opponent. According to the source, Faber will not be competing during the month of April.

After losing the WEC featherweight to Mike Brown at WEC 36 in November, Faber rebounded with a first round submission against Jens Pulver last month at WEC 38. It’s still unclear when his next fight will be but sources have revealed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that WEC officials are considering a possible June date at the Arco Arena in Faber’s hometown of Sacramento, Calif. and that he’d be a logical fit to headline the card.

The potential show has yet to be finalized and in the event that it is, Faber’s involvement would still not be a guarantee. As of now, he currently has just two fights remaining on his WEC contract and it is believed that he’s looking to re-negotiate his current deal before challenging for the WEC featherweight title again. If Faber won the title he would essentially be forgoing his ability to hit the open market as he would be subject to the terms of the promotion’s champion clause.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Silver Star Owner Seeks Restraining Order Against Affliction’s Beard

MMAPayout.com has learned that Sliver Star Casting Company CEO Luke Burrett has sought a restraining order against Affliction Clothing founding partner Todd Beard. An Ex Parte temporary restraining order to stop civil harassment was issued on February 2nd in Laguna Beach, California, with a hearing on the February 25th to decide if the restraining order is to be made permanent. The restraining order marked the continued animus that has followed in the wake of a falling out between the two MMA apparel merchandisers.

Silver Star and Affliction had been working together closely at one time. Affliction very much served the role of mentor to Silver Star as they made moves into the MMA space. Silver Star had sponsored MMA Fighters before, but establishing ties with Affliction allowed them to make contacts within the industry that put them on another level. A clear example of the cooperation between the two companies could be seen at the October 4th EliteXC card. Affliction was set to put on a fight with Andre Arlovski and Roy Nelson. While Arlovski wore Affliction out to the cage, Nelson came out swathed in Silver Star. Sources indicate to MMAPayout.com that the switch was personally ok’ed by Affliction brass.

For reasons still not known, the two companies had a major falling out and subsequent parting of the ways. The timing of the fallout came sometime shortly after the Todd Beard-Kim Couture dispute, which took place in early to mid November. In a choice of Affliction or the UFC, Silver Star went with the UFC. The parting of the ways seems to be complete and final, as Silver Star was able to later pass the vetting process of sponsors done by UFC legal counsel and sponsor watchdog Mike Mersch. The subsequent restraining order by Burrett would seem to negate a rumor campaign within the industry that sought to link the two companies.

GSP has an exclusive apparel deal with Affliction that would necessitate a release being given to wear any other apparel company, such release was given to Silver Star prior to the falling out. The earlier falling out between the two parties combined with GSP wearing another company’s gear into the Octagon led to a general air of hostility that peaked in and around the UFC 94 card featuring BJ vs GSP. The restraining order was sought by Silver Star owner Burrett shortly after the event took place.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Rudimar Fedrigo Interview

Last Friday (6), Chute Boxe leader Rudimar Fedrigo completed 46 years of life. The master of the team from Curitiba, Fedrigo, creator of one of the greatest martial arts teams of the world, spoke to TATAME.com about his plans for 2009. Coming from a family of Italians who arrived in Brazil as immigrants to live in the planting of soybeans, Rudimar changed his future as learning Muay Thai with the legendary Nélio "Naja", creating, later, the ChuteBoxeAcademy. Check out below the exclusive interview with Rudimar, who spoke about his plans in the Department of Sports Curitiba, the Chute Boxe in Brazil and United States, the plans for 2009, and also the former-athletes of the academy, like Anderson Silva, Maurício Shogun Rua and Wanderlei Silva.

As secretary of sports, what are your plans with respect to the martial arts?
We encourage all sports. In the case of the martial arts we provide support in organizing events, partnerships with the events and the law encourages athletes from martial arts, and provides a monthly payment to athlete, and also helps to popularize the martial art. We’ll have too a free martial arts academy for people who can’t pay for it...

How is the Chute Boxe academy in Curitiba and the United States?
I rate in a very positive way. We are satisfied, the work continues with the formation of new fighters, and those that already have commitments. The plans for this year are very good, the prospects are great. I’d like to say that the school has great athletes of different weights, and if any event are interested, can contact to us directly through our site or even my phone, I’d love to put athletes for participating.

What are the bets for 2009?
We have four to six good bets here, and the school is very achieved with tops, has an amazing structure and the interest of many athletes who already have a name and would very much like to fight using the symbol of our academy.

How do you see the participation of Chute Boxe former athletes in the MMA world, as Shogun, Wanderlei and Anderson?
I think the academy gave them a large experience. The Chute Boxe school is a very strong, wonderful to make large fighters and technicians who are doing their work out there, and teams that came from Chute Boxe too. I see with satisfaction.

How do you evaluate the growth of MMA in Japan and the USA?
The MMA grows every year, it’s a consolidated sport, also in Brazil. The market has grown considerably and people have attached this sport, is well reported and this growth brings partnerships are also increasing, many companies are seeing that it is worth invest in an event of martial arts. I’m optimistic about the growth this sport.

 

[SLRider510]

Wanderlei Silva Invitation

Wanderlei Silva made a special blog post on Inviting some students to come train with them!

dam... you think he will let fat people in? haha

 

[Shogun Locc]

dam... you think he will let fat people in? haha

do it....

 

[Shogun Locc]

Pancrase announced participants in the 15th Neo-Blood Tournament

GBR reported Friday about fighters who participated in 15th Neo-Blood Tournament which started at Pancrase 2009 Changing Tour on April 5. In this event, the welterweight King of Pancrasist Takuya Wada faces Tomoyoshi Iwamiya.

15th Neo-Blood Tournament Participants:
Flyweight (~58.0kg):

Kiyotaka Shimizu
Takuma Ishii
Toshihiro Shimizu
Tokuaki Ninomiya
Yuichiro Yajima
Keiji Nakamura

Bantamweight (~61.2kg):

Daisuke Endo
Ranki Kawana
Hayato Shimizu
Ryota Sasaki
Nobuhiro Yoshitake
Shoko Sato

Featherweight (~65.8kg):

Motonobu Tezuka
You Saito
Koji Tomita
Yasutomo Tanaka
Masaru Ueda
* One more fighter will be announced shortly

Lightweight (~70.3kg)

Hirotaka/Koji Tomiyama
Koji Nakamura
ISAO

“Pancrase 2009 Changing Tour”
Date: April 4
Place: Differ Ariake, Tokyo
Note: “15th Neo-Blood Tournament 1st round start at 14:45

Current fight card:

Takuya Wada vs Tomoyoshi Iwamiya ~Welterweight K.O.P. title fight~ (5min.3Round)
Masahiro Toryu vs Seiki Ryo (5min/2Round)
Isao Hirose vs Takeyasu Hirono(5min./2Round)
15th Neo-Blood Tournament preliminary contest (1Round, 5 min.):

Daisuke Tsujita vs. Gou Yamanaka ~Flyweight Final~
Daisuke Sugishima vs. Taro Shimmasaki ~Bantamweight Final~
Shigeyuki Uchiyama vs. Takehito Noguchi ~Featherweight Final~
Koshi Obata vs. Keigo Hirayama~ Lightweight Final~

Scheduled Participants:

Koji Oishi
Ichiro Kanai
Yuichi Ikari
Takuya Eizumi
Tashiro Akai (Nishiuchi)
Hirotoshi Saito

 

[Shogun Locc]

Official Pancrase rankings for February

Below are the official PANCRASE rankings as of February 9.

Open-weight:
K.O.P.: Josh Barnett

Heavyweight:
K.O.P.: Vacant

Light-heavyweight:
K.O.P.: Ryo Kawamura
1. Kei Yamamiya

Middleweight:
K.O.P.: Izuru Takeuchi
The Interim K.O.P.: Yuki Kondo
1. Gadzhiev Alavutdin
2. Ichiro Kanai

Welterweight:
K.O.P.: Takuya Wada
1. Tomoyoshi Iwamiya
2. Masahiro Toryu
3. Jason Palacios
4. Hiroyuki Nozawa

Lightweight:
K.O.P.: Katsuya Inoue
1. Koji Oishi
2. Yukio Sakaguchi
3. Yuichi Ikari
4. Daisuke Hanazawa

Feather Weight:
K.O.P.: Marlon Sandro
1. Jameel Massouh
2. Jtaro Takita
3. Masanori Kanehara
2. Kenji Arai

Bantamweight:
K.O.P.: Manabu Inoue
1. Seiya Kawahara

Flyweight:
K.O.P.: Vacant
1. Mitsuhisa Sunabe
2. Takuya Eizumi
3. Isao Hirose

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 17 FIGHTERS SALARIES

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information from the Florida State Athletic Commission for Ultimate Fight Night 17 featuring Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens, which took place on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.


MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS

– Joe Lauzon $20,000 (includes win bonus of $10,000) def. Jeremy Stephens $10,000 (win bonus would have been $10,000)
*Lauzon also earned an extra $30,000 for “Ultimate Fight Night 17 Submission of the Night”


MAIN CARD FIGHTERS

– Cain Velasquez $30,000 (includes win bonus of $15,000) def. Denis Stojnic $5,000 (win bonus would have been $5,000)
*Velasquez also earned an extra $30,000 for “Ultimate Fight Night 17 Knockout of the Night”

– Josh Neer $18,000 (includes win bonus of $9,000) def. Mac Danzig $15,000 (win bonus would have been $15,000)
*Neer and Danzig also earned an extra $30,000 for “Ultimate Fight Night 17 Fight of the Night”

– Anthony Johnson $26,000 (includes win bonus of $13,000) def. Luigi Fioravanti $13,000 (win bonus would have been $13,000)


PRELIMINARY CARD FIGHTERS

– Kurt Pellegrino $32,000 (includes win bonus of $16,000) def. Rob Emerson $10,000 (win bonus would have been $10,000)

– Dan Miller $18,000 (includes win bonus of $9,000) def. Jake Rosholt $13,000 (win bonus would have been $13,000)

– Gleison Tibau $26,000 (includes win bonus of $13,000) def. Rich Clementi $23,000 (win bonus would have been $23,000)

– Matt Veach $6,000 (includes win bonus of $3,000) def. Matt Grice $7,000 (win bonus would have been $7,000)

– Nick Catone $6,000 (includes win bonus of $3,000) def. Derek Downey $3,000 (win bonus would have been $3,000)

– Matt Riddle $16,000 (includes win bonus of $8,000) def. Steve Bruno $7,000 (win bonus would have been $7,000)


ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT 17 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $304,000


ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT 17 AWARD BONUSES
(as disclosed by UFC officials)
Each fighter received a $30,000 bonus for the following awards.

Fight of the Night:
– Josh Neer and Mac Danzig

Knockout of the Night:
– Cain Velasquez

Submission of the Night:
– Joe Lauzon

 

[Shogun Locc]

M-1 fighters Fedor & Aleksander Emelianenko to participate in Russian Combat Sambo Championship

On February, 21-th a regular Russian Combat Sambo championship will take place in Nizhny Novgorod. An epic case will occur again - both Emelianenko brothers are set to compete in the same +100 kg weight division. That means there is a chance to witness them takeing on each other in the finals. Stay tuned.

 

[Shogun Locc]

M-1 in cooperation with Affliction presents the Challenge diary. Korea charges the batteries

November, 21-th, the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg. The numerous ninth M-1 Challenge event. Team Korea loses 4-1 to the future M-1 Challenge inaugural season champion in Russia Red Devil. And exactly 3 months later on February, 21-th this time in Seattle, US Korean team will get its change to revenge the past loss in the context of the debut M-1 Challenge 2009 event.

The only fighter to have won in Saint Petersburg back in November was Do Hyung Kim (24-4) who submitted Erik Oganov in the second. Kim drops to the lightweight and the next time he'll face Red Devil's lightweight Mikhail Malyutin. Numerous Korean championships' winner is always dangerous.

Oganov this time will have lock horns with jiu-jitsu specialist Myeon Ho Bae (13-3) who'd already decisioned Oganov a year ago. Bae is a very durable and tough fighter who even fought light heavyweight European stand-out Daniel Tabera.

Middleweight Hyun Gyu Lim (5-1) is set to represent Korea at middleweight. During his stint in M-1 Challenge he knocked out Lucio Linharesand submitted Brandon Magana. Lim is set to return against RD's World Combat Sambo champion in Dmitry Samoilov.

Kim Ja Yong (9-6) will try to spoil Mikhail Zayats' perfect record in M-1 Challenge. Looks can be deceiving in case of this Korean fighter as he's a formidable striker with KO power not only in his hands but legs as well. Mix it with lighting fast reaction and steadfastness and you'll get the image of Kim Ja Yong.

Finally, at heavyweight Team Korea will be represented by its most famous fighter Sang Soo Lee (11-5). Lee holds victory over Roman Zentsov and provedto be tough enough to take on Aleksander Emelianenko.

Undoubtedly, Team Korea is extremely strengthened and ready to start its second season in M-1 Challenge with the bang by trying to revenge its recent loss to Red Devil.

 

[Shogun Locc]

CSAC needs KIMO Therapy

IRVINE, California (February 9, 2009) – If combat fighting legend KIMO Leopoldo, the face of New Era Fighting, is appointed for the position he’s applied as Executive Officer of the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), his first order of business will be to recruit a staff of fresh, clean people without a trace of corruption associated with the previous regime.

“Somebody or some group apparently is trying to hide the degree of corruption in CSAC,” KIMO explained his position. ”CSAC former director, Armando Garcia, was allegedly caught with $350,000 (in cash) in his locker, but he was allowed to resign instead of being prosecuted. I’d allow some of the present staff remain in their positions, provided they voluntarily subject themselves to an FBI investigation into the entire matter, and prove they aren’t involved with the CSAC’s corruption, bias or improper activities. In my opinion, temporary executive officer Dean Lohouis isn’t any different than Armando. The CSAC needs change and I’m willing to provide therapy.”

KIMO is publicly offering to speak with California high school wrestlers about being winners in and out of competition. “I think it’s better to instill good habits in a young person as opposed to trying to break bad habits when you’re older,” KIMO said as he prepared to schedule to his campaign trail. “Since most MMA fighters seem to be coming out of my backyard in southern California, I want to talk to local wrestlers about the benefits of staying drug free and how to remain positive even when times seem too tough. I don’t want anyone to make the same mistakes I made and, if I can save just one young person, my efforts will be worthwhile. Anyone who wants me to visit their high school to speak may email requests to [email protected].”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jake Shields Not Aligned With Strikeforce Yet

As the dust continues to settle from Strikeforce's acquisition of 42 Pro Elite fighters, CEO Scott Coker is beginning the process of scheduling athletes for 16 plus events due in 2009.

Though Coker says most of Elite's "top 12" fighters have given assurances they will fight for Strikeforce, it's former welterweight champion, Jake Shields, is not yet committed to the San Jose-based promotion.

"We're still in negotiations," Shields' manager and father, Jack Shields, told MMAInsider late Sunday night.

In a December interview with MMAWeekly, Shields repeatedly expressed his desire to free himself of his ProElite contract to fight for the UFC.

"I feel like it's been the top show for a while, and I feel like most of the competition at my weight is in the UFC," said Shields. "The guys I need to fight, like GSP, B.J. Penn, Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez."

As recently as January, UFC president Dana White confirmed his interest in the 30 year-old Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

If he were to return to Elite, Shields said he would want to re-negotiate his contract.

Coker hinted the same might be true for his acquisition of Shields' ProElite deal.

"Out of all the conversations, everything has been positive, except for one athlete thats I think maybe trying to use this as an opportunity to get a better deal," Coker told MMAInsider.

"Just like with Randy's deal, when he was in the situation with the UFC, to do a declaratory (ruling), it's going to be another six months for these fighters, and then we'll be forced to take them down that path, and the fighter's not going to fight for six months, and the court will rule one way or another.

"My lawyers (who) have looked at the contracts say these are valid contracts, these are contracts that were not going be a problem to be assigned. Either it's a legal resolution, or its a business resolution. I'm all about the business resolution. So if we can get these guys going, and put them back to work, then let's do it."

The elder Shields gave no timetable for a possible resolution to the impasse, but said he is committed to finding the best option for his son.

Now, the question appears to be whether Shields will continue their attempts to free himself from the now-Strikeforce contract, or serve its remainder to keep active and bide time for an eventual jump to the UFC.

 

[Shogun Locc]

WILD RIDE OVER, STRIKEFORCE CEO READY TO WORK

In many ways, Scott Coker’s work has just begun.

The CEO of Strikeforce is in Los Angeles to negotiate with several managers who's clients were until recently signed with ProElite, Inc. Last Thursday, he acquired 42 athletes from the troubled company, and wants to put them to work.

If there was a virtue that proved to be a commodity in his last three months as a promoter, it was patience.

“This is something that truly tested my character,” Coker told MMAWeekly.com about negotiations with ProElite, Showtime, and CBS. “I don’t think I’ve ever run across a deal that’s been this complicated, and had this many roller coaster rides. Because one minute I thought this was going to close, and the next minute, it’s not going to happen. For three months, it’s been a wild ride.”

Strikeforce’s new television deals could position it to become the sport’s next big player. The San Jose, Calif.-based promotion is set for aggressive expansion in 2009, chairing 16 fights on premium cable channel Showtime over the next year. CBS has also inked an option to produce four live event specials, though airdates haven’t been finalized.

That’s a lot of work for veterans and newcomers alike.

Coker himself plans on hiring three or four more employees, and says there’s a possibility that Strikeforce will open an office in the City of Angels. But the rule of the day will be to keep the promotion “lean and mean,” even as it undergoes its biggest growth spurt.

Next week, Coker will meet with Showtime’s New York executives to map out the promotion’s schedule for 2009. Strikeforce’s first Showtime-aired event is set for April 11 and will feature Frank Shamrock in the main event. Middleweights Benji Radach and Scott Smith are confirmed for the main card.

“Frank wants to fight Tito Ortiz,” Coker said of Shamrock’s potential opponent, though he wasn’t aware of Ortiz’s contractual status with longtime employer UFC. Prior to his debut as a color commentator for Affliction Entertainment, Ortiz called Shamrock out in a video interview with MMAWeekly.com.

Though Ortiz has said he is eyeing a July return to fighting following back surgery, he was clear about his take on Shamrock.

"As a warm up fight – this is a warm-up fight – since I’m getting off a huge back surgery and so forth: Frank Shamrock. Frank Shamrock, step up. Yeah, he’s a little smaller than me, but he’s said a lot of things, he’s beat me the last time he was a smaller man. Step up or shut up.”

According to Coker, there has been "dialogue" about Shamrock facing Nick Diaz, but the main event is still a question mark.

For the co-main event of the April card, Coker has offered former EliteXC lightweight champion KJ Noons a fight with Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson. A re-match between EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler and Joey Villasenor is a possibility, as well as a second meeting for Gilbert Melendez and Mitsuhiro Ishida.

This week, Coker will meet with Gina Carano’s representatives to shore up a deal with Strikeforce and offer a spot on the first event. If negotiations go well, a much-anticipated fight between the star and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos may come to fruition.

“(Santos) has already sent me an email saying she wants to fight Gina and she’s ready to go, so we’ll offer her that fight,” said Coker.

Santos has already agreed to a four-fight, exclusive contract with Strikeforce, according to a report by Sherdog.com.

A second Showtime event is planned for May at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Wash., site of Strikeforce’s first foray outside California. Ed Soares and Jorge Guimaraes, representatives for former EliteXC fighter Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, have already cleared him for a bout with Strikeforce light heavyweight Renato “Babalu” Sobral on the card. Sobral is expected to be offered the fight this week, though nothing is set in stone at this point.

Coker says his relationship with Japanese promoters from Dream and Sengoku will be essential for filling 2009’s calendar. In September, he gave standouts Kazuo Misaki and Ishida their first fights for an American promotion, and sees many exciting match-ups possible for as early as May. Among his “dream” fights: Melvin Manhoef vs. Robbie Lawler, Joachim Hansen vs. Josh Thomson, and Shinya Aoki vs. Gilbert Melendez.

“We’re going to continue to expand on that relationship,” he said. “We’d like to have some of their top guys come and fight some of our top guys.”

In a fight sure to agree with Japanese fans, Coker says he’s considering a main card bout – though not a headliner – between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Bob Sapp, possibly as soon as the Tacoma event.

“I would say by the second week of March, we’ll have the next 12 months laid out,” said Coker, adding he’ll pitch the return of 8-man tournaments to Showtime and CBS. “We’ll map out three or four main events and co-main events, months out.”

While he’s about to get very busy in the coming months, the 25-year veteran of kickboxing, Sanshou, and MMA events is happy to have cleared the major hurdle to expansion.

“It’s been very emotionally draining,” he said. “I’m glad it’s over with so we can go to work.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Phil Baroni likely for Strikeforce event in Seattle

UFC, PRIDE and EliteXC veteran Phil Baroni (13-10) will return to action for Strikeforce in an as-yet-unannounced May event in Seattle.

Baroni released the information through a post on the Underground, a popular mixed martial arts message board. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the bout that contracts have not yet been finalized for the appearance.

Baroni's potential opponent for the card has not yet been determined, though the bout would be contested in the welterweight division.

Currently riding a three-fight win streak since dropping from 185 pounds to the welterweight division, Baroni competed once before under the Strikeforce banner in the main event of the co-promoted "Strikeforce-EliteXC: Shamrock vs. Baroni in June 2007. Baroni was choked unconscious by Frank Shamrock in the Strikeforce middleweight title fight.

The loss to Shamrock started a three-fight slide for Baroni that included TKO defeats at the hands of Joe Villasenor and Kala Hose. Since dropping to 170 pounds, Baroni has earned wins over Olaf Alfonso, Ron Verdadero and Scott Jansen.

The California-based Strikeforce organization produced eight shows in 2008 but recently inked a multi-year deal with premium cable channel Showtime to produce and televise up to 16 live events per year.

Strikeforce also recently bolstered their roster of fighters by purchasing the contracts of several former EliteXC competitors in addition to other select assets of the financially struggling ProElite organization.

Prior to the potential visit to Seattle, Strikeforce's next event will be held on April 11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.