MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove On Tap For UFC 101

It didn’t take long for the UFC to let Ricardo Almeida know that they didn’t approve of his plans to drop down to welterweight.

FightHype.com is reporting that while nothing is official, Almeida will face Kendall Grove at UFC 101 which is scheduled for August 8th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Almeida recently made known his desire to drop down to 170 known after defeating Matt Horwich via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 18 last week. Almeida is 2-1 since returning to action after an almost four year layoff. He has defeated Rob Yundt along with Horwich and lost a unanimous decision to Patrick Cote at UFC 86 which cost him a shot at the middleweight title.

Grove is riding a two fight win streak which includes a split decision victory over the late Evan Tanner at The Ultimate Fighter Finale 7 in June of last year and a resounding 1st round TKO over Canadian Jason Day at UFC 96 in March. That victory came on the heels of UFC president Dana White declaring that the fight with Day may be a make or break situation for the Hawaiian fighter.

UFC 101 will feature a lightweight title match between number one contender Kenny Florian and champion B.J. Penn.

Former light heavyweight champion, Forest Griffin, will be making his return to the octagon for the first time since losing the title to Rashad Evans at UFC 92 when he takes on hard hitting Brazilian, Thiago Silva.

Also rumored for the card is a light heavyweight bout between Brandon Vera and Matt Hammil.

The UFC has added some east coast fighters to the mix as they come back east for the first time since UFC 78 which took place in November of 2007 from Newark, NJ. New Jersey native Kurt Pelligrino will take on Josh Neer and New York college student, Tamdan McCrory, will face off with John Howard.

 

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Prospect Alert: Phil Davis and Paul Bradley to put undefeated records on the line in April

Phil Davis is one of the most decorated wrestlers to have ever made the transition to mixed martial arts and has been creating an unbelievable buzz in the MMA community since his professional debut in October of 2008. It’s not hard to see why the the twenty eight year old light heavyweight has been turning so many heads in recent months, he was a four time NCAA champion and 2008 NCAA national champion for Penn State. The credentials speak for themselves.

Davis will be looking to continue his undefeated streak into his third professional bout against a game Terry Cohens, who has compiled a winning record of 4-2 during the course of his two year career in the sport. The two will but heads at The Ultimate Warrior Challenge: Capital Punishment, which is scheduled to take place at The Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia on April 25th.

Paul Bradley is set to face off with Mike Pierce in a welterweight main event at RIE-MMA “Brotherly Love Brawl: The Beginning” between two fast rising prospects. The event is set to take place at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania on April 30th.

Paul Bradley, a former two time All-American wrestler, is most known for his stint on the seventh season on The Ultimate Fighter. During the taping of the show, Bradley contracted a rash common to wrestlers and was sent packing without having ever suffered a defeat. He entered the show with an unblemished record of 8-0, and has since added two additional victories to his resume bringing his overall record up to an impressive 10-0.

Mike pierce has accumulated an outstanding record of 7-1 since making the jump into MMA less than two years ago. His most recent bout was a third round TKO over Justin Haskins at WEC 39.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Paulo Filho to move up to 205 pounds and fight at Dream 9

Former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho, who has had more than his share of ups and downs over the past eighteen months, will be making a return trip to Japan at Dream 9 May 26th.

Tatame.com is reporting that Filho will fight a yet to be named opponent in the light heavyweight division.

Fihlo made his name fighting for Pride FC where he 8-0 by defeating such stars as Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan and Murilo “Ninja Rua. He came to the United States with a perfect 14-0 record and was ranked as the number two middleweight by many major publications.

He signed with Zuffa and was immediately given a shot at the WEC middleweight title where he defeated Joe Doerksen via first round TKO. He then went on to successfully defend his title against Chael Sonnen but not without controversy. He was being handled pretty easily by Sonnen but was able to secure an armbar while on his back late in the second round. Sonnen verbally said he didn’t want to tap but the referee feared that his arm would snap and halted the bout setting up a rematch.

The two were scheduled to fight March 26th 2008 at WEC 33 but Filho pulled out of the bout and went into rehab for an undisclosed problem. The fight was rescheduled for WEC 36 but Filho weighed in at an outrageous seven pounds over the 185 pound limit, and after given time to shed the weight only managed to drop three more pounds, thus changing the fight from five rounds to three. Sonnen went on to defeat Filho by unanimous decision but the attention was on Filho as he looked to be talking to someone while in the cage. Filho did give Sonnen the belt after the fight but the championship was still Filho’s.

Zuffa decided to release the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and he has been on the shelf until now. He did turn down a chance to participate in the Bellator Fighting Championship middleweight tournament but felt the contract was too restrictive. Now the Japanese fans will get to see if he is back to the fighter he was and maybe fighting as a light heavyweight will suit him better. The report stated that Filho has been training with Ronald “Jacare” Souza to help him prepare for his return.

 

[Shogun Locc]

iBN Sports to Cover Pre & Post StrikeForce, Shamrock vs Diaz

Foothill Ranch, Calif. - April 8, 2009 - iBN Sports, a premier Internet-based broadcast sports television network announced that its MMA HEAT Channel with Karyn Bryant will provide “up to the minute” weigh-in along with pre and post fight coverage of the April 11th event, Frank Shamrock vs Nick Diaz, which will be broadcast from the HP Pavillion, San Jose, CA on Showtime at. iBN Sports will be on hand for weigh-ins, interviews, and Post Fight Coverage as Three-time world champion and mixed martial arts legend Frank Shamrock will make his dramatic return to the cage when he squares off with fellow knockout artist and resident bad-ass Nick Diaz in the main event of Strikeforce’s first MMA event of the year.

Karyn Bryant, Sam Strayer, and the iBN Sports team will be on hand to cover the weigh-in on April 10th, will also do interviews and a pre-show before the match on April 11th and provide full coverage of the post fight press conference. All of this can be seen at www.ibnsports.com.

The StrikeForce coverage represents the ongoing series of up to the minute pre and post coverage of premiere matches that iBN Sports will offer to fans throughout 2009. All broadcasts can be viewed live at www.ibnsports.com for free as well as seen on-demand on the channel.

Karyn Bryant said, “”The premiere of Strikeforce on Showtime will be great- there’s almost no way it can disappoint. The undercard features intriguing and challenging match-ups, and the main event has more story lines than a telenovela. Once again, Showtime Sports brings the fans the best entertainment on Saturday night.”. Concluded Karyn.

Sam Strayer said “This is an exciting event as StrikeForce joins forces with Showtime to create a star studded, action packed event that MMA fans and enthusiasts won’t want to miss.” He adds, “We will follow the fighters after the fight and show fans an in depth look at the culture that makes up one of the fastest growing sports in the nation ”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Murilo Ninja criticizes Dream organization

Getting ready to face Dong Sik Yoon in Dream 8, Murilo "Ninja" was surprised at the dat before the fight with the news that his opponent was injured. After the indecision, to know whether he would fight or not, the Brazilian was told that his opponent would be Riki Fukuda.

"I had signed to fight with the Korean, but I got there on Thursday and they told he had been hurt. That is no excuse, the guy (Fukuda) was stronger than me, congratulations to him, I’ll have to get over it, but I think they didn’t treat me right. They’ve announced my fight with him, but the man had been injured two weeks ago", says Ninja.

"I had a strategy set to fight and had to prepare another there. I was going to fight with a Judo fighter, but that is no excuse. He has to be congratulated, I mistaken at some points and now is just wait", said the fighter, still without knowing the definition for his future. "For now I want to analyze my situation to see what I’ll do, and wait to see", ended.

 

[Shogun Locc]

WEC 40: Wagnney wins with a broken hand

he victory of Wagnney Fabiano over Frédson Paixão at WEC 40 would be a great result, but the destiny reserved more difficulties for the Nova União athlete. In the first round, Wagnney broke the hand and had to fight two more rounds to win by unanimous decision.

"Everything happened as I planed. I was a little anxious to know what he would show that was new, but everything was like André (Pederneiras) planned. He told me to take advantage of the standing part, and that’s what I did. Now I’ll rest, because it broke my hand in the first round. I’ll have to recover from this", said Wagnney, exclusively to TATAME.com.

"I knew the fight would be hard, I was prepared for the three rounds, but I got good shots and saw that he had felt, but I think I lacked a bit of pressure, but the important thing is that I won the fight", celebrates, without thinking, yet, in his next fight in the event. "I'll be ready for whoever they put, I don’t have much choice or preference", concludes Wagnney.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Cigano bets on Nogueira against Couture

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt under the Nogueira brothers, Junior "Cigano" has done a great job in the octagon, with two quick knockouts. Waiting to return to the event in August, against Justin McCully, the Brazilian is cheering for Rodrigo "Minotauro", who might face Randy Couture in the same month.

"Everybody knows who is Minotauro. They’ve putted some doubts about him after that last fight (against Frank Mir), but they will be able to believe again in the great fighter and man he is", says Cigano. After the first defeat by knockout in his career, Cigano believes that Minotauro will do a great fight against the former UFC champion. "This last fight wasn’t good, he really wasn’t well, but now he’ll show who he really is. He will win it, for sure", bets Cigano.

 

[Shogun Locc]

SENGOKU VIII Light Heavyweight Fight TBA

A Light Heavyweight fight for SENGOKU VIII will be announced on SENGOKU’s weekly tv show, SENGOKUG!, on TV Tokyo on Sunday. At the SENGOKU website it says that one of them is a veteran that has appeared in SENGOKU three times before. Going by this description and that the announcement is on a tv-show it looks like Hidehiko Yoshida will make his return since losing to Sanae Kikuta and considering retirement.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Despite scare, Eddie Alvarez feels Bellator victory was true to form

Heading into this past Friday's first round of the Bellator Fighting Championships' lightweight tournament, Eddie Alvarez (16-2) had two expectations.

Alvarez expected he would probably suffer a flash knock out early on and that he would leave victorious. He was right on both accounts.

"I actually called that," Alvarez recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I told the ref when he asked is there anything weird he needed to know about. I said, 'Yes, you'll hear I get knocked out. But I'll pop right back up; just give me a second.'"

True to his word, Alvarez's legs buckled when opponent Greg Loughran caught him with a big left hand to the chin. Alvarez admitted he's got a little work to do with his stand-up game.

"It's been happening a lot more than I would like it to," the Philadelphia Fight Factory product said. "I think I have actually been flashed knocked out in three of my last four fights.

"I try to throw big punches. I try to go for the knockout. But whenever you stand in the pocket, sometimes you give up your chin. It's something I have to work on; I don't like the way I was doing it in that fight."

Alvarez survived the scare, and he battled back to secure a fight-ending guillotine choke at 2:44 of the opening frame. The win earned Alvarez a spot in the tournament semi-finals.

Although 14 of his 16 career wins have come by way of stoppage, Alvarez admits that he will need to make some adjustments to win the tournament, which consists of a grueling schedule of three fights within just 12 weeks.

"I have really good conditioning," Alvarez said. "I pride myself on my conditioning, so I recover super-fast. I'm good to go 100 percent, but that's the biggest deal going into this tournament, to stay injury free."

Alvarez's return to U.S. soil has also prompted many fans to wonder if he was interested in competing in the sport's biggest organization, the UFC.

"The UFC, I think they made us an offer," Alvarez said. "It wasn't what (my manager) Monte (Cox) expected, or what I expected, so we had to move on."

Alvarez credited financial freedom as his reason for turning down the offer.

"I want to make a living doing this," Alvarez said. "I don't want to go back to doing concrete and training at night. Wherever I go, I have to be able to train full time, or else I'm not going to be near the athlete that I want to be."

Although not UFC-bound anytime soon, Alvarez is actually currently contracted with three organizations, meaning fight fans will be able to see plenty more of the 24-year-old this year.

"We are still under contract with Strikeforce (in the U.S.), as well," Alvarez said. "They are cool with letting me fight with Bellator. We are hoping I can come to Strikeforce by the end of the year and fight some big names.

"I (also) have one more fight on my contract with DREAM."

Alvarez said he hopes the final fight n his current contract with DREAM will be a rematch with the last man to defeat him: top-ranked Shinya Aoki (20-4), who submitted Alvarez with a heel hook in December 2008.

But for now, Alvarez is focused on staying healthy and, if the stars align correctly, a potential mega-fight with American Top Team slugger Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal (17-3) in the finals of Bellator's lightweight tournament.

"I would love for that to happen," Alvarez said. "I think it will be a great final."

 

[Shogun Locc]

CHAEL SONNEN VS. WILSON GOUVEIA AT UFC 102

As the summer time cards for the UFC fill up fast, a middleweight bout has been added to UFC 102 tentatively scheduled for August 29 as American Top Team fighter, Wilson Gouveia, will face former WEC middleweight contender, Chael Sonnen.

The bout was confirmed by sources close to the fight to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday.

Gouveia enters the bout in August after a disappointing loss to Nate Marquardt at UFC 95 in February. Prior to that loss, the Brazilian had won his previous two contests at middleweight since dropping from the 205lb weight class.

Chael Sonnen returns to action at UFC 102 after a loss on the same Feb card to submission specialist, Demian Maia, in his return to the Octagon after a stay in the WEC and other organizations over the past few years.

7-3 in his last 10 bouts, Sonnen hopes to get back to the winning side of things when he faces a very well rounded opponent in Wilson Gouveia.

UFC 102 is tentatively scheduled to take place on Aug 29, and rumors have placed the show in Portland, Ore., but nothing has been solidified as far as a definite location at this time.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Featherweight GP Quarterfinals Announced! DJ.taiki Out

As usual with a DREAM GP everything doesn’t go smoothly. DJ.taiki is out with an injury to his right orbital bone which he received back at the Featherweight GP qualifier against SHOJI. It doesn’t seem like he pulled out himself but it was a doctor’s order. Instead, Hideo Tokoro will take his place and face Abel Cullum in what should be a fast paced fight.

In the other GP fights Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto will face fellow wrestler Joe Warren, Masakazu Imanari will get a surprisingly tough test in Bibiano Fernandes, and Yoshiro Maeda will take on Hiroyuki Takaya in a fight which could end with a brutal KO for either fighter.

HEIWA DREAM.9 Featherweight GP 2009 2nd Round
Date: May 26th, 2009
Place: Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan

Featherweight GP Quarterfinalists:
Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren
Masakazu Imanari vs. Bibiano Fernandes
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Abel Cullum vs. Hideo Tokoro

Possible Fights:
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. J.Z.Calvan
Gegard Mousasi vs. Sokoudjou
Ronaldo Jacare vs. TBA
Paulo Filho vs. TBA

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fight Path: Fighter Ron Humphrey also a student, traveler and philanthropist

Several years ago, Ron "Abongo" Humphrey was studying indigenous cultures on a trip through Ghana, Burkina Faso and other areas of Africa. It might not have seemed like the usual trip for a former star football player from Tuskegee University, but Humphrey, who prefers to be referenced as Abongo instead of Ron, isn't usual in many ways.

So the son of Master's degree-holding parents traveled the countries feeding his interest in culture. Soon, he met with the chief of a small village.

"He mixed some special herbs and put them into my eye; it looks like mascara," Humphrey told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "It gives them the ability to know things about a person."

If the spiritualist did the same thing today, here are a few things he would quickly learn about Humphrey. First, he is a skilled mixed martial arts heavyweight who is scheduled to fight Brett Rogers on Saturday in the live Showtime-televised portion of Strikeforce's "Shamrock vs. Diaz" card at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. It is a noted heavyweight matchup between undefeated fighters (Rogers is billed as 8-0, and Humphrey 12-0).

Beyond that, one would learn that the 31-year-old Humphrey is much more than simply a fighter. He is a student of cultures and beliefs, a man who first became interested in MMA more than a decade ago to help feed his competitive spirit. He runs a nonprofit organization meant to improve the functioning of African-American families by helping them understand their cultural identities, which had been somewhat difficult for him because his mother was an Air Force colonel and the family moved often.

With the same intelligence, he has also asked himself why he fights MMA, and it hasn't always been a positive answer.

"There's the whole moral issue I had before doing a lot of spiritual work; I had an inner battle about how a spiritual person could get into a ring and beat people into a pulp," Humphrey said. "But I had to get over that and focus on the fact that it was (an) athletic event and a competition and a sport. Now I see it as a real legitimate sport. Back in 2000 or 2002, it wasn't the same. Now it's more accepted in mainstream, and I want to be successful in it."

Investigating his past

It was Humphrey's desire to learn more that led him to the small village with the chief reading his eyes to understand him.

"While he was herbing me, he started asking me why I was the first African-American to come to the village," Humphrey said. "He wanted to know if African-Americans were ashamed of Africa. When he said that to me, it impacted me a lot. When I got back to Atlanta, I started doing a lot of research."

With help from a sister who holds a Ph.D. in psychology, Humphrey collected materials such as the Journal of Black Psychology and researched the cultural knowledge and cultural identities of African-American families. His fighting career, which had already been successful, was put on hold while he read through these materials, studying for a way to understand what cultures believe and his own past.

Soon, he formed a mission statement that led to a nonprofit organization about which Humphrey is very passionate.

"We help people travel and study African culture," Humphrey said. "We have a really large volunteer program, people who volunteer to teach history and science in 150 schools. Then there's an indigenous program centered on healers and spiritualists to go study with him."

It was Humphrey's studies with these cultures that led to him gaining the name Abongo. On one of his twice-annual trips to Africa, Humphrey experienced a rite of passage in one of the villages. He declines to discuss the specifics of the experience, but the result was an improved mentality and his new moniker, the name of an African warrior spirit believed to protect the village in Ghana.

"This was a warrior class of people, a society of warriors," Humphrey said.

He would soon be a warrior again himself.

Both brain and strength

Humphrey first was introduced to MMA while a football player at Tuskegee. At times, he would travel to Montgomery, Ala., to train.

"I saw some guys grappling at one of the facilities," he said. "I was a big guy, 230 pounds, and I saw some guys at 100-some pounds grappling, and I'm thinking, 'Look at these punks rolling around on the ground.' One day I was kind of arrogant and I'm thinking, 'I have to teach these guys a lesson.'

"I got my butt whooped."

From there, back in 1998, Humphrey gained an interest in the sport. He was already versed in most parts of athletics, from his playing background and his studies in exercise and nutritional science. He began training, moving from general grappling to Brazilian jiu jitsu and Muay Thai and even traveling to grappling tournaments.

"I was into it hardcore," Humphrey said.

But other parts of his life interrupted. After success in his first few fights, including his 2002 debut in South Africa, Humphrey married and started a family. He continued his cultural and spiritual research. He got his nonprofit organization off the ground. He asked himself how fighting could fit into his belief system.

He did personal training and tended to graduate studies at Emory University. But when his beliefs clicked with his significant fighting skills, Humphrey's career again advanced – but not without hurdles. Some know him from his appearance on the BET series "Iron Ring," but the show fizzled and Humphrey signed with EliteXC shortly before it was shuttered.

But with his Strikeforce fight live on Showtime, Humphrey has the opportunity to enter the greater MMA consciousness. Those who watch him fight will be impressed, and those who listen to him talk about his experiences and beliefs will be rooting for him.

"I tell people all the time I was involved when it wasn't popular," Humphrey said of MMA. "I have a lot of experience, and I know I can succeed."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Following current DREAM run, Andre Galvao heading to Strikeforce

Seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and current DREAM welterweight grand prix participant Andre Galvao (3-0) will soon ply his trade under the Strikeforce banner.

Galvao's manager, Ed Soares, announced his client's status in a recent press release.

"Andre is currently signed to both Strikeforce and DREAM," Soares stated. "Strikeforce let Andre go and fight in the DREAM tournament, but he has a contract already in place with Strikeforce."

Galvao defeated 11-year-veteran John Alessio (24-13) at Sunday's DREAM.8 in a welterweight grand prix opening-round bout. The 26-year-old submitted Alessio at the 7:34 mark of the first round.

The win was Galvao's third – all by arm bar – since making his MMA debut in August 2008.

Unquestionably talented on the ground, Galvao said he is working on becoming a complete mixed martial artist.

"I'm very excited to evolve in the striking game," Galvao told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "It's getting better and better each day. My focus is to become the most complete fighter I can.

"If the opportunity presents itself for me to knock somebody out with a knee or with a strike, I'm going to jump on that. I just want to have as many tools as I can and be as complete of a fighter as I can. That way no matter what position I'm put in, I can win the fight, whether it be by knockout or submission."

Soares told MMAjunkie.com Galvao has made a steady improvement since his April debut.

"I was really impressed at the progression that Andre has made in just six months since his first MMA fight," Soares said. "He's obviously very dedicated and very focused on getting better. He's put a lot of time into his footwork in the ring, as well as improving and utilizing his stand-up skills. I definitely saw a huge difference from his fight a few months ago."

A Brazilian native, Galvao is currently training at the new Black House training facility in Los Angeles. The 26-year-old will be working with Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, among others, for his July 20 semi-final bout at DREAM.10.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller likely for UFC 100 in July

A quickly filling UFC 100 fight card will likely have another addition with a lightweight bout between "The Ultimate Fighter 6" winner Mac Danzig (18-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Jim Miller (13-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

A source close to the bout told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) bout agreements have been distributed and are in the process of being finalized.

UFC 100 takes place July 11 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and airs on pay per view.

The Danzig vs. Miller fight will likely take place on the night's unaired preliminary card.

Despite some job security from winning the sixth season of "TUF," Danzig finds himself in a must-win situation following back-to-back losses to Clay Guida (via decision at UFC Fight Night 15) and Josh Neer (via submission at UFC Fight Night 17). The losses dropped his UFC record to 2-2, and he's now lost four of his past six fights overall.

Miller, meanwhile, looks to rebound from a recent loss of his own. Prior to his recent unanimous-decision loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 96, the one-time UFC fighter owned an eight-fight win streak, which included a submission win over David Baron and a decision victory over Matt Wiman in his first two UFC fights.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Criticizes Wanderlei’s Move to 185

They have the same surname, grew up in the same Brazilian city and trained together for years at Chute Boxe. But things have changed, and destiny has put Wanderlei Silva and Anderson Silva on different sides.

“I always helped Wanderlei in training,” Anderson explained in a November 2007 interview with Tatame magazine. “We were really close.”

Anderson eventually left Chute Boxe, though, and in the Tatame interview he said that the team’s coach, Rudimar Fedrigo, forbid him from fighting in Pride, where Wanderlei was a champion.

“Wanderlei didn’t say anything to help me,” Anderson said. “He even knew that I had four children to raise. If it were not for ‘Minotauro’ putting pressure and bringing me to Pride, I would certainly be retired.”

At UFC 79 in December 2007, however, Anderson couldn’t hide his support for Wanderlei against Chuck Liddell. After the fight, he visited Wanderlei’s locker room with Lyoto Machida to congratulate him on a gutsy performance.

“I’m free now, whenever you want to train,” said Wanderlei, who had also left Chute Boxe by then and was happy to have the support of Anderson and Machida.

But now the relationship has soured again. Fifteen months after they shook hands in the locker room, Anderson learned that Wanderlei is on his way to the UFC middleweight division, where Anderson is king.

In an interview with the popular Brazilian TV program Sensei Sportv that will air Saturday, Anderson said he doesn’t have any problem fighting his former training partner.

“How much do you weigh? So why are you going to get yourself in trouble?” Anderson asked of Wanderlei.

Anderson has his own answer to the question: He called Wanderlei’s move to 185 “pretentious.”

Asked to name five opponents that he considered ready to face him for a title shot, Anderson didn’t include Wanderlei or Wanderlei’s new training partner, Demian Maia. In fact, he had a message for Maia too: “Saying that you will beat me up or submit me is very easy, but there have been people trying to do that for some time and are not reaching their goal, Demian.”

Anderson also confirmed during the Sensei Sportv interview that he plans on more fights as a light heavyweight. He dismissed the possibility of fighting Machida, whom he considers a close friend and the best fighter in the weight division.

 

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NICK DIAZ: "I HATE PLAYING BALL!"

Mixed martial arts is a sport that can be a big surprise to the uninitiated. Sports fans that are used to the posturing of many other sports, particularly boxing, are sometimes surprised to see fighters shaking hands or hugging after they've just got done punching, kicking, and choking each other for three brutal rounds. And they surely don't expect to see the two combatants hanging out in the bar later, as often happens.

Don't worry, for those of you that aren't quite used to the niceties that go on between fighters in MMA, Nick Diaz will make you feel right at home. His mantra is right in line with what you're used to.

"If I'm fighting you, I'm not gonna like you." Plain and simple.

He's preparing to step into the cage with the legendary Frank Shamrock on April 11, a man that he has trained with in the past. Pay that no heed; he stays true to form, even with Shamrock... or perhaps particularly with him.

"I definitely don't like Frank for the same reasons that other people don't like Frank. I'm sure I have a few reasons why I don't like him. Those are probably my own reasons," he told MMAWeekly.com.

Typically, Diaz' reasons don't run as deep as they appear to with Shamrock. It's usually a simple matter of Darwinism.

"They're gonna take this money home and try and provide for their family and I want to do the same," he relays, playing no favorites. "As soon as you signed the paper to fight me you (expletive) up."

That may not be the professional way to express his take on the situation... the classy way. Diaz couldn't care less. He's used to those who look down their nose at him.

"Nobody has class here, we're cage fighters. We fight in a cage, throw elbows," he states matter-of-factly. "All this classy stuff is sort of derived from us trying to get this sport out. They've done their job. That's not my job to make this sport look like it's not warfare, like it's a tennis match, because it's not.

"All this stuff is doing is taking the technical aspect out of the sport and making us play ball. And I (expletive) hate playing ball."

Suffice it to say, Diaz isn't likely to play ball when he and Shamrock step into the cage on April 11 when Showtime makes its Showtime debut.

 

[Shogun Locc]

CSAC Policy, Strikeforce Contract Bring Costly Price for Drugs, Doping

The California State Athletic Commission recently instituted new policies in regards to their handling of positive drug tests and how decisions in contests that yielded positive tests would be adjudicated:

Rule 368: Change of Decision

This rule change states that a positive drug test will permit the Commission to change a victory to a “no decision.” This rule change will apply to drugs of abuse on a case by case basis.

While this change in policy has just been enacted, some in the industry have been aware of its gestation and have already adjusted their contracts accordingly. Strikeforce is a California based promotion and, as a stakeholder in the California MMA scene, seemed to have prior knowldege that these changes were in the air. When taking on the contracts from EliteXC, there were several addendum that were placed on the ProElite contracts by Strikeforce, among them a clause that stated that fights changed from a “winner” to a “no decision/contest” would forfeit winner bonuses and bumps in pay based on these wins (such clauses weren’t in before and allowed these initial wins to stand and increase salaries):

C. Fighter has to be declared the “winner” of any Fight/Bout by the
applicable Athletic Commission governing the Fight/Bout and the Event
in order to advance to the next Fighter purse and win bonus amount if not
the prior Fighter purse and win bonus amount is applicable. In order for
Fighter to obtain any win bonus Fighter must be declared the winner of
any such Fight/Bout by the applicable Athletic Commission governing the
Fight/Bout and the Event. In the event any Fight/Bout in which Fighter
appears pursuant to the terms hereunder is declared by the Athletic
Commission governing the Fight/Bout and the Event as a “no contest”,
such “no contest” declaration is not considered a win and no win bonus
would be paid to Fighter and Fighter would not advance to the next level
of Fighter purse or win bonus amount.

It would seem intuitive that a positive drug test would mean a forfeiture of any win bonuses, but the structure of contracts in MMA at this point don’t necessarily represent that reality. Such was the case with Karo Parysian’s win over Dong Hyun Kim. NSAC overturned the win, but the standard Zuffa contract lacked any mechanism to deny Parysian the win bonus he had already been paid. NSAC took the issue into their realm, instituting a fine to penalize the fighter, with the fines ending up in NSAC coffers. Amending the contracts allows either the promotion to save money paying out a win bonus to a drug cheat, or if the win bonus has to be paid out, give it to the fighter who fought the fight clean, not enriching the coffers of NSAC or CSAC. If NSAC (or CSAC for that matter) getting the fine money would mean a better drug testing procedure that would be a good idea, but with NSAC’s lackadaisical approach to out of competition testing, more money wouldn’t necessarily mean a better drug testing program.

While those that had EliteXC contracts are hit by the new ruling, those with original deals with Strikeforce are under a whole other penalty structure when it comes to testing positive for drugs. According to the standard Strikeforce contract:

Fighter agrees that Fighter will be tested for doping (including but not limited to steroids, human growth drugs or any form of prohibited performance enhancing substances) or illegal substances (hereinafter individually and collectively referred to as “DIS&#8221 within three (3) days before and after Fighter’s fight in the Event if required by EXPLOSION or the State Athletic Commission or the governing body. Further, Fighter agrees as follows:

(a) If Fighter tests positive for DIS before Fighter’s fight in the Event, Fighter shall be automatically disqualified from fighting in that Event and Fighter shall pay to EXPLOSION a penalty assessment equal to the amount that Fighter was to be paid for the Appearance and Rights fee for such Event.

(b) If Fighter tests positive for DIS after Fighter’s fight in the Event, EXPLOSION may dispossess Fighter of the Appearance Fee as well as any prize money and/or title awarded to Fighter, and a penalty assessment equal to the amount that Fighter was to be paid for the Appearance and Rights fee for such Event. Fighter agrees that any determination of DIS as determined by the State Athletic Commission or the governing body regulating the Event and its agents shall be binding and shall not be subject to appeal by Fighter, other than any appeal afforded under the law. Fighter further covenants not to bring any legal or administrative action pertaining to any determination regarding Fighter’s positive test for DIS. Fighter expressly hereby waives any right to institute any legal or administrative action pertaining to the decisions that Fighter tested positive for DIS.

If Fighter breaches this provision Fighter shall be deemed in material breach of this Agreement and in such case without limiting its remedies hereunder, or at law or equity, EXPLOSION at anytime during the term hereof at its election and in its sole and unlimited discretion may reduce and eliminate the number of fights that Fighter has agreed to fight pursuant to the terms hereof and as set forth on Exhibit A and Fighter shall not be compensated for any such fights that have been reduced and eliminated.

While I’m not a lawyer, my summary reading of these clauses yields the idea that a positive drug means a few things: no win money, no show money, a fine payable to Strikeforce equal to the show money, and possible nullification of the contract. All this is also not subject to appeal by the fighter. The policy seems a bit tougher than Just Say NO but stopping just short of the Turkish prison in Midnight Express. Judging from his comments the past few days, Nick Diaz looks to be fortunate to be under one of the amended EXC contracts, otherwise David Gardner might not be the only one saying Hello Japan.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Silva more patient against Forrest Griffin

Thiago Silva arrived in the UFC with the perfect record of nine victories and nine fights and, after two more victories in the octagon, started to be possible a fight between Forrest Griffin and Thiago, but the Brazilian faced Houston Alexander, again winning by knockout. A year and a half later, the destiny crossed their ways again and Griffin vs. Sivla will happen at UFC 101, which happens on August 8th, in the United States.

"The expectation is good, the UFC has given me a good chance to recover my name. I’ll face a tough guy, I’ll give my best and train a lot. It will be a tough fight, sure, he’s a very good fighter, but I'm prepared", said the fighter, ensuring that won’t change his style after the first defeat of his career, against Lyoto Machida. "Anyone who knows me knows how I fight, I go for it and only on will be standing after the fight, for sure".

With the knockout suffered at UFC 94, the athlete of the American Top Team tells the lesson he learned: "Caution, not to be nervous. I thought I wouldn’t be nervous with Lyoto, because he runs a lot, but in the first minute I was already pulling my hair off... I think patience is the key", he says, dreaming with a rematch against the man who defeated him: "this revenge is what I want most in my life, brother".

 

[Shogun Locc]

Wanderlei trains with Heath Herring in Vegas

Wanderlei Silva is looking forward his next fight. Training in his new gym, in Las Vegas, the fighter is getting together a tough team. Rafael Alejarra, physical preparer of the “Axe Murderer”, spoke with TATAME.vom and told some news about the team, which counts with strong names as Heath Herring, who has already faced Rodrigo "Minotauro" three times, and Mike Whitehead.

"The sparrings are great, Wanderlei is very happy with the direction that the gym is taking. He didn’t measure efforts to put a gym like this. I think Wanderlei deserves this, not only as an athlete but also as a person, because he is a warrior not only in the ring, but in life too", praises Alejarra, telling the differential of the gym: "the differential of this gym, beyond the structure, is Wanderlei Silva”, decreed. Check below the exclusive interview with Rafael Alejarra.

How were the trainings with Xande Ribeiro?
Were good, I think is a good partnership, he and Saulo. Xande is a natural athlete. I trained him and he does justice to the name he has, because he’s a guy who likes to train, who makes all the activities that we propose to him. I loved working with him and hope to work more often in the future.

What other names showed at the gym?
Train with us Mike Whitehead, Heath Herring, who began to train here last week, and I think it will be very good. Roger, who will make his MMA debut, Vitor Vianna, Wanderlei, Xande... I can’t disclose yet, but it still has lots of surprises for this month. The sparrings are great, Wanderlei is very happy with the direction that the gym is taking. He didn’t measure efforts to put a gym like this. I think Wanderlei deserves this, not only as an athlete but also as a person, because he is a warrior not only in the ring, but in life too.

Everybody says that the gym is without comparison in structure. What’s the differential?
The differential of this gym, beyond the structure, is called Wanderlei Silva.

How is his preparation to make weight to fight Rich Franklin?
Wanderlei is working hard the technical and physical parts, now we even slowed down on the physical part, because still have time for the fight. He is improving his technical part with other teachers. Skip, his boxing coach, Mike, of Wrestling, is working with Shawn Thompkins at the Muay Thai part and, for the MMA, the teachers get together and come watch. The Jiu-Jitsu is with Vitor Viana.

How is the focus to this fight against Rich Franklin?
Wanderlei is much focused, we know the importance of this fight. He is trying to correct some details. Not only me, as he and other coaches, which are four or five, we all know the importance. I’m sure that everyone is doing all they can to make him more than ready on the fight’s day.

Would you like to leave some message to the people?
I’m with a new website, the www.mmaconditioning.tv.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Court Upholds CSAC Suspension of Silva

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Superior Court upheld the California State Athletic Commission’s one-year suspension of Antonio Silva for steroid use on Friday, rejecting a “writ of mandate” ruling that would have superseded the CSAC’s findings.

Silva’s attorney, Howard Jacobs, had filed the civil action against the CSAC on Jan. 7, the first known case in which a mixed martial artist has legally contested a decision outside the state regulatory body.

The 28-year-old Brazilian was suspended after allegedly testing positive for Boldenone metabolite following his July 26 heavyweight championship contest against Justin Eilers at an EliteXC event in Stockton, Calif.

Silva’s suspension was upheld at a CSAC appeals hearing on Oct. 22 by a five-count unanimous vote.

On Friday, Jacobs argued that the commission acknowledged that the positive test could have been attributed to the steroid or the over-the-counter supplement Novedex. Jacobs said that Novedex is currently catalogued as an over-the-counter supplement, and not a drug, by the Food and Drug Administration, placing the substance outside the CSAC’s jurisdiction.

Judge David P. Yaffe ruled that Novedex could be classified as a drug because it “intended to affect the structure or any other function of the body.”

“If the state athlete commission wants to ban substances that are in supplements, they need to change their statute. Their statute’s a joke,” Jacobs told Sherdog.com afterward. “It says that you can’t take drugs, and there’s no definition of drugs. You have an athlete from another country, whose buying a supplement over the counter. Obviously, he’s not thinking it’s a drug because you need a prescription for a drug.”

Jacobs suggested the commission adopt a prohibited substance list, such as the one posted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and followed by other sports, to prevent further confusion.

The CSAC will now review Silva’s license for potential revocation following the fighter’s participation at a Jan. 4 event in Japan. The regulatory agency contends Silva violated the state’s Business and Professions Code 18850, which states that, “any boxer or martial arts fighter who participates in a contest or match while under suspension by the commission, or any other recognized commission, shall have his or her license revoked.”

The CSAC could freeze Silva’s California license in one-year increments until the commission votes again to reinstatement him. The commission could also vote to not revoke the license, alter Silva’s suspension, and impose a fine.

Jacobs said he would have to review the ruling with Silva, who was not in attendance, before deciding the next course of action.