MMA News Thread

Shogun Locc · Feb 20, 2008

Eight EliteXC Fighters Issued Medical Suspensions

The Florida State Boxing Commission has issued medical suspensions to eight fighters who took part in Saturday’s “EliteXC: Street Certified” event. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today acquired the paperwork from the commission.

The 11-fight event took place at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center in Florida. Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson defeated David “Tank” Abbott in the night’s main event, and Antonio Silva scored a close split-decision victory over Ricco Rodriguez in the night’s co-main event.

Most of the suspensions were precautionary resulting from knockout losses. They each last 60 days.

The full list of includes:

David “Tank” Abbott (KO’d by Kevin Ferguson) — suspended 60 days for precautionary reasons
Edson Berto (KO’d by Yves Edwards) — suspended 60 days for precautionary reasons
James Thompson (KO’d by Brett Rogers) — suspended 60 days for precautionary reasons
Kyle Noke (KO’d by Scott Smith) — suspended 60 days for precautionary reasons
Dave Herman (KO’d Mario Rinaldi) — no suspension issued, but the commission mentioned a possible knee injury that needs examined
Mario Rinaldi (KO’d by Dave Herman) — suspended 60 days due to head trauma; medical clearance needed before next fight
John Doyle (KO’d by Rafael Feijao) — suspended 60 days for precautionary reasons
Jirka Hivati (KO’d by Moyses Gabin) — no suspension issued, but the commission wants a facial cut examined

Shogun Locc · Feb 20, 2008

Mark Coleman Set for UFC Hall of Fame Induction at UFC 82

Early MMA fighter and first-ever UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of next weekend’s UFC 82 festivities.

UFC 82 takes place March 1 in Columbus, Ohio — the home of the Ohio State University, where Coleman was a NCAA Division I national wrestling champion.

Coleman’s possible induction had been rumored for the past couple weeks, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the selection.

After a successful amateur-wrestling career, which included the 1988 national collegiate championship and a seventh-place finish at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Coleman made his transition into MMA. He debuted at UFC 10 and won the event’s eight-man tournament, and then repeated the feat at UFC 11. Five months later at UFC 12, he defeated Dan Severn via neck crank to become the UFC’s first-ever heavyweight champion.

Coleman, though, lost his next three fights in the UFC and would join Japan’s successful PRIDE Fighting Championships. Coleman became one of the sport’s biggest stars and won the 2000 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix Championship. He last competed in October 2006 at PRIDE 32, where he suffered a second-round submission loss to Fedor Emelianenko.

Coleman, now 43, finished his career with a 15-8 record, which included a 6-3 mark in the UFC.

Coleman’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame will coincide with a variety of events to honor Marine Major Ray Mendoza, a former Ohio State teammate of Coleman’s who was killed in military action in November 2005. Coleman will honor his fallen friend during his induction speech next Saturday.

Shogun Locc · Feb 20, 2008

Frank Mir: You don't really understand it until you fight someone with that kind of strength.

Frank Mir appeared down and out after a major motorcycle injury that derailed his once promising career. At the time of the accident, Mir was the UFC Heavyweight Champion after defeating Tim Sylvia via armbar. Mir rehabbed for nearly two years to get himself back into fighting shape and subsequently lost 2 of his next four fights. Many thought that Mir just didn't look like the same fighter he was before the accident; but after two successive wins over highly thought of newcomers Antoni Hardonk and Brock Lesnar, Mir appears to be back in title contention and has declared himself to be 100% recovered.
Mir sat down with CBS Sportsline.com to discuss his fight with Lesnar, the UFC heavyweight division and his plans for the future. Here are the highlights from that conversation.

Mir On His Win Over Brock Lesnar:

It was a good win because of all the publicity on the fight. Brock Lesnar has a real strong wrestling base and is a very strong guy. I knew that catching him in a submission would not be easy. You don't really understand it until you fight someone with that kind of strength. I just made adjustments for it during the fight. You can't really be too concerned with what someone else brings into the ring.

Mir On His Analysis Of The Fight:

On the feet you can try to move away from someone to avoid taking any big shots, but on the ground, you are going to catch shots. The punches aren't that bad on the ground, but the elbows can be very vicious if you throw them from a short range. I tried to attack as many submissions as possible to give Lesnar something to think about. Anyone can just tee off on someone who is defenseless on their back, but the minute you realize they can destroy a limb at any second it slows down your attack.

Mir On The Controversy Surrounding The Point Deduction:

When I was in the fight, I didn't hear anything because I was underneath Lesnar. But after going back and watching the fight, I understood why. I could hear Mazzagatti giving the warnings to Lesnar, "Don't hit in the back of the head." Finally, after Lesnar didn't stop because he was caught up in the fight, Mazzagatti did what he had to do. Any of those shots could be very detrimental to the fight. I mean, if I go and kick you in the groin three or four times -- even if it's unintentional -- it's going to weigh into the fight. Now, you're not going to fight as well. I've heard boxers say you get one free shot before they warn you so make it count. You have to avoid those types of maneuvers in our sport. I was actually fine. When I got up, I felt the blood on the back of my scalp, and I was a little more worried about that. I wanted to know where the cut was.

Mir On His Future:
I want to fight whoever is ranked higher than I am in order to get in a better position to fight for a title.

Mir On The Best Heavyweight In The World:

You're only as good as your competition. Before, with PRIDE being separate from the UFC, you had tough competition there and tough competition here. But now, we have the strongest competition. Fedor's last opponent was not a ranked guy. If that is the trend now -- to fight unranked guys -- it will be very hard to sway the rankings. Fighting 7-5 guys is more of a carnival. Not that you're not a great fighter, but you need to fight top guys. Nogueira is the top fighter in the top organization in the world. It would be very hard not to give him the top spot right now.

Mir On Brock Lesnar's Future:

It depends on who he fights. He needs to be more selective on who he fights. He has a great ground-and-pound game, so that will be his strength. He doesn't need to fight anyone whose strength is to fight off his back. If he fights Gonzaga, Nogueira, myself or Werdum, Lesnar could have trouble. We all fight well off our backs. Even if he's winning the fight, he's in a position that at any time we could end the fight. He needs to fight some top-level strikers. Therefore, he'll only be in danger until he gets the takedown.

To read the rest of this interview with much more from Frank Mir head over to CBS Sportsline.com

Shogun Locc · Feb 20, 2008

ARE GSP AND GOMI IN B.J. PENN'S FUTURE?

B.J. Penn has talked recently about the legacy he wants to leave behind when he exits the sport of mixed martial arts, which includes fighting in various weight classes. He addressed rumors about a possible move back to welterweight recently with MMAWeekly.com.

“What does everybody want me to do?” he asked about his divisional status. “I hear people keep talking about it and I always hear Dana (White) saying he wants me to stay in the 155-pound division, but if the fans and the media and the people are so intrigued with the fact that B.J. Penn will fight anybody at any weigh, but right now, I’m just thinking about the lightweight division.”

The list of contenders seems to grow on an almost daily basis and Penn is excited to face all of them.

“I think there’s so many good guys coming up,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here, I’m not going to say any names. I realize this division is so stacked. There’re so many good fighters and hungry fighters out there. They’re coming and I better be ready.”

One fight in the lightweight division that fans would love to see is a rematch between Penn and Takanori Gomi, who Penn defeated a few years back, and while the Japanese superstar is currently signed to another promotion, Penn is confident they will mix it up again.

“With me and Takanori Gomi, the question is where do you sell the fight? He’s a huge name in Japan, I’m a big name in the U.S,” he stated. “It’s all about making big fights. I’m sure me and Gomi are going to fight again, some way, somehow. I’m sure it’s going to happen.”

The welterweight division is still on Penn’s mind though and with the upcoming fight between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra, the current lightweight champ weighed in on the fight and a rematch with St. Pierre down the road as well.

“Georges still has to get past Matt Serra though. I think if Georges can get past Matt Serra and I know I’m going to get past Sean Sherk, we could have some kind of really huge fight there. I’m talking about a fight of the century type of fight, but Matt Serra’s no joke, you know?

“He already knocked Georges out once and he’s better on the ground. So if Georges takes him down, I’d put Serra as the guy who has the better groundwork. So Georges is going to have to come up with a good game plan. Georges has got a great camp to do what he’s got to do. I expect a great fight, and don’t count out Matt Serra against anyone.”

Ultimately, Penn would like to take both the 155-pound and 170-pound divisional titles home to Hawaii and cement his place in history.

“I want to be the first person to hold two divisional titles at the same time in the UFC,” said Penn. “That would be awesome.”

First up on the agenda though is for Penn to face Sherk on May 24 in defense of his UFC lightweight title.

Shogun Locc · Feb 20, 2008

MMAWEEKLY WORLD MMA RANKINGS UPDATED

The latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday, February 20. This system ranks the top ten MMA fighters from all across the world in each of the six largest weight classes, as voted on by MMAWeekly.

We take into consideration a fighter's performance in addition to his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most comprehensive rankings system in the sport.

As always, fighters who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible for top ten consideration until they have fought one time after the completion of their suspension.

Fighters must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to be eligible for top ten consideration.

Here are the current MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, which are up-to-date as of February 20.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (over 205 pounds)

#1 Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Fedor Emelianenko

2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

3. Randy Couture

4. Tim Sylvia

5. Andrei Arlovski

6. Fabricio Werdum

7. Gabriel Gonzaga

8. Mirko Cro Cop

9. Aleksander Emelianenko

10. Cheick Kongo

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)

#1 Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Quinton Jackson

2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

3. Dan Henderson

4. Chuck Liddell

5. Lyoto Machida

6. Keith Jardine

7. Forrest Griffin

8. Wanderlei Silva

9. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

10. Ricardo Arona

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185-pound limit)

#1 Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva

2. Paulo Filho

3. Rich Franklin

4. Denis Kang

5. Robbie Lawler

6. Nathan Marquardt

7. Kazuo Misaki

8. Yushin Okami

9. Frank Trigg

10. Yoshihiro Akiyama

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170-pound limit)

#1 Welterweight Fighter in the World: Georges St. Pierre

2. Matt Serra

3. Matt Hughes

4. Jon Fitch

5. Josh Koscheck

6. Karo Parisyan

7. Jake Shields

8. Diego Sanchez

9. Carlos Condit

10. Marcus Davis

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION (160-pound limit)

#1 Lightweight Fighter in the World: Takanori Gomi

2. Tatsuya Kawajiri

3. Shinya Aoki

4. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante

5. Mitsuhiro Ishida

6. Gilbert Melendez

7. B.J. Penn

8. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro

9. Joe Stevenson

10. Joachim Hansen

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION (145 pounds and under)

#1 Featherweight Fighter in the World: Akitoshi Tamura

2. Urijah Faber

3. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue

4. Antonio Carvalho

5. Masakazu Imanari

6. Hatsu Hioki

7. Jeff Curran

8. Tenkei Fujimiya

9. Rafael Assuncao

10. Hideki Kadowaki

Shogun Locc · Feb 20, 2008

new tito ortiz video interview! machida last ufc fight?http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/23185413#23185413

heyzel · Feb 20, 2008

Vitor Belfort interview

21.01.2008
Belfort soon to return
‘I’m out of Cage Rage’

Vitor Belfort’s next step in MMA is very close to being announced. The Carlson Gracie black belt, who fought twice in 2007, both times at Cage Rage, won both and became the light heavyweight belt holder of the English organization. In 2008, however, Vitor already announced that he has made big plans and wants to return to the top of the MMA world.

Recently the Carioca commented that he was negotiating his return to the UFC, so GRACIEMAG.com went after the “Phenom” for clarification of the facts.

“I’m still negotiating; I haven’t signed anything, that is why I can’t provide any news. There is the possibility of a return to the UFC, which I would like a lot, but there are also other big events that want me, so we’ll see. I’m out of Cage Rage, they were irresponsible and didn’t value me, I’m the champion of the category and they didn’t even give me a belt,” said Belfort.

When queried about training, team and his new gig as commentator on Premiere Combate channel, Vitor said: “I’m doing some training with Distak, who is my coach at Minotauro’s new gym. I’m a very close friend of the Nogueira brothers and they always leave the doors open for me, and whenever they need I am there for them as well. As soon as Minotauro returns from his trip we will talk about this team deal. On working as a commentator, I’m stoked, it’s very fun and the guys there are helping me a lot, it’s great.

naner12 · Feb 20, 2008

MMAWeekly has some dumbass rankings.

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

Report: Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera Slated for UFC 85

Prior to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s victory over Tim Sylvia earlier this month, UFC President Dana White said that Fabricio Werdum would likely get the next shot at the title. However, it now appears he’ll first have to get by Brandon Vera (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC).

Werdum and Vera are slated to battle at UFC 85, an event that takes place June 7 at the O2 Arena in London, according to a report from The Fight Network.

According to the report, bout agreements have not been signed.

Werdum, a former PRIDE Fighting Championships fighter, signed with the UFC last year. He was considered an instant heavyweight contender (fresh off a first-round submission victory over Aleksander Emelianenko), but after a lackluster loss to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 70, Werdum seemingly fell off the UFC’s radar. After an eight-month layoff, though, he finally returned at UFC 80 in January and scored a stunning second-round TKO of UFC heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga.

Vera, meanwhile, began his UFC career with three straight victories before he earned a bout with Frank Mir. Although questions marks still surrounded the brash youngster, Vera defeated the former UFC heavyweight with a first-round TKO at UFC 65. The November 2006 fight would be his last for nearly a year, though, as he worked out issues with his former management. Vera was supposed to fight then-champ Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 nearly a year ago, but with the issues still unresolved, Randy Couture got the fight instead.

Vera last competed at UFC 77 this past October, where he suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Sylvia. After the fight, Vera stated that he had suffered a broken hand early in the fight.

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

BTT’s leader answers American article

Murilo Bustamante, Brazilian Top Team (BTT)’s leader, has sent an open letter where he refuted the criticizes made by Tim Leidecker at Sherdog.com. At the article, o journalist affirmed that BTT and Chute Boxe are losing production and that both team started falling after the end of Pride, and cited the left of big stars from the teams, like Rodrigo Minotauro and Wanderlei Silva. Check below the letter sent by Murilo Bustamante.

To begin, I’d like to say that Brazilian Top Team’s presence, at most of Pride’s events, was requested because of the technical quality of the fighters, and I feel comfortable on saying the same thing about Chute Boxe. Both teams have worked seriously to make his fighters so that they could became part of the biggest MMA fighters of the world. Both had success on that adventure, both had formed not only champions, but a lot of high level athletes. By this time, both teams was known as the two best MMA teams of the world, and a lot of events paid to see both fighting each other. With that, both teams gave work not only for athletes, but to teachers too.

Speaking about BTT, I can say that to build these great fighters the team had invested heavily o their training. Besides some people say that BTT demanded and charged too much from the athletes, I can say now that we charged and still charge. Ten percent from management and ten percent from training, what, in my opinion, is more than fair, considering the investment that is made on the athlete. Before creating BTT, I used to pay 20% from management and 20% from training, I was always thankful of what my master teached me. I give all my athletes the opportunity to train all disciplines, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing and Wrestling, without spending more. We invest on the athlete since the beginning of his career.

This system is so fair that gives the athlete, on the beginning of the career, that earns US$200 per fight, have the same training of the big MMA stars. This athlete pays US$40 for fight for all his training. If he fights five times a year, he’ll pay US$200 for the training, something like US$17 per month. Is that too much? The team teaches the athlete to became a professional that can earn US$1.000.000,00 per fight, or even more. If the athlete unfortunately have no luck on his professional career at MMA, he can choose to work on one of the team branches, or even open his own team, giving support to his family. I become furious when someone says that, sometimes some idiots, BTT charged money from his athletes. We charged and we’ll continue charging the same thing, and I challenge anyone who says that to come work at , form big fighters and charge less than we do.

I can say that both teams, BTT and Chute Boxe, will form new champions real soon. Both teams, actually, have nothing more to prove, because who forms Wanderlei, Shogun, Ninja, Anderson, Pelé, Minotauro, Minotouro, Arona, Paulo Filho, Alan Goes, Murilo Bustamante and many others has professional capacity. Any of these athletes came here ready, they were created inside this walls. That’s why, I’m sorry about this pretentious man that wrote this article, that BTT were here a long time before he came and will be a long time after you goes away. I practice martial arts for 31 years, teach Jiu-Jitsu for 20 years and MMA for 16 years, I can say that I love what I do and will do it forever. When I couldn’t compete anymore, I’ll continue teaching my athletes using all the knowledge I’ve got from inside and outside the rings. That’s why I say that BTT will form big athletes, and if God wants, some champions, and it won’t be a bad analysis from some jerks that will stop it. I’ll use the opportunity to thank all BTT fans all around the world for keeping trusting on our team.

Thanks,
Murilo Bustamante”

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

John McCain, candidate against MMA

Republicans or democrats, American MMA athletes and fans already has a candidate that won’t be voted for president. Candidate on next election, the republican John McCain fought for a long time against MMA at USA. While MMA was growing at United States and all over the world, John did whatever he could to prohibit events like UFC. For one moment, the UFC had to be transferred to Alabama by plane, with octagon and everything, to be done. John McCain will have to face some “strong” opponents at presidential run.

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

EliteXC addresses the mystery of the $1 fighter

Several sites obtained salary figures from this past Saturday's EliteXC: Street Certified card via the Florida State Boxing Commission.

One of the most notable sites to obtain the figures from the FSBC was MMAjunkie.com. According to the report, Kimbo Slice was paid $175,000 for his performance while Tank Abbott received $126,000.

But the most stunning revelation was that undercard fighter Moyses Gabin was paid just $1 for his win over Jirka Hlavati. Junkie followed up with the commission about the number and indicated that the commission confirmed it.

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) contacted EliteXC officials for a comment and all indications are that Gabin's compensation was handled by an outside promoter.

"That fight was put together by a local promoter," EliteXC Head of Fighter Operations Jeremy Lappen stated in an e-mail. "Gabin is paid a salary by the promoter who sponsored that bout."

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

COUTURE SEEKS DISMISSAL

Randy Couture – the first two-division champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history – filed a motion in a Las Vegas court on Tuesday requesting the dismissal of a pending lawsuit brought against him in January by Zuffa LLC, parent company of the UFC. The motion will be heard on Tuesday, March 25.

In the 13-page lawsuit, Zuffa contends Couture breached a non-compete term in the employment contract he signed in December 2006. His resignation last fall triggered a one-year “restricted period,” which the suit claims the UFC Hall-Of-Famer violated.

The lawsuit, however, does not refer to a separate four-fight contract Couture signed in early 2007. Couture has publicly stated his intentions to “wait out” that contract until its July expiration, at which point he plans to facilitate a fight with former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.

Zuffa also contends Couture, along with his agents and unnamed co-defendants, conspired in tortious conduct through print and television interviews in an effort to distort the company’s name and reputation, causing “inestimable harm to Zuffa and the business operations of the UFC.”

During his “restricted period,” the suit states Couture was prohibited from “promoting or producing events or programming related to unarmed combat, developing products or services related to unarmed combat,” and “otherwise conducting any business relating to unarmed combat.”

Zuffa argues Couture violated this term when the International Fight League, a rival promotion, announced the three-time UFC heavyweight champion would “sponsor and promote” the Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts camp in its competitions. Zuffa also charges Couture permitted the IFL to use his name and likeness on its Web site, beginning Jan. 12, to promote a Friday, Feb. 29 event in which Xtreme Couture members will face off with Mario Sperry’s World Class Fight Center team at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Attorneys representing Zuffa filed a preliminary injunction against Couture on Feb. 1 that seeks to prevent the 44-year-old from appearing at, or in promotion for, the Feb. 29 IFL show. The 90-page injunction claims Couture’s association with the IFL – while still under the agreement he reached with Zuffa in December 2006 – will cause the company irreparable harm and violates the terms of his deal. A hearing regarding the injunction will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 26 – moved up from its originally scheduled date of Wednesday, March 5.

Meanwhile, HDNet Fights, the MMA promotion owned by billionaire Mark Cuban, muddied the legal waters further when it filed suit against Zuffa last week in Dallas district court, seeking a declaratory judgment on Couture’s contractual status.

Couture, 44, came out of an 11-month retirement in March 2007 and stunned the MMA world by defeating Tim Sylvia to become heavyweight champion for a third time at UFC 68. The four-time Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling alternate successfully defended his title against rising Brazilian Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 in Las Vegas in August.

On Oct. 11, Couture resigned from the organization, leaving his title, two more fights and an independent services contract for commentating and promotional duties behind. A war of words ensued, as the battle between the two parties ultimately spilled into the legal system.

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

Dave Terrell Released from UFC Contract

Oft-injured middleweight Dave Terrell (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), once considered the future of the UFC’s middleweight division, has been released by the organization.

The news comes from GracieFighter.com.

The 30-year-old Terrell, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Cesar Gracie, splashed onto the UFC scene with a 24-second knockout of heavily favored Matt Lindland at UFC 49. After a six-month layoff due to reoccurring injuries, he then suffered a TKO in a title fight with then-champ Evan Tanner but rebounded for a first-round submission of Scott Smith in April 2006.

However, that’s the last time Terrell has competed profesionally — but not for a lack of trying.

The UFC scheduled Terrell for a variety of fights, but illness and injury took a toll. Terrell pulled out of a UFC 62 fight with Yushin Okami due to a sinus infection, a UFC 66 fight with Okami due to an elbow injury, and just recently a UFC 78 fight with Ed Herman because of an ankle injury.

According to the report, Terrell will continue his career with another organization. In fact, according to the report, Terrell was “unhappy with the financial terms of his bout agreements” anyway. According to ProElite.com/fiveouncesofpain.com’s Sam Caplan, EliteXC could be a possible future home for the fighter. Two of his teammates — Nick Diaz and Jake Shields — are already under contract to the

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

Jon Koppenhaver Returns at UFC 84

Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver (5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a cast member from “The Ultimate Fighter 6” who posted a Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night performance at the show’s live finale, will next fight May 24 at UFC 84.

The 26-year-old fighter mentioned the in a recent MySpace bulletin. A possible opponent was not named.

UFC 84 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Recently crowned UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn meets former champ Sean Sherk in the night’s main event.

Koppenhaver joined the latest cast of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a replacement for an injured Roman Mitichyan. In a bloody bout that appeared to have eventual show runner-up Tommy Speer on the verge of tapping, Koppenhaver suffered a unanimous-decision loss in the show’s opening round and was knocked out of the competition.

Just prior to the bout, Koppenhaver said it might be his last fight ever in MMA. However, in an interview with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) just after the episode aired, the fighter said it was just his usual pre-fighter jitters.

“On the show, I actually said I wasn’t going to fight (again) — win or lose,” Koppenhaver said. “Really, that’s what I said. I’m always anxious before fights, and on the show with all the cameras and being cut off, it’s magnified a hundred times. The house was just f***ing up my head. Once I got off the show, though, I was back in my normal routine.“

In fact, just weeks after the episode aired, Koppenhaver returned at the show’s live finale and battled fellow cast member Jared Rollins in a back-and-forth battle. Koppenhaver eventually scored a third-round TKO, and he earned a $15,000 Knockout of the Night bonus and a $15,000 Fight of the Night bonus. He’s one of very few fighters who have ever picked up two fight-night bonuses in one event.

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

Dan Henderson reminds fans prior to UFC 82 …

Here’s the actual snip:

“I think he is a tough guy and very skilled but I wouldn’t consider him the top pound-for-pound fighter, just because I’ve seen more of his past than what the U.S. crowd has in the UFC. The guys he’s fought in the UFC really complement his style. I expected him to walk through most of those guys. He’s very skilled on his feet. The guys he’s fought aren’t very good wrestlers.”

Hendo, on the other hand, competed on the 1992 and 1996 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling teams. He also has a thundering right hand. Perhaps that’s the reason he’s called “Dangerous.”

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

Wanderlei Silva wants to rematch Chuck Liddell on New Year’s Eve 2008

Quoteworthy:

“… Wanderlei will continue working up until Wand’s next fight. We’re not sure if we’re allowed to say who he is fighting next. But we’re told it will happen in May and it is someone who has fought Chuck. He and the rest of the UFC’s 205lb division had best be on notice. There will be a new and improved Wanderlei next time he steps in the cage. Wanderlei tells us he’d like to rack up a couple of wins and rematch Chuck on New Year’s.”

The thinking behind a move to middleweight appears to have been short-lived and “The Axe Murderer” will look to snap a three-fight losing streak when he returns to the Octagon at UFC 84 on May 24. Keith Jardine is more than likely still the opponent … what a transparent hint. His end goal, however, is another showdown with the “Iceman” before 2008 expires.

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

IAN FREEMAN RETURNS FOR CAGE RAGE TITLE

Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Ian “The Machine” Freeman will step out of retirement to challenge Paul Cahoon for his British light heavyweight title at Cage Rage’s May 10 event in London. Cage Rage promoter David O’Donnell on Thursday confirmed that the bout is signed.

When contacted about the fight, Freeman simply stated, “I am not saying anything to anyone about this. I want to let my talking be my performance in the cage. I won’t be saying anything to anyone about it.”

Freeman last competed in September of 2006, when he defeated Mark Epstein at Cage Rage 18 to capture the light heavyweight championship that he will try to wrest from Cahoon.

He retired, for the second time, in early 2007, telling MMAWeekly.com, “My career in TV is going big now and I don’t have the time to train as hard as I need to for a fight.”

Even then, Freeman had left the door open for a possible return, such as this one, saying, “You know how it is, a true fighter never retires…”

He is perhaps best known in the fight world for his victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 38.

On a five-fight winning streak, Cahoon is coming off of a quick TKO victory over Elvis Sinosic at Cage Rage’s December event.

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

JAMIE VARNER READY TO BEGIN HIS WEC TITLE REIGN

Jamie Varner proved himself to be a very well rounded and dangerous fighter when he knocked out “Razor” Rob McCullough to win the World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight title this past Saturday night.

Coming into the bout with McCullough, many fans and critics expected Varner to work a ground attack on his opponent, who is widely known for his striking skill and the first round looked to be exactly that game plan. Varner shot in and took McCullough down in the first round, but the now former champ kept getting back up and that impressed Varner more than anything else.

“I wasn’t really too impressed with his takedown defense, but (more with) his ability to get back up off the mat,” Varner said recently on MMAWeekly Radio. “Because I took him down like three times that round. I’m kind of glad the first round was a battle like that because getting the takedowns, it seemed to wear him out a little bit worse than it wore me out.”

Throughout the remainder of the fight it was Varner’s boxing background that hurt McCullough.

“The second round I did notice that my stand-up, I was hitting him a lot more than he was hitting me and we got into a little bit of a jabbing battle, where he was trying to jab me, so I remembered to consciously hit him with some stiff jabs,” stated the new champ.

“I hit him with a couple real good, stiff jabs, just to let him know ‘hey, I’m here and I can throw down.’ My confidence definitely starting building up through the second round and I definitely felt toward the end that I knew I had this fight on the feet as far as the boxing, the stand-up goes.”

Due to some questions surrounding a momentary stoppage during the fight to allow Varner to put his mouthpiece back in, which had been knocked out, he addressed the controversy.

“Whenever your mouthpiece gets knocked out, if there is a break in the action, they stop it to put the mouthpiece in. It is a safety concern,” Varner said. “I took a right hand right on the mouth, it knocked it out, but if you watch the fight, my legs are still underneath me. I didn’t get wobbled. I didn’t get rocked.

“A fighter can’t call timeout. People are saying ‘he called a timeout when he was rocked.’ A fighter cannot call a timeout. I pointed at the mouthpiece and I made a ‘T’ so (the referee) would call timeout to give me my mouthpiece.”

Mouthpiece or no mouthpiece, it was Varner’s hands that eventually got the best of McCullough in the third round, putting an end to his title reign.

“When I dropped him, I did see his hands go down at his sides and he fell. He rolled back over his heels,” commented Varner. “Whenever you rock somebody like that, they are not the same.”

The end came soon after and Varner was crowned the new WEC lightweight champion.

Obviously, champions never get much rest and Varner is already looking ahead at his next possible opponent, but like welterweight champion Carlos Condit, he is also interested in the opportunity to unify the belt with the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder.

“I think the winner out of Marcus Hicks and Ed Ratcliff, both of those fighters are undefeated fighters, they’re both dangerous fighters, so I figured I would probably fight the winner out of that. Then who knows, maybe ‘Razor’ Rob will want a rematch at the belt and then I’m hoping to unify it to be honest,” he stated.

“I’m going to hold onto this belt for a while. I don’t see anybody in the WEC beating me and if the WEC and the UFC decide to unify, I would definitely be all for fighting the winner out of B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk.”

Another name that popped up was Hermes Franca, who is currently still serving a suspension handed down from the California State Athletic Commission, and who has a win over Varner during his stint in the UFC.

“I would love it,” he said about a rematch with Franca. “That would definitely put a cap on my career for sure to come avenge that loss. He’s a great guy, but I would so love that fight.”

For now Varner will take some time to enjoy his newly won title and wait for the next challenger who lays in waiting.

Special note to this story:

Jamie Varner’s high school recently suffered a tragedy, as three students died in a bus crash while on a ski trip and he will be donating his fight trunks and gloves from his fight to auction off with the proceeds going to the families dealing with the loss of their children.

Varner along with his sponsors have worked to raise money for the families of the children who attended Glendale Deer Valley High School. There has also been a fund set up for anyone who would like to donate to the families.

Donations can be made through any Wells Fargo bank to:
The Deer Valley Memorial Fund
Account # 3878909518

Shogun Locc · Feb 21, 2008

HDNET FIGHTS PARTNERS WITH OKLAHOMA'S XFL

HDNet Fights on Thursday announced that it is teaming with the Xtreme Fighting League for the upcoming "HDNet Fights Presents: Xtreme Fighting League" on March 15 at the Expo Square Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event will air live, exclusively on HDNet.

This announcement is the latest is a series of new partnerships formed between HDNet Fights and many mixed martial arts organizations around the U.S. and in Canada.

"I am excited about this partnership with HDNet Fights." said XFL founder and promoter Dale Cook. "This card and the exposure on HDNet is tremendous for our League, our fighters and our city."

HDNet Fights President Guy Mezger said Cook has been a long-time promoter of combat martial arts.

"Dale always has a strong regional show and we're excited about partnering with him," Mezger said. "He can continue to grow his shows and we'll have high quality mixed martial arts programming for HDNet."

Jake Rosholt will take on Chad Jay in one of two main event fights. Rosholt is a three-time NCAA wrestling champion and four-time All American.

Johny Hendricks will battle Blake McDaniels in the second main event match-up. Hendricks is also a four-time All American and as well as a two-time NCAA wrestling champion.

Both main events consist of three five-minute rounds.

Shane Roller is a three-time All American and will face Yoshihiro Kitaoka out of Japan. The fight, one of three "U.S. versus Japan" bouts, will have three four-minute rounds.

The remainder of the U.S. team consists of Demarco Powrill, who will square-off against Akira Ninjo; and Shane Waits, who enters the cage against Kazuya Nishiyama.

The Japanese team hails from the Yamane Dojo, in Osaka.

Two Xtreme Fighting League championships will be featured on the card when XFL 170-pound champion Levi Avera accepts the challenge of Brandon Newsone and 155-pound champ Jon Carson defends against Mike Budnick.

The rest of the card features HDNet Fights veteran Chris Bowles against San Antonio's Adrian Sanchez at 155 pounds; Donnie Frye versus Josh Pulsifer at 145 pounds; and Jason Brazeal against Warren Walkerd, of the Miletich Fighting camp, at 170 pounds.

MMA News Thread

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

Sicc OG