MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

FIGHTERS WEIGH-IN FOR CAGE RAGE 24

LONDON – The fighters for Saturday’s Cage Rage 24 event a Wembley Arena weighed in today at the Wembley Plaza Hotel. All the fighters made weight.

The main event features Murilo “Ninja” Rua, fresh off a loss of his EliteXC middleweight title, against Xavier Foupa Pokam. Ninja will be looking to start a new streak as he was on a three-fight tear before being derailed by Robbie Lawler in September. Pokam is currently on a five-fight streak of his own, but Ninja is likely to be one of his toughest tests to date.

There was some tension throughout the weigh-ins, but nothing that ever got out of hand.

Saturday’s event marks the introduction of random drug testing at Cage Rage events. All championship fights will have both fighters tested, while other fighters will be selected at random.

As usual for Cage Rage events, the use of elbows on the ground is illegal. Cage Rage officials also mentioned their efforts to have elbows removed from EliteXC and potentially other MMA events due to the excessive cuts that they believe often lead to early stoppages and boring fights.

The event is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the U.K. and streamed on the Internet at ProElite.com.

Cage Rage 24 Weigh-in Results (in reverse fight order):

Xavier Foupa Pokam (83.9 kg/185 lbs) vs. Murilo Rua (83.9 kg/185 lbs)
Elvis Sinosic (93.0 kg/205 lbs) vs. Paul Cahoon (91.5 kg/202 lbs)
Drew Fickett (77.0 kg/170 lbs) vs. Mark Weir (76.9 kg/169.5 lbs)
Marios Zaromskis (77.0 kg/170 lbs) vs. Ross Pointon (76.7 kg / 169 lbs)
Tom Watson (83.9 kg/185 lbs) vs. Mark Epstein (83.9 kg/185 lbs)
George Castro (110 kg/242.5 lbs) vs. Mark Buchanan (104 kg/229 lbs)
Robert Berry (113 kg/249 lbs) vs. Neil Grove (136 kg/300 lbs)
Ivan Serati (92.5 kg/204 lbs) vs. Lee Hasdell (93.0 kg/205 lbs)
Robbie Olivier (70.2 kg/155 lbs) vs. Abdul Mohammed (70.1 kg/154.5 lbs)
Robert Paczkow (150 kg/331 lbs) vs. James McSweeney (105 kg/231.5 lbs)
Jordan Miller (65.5 kg/144.5 lbs) vs. Ronni Mann (65.4 kg/144 lbs)

 

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Gesias speaks about the fight in M-1 Yarennoka

"It will be a great fight. Aoki is innovative with his style, is a natural thing of his biotype, he´s quite elastic. I have to stay focused so that I don´t enter his game, do a fair game and do not give space to him. There isn´t much mystery", said the athlete of ATT, which will be training in for the fight. "I am training in BTT. Tibau also arrived this week to train here and I am also going to train in my former team. Perhaps André Benkei also will come to to take care of my physical preparation". Besides the bout of Gesias against Aoki, was also confirmed the fight between Hayato Sakurai and Hasegawa Hidehiko. Names such as Fedor Emilianenko, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Joachim Hansen and Luiz Azeredo are also being quoted for the show.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Paulão Filho “If Wanderlei exchange punches with Liddell he will go down”

The BJJ black belt Paulão Filho will board next December 8 to , to make his first belt defense against Chael Sonnen, at WEC 31 that will be hold at December 12. In an exclusive interview to TATAME, Paulão talks about his expectations for this bout and commented about the invitation that was made for him to train with Chuck Liddell for Wanderlei’s Silva bout at UFC 79, “I will never train with an American that will fight against a Brazilian. I am not a prostitute”, said the middleweight WEC champion. Check out the complete interview below:

Who will go with you to WEC? Who trained with you?
(Josuel) Distak and Amaury Bitetti are going with me. I made my work with Thiago Medeiros that is my pupil, with Distak, that can’t be out, with Rafael Manteiga, Amaury, Ricardo Arona was here yesterday with Rodrigo Minotauro to help me, with those guys.

What are your thoughts about Chael Sonnen?
He is a tough guy, with a Wrestling back ground, that has nice takes downs. I will try to be careful to not be taken down, but if it happens I will have some surprises for him. I will not have the same problems I had in my other bout. At this time, I am not taking pills to sleep and I will be strong and I will be well feed and prepared. Let’s see what happens!

What about your weight?
Right now I have 93kg, because I prefer to loose weight in the last moments for the fight, so I will be not weak. I want to train strong and with this weight I will not affect my train.

Are you at Team Link? Are you going to move to?
I signed with Team Link. They have an awesome structure there, Gabriel Napão that is an excellent fighter is there and I will represent them here. I have the interest to move to there , but for now I will stay here.
What do you think with these new changes?
I was very well received. I made many seminars and I believe that the sport has a lot to grow there. They have an awesome structure, they have Napão that win some weight, is stronger and is an amazing fighter. I believe I will win but they are going to, with my name and my knowledge.

Thiago Silva is Jorge Patino Macaco and from Chute Boxe and also is at Team Link. Do you have any problems to train with him?
I don’t have nothing against Thiago Silva, he is excellent and I just have to congratulate him. He just face tough guys, but I believe that big fighters are simple people, like Fedor, me, Shogun. This behavior of himself, it is no needed to make faces, but I believe he is going to be more mature. He will learn that champions loose too. I believe that he has all the conditions to be the champion at this category. Congratulations for him.

What are your predictions for Napão vs. Fabrício Werdum?
I was the judge at their first fight. Napão was better at the beginning, but I think he was not well prepared physically and Werdum take advantage of that. I was criticized at that time because I didn’t stop the fight, because it was a violent fight. But Werdum and Napão are black belts, and I didn’t felt like they wanted to stop, so how am I going to interfere in that fight? I think is going to be a war. I prefer to don’t comment and I hope it will be a great fight.

What are your predictions for Anderson Silva belt defense against Dan Henderson?
I trust 100% in Anderson . I think that he has to train a lot of clinch because Henderson is a wrestler, but I believe he will not bring problems to Anderson . Anderson is long and at this category he is undefeatable.

You received propose to train Chuck Liddell. Did you accept that?
That is true, but I didn’t accept. I will never train with an american that will fight against a Brazilian. I am not a prostitute. I am Brazilian and I will never give up. I went for and I saw how athletes are well treated there and here at Brasil is the opposite. So, Why am I going to training with the foreigner? I am Brazilian till my death.

How will be Liddell bout against Wanderlei?
Advice to Wanderlei is that to fight is not a struggle. If Wanderlei exchange punches with Liddell he will go down. He needs to fight MMA and not Muay Thai. He has to take Liddell down and punish him. This is the way to win. I root for him. He is a hard-working guy, that was already were a sales assistant and he is Brazilian.

A new organization, the M-1, are promoting some events at with all Pride staffs. What do you think about that? Do you want to come back to fight at?
First of all I have to make living of MMA . I will have to prove again that I have the skills to be champion. After the end of my contract, I will analyze all the proposal and chose for the better one. I would like to come back to there organizato as I am well adapted there. I am a BJJ fighter, that is a style that doesn’t please the Americans, because they prefer the stand up game, but I hope in the near future, they will admire it too. And they prefer my style.

 

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Nick DiazInterview by RVR

So your coming off a tough loss to KJ Noons after the doctors called an end to the fight after the 1st round due to a cut above your right eye. You were obviously upset with that decision so where does Nick Diaz go from here?
ND- I just need to keep training I don't think it was a good stoppage but what can you do you know.

RVR- Has there been any word on a rematch? I know Noons has mentioned he has some boxing matches coming up would there be any chance of seeing a rematch in a boxing ring since you have some pro experience as well?
ND- Sure I don't care I will kick his ass in boxing or in MMA it doesn't matter.I hope someone gets that rolling soon.

RVR- I know there was some reports that you had a staph infection around the time of your fight with Mike Aina and possibly before your last fight as well,can you fill us in on that?
ND- I had a cut around my eye after the Aina fight so on the flight back from Hawai it swelled shut real bad and felt like a five pound weight was pushing my eyeball into my brain and it was throbbing real bad by the time I got to the hospital they were like "what's wrong with you" I told em I'm dying. So I got to sit in the hospital and relax and eat junk food. It turned out to be Orbital Cellulites.

(Orbital Cellulites is an inflammation and infection of the eyelid and the skin surrounding the eye.)

Then just before my last fight My knee had started to swell and I was getting these weird sores around my knee so I went to the doctor but I don't think that rat bastard had any idea of what he is talking about because he said it didn't look like a staph infection, but here I am still having to take it easy because my knee still has water in it.So I am going to get another doctors opinion here in the next couple days.

RVR- There was also some stuff on the internet about you looking for a plastic surgeon. Is there any truth to this and if so is it from any damage you received in your last fight?
ND- I did talk to a plastic surgeon but it had nothing to do with any damage I received in my last fight. I was looking into having some scar tissue removed from above my eye and possibly having some of the bone that is right above my eyelids filed down because the way the bones are now makes it easier for me to cut since it is almost a sharp edge so this would help prevent any future bullshit doctors calling an end to fights after the first rd.

RVR- Man that's hard core! That being said who would you consider to be your toughest fight to date?
ND-I would have to say Chris Lytle

RVR- Really Lytle I wouldn't of guessed that I would have thought Jeremy Jackson or someone else.
ND-The Lytle fight went back and fourth but I was in control for most of it he is just well rounded. Not many people have seen that fight I think it was my second fight.

RVR- Who did you enjoy fighting the most?
ND- Drew Ficktet

Really why Ficket ?
ND- He had beaten my friend Sean Beckett twice and I was cornering for both fights I just knew we would end up fighting plus he had gone against my school and my friend and I wanted to whoop his ass! He had beaten me in a jiu-jitsu match where I chased him around the mat for the entire time and he ended up winning by a point so when we met in the UFC I was like what's up bitch can't run now.

RVR- So is there anyone you would like to fight at the moment?
ND- All of 'em I don't care MMA or Boxing.

RVR- How is Elite XC treating you and is there any hard feelings between you and the UFC?
ND- Elite XC is great they have been taking care of there fighters and getting big names so I am happy. As for the UFC I don't have any hard feelings towards them I used to get along fine with Dana White so I don't know if it has changed on there end but I have no problems.

RVR- Right on Nick thanks for your time and we look forward to your return.
ND- No problem

 

[Shogun Locc]

Breaking News: EliteXC has resigned Antonio "Big Foot" Silva and Murilo "Ninja" Rua to long-term deals.

ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) was informed by EliteXC officials Friday afternoon that Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Murilo "Ninja" Rua have signed long-term extensions with the promotion.

Terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

The signing of Silva comes in light of a report in this week's print edition of The Wrestling Observer newsletter in which it was claimed UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva said during a Q&A session prior to UFC 78 that Silva had two remaining fights on his existing EliteXC contract. According to the report, he added that the UFC would have interest when Antonio Silva became available.

Silva returned to action following an eight month layoff during EliteXC's most recent show in November. He improved his record to 9-1 following a first round submission via rear naked choke against Jonathan Wiezorek.

Silva had been sidelined after failing a medical licensing examination in May that was administered on behalf of the California State Athletic Commission in anticipation of a match for June's "Dynamite USA!!" card that was produced by FEG and co-promoted by EliteXC.

He was flagged after an MRI revealed a tumor near his pituitary gland. Per the commission's recommendation, Silva had the tumor surgically removed and received medical clearance just prior to his last bout.

A lifelong super heavyweight, Silva improved his market value with the win over Wiezorek after weighing in for the fight at 265 lbs. Able to compete in the heavyweight division, Silva has opened up the possibility of fights against marquee heavyweights because of the weight drop.

Rua, a veteran of PRIDE, became the first-ever title holder in EliteXC's brief history when he defeated Joey Villasenor via second round TKO for the middleweight belt this past June on the undercard of the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni show in San Jose, Calif.

He returned to the EliteXC cage on Sept. 15, losing the title to Robbie Lawler following a third round TKO.

Rua is scheduled to compete vs. Xavier Foupa Pokam during Saturday's Cage Rage show in England. Cage Rage is owned by ProElite, Inc., the same parent company as EliteXC. The show will be available on Internet pay-per-view at ProElite.com.

 

[Shogun Locc]

EXCLUSIVE: JOACHIM HANSEN CONFIRMS NYE BOUT

Joachim Hansen and his management confirmed to MMAWeekly.com at the recent Cage Rage 24 event that he will be fighting on the Dec. 31 mixed martial arts event, Yarennoka!, to be held in Japan against an unconfirmed opponent.

Hansen’s career has effectively been on hold for the better part of 2007 due to contractual reasons and the uncertain environment faced by many of Pride’s former superstars. During that time he competed in several kickboxing matches in his native Norway.

Having dropped a decision to Eiji Mitsuoka on the Nov. 8 Shooto event, he now faces a challenge to get back into the world lightweight rankings and refocus his sights on his future in 2008.

Yarennoka! is a combined effort spearheaded by former employees of Dream Stage Entertainment (the former parent company of Pride). Other promotions involved include K-1, DEEP, and the newly formed M-1 Global.

The event is already slated to feature bouts between Gesias “JZ” Calvancante versus Shinya Aoki and Hidehiko Hasegawa versus Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, as well as fighters such as Fedor Emelianenko, Aleksander Emelianenko, and Roman Zentsov.

 

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COUTURE HEALING, FUTURE STILL IN DOUBT

In his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74, Randy "The Natural" Couture suffered a broken arm while blocking a high kick in the second round of the scheduled five-round bout. Couture on Saturday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the arm still hasn't completely healed, but he believes he will be back in the gym training at full capacity in two weeks.

"I'm training again. It's not 100%, but it's good," said the current UFC heavyweight champion. “I just had it x-rayed again. I think in a couple of weeks it will be cleared 100%."

He added, "It feels a little strange in certain places, but overall it's good."

Couture's acting career has taken off, but it most likely hampered the healing process. He commented, "It would have healed faster I think if I allowed them to put a cast on it. With the acting gig, I couldn’t be walking around ‘The Unit’ and ‘Scorpion King’ with a cast."

Despite still being recognized as the UFC heavyweight champion, Couture – ranked as the No. 4 heavyweight in the world by MMAWeekly.com – is currently in the midst of determining his future, both with the company, and in the sport in general.

He submitted his resignation from the UFC, both as a fighter and in other capacities, in early October, saying, “I’m tired of swimming upstream at this stage with the management of the UFC.”

A very public war of words has ensued since his resignation with both Couture and the UFC holding separate press conferences to detail their respective sides of the situation.

Couture since has reportedly been offered a title defense against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

 

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EXCLUSIVE: SHERK UNCERTAIN HEADING INTO HEARING

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Sean Sherk is scheduled to appear in front of the California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday to receive a ruling on his appeal of a yearlong suspension for steroid use.

Sherk tested positive for Nandrolone shortly after his title defense against Hermes Franca at UFC 73 in July.

The hearing comes after two delays to the appeal. In August, Sherk and his lawyer, Howard Jacobs, requested a continuance because they hadn’t received pertinent information on the case from the CSAC. On Oct. 31, the commission discovered they were missing Jacobs’ legal brief outlining his defense. After settling on an initial date of Nov. 13, the commission pushed back the date to this week.

In an interview at the North American Mixed Martial Arts Expo, Sherk told MMAWeekly.com that the format of the hearing had been changed.

“Instead of doing it like a court case, like you normally do, with examinations, cross-examinations, and witnesses, basically they’re going to take all that out, and my lawyer’s going to do a closing statement,” he said.

CSAC executive director Armando Garcia confirmed the changes to MMAWeekly.com.

“My understanding is that the Attorney General is going to explain the case and the facts as she sees it, then Mr. Jacobs is going to present his case, and then the Commission will decide,” he said.

Before the commission decides, Sherk will have an opportunity to make a statement to the Commission. Originally, he was told that the statement would be in a letter, but learned on Sunday that he would be allowed to speak directly to the board.

At the Oct. 31 hearing, CSAC council Spencer Walker said that a ruling would be made on the admissibility of Sherk’s polygraph test. According to Sherk, his team has not received that ruling.

He is optimistic about the outcome of the hearing, but has no idea what to expect when he walks into the door on Tuesday.

“You don’t know what you’re going to get until you get there,” said Sherk. “I’m optimistic because we do have a lot of facts supporting my innocence. I’ve got more facts than anybody that’s ever come in front of the CSAC, supporting the fact that I didn’t do anything, plus a polygraph. A polygraph, in my opinion, is a pretty substantial amount of evidence.”

It’s clear that he is fighting hard to keep his composure amidst all of the changes.

“They don’t really have rules and regulations that they have to follow,” he said of the Commission. “All I want is a fair trial. I just want an opportunity to present facts that we have, supporting my innocence that I did not take Nandrolone. That’s all I’m asking, just listen to the facts and make a fair judgment as far as what you think happened.

“It takes a lot to rattle me, I’ve been real quiet during this whole process, but when it’s all over with, I can let everyone know how I really feel about this situation.”

 

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[Results] Cage Rage 24, 12/1

Cage Rage 24 "FEEL THE PAIN", 12/1/07
Wembley Arena (London, England)

1. Ronnie Mann d. Jordan Miller (R1 0:54) by submission (triangle choke).
2. Robert Paczkow d. James McSweeney (R1 2:09) by submission (choke).
3. Abdul Mohamed d. Robbie Olivier (R3 5:00) by majority decision.
4. Ivan Serati d. Lee Hasdell (R2 1:34) by submission (rear naked choke).
5. Neil Grove d. Robert Berry (R1 5:00) by TKO (corner stoppage).
6. Mark Buchanan d. George Castro (R2 3:17) by TKO.
7. Mark Epstein d. Tom Watson (R3 5:00) by split decision.
8. Marius Zaromskis d. Ross Pointon (R2 3:39) by TKO (cut).
9. Drew Fickett d. Mark Weir (R1 3:55) by submission (rear naked choke).
10. Paul Cahoon d. Elvis Sinosic (R1 0:21) by TKO.
11. Murilo "Ninja" Rua d. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (R3 3:47) by submission (rear naked choke).

 

[Shogun Locc]

RANDY COUTURE TURNS DOWN TITLE DEFENSE

In a meeting with Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White last Tuesday, current heavyweight champion Randy Couture turned down a proposed title defense against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81 on Feb. 2, 2008.

There was also some fence mending to be done at the meeting. Following Couture’s resignation from the UFC in October, the two went a couple of rounds through the media, disputing the basis of the resignation. With the meeting, Couture said he was able to air out the issues addressed in his decision and looks forward to a cooperative relationship with his employer of eleven years.

“We’ve cleared the air, and hopefully we’ll move forward with some sort of relationship,” Couture said. “I’ve got a lot of fighters and a lot of things that hinge around mixed martial arts and the UFC as well. I want to continue to work with them and I think that they want to continue to work with me, so we’ll figure out how that happens.”

The magnitude of response to his resignation shocked the five-time UFC champ.

“This whole resigning thing took on a life of its own,” he said. “There were 72 media outlets trying to get a hold of me. [I was] on the cover of Yahoo, it was just insane to me. I figured I’d go away quietly, maybe MMAWeekly would cover it, Full Contact Fighter or something like that would do a blurb on it, but it would be confined to the small niche… of mixed martial arts. Truly a testament to how big the sport has gotten by the reaction of me stepping down.”

Since then, Couture has been busy taking meetings for multiple film projects he is slated to begin work on in the next year. He still wants to fight No. 1 ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, but says his UFC contract makes it unlikely.

“Obviously I have a contractual obligation with the UFC. There’s been some haggling and things going on with all that, and Fedor signing with M-1 made the possibility of that fight very difficult because of that and because of those contracts,” he said.

The experience has underscored his need to take a step back from full-time fighting and focus on his personal life.

“I think more than anything at this stage of things I want to slow down a little bit,” Couture said. “I’ve been burning it for three or four years now … I want to take some time and go on a vacation, spend some time with my wife. We’ve been married a year now and we’ve been together very, very little in that year; it’s been crazy. It’s been difficult on us. I’ve got a nice house and I don’t even get to spend any time in it hardly, so take a little time now and just smell the roses so to speak.”

It appears that a fight for the now-vacant heavyweight title is in the works. It now appears that Nogueira will most likely face Tim Sylvia, who earned his contender slot with a win over Brandon Vera at UFC 77.

For Couture, the lesson lies in trusting his internal compass.

“I can’t focus on or account for other people and their motivations and their actions,” he said. “I have to focus on myself and just worry about that, and not let the other stuff in … it will drive you crazy.”

 

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KANG’S STATUS FOR DEC. 31 K-1 SHOW STILL UNCERTAIN

Denis Kang revealed Saturday that he had not received word regarding whether or not he will appear in the K-1 “Premium 2007 Dynamite!!” show on Monday, Dec. 31 at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan. Following his TKO loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama at K-1 “Olympia HERO’S Korea 2007,” representatives from the promotion told Kang (27-9-1) to prepare for the New Year’s Eve event.

“They told me they’d let me know this week, and I still don’t know,” Kang said. “I’m hoping by this weekend to at least know if I’m fighting or not.”

Based out of the American Top Team, Kang said would be ready to compete later this month – thanks in part to Greg Jackson and Brazilian Top Team Canada. Kang left for Montreal on Sunday to JOIN Team Jackson and BTT fighters – including fellow Canadian Georges “Rush” St. Pierre – for an impromptu training camp.

Meanwhile, a contest between K-1’s Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and Rani Yahya, who is contracted to Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting, was announced last week for the Dec. 31 show. The match-up is rumored to mark a fighter lending agreement between Zuffa and K-1 parent company Fight Entertainment Group, which would allow the UFC or WEC to use fighters under contract with the popular Japanese promotion at a later date.

Such an agreement would mean fighters once thought unlikely to compete in the UFC or WEC would be allowed to fight for either organization. In effect, sought-after K-1 fighters like Kang, Yamamoto, Melvin Manhoef and Marcelo Garcia could all fight for the UFC before their respective contracts run out. Kang calls the idea intriguing, as it would open up a number of matchmaking possibilities.

“You still might see me in the UFC. That would be awesome,” Kang said. “You never know with all the deals that are happening. I’d love to fight for them some time.”

 

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Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Says He Will Fight Next At UFC 83 In April

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will be fighting next in April.
Shogun announced to fans and members of the media in London that he would make his return to the cage at UFC 83. The event will likely take place in Canada. No opponent has been revealed as of yet.

 

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Mir talks Lesnar
here is link: http://www.rawvegas.tv/watch.php?vID=9a274f8b9217a42d90362a6843ad9a

 

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Exclusive: Pulver Wants Kid Yamamoto, Responds To Cub

MMANews.com's own Chris Howie recently caught up with former UFC Lightweight champion, Ultimate Fighter coach and the newest addition to the exciting 145 lb. division of the WEC - "Little Evil" Jens Pulver.

When asked about his upcoming fight with Cub Swanson at WEC 31 later in December, Jens said: "I am looking forward to fighting Cub [Swanson] very much. I can not wait to see what Cub thinks my weakness is. He was going around saying he found my weakness and that he only had to train a little bit a day for me. I know what my weaknesses are but I’m looking forward to seeing what he thinks they are. I hope he comes in straight on like he has fought everybody else, unchecked and untested. I can’t wait."

As for his drop to in weight to the WEC's 145 lb. division, Pulver knows who he is looking for: "This 145 lb. division is going to blow up," he started. "I want to see [Joachim] "Hellboy" Hansen get his ass on down here and I know who you’re talking about, [Kid] Yamamoto, that’s a fight that’s been talked about for years between him and I. Let’s get him on in here too."

 

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CSAC: Nakamura Suspension Upheld

The California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday upheld Kazuhiro Nakamura's (Pictures) suspension for marijuana use following his unanimous decision defeat to Lyoto Machida (Pictures) at UFC 76 on Sep. 22, reports Sherdog.com's Josh Gross.

Nakamura, 28, was suspended for 90 days and fined $500.

Also at Tuesday's hearing, mixed martial artist Adam Smith's appeal was dropped after he failed to appear.

Smith became the first athlete to test positive for both anabolic agents and drugs of abuse in the State of Calif. in the same screening. Smith has been suspended a total of 21 months and fined $4,000 for both offenses.

 

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Sean Sherk's Suspension Reduced

UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk (Pictures), who was suspended for one year after testing positive for Nandrolone Metabolites following his victory over Hermes Franca (Pictures) at UFC 73 on July 7, had his suspension reduced to six months on Tuesday, reports Sherdog.com editor Josh Gross.

The California State Athletic Commission upheld a fine of $2500. Sherk, 34, will be eligible to return to the Octagon in January.

 

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TITO ORTIZ TO RETURN IN MAY

Tito Ortiz competed only one time in 2007; in a draw against The Ultimate Fighter season two-winner Rashad Evans at Ultimate Fighting Championship 73 in July. After some time away from fighting, healing injuries and filming the television series “The Apprentice,” Ortiz expects to return to the Octagon in May 2008.

"My last fight, before I fought Rashad (Evans), I wasn't 100 percent, and I just wanted to make sure if I ever fight again I'm going to be 100 percent," Ortiz told MMAWeekly.com "The back injury that I sustained kind of hindered me for fight time. Now it's a lot better, and May will be my next fight.

"I spoke to Lorenzo (Fertitta) and it looks like … they're going to wait until May, so the next Cinco de Mayo weekend will be Tito Ortiz' next fight."

His career has been plagued with injuries. Ortiz needed surgery to repair torn ligaments in his knee prior to his UFC 40 bout with Ken Shamrock in 2002. A nagging back injury suffered in training for his UFC 44 match with Randy Couture in 2003 has been a nagging issue. He entered the Octagon with a heavily wrapped knee against Forrest Griffin at UFC 59 in 2006.

"I really want to fight at 100 percent. I'm making these guys look good when I'm not 100 percent,” said the former light heavyweight champion. “When I had the draw with Rashad, I should have never done that. I should have beaten him. But it's all right; we'll do it again.

“I just want to make sure I'm 100 percent before all of my fights so I don't let any of my fans down when I lose or if I get a draw or something like that because I felt like I let my fans down and myself down. I don't want to let that happen."

By the time May 2008 rolls around, ten months will have passed since the draw with Evans. With his opponent not yet named, Ortiz is focused on training and coming in 100 percent healthy.

 

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“UFC: Best of 2007″ Airs Tonight on Spike TV

Don’t forget that Spike TV will air a three-hour, year-end special entitled “UFC: Best of 2007” tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

The program features highlights from the 2007 fight season, as well as a handful of never-before-seen match-ups that took place on the undercards of Spike TV fight events. Anderson Silva vs. Nate Marquardt (UFC 73), Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia (UFC 69), and Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre (UFC 69) are all on tap tonight.

A replay of the show airs Saturday, Dec. 15.

Tonight’s special is the latest specialty program offered by Spike TV. The station recently produced a similar highlights show when “The Ultimate Fighter” cast members Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar hosted “The 25 Tuffest Moments of All-Time” to recap the first three years and five seasons of the reality series.

“UFC: Best of 2007” was first scheduled to debut Dec. 12, but it would have run opposite a World Extreme Cagefighting event on VERSUS (the WEC is owned by Zuffa LLC, the UFC’s parent company). Instead, the premiere was pushed up to tonight.

Last month, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) broke the news that the UFC and Spike TV had agreed to a new contract that will carry their partnership through 2011.

As part of the new deal, Spike TV will continue to develop specialty programs like “UFC: Best of 2007.“

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dec. 14 Weigh-ins for “HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon” Open to Public


HDNet Fights will host its second-ever event next weekend on Saturday, Dec. 15., and fans are welcome to the show’s weigh-ins the day before.

Weigh-ins for “HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon” take place Friday, Dec. 14 at the Ellipse Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in Dallas. The hotel is located at 2222 Stemmons Freeway.

Doors to the event open at approximately 1 p.m. local time, and the first fighter hits the scale at approximately 2 p.m, event organizers tell MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

The weigh-ins are free and open to the public. Those fighters in attendance include co-main-event participants Frank Trigg and Edwin Dewees, as well as Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Tim Kennedy. Other notables booked for the show include Yves Edwards, Pete Spratt and Tristan Yunker. (The full fight card can be found below.)

HDNet Fights, which is owned by business mogul Mark Cuban, will air next weekend’s show live on HDNet, an all-high-definition cable station that’s available as a “premium” channel with most cable companies. In addition to HDNet Fights events, the station also airs MMA shows from Ring Of Combat, Ring of Fire and other top regional promotions.

HDNet also broadcasts a weekly “Inside MMA” show, and Thursday (Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. ET) marks the debut of “Countdown to Reckless Abandon,” a 30-minute program that previews next week’s live show.

The full “HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon” card includes:

Tim Kennedy vs. Jason Miller
Frank Trigg vs. Edwin Dewees
Yves Edwards vs. Alonzo Martinez
Pete Spratt vs. Tristan Yunker
Freddie Espiricueta vs. Nissen Osterneck
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Robert Villegas
Chris Bowles vs. Cory Mahon
Patrick Castillo vs. Jay White
Jason House vs. Liam McCarty
Lee King vs. Marcus Lanier

 

[Shogun Locc]

MMA Madness Q&A: One-on-one with Georges St. Pierre

MMA Madness writer Ben Zeidler caught up with former UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre last week, discussing everything from the Matt Serra loss to the upcoming UFC 79 fight with Matt Hughes.

MMA Madness: Can you tell us a little bit about the Serra fight and what happened?

St. Pierre: You know, it was a great learning experience. I didn’t realize it when he hit me and next thing I knew, he was on top of me and it was over.

MMA Madness: Was he what you prepared for?

St. Pierre: I don’t want to make any excuses. I made many mistakes coming into the fight but the real reason I lost is because Matt fought the better fight.

MMA Madness: How would you fight him differently next time?

St. Pierre: I would change a lot of things. I’m working on my game like it’s a puzzle and it is all coming together. My personal life is going well, I’m in great shape. It will be a different story.

MMA Madness: Your first fight against Matt Hughes saw you tapping out to an arm bar with one second left on the clock. Were you not aware of the time left on the clock?

St. Pierre: I knew how much time was left but I preferred to tap and not break my arm than try to fight the next round with a damaged arm. It was better to tap and not have it broken.

MMA Madness: What changed between your first and second Hughes fights? From our end, your confidence looked as if it was through the roof.

St. Pierre: Exactly. I knew I could beat him in the second fight. I was not seeing him as an idol anymore and it made the whole difference. I had more skill and more experience.

MMA Madness: Why did you decide to take the UFC 79 fight with Hughes?

St. Pierre: I feel privileged to have this fight and I wish nobody bad luck, but Serra got hurt and I’m able to step in. I’m already in unbelievable shape and I decided that it would be worth it to step up and take this shot.

MMA Madness: What do you gain from taking this fight given that you were already in line for the next title shot?

St. Pierre: What I gain is that I can beat Hughes and show I’m the best in the world, and then I’ll get Serra. I was going to fight both of them eventually but now it’s just in a different order. After Hughes, I will get my revenge on Serra. It is the perfect scenario for me.

MMA Madness: How long are your typical training camps? Will five weeks be enough to prepare?

St. Pierre: I’m never off season, really; I’m always in shape. Normally, I train for eight weeks but I was already in great shape so it won’t change anything that I would normally do. I think I’ll be a much better fighter than the last time I fought Hughes.

MMA Madness: What are you doing to prepare for Hughes?

St. Pierre: With Hughes, he’s going to be a different fighter from last time and so am I. I know his strengths, his weaknesses, and I will come into that fight with something extra. You know how when you play cards, you don’t want to show your hand? I have a very good game plan.

MMA Madness: You once said that you'll only fight at 100%. Do you really mean this? And, what if you get injured in the next few weeks? Will you pull out like you have in the past or honor your commitment?

St. Pierre: If I get an injury, I will put out. Even if it is a mental issue like there is a death in my family. I will never fight again not at 100%. I want to be the best every time I come out.

MMA Madness: Are you in top shape for this fight? Do you think that there would be anything that would physically hinder your chances of winning?

St. Pierre: Yes, I am. I was always in great, great shape. I’ve been working with [Rashad] Evans to help him get ready for [Michael] Bisping. I’ve been doing work with boxers for their fights and helping wrestlers who are going to the Olympics. We all peak at the same time and it’s great. I decided to jump in and fight like they are.

MMA Madness: What is your opinion on Matt Serra canceling the fight?

St. Pierre: I think if he got hurt, he made the right call. I think it would be a mistake to take the fight. He needs to figure out how bad the injury is. He’s a great fighter in great shape -- he’ll come back fast.

MMA Madness: What do you think about Dana White's decision to have an interim belt?

St. Pierre: That’s awesome. According to me, I am a champion and Hughes is a champion. We just have to know who is the better champion. I’m glad it is five rounds and it is for a title. It is the best scenario for me.

MMA Madness: Do you think you deserved a rematch with Serra before Hughes got a shot against him?

St. Pierre: No, Hughes deserved the rematch. He was still on top -- he just lost to me. He’s still on top I think and you know the scenario is perfect now. He’s a great fighter and maybe the best pound-for-pound in the world. It’s a great honor to face him.

MMA Madness: Did you call Dana White personally to request the fight?

St. Pierre: I called my manager [and] I said I wanted it and she called UFC. They called her back and said it was a done deal.

MMA Madness: What did you do to get so mentally prepared before the Josh Koscheck fight? What did you change compared to your preparation for the Matt Serra title defense?

St. Pierre: I fixed my personal life. I put back the puzzle all together and I don’t have any injuries -- right now everything is cool. I’m the happiest man on earth. It’s behind me and I look up to the future.

MMA Madness: Would you call this UFC 79 card the biggest in MMA history?

St. Pierre: It’s the biggest fight of my career. I don’t know about them but for me it’s the biggest fight.

MMA Madness: If you defeat Hughes and Serra down the road, who would you want next?

St. Pierre: I don’t know what they’ll do. I don’t always get the best fighter. I don’t know because things change and we’ll have to see what MMA is like then.

MMA Madness: Any words for Matt Hughes?

St. Pierre: I haven’t heard anything, so I’m not going to comment. I’m focused on myself and what I have control over and that’s me. [Laughs]