MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

"Kimbo" vs. James Thompson at May 31 EliteXC-CBS?

The very first MMA event to appear on major U.S. network television will feature a main event with Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson (2-0).

Unfortunately, EliteXC never announced his opponent at Saturday's co-promoted show with Strikeforce, which took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The announcement was expected to be made at the event, but instead, Ferguson was called to the cage for a general introduction.

However, according to one report, James Thompson (14-8) could be the guy to face Ferguson in May.

The May 31 EliteXC event takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. and airs in Saturday primetime on CBS.

According to fiveouncesofpain.com, a rumored bout with Ron Waterman (15-5-2) never materialized because a deal couldn't be worked out. Instead, Thompson -- a British fighter who's lost six of his past eight fights -- appears to be the leading candidate.

Ferguson, who rose to fame as underground fighter marketed on YouTube and other video-sharing sites, has since teamed up with Bas Rutten to train MMA. After an exhibition victory over Ray Mercer, Ferguson posted a 19-second TKO of Bo Cantrell and a 43-second KO of David "Tank" Abbott. Both fights took place with EliteXC, with whom Ferguson has signed a long-term contract.

Also slated to take place at the May 31 event is a EliteXC middleweight championship bout between title-holder Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith. Additionally, Phil Baroni meets Murilo "Ninja" Rua, and Tom Murphy takes on Brett Rogers. In women's action, Gina Carano is expected to meet Kaitlin Young.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Loiseau Wins in HCF Main Event

Former UFC middleweight contender David Loiseau (16-8), who had lost of four five fights after earning a title shot with then-champ Rich Franklin in early 2006, scored a dominating unanimous-decision victory over Todd Gouwenberg (7-4) in Saturday's Hardcore Championship Fighting's "Crow's Nest" event.

The event took place at the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Quebec.

Loiseau, returning to his ground-and-pound roots and relying on devastating elbow strikes, took the decision with lopsided scores of 30-25, 30-26 and 30-26.

The 28-year-old fighter has now won two of his past three fights.

In other action, Hector Ramirez (7-3-1) decisioned Rob MacDonald (5-3) in a battle of UFC veterans, and "The Ultimate Fighter 4" cast member Gideon Ray (14-8-1) was on the wrong end of a decision with Nabil Khatib (8-2).

In an explosive women's bout, Sarah Kaufman (7-0) kept her perfect record in tact with a second-round TKO of Molly Helsel (5-7-1).

The full results included:

David Loiseau def. Todd Gouwenberg via unanimous decision
Sarah Kaufman def. Molly Helsel via TKO -- Round 2, 2:44
Hector Ramirez def. Rob MacDonald via unanimous decision
Nabil Khatib def. Gideon Ray via unanimous decision
Brent Beauparlant def. Amir Rahnavardi via unanimous decision
Dan Hornbuckle def. Andrew Buckland via submission (armbar) -- Round 1, 3:34
Bill Boland def. Michal Hamrsmid via TKO -- Round 2, 2:59
Jameel Massouh def. Myles Merola via unanimous decision
Rodrigo Ruas def. Marcus Vinicios via submission (arm-triangle choke) -- Round 3, 0:52
Antonio Schembri def. Daniel Grandmaison via submission (armbar) -- Round 1, 2:37

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC: Sylvia out, Fedor in?

UFC president Dana White said the company had released one big-name heavyweight from his contract while admitting interest in arguably the biggest heavyweight name of all.

White said the UFC released former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia from his contract with one fight remaining on it. The move made Sylvia a free agent and he is expected to sign a contract with M-1 Global, where he would be teamed with his agent, M-1 Global chief executive officer Monte Cox.

But White said that the UFC is again interested in landing former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. Emelianenko had a very public dalliance with the UFC last year, only to spurn the company in favor of the newly formed M-1 Global.

That sparked a torrent of abuse from White toward Emelianenko.

But M-1 has conceded that Emelianenko never signed the agreed upon contract and that he was a free agent. EliteXC has made no secret of its desire to sign the many man feel is the best fighter in the world.

White said Friday that he would attempt to reach a deal with Emelianenko, who is 27-1 with one no-contest and owns a pair of victories over current UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Randy Couture, who holds the UFC heavyweight belt, is in the midst of a lawsuit with the UFC largely because of Couture's desire to fight Emelianenko. The UFC has refused to co-promote an event with another promoter and would only do it if Emelianenko signed a promotional contract with it.

On Friday, White never mentioned Couture by name, but said he would be open to the fight.

"We want to make the fights the people want to see," White said. "If there is a fight that we can make for him that people really want to see, then we'll try the best we can to get that done. We'll see what we can do as far as (signing Emelianenko) goes."

 

[Shogun Locc]

EliteXC Announces Three Shows - Nick Diaz, J.K. Noons Among Participants

EliteXC is set for a busy next few months, which is great news for fight fans.
On April 5 Showtime will broadcast a six-bout ShoXC event called the Elite Challenger Series. The event will feature undefeated rising prospect Jared Hamman (9-0) as he takes on promising prospect Poia Suganuma (8-1) in an exciting heavyweight clash at the Table Mountain Casino in Friant, CA.

Then on May 31 EliteXC will team up with CBS to bring MMA to network television in primetime. The card will feature Kimbo Slice versus an, as yet, unnamed opponent and Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith.

EliteXC is planning to follow that card with a June 14th card set to air again on Showtime which will feature Jake Shields vs. Drew Fickett, J.K. Noons vs. Yves Edwards and Nick Diaz against Mushin Corbbrey.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Frank Shamrock To Undergo Surgery Today

Frank Shamrock and his wife Amy Shamrock were both admitted to San Jose's Valley Medical Center last night.
Frank Shamrock was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment for a broken right forearm he suffered in his fight against Cung Le. Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the arm was snapped in two. Shamrock was in so much pain due to the broken arm that he could not answer the bell for the fourth round and Le was declared the winner due to TKO/Doctor's Stoppage.

Both Frank Shamrock and wife Amy ended up in San Jose's Valley Medical Center on Saturday night.

Frank Shamrock went to the hospital for the treatment of injuries suffered during his Strikeforce middleweight title loss to Cung Le, including what is believed to be a broken right forearm. Meltzer is also reporting that Shamrock will undergo surgery to insert a plate into his forearm.

Amy Shamrock actually thought she was going into labor during the match. She was quickly rushed off to San Jose's Valley Medical Center only to be released a short time later after doctors realized that she was going through a "false alarm". She is due to have Shamrock's second child in May.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Shamrock vs. Le Post-Fight Press Conference Notes

San Jose, Calif. -- ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) was able to confirm with sources after the Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le fight Saturday night that Shamrock indeed has a broken arm. X-rays were conducted at the HP Pavilion and showed the fracture.

During the post-fight press conference, Le indicated that he not only saw Shamrock’s X-rays, but heard the arm break while in the cage.

The injury took place towards the end of the third and final round. Le threw a high kick that grazed Shamrock’s head that ultimately landed on Shamrock’s upper arm.

In an excellent display of photography, EliteXC photographer Tom Casino was able to capture a clear shot of the kick that broken Shamrock’s arm.

According to Le, the X-rays he saw showed a bone in Shamrock’s arm broken in half.

Even if Shamrock had not gotten injured, he was in danger of losing the fight. ProElite.com was able to acquire a copy of the judge’s scoring and it shows that Shamrock was behind on all the judges’ scorecards.

According to the scoring obtained, Shamrock lost all three rounds. Round one was 30-27 Le; round two was 29-28 Le; and round three was 29-28 Le.

Judge Richard Bertend scored the fight 10-9, 10-9, 9-10. Judge Cecil Peoples scored the fight 10-9, 10-9, 10-9. And judge Nelson “Doc” Hamilton scored the fight 10-9, 9-10, and 10-9.

Le stated that he was open to a rematch with Shamrock.

Here are other notes from the post-fight press conference:

-- EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw indicated after the presser that he did not want to announce an opponent for Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson’s next match on May 31 on CBS because he didn’t want it to overshadow Le’s performance. Shaw indicated that a formal announcement in regards to Kimbo’s opponent could be made Monday.

Speculation during the week was that Ron Waterman was in the process of being finalized as Slice’s opponent. However, a deal could not be reached and speculation had then started to center on James Thompson, who was knocked out by Brett Rogers during EliteXC’s “Street Certified” show in Miami in February.

-- Shaw was asked about Le appearing on CBS in the future and while he didn't rule it out, he didn't seem definitive when posed the question. Le's existing contract with Strikeforce could be a factor.

-- While it wasn't announced during the press conference, the word going around is that EliteXC's second CBS show will take place in July. CBS executives watched the fight with Shaw and a CBS camera crew was also on hand to extract footage to be used on the first show in May.

-- Slice’s reception from the San Jose crowd when he was announced was lukewarm, at best. Local fighters such as Shamrock, Le, and Gilbert Melendez received much stronger responses.

-- Speaking of Melendez, he expressed after his fight that he wants to get right back into another fight. He said he’s heard that the rumor is that the next Strikeforce card will be in Hawaii and that he’d like to be involved. It should be noted that the man carrying Melendez’s Strikeforce lightweight title to the ring before his fight vs. Gabe Lemley was none other than Melendez’s father.

-- Melendez talked about Jorge Masvidal and Josh Thomson as possible future opponents. ProElite.com learned after the fight that a Melendez vs. Thomson fight may not happen until November. Thomson’s shoulder is said to be healing well and he has resumed limited training but expects to go full speed very soon. Several opponents are being discussed for a possible June fight that could serve as a warmup for an eventual showdown with Melendez.

-- Melendez also introduced the idea of wanting to fight K.J. Noons for Noons’ EliteXC lightweight title with the intent of unifying the Strikeforce and EliteXC lightweight titles.

-- Mike Kyle tried not to make excuses for his quick and decisive loss to Wayne Cole but still acknowledged that he felt he was unable to get warmed up for the fight. When asked if he had meant whether he couldn’t get warmed up backstage or during the course of the fight, he expressed that his corner was occupied before the fight and that he was only able to hit pads for a few minutes before the bout. Kyle trains at the American Kickboxing Academy, which also cornered him during Saturday’s fight. Kyle said that AKA appeared to be very busy with Le, who they also cornered.

-- Kyle expressed his desire to move to 205 pounds for his next fight and said he doesn’t think he will take a fight on such short notice again after having accepted the fight vs. Cole on three day’s notice. Kyle said he took the fight because after being suspended for two years, he just wanted to get a match under his belt.

-- Shaw seemed very impressed with Cole. He talked about Cole’s backstory of fighting on smaller shows in Oklahoma and how Cole trains out of a converted two-car garage. Cole has also told his mother he was a boxer, and tonight’s fight marked the first time she was aware that he was actually a mixed martial artist. He said that her feelings about MMA prior to tonight were negative but that when he called her after the fight she said she was proud of him. Cole also has seven sisters that helped keep his vocation a secret.

-- Cole has been trying to save up money so that he can start training at a respected camp. He mentioned that he’d like to move to Iowa and train at Miletich Fighting Systems. Show told Cole to call him during the week and that EliteXC would help set him up with a regular camp. He told Cole his days of training in garages and fighting in small shows in Oklahoma were over.

-- The official attendance for the event was 16,326.

-- According to California State Athletic Commission executive director Armando Garcia, Ryan Jensen was hospitalized following his bout vs. Joey Villasenor due to vision problems. An update on Jensen’s condition was never provided.

-- Nick Diaz spoke at the press conference and reiterated a lot of what he had said during the pre-fight press conference. He vouched for Shields’ injury while also confirming his next fight will be on SHOWTIME on June 14 in Hawaii. An opponent has not been determined.

-- When asked about a possible match against new Strikeforce middleweight Kazuo Misaki, Le responded, “That would be a good fight.”

-- When talking about Le and Jake Shields, Shaw want off a tangent about rankings on the Internet, even though he contradicted himself by saying he “doesn’t read the blogs.” Shaw said Le was a top ten middleweight before the Shamrock fight and obviously is after. That was strange hearing Shaw say that considering he was cool to the idea of a Shamrock vs. Le fight when asked about the matchup last June following the Shamrock vs. Baroni fight.

Shaw went so far as to claim that MMA writers aren’t doing the sport justice by allowing UFC fighters to dominate their top ten rankings.

-- Strikeforce President Scott Coker did not attend the post-fight press conference. He was also not seen at the pre-fight presser as well, adding to speculation that the relationship between Coker and Shaw is not going well. EliteXC and Strikeforce are still contractually obligated to promote one more show featuring Shamrock. The agreement was worked out as part of a settlement reached after Strikeforce sued EltieXC last year after signing to Shamrock to a contract that was in violation of their agreement with Shamrock.

-- All 18 fighters passed their tests for “drugs of abuse.” Results pertaining to tests to determine performance enhancers won’t be available until sometime this week.

-- There were a ton of fighters not fighting on hand during the show, including Shields, Slice, Diaz, Ricco Rodriguez, Thomson, Paul Buentello, Keith Jardine, Phil Baroni, Urijah Faber, Trevor Prangley, and Kit Cope.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Report: UFC 85 to air on pay-per-view (PPV)

UFC 85 from the O2 Arena in London, England, on June 7, will be a pay-per-view (PPV) event, according to the most recent print edition of the Wrestling Observer newsletter.

Dave Meltzer reports that he has received confirmation from the organization, which contradicts a recent statement from Rashad Evans that indicated it would air for free on SpikeTV.

Evans is booked to fight the former 205-pound champion, Chuck Liddell, in the main event of the evening. Putting a Liddell fight on Spike at no cost didn’t really make much sense to begin with — he is the promotion’s top draw and most recognizable fighter.

Look for UFC 85 to be marketed heavily with a 10 p.m. ET PPV start time, which will be on tape delay, and the LIVE broadcast to be available earlier on Saturday afternoon.

That’s how the last few UFC shows abroad have worked, anyway.

UFC 85 also features that heavyweight showdown between Fabricio Werdum and Brandon Vera, as well as a dynamite welterweight match up between Mike Swick and Marcus Davis.

 

[Shogun Locc]

In recovery, Shogun analyzes Dida’s fight

In recovery from his knee surgery that took him out of UFC 85’s card, Maurício Shogun commented his team partner André Dida’s fight at Dream. "He missed a little Jiu-Jitsu and now we’ll come after it. We’ll train hard on the Jiu-Jitsu part, because stand up nobody can beat him", said Shogun, that is starting the physiotherapy to come back fighting. "I’m already well. I’m doing physiotherapy, running inside the swimming pool and swimming. In two or three months I may come back at a light training", said Shogun.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Video: Le Talks Big Win in San Jose
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1511
Cung Le (Pictures) met with the press after his stoppage of Frank Shamrock (Pictures) Saturday evening in San Jose.

 

[B-Buzz]

Why the hell would they have Kimbo fight the guy with the worst chin in the history of fighting? Give him a real fight already.

 

[Shogun Locc]

M-1 Mixfight Exclusive Interview with Ernesto Hoost

Ernesto Hoost is the man who needs no introduction. We had an opportunity to catch up with him right after Fedor's seminar in the Netherlands in March. Here is the interview with the legend of the sport.

Michael Mazur: How do you think why K-1 is so popular here in the Netherlands. If you compare it with other countries there are 12 K-1 World Grand Prix champions out of 15 coming out of the Netherlands. What’s the reason of it?

Ernesto Hoost: Well, striking kind of sport was introduced and popularized here about 25-30 years ago. The way people taught us how to train and fight was very important. The Full Contact sport grew, too. You see the same with MMA now. It all started back in late 70-s with Kick and Muay Thai.


Michael: And then it exploded...

Ernesto Hoost: Well, it’s popular now although I’d like to see it more on TV.


Michael: How famous are you here in the Netherlands. You are 4-x K-1 World Grand Prix Champion but do people recognize you on the street?

Ernesto Hoost: People recognize me and ask me to sign an autograph or make a photo. But I’m not as popular as say soccer players. There’s a huge difference between soccer, cycling, tennis and fighting as it’s not televised that much.


Michael: But is it gaining more popularity? Is it moving towards being more televised on major networks here in the Netherlands?

Ernesto Hoost: Well, only K-1 hits the TV on SBS but still they broadcast it 6 times a year.


Michael: It could be better.

Ernesto Hoost: Well yes, but also K-1 is more entertaining and the level is pretty high. If you go to a local event then the level is a bit lower so I can understand it, too.


Michael: What’s your opinion about late Ruslan Karaev’s performance?

Ernesto Hoost: Ruslan started very well. He’s an explosive, interesting and exciting fighter. I think K-1 made him too important for themselves right away. They let him fight everybody. They wouldn’t let him recover enough from a KO. And I think that ruined his career. Personally, I think he won’t be as good as he could’ve been.


Michael: So he’ll never come back...

Ernesto Hoost: I don’t say he’ll never come back. But if you lose 3-4 times in a row that’s just too much. That’s f**king up your brain too much.


Michael: Is it possible to recover after such hard KO’s?

Ernesto Hoost: I don’t know. It’s different for everybody. But mentally it’s quiet hard as well. You’ve been knocked-out so many times in a row and it’s not good for your confidence. I believe he’s one of the biggest talents in K-1. He should’ve been far more careful with building his career. They should’ve protected him against himself. Because as a fighter you are always ready to return to the ring but others must tell you when it’s better not to fight at all. They never did that.


Michael: Do you have enemies in the Martial Arts world?

Ernesto Hoost: No. Well, I don’t like some people but no enemies.


Michael: Do you watch MMA on regular basis?

Ernesto Hoost: Yeah, I try to watch it quite regularly. I watch for example UFC and prior to it I used to watch Pride.


Michael: Are you coming tomorrow for Slamm – M-1 Challenge?

Ernesto Hoost: I’m not sure but I hope so.


Michael: Do you have a favorite movie?

Ernesto Hoost: The Bourne trilogy. Also I like Highlander with Christopher Lambert.


Michael: Any favorite book?

Ernesto Hoost: I read quite a lot. My taste changes. I’ve just finished reading the book called “Tokio Zero”. It’s about some murderer in post World War II Japan. What I like about the book is that it takes place in Tokio and lots of places mentioned there are the places I’ve actually been to.


Michael: And a favorite singer?

Ernesto Hoost: John Legend.


Michael: Would you star in a movie?

Ernesto Hoost: I would. There were some negotiations about it but I’ve not heard anything about it recently.


Michael: Have you ever been to a street fight?

Ernesto Hoost: It happened a couple times long time ago in my career.


Michael: Nowadays people don’t want to mess with you, right?

Ernesto Hoost: You never know. But I’m not looking for it as well, you know. If you don’t need troubles they won’t come to you.


Michael: Thank you very much for the interview.

Ernesto Hoost: You’re always welcome.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Why the hell would they have Kimbo fight the guy with the worst chin in the history of fighting? Give him a real fight already.

To build him up. I think they should just give him ron waterman. I think the H20 man would give him a tougher fight.

 

[RED HEAD STEVE]

CUNG LE VS FRANK SHAMROCK VIDEO

http://blog.ronin5.com/cung-le-vs-frank-shamrock-video-clip/

 

[rylor206]

Man that fight was unbelievable.

 

[rylor206]

Frank Shamrock is a fuckin savage for going heads with Cung. I wonder how LE would do in th UFC?

 

[B-Buzz]

To build him up. I think they should just give him ron waterman. I think the H20 man would give him a tougher fight.

Yeah that's obvious, but how many easy fights + hype is he going to have before he has a legit matchup? Everyone knows Kimbo can throw bombs, but beating guys like Tank and Thompson isn't really doing anything but filling a main event spot. Granted Thompson has fought a lot of good fighters and is no slouch, but it's an easy matchup for Kimbo when a slight breeze could KO Thompson. I just saw the Waterman rumor this morning and thought that would be good since he's a pretty above average wrestler, I'd much rather see him against Kimbo.

 

[Shogun Locc]

‘Shogun' Recuperating After Surgery

Mauricio Rua (Pictures) is recovering in Brazil after surgery a few weeks ago on his knee.

"The surgery was very quick, lasted 50 minutes, was quiet," Rua told Sherdog.com. "Now I hope for healing and I think here in about two months I can return to training slowly, very cautiously."

The Brazilian light heavyweight ruptured the ACL in his left knee while preparing at his academy for a bout against Chuck Liddell (Pictures). "Shogun" said he had tried to explode into a maneuver while training with Vitor Miranda (Pictures), and his knee moved strangely.

"Depending on my recovery, I think that I can fight again in September or October," Rua said. "We always talked with Dana White and also would like to thank him because the UFC offered me a doctor, a physical therapist -- all to get me help. They have been very attentive with me."

Meanwhile, Rua has been dedicated to helping organize his new team, the Universidade da Luta in Curitiba.

"As I'm doing physical therapy and I cannot train, I can devote myself to other matters in the gym," Rua explained. "I am helping to coordinate work. We will have a great mat area, ring, etcetera. It's excellent. In fact, it is better than I imagined. I am also trying to put our fighters in events in Brazil and abroad. I am working hard."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Born to fight: MMAmania.com exclusive interview with Kurt Pellegrino

Boogers, breakdancing, and biting a hole through your bottom lip. When it comes to the three B’s, Batman’s done ‘em all … and on national television.

I caught up with Kurt Pellegrino to ask him his thoughts on his upcoming fight with Nate Diaz, how he got the “Batman” nickname in the first place, and all things Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Kurt says he’s in better shape today than he has ever been in and looks to push the pace with Diaz, whether it’s on the feet or on the ground. The fight takes place this Wednesday, April 2, at UFC Fight Night 13.

Until then, here are his thoughts about the fight.


Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): We most recently saw you against Alberto Crane, earning the TKO victory in the second round and pushing your UFC record to 3-2. How good did it feel to get that win?

Kurt Pellegrino: I think any win you get kinda feels the same, but…with my last fight, getting kicked in the face, almost being dead in the cage … it was bitter, bitter sweet.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): We’ll next see you at Fight Night 13, this Wednesday, April 2, against Nate Diaz. What are your thoughts going into this fight? How important is a win?

Kurt Pellegrino: Nate’s a really tough kid. Really durable. This fight’s really important to me because the last time I fought someone from The Ultimate Fighter (Joe Stevenson at UFC 74), I lost. So I need this win, I need this win for my family—not for me, not to get my hand raised—just to make life a little bit smoother for me and my family.

Every win to me is the same, but this is the one that’s going to make the stars shine at night when I walk, so I really need this one.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Nate is a brown belt, I believe, under Cesar Gracie. Clearly, he relies heavily on the submission game, of which you’re no slouch. How do you see this fight going, and how have you been preparing for Diaz?

Kurt Pellegrino: Cardio. Cardio, cardio, cardio. When I got to the UFC, I fought Drew Fickett (at UFC 61), and I wasn’t doing my cardio like normal. I just got married, I took that fight on a month’s notice. Actually, three weeks, so I just worried about sparring and, you know, all the wrong things to do in MMA: sparring and grappling. Everyone does that, you know. (But if) you train with somebody and do a lot of cardio, cross-training, it’s a lot different at that level.

So for this fight, I know he’s good on the floor. I’m ranked in the world in grappling. I’ve beat world champions. I went to Abu Dhabi. So I don’t mind. If this kid comes in here, and I take him down and he submits me, then he deserves that victory, he deserves his hand raised, I’ll be the first one to raise his hand. But stuff like that I just don’t see happening, you know. He’s a very tough opponent, but I think I’m going to be a little too much for him.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you plan to try to keep it standing?

Kurt Pellegrino: I actually plan to keep it standing. I don’t mind keeping it standing at all, but to be honest with you, I’m pretty curious to see how good he is on the floor. So I don’t mind, I kinda hope it goes to the floor, either he takes me down or I take him down.

Like I said, I’ve been Gracie training my whole life, so there’s nothing that he’s going to do that I haven’t seen before in a jiu-jitsu match. So if this fight goes to the floor, it’s going to be exciting, because I’m going to be punching and passing, and he’s going to be looking for submissions and probably punching. So you know it’s going to be a good fight either way, whether it’s on the floor or on our feet.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well it’s a fight that I’m really looking forward to, just to see how you guys match up. I heard that you have been training up in New Jersey, is that right?

Kurt Pellegrino: Yes.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Were you previously training in Florida?

Kurt Pellegrino: Well I live in Florida, but I had to go to New Jersey for my cousin’s 30th birthday party. And my daughter turned 1, so we brought her home to New Jersey so our families could celebrate her birthday, too.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): How did you first get into fighting?

Kurt Pellegrino: I’ve been wrestling since I was five years old, and I think I was born into fighting. I failed college and had nothing else to do, so I started training jiu-jitsu. I never went into this sport saying that I wanted to be a mixed martial arts fighter. I actually went into this sport saying I wanted to be a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. And that’s what I did. I accomplished my goal … and that’s really all I wanted to do.

I wanted to be a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It’s not a fake belt; it’s a real belt. It’s not a belt that was given out; it’s a hard-earned belt. But then fighting just came: “You wanna fight today?” Sure, okay. And then I kinda had a dream like everyone else has — of hey, you know I want to fight in the UFC. I moved to Florida because I just wanted to pursue my dreams and some other people wouldn’t let me pursue my dreams at their school. And I went for it. I took a shot and it worked.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Not to put you in a spot where it sounds like you’re looking past your next opponent, by any means, but with such a stacked lightweight division, where you have veterans of the UFC like Sean Sherk and B.J. Penn, as well as fighters who are newer to the Octagon, like Mac Danzig (who you hold a win over) … besides if it were for a title shot, is there anyone who you would really like to fight in the division?

Kurt Pellegrino: That’s a really good question, because the first thing is, I gotta beat Nate Diaz before I even think about it, because if I don’t beat Nate Diaz, then I have to fight someone who lost. But if I do beat Nate Diaz, then I get to fight someone who won.

So if I could put my finger on anyone I’d like to fight, at this time in my career — you know, I’m turning 29 in May — if I could fight for a belt, if they think I’m ready for that, you know I definitely would jump at the opportunity. I’m turning 29 years old, and I don’t want to do this sport for the rest of my life. If you could win the belt and hold it for a couple of years, that’d be pretty sick, you know?

But there are a lot of good guys out there. Roger Huerta, he’s out there — I would jump all over that fight. And … it doesn’t matter to me. Whoever Joe Silva calls me up and says, “Kurt I want you to fight.” You know, okay. I’m one of those guys: okay.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): How many fights do you have remaining on your contract?

Kurt Pellegrino: This is my third, so I have two after this fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): What’s the story behind your nickname “Batman”?

Kurt Pellegrino: Short story, I was running late to a wrestling tournament. I always came in second place; I had never won one at this time. And I didn’t pack my bag like my father told me to the night before. Like I said, we were running late, so I pulled a t-shirt out of the closet and a pair of sweatpants—not thinking, it was like four in the morning.

By the time we got to the tournament, I saw that it was a Batman shirt and a pair of sweatpants. So I said, Dad, I can’t walk around here — I’m in like seventh grade — with a Batman t-shirt on and a pair of sweatpants at a wrestling tournament. He’s like, well, we’ll go buy you one thing, either a pair of shorts or a shirt. So I kept the shirt, turned it inside out, bought a pair of shorts, and that was the first tournament I ever won.

To this day, it’s the same shirt I wear to every fight, every grappling match, the Abu Dhabi’s, whatever. That’s the shirt I wear.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Immediately after your fights, you seem to be memorable for so many reasons. First it was the booger that you got called out for on national television…

Kurt Pellegrino: That was sweet.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): … then it was the breakdancing, which I have to say, was impressive …

Kurt Pellegrino: Thank you.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): … and most recently with the Crane fight, you seemed to have bit through your bottom lip? Is that correct?

Kurt Pellegrino: Yeah.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You had a nasty, nasty hole there. What exactly happened there? Did you lose a tooth during the fight?

Kurt Pellegrino: No, he actually kicked me in the face, and my bottom teeth went through my lower lip, creating a hole that took 16 stitches. So, it was pretty nasty. I stuck my pointer finger through it at the hospital. So, it was bad, it was bad. But it healed up in like eight days, took the stitches out and put Vaseline on it.

Two days after that, I got a phone call, “You wanna fight Nate Diaz?” I was like, no, not really, because I want to eat and be fat and be married like Santa Claus. So I kept training. I went from one thing right to another. Took two weeks off, that’s about it.

So this is the best Kurt Pellegrino the UFC will ever see. I don’t think I could ever get in this good of shape again, just because I’ve been training since December. It’s crazy. I can’t believe how much … I’ve had a lot of time, so I’m very happy.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well I’m getting amped just talking about it. Fight Night 13 has some great matches scheduled. Who do you like in the main event, Kenny Florian or Joe Lauzon?

Kurt Pellegrino: I think it’s going to be a good fight, man. Two Boston guys fighting each other. They probably run into each other almost everyday in their hometown. It’s a good fight for the fans, I’m sure the fans want to see it. Kenny Florian’s a friend of mine, so I wish him good luck, and so is Joe, so I wish him good luck as well. They’re both my friends, or acquaintances at least, so either one who wins is the better man that night, so it will be good.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you care to make any predictions?

Kurt Pellegrino: I think Kenny might be able to edge this one out, just because you know, the experience of fighting all the time on T.V. and bigger crowds, bigger venues, he fought for a title … so he has a lot of experience walking into that cage. I think that’s what’s going to help him. His stand up is really really good. He works with (Mark) Dellagrotte. Kenny’s a stud, so, we’ll see what happens.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well Kurt, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Lastly, would you like to thank any sponsors, and do you have any parting words for your fans?

Kurt Pellegrino: Yeah. For all the fans, I just want to say thanks so much for sticking by my side, and Wednesday’s going to be an awesome fight, so scream loud. For all my sponsors, like Ergophobia — I appreciate it guys, you guys rule. And MMAWarehouse , and my beautiful wife, Melissa Pellegrino, and Priscilla, my daughter, I love you girls, I’ll be home soon.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Kurt, thanks again, and I look forward to seeing some more breakdancing moves inside the Octagon.

Kurt Pellegrino: All right, I gotta get my arm raised first.

 

[naner12]

Yeah that's obvious, but how many easy fights + hype is he going to have before he has a legit matchup? Everyone knows Kimbo can throw bombs, but beating guys like Tank and Thompson isn't really doing anything but filling a main event spot. Granted Thompson has fought a lot of good fighters and is no slouch, but it's an easy matchup for Kimbo when a slight breeze could KO Thompson. I just saw the Waterman rumor this morning and thought that would be good since he's a pretty above average wrestler, I'd much rather see him against Kimbo.

Money talks. They need to keep Kimbo in there with guys that aren't really all that dangerous to him and can keep him winning. Thompson isn't all that but he does have wins over Yoshida and Frye and will more than likely provide an amazing knockout. The people that are going to the events that Kimbo main events aren't going home thinking that he needs to step up .. their conversations in the car probably talk about how much of a monster he is.

Kimbo = $$ and Shaw is smart enough to milk that as much as he can.

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

Man, I can't wait for UFN this wednesday!! Now thats a fucking stacked card!! Go nate diaz!