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Roy Jones Jr on Anderson Silva fight that won’t happen Posted: 08 Apr 2008 08:07 AM CDT Props: Daily News Quoteworthy: “I don’t see how it could discredit the UFC. The guy has boxed before and he’s a tall, slick, left handed fighter. That gives everybody problems. It would be a good fight. As fighters we’re supposed to be trying to do things that amaze people and make history. This could have been something that people really wanted to see. I just think it’s wrong not to allow him (Silva) to get the opportunity to live out his fantasy to be in the ring with one of his heroes. That’s the kind of thing that boxing promoters usually do…. If I had a high school wrestling background, I’d be willing to try that stuff (mixed martial arts. But I’m lost on the ground…. He’s got a lot of heart and I have nothing but respect for him for wanting to take on the best in boxing.” Professional boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. is disappointed that UFC President Dana White recently put the brakes on a fight that would have pitted him against UFC middleweight titleholder, Anderson Silva, at a catch weight between 180 and 188 pounds under boxing rules. Silva and his camp floated the idea after he defeated Dan Henderson at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” last month.

Official cause of death determined for MMA fighter Sam Vasquez Posted: 08 Apr 2008 01:12 AM CDT For MMA fans, the day we hoped would never come (but knew eventually would) is unfortunately here. Mixed martial arts competitor Sam Vasquez has become the sport’s first fatality resulting from injuries sustained in a sanctioned MMA fight according to the Houston Chronicle’s Chron.com. Vasquez, 35, died last November of complications from head trauma suffered at the hands of opponent Vince Libardi at Renegades Extreme Fighting on October 20. The official cause of death reported by the medical examiner’s office was complications from blunt trauma to the head with subdural hemorrhage. Despite two surgeries and prompt medical care, Vasquez was unable to recover after being knocked out in the third round. He was admitted to St. Joseph Medical Center and eventually transferred to an area hospice on November 26. Subdural hemorrhage is considered a rare injury in sports - even in boxing. Steve Sievert has some interesting facts in his article from an orthopedic surgeon regarding this particular injury. Here’s a snip: “This type of injury is common in the ‘regular world,’ say when a person falls and hits their head…but in combat sports, this injury is very, very rare…I’ll give you a for instance…(Boxers) Kelly Pavlik and Jermain Taylor fought in February. It went 12 rounds, and Kelly Pavlik landed, I believe, 278 blows to the head, and Jermain Taylor landed 164 blows to the head. At UFC 82, (Cheick) Kongo versus (Heath) Herring - which they are both known to be standup guys - six head blows between the two of them. You just don’t have that accumulation of head blows in MMA.” While there were some initial questions as to the pre-fight health of Sam Vasquez and his ability to compete, an investigation revealed that Vasquez, as well as veteran promoter Saul Soliz, had completed the necessary licensing requirements required to participate and that everything was done by the book. It’s an unfortunate turn of events for a sport that is still blossoming, but I certainly wouldn’t call this a black-eye on MMA itself. There was nothing out of the ordinary during the fight between Vasquez and Libardi. No stomps to the head, no late stoppages, just a competitive match with a tragic ending. That is the risk that all fighters must burden themselves with before each fight. That is why at the very core of this sport, every competitor that steps into a cage or ring deserves a certain level of respect. They deserve it from the fans, the promoters - and from each other. Vasquez is survived by his wife Sandra and a seven-year old son. Anyone interested in contributing to the memorial fund that will help them financially should use this address: TEXAS MMA FIGHT SHOP c/o Sandra Vasquez 5720 Mobud Drive San Antonio, Texas 78238

Hector Lombard signs EliteXC fight contract Posted: 07 Apr 2008 11:20 PM CDT It was announced today that Cage Fighting Championship (CFC) Middleweight Champion Hector “Shango” Lombard (15-2-1) has signed a contract to fight for EliteXC. Lombard is one of the top prospects from Australia and one of the best Judo players in the world. He was set to put his skills to the test against perhaps the best known Judo specialist in MMA today — Karo Parisyan — back at UFC 78, but the Cuban-born fighter was forced to withdraw because of visa issues. Like most contracts with EliteXC, Lombard will still have the freedom to fight in other organizations. That means he’ll still be able to fight in Australia and defend his CFC belt. That was probably a deal breaker for him, especially after already experiencing trouble getting into the U.S. in the past. Here’s a snip from CFC Director Luke Pezzutti on probably his company’s best fighter signing with EliteXC: "I am very excited for Hector as I believe he is destined to be our most successful export and I see him fighting for Elite XC title very soon. I am also excited that Elite XC have agreed to work with CFC to give our other fighters international opponents and possible opportunities to fight overseas.” Shango has not dropped a professional fight since November of 2006 — a decision loss to Gegard Mousasi (20-2-1) at Pride 13. Since then he is undefeated (8-0-1), with a draw against another popular Aussie fighter, Kyle Noke. With Noke also fighting for EliteXC now, a rematch is a definite possibility and one Lombard would probably jump at the chance to have. He’s listed at 185 pounds and fights at that weight for CFC, but he was set to compete against Karo at 170 pounds. That means he can fight at both weights. EliteXC has plenty of talent in both weight classes and quality opponents for Lombard should not be hard to find either way. Exposure and contractual freedom have been big sellers for Gary Shaw and EliteXC when it comes to bringing in new talent. There is no reason to think that trend will slow down now any time soon with four CBS broadcasts still to come this year. Expect more and more fighters to join EliteXC as the weeks and months pass by.

Carmelo Marerro cut at IFL show is not that bad … Sike! (Pic) Posted: 07 Apr 2008 10:27 PM CDT UFC veteran Carmelo Marrero tangled with Mike Ciesnolevicz this past weekend at an International Fight League (IFL) event held at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The 205-pound fight, however, did not last long because of a nasty gash that was opened up accidentally (head clash) on Marrero less than two minutes into the bout. It was so bad that the referee called a halt to the action and declared a no contest. I think he made the right call: “The Fury” has definitely now got something when it comes to Marvin Eastman, Gideon Ray, Edwin DeWees, Sean Sherk and all of the other grizzly cuts that happened in mixed martial arts competition. For some highlight reel footage of the event — and it was a good one — click here.

UFC 83 after party with TapouT crew, Forrest Griffin and more Posted: 07 Apr 2008 09:33 PM CDT Forrest Griffin — the number one UFC light heavyweight contender — along with the TapOut Crew will host what is going to be the hottest UFC 83 after party at Light Ultra Club in Montreal, Quebec, on April 19. Having Forrest, Mask, Skyskrape and Punk Ass, not to mention all of the other rumored fighters clamoring to get into this event, all under one roof is a recipe for a guaranteed good time. This event is surely going to be a sellout just like the Bell Centre. Therefore, don’t make the same mistake twice and wait to buy them at the door because you will definitely be disappointed. To order UFC 83 after party tickets right now click here.

MMA Quick Quote: Monte Cox prefers Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell over Fedor Posted: 07 Apr 2008 04:19 PM CDT “I’m the CEO, so I’m going to make the matches. Well, they wanted a say. They wanted to be able to say, ‘we don’t like that match … we want to do something else.’ … I couldn’t make money with him. There was just no way we could make money with that kind of overhead. That became apparent. To take all of our investors’ money and put it around Fedor, it just didn’t make business sense…. I think people understand that I tried everything possible to make this happen. In business, sometimes it just doesn’t work. We bounced back, I think, very well. Getting Tim Sylvia is a huge coup for us. Without him, what would we have? We locked onto him. We locked onto Rothwell. Now, I actually feel better about where we’re headed than I did before. I would trade Fedor for Rothwell and Sylvia every day.” – Monte Cox — CEO of Adrenaline MMA and former CEO of the now defunct M-1 Global — tells Brawl Sports that Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell are better for business than Fedor Emelianenko. The report goes on to reveal that Sylvia will earn more than $300,000 per fight under his new deal. Check out a video of Big Tim and Monte regarding their partnership after the jump.

Quick site note: Posted: 07 Apr 2008 01:44 PM CDT We did some long overdue behind-the-scenes upgrades this weekend, which was the reason for the sporadic posts. Please let us know if there is anything different or something is acting funny. We know that the feature that responds to other comments has been disabled — we’ll remedy that as soon as we determine a viable solution. Thanks

MMA on FoxNews: Fair and balanced? Posted: 07 Apr 2008 12:51 PM CDT I’m not a firm believer in children competing in mixed martial arts fights, but Sean Hannity takes it way too far:

Leonard Garcia: ‘I’m innocent’ of drug arrest charges Posted: 07 Apr 2008 12:45 PM CDT Props: MySpace.com Quoteworthy: “This is leonard, I want to ask all my fans and supporters to keep me in their prayers. Know that I can clear my name and continue to give fans the fights they deserve to watch. And know that I am innocent of a crime that I’m being accused of from 3 years ago. Pray hard and let’s let god do his best work for me to keep me where I belong, in the cage fighting the best in the world. Thank all of u and I will not dissapoint y’al.l I will get through this mess and make everyone proud of me as I have done before” WEC featherweight fighter Leonard Garcia  informs fans of his situation for the first time since his arrest last week. Garcia was arrested for the participation and distribution of cocaine in a drug-trafficking crime ring and was busted last week in Texas. No word yet on a court date. He is innocent until proven guilty.

Mirko Cro Cop Web site blog to host LIVE chat April 9 Posted: 07 Apr 2008 12:24 PM CDT Props: MMA-ID.com

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