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Post Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin eyes Travis Lutter UFC 83 fight (Video) Posted: 08 Apr 2008 10:41 PM CDT (Thanks to BloodyElbow.com for the assist.)

Alexander Emelianenko: UFC ‘won’t take me’ Posted: 08 Apr 2008 10:28 PM CDT Props: M-1MixFight.com Quoteworthy: “I would gladly participate in such a tournament. UFC (American mixed martial arts), for example, won’t take me, because if they let me in there, I would beat everybody and take the belt to Russia. They don’t want that. They want their own American champions. We already beat everyone in Japan, even though no one bet on us.” Alexander Emelianenko (13-3) — the younger brother of Pride FC Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko — states that the UFC will not enlist his services because he can defeat any fighter in the division and he would bring the title back to Russia. He also confirms in the interview that he and Fedor would never fight one another.

YAMMA Pit Fighting surface revealed (Video) Posted: 08 Apr 2008 09:39 PM CDT Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) co-founder, Bob Meyrowitz, is back in the fight game with a new promotion called YAMMA Pit Fighting, which features a “revolutionary” new surface. Here’s a video that explains the thought behind its creation: YAMMA Pit Fighting will debut on April 11 on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J. The show will feature an eight-man heavyweight tournament that includes former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez, Travis Wiuff, Sherman Pendergarst, Marcelo Pereira and more. The winner of the tournament will have to fight three different opponents in the same night to capture the heavyweight crown. However, the winner will not fight more than 25 minutes total (the preliminary matches will last just one round and be five minutes each; the final will comprise three five-minute rounds). In addition, Eric “Butterbean” Esch will take on Pat Smith in a “Masters Super Fight” and Mark Kerr will attempt to derail Oleg Taktarov (these are two round, five-minute fights). It should be interesting to say the least. For more on YAMMA Pit Fighting and the upcoming PPV telecast click here.

Tim Sylvia vs. Fedor Emelianenko to fight in July under Affliction banner Posted: 08 Apr 2008 02:37 PM CDT A fight between former UFC heavyweight champion and current Adrenaline MMA fighter, Tim Sylvia (24-4), and the last man to hold the Pride FC heavyweight strap, Fedor Emelianenko (27-1), is in the works for July 19 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, according to Sherdog.com. The blockbuster showdown would be promoted by Affliction and air on Mark Cuban’s HDNet network. Here’s a snip from the Russian: “[Sylvia] is a good fighter, a strong fighter, the former UFC heavyweight champion, which is important. I am looking forward to fighting him and training hard for this fight.” Sylvia recently parted ways with the UFC in a split that has been categorized by both parties as amicable. The decision came after a submission loss to Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro: Nogueria at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” for the interim heavyweight championship in February. With just one fight remaining on his contract — and another crack at the belt in the not so near future — “The Maine-iac” was granted permission to sign on with his long time manager, Monte Cox, who runs the upstart Adrenaline MMA promotion. Prior to that Cox was the President and CEO of M-1 Global — a failed partnership between Russian and American backers that never staged a single event. The promotion was centered around Emelianenko; however, the two sides were at reportedly loggerheads when it came to compensation and competition. Emelianenko became a free agent once he returned a $1.5 million signing bonus. And now he’s apparently set to kick-off 2008 with a fight against the 6′8″ Miletich-trained product, which would certainly be his biggest test since a fight with Mirko Cro Cop back in 2005. Indeed, Emelianenko — once widely regarded as the most formidable pound-for-pound mixed martial artist on the planet — has taken a beating from critics because of his inability to take on top-level competition in recent years. Hong Man Choi (freak show), Matt Lindland (a middleweight), and Mark Coleman (past his prime) are three of his last four opponents — not exactly the worthiest opponents for an individual who has been described as unbeatable in a sport in which anything can and often does happen. Fedor, however, somehow seems to find ways to overcome those unpredictable odds … at least up until now. It’s more than likely the case that Emelianenko will look to takedown “Big Tim” early and often to avoid that reach and his big punching power. Not to mention Emelianenko cuts very easily — it is the reason behind his only career defeat, in fact. Sylvia has demonstrated decent takedown defense in the past; however, he has been susceptible to submissions throughout his seven-year professional career. Definitely a very interesting match up if it comes to fruition. Randy Couture — the man who defeated Sylvia in March but is now embroiled in a bitter legal battle with the UFC because he wanted to fight Emelianenko — has got to be going nuts with this latest news. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.

James Irvin mulls move to middleweight; says Houston Alexander has been exposed (Audio) Posted: 08 Apr 2008 12:27 PM CDT Props: Pep Talk (Irvin comes in around the 63-minute mark) Note that he also wants a crack at either Wanderlei Silva or Chuck Liddell in the near future.

MMA Quick Quote: Frank Shamrock had Cung Le ‘totally on the stand up’ Posted: 08 Apr 2008 11:05 AM CDT "I had him totally on the stand up. He was never going to make it another round or so. I was slowing him down, I was catching his timing, and I was starting to catch his chin. One of us never would have made it out of the fourth round and I don't think it was going to be me if my arm didn't break." – Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock tells MMAWeekly.com that he was a round or two away from stopping Cung Le during their title clash on March 29 at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Calif. Shamrock did not answer the bell for the fourth round because of a serious forearm fracture sustained during the fight, which did not go the the mat once in 15 minutes of back-and-forth action. It was later revealed that Shamrock had lost all three rounds on the judges scorecards. He needs several months to recover from his injury and when he does he wants to first fight his adopted brother, Ken, before avenging the loss to Le.

Rich Clementi: Sam Stout fight at UFC 83 is going to be another good victory (Video) Posted: 08 Apr 2008 10:49 AM CDT

Frank Trigg in talks with TNA Wrestling Posted: 08 Apr 2008 09:13 AM CDT Kurt Angle. Samoa Joe. Frank Trigg? Total Nonstop Action (TNA) is currently trying to woo the former UFC and PRIDE fighter to the land of make believe for a full-time announcing job according to Rajah.com. Trigg (16-6) is scheduled to provide color commentary for the main event of the company’s upcoming Lockdown pay-per-view (PPV) on April 13. “Twinkle Toes” has worked as an announcer for PRIDE in the past and co-hosted numerous MMA radio shows. Interesting to note that WWE.com (who links to the Rajah report) doesn’t realize that Trigg is no longer a commentator for PRIDE. Or that there is no longer a PRIDE organization. You would think that a company so eager to whip out a gogoplata at Wrestlemania would be a little more in-tune with the current MMA scene. I guess somebody over in new media ate one too many chairshots.

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