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| UFC Quick Quote: ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira still has a lot of things to show Posted: 15 May 2008 08:36 AM CDT
– UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira shares his passion for mixed martial arts in a recent interview with the Sun-Sentinel. “Big Nog” talks about the childhood accident that has helped propel him to the top of sport and has helped him achieve his dream of opening up a gym — Nogueira and Silva Mixed Martial Arts Academy, which is set to open this weekend in Miami, Fla. His partner in the venture is none other that UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Nogueira will have a lot of time to train in the facility for his upcoming stint as coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 and eventual showdown with Frank Mir on New Year’s Eve weekend in December 2008. |
| ‘MMA Live’ on ESPN.com to debut online tonight with host Kenny Florian Posted: 15 May 2008 08:23 AM CDT ESPN — the worldwide leader in sports – is set to debut a half-hour long online show on ESPN.com dubbed "MMA Live," which will be hosted by top UFC lightweight contender, Kenny Florian, according to MMAWeekly.com. "MMA Live" will debut on ESPN.com today (Thursday, May 15) at 7 p.m. ET and will cover the latest mixed martial arts news from the top organizations in the sport such as UFC, Elite XC, Dream and others. It will eventually — if all goes well — feature fighters interviews and other specials. Here's a snip from "Ken-Flo:"
Florian will be joined by co-hosts John Anik and Franklin McNeil from the Newark Star-Ledger. Definitely check it out if you can because with enough positive feedback and views this could find its way onto the airwaves sometime soon. We'll pass along the video right here at MMAmania.com if and when it becomes available. |
| Pick DREAM 2008 Lightweight Grand Prix fights you want to see Posted: 15 May 2008 08:01 AM CDT
Props: DreamOfficial.com Here are the remaining lightweight participants for the DREAM 5 event that takes place on July 21:
Fans can also vote for the 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix match ups right here. (Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “John” for the assist.) |
| Pro Elite and DREAM partner to co-promote future fights and events Posted: 14 May 2008 11:08 PM CDT
This news perhaps won’t come as a surprise to most fans. Either because it was announced last week, or because we just saw three of Elite XC’s biggest stars (Nick Diaz, Mayhem Miller and Eddie Alvarez) fight on the DREAM 3 card. Here’s a snip from ProElite executive William Kelly at the press conference via MMAWeekly.com:
This appears to be a win-win situation for both organizations. Elite XC gets more world class-caliber fighters to put together better match ups with its already growing cast of stars. And DREAM will get to possibly leverage Elite XC’s television deals with CBS and Showtime as a platform to develop a bigger fan base in the United States and beyond. There’s already talk about Nick Diaz fighting for the DREAM welterweight belt against Mach Sakurai, we all know how well Eddie Alvarez is doing in the lightweight grand prix, and Mayhem Miller put on a show for the Japanese faithful at DREAM 3 — he’ll certainly be a crowd favorite over there. Putting on my matchmaker cap for a minute, here’s sort of a fantasy lineup of what an Elite XC and DREAM co-promoted event could look like:
That was fun, but as you can see the possibilities (or is it fantasies?) are endless. Kudos to both organizations for joining forces — it should be great for the fans and the sport. |
| Gina Carano, Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, Jake Shields and other Elite XC stars to sign autographs Posted: 14 May 2008 10:55 PM CDT
Gina Carano, Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni are all expected to be in attendance signing autographs at the release party at the Best Buy in West Hollywood, Calif., from 6 to 8 p.m. PT. The first of the two DVDs is a two-disc set titled “Destiny” that will feature Frank Shamrock, Renzo Gracie and Gina Carano among others. The second DVD is called “Renegade” and showcases Tank Abbott, Kimbo Slice, Nick Diaz, KJ Noons and more. To purchase the DVDs remember that we now have a store set up that sells them right here. For those who can attend the event, free Elite XC posters (limited supply) will be given out with the purchase of a DVD. |
| Posted: 14 May 2008 10:39 PM CDT
“The Outlaw” — who is the reigning Cage Warriors welterweight champion — has won eight of his last nine bouts and the lone loss during that span was because of a disqualification. He is a Taekwondo black belt and “kickboxing expert” who has been competing in professional MMA since 2004. He had this to say about the opportunity in a recent SetantaSports.com interview:
With top 170-pound fighters such as Georges St. Pierre, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Matt Hughes, Karo Parisyan, Matt Serra, Josh Koscheck, Marcus Davis and others he’ll certainly have his work cut out for him. Good luck, Dan. No date or opponent has been announced for the debut of Hardy inside the Octagon. |
| Reason Matt Lindland is not in the UFC … Posted: 14 May 2008 10:09 PM CDT
Here’s a snip:
“The Law” — who is in the midst of a heated race for the Oregon House of Representatives in District 52 as a Republican — has not competed inside the Octagon since 2005. He was released from his contract after wearing and “unapproved” t-shirt at the weigh-ins prior to that bout against Joe Doerksen at UFC 54: “Boiling Point.” However, it is widely speculated that the promotion used it as an excuse to cut him loose. He was deemed (if you ask Lindland) too much of a threat to eventual poster boy and newly-minted 185-pound champion, Rich Franklin. “Ace” was pretty and marketable … Lindland not so much. Regardless, Lindland remains one of the top middleweight mixed martial artists in the world and will next take on Fabio Negao at Affliction: “Banned” from the Honda Center in Sacramento, Calif., on July 19. |
| The Ultimate Fighter 7: Episode 7 recap and discussion Posted: 14 May 2008 09:11 PM CDT
Episode 7 rolls right out of the gate with fight selections - and a little air guitar by Rampage - who now controls the selections after last week’s victory courtesy of Dan Cramer. Rampage wants to keep that control and after a Vincent Price post-Thriller laugh, picks Gerald Harris to manhandle Amir Sadollah. At the Team Blue training session we get fed highlights of Gerald Harris and his penchant for slamming opponents. Rampage refers to him as mini-me but I’m sorry, Gerald Harris ain’t got shit on Verne Troyer. Over at Team Brown, Amir raises the roof over his torrid 0-0 record. Forrest comforts him by telling him that if he’s still conscious and doesn’t break his arm during the fight, to try and use it as an opportunity to get back to his feet. Forrest also bets Amir that if he wins, Forrest will shave half his head. Either way, both scenarios seem improbable. Outside, Gerald has a quiet moment and shares his motivation for fighting - two hungry boys to feed. Gerald gets no love from the producers as the requisite still photos and solemn piano music do not make an appearance. Team Brown’s Amir Sadollah (0-0) vs. Team Blue’s Gerald Harris (7-2) Round 1: They circle each other and Forrest shouts: “Make him pay for the real estate!” Gerald shoots and scores. Amir holds on tight for a while as they struggle for position. Gerald postures and gets a few elbows but Amir is not making it easy. Gerald lands a Fedor-esque punch to the mat complete with sonic boom. Amir finds his way back to his feet. Gerald drops down and gets a hold of him and (surprise) scoops him up and slams him. Amir kicks him off and gets back up but Gerald quickly pushes him right back to the cage. Gerald gets a hold of him and once again Amir eats canvas. Amir responds with the softest hammer fists in the history of the UFC. Amir again gets up and again gets wrestled down. Gerald is clinging to a leg. Amir finds his way to his feet and stays pressed against the cage as the round ends. All Gerald. Round 2: Amir jabs into open air and lands a nice leg kick. And another. A third attempt gets him pressed against the cage into a Van Damme style leg split. Gerald drops him and lands a big elbow. Amir stands up and lands a flush knee but doesn’t faze the charging Gerald. Amir spins out of the shoot and gets on top but quickly loses it to the faster Gerald who again takes him down. The wily Amir rises and secures an impromptu clinch which allows him to land a devastating knee that drops Gerald like a newborn calf. Amir plops down and under-punches an unresponsive Gerald. The referee issues a stoppage warning but gets no improvement from Gerald and stops the fight. Moments later Gerald begins screaming that he wasn’t out but since he was unable to improve his position after getting dropped (and warned), has no case. It was a busy fight, dominated by Gerald who used his wrestling to maintain a dominant position. Aside from the slams he was not able to do much damage from the top and Amir was constantly able to escape. He may have taken his offense for granted in round two which opened him up and let Amir get his shot in. In the locker room Gerald breaks down and finally gets his piano solo. Rampage consoles him and the reality of what many of these guys have risked for this opportunity becomes very real. Gerald gets my respect for going out there and giving it 100% which in the end is all any of us can really ask for. Amir on the other hand gets my respect for his display of heart and resiliency. He took a pounding but fought smart and kept his composure. He waited for his opening and capitalized. A disappointed Rampage considers going on a bender to make up for the tough loss. Back at the house, Patrick Shultz is angered that he hasn’t been picked yet. Knowing his skill set, Schultz must have stuff to do back home and needs to get out of there ASAP. At the picks he gets paired up with Cale Yarbrough which by default leaves the remaining match of C.B. Dolloway and Nick Klein. Rampage is not impressed with Cale who would lose to Big Momma Jackson according to Rampage himself. Cale by his own admission has no concept of the ground game which explains why he is matched up against Schultz. But it does not explain why he was picked to be on the show in the first place considering that MMA is more than just striking. Team Brown’s Cale Yarbrough (0-0) vs. Team Blue’s Patrick Schultz (7-1-1) Round 1: Cale opens with a kick and gets tossed to the floor. Back on their feet they trade jabs and do some dancing. Schultz lands a reaching-in right. After some more dancing he lands another, this time dropping Cale. Schultz does not pounce and Cale recovers. They go back to the center of the cage and trade some more. Schultz getting the better of the exchange. Some ugly brawling taking place. Cale eats three stiff shots. Both sides scream for the guys to keep their hands up. Out of nowhere Cale shoots and takes Shultz down. What was ugly on the feet is positively gruesome on the floor. Cale is punching like he’s pressing a hamburger patty. Schultz gets to his feet and they swing wild. Cale with another takedown. More patty-forming. Round expires as Schultz loses his mouthpiece. Round 2: Both fighters exchange kicks and punches, some landing, some not. Cale scores a takedown and Schultz looks happy to be off his feet. Cale starts working the elbow and pushes Schultz to the cage. Cale starting to pour it on with punches and elbows. One of the trainers is explaining to Cale (step-by-step) how to transition to mount. It reminded me of that A-Team episode where Murdock is blinded and has to talk Hannibal through a plane landing. Anyway, Cale gives up the complex mount and goes back to using Shultz’s face as a speedbag. Schultz looks lifeless and at this point is probably too tired to even tap out if he wanted to. The round ends (mercifully) with Schultz being pummeled. Judges tally up the points and Rampage sounds extremely surprised that the fight is not going to a third round. A smarmy Forrest offers Cale for a third but Rampage is not amused and fires back. Schultz has the audacity to punk Forrest in the midst of all the arguing and part of me wanted to see a re-enactment of Griffin’s infamous bone-shattering leg kick. A disgusted Rampage walks-off, but not before promising Forrest that they don’t go to a decision when they eventually fight - and he’ll even bet his entire purse on it . Dana compares their bickering to Ken and Tito causing viewers around the globe to wince in unison. Somewhere off camera Forrest can be heard going apeshit. Stay tuned next week as the final preliminary fight is held, Forrest gets his mad on, and Rampage is owned - Spiderman style. See you then! |
| Keith Jardine: ‘I’m expecting to fight ‘The Axe Murderer’ at UFC 84 (Video) Posted: 14 May 2008 04:08 PM CDT
Props: SetantaSports.com Quoteworthy:
“The Dean of Mean” talks about his upcoming clash with Wanderlei Silva at UFC 84: “Ill Will” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 24. With a win Jardine can topple two of the sport’s most feared and respected 205-pound fighters in the past few years in back-to-back appearances — he already outpointed Chuck Liddell at UFC 76: “Knockout” his last time out back in September 2007. |
| Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith Elite XC fight talk (Video) Posted: 14 May 2008 03:06 PM CDT Robbie Lawler on Scott Smith: Scott Smith on Robbie Lawler: |
Elite XC is rolling out the red carpet for some of its biggest stars Monday, May 19, for the release of the promotion’s first two 
Talented British mixed martial artist Dan Hardy is the latest addition to the stacked UFC welterweight division, according to several published reports.
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