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UFC Quick Quote: St. Pierre ‘needs to prove himself’ before fight against Anderson Silva Posted: 22 Jul 2008 10:40 PM CDT “That sounds great … I think GSP is an incredible fighter. But I think GSP needs to prove himself. He still hasn't had a successful title defense [at 170 pounds]. I don't really feel that he deserves (a fight against Anderson Silva fight) yet. Go defend your title a few times and then we'll talk.” – Ed Soares, the manager and translator for UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, tells Pro MMA Radio that UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre still has a little work to do before locking horns with the Brazilian anytime soon. “Rush” has often talked about taking on new challenges in the middleweight division as long as he clears out his 170-pound class first and no friend of his (Patrick Cote included) is a current champion. (Thanks to “Mr. Sunshine” Steve Cofield for the assist.)

Elite XC weigh-in details for ‘Unfinished Business’ July 25 Posted: 22 Jul 2008 10:37 PM CDT The weigh-ins for Saturday’s Elite XC: “Unfinished Business” will be open to the public at the Stockton Arena, in Stockton, Calif., this Friday, July 25. The fighters will begin to tip the scales at 2 p.m. local time on the North Side Concourse Level of the venue. With there being so much local talent on this card, the weigh-ins will likely be an event in itself. If nothing else, it’s always interesting to try and get a read on what mindset a fighter is in as he stares down his opponent. Plus, we all know Nick Diaz had a lot of trouble making 160 pounds in his June 14 fight against Muhsin Corbbrey. He came in at a jaw-dropping nine pounds over the limit. His opponent for Saturday — Thomas “Wildman” Denny — has not been shy about saying Diaz better be on weight for this fight or he won’t hesitate to pull out. It should be noted that Nick Diaz is always in great shape. The fact that he was also training for a welterweight title fight against a super-tough Hayato “Mach” Sakurai around that same time may have had something to do with him not making weight — he was likely trying to bulk up to deal with Sakurai’s strength. It’s doubtful Diaz will put this fight — the first of his pro career in his hometown — in jeopardy of being canceled over a weight issue. He’ll likely be on weight, but we won’t know until he actually gets on the scale Friday afternoon. See you then. To check out the most recent Elite XC: “Unfinished Business” fight card click here.

Tom Atencio: Affliction ‘Banned’ PPV buys to top 100,000 Posted: 22 Jul 2008 10:13 PM CDT Props: Yahoo!Sports.com Quoteworthy: "I don't have everything on that yet, but for the people who felt this was going to be a total flop in that regard, I have news for them. It's already done a lot better than what I've heard people speculating. I'm not going to release the (official) number, but it's already well beyond what people have been saying. Well beyond." Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio doesn’t have any final numbers, however he reveals that the pay-per-view (PPV) buys for “Banned” on July 19 will "definitely" surpass 100,000. That’s a figure that may appear to be small at first blush, but it’s important to note that no other mixed martial arts promotion besides the UFC has ever exceeded that number (the UFC scored more than 1 million buys with UFC 66 alone). It’s a big victory for the upstart promotion, considering that prior to the event most in the know were saying that anything north of 75,000 would be deemed a total success.

Daniel Puder to host ‘Cops and Robbers’ at Playboy Mansion Posted: 22 Jul 2008 07:41 PM CDT Undefeated BoDog and Strikeforce veteran Daniel Puder is the spokesman for a great charity called Cops Care Cancer Foundation. And the former WWE “Tough Enough” champ is putting on an event at the Playboy Mansion called “Cops and Robbers” on August 23. Several A-list fighters, including Chuck Liddell, Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields will be in attendance to lend their support. The Cops Care Cancer Foundation is a Northern California-based company that provides financial assistance to children and their families who have been stricken with cancer. Its been around for more than four years and has helped many people who are struggling to deal with this deadly disease. Whether it be through research projects, prevention programs, social service assistance for children, long term housing costs for families of victims, or their annual survivor’s scholarship, this foundation is dedicated to doing its part in the war against cancer. It’s a great cause and a chance to mingle with some of the top fighters in the world of mixed martial arts … not to mention some of the beautiful playboy bunnies who will also be in attendance. Puder will host this shindig and will have the help of DJ Lady Tribe, Bobby Billard and the lovely Amanda “Dream” Evans as his co-hosts. The event will also include the comedy of Brad Williams and Tapan, a sexy lingerie fashion show, auctions and more. Tickets to the event are available for purchase and sponsorship info can be found right here.

Chris Leben video: The Evolution of an Icon (Episode 2) Posted: 22 Jul 2008 07:31 PM CDT To check out part one click here.

Elite XC video: Frank Shamrock eyes November Robbie Lawler fight Posted: 22 Jul 2008 04:04 PM CDT Props: CBS11TV.com

UFC ratings for ‘Silva vs Irvin’ on Spike TV were impressive Posted: 22 Jul 2008 02:37 PM CDT From a Spike TV-issued press release today: “The Ultimate Fighting Championship proved yet again to be the ratings champion with the hard-to-reach demographic of young men. Spike TV's telecast of a live ‘UFC Fight Night’ on Saturday, July 19 (9:00pm-12:00am ET) featuring the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, out-delivered every other channel (broadcast and cable) with Men 18-34 (903,000), Men 18-49 (1,550,000), Men 25-34 (622,000), and Persons 18-34 (1,326,000).* The telecast peaked at 11:30pm for the Silva vs. James Irvin bout drawing 3.8 million viewers and a staggering 4.9 rating for Men 25-34 and a 4.1 rating in Men 18-34. The UFC fight card also drew more viewers than FOX's coverage of MLB (3,072,000) earlier in the day and nearly tripled its reach of Men 18-34 (369,000) and doubled the Men 18-49 (879,000). Overall, the three-hour live UFC event averaged a 2.1 household rating, a 2.8 with Men 18-49, a 3.2 with Men 18-34, a 2.0 with P18-49 and 3.1 million total viewers. Comparing to other marquee weekend events, Spike's UFC telecast also drew more Men 18-49 than ESPN's coverage of "The ESPY Awards" (1,127,000) and Men 18-34 (689,000). Compared to the time period a year ago, the ‘UFC Fight Night’ was up +229% in household rating, +451% in M18-49, +463% in M18-34, +470% in M25-34 and +266% in average audience.” More on this in a bit.

Affliction Banned gate tops $2 million with near sellout crowd at Honda Center Posted: 22 Jul 2008 01:29 PM CDT More than 11,240 mixed martial arts fans paid a collective $2,085,510 to catch the Affliction MMA debut show “Banned” this weekend live at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., scoring a major win for the upstart promotion. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) announced that the total attendance for the blockbuster event reached 14,832 — complimentary or “papered” tickets accounted for the additional 3,590. Only 740 tickets were unsold or unused when all was said and done on Saturday, July 19, 2008. Of course, the gate receipts will help offset a fighter payroll that exceeded a reported $3.3 million. In addition, pay-per-view (PPV) buys have to be factored into the equation. However, it’s too early to tell how many people at home paid nearly $40 to watch the action unfold from their living rooms. Furthermore, even when those numbers do begin to trickle in there is no guarantee that Affliction will make them public. Regardless, the organization began its foray into the sport with a bang. And it didn’t appear to bust its budget on a massive marketing campaign to do so. In fact, Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio actually thanked the online media for its support in getting the word out about the event. That’s refreshing. To check out Affliction “Banned” results and blow-by-blow coverage click here and here.

UFC 87 video Jon Fitch on Georges St. Pierre fight and more Posted: 22 Jul 2008 10:06 AM CDT The background noise is annoying, but it’s worth a watch — Fitch shares a lot on his upcoming fight and his life outside the Octagon:

UFC Quick Quote: Matt Hughes injury could keep him out seven more months Posted: 22 Jul 2008 10:01 AM CDT “Went to the doctor yesterday, he performed quite a few tests on my knee. With the results of the tests on my knee and from what I have told him, he definitely thinks the MCL and the PCL is rebuilding itself. The next time I go back up there, in a month to a month and a half, I will get an MRI and that way he can get a picture of the knee and he can see better what's going on. So right now, I'm going to work out lightly, try and build up my quadricep as much as I can. Do nothing with the hamstring really, from what he said and he says possibly being able to fight in 6-7 months.” – Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes provides an update via his official blog on the knee injury he sustained in his technical knockout loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 85: “Bedlam” last month. He elected to pass on surgery and let the injury heal on its own, which could keep him out until early 2009. There’s no telling if his likely next opponent, Matt Serra, intends to wait that long to return.

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