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UFC Quick Quote: Kenny Florian could ‘run over’ Roger Huerta at UFC 87 Posted: 01 Aug 2008 08:44 AM CDT “Kenny could run over Roger if he really wants to, or he could allow Roger to give Kenny a fight. I think Kenny's ability to harness his energy and ability to control his aggression and not become emotionally attached to the fight — like Roger likes to fight — is going to give Kenny the technical advantage that he needs. If Roger is able to get in Kenny's head and make him fight a sloppy, wild, Roger Huerta (Pictures)-style of fight, then obviously that type of fight fits Roger Huerta (Pictures). Kenny knows he not only needs to use his technical abilities, but he also needs to play a very mental game with Roger … make sure Roger doesn't take him out of the element of his technical ability and turn him into a brawler. I know Roger's going to try to do that, and that's what we're going to try to avoid in this fight.” – Mark DellaGrotte — the esteemed MMA mad scientist at Sityodtong U.S.A. — talks to Sherdog.com about the keys to victory for his fighter, Kenny Florian, at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” when he locks up with Roger Huerta in a 155-pound number contender eliminator match. The article indicates that leading up to the fight at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on August 9 that “El Matador” has been attempting to bait Florian into perhaps straying from his gameplan on fight night. However, if Florian can resist the temptation to brawl and impose his will then DellaGrotte appears to indicate that Florian will handle the hometown poster boy.

The rating game: DREAM perhaps on life support, UFC turning Japanese and more Posted: 01 Aug 2008 08:14 AM CDT First, EliteXC goes underwhelms on July 26 for its second CBS offering of “Saturday Night Fights.” The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) released the ticket sale information, showing roughly a third of all tickets were sold — with a hefty chunk being comped and the rest going into the nearest recycling bin. Television draws a relatively abysmal 2.5 to 3 million viewers. Gary Shaw and Doug DeLuca “resign” to consult. Then Dave Meltzer reports that Affliction lost millions from its first foray into mixed martial arts on July 19. In spite of a solid event, pay-per-view (PPV) numbers are alleged to be (at best … and possibly a big stretch) 100,000 buys. Good, but a far cry from the 250-300,000 buys Affliction needed to possibly break even. Rumor has it, in fact, Affliction honcho Tom Atencio is already asking fighters to take a 50 percent pay cut for its sophomore effort in Las Vegas later this year. However, at least on of its most talented assets — victorious Affliction “Banned” fighter Josh Barnett — has already made a public statement that his answer will be “NO” if indeed asked. Now Japan’s DREAM (or PRIDE II, as some fans see it) is finding itself in the same murky waters. Dismal ratings have left many officials banking on its September 23 event as make-or-break for the company. And that hardship couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for the UFC, who not coincidentally has just signed a new pay-per-view contract with Japan’s WOWOW PPV company. Here’s an excerpt from Kamipro.com explaining the partnership: “We finally signed a contract with the UFC on July 11. I knew this news had been rumored before we officially announced it. We used to air the UFC. We wanted to maintain our contract, but unfortunately the negotiations were broken off and we stopped broadcasting after the UFC 70 in April, 2007. They approached us again in 2008. We were planning to show the UFC in HD starting April of 2007; although the UFC terminated the contact. I remember we were very surprised and disappointed. We are basically going to show all numbering events. Their PPV packages are 3 hours. We will condense into 2 hours by picking up 5 to 6 fights.” It seems that while every non-Zuffa promotion is struggling to keep its head above water, Dana and company are in cruise-control with the top down on the war wagon. Still, one thing the UFC doesn’t have is all of the world’s best fighters. Though the way things are going for other promotions, that may just be a matter of time. Tick-Tock.

Strikeforce at Playboy Mansion confirmed for September 20 Posted: 31 Jul 2008 11:28 PM CDT Strikeforce will follow up its successful June event, which featured Josh Thomson’s victory over Gilbert Melendez for the lightweight title, with “Strikeforce At The Mansion II” on September 20. This will be the San Jose-based mixed martial arts company’s second event at the world famous Playboy Mansion. The first show aired live from the Mansion last September, featuring a main event title defense for then lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez. The event attracted a star-studded audience, including Jaimie Pressly, Chuck Liddell, Joe Rogan, Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Josh Barnett, Andre Arlovski and others. No bouts have been confirmed for the fight card as of right now, but Japanese middleweight fighter Kazuo Misaki is rumored to be making his Strikeforce debut, as well as Josh “The Punk” Thomson, who will be making his first title defense. In addition to a full night of MMA action, all “Strikeforce At The Mansion II” guests will be treated to a top-shelf open bar; buffet-style, gourmet dinner; and wine-tasting party featuring the spirits of various California gold medal wineries. This should be another solid event from Strikeforce. We’ll keep you posted as more is announced regarding the fight card.

Elite XC tickets Bank Atlantic Center now on sale for October 4 Posted: 31 Jul 2008 11:16 PM CDT With still more than two months before the event, tickets have already gone on sale for Elite XC’s third installment of “Saturday Night Fights on CBS,” which is scheduled for the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., on October 4. The early release of the tickets is more than likely related to the poor ticket sales the “Unfinished Business” event produced in Stockton, Calif., last Saturday. Elite XC barely managed to sell half of the tickets they printed for the show and couldn’t even give away the rest. For more on that click here. It’s hard to blame Elite XC, however, because not only did it have to put the event together on short notice, but Stockton wasn’t the first choice for a location. The original plan, remember, was to run the show from St. Louis, Mo., but the promotion couldn’t find an available arena, which left them scrambling to put it together in Stockton on even shorter notice. Having an extra month or so to sell tickets should definitely make a difference in ticket sales. Plus, this is Kimbo Slice’s hometown, and he didn’t have a hard time breaking the live attendance record at the Bank United Center in Miami when he fought Tank Abbott back in February. With him confirmed to be in action on this card, there shouldn’t be a problem selling the place out anyway. In fact, you might want to get your tickets now if you plan on going. It wouldn’t be surprising if the show sold out before fight night. Especially if Kimbo is fighting Brett Rogers … or anyone else credible.

UFC 87 video: Heath Herring on Brock Lesnar fight Posted: 31 Jul 2008 10:45 PM CDT UFC 87: Heath Herring Ready For Whatever Lesnar Brings | UFC | SPIKE.com

Elite XC on FSN: MMA promotion inks another television deal Posted: 31 Jul 2008 10:34 PM CDT Despite low ratings for last Saturday’s “Unfinished Business” event on CBS, Elite XC has still managed to work its way onto another television network, teaming up with cable sports giant, Fox Sports Network (FSN). This deal has actually been in the works for a while now. The plan is for FSN to air four one-hour long mixed martial arts specials that contain past fight footage from the various MMA promotions under Pro Elite umbrella. That list includes, Cage Rage, Icon Sport, King of the Cage and others. Pro Elite owns the rights to some of the footage from Rumble on the Rock and other top organizations, too. This is similar to the Strikeforce and NBC deal, which has produced very encouraging ratings. Both shows are pretty much modeled after UFC “Unleashed,” which is also a success on Spike TV. Elite XC is banking on its extensive database of fight footage, including early fights in the career’s of UFC champion Anderson Silva, WEC champion Urijah Faber, and many more world class mixed martial artists to help bring in solid ratings for FSN — just like Strikeforce and the UFC have done for NBC and Spike, respectively. This is another step in the right direction for Elite XC. The promotion realizes the time is now for them. It needs to continue to build its fan base to ensure future success. And the exposure this show will provide should be a great source for that. Here’s a snip from former CEO of Elite XC, Doug DeLuca: “Our mission from day one with ProElite and EliteXC has been to showcase the incredible talent and excitement of our fighters and illustrate that the appetite of the growing legions of MMA fans can't be satisfied by merely a single organization. FSN has a well-known history of success with MMA, and this partnership is another important step in developing an even stronger fan base for the exciting brand of MMA that ProElite delivers through EliteXC and our other organizations like King of the Cage, Cage Rage, Icon Sport, and Rumble on the Rock.” Jay Glazer and Frank Trigg will host the program, which as of right now is scheduled to air on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET, beginning sometime in mid September.

Mall of America: UFC 87 in Minnesota autograph signing and press conference Posted: 31 Jul 2008 10:25 PM CDT UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” is set to storm Minnesota for the first time ever in little more than a week at the Target Center in Minneapolis. And the promotion intends to make a big splash, coordinating a high-profile media event in the Mall of America — the largest retail and entertainment complex in the nation — prior to the blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event on Thursday, August 7. Fighters Matt Serra, Nate Quarry, Clay Guida, Amir Sadollah, Keith Jardine and Sean Sherk will make an appearance in the mall’s rotunda from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. local time to sign autographs and meet with fans. The event is FREE and open to the public.  In addition, the banner on the official Mall of America Web site indicates that the promotion will also hold its customary pre-fight press conference within the building. However, the official UFC site does not confirm the press conference, which does not mean it’s not happening. Regardless, it sounds like a great opportunity for Minnesotans to get up close and personal with several of the top fighters in the business — definitely check it out if you can. The Mall of America is located at 60 East Broadway in Bloomington, MN 55425. UFC 87 is set to take place on Saturday, August 9. To check out the final fight card and line up click here.

UFC 87 conference call recap and highlights Posted: 31 Jul 2008 06:20 PM CDT Earlier today, MMAmania.com got the nod to sit in on the media conference call for UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy." Fielding questions on the call were UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre and his opponent Jon Fitch, as well as heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Heath "The Texas Crazy Horse" Herring. The call went pretty much by the book, with the fighter being respectful of their respective opponents. No trash-talking for this UFC event. In fact, GSP and Fitch both commented on that very thing: St. Pierre: "(Fitch) has got a lot of heart. Even if in the build up for this fight there is not trash talk, believe me, August 9 is going to be a great fight." Fitch: "It shows you where the sport is going. The top-level guys are professionals and behaving as professionals. The guys who talk trash and spew all that garbage, they don't last. They do that stuff because they need that to get attention because they suck as fighters." Fitch indeed lets his actions inside the cage speak for themselves. Hell, if anyone could benefit from more media exposure (which often comes with talking trash your opponent), it would be Jon Fitch, who isn't as well known by the average fan as a lot of number one contenders who came before him. In fact, when asked if he feels he is underappreciated by the average fan, despite being so dominant inside the Octagon, Fitch had this to say: "Because of the way I came up through the UFC, a lot of people didn't see a lot of my fights. People develop an attachment to fighters that they see fight live. When they see you in a pay-per-view or they see you in a live event and they watch you fight, they develop a real attachment to you, rather than just seeing some of your fights on the playback, on like UFC Wired or the Unleashed show. So yeah, I think a lot of fans still don't know who I am, really. They haven't developed that kind of attachment or an appreciation for me. But it's not really their fault, I guess, it's just the way things go. We had a stacked weight division, and I just kinda slipped through the cracks." Both welterweights commented on the things they've learned as a fighter. GSP said that he had learned a lot from his loss to Matt Serra at UFC 69 (his first title defense), and isn't ready to make the same mistake twice: "I learned a lot of things. A lot of things happened in my life. I don't want to make any excuses. That night I got beat by a better man than I am. Now for this fight … I'm working really hard, making all the sacrifices. I haven't cut corners. I'm ready to go … Right now I realize what I have. I'm world champion, and I realize. Last time, I didn't really realize what I had between my hands. Now I know what it is and I don't want to lose it. I'm going to fight to win, I'm not going to fight not to lose, I'm going to fight to win. I'm going to go for the finish." Other good quotes from each welterweight followed. When asked about the role confidence plays as a fighter, Fitch said: "I think it's a key factor in any career. For someone to be successful, if you don't have the confidence in yourself to achieve the things that lay in front of you then you're always going to be a failure. I think I struggled early in my wrestling career at Purdue because I lacked confidence. But ever since I've started fighting, I've put myself on the same playing field mentally as all my opponents, and my confidence is through the roof … Just the realization that I'm just as much of an athlete or just as much of a man as anybody else I'm facing." When asked about B.J. Penn potentially moving up to challenge for the welterweight strap, GSP stayed focused: "I don't even think about it. I don't want to make the same mistake twice. Right now I am going to fight Jon Fitch for my first title defense, and I have the chance to succeed where I failed last time. I see it as a great challenge, not only because I'm fighting who I think is the most dangerous guy that I've fought so far, but also because last year … I lost my first title defense, and now I am going to have a chance to redeem myself." Fitch, comparing his wrestling skills to GSP's: "As far as wrestling skills go, we don't utilize all of wrestling in MMA. I think my wrestling style is more suitable for MMA than a lot of fighters. A lot of fighters take shots from open waters and very easily get stuffed. I hit takedowns from all angles, all directions, and I'm just relentless with what I need to get done. I think Georges is a very explosive style of wrestling, but it's a fight, it's not wrestling, so I don't think it even matters." On specific problems Fitch brings to the table, GSP said: "Jon Fitch is like a new breed of mixed martial arts fighters. He's not like the old school guys. Of course he's a great wrestler, that's his first background, but he's very good standing up and on the ground as well. So he's bringing a lot more problems on the table than the other guys that I've fought in the past. I'm going to have to use a lot more tools than I've been using in the past. But I truly believe that fighting wrestlers in my specialty. Those are the type of people that I'm the best to fight. When I fight wrestlers I always do very well. And wrestlers are my favorite guys to fight." Fitch, on what he has improved since his last fight: "One of the biggest things is punching power. I've been working a lot with Javier Mendez, and that's kind of his specialty. So I'm hitting at least twice as hard as I used to. Other than that, my cardio is just on another level now. In my first time training for 25 minutes, I wasn't sure where I could take my body physically. But I'm increasingly surprised with how great of shape I'm in." When asked about the level of competition Fitch has faced versus the level of completion he has faced, GSP replied: "I'm more experienced in big fights, but he has fought a lot of very tough competitors. And I truly believe that he's the toughest guy that I have fought so far. I have been taking my training very seriously. I've never been in as good of shape as I am right now. I've been training to face an army, not a single guy. Every time I'm training and I do my sparring, I have a fresh guy coming on me all the time. And very top quality guy, not like the karate teacher on the corner of the street. Top MMA fighters, so I'm very well prepared." When asked how he thinks this fight will be different than that of his training partner, Josh Koscheck, who lost to GSP at UFC 74 one year ago, Fitch didn't hold any punches. Specifically, Fitch took Kos to task for insisting on training only standup for his fight against GSP — a fight that turned into a solid wrestling match, with "Rush" out-performing the four-time NCAA Division I All-American: "That's the thing with Koscheck, he's really stubborn. And he didn't want to listen to anybody, and we were telling him to practice his wrestling. He had it in his head that nobody could take him down if he didn't want 'em to. Literally I don't think he drilled a single takedown that entire training camp. He did all standup and very little jiu-jitsu even. I don't take that approach, I haven't taken that approach to it. I always train everything, but I've also gotten back to wrestling basics again, just to sharpen things up." GSP, on the difference between fighting to win and fighting not to lose: "It's simple. When you fight not to lose, you don't take chances. You don't go for the opening, you don't go all in. When you fight to win, you take that chance. It's like your mind is free. That's how I'm going to fight, I'm going to fight to win." Fitch, on if there is any added pressure for this fight: "No, man, I don't worry about pressure. This is a game to me, this is all fun. It's not like I'm fighting a war or working in a factory or something. This is playtime. I'm living a dream. There is no pressure. Win, lose, draw, it doesn't matter. I'm having fun." While the title bout received most of the attention on the conference call, both Lesnar and Herring fielded their share of comments (although if anyone received fewer questions, it was certainly Herring). Lesnar was asked repeatedly about his UFC debut against Frank Mir — a fight he nearly finished before Mir caught him with a knee bar due to Lesnar making a rookie mistake. Lesnar claims he "wasn't nervous at all" for his UFC debut, and says he's learned a lot since his first Octagon fight: "(I now) understand that I've got 15 minutes to try to win a bout. I really rushed that fight, and I made a foolish mistake. I had Frank in a dominant position, and I stood up and fed him a foolish amateur mistake, and it was something that we worked on a million times. Just to be a more controlled fighter and a little more relaxed in there. We've been working on that. It has to do with just putting time in the gym, and that's exactly what I've been doing. Just trying to polish every aspect of the fight game and try to better myself everyday." When Heath was asked how he keeps focused on Brock Lesnar and not on "the reports of you saying that you're going to get a title shot if you win this fight," Heath took exception: "I haven't been saying that I'm going to get a title shot. They said after the last fight we had a title shot, and we didn't get one. So I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch, for sure. You know, you just gotta concentrate on the task in front of ya, and that's kinda what I do. If you start getting your hopes up, you just get 'em dashed. So the best thing to do is to just concentrate on what we got in front of us, and that's Lesnar, and that's what we'll go do on August 9, and afterward we're worry about how everything else falls into place." Both heavyweights said that they have been working on every aspect of the fight game — from standup to wrestling to jiu-jitsu. Since bringing in B.J. Penn's strength and conditioning coach/nutritionist, Tony Aponte, Herring says that he's actually going to be coming into this fight heavier, but in much better shape. That might be a good thing. When Lesnar was first signed by the UFC, he reportedly walked around at 295 pounds. Not that Herring is any stranger to fighting big guys. That dude's fought just about everybody out there, and some of them were a lot bigger than Brock Lesnar. It should make for a fantastic night of fights! It all goes down a week from Saturday, August 9, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The event also features a lightweight showdown between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta (who were not on the call) to determine the new number one contender in the division.

Randy Couture Scorpion King video trailer Posted: 31 Jul 2008 03:41 PM CDT (Thanks to MMAmania reader “Roy” for the assist.)

Matt Lindland vs Vitor Belfort to fight for title at Affliction on October 11 Posted: 31 Jul 2008 01:50 PM CDT Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort will duke it out for the first-ever middleweight title under the Affliction MMA banner — possibly the WAMMA belt — at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 11, according to Tatame.com. Here’s a snip from “The Phenom:” "I'll come back in October 11th to fight Matt Lindland for the belt. It'll be a great fight, we'll see who is the best of the world there. I saw his fight with Negão and he's a warrior … He comes be over you, but I don't think he has the strength to stay over me. I'll go to knock him out … My punches are well-aimed and when it hits he won't stand.” Belfort looked great in his first fight at 185 pounds, taking out Terry Martin in the second round at Affliction: “Banned” with a nice combination that was set up by a flying knee. He sustained a broken hand in the bout; however, he insists in the interview that he will be fine and ready to rock on fight night. Lindland, on the other hand, did not appear to be in the best shape against Fabio Negao despite a unanimous decision win. Both fighters, in fact, were visibly gassed as the third round expired. Perhaps “The Law” — considered among the top middleweight fighters in the world — spent too much time on the campaign trail in Oregon rather than in the gym prior to the showdown. Belfort could make Lindland pay if he doesn’t come in top form on October 11. In addition to the championship showdown between Belfort and Lindland, WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko is also expected to defend his title for the first time against Andrei Arlovski in the main event of the evening.

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