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| Nick Diaz camp wants KJ Noons but will settle for Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai Posted: 02 Aug 2008 08:10 PM CDT Elite XC lightweight contender Nick Diaz provided his hometown fans in Stockton, Calif., with an exciting early second round technical knockout win over Thomas “Wildman” Denny last Saturday night during Elite XC: “Unfinished Business.” The question now is: What is next for the Cesar Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt? On the surface there are two very obvious answers to that question, both of which involve world titles. Either Diaz will take on Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (32-8-2) in Japan at DREAM 6 for the company’s welterweight gold, or he’ll finally get his redemption fight against Elite XC lightweight champion KJ Noons (7-2). So which fight is going to happen? Diaz has made it clear that he enjoys competing in Japan — where he feels the art of this sport is better appreciated and the rules favor more of a traditional martial arts style. He was already supposed to have fought Sakurai at DREAM 5 two weeks ago, but that fight fell through when Diaz learned he was instead going to fight in Stockton for Elite XC. It seemed obvious that Diaz would have much rather taken on “Mach” for a world title than a mediocre Thomas Denny in a non-title affair, but there’s more to that story than meets the eye. Not only was he fighting in his hometown an exciting idea for Diaz, but there’s also some hesitation on his part to compete for DREAM since the Japanese based company has yet to pay him a single dime for his May win over Katsuya Inoue at DREAM 3. The financial woes for DREAM have been made apparent in the news recently, but not paying your fighters is another story. Nick Diaz — or any other fighter for that matter — can’t have anything held against them for not wanting to fight for free. So, that leaves Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons II for the Elite XC lightweight belt, right? Well, we know Diaz wants that fight, but does the champ? It’s become pretty apparent recently that either he or the promotion does not. According to GracieFighter.com, Diaz’s win over Denny last Saturday has convinced Elite XC officials that he deserves the next shot at Noons’ strap. Sounds good, sign it up for October 4, right? Not so fast … Noons still has to accept the fight even though he has been adamant in the past, saying that he can’t pick and choose his opponents because as the champ has to fight the best. It’s time to find out if that statement is true once and for all. If it’s not — and Noons does indeed turn down the fight with Diaz if it’s offered — then who knows when and against who we’ll see “Diablo.” fight next. |
| Gina Carano vs Kelly Kobald Elite XC fight possible October 4 Posted: 02 Aug 2008 08:00 PM CDT For those who are anticipating one of the most exciting female mixed martial arts fights ever between Gina Carano and Cristiane Cyborg, you’ll have to wait. Despite Cyborg’s impressive performance against Shayna Baszler at last Saturday’s Elite XC: “Unfinished Business” event, the promotion has apparently decided on a different opponent — Kelly Kobald — to take on the world famous Carano at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., on October 4. Nothing is official yet, but it’s believed the fight between Kobald (16-2-1) and Carano (6-0) will be signed shortly, according to NBCSports.com. While Cyborg’s Muay Thai game would have made for an entertaining scrap with Gina, Kobald can’t be overlooked as a suitable — if not more deserving opponent — despite losing her last two contests to Tara LaRosa and Julie Kedzie. Kobald has been out of action since that decision loss to Kedzie in August of last year, but before that she was one of the most active females in the sport with almost 20 professional fights. Like Cyborg, she also holds a second round technical knockout victory over Shayna Baszler as one of the more notable of her 16 career wins. This fight won’t have that slugfest feel to it like Carano vs. Cyborg would have, but these are still two of the best female fighters in the world, which should make for an exciting match anyway … even though I can’t help but be disappointed in the decision. Is this more star protecting from Elite XC? It’s hard to say yes because Kobald is certainly a world class talent herself, but Cyborg looked more than dangerous in her impressive win against Baszler. There were a lot of people who liked her chances against Gina — possibly even some Elite XC match makers, it would seem. It was also speculated by former Elite XC Live Events President Gary Shaw that this October CBS fight for Carano would be for the first-ever Elite XC women’s title, but with Shaw taking a step down from his position with the company it’s unclear if that statement will hold up. Regardless, Elite XC has a lot riding on this October 4 event on CBS. There’s already talk about Kimbo not fighting Brett Rogers, and now no Cyborg for Carano. This company needs to put its best foot forward going into Sunrise; however, it doesn’t look like that’s happening … yet. |
| Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson accident victim has miscarriage Posted: 02 Aug 2008 02:35 PM CDT
Right now there’s no word on whether or not the miscarriage was a result of the accident — it could just be coincidence. However, the couple has retained the services of an attorney and could possibly proceed with legal action against the former light heavyweight champion. More on this in a bit. |
| Carlos Condit vs Hiromitsu Miura WEC video fight talk and much, much more Posted: 02 Aug 2008 11:13 AM CDT WEC 35 is set to go off tomorrow, Sunday, August 3, 2008, at 9 p.m. ET on Versus from "The Joint" at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are a whopping three title fights on tap during the free broadcast … let’s hear what the champions and challengers have to say to get us amped for this blockbuster event:
WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann and challenger, Steve Cantwell: WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner: Varner’s opponent, Marcus Hicks: |
| UFC Quick Quote: Brock Lesnar would beat up himself … kinda Posted: 02 Aug 2008 11:06 AM CDT
–- Brock Lesnar, during the media conference call for UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy," fields a question about how his game has improved since his submission loss to Frank Mir at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” back in February 2008. Along with Georges St. Pierre's "training to face an army" quote ("Every time I'm training and I do my sparring, I have a fresh guy coming on me all the time."), Lesnar's quote had to be one of the more memorable of the call. It will be interesting to see how quickly Lesnar's game improves. His collegiate wrestling credentials alone (two-time NJCAA All-American, two-time NCAA All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion, 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion, 1999 NCAA heavyweight runner-up, with a career record of 106-5) are some of the very best in the UFC. Time will tell how well he adapts those wrestling skills to MMA. For now, he gets his second chance inside the Octagon against Heath Herring on August 9. |
| Drew McFedries vs Mike Massenzio booked for UFC Fight Night 15 Posted: 02 Aug 2008 10:39 AM CDT
“Massacre” is coming off a very impressive first round technical knockout win over Marvin Eastman at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale back in June — an effort that earned him “Knockout of the Night” honors and a $20,000 bonus for just 68 seconds worth of work. The hard-hitting Miletich Fighting Systems (MFS) product has yet to string together consecutive wins under the UFC banner … something he will look to change his next time out. Massenzio is two-time high school state wrestling and a national junior college champion from Bergen Community College out of Paramus, N.J. He is just the latest fighter from the now defunct International Fight League (IFL) to switch sweaters, signing a four-fight contract with the UFC. He was considered a threat to challenge for the IFL middleweight title before losing to Danillo Villefort via first round submission (kneebar) in his debut for the promotion back in May 2008. To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 15 card and rumors click here. |
| Elite XC drug test results for ‘Unfinished Business’ come back clean … for now Posted: 02 Aug 2008 09:52 AM CDT
Test results for the anabolic steroids (performance enhancing drugs) portion of the testing, which was also conducted on each fighter, are still pending. Heading into the event, there were still lingering questions about Nick Diaz’s medical marijuana use and how it would affect him getting cleared to fight. In fact, Diaz had to be pulled out of a fight against Jae Suk Lim in March when he admitted he was legally allowed to toke in California. He was replaced by Drew Fickett, but no definitive reason was ever given for Diaz not being able to compete. There were, however, some reports that suggested Diaz’s medical marijuana card was something the CSAC didn’t know how to deal with at the time and a decision was made to just keep him out of action to create more time to consider the unique situation. It’s unclear the reason there was no confusion this time over the marijuana prescription, but this report does confirm that Diaz did pass the test. Regardless, stay tuned for more updates on the steroid portion of the test results — it seems the CSAC is very meticulous with its screenings, making it difficult for fighters to mask any activity that involves banned substances. |
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