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Joe Lauzon out at least 12 months because of knee surgery Posted: 26 Feb 2009 07:36 PM PST Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight contender Joe Lauzon will undergo season-ending knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus, which will keep The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum on the sidelines for the remainder of 2009. Here’s a snip from his Web site: “The surgery scheduled for next week will not be so simple. Unlike the last two times, I will need my meniscus repaired. Instead of just shaving that little piece out, they will be stitching it up and getting it to sit back in place. To make things much worse, I need to have my ACL repaired as well. They think my torn ACL is causing my knee to shift ever so slightly and its destroying my meniscus…. Long story short … I will be off my feet for a month to a month and a half… training SUPER light in about 4 or 5 months … training decently hard in about 9 months and fighting in around 12-14 months. It’s going to be a long rehab … but that’s how it goes.” Lauzon most recently saw action against Jeremy Stephens in the UFC Fight Night 17 main event in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 14. He took out “Lil’ Heathen” with a second round armbar to notch his second straight win inside the Octagon. Prior to the back-to-back victories, Lauzon was one of the many recent victims of Kenny Florian courtesy of a second round technical knockout loss at UFC Fight Night 13 back in April. It was a temporary setback for the Boston-area native and he appeared to be climbing his way back toward the top of the division before this latest news. "J-Lau" was the favorite to win The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 season before meeting up with Manny Gamburyan in the semifinals. He has five wins in six attempts inside the Octagon. There were seemingly several possible opponents for Lauzon this year, including Hermes Franca, Spencer Fisher and Nate Diaz, among others. Those match ups will now have to simmer until Lauzon is healed up and ready to return. Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later.

Frank Shamrock: Ken Shamrock cut himself to escape fight with Kimbo Slice Posted: 26 Feb 2009 07:27 PM PST Props: Five Ounces of Pain Quoteworthy: I think Ken cut himself. It goes back to his giant ego and not being smart enough to understand the rest of the business. I think he got upset because Kimbo was making twice as much as he was and I don't think his ego could take it. I know for a fact that he tried to hold the network up for more money the day before the show and unfortunately his parting words were, "Well, then you never know what will happen because anything can happen." Then when he showed up with the cut we all thought he juiced himself. You know, he's not to be trusted … a real fighter would have superglued it and put makeup on it and been and would have been out there fighting. Which (is something) I have done and many fighters have done many times … I have no idea what he's doing. I just hope when he's finished destroying himself that he has something left to live by. -Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Frank Shamrock comments to Sam Caplan on brother Ken’s last-minute withdrawal from his EliteXC main event fight against Kimbo Slice last October due to (a possible self-inflicted) cut sustained hours for the bout. Frank — who had not been training for a fight and competes at 185 pounds — volunteered to fight the much larger Slice on two hours notice. Unfortunately CBS executives reportedly nixed the idea and opted to go with Seth Petruzelli instead. The rest, as "they" say is history. Despite moments of civility, the adopted and quasi-estranged brothers are back on bad terms following the illness of their father Bob. Family Feud, MMA style. For the rest of the interview click here.

Former EliteXC welterweight contender Nick Thompson signs with Strikeforce Posted: 26 Feb 2009 07:06 PM PST MMAmania.com has been able to confirm that former EliteXC number one contender and the last man to hold the Bodog Fight welterweight championship Nick Thompson (38-10-1) has joined the roster of the San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion ‘Strikeforce’ with a possible debut targeted for April 11. “The Goat” is coming off back-to-back wins since being submitted early in the first round of his EliteXC title bout with Jake Shields last July. His most recent victory was a unanimous decision nod over talented British striker Paul “Semtex” Daley on last month’s MFC 20: “Destined for Greatness” card. Before the loss to Shields, Thompson was on a ridiculous run of success that saw him take 20 of 21 fights, including notable wins over Eddie Alvarez, Chris Wilson, Mark Weir, Josh Neer and others. The only loss during that streak was a first round submission (strikes) to Karo Parisyan at UFC 59: “Reality Check” — one of only two career appearances in the Octagon. This signing certainly bolsters the welterweight division significantly for Strikeforce - a promotion which has yet to crown a 170-pound champion. However, the contract with Strikeforce won’t be an exclusive one. Thompson is also employed by World Victory Road’s “Sengoku.” In fact, he plans on competing in the welterweight grand prix tournament for the Japanese promotion later this year. It’s going to be a busy year for the Goat. Strikeforce paid $3 million for the rights to the complete EliteXC video library earlier this month, which includes a total of 20 live events put on by the company, as well as 42 of the 80 or so fighter contracts that were left over from the collapse of the company last October. With a solid reputation, proven track record and smart management, expect them to be a major player in the MMA biz going forward. The April 11 Strikeforce card will feature Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock facing off in the evening's main event at a catchweight of 179 pounds. Also scheduled to do battle is Scott Smith as he faces Benji Radach and Joe Riggs taking on former EliteXC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields.

WEC 39 video preview and UFC 95 review on ESPNs ‘MMA Live’ Posted: 26 Feb 2009 01:24 PM PST

Randy Couture vs Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira UFC 101 fight possible for August Posted: 26 Feb 2009 12:55 PM PST Former champions and mixed martial arts legends Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira could meet in an epic match up at UFC 101 in August, according to MMAWeekly.com. The report does not provide a date or location for the event; however, it indicates that “The Natural” has agreed to the clash of heavyweight titans. This, of course, is the dream match up that most fans expected to see on May 23 before Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir played spoiler roles in the opening round of the mini heavyweight tournament created in late 2008 to crown an undisputed division champion. Couture recently indicated that he was interested in a fight against Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic when the promotion storms the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, for UFC 99 on June 13. However, he apparently did not have enough time to prepare because he will be on a movie set alongside action stars Jet Li, Jason Statham and Dolph Lundgren in Sylvester Stallone's upcoming action flick "The Expendables." This is not the first time that Couture has been offered a fight with “Big Nog.” He balked at the opportunity while he was in a contract dispute with the promotion for most of 2008, saying the fight that he wanted most was one against WAMMA deity Fedor Emelianenko. Now that he is coming off surgery and another movie role, UFC 101 could finally be the event that brings the former kings together. More on this in a bit.

Bellator announces first round tournament pairings for debut show in Hollywood, Florida, on April 3 Posted: 26 Feb 2009 12:46 PM PST Los Angeles, Calif. — Bellator Fighting Championships, the first mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion to secure an exclusive agreement with any member of the ESPN family of networks, announced today that its debut event will be held in the Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida on April 3, 2009. The event will air during prime time on April 4 on ESPN Deportes. "We are thrilled to be premiering at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino," said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. "The Seminole Hard Rock has a superb track record of hosting world-class, sold out MMA in their state of the art arena. And as South Florida has some of the most passionate MMA fans in the country, the Hard Rock is the perfect location for our debut. We look forward to showcasing our highly competitive single elimination tournament fights for Florida's MMA fans and for the world through our alliance with ESPN Deportes." The event will feature tournament bouts in the Featherweight (145 lbs.), Lightweight (155 lbs.) and Middleweight (185 lbs.) divisions, showcasing two of the world's best Lightweights (Eddie Alvarez and Jorge Masvidal) as well as featured non-tournament bouts and a top women's fight highlighting Miami's own Jessica Aguilar, an American Top Team fighter who has established a 5-2 record. The fight card is detailed below: Tournament bouts: 155 lbs.: Eddie Alvarez (16-2) vs. Daniel Morales (5-1) 155 lbs.: Jorge Masvidal (16-3) vs. Diego Garijo (3-1) 145 lbs.: Nick Gonzalez (14-6) vs. Yahir Reyes (12-5) 145 lbs.: Estevan Payan (6-1) vs. Luis Palomino (9-4) 145 lbs.: Joe Soto (4-0) vs. Ben Greer (11-4) The bout between Alvarez and Morales pits an aggressive and hungry Alvarez against the notoriously tough Daniel Morales. Though Morales has only been to decision once, his bout with Alvarez marks a significant step up in competition for the former Cage of Fire Lightweight champ. Taking a similar step up in competition is Diego Garijo, a decorated grappler who is in the best condition of his career. He will face off against Miami's own Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal is known for his strength and endurance at Lightweight and with Garijo's stellar conditioning, their bout promises to be a strong contender for fight of the night. The event will also feature exciting matchups in the Featherweight division, including Nick Gonzalez who will compete against Yahir Reyes. As both are tremendous stand up fighters, this battle will likely be the best match up of striking skills of the division. Estevan Payan and Luis Palomino are set to compete in the Featherweight division as well. With aggressive, "in your face" styles, Payan and Palomino are expected to give tough fights until the end. The Featherweight matchup between Joe Soto and Ben Greer will be an interesting technical battle. Both are dominant wrestlers with solid jiu-jitsu backgrounds; their fight promises to be a true test of who rules on the ground. Bellator Fighting Championships' premiere season consists of 12 two-hour events to be broadcast weekly in primetime on Saturday nights. The nationally televised events will feature a combination of tournament and non-tournament special feature bouts. There will be four simultaneous tournaments taking place in season #1 over a three month period: one in each of the Featherweight (145 lb.), Lightweight (155 lb.), Welterweight (170 lb.) and Middleweight (185 lb.) divisions. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday March 3, at 12:00 pm EST, and can be purchased at the Hard Rock Live Hollywood box office or Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices are $25, $50, $100 and $150. For tickets to the live event, please visit Ticketmaster.com beginning Tuesday, March 3, 2009.

UFC 96 Jackson vs Jardine extended video promo for March 7 Posted: 26 Feb 2009 11:11 AM PST

UFC Quick Quote: Country breakfast prompts Paul Kelly to drop ten pounds and one division Posted: 26 Feb 2009 10:59 AM PST "I'm definitely dropping to 155-pounds now, it makes sense. I was eating a big breakfast on the morning of the weigh-in last Friday (for UFC 95). While everyone else is dying to make weight, I'm sitting there with a big bowl of muesli and a glass of orange juice. I'll just have to cut 10-pounds and that's it. It's no big deal. All the lightweights in my gym are bigger than me in between fights. They walk around at about 83 kilos and I walk around at about 81 or 82 kilos. I won't lose any strength moving down. Nobody can keep me on my back in the gym and that will stay like that at lightweight." -UFC welterweight Paul Kelly, fresh off his thrilling three-round victory over Troy Mandaloniz at UFC 95 “Sanchez vs. Stevenson,” tells UFC.com that his next fight will be in the lightweight division for the simple fact that it would only require a ten pound cut — mere child’s play by today’s standards. "Tellys" is a welcome addition to lightweight — or any other weight class in the UFC for that matter so long as he continues to put on performances like he did last Friday at the O2 Arena on London, England.

WEC 39 headliners Mike Thomas Brown and Leonard Garcia trade predictions before their March 1 title bout Posted: 26 Feb 2009 10:58 AM PST WEC 39: "Brown vs. Garcia," is set to take place from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 1 and will air live on the Versus network beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET on fight night. WEC featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown will defend his 145-pound title for the first time against Leonard Garcia since capturing the crown from superstar Urijah Faber in November 2008. Garcia — a disciple of MMA trainer extraordinaire Greg Jackson — has earned his status as the number one contender after winning his first two fights for the promotion with first round knockouts. Fortunately for us, we don't have to wait until next Sunday for the battle to begin. Headlining this week’s episode of MMAmania.com's exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio, both Brown and Garcia stopped by the show to give us their take on Sunday’s title fight. And “Bad Boy” wasn’t wasting any time. “As far as wrestling, everyone knows wrestling was one of my weaker points, Roger (Huerta) sneezed on me (at UFC 69) and took me down. I’ve come a long way since that fight and wrestling’s been one of my points I’ve been working on. I don’t want this to be a boring fight, where Mike just takes me down and holds position and lays there. I want it to be an explosive fight. That’s what I’ve been working for and I hope Mike’s ready for that. Actually, I hope he’s not. I hope he’s been out there training with BJ Penn (and taking five days off).” Brown wasn’t amused by the Team Jackson protege. There is a strong rivalry between Greg Jackson’s camp and Brown’s American Top Team (ATT), perhaps the two best training camps in all of mixed martial arts. “[ATT has] incredible depth. We have so many good guys. At a normal gym you only have three or four tough guys and if one gets sick or is away then you run out of partners. Here you have so many that when a couple of them go down you still have five top guys there to train you. That’s what makes us so good. We’re here to help each other.” A lot of fans didn’t get a chance to see that depth because of the manner in which Brown finished WEC featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber last November. A win that Leonard Garcia sees as doing more harm than good. “Him knocking out Urijah could be the best thing for me. Now he thinks he’s a big puncher. I have a reach on him, a lot more speed, my footwork is better … he’s kind of slow. Mike’s a big strong tank and he can do damage when ever he does bulldoze you over so I have to take the aerial attack and come up over him and take shots from different angles. I’m a better striker and he’s a better wrestler so it’s classic ’striker vs. grappler’ but I work good off my back so don’t think once he takes me down ‘Damn, he got him‘.” Garcia’s opinion on the striking of Brown overlooks the self-described technique of the former Bodog Fight warrior who cautions not to choose style over substance. “I’m not slow, I’m methodical. I keep my hands up, I’m not wild, I take my time and I look for big shots. I don’t throw combinations. That’s my game, that’s how I fight. I hit really hard. I’m definitely one of the big punchers at American Top Team. My jiu-jitsu is good, I train with [guys like] Marcelo Garcia and I definitely have better wrestling. I finish people from the top.” One thing Garcia agrees with Brown on is the way the fight ends. It seems both fighters predict a finish and based on their respective records, it’s hard to argue against that prediction. “This fight doesn’t go five rounds. I can’t call which round it’s gonna end, Mike has a good chin and so do I. This is what I hope: I hope Mike stands with me and makes it interesting for the fans. He says he’s the hardest hitter at 145, I say okay, let’s find out March 1.” Brown concurs, but thinks it might be wrapped up a little sooner than Garcia does. “I don’t see this going the distance. We both hit hard. Anybody can get dropped at anytime but neither of us have been knocked out. I imagine it ending before the third round.” Whenever it ends, no question it’s going to be an exciting fight — one with major title implications with so many talented fighters waiting in the wings. Don’t miss it. For the complete audio replay of their appearance click here.

Team St. Pierre formally responds to NSAC request filed by BJ Penn following UFC 94 Posted: 26 Feb 2009 09:02 AM PST Head Trainer Greg Jackson and George St. Pierre cornerman Phil Nurse have formally responded to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) in defense of a letter sent to the NSAC by BJ Penn earlier this month to address greasing allegations in their welterweight title fight at UFC 94 on January 31. The response, available here courtesy of the LATimes.com, is in defense of a formal request (not a complaint) sent to the NSAC by the legal team that represents lightweight champion BJ Penn designed to ensure that the sanctioning body engages "in a comprehensive investigation and review of the activities involving and relating to Georges St. Pierre prior to and during the bout." St. Pierre's cornermen during the fight applied Vaseline to his back and shoulders, which caught the eye of ringside officials when they noticed the petroleum jelly on the backside of the Canadian and sprung into action, wiping him down with towels after rounds two and three. "Rush" hasn’t given any excuses for the incident, saying it was just a minor mistake caused by the between-round frenzy and was part of a breathing technique. UFC President Dana White — who’s been taking the issue very seriously — has since blamed "stupid" cornermen (Greg Jackson and Phil Nurse) for the infraction. The Penn letter to the NSAC indicated that not only is greasing illegal, but it taints the reputation of the sport and jeopardizes the health and safety of those who participate in it. Furthermore, it states the application of Vaseline put Penn at a serious disadvantage during the fight because as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, "The Prodigy" relies on his ability to apply techniques and strategies designed to immobilize or cause potential injury to his opponent. With that ability neutralized, Penn's attorney contends that his client was put in an environment that was both "life threatening" and "career ending." Perhaps the most damaging part of the letter was the accusation that a member from Team Penn had asked the NSAC prior to the bout to pay special attention to St. Pierre because of the possibility of Team GSP engaging in activities that would intentionally make him more slippery. Today’s response from the St. Pierre camp vehemently denies those allegations and goes so far as to blame the entire “Grease Gate” charade on Penn’s bruised ego following a fight in which he was clearly dominated. Here’s a snip: “We believe strongly that we have done nothing to violate Nevada State Athletic Commission rules or to otherwise impugn the outcome of UFC 94, the integrity of the UFC or the sport and that the letter [of complaint by Penn] constitutes nothing more than Mr. Penn’s desperate attempt to protect his reputation and commercial value after being totally dominated by a superior athlete.” Penn is expected to proceed with a formal complaint in the coming days and the NSAC will have to weigh both sides to determine what disciplinary action should be taken — if any. Sorry folks, this one isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

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