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- Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and ‘King’ Mo Lawal go at it in a van (Video)
- Brock Lesnar vs Fedor Emelianenko in the UFC (Part two)
- Gina Carano sex tape ‘just a joke’ from Kit Cope
- UFC 100 video review, Shane Carwin on Brock Lesnar and more on ESPNs ‘MMA Live’
- Get down or get out: UFC establishes hard line on fights between teammates
- Boxings Manny Pacquiao bests UFCs Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva as ‘Best Fighter’ at 2009 ESPY Awards
- Bitetti Combat: Jeff Monson vs Pedro Rizzo in the works for Sept. 12
- ‘Money’ talks: Jesse Taylor announces DREAM 10 bout opposite Dong Sik Yoon
- Bobby Lashley: ‘My sights are set on Brock Lesnar’
- Randy Couture vs Antonio Nogueira UFC 102 video preview
| Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and ‘King’ Mo Lawal go at it in a van (Video) Posted: 16 Jul 2009 08:24 PM PDT While monstrous Bobby Lashley plays the role of Wall Flower: |
| Brock Lesnar vs Fedor Emelianenko in the UFC (Part two) Posted: 16 Jul 2009 08:20 PM PDT
Josh Barnett is not the only person who could spoil a match up between the UFC and WAMMA heavyweight champions. Randy Couture may, contractually, get first dibs on “The Last Emperor:”
Remember that Couture resigned from the promotion not too long ago, rescinded his belt and sat on the sidelines for about nine months, getting embroiled in an ugly legal battle in the process, because he wanted to fight Emelianenko and the UFC couldn’t sign him (Couture also cited money as another reason for his sudden departure). UFC President Dana White has attempted to ink the Russian — widely considered the best heavyweight MMA figher alive today — to an exclusive contract several times; however, the parties have always been far apart on agreeable terms. White poured more fuel on the fire in the wake of UFC 100, saying he would make another run at Emelianenko when his contract is up with Affliction (supposedly Aug. 1 after his fight against Barnett) and get him inside the Octagon to finally end the years-long debate about who is the best big man in the sport. Emelianenko would have to first defeat Barnett, and then possibly Couture, before getting a UFC title shot against Lesnar, who will have to successfully defend his unified title for the first time against the winner of Shane Carwin-Cain Velasquez later this year. That’s one complicated jigsaw puzzle, which all hinges on whether or not the promotion can sign Emelianenko in the first place … if he beats Barnett, of course. Phew … |
| Gina Carano sex tape ‘just a joke’ from Kit Cope Posted: 16 Jul 2009 06:11 PM PDT
Props: MixedMartialArts.com Quoteworthy:
Kit Cope, who is perhaps best known for MTV’s “True Life: I’m a Muay Thai Fighter,” attempts to clarify recent remarks made in radio interview, during which he hinted that a sex tape existed with ex-girlfriend Gina Carano. The one-fight UFC veteran backtracks on the provocative claim, saying it was all just in good fun. Cope and Carano broke up about two years ago — well before Carano became the pretty face of female mixed martial arts. She’s about to put that pretty face on the line and battle Chute Boxe wrecking machine Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos for the first-ever Strikeforce female world title on Aug. 15. Carano is more than likely not amused with Cope’s “joke,” which set the message boards on the Interwebs ablaze for the past few days, just three weeks before the biggest fight of her career. Distraction? |
| UFC 100 video review, Shane Carwin on Brock Lesnar and more on ESPNs ‘MMA Live’ Posted: 16 Jul 2009 05:46 PM PDT |
| Get down or get out: UFC establishes hard line on fights between teammates Posted: 16 Jul 2009 05:42 PM PDT
As the UFC expands, several major camps have distinguished themselves from the rest, building strong stables of fighters focused on proving themselves as top contenders in their respective divisions. Camps like Xtreme Couture, Greg Jackson's MMA, American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) and American Top Team, among others, have developed into MMA powerhouses. In the process, they've also developed strong ties between teammates who, more often than not, refuse to fight one another. Thus far, this hasn't presented very many problems, except perhaps for Diego Sanchez, who as a welterweight left Greg Jackson's camp when it started a partnership with welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. From Sanchez's perspective, he was gunning for St. Pierre's belt and felt he couldn't train with his would-be opponent. But beyond that, several fighters have openly stated that they refuse to fight teammates; however, it may only be a matter of time before they will have to, according to UFC Co-owner and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta.
Fertitta recently told Sherdog.com that he's not in the business of trying to make sure teammates won't fight teammates. "Look, at the end of the day, we're here to see fighters, we're here to see fights," said Fertitta. "If teammates don't want to fight, then they're gonna have to go somewhere else. We don't put up with that stuff." While Fertitta might be taking the hard-line approach, it makes sense from a business perspective. The UFC wants to put on the best fights, regardless of who likes who. That didn't stop current contender Mike Swick from dropping from middleweight to welterweight in early 2008, despite the fact that two of his AKA teammates, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck, were top contenders in the division at the time. The three have been vocal in the past about refusing to fight one another, as Fitch recently stated, "I want the best for my teammates and my friends, and still, there's plenty of good fights to be had out there. It's not like if [Swick] wins the belt my entire fighting career is over. There's a number of guys that I could fight and could be happy fighting at 170 in the UFC." Greg Jackson light heavyweight teammates Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine have also said that they would not fight one another — even in the lead-up to UFC 96, when Jardine fought Quinton "Rampage" Jackson to decide the number one light heavyweight contender. Jardine lost that fight, but had he won, it's anyone's guess if he would have stuck to his guns and refused a title shot against then-champion Evans. Black House teammates Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, both champions in their respective divisions, have also stated their refusal to fight one another. Middleweight champion Silva, who competes in both the 185 and 205-pound divisions, went so far as to say that he was not interested in challenging for the light heavyweight strap, because he saw it as already belonging to his teammate, Machida — this an entire year before "The Dragon" even challenged for the light heavyweight title. Talk about confidence in your mates … not to mention foresight. So what do you think? Do you think teammates should put their friendships aside and fight one another, if and when they are asked? Keep in mind logistical concerns, such as shared space when training, which coaches and training partners corner which fighters, and how to develop fight strategies when your opponent might be in the next room. Or do you think the UFC needs to better understand the loyalty that exists between fighters from the same camp? Fighting, after all, is a lot more than dollars and cents. |
| Posted: 16 Jul 2009 01:04 PM PDT
Props: PhilStar.com (Note: “Pac Man” also beat out fellow boxer Sugar Shane Mosley for the prestigious award.) |
| Bitetti Combat: Jeff Monson vs Pedro Rizzo in the works for Sept. 12 Posted: 16 Jul 2009 12:04 PM PDT
A heavyweight battle between stocky grappling guru Jeff "The Snowman" Monson (30-8) and former WVC heavyweight champion Pedro Rizzo (16-9) is in the works for “Bitetti Combat” from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 12, according to Super Lutas. The titanic tilt is actually a rematch from their September 2007 fight at “Art of War 3″ from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Rizzo dropped Monson midway through the third with a series of punches for what has turned out to be his only victory in his last three fights. The heavy-handed Brazilian is coming off two devastating back-to-back knockout losses. Josh Barnett stopped him at Affliction “Banned” in July of 2008 before he went stiff against Gilbert Yvel at “Ultimate Chaos” just last month. It was only his third fight in as many years and he likely suffers from the gaps of inactivity. Hopefully the once-feared striker can get back to his winning ways against Monson this September. The self-described anarchist has won seven of his last eight fights following the Rizzo loss. After stealing a controversial unanimous decision victory against Roy "Big Country" Nelson at "March Badness," Monson made short work of Russian gladiator Sergei Kharitonov at DREAM 8, forcing the Russian to tap with a north-south choke early into round one. “The Snowman” has momentum on his side, but you can never count Rizzo out so long as he continues to hit like a cement truck. Bitetti Combat will feature a light heavyweight showdown between Marvin Eastman and Ricardo Arona. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alex Stiebling are also expected to hook ‘em up. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on this developing card. |
| ‘Money’ talks: Jesse Taylor announces DREAM 10 bout opposite Dong Sik Yoon Posted: 16 Jul 2009 11:21 AM PDT
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 cast member Jesse "JT Money" Taylor (11-3) has recently announced that his next bout will be against Korean Judoka Dong Sik-Yoon (4-6) at DREAM 10 on July 20, from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, according to his official Web site. Taylor had his fair share of infamy throughout the seventh season of TUF, but it may be the feat he managed to establish towards the end of the show that he's best known for: Being the first person ever to reach the finale but to get kicked off before competing. That incident stemmed from Taylor's drunken debauchery in a Las Vegas Casino which rubbed UFC president Dana White the wrong way and lead to him giving the boot to the TUF 7 Finalist. He did get a second chance with the organization at UFC Fight Night: "Silva vs. Irvin" in July 2008, though ended up losing to fellow TUF 7 castmate CB Dolloway via slick Peruvian necktie which would also lead to Taylors second exile from the UFC. Since than he has been toiling on the small circuits of North America, where he has managed to rack up five wins in the last year which apparently has earned him a call up to go fight on the big stage in Japan for DREAM.
Also announced for DREAM 10 today was a welterweight grand prix reserve bout featuring Seichi Ikemoto (18-15-5) doing battle with Tarec Saffiedine (6-0). The semifinals and finals of the promotions welterweight tournament, which was created in a bid to crown a 168 lbs champion are of course set to go down the same night. Japanese mainstay Hayato Sakurai (35-8-2) takes on unorthodox Marius Zaromskis (9-2) and on the other side of the brackets will be jiu-jitsu ace Andre Galvao (3-0) facing off against the explosive Jason High (7-1). Also in non-tournament action will be WAMMA lightweight champion Shinya Aoki colliding with fellow jiu-jitsu phenom Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro in what should turn out to be quite a grappling demonstration. Here is the current line-up for DREAM 10:
For more on DREAM click here. |
| Bobby Lashley: ‘My sights are set on Brock Lesnar’ Posted: 16 Jul 2009 10:34 AM PDT
Props: Sherdog.com Quoteworthy:
Fresh off his battering of Bob Sapp at last month’s “Ultimate Chaos” event, former WWE superstar and decorated amateur wrestler Bobby Lashley focuses on his goal is to eventually upend UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Despite the fact that Lesnar only has one more professional fight than he does, Lashley understands that he must first become a reputable fighter prior to a potential UFC debut. He had trouble finishing Jason Guida at “March Badness” in only the second MMA match of his career, but vows to improve and work his way up to the top. The question is, with Lesnar so far ahead of him in terms of MMA accomplishments, will he ever get there? |
| Randy Couture vs Antonio Nogueira UFC 102 video preview Posted: 16 Jul 2009 10:33 AM PDT |
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