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- The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10: Episode 4 recap and discussion
- Junie Browning arrested for assault after drug-induced rage on hospital staff
- Dana White video on UFC 104, Herschel Walker and more with ESPNs ‘Rome is Burning’
- Get smart: Miguel Torres interview exclusive with MMAmania.com
- WEC contract extension secures Urijah Faber through 2010 and beyond
- UFC Octagon Girl Natasha Wicks shows some skin and talks MMA (Video)
- Programming alert: WEC ‘Greatest Knockouts II’ to air tonight (Oct. 7) on Versus
- UFC Quick Quote: Cain Velasquez will bring his chin to UFC 104
- Brock Lesnar training for UFC 106 ‘Redneck Style’ (Video)
- News, notes and quotes: DREAM 11 post-fight extra
| The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10: Episode 4 recap and discussion Posted: 07 Oct 2009 04:57 PM PDT
Episode four of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 10 gets underway and we get a recap of last week’s Kimbo Slice vs Roy Nelson fight — as if anyone tuning in tonight didn’t watch the highly-anticipated showdown in episode three. In any event, for the few hundred thousand that remain from last week’s 6+ million, we get to hear the rest of the house share pretty much the same sentiments that most fanboys did: Kimbo is green and Nelson is fat. Coach Jackson doesn’t approve of “Big Country’s” cockiness after the fight. Slice gets the requisite pat on the back from his coaches but Kimbo isn’t havin’ it — he wants in if another fighter gets hurt or drops out. In a matter that reeks of either extremely coincidental timing or extremely convenient editing, Marcus Jones channels Kenny Stevens and lumbers out of the bathroom, sweating profusely and speaking incoherently. Brendan Schaub blames the incident on the rigors of MMA training, which newcomers like Marcus may not be accustomed to. Kimbo practically steps over Jones’ limp body to tell the camera he’s ready to take his place. Team Evans hits the gym in good spirits, up 3-0 on Team Jackson. “Sugar” wants to guide his team without reinventing the wheel — time to polish, not start over. With Kimbo on the sidelines, we finally get a closer look at some of the other guys in the house. Truth be told, the Evans gang is looking pretty good so far as they run down the roster and strategically match up the remaining fighters to keep it to their advantage. Rashad wants Justin Wren to fight Scott Junk but Wren has a problem with that pairing because he and Junk are boys back home. Since Rashad already went through that scenario with Keith Jardine a while back in the UFC, he’s somewhat sympathetic to the plea. Team Jackson arrives at the gym and a bitter Rampage immediately starts with the fat jokes when he sees Roy Nelson. Like Team Evans, we start to get more from the guys picked by the former light heavyweight champ. Jackson tries to convince the camera he can coach one of his guys to the finals. If this is the kind of acting he took with him to the A-Team audition, I have serious doubts about the competency of their casting director. As expected, all the efforts Team Evans made to pick strategic match-ups gets leaked to everyone inside the house when Matt Mitrione gets afflicted with diarrhea of the mouth. During the commercial break I see an ad for HDNet that features Alistair Overeem throwing hands. I resign myself to the fact that these promos are probably the only time he’ll ever be seen again in the United States. Back at the house, James McSweeney suspects Mitrione squealed to get the fights switched because he was afraid to fight Marcus Jones. Coach Evans gets wind of the blabbery and contemplates a new strategy. Schaub appoints himself Team Advisor and starts interjecting his own ideas for match-ups. When it comes down to the official fight selection, Coach Evans picks Brendan Schaub to face Team Rampage fighter Demico Rogers. Jackson is (once again) pleased with the pick. He also admits to fantasizing about pulling out Rashad’s brain and then kicking him in the nuts. Schaub hits the gym and gets high praise from Coach and Team Jackson “brother” Rashad Evans. He shows his hands and works stand-up because he believes a knockout will end this fight. Now Rogers gets a turn for a pre-fight workout and wrestling is the order of the day. Rampage continues his stellar run as coach and mentor by standing on the sidelines and muttering “I like it!” It’s fight time and Schaub can be seen sparring and getting loose inside the locker room as his team psyches him up. On the other side of the gym, Rogers is also in the locker room — sitting down and having a drink of water amidst muffled conversation. I don’t think it takes a clairvoyant to see where this is going. In Rogers’ defense, he does let out a roar as he walks to the cage. Heavyweight elimination fight #4: Brendan Schaub (4-0) vs. Demico Rogers (4-0) Round 1: Low kick by Rogers followed by a sloppy shoot. Schaub spins out and gets muscled to the cage. They push off and trade punches. Rogers secures a much better takedown and they hit the floor. Schaub working from a very stingy guard. Rogers postures up and dives in but gets nothing. Schaub uses the cage to try and spin out but Rogers swings into half guard. Nice elbow by Rogers, who briefly relaxes his mount and ends up getting reversed. Schaub now punching from the top. Rogers rolls over and goes flat, allowing Schaub to lock in a guillotine and transition to an anaconda choke. From there, it’s academic. Brendan Schaub defeats Demico Rogers via submission (anaconda choke) After the fight, Demico is abandoned inside the cage. No coach, no team, no nothing. Mercifully, Coach Evans comes over to console him. Hopefully Rampage is somewhere watching and taking notes so that he can get a better idea of what he should be doing. Schaub came into the season with a lot of hype and while he did pull out the win, his performance tonight was merely average. Team Jackson hits the locker room and Rampage begins to unravel, complaining that his guys are too green and his coaches are advising them to do all the wrong things. You know, terrible things, like passing guard and improving position. Don’t these guys know the best way to win a fight is to just lay in your opponent’s guard? I was secretly hoping that someone would bring Rampage a mirror. In an unrelated note, new memberships at the famed Wolfslair Academy have plummeted 65-percent since episode one. Stay tuned next week as a fighter gets labeled a “black sheep,” Matt Mitrione further endears himself to Team Evans with a phantom injury and of course — more arguing between Rashad and Rampage. See you in seven! |
| Junie Browning arrested for assault after drug-induced rage on hospital staff Posted: 07 Oct 2009 04:56 PM PDT
Junie Browning was recently arrested for assaulting three nurses at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, after The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 alum was admitted for taking 16 pills of Klonopin — an anti-anxiety drug — “in an attempt to harm himself,” according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. Browning, who was brought to the medical facility by two concerned friends, allegedly pushed a female nurse, as well as struck two male nurses, when attempting to discharge himself against their better judgment. He then reportedly warned the staff:
Browning was labeled a “bad boy” after several drunken, and sometimes violent, episodes on the Spike TV mixed martial arts reality series. He was nearly kicked off the program several times; however, UFC President Dana White gave him numerous chances to redeem himself. Whether or not Browning gets another chance after this incident remains to be seen. The Kentucky native faces three counts of battery on a health care provider. He was released today from the Henderson Detention Center. Browning most recently lost to Cole Miller via first round submission (guillotine choke) at UFC Fight Night 18 back in April |
| Dana White video on UFC 104, Herschel Walker and more with ESPNs ‘Rome is Burning’ Posted: 07 Oct 2009 04:00 PM PDT |
| Get smart: Miguel Torres interview exclusive with MMAmania.com Posted: 07 Oct 2009 12:02 PM PDT
Six months ago Miguel Angel Torres was on top of the world. The Chicago native had just defended his WEC bantamweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Japanese import Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40 — his third straight successful defense. He was at the top of pretty much every top ten list imaginable. He was doing TV spots on ESPN, magazine covers, countless appearances and interviews and pretty much everything else that goes along with being the best 135-pound fighter in the world. Then four months later at WEC 42, with one swing of his left hand, 29 year old Brian Bowles sent Torres and his whole mystique as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world crashing to the canvas. Now here we are two months later. The dust has settled and Torres’ reality is that he is no longer the WEC champion and he no longer has that unbeatable image that garnered so much fanfare over the last couple of years. The unbeatable image is likely gone for good, but his lost championship belt is not. And he wants it back — which is bad news for Brian Bowles and all other WEC bantamweight contenders that might stand in his way. We sat down with the former WEC 135-pound kingpin earlier today and talked about that fight with Bowles, what the future holds for him, a possible WEC/UFC merger and much, much more. Check it out:
James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Start off by telling us a little bit about what you’ve been up to and where your head has been at these last couple months coming off the loss. Miguel Torres: I’ve been good man. My head’s been good. I’ve been working on my gym a lot, training still. I’ve got a bunch of guys who are upcoming fighters from my gym. I’ve been doing a lot of seminars out of town, working with different gyms and different associations. I’ve kind of looked at this loss like a blessing in disguise because I’ve been able to work on my personal life. I put my life on hold for two years working with the WEC. Now I’ve had a little bit of time to sit back and work on my gym and spend time with my family and spend time with my students so things have been going really good. I’ve been training still. I think I’m going to fight again maybe in January. There’s no set date, but everything’s been going really good. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You mentioned in a pre-fight conference call leading up to the Brian Bowles fight that all the exposure you’ve received since joining the WEC has king of worked against you in allowing your opponents to develop better gameplans against you. But on the flip side of that someone like Bowles who’s only fought seven pro fights doesn’t really have much tape to go by and he certainly hasn’t knocked many people out on film. What kind of factor, if at all, do you think that played in this fight? Was he more prepared for you than you were for him? Miguel Torres: I think Brian Bowles had more than enough time to prepare for the fight. When he had got hurt in February, when he couldn’t fight in April, until he fought me in August, he had a lot of time to prepare. I know going into the fight that I was coming off two fights, Tapia in December and then Mizugaki in April. At the time I was traveling, doing promo and seminars. Then I would come back, train for my fight for two months and then I would do non stop promo for the next two or three months until my next fight. So I didn’t really have much of a break. Brian was able to be rested. I don’t believe in luck. He hit me with a really good shot. He caught me right behind the ear and I was out right when I hit the ground. I think that was me not being prepared to control a situation like that. I hit Brian and I hurt him, but even a hurt Brian Bowles is dangerous. In retrospect I should have been more cautious going into the fight. I should have respected his power a little bit more. And when I get the opportunity to fight him again, if I do, it’s going to be a completely different fight. I’ll be smarter. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You mentioned some of the promo stuff you do as well, like the TV stuff with ESPN and all that. Do you think having to worry about stuff like that distracted you from fully preparing like you needed to for such an important world title fight? Miguel Torres: I prepared the best that I could. I think there was a lot of situations that took place leading to what happened. It wasn’t just the traveling. It was also the way I was training, training in my gym with my own guys. Everybody here is real tough, but they don’t have that professional skill level that we need. All the guys that I train with that are professional fighters, I couldn’t train with because they had their own fights. That was the thing with Kurt Pellegrino and Kenny Florian, we usually do a training camp at either their gym or my gym, but we couldn’t do that for this fight because they all fought the day before I fought. That’s really the downfall of training with guys that fight in the UFC. If you guys fight on cards that are the same time then you guys can’t work together. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Before the fight people sort of had you on this pedestal as this unbeatable champion. Did you feel any pressure because of that to kind of fight a more entertaining style or the way you thought your fans wanted you to instead of maybe fighting smarter by picking apart your opponents weaknesses and sticking to your strengths? Miguel Torres: I’ve always fought the way I’ve fought mainly for the weight class, to make the weight class exciting and popular. I heard things about the way that I fought or the way people thought that I was. I didn’t play into that. I didn’t pay much attention to that. I know I’m human and everybody loses. I just fought the way I fought to try and bring attention to the weight class. I knew with me and the WEC getting a lot of attention that there was a chance to go out there and show the world what 135-pounders can do. If I went out there and fought a very efficient fight where I didn’t take any damage, just took guys out, I don’t think that would be as exciting than to go out there and just bang with guys. I took a different approach. In retrospect I’ll fight smarter next time. But of course there’s always that chance to make a big impact on a weight class, and I felt like that was my time to do that. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You mention being human and that everybody loses, but you had never been knocked out in your career in something like 40 pro fights. Does having that to your credit lead to any over confidence in your chin to where you feel like you can’t be knocked out in a fight? Miguel Torres: No, it doesn’t at all. I didn’t get hit in my chin. Brian caught me in the side of my head. When I hit the ground I was already out. When he threw the punch he was retreating, going backwards. He was looking down when he threw it. I just walked right into it. I was over aggressive and cocky, and I shouldn’t have gone at him so fast. I put myself in that situation. I could have hurt him and then laid back and let him chase me and counter punched, but instead I was trying to be the aggressor. That was the mistake that I made. I should have fought a totally different gameplan. The way that I was training and the way that I was thinking was totally off. So this fight gave me a chance to sit back and think a little bit, and next time I go out there I’ll be a lot smarter. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): How would you have fought smarter if you could have that fight over again? What gameplan would you use? Miguel Torres: I still would have stayed standing with Brian. I just would have been a counter puncher. I would have let him come forward and I would have tried to pick him apart that way. I knew going into it that when you have a guy that hits really hard that you can’t chase a guy like that because one shot can change the fight. I should have stayed back and let him come at me, used more of a clinch game to try and take it to the ground and expose his ground game. There’s a lot of things I could have done. Anything but chase him. The worst thing I could have done was chase him and that’s what I did. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): We kind of knew that he was going to have the strength and power advantage. But with some of your recent fights you’ve been able to take some very hard shots and just sort of walk right through them. I don’t think anybody was expecting you to go down so early. Do you think it’s easier to take hits like that later in fights when you’re already in survival mode? I mean, I know you were prepared for his power, but what happened in this fight that was different than the Maeda or Mizugaki fights where they hit you a ton? Miguel Torres: I’ve never been hit in the side of my ear. I’ve never been hit like that before. I’ve been hit in my face and my forehead and my chin and I’ve never had a problem with it. But I’ve never been hit in the side of my ear like that. Never. I remember chasing Brian. I hit him with a right. He started retreating and I chased him. That was the last thing I remember was chasing him. That first punch he hit me with, when I hit the ground I was already out. I was moving, but I was out already. I was on autopilot then. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): There was a lot of pound for pound best fighter in the world talk and stuff like that going on before that fight. Do you think, maybe even subconsciously, that that led to the over aggressiveness or cockiness you were talking about earlier? Miguel Torres: No, I never put stock in any of that stuff. People always ask me about that like, “where do you think you belong pound for pound,” and “we think you’re one of the best fighters in the world.” I tell people all the time that I don’t really believe in that ranking system. And the way it is now I don’t think I should be on there because I haven’t had enough fights to be on there. I’ve had a ton of fights, but not enough where people can see what I can do. It’s not fair to put me up there when I’m not where I need to be yet. It wasn’t my confidence, it was the way that I was training. I would go into a gym and I would have ten guys in the cage. Everybody in the cage would have experience and they were tough, but they didn’t have that professionalism that would have them fighting smart. They would go out there and try to take my head off no matter who was tougher. So if I could out-tough anybody that was in the gym, I win. I didn’t have to go to the ground because I was just trying to be tough with everybody. With a guy like Brian Bowles it’s totally different. You can’t out-tough a guy like that because one punch can change the whole fight. That’s the approach I tried to take. I tried to out-tough him and bully him around, but he was a lot stronger than I was. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): He’s real similar to a guy like Mike Brown and we already saw Brown sort of take over his division from a guy who, like you, people thought was unbeatable in Urijah Faber. Do you think that style, the power punching with the wrestling and the strength, is kind of taking over the smaller weight classes? Miguel Torres: No, I don’t. I believe in my jiu-jitsu and I know that I have one of the best ground games for my weight class. On the ground nobody’s been able to stop that attack yet. And I haven’t used that with Brian yet. And my next fight will be a different kind of fight. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): So does your training change at all moving forward? Do you feel like you need to adapt to figuring out ways to counteract that style? Miguel Torres: No, I do that anyway. My next training camp, whenever I find out who my next opponent is, I’m either going to be in Boston with Mark DellaGrotte or I’m going to train with Robert Drysdale in Vegas. It just depends on if I’m fighting a striker or a grappler. I’ve been working on my wrestling for the past two years now. My wrestling is pretty tight. My jiu jitsu is there and my striking is there. I just need a coach to clean it up and to help me with a gameplan. My gameplan has always been to just go out there and beat guys up until now and I need to be smarter. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Is Brian Bowles the toughest fighter you’ve faced in your career? Miguel Torres: I don’t think that Brian Bowles can be put up there yet. He knocked me out. He caught me with a punch. I think Mizugaki is one of the toughest guys that I’ve faced because he could take a punch and stand right through it. He caught me with some shots and I caught him with really good shots and I think he’s one of the tougher guys that I’ve fought. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you still feel like you’re the better fighter between you and Bowles? And what would you do differently if you could go back and do the fight over? Miguel Torres: What I’m going to do different the next time I fight is, I’m not going to do any PR. I was doing PR for UFC 100. I was there for four days. Then I went to L.A. for four days. I was doing the ESPN show early on for three episodes. I had a couple appearances that were already booked before I booked my fight. So there were a lot of things that are going to get cut out for my next fight. I’m not going to do any of that stuff. I’m going to limit all my interviews. I had a camera crew doing a documentary on how I train. I had a two guys coming down to the gym from Chicago daily doing pictures for the papers. So it was to the point that I was kind of pressured to perform for them instead of training the right way. My next training camp I’m not going to stay in my gym. I’m going to train with either Mark DellaGrotte or Robert Drysdale. I’m just going to take a smarter approach to my fight next time. I’m going to go out there and fight to put the James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Do you feel like you’re the better fighter? Miguel Torres: I do. Brian caught me with a great shot and he knocked me out and I give him all the props in the world. But I still think that I’m a better fighter than he is. I think you have to think that way if you’re a fighter. I will never think anyone is better than me. Even if Brian beats me ten times I wouldn’t think he was better than me and I would still try to fight him again. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): As someone who has been at the absolute top of the division, what kind of advice would you give to a young guy like Bowles as he tries to make his mark on the weight class? Miguel Torres: Good luck. I’d tell him good luck. It’s going to be tough. It’s one thing when you’re coming up and you can put all your time into training and all your time into doing what you have to do, but it’s another thing when you have obligations with the media and the fans and you have to travel and do all these other things. It’s a big difference. It’s a reality check. You realize you can’t spend as much time in the gym. When you travel, your diet is off, your sleeping schedule is off. You know, just because you have a one day trip doesn’t mean one day. There’s the day you leave and the day you get back, that’s three days. So three days out of the week and your whole week is ruined because you got three days that you’re off. When you train for a fight and you take one day off, two days off, it ruins your whole schedule. And then to do that constantly over and over again, it’s very rough. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): It looks like Dominick Cruz is next in line for a title shot. Do you feel like your resume is enough to where you should get an immediate rematch or is that even something that you want to do? Miguel Torres: I want an immediate title shot. I have the resume for it. I think I have the resume for it. I just think it wouldn’t be fair to Brian Bowles or to Dominick Cruz. That was considered the top contendership for the Brian Bowles fight and I don’t think it would be fair if I stepped in and took it from him. I’d kind of be a prick. If I was Dominick I think I would hate me for that. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): We’ve seen in the past that Zuffa likes to pair guys coming off losses against each other. On that same card there were two other top bantamweights in Joseph Benavidez and Jeff Curran who lost as well. Are there any thoughts on potential match-ups with those guys? And I know you and Curran have gone back and forth with some verbal jabs in the past. Is that a fight that you want? Miguel Torres: I’ll fight anybody that will earn me a title shot after that fight. If that’s Jeff Curran then I’ll fight Jeff Curran, if it’s Joseph Benavidez then it’ll be Benavidez. I’ll fight whoever the WEC is going to put in front of me to keep me in line for a title shot. The fact that Curran was talking shit and the fact that he wants to fight me, I think this is a perfect time to make a fight happen. But I don’t know if me fighting him is going to do anything for my career because he has four losses in a row. I think a fight with Benavidez will be better for my resume. A fight with Curran doesn’t mean anything. I think he’s a great fighter at 135, but on paper it doesn’t mean anything. I think that if I beat Benavidez it’s different. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): I’ve also heard that Rani Yahya was a possibility. Is there any truth to that? Have you heard anything from the WEC on any of these guys? Miguel Torres: They gave me a couple guys names. That was one of the names. But he just fought at Abu Dhabi and he hurt his arm. That’s not official, but I heard he hurt his arm. There’s no date yet set for me to fight. They’re trying to bully me into fighting in December and I have all of October booked for travel already so I told them the earliest I could fight is January. And the next camp is not going to be in my gym. I’m not going to be home for two months, so I have to prepare to leave. I can’t just at the drop of the hat just go anymore. I’m going to be smart from now on. I’m not going to just do things like that anymore. I’m going to do my thing. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Speaking of the Abu Dhabi, how come you didn’t compete this year? Miguel Torres: I chose for the very reason why Rani Yahya is out now. He fights for money. He’s a prize fighter. In the Abu Dhabi there’s no guaranteed money there. You train for a tournament and you go out there and get hurt … I think there’s more risk in a tournament of getting hurt than there is fighting. Now he can’t fight and he’s not going to be able to make money. Training takes time and a fight takes time. It’s all the time you put into it. And then to not get any rewards for it or no benefit. Everybody already knows Rani Yahya is a great grappler. He went to the Abu Dhabi and made it to the semifinals but he got his arm popped. Now he can’t train, now he can’t work and now he can’t fight. If I did the tournament, Jeff Curran is in the tournament, Urijah Faber, whoever is in the tournament that are fighters, now they all get to see me grapple up close and personal against some of the best guys in the world. It gives them insight into my game James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): You have a guy that trains under you by the name of Mackens Semerzier who has just signed on to face Wagnney Fabiano on short notice at WEC 43. Tell us a little bit about him and what we should expect to see out of him on Saturday night. Miguel Torres: Mackens hits like a Mack truck. His jiu jitsu is on point. He’s one of the guys that I can’t catch. I train with Mackens on the ground and I can’t catch him. And his wrestling is ten times better than mine. His wrestling is certified. He’s actually a real wrestler. So he’s got takedowns, he’s got stand up and he’s got grappling. He’s got every area. He was training for a fight October 2 or 3 so he’s already been training to fight for two months already. So when the opportunity came along for him to fight I knew it would be perfect for him because he was already in shape. He hasn’t had just two weeks to prepare for it, he’s been training for this fight for two months already. So I think Wagnney is in for a big surprise on Saturday. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): That’s good that he’s been training. But the deck still seems to be stacked against him. This is only his fourth pro fight, while Fabiano on the other hand is considered one of the top contenders in the division. Miguel Torres: You can’t look at it that way anymore because times are different than when I first started fighting myself. When Mackens trains he trains with some of the best guys in the world. When I train, I train with my students so it’s a big difference. Mackens has a lot of guys that he trains with that are very good. I think coming into this fight is like Brian Bowles fighting me. He didn’t have the time to think about the opponent and who he was fighting, but he knows this is his chance to make an impact on the community and the whole 145 pound division in the WEC. He’s going to go out and he’s going to do the best that he can. I wouldn’t have him fight if I didn’t think he could win. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Have you heard anything about the possible WEC/UFC merger? I heard they wanted to use some of the marketable guys like you and Faber and some others to bolster UFC pay-per-view cards. How would you feel about possibly fighting in the UFC’s 135 pound division on pay-per-view? Miguel Torres: It excites me a ton, but I haven’t heard much about that yet. I don’t know what they’re planning on doing or if they’re planning on doing it at all. Until I get a contract or see something in writing, to me it’s all hearsay. I know that the WEC has a contract with Versus for a while. They still have a contract so I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I would love for it to happen though. I think it would be the best thing for the WEC to do. But until it’s on paper and there’s an official document I wouldn’t put much stock into it. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): It was reported that you made 25 grand for your last fight. For a guy that’s as marketable as you, it seems like you’re worth more. Does it bother you that you’re just as, if not more, marketable than some of the guys in the UFC, yet they still make more money than you? Miguel Torres: It bothers me a lot. It bothers me a lot, especially after this last fight. I was taken care of a ton until this last fight and now I got pushed to the side. I understand that business is business, but I think you should take care of the guys that are marketable. I think even if Brian Bowles wins his next five or six fights he still won’t be as marketable as I am, or Urijah Faber. It’s not a matter of him being a great fighter or not being a great fighter. I think it’s a matter of personality. That’s why Rampage Jackson is so popular, he’s just a character. I think when you got guys that can appeal to the audience like that you’ve got to take care of them. But the WEC knows what they’re doing. They’re doing what they can. They’re not making any money themselves yet. If they were making money like the UFC it would be a different story. That just pushes it more that the WEC should get absorbed by the UFC. But that’s a brand that I believe James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): So do you feel a sense of loyalty towards the WEC since they helped introduce you to the mainstream MMA world, or would you consider fighting for one of the non-Zuffa owned organizations like Strikeforce or one of the Japanese promotions if they were going to throw UFC-like money at you? Miguel Torres: I’m a little partial towards the WEC, but at the same time, I’m human and I have a family to feed. So I’m going to go with whoever is going to help me support my family the most. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Alright Miguel. Let me get a couple of predictions from you for some of the big upcoming fights before you get out of here. I’ll say a fight and you tell me who you think is going to win and why. Let’s start with “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Ben Henderson. Miguel Torres: Cerrone. He’s hard to submit. He’s got a good guard, and he kicks like a mule. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Mike Brown vs. Jose Aldo? Miguel Torres: Mike Brown by blanket. He’s going to smother Jose Aldo. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin? Miguel Torres: Lesnar. He’s “The Prodigy” of the heavyweight division. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort? Miguel Torres: Silva. I like Vitor, but I think Silva is going to win. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): And just in case they ever do fight, Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans? Miguel Torres: I don’t know, that’s a tough one. I’d probably go more with Rashad because Jardine fought Rampage already so I think they could put together a good game plan at Jackson’s so I’m going with Rashad. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Alright Miguel, before you get out of here do you have anything to say to your fans that are still, two months later, in shock after watching you lose the way you did? Miguel Torres: For sure. The first thing I want to say to my fans is that I appreciate all the support and loyalty. I will be back. I will have my title back. My last fight, all that proves is that I have to be smarter, and now that I understand that I will come back smarter. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Again, we appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Are there any sponsors or anything like that that you’d like to mention? Miguel Torres: I’d like to thank Ecko Unlimited and TorresMartialArts.com. James Iannotti (MMAmania.com): Alright. Thanks again champ. Good luck to you going forward, we’re all excited to see you fight again. Miguel Torres: For sure man. I appreciate it. Thank you. |
| WEC contract extension secures Urijah Faber through 2010 and beyond Posted: 07 Oct 2009 09:37 AM PDT
Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber will remain on the WEC roster for at least his next seven fights. According to Sherdog.com the Sacramento resident inked a six-fight extension with the promotion last week. The negotiations over the extension have been ongoing for the past nine or 10 months, but according to Urijah’s agent Mike Roberts, the lengthy talks were held up because of a complicated deal involving possible pay-per-view compensation rather than hesitancy from either side. Here’s a snip:
The 30-year-old Faber is coming off the second loss of his WEC career to current title holder Mike Thomas Brown at WEC 41 back in June. He suffered a broken hand early on in the fight, which may or may not have cost him his chance at reclaiming the belt. Faber has made a speedy recovery from the injury after having surgery that required pins to be placed in his hand. “The California Kid” is expected to be back in action sometime around the turn of the New Year. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com as we’ll keep you updated on his return to the cage. |
| UFC Octagon Girl Natasha Wicks shows some skin and talks MMA (Video) Posted: 07 Oct 2009 09:36 AM PDT |
| Programming alert: WEC ‘Greatest Knockouts II’ to air tonight (Oct. 7) on Versus Posted: 07 Oct 2009 08:39 AM PDT
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) is set to reward those of you who still get the Versus channel — and punish those of you who don’t. “Greatest Knockouts II,” featuring a collection of lights-out stoppages from the ever-growing library of fights under the Zuffa promotion, is set to air TONIGHT (Oct. 7) at 9 PM ET. Some of the featured fights will include:
A replay of WEC “Greatest Knockouts II” will air this Saturday (Oct. 10) on Versus immediately following the live broadcast of “WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson” from the AT&T Center in San Antonio. For more on the upcoming WEC events click here. |
| UFC Quick Quote: Cain Velasquez will bring his chin to UFC 104 Posted: 07 Oct 2009 07:49 AM PDT
– Up-and-coming heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez tells MMA Fanhouse that he’s not concerned with Internet critics who claim he has no chin. The two-time All-American wrestler from Arizona State University (ASU) dominated most of the action at UFC 99 against Checik Kongo, but was dropped several times throughout the fight when the Parisyan made contact. Velasquez can erase those memories with a “Big” win at UFC 104 on Oct. 24, but will he be faced with similar danger against the heavy hands of opponent Ben Rothwell? |
| Brock Lesnar training for UFC 106 ‘Redneck Style’ (Video) Posted: 07 Oct 2009 07:32 AM PDT And here I thought the “over/under” on Brock was referring to the odds … |
| News, notes and quotes: DREAM 11 post-fight extra Posted: 07 Oct 2009 07:18 AM PDT
DREAM 11 from the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan, is officially in the books. You can catch a replay of all the action this Friday (Oct. 10) at 10 PM ET on HDNet. The event wrapped up its Featherweight Grand Prix, which featured the rise of Brazilian submission specialist Bibiano Fernandes, who knocked off Joe Warren and Hiroyuki Takaya to claim the GP championship. Also featured was a lightweight title match between Joachim Hansen and Shinya Aoki. “Hellboy” was his usual venerable self until a slick armbar from “The Tobikan Judan” sent him packing and down two fights to one in their trilogy. As if those weren't enough, the semifinal bouts of the Super Hulk Tournament and the return of Kazushi Sakuraba were thrown in as a bonus. Following the event, many of the fighters made their case for the media at the DREAM 11 post-fight press conference. Check out some of the news, notes and quotes from DREAM 11 below. Joe Warren, on his controversial submission loss to Bibiano Fernandes:
More post-fight reactions from Kazushi Sakuraba, Joachim Hansen and more after the jump.
Minowaman, on his win over Hong Man Choi:
Tatsuya Kawajiri, on his win over Melchor Manibusan:
Kazushi Sakuraba, on his win over Ruben Williams:
Joachim Hansen, on his loss to Shinya Aoki:
Shinya Aoki, on his win over Joachim Hansen:
Hiroyuki Takaya, on his loss to Bibiano Fernandes:
Bibiano Fernandes, on winning the Grand Prix:
Keiichi Sasahara (DREAM event producer) gives his take on the event:
Additional news and notes: • Sasahara announced the rating for DREAM 11 during the post-fight press conference. Broadcast on Tokyo Broadcast Station (TBS), DREAM 11 recorded a 12.7% average throughout the night, with the peak of 17.2% during the Minowaman – Choi fight. The average rating was the second highest on the network during the time slot. Though it pales in comparison to DREAM 9 which was aired on prime-time and recorded an average of 16.2% with a high of 19.1% during the "Kid" Yamamoto – Joe Warren bout, Sasahara said that he is relieved by the overall rating given the Monday night time slot. • DREAM is scheduled to make an official announcement of the "Dynamite!" New Year's Eve show later this month. Also, it will release additional bouts for the upcoming DREAM 12 which is set to take place on Oct. 25 at Osaka Castle Hall. For our complete DREAM 11 results and recap click here. |
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