SB Nation User Blog: Luke Thomas

UWC: Confrontation to Be Streamed LIVE on Sherdog.com; MMA Nation Live Today From the Patriot Center

Luke Thomas — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:54:06 -0000

Here's the link to prove it. If you've got a free Saturday night and want to watch some great, free MMA while nitpicking all of the details I screw up, now's your chance. UWC and Sherdog have worked out a deal to give MMA fans all the action they crave while putting the spotlight on up and coming talent like Antwain Britt, Mike Easton or Johnny Dodson.

Also, I'll be doing MMA Nation live from the Patriot Center inside the VIP lounge. So, expect Carlos Condit, Chad Dukes and Urijah Faber to stop by as we talk UWC, WEC and the EliteXC scandal. Go to WJFK.com to stream that live over your computer.

Snapshot of the Day: Urijah Faber and Me

Luke Thomas — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:46:35 -0000

It's like the movie "Twins" except the little guy is way better than the big guy in everything.

UWC: Confrontation Spotlight on Antwain "The Juggernaut" Britt, Marcus Foran

Luke Thomas — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:29:13 -0000

Today on the "Big O & Dukes Show" on 106.7 WJFK two of the fighters competing on tomorrow's UWC: Confrontation card appeared in studio to chat MMA, Kimbo Slice, the UFC, MMA on ESPN (or lack thereof) and even video games. Click here to listen to the whole thing.

Foran is a prep school national wrestling champion, former Marine and teammate of WEC welterweight champion Carlos "The Natural Born Killer" Condit. He takes on Chris Reedy tomorrow night.

Britt was a contestant on TUF 8 before an injury forced him to pull out and is considered one of the top prospects in professional MMA training in the Mid-Atlantic. He is fighting Terry "T-Rex" Cohens as part of tomorrow night's main event.

Some Members of Mainstream Press Are Not Our Allies

Luke Thomas — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:10:34 -0000

What is becoming quite clear in the wake of this EliteXC bonus pay debacle is that as the mainstream press picks up on it, the historically critical members of that group against MMA are now using this scandal as their pivot point. Absolute charlatans and curmudgeonly groaners like ESPN's/Washington Post's Michael Wilbon (how, exactly, is someone allowed to be a commentator or expert and openly admit ignorance of the topic?) are now using the EliteXC scandal to redouble their anti-MMA views. For those who don't know, Wilbon suggested on PTI yesterday that the entire sport of MMA is fixed.

While I believe the matter surrounding EliteXC is worthy of investigation (and Jeremy Lappen has contradicted himself again), I also have a real concern that as EliteXC is on CBS it becomes the face of MMA. And because of that, there is some sort of conflation of UFC and EliteXC into one entity known as "MMA". According to that line of thinking, there either is no distinction between the UFC and EliteXC or as EliteXC goes, so goes the UFC. Neither situation is accurate nor helpful, but it could be what we're now facing thanks to journalistic disasters like Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. They are utterly clueless and without the slightest bit of integrity, but they have an audience. If the audience is malleable, then as warped and worthless and Kornheiser's/Wilbon's opinion may be, to the uninitiated it is the only opinion they are hearing.

I am by no means suggesting that the criticisms of EliteXC should stop because of concerns how the sport is being affected. If EliteXC is innocent, they deserve to be proven so and if they are guilty, that fact should come to light as well. But let it be known that the mainstream press is once again doing no one who loves MMA any favors. Dana White may scorn the online media, but we are the only ones with the knowledge to draw distinctions between EliteXC and the UFC or EliteXC and the entire sport of MMA.

So, let's also beat the drum about what MMA is about, why it's a great sport, why it's safe and why not all organizations equal one another. This situation could boil over and eliminate much of the positive growth our sport has witnessed the last two years. If EliteXC is guilty, they have no right to take us down with them. The responsibility to protect our sport is just as much yours as it is mine. Let's be mindful of that going forward.

UPDATE: Another thought: to anyone who now suggests that bloggers can say whatever they want and have no accountability to anyone, you can officially thank Michael Wilbon for completely destroying your argument.

UWC: Confrontation Spotlight on Mike "The Hulk" Easton

Luke Thomas — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:43:55 -0000

Mike is arguably the best prospect coming out of the Mid-Atlantic in the entire sport of MMA today. He is an Abu Dhabi national qualifier, brown belt under Lloyd Irvin in jiu-jitsu, an exceptional athlete and game fighter. His muay Thai and boxing are unheralded, but arguably his best weapons. He's got a tough test in Greg Jackson's flyweight star Johhny "The Magician" Dodson, but I believe Easton will eventually pass that test with flying colors.

Some Mike Easton grappling footage here and here.

UWC: Confrontation Spotlight on Brendan Schaub

Luke Thomas — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:34:12 -0000

Take a look at this video of light heavyweight newcomer Brendan Schaub. Schaub is a former football player who had a brief stint in the NFL and AFL being being cut, but obviously possesses real athleticism. Whether he can turn that into a successful career is anyone's guess, but his training partners at T'sKO in Denver, Colorado are absurdly good. He's got the right environment to blossom, but he also has a stiff test this weekend against local hero and former All-American wrestler Johnny Curtis. Yet another reason to be cised for this UWC event.

Could the EliteXC Scandal Hurt Mixed Martial Arts?

Luke Thomas — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:00:45 -0000

Zach Arnold lays out the real possibility:

With all of the following above said, let’s address the negative impact that Wilbon’s comments will have on Elite XC and MMA in general. Plenty of mainstream, casual fans watch Pardon the Interruption. Likely, so do a lot of the suits in CBS Sports. In the time span of four days, we’ve gone from Gus Johnson calling Seth Petruzelli’s win over Kimbo Slice as “the biggest upset in the history of Mixed Martial Arts”, to Petruzelli claiming that promoters kinda hinted to him that they wanted him to keep things standing up, to a flurry of conflicting public statements involving Petruzelli and Elite XC management, to Jim Rome and other mainstream media outlets quoting Dana White on why this scandal is bad for the MMA business, to Gary Shaw admitting in the LA Times that he doesn’t find asking MMA fighters to ’stand-up’ as being unethical, to now Michael Wilbon calling the fight a fix — but for different reasons than anyone could have imagined in MMA media circles.

How anyone could possibly think that this scandal has not been damaging to Elite XC and/or MMA is beyond me. The wildcard in all of this is how or where the media takes this next. If the media takes their cues from people like Dana White, then it’s clear that this scandal will have a sharpened focus on Elite XC and what their role is in the MMA business. If the media takes their cues from no one and decides to basically tar-and-feather the entire industry on the accusation of Kimbo/Petruzelli being ‘fixed’ (but for the wrong reasons), then who knows how much damage will be created here. It’s starting to look more and more like it is going to be in UFC’s best interest to address this topic specifically in the media and put the focus on where it should be — not only to correct media writers and personalities, but to also protect the company image that UFC has been spending years building up with the general public.

UWC: Confrontation Weigh-In Information and Fight Card

Luke Thomas — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:36:19 -0000

For those in the DC area and attending the UWC event this weekend, here's some helpful information:

UWC-CONFRONTATION

DC’s Biggest All Pro Cage Fighting Returns

Saturday, October 11 - Patriot Center, Fairfax, Virginia

Show Starts at 6:00 PM (* NOTE: Early Start Time)

Doors Open at 5:00 PM

UPDATES

Official Weigh-In - Friday, Oct. 10 – 4:00 PM

All Fighters

Hyatt Fair Lakes Hotel

12777 Fair Lakes Circle

Fairfax, VA 22033

Special guest appearances: Urijah “California Kid” Faber and Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit

Live Radio Interviews - Friday, Oct. 10 – 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM

WJFK 106.7 - “The Big O and Dukes Show”

11:00 AM - Antwainn Britt & Marcus Foran

2:00 PM – Urijah Faber

Live Radio Broadcast – Saturday, Oct. 11 – 4:00 to 6:00 PM

WJFK – “MMA Nation”

Host: Luke Thomas

4:00 PM to 6:00 PM

VIP Hospitality Room

Updated Fight Card (October 9, 2008)

Fight #1 – 185 lbs

Joey Kirwan                                         Kris McCray

Clinch Academy                                   Gold Medal Grappling

Frederick, MD                                     Woodbridge, VA

Pro Debut                                            Pro Debut

Fight #2 – 205 lbs

Cody Donovan                                     Wade Drake

High Altitude Martial Arts                     Team Ferocity

Denver, CO                                         Bowie, MD

2-1                                                       Pro Debut



Fight #3 – 170 lbs

Levon Maynard                                    Toby Johnson

Global Martial Arts Academy               FIT NHB

Virginia Beach, VA                               Albuquerque, NM

3 - 2 - 0                                               6-2-0



Fight #4 – 185 lbs

Tony Sousa                                          Ron Stallings

American Top Team                            Team Lloyd Irvin

Jacksonville, FL                                    Baltimore, MD

5 - 3 - 0                                               5 - 3 - 1



Fight #5 – Over 205 lbs

Brendan Schaub                                   Johnny Curtis

T’s KO Fight Club                               One Spirit Martial Arts

Denver, CO                                         Reston, VA

1 - 0 – 0                                               1 - 1 - 0



Fight #6 – 185 lbs

Chris Reedy                                         Marcus Foran

XFC                                                    FIT NHB

Reading, PA                                         Albuquerque, NM

4 - 3 – 0                                               4 - 2 - 0



Fight #7 - 155 lbs

Kyle Baker                                           James “Binky” Jones

MMA Institute                          Ground Control

Harrisonburg, VA                                 Baltimore, MD

3 - 3 - 0                                               7 - 5 - 0



Co-Main Event

Fight #8 – 132 lbs

John Dodson                                        Mike Easton

Jackson’s Submission Fighting Team Lloyd Irvin

Albuquerque, NM                                Temple Hills, MD

5 - 2 – 0                                               5 - 1 - 0



Main Event

Fight #9 – 205 lbs

Terry Cohens                                       Antwain Britt

C.C. Corey                                          MMA Institute

Jacksonville, FL                                    Norfolk, VA

3 - 1 - 0                                               5 - 1 – 0

Fight Card Subject to Change

Official Jeremy Lappen Statement on Petruzelli Bonus

Luke Thomas — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:47:36 -0000

PR from EliteXC wanted to make sure I saw this and in fairness to their position, I am running their comments here without opinion in their entirety. Here's Jeremy Lappen, Head of Fight Operations at EliteXC:

STATEMENT FROM JEREMY LAPPEN,
HEAD OF FIGHT OPERATIONS, ELITEXC

             "Press reports that EliteXC suggested or paid money to heavyweight fighter Seth Petruzelli to keep his fight against Kimbo Slice off the ground are false. Let me be perfectly clear with no ambiguity
-- that did not happen.

             "Seth Petruzelli was offered a fee to fight Kimbo Slice, plus a knockout bonus, a common practice throughout the industry. EliteXC organizes and promotes fights. We have not...do not...and will not suggest or dictate fighters’ strategies or tactics. How the fighters perform in the cage is at the sole discretion of the athletes involved.

             "The circumstances leading up to the Petruzelli/Slice fight were unusual. Ken Shamrock was declared medically ineligible less than three hours before the fight. As an organization, we made a decision to serve the paying audience in the arena and the prime time audience at home by delivering on a Kimbo Slice fight, which we had promised. This was done simply and solely with a standard fee and bonus offer to Petruzelli and by increasing the purse to Slice. Elite XC is grateful to both Seth and Kimbo for taking this fight against an opponent they didn’t train for and on such short notice.

             "In addition, reports that Frank Shamrock volunteered that evening to fight Kimbo Slice are true. Frank is a competitive fighter and he was willing to step up for his organization and the MMA fans. His offer was very greatly appreciated, but everyone in the room knew when he made the offer that it wasn’t a realistic possibility on such short notice.

             "Despite all the craziness leading up to and in the aftermath of the event, the evening was a resounding success. The fights were diverse, impressive and entertaining, and I think the Seth/Kimbo fight speaks to the excitement and unpredictability of the sport. Great potential match-ups lie ahead for all the fighters involved that evening.

            "And, the television ratings exceeded everyone’s expectations. In fact, the broadcast on CBS was the #1 entertainment and sports program of the night among the adults 18-34 and male 18-34 demographics, topping competing MLB Baseball Divisional games on TBS and college football games on both broadcast and cable. These ratings, and the intense discussion that has followed, speak volumes to the interest and future of this growing sport.''

Jeremy Lappen, Seth Petruzelli Contradict Each Other on EliteXC Bonus Pay

Luke Thomas — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:19:46 -0000

Reader "mmalogic" finds what can only be described as a doozy. Get a load of this:

If you think Seth’s second statement was a big contradiction of his first get a load of this:

Seth was interviewed by sam caplan:

Sam Caplan: Would you have received a bonus had you submitted Kimbo?

Seth Petruzelli: Yes. There were submission bonuses, knockout bonuses, and a "Fight of the Night" bonus — just like the UFC does it. They just want an exciting fight no matter where it goes.

Sam Caplan: Did the submission bonus pay the same as the knockout bonus?

Seth Petruzelli: Yes. Every bonus is the same.

(source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/10/07/seth-petruzelli-discusses-elitexc-bonus-money-kimbos-posse-threatening-his-wife-what-it-was-like-fighting-bob-sapp-and-more-in-new-exclusive-interview/ )

Now Josh Gross just interviewed Jeremy Lapen:

EliteXC, it seems, does not view submissions, widely thought of as the most technical aspect of MMA, as an overly important portion of an exciting fight.

"We don’t give submission bonuses," Lappen said. But Petruzelli "knew a knockout bonus was possible before the fight."

(source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/josh_gross/10/08/seth.petruzelli/index.html?eref=T1 )

Benji Radach confirmed on sherdog radio:

"No, not at all," Radach said, when asked whether Elite XC officials ever mentioned knockout, submission, or fight of the night bonuses, before or after the event. "I wish there was a bonus because I think my fight was really exciting, maybe fight of the night or knockout of the night. But nope, I never heard anything."

Sounds like Seth is taking his back tracking a little too far.

First we have Petruzelli telling everyone he was paid to stand then backtracking. Now we have Petruzelli and Lappen directly contradicting each other not only on the terms of Seth's contract but on EliteXC contracts in general. Radach's statements get a pass because it's possible his contract had no such clause, which would still cohere with Lappen's statements that not every fighter's contract has such provisions. Nevertheless, what is going on?

The plot thickens.