Ed Soares may think Chael Sonnen must have a rematch with Demian Maia -- who submitted Sonnen via triangle choke at UFC 95 -- but Sonnen doesn't care, and doesn't feel the need to lash out.

"I won't respond.  Ed isn't in a position of power - he is in a position of opinion.  Dana (White) and Joe Silva have already spoken, their word is final, my fate is set," Sonnen said during a recent interview with MMA HQ.

Sonnen has been so vocal about the fact he'd rather fight Silva instead of Vitor, it surprised me he didn't want to respond to the statements.

Until it's time to step into the cage for a title shot, Sonnen looks to keep busy by helping teammates train, staying active in the community, and running a campaign to become an Oregon state representative.

Congratulations to the state of Wisconsin for officially regulating the sport of mixed martial arts!

Duke Roufus, head coach of UFC fighters Eric Schafer and Pat Barry, was largely involved in the process -- the bill was first introduced in September, and took just five months to be signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle.

 

"Duke and I are both very pleased to have been involved in the process of regulating the safety of athletes involved in the sport (of MMA) in Wisconsin," said  Scott Joffe, WFC (WI Fighting Championship) director and Roufusport MMA Academy partner, in a statement to CONCEDE.  "Everyone involved with the process should be proud of  this history day."

It's good to have another state regulate MMA, as it's only a matter of time (IMO) that all 50 states will be on board.  I'm impressed by how strong the grassroots effort in Wisconsin was -- which helped pass the bill along -- and hope the remaining hold out states will follow in Wisconsin's foot steps.

Even though some fans still think it should be on the main card broadcast, at least the Hieron vs. Riggs fight will be available online at EASportsMMA tomorrow night during Strikeforce: Miami.

I applauded EA Sports immediately for stepping up and offering the fight online.  MMA die-hards have been anticipating this fight for a while, so it's great it will be seen.  (I'm going to discuss video and audio feed of these online streams in an upcoming fanpost.)

To discuss the decision, I wrote a quick note to EA executives:

Here is what I was told in a quick note:

"It was a discussion that came up between Strikeforce, Showtime and EA Sports during planning meetings," said Randy Chase, EA SPORTS MMA product manager, in a statement to MMA HQ.  "All parties had seen the MMA  community interest in the fight and we have a common purpose to grow the sport of MMA.  We wanted to give the fans what they wanted to see."

via www.mmahq.com

We were also told:

"We are committed to supporting the fighters in our game, so we were happy to play a part in bringing this fight to the fans.  In addition, we also really wanted to see the fight ourselves."

To read the full article, it's available.

Normally when I write an article about a fighter coming off a loss, it's okay because the fighter who lost still has a bright, vibrant future.  I recently had the pleasure of chatting with an MMA legend, Matt "The Law" Lindland, who faces an uncertain future after coming off two consecutive losses.

Despite rumors, Lindland is in the gym and training for his next fight in the Strikeforce cage.  No opponent has been named yet, but he definitely isn't interested in retiring at the moment.

via www.tqfc.com

"To be honest, I was very disappointed (with the loss)," Lindland told us during our interview.  "I need to refocus and tune up mentally.  I was back in the gym the following Monday with a different goal of getting Chael (Sonnen) ready to beat Nate Marquardt."

The full interview is available here.  

Hopefully he comes back strong this year.

Women's MMA is still in its infancy, but plenty of talent is out there at the moment.  I recently chatted with Wand Fight Team's Michele Gutierrez, who discussed why she left behind boxing, her inspirations, and the challenges of learning Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Take a look at the full interview I recently conducted.

Continue reading this post »

Can't honestly say I know much about the Conquest of the Cage fight event scheduled for Thursday night, except that it'll air live on Fox Sports Northwest.  According to the casino hosting the event, it's scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Recently chatted with Spokane local guy Mike Hanks, who will be fighting at the event, moving up weight from LW to WW (weighing in at 168 lbs.)

If anyone watches it on Fox Sports Northwest, let me know how the fights go.

Happy holidays to the Bloody Elbow staff and its readers.  Hope everyone had a fun and safe Christmas -- with the jolly fat man bringing neat presents.

I recently conducted an interview with James Feng, director/filmmaker of the 'Fight Life' MMA documentary, who discussed his film project, why he wanted to document MMA, and what he hopes viewers learn from watching 'Fight Life.'

Before I go any further, check out the trailer:

Tidbit from the interview:

"There isn't a film out there that sheds the light on the sport of MMA in a truthful manner. I made this film because this is a film I wanted to see as a MMA fan myself. I wanted to see a raw documentary that shows the reality of the fight life. Most people only get to see fighters on fight night and don’t understand what happens before and after fights. Most people don’t know Jake Shields, Gilbert Melendez, Nick Diaz all train 2-3 times a day, 6 days a week, most people don’t know they all drive to different gyms all over the bay area to train and spar with different fighters from various gyms; most people don’t understand MMA is a real professional sport and a full time job."

I'm a fan of the project, as he's doing it completely out of pocket -- which helps negate any type of outside influence, despite the great cost -- and it may be a good insight into the sport for casual MMA fans.  Most BE readers understand that just a few MMA fighters are the ones who have millions coming to them, while there still is a growing MMA scene where fighters are fighting more for pride than money.

It's also nice to have a real glimpse into the MMA world that doesn't involve bad acting in a movie that portrays our beloved sport as human cockfighting.

Feng hopes to have the project finished in May 2010.

Take a look at the film's official site, and feel free to post a comment or question, as I'm sure James will be stopping by at some point. :)

This article is courtesy of Aaron Richman from the MMA Fight Council.

 The MMA Fight Council (MMAFC) was able to chat with Wagnney Fabiano recently. We got a much deeper insight into what makes this past (IFL) and future (WEC?) champion tick, and you will be surprised to learn just how he might become a champion again! What follows is a summary of our conversation combined with some public information about him, that we hope will help you come to know the man, the athlete, and the Champion better.

The Man

Wagnney Fabiano-Santos was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, thirty-four years ago. He is married and has a two year old daughter. He and his family live in Toronto, Canada. Wagnney moved from Brazil to Canada in 1998 in the hopes of pursuing greater employment opportunities than he had at home. He has been a teacher for over a decade. Wagnney is a deeply spiritual man, with a strong Christian faith. He is a very laid back, polite, and well spoken man.

Continue reading this post »

Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton toppled former champion Kelsey Jeffries by majority decision to become the IBA Super Bantamweight champion last night during the main event at the American Metal & Iron Fight Night at the Tank event.

Julaton (5-1-1, 1 KO), the 8-to-1 underdog against the much more experienced Jeffries (41-10-1, 4 KOs), frustrated Jeffries throughout the fight.  

Continue reading this post »

Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton (4-1-1), who has an upcoming IBA super bantamweight world championship (122 lb. weight limit) fight against Kelsey Jeffries on Sept. 12, is still thinking about making a switch to mixed martial arts.

During a recent teleconference to hype up her title fight with Jeffries, Julaton mentioned how she didn't plan on staying in the sport for long.

Julaton briefly attended Brazilian jiu jitsu and submission wrestling classes at Jake Shields' Gracie Fighter Berkeley gym, working under the careful supervision of black belt Jake Shields and black belt instructor Jason Manly.  She temporarily stopped training there to focus on her title fight, but has shown interest in training with Jake and Jason again.

Continue reading this post »

Along with many other Comcast subscribers, my inability to subscribe to HDNet has left me rather bitter with the cable company.  I live in a town where Comcast is the only major provider, as they bought out the No. 2 company in the town.

Ugh.

What to do?  HDNet offers so much great content, but I have been unable to watch any of it on TV!  I decided to contact both HDNet and Comcast to try and get to the bottom of it this whole issue.

Here are a couple of quotes from both sides:

“We are rolling out on Comcast… Denver, Chicago, etc. are already done,” HDNet CEO Andrew Simon told me during a recent e-mail correspondence.

“As areas have been moving channels from Analog to Digital, more bandwidth is available,” Eliason told me.  “For every channel that shifts, we can add 10-12 digital or three HD.  HDNet has been added to many areas.”

My full article can be found on MMA Opinion by clicking here.

Are you a current HDNet subscriber?  If so, what cable company do you have?  Are you a Comcast subscriber looking to subscribe to HDNet?

There are probably a couple of you who are Comcast subscribers who already have the ability to watch HDNet.  If so, where are you located?

CBS Sports recently chatted with Jake Shields about his upcoming fight with Robbie Lawler, and he had this to say about Lawler:

I'm excited about it. It's one I asked for, and Strikeforce put it together for me. It makes sense. We're both former EliteXC champions. Even though we were at different weights, it's definitely a good fight. It's a main event, and the fight should be exciting. Plus, I needed a challenge for myself and what better challenge than moving up a weight to fight a top five middleweight.

 

When asked about who Strikeforce is trying to bring in to fight him at WW, he listed Shinya Aoki and Frank Trigg as possible opponents.  Joe Riggs is still pretty pissed off at Shields, so that may be a good "grudge match" kind of marketing fights Strikeforce could put together.

In a separate interview, Lawler discussed the fight during a video interview, and had this to say:

Is Shields biting off more than he can handle with this first fight at middleweight, taking on a top five level competitor in Robbie Lawler? The former UFC and ICON fighter believes his opponent is fully aware of what to expect from the heavy-handed fighter training out of the HIT Squad in Illinois.

"I think he knows what he's in there with," Lawler said about Shields. "I don't think he would have taken the fight not knowing what kind of fighter I am. I think he thinks he can nullify me, and I just need to be ready."

When prompted with the question if he believes Shields can deal with his strength and power, Lawler reminded everybody that he simply doesn't like to talk down about his opponents and he'll do his talking on June 6.

"I'm a strong fighter, we'll see when we get in there, when we lock horns."

Should be a great event that MMA fans can look forward to next month.  I love how both fighters just want to get into the cage and fight.

I previously spoke with the founder of the 8th Degree Black clothing company a couple of weeks ago for an MMA Opinion article, but recently chatted with the company again.

What makes 8th Degree Black different from other companies is that instead of simply putting a logo on a shirt and selling it, 8th Degree Black is a fashion brand, not a fight gear company.

"We chose to focus our graphics on MMA heritage and disciplines because we think it's a unique concept in the market," 8th Degree Black founder Tim Gilroy said.  "Most sports fans -- baseball, football, etc. -- are interested in the history of their favorite sports and teams.  MMA fans, and especiually guys that train, are the same way."

8th Degree also has plans for a wide variety of different t-shirts in the future.

"The company has seven total graphics currently available - 3 mens, 3 ladies and 1 youth. We are already working on some new stuff. Muay Thai, Sambo and Judo are the three concepts that will be done next, but we have plenty of more ideas for the future."

In the future, 8th Degree Black plans to open a mall kiosk that'll be located at the SmithHaven Mall on Long Island.  All items available at the kiosk will also be available online, but a physical presence should help 8th Degree Black sell additional products.

"Our goal is to make the heritage of MMA fashionable," Gilroy said to end the interview.

Is this the kind of t-shirt some of you would be interested in buying?  If not, why not?

Welterweight standout Jake Shields, after choosing to fight with Strikeforce, had very limited options on viable opponents in the rather unimpressive Strikeforce WW division.  Much to the dismay of onlookers such as myself, many fans wondered who he'd be able to fight and still maintain his position as one of the top-ranked WWs. 

It looked like a possible matchup between Shields and Joe Riggs was agreed upon, but it eventually fell apart -- much to the dismay of Riggs.

The company instead offered Shields a fight with top-10 ranked middleweight fighter Robbie Lawler, which Shields agreed to sign for an upcoming event in April or May.

Although fans are excited to see the Shields vs. Lawler fight, it seems Riggs took exception to the snub, and launched a war of words against Shields.

"I had been trying to get that fight with Shields for probably three years," Riggs said. "I have been trying to chase him down, and I am sure he had something to do with it. I am sure that guy didn’t want to fight me because I am pretty much the same exact fighter as Robbie Lawler. But if he loses to Lawler, who is ranked third in the world at 185, it’s out of his weight class so he doesn’t care.

With me, he doesn’t have an excuse."

Shields has fired back.

""(The Riggs) fight had never been 100% agreed on," Shields told Versus.  "It did get announced early, but we were still working it out with Strikeforce. I said I would do it if it was the fight they wanted, but I was hoping they would come out with a slightly different fight, no disrespect to Riggs. Like I said all along, I think he’s a good opponent, but I believe he has lost 4 of his last 10 fights.

"So, I asked if they had anyone better, and they came up with Robbie Lawler, who is on a big win streak and is a top five middleweight. So, I said, ‘Yeah, I would like that fight.’ Especially since it’s the main event. So, I did the smart business thing and took the bigger fight."

Visit the Versus article to read the rest of Shields' statements on Riggs, and whether or not a fight between the two will be possible in the future.

I recently published this article over on MMA Opinion featuring an interview with MMA Warehouse, and figured I would share the interview on Bloody Elbow as well.

Check it out (posted verbatim, with the permission of MMAWarehouse.com and CEO Mika Casey, who I interviewed for the article):

Why create MMAWarehouse?

MMAWarehouse was created to fulfill a need I saw in the marketplace for a customer friendly store which offered the best selection of both mixed martial arts gear and apparel.

What is your ultimate goal for the company?

To continue to be the premier shopping destination for mixed martial arts fans and athletes alike.  To accomplish that, we have to stay committed to our core values and consistently lead the market with the latest products, trends, and innovations.

MMAWarehouse.com was created five years ago in 2004.  Since then, how has business been?

We have grown nearly 100% year over year every year since then and due to the economy, this will probably be the first year that we grow a little less than that – but we’ll still grow and we’re thankful to be in such a resilient industry.  We started out of our house, into a warehouse, into a bigger warehouse, and we’re getting ready to move yet again.  Although growth can be a challenge, it’s also allowed us to improve upon many of our processes and has opened doors that would never before have been possible.

MMAWarehouse sponsors a number of pro fighters, and fans are used to seeing your logo on fight shorts.  How do you select who you want to sponsor?  Do you approach the fighter, or do they approach you?

A long time ago we dealt directly with fighters or their immediate friends and family, but there was too much inconsistency with the actual look and placement of our sponsorship.  Now, with rare exception, we work solely with Dean Albrecht who is in my opinion, the best agent in the business.  He always delivers 110% on the sponsorship side which leaves his fighters to focus on what’s most important, winning their fights.  We have been comfortable enough with the caliber of athletes in his agency where we now simply give him a budget and have him advise us where to best allocate it.  We both like fighters that are stand up people, hard workers, and highly skilled – guys like Joe Lauzon, Demian Maia, Frank Mir, Joe Stevenson, and Miguel Torres just to name a few.

The company has a great rating on BizRate, with many customers happy with the service they received through the site.  How important is customer satisfaction?

Extremely important, if not the most important.  One of our values is “Treating our customers the way we would want to be treated” and another is “Doing the right thing”.  In part, that means getting orders shipped when promised, responding in detail to customer inquiries, and handling customer issues with care when they do arise.  I know what I expect when I shop online and I expect our business to deliver the same.

Why is fighter sponsorship so important for your company's goals?

Compared to what those guys and girls do, I think my job is easy.  Fighters train their butts off and make a lot of sacrifices physically and emotionally to be able to put on an entertaining fight for fans like myself.  Without them, there is no sport and there is no MMAWarehouse.  Since sponsorship is still a significant part of their income and since we rely on their continued dedication, we feel it’s our responsibility to contribute to athletes as long as we are able.  I’ll be the first to admit that we initially approached it as another way to advertise, but as I got to know some of the fighters we sponsor, their families, and their stories – it felt good to be a part of their team.

For customers who've never shopped with MMAWarehouse.com, why should they consider placing an order through your site?

For fans of the sport, we work tirelessly to carry all the latest and most demanded fight apparel from all the top vendors with something for every style.  For those in training, we carry only the most tested and top performing equipment with options at whatever your budget may be.  For everyone, we ship same day, offer door to door tracking on your order, and we’ll be there should you have any issues after your order arrives.

Anything else you'd like to say?

Thanks to everyone who has helped us get where we are today and we’re very excited about what’s ahead!

Have you purchased anything from MMAWarehouse?  If so, how did it go?

Ken Shamrock and David "Tank" Abbott led the way, with Shamrock making $25,000 and Abbott making $20,000 in their first round victories.

Full payouts (courtesy of MMAJunkie):

Ken Shamrock: $25,000 (no win bonus)
def. Ross Clifton: $4,000

Mike Moreno: $5,000 (includes $2,500 win bonus)
def. Gary Padilla: $2,500

David "Tank" Abbott: $20,000 (no win bonus)
def. Mike Bourke: $5,000

Isaac De Jesus: $3,500 (includes $1,000 win bonus)
def. Ashe Bowman: $2,000

Rick Reeves: $3,000 (includes $1,500 win bonus)
def. Nate James: $1,500

Josh Haynes: $3,000 (no win bonus)
def. Rafael Del Real: $2,500

Zoila Fravsto: $1,250 (includes $500 win bonus)
def. Karina Hallinan: $750

Ron Kessler: $2,000 (includes $1,000 win bonus)
def. Darrin Freeman: $1,250

Although the event truly did seem like a train wreck, Brent and numerous other BE members who were part of the live blogging action made the event much more enjoyable.

Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen will meet inside the cage at UFC 95, and each fighter has an obvious game plan they hope to follow so they get their hand raised.  Sonnen will look to stuff takedowns and stand and bang, while Maia will try to get Sonnen down to the ground to use his excellent Brazilian jiu jitsu skills.

Tatame recently posted an interview with Maia, who shares some thoughts on his fight, Anderson Silva, and his training with Wanderlei Silva.

With regards to Sonnen:

Of course he is a tricky opponent, he’s very strategic, will try to annul my game all the time, will try to make his points and try to stay away from the ground, not to expose and try to win the fight on points, this is what is complicated about him. He is a guy with a high level of Greco, Grappling, always efficient for a MMA fight. But I believe in my Jiu-Jitsu, I believe I can submit him the same way I did in other fights.

Thoughts on training with Silva:

It’s a wonderful experience to have the opportunity to train with a guy who I believe will be champion again, but that was, for many years, unbeaten and the world's best. He and Minotauro, who until today I think are the best representatives that Brazil already had. Anderson is very well today, but with certainty of constancy and victories, Minotauro and Wanderlei are the two most representative Brazilian fighters in the history of the MMA, today. It’s an honor to train with him and have the doors open, all he helps me and teaches me, the great person he is, just makes me happy.

 

UFC lightweight fighter Josh Neer has signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC, MMAjunkie is reporting today.

His agent, Mickey Dubberly, issued the following statement:

"We would like to thank the UFC for being very supportive of Josh throughout his career and awarding his hard work with a new contract," Dubberly stated in an email. "The UFC is where Josh wants to fight. ... (He) is more focused than ever and is looking forward to his next fight in the UFC."

 

Neer last saw action during Ultimate Fight Night 17, winning against Mac Danzig via submission in the official "Fight of the Night."

Remember the early UFCs when guys like Don Frye were running around dominating opponents?  I sure do, so when I saw Sherdog published a brief Q&A with Frye, I was excited to hear from the legend again.Journalists love to ask old school fighters about the sport today and how it has evolved, and Jason Probst proved to be no different.  Frye says the guys are the same and they do a "great job," then slams promoters of the sport -- they "are what's brought the sport down."

Asked what would fix the current situation between promoters and fighters, Frye had a thought that is rather amusing and not surprising:  "Kill all the promoters, and start all over again."

Although he still is willing to fight, it's obvious his best years are behind him, and instead appears to be enjoying his time acting.

Q: You’ve tried acting lately, appearing in a few productions. How do you like it so far?
A: I’ve made a couple movies. Earlier this year, I made "Public Enemies" and just got done with a small role in a movie called "Number 13" with Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke. It was a pretty good experience.

Q: You’re a fighter. They’re actors. What was it like meeting and working with them?
A: They’re a bunch of good guys. Hell, they’re real polite … just regular old boys. Acting is their job.

Regardless of his ambitions to fight cans and see if he can win -- or acting in B-level movies at best -- it's great to hear from a legend!

Although it seemed possible Lyoto Machida would get a title shot if he was able to topple Thiago Silva -- and he did, winning in convincing fashion -- he'll still have to wait for a title shot.

The UFC seems ready to offer a title shot to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson assuming he's able to win against Keith Jardine.

Either way, Machida will patiently wait and cheer on Jardine, though he knows Rampage is the clear favorite in the fight.

"I'm cheering for Jardine, but I think that Quinton is stronger, hits harder... I think Quinton is the favorite. I think I’ll have to wait a bit more", Machida said in an interview with Tatame.  "I could do one more fight, but only if they (UFC) give me a good opponent, a man with strong name."

Will Evans lose his title in 2009?  Will he be able to beat either Rampage or Machida?  What happens if Jardine pulls off the upset against Rampage?

It should prove to be a rather exciting year for the UFC LHW division, regardless of who your favorite fighter is.

In a possible matchup that most hardened MMA fans don't want to see, B.J. Penn again said he'd be willing to fight Georges St. Pierre for a third time.

"After I defend my belt and he defends his belt, I'd love to do it again," Penn told the Honolulu Advertiser. "Mostly because of the controversy. I just want it to be clean — no questions, no controversy.

Assuming Penn beats Kenny Florian and GSP gets by Thiago Alves, would you want to see these two fight again?

Considering Penn took a beating the entire fight, and even admits he remembers very little from the third and fourth rounds, I would cringe if the UFC decided to book this fight again.

Despite being fired by the UFC and Bellator Fighting Championships due to his immature and irrational MySpace bulletins, "War Machine" Jon Koppenhaver will fill in for Phil Baroni on Feb. 27 at XMMA 7: Inferno.

War Machine will fight undefeated Guillaume de Lorenzi (5-0) in the main event of the night.

The following bulletin was posted on War Machine's MySpace:

That’s right! I’m doing this one short notice but it’s all good, I’m a warrior and warriors FIGHT! I’m fighting in the main event and filling in for my big bro Phil Baroni to whoop some French Canadian ass! My opponent is the hometown boy and is all hyped up in canada. They are calling him the next St. Pierre…we shall see.

Anyone in the area please come show your support!!
Thanks
WM

He continues to train at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, essentially hoping he'd have a chance to redeem himself among MMA fans who have obviously been more than willing to criticize him.

It's unknown why Baroni has withdrawn from the event, though it's worth noting his contract was recently acquired by Strikeforce.

Although he hasn't been active in the cage lately, War Machine, along with the controversial, idiotic MySpace bulletins, was also recently arrested.  He was arrested after a scuffle inside the Krave Nightclub & Lounge in Las Vegas, and it's possible the punches he threw at nightclub security staff could have him face jail time for probation violation.