As a rabid Cleveland sports fan, the recent developments surrounding Mirko "Cro Cop" Fillpovic's reneging of whatever verbal agreement he had with the UFC reeks of poignancy and brings me back to that fateful day when former Cleveland Cavaliers GM Jim Paxson allowed then up and coming power forward Carlos Boozer to void his contract with the verbal promise that he would immediately sign a new one and remain a corner stone of the franchise. Just the second that deal was null and void media outlets began reporting that Boozer had just signed with the Utah Jazz. The deal was in the books and it was Paxson and the Cavaliers fans that had been bamBOOZled. While this was a fateful day for Cavaliers fans, it was also a historical day for the world of professional sports as the idea of a handshake agreement suddenly seemed as legitimate as calling Santa Claus at the North Pole and expecting him to deliver a pirates booty of presents. 

UFC President Dana White's reaction was your garden variety Dana White reaction; a "you used me like a dirty whore" here and a "he fucked me" there to play up to the fans. Always one to play the victim, White went on with a profanity laced tirade questioning Cro Cop's manhood by telling the MMA world "he turned down a fight with everyone else." (Boy, that must make Mostapha al Turk's retina feel much better.) 

All in all, fans should demand an apology from Dana White. I wouldn't hold your collective breathes that one is coming but I can certainly guarantee the Fertitta brothers got one. As dual owners in the worlds largest MMA promotion they deserve one and really should be questioning whether or not they have the right person in charge of their empire. While White has taken this sport to a heralded high level; there certainly is room to grow and evaluations should seriously take place as to whether or not White is the guy to get them to the next level (network deals, more legitamacy to the average fan, mainstream sports media coverage, potential MMA in the Olympics, etc.) Simply put, after the Boozer debacle professional sports organizations should never operate on a verbal or handshake agreement. Fact of the matter is you are dealing with a growing sport that still isn't able to operate legally in the countries most populated city. For every athlete that is a true ambassador of the sport, (Georges St Pierre, Rich Franklin) there is a Lee Murray or War Machine. Oftentimes, professional sports have a hard enough time having players honor the contacts they sign. Doing business on handshake agreements only increase the odds that one (if not both) of the parties are going to come away with proverbial egg on their faces.

The burning question that I have to Dana White is what was it exactly that made you trust Cro Cop to give him the opportunity to step in and fight a one-fight deal in the first place? White said he had "An unbelievable amount of respect" for Cro Cop and went on to elaborate about the general overall trust he had in him. Hmmm... I wonder if Cro Cop felt the same "trust" and respect when Dana White, Joe Rogan and the rest of the UFC staff looped the highlights of him getting kicked in the head by Gabe Gonzaga countless times and all but clamoring over Gonzaga as the next big thing? It's not earth shattering news that Cro Cop is an awfully prideful guy. That loss clearly had a major physiological effect on him as he has not been the same fighter since. I'm still curious where this unparalleled level of trust came from. It's not like they have a storied work history together. Cro Cop was a prizefighter for your organization which profited off of him kicking, and getting kicked, in the head. Not really your typical boss/employee relationship and all the more reason to get it in writing.

All of this brings us to back to Mirko. While I hope he goes back to Dream with the prospect of fighting top level talent for his last three falights; color me skeptical. As a long time fight fan (both MMA and professional boxing) it's a sure sign that the fighters best days are behind them when squabbles about contracts and events happening "outside of the playing field" get more publicity then the ones that happen on it. That being said, if White's allegations are true than I'll never be more untrusting of another fighter more than I will be of Mirko. While White needs to apologize to MMA fans for his ineptness in dealing with a contract situation regarding a fan favorite, Cro Cop needs to live up to that status and apologize to the fans for flat out screwing them (not the UFC) over. A potential rematch (and subsequent win) over Nogueria or one of the UFC's top prospects (Dos Santos, Carwin or Velasquez) would have gone a long way in silencing the critics. Instead, the possibility that we see a rematch against Hong Man Choi or a fight against James Thompson sadly seems more possible then it did 24 hours ago. 

Unless Cro Cop goes back to the Saitama Super Arena and fights against the likes of a Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov and goes out in a blaze of glory against Fedor it's the fans, not Dana White and the UFC, that got shafted. White opened the door and Cro Cop ran out of it (while taking a nice payday back to Zagreb.)

This was  classic example of bad business by White. Cro Cop saw an opportunity and took it knowing he had more money on the table for (possibly easier) work in Japan.

Either that or he was just upset that he was ranked as a "83" overall in the UFC Undisputed video game.

All and all, both parties should apologize to the fans; the sooner the better. 

via www.blogcdn.com

Whatever you do don't pinch Joe Warren. A lot worse things can happen to you outside of just disrupting his Dream...just ask Kid Yamamoto.

Warren,  the current talk of the 135 lb circuit, a former standout wrestler at The University of Michigan and one-time Olympic hopeful (a positive test for THC derailed that dream) has his eyes set on capturing the first Dream Featherweight crown this September in Tokyo after running through former WEC Bantamweight champion Chase Beebe in his MMA debut only to be matched up against the world class 17-1 Yamamoto. With a packed Saitama Super Arena all routing against him, Joe Warren, fighting in only his second professional fight,  delivered  MMA's equivalent of the Miracle on Ice.

Warren didn't stop Kid, nor did he ever really hurt him (although he did manage to cut him.) What he did do is take Kid's best shot; multiple times, all-the-while continuing to move forward,  press the action with knees, take downs and the subsequent ground and pound on his way to a split decision victory in Kid's backyard; (which considering the shaky history of Japanese decisions manages to be even more mind-blowing to me than watching Warren take crisp hooks to the chin without blinking.)

The greatest 2-0 mixed martial artist in the history of the sport now looks to a September date with two of the four remaining competitors; Hideo Tokoro, Hiroyuki Takaya and Bibiano Fernandes. Warren will have to face off against two out of the three competitors, both in the same night, for the crown. While the odds are stacked firmly against him, they certainly aren't worse than what he has already faced.

Win or lose, the future for Warren is wide open; (at least as wide open for any fighter who is set to turn 33 years of age this year.) With recent blink-or-you-missed-them sightings on episodes of this season's The Ultimate Fighter, as well as training sessions with Urijah Faber (in preparation for his battle with Yamamoto) speculation runs high that Warren will sign with the WEC and immediately begin contending for the 135 lb title currently held by Miguel Torres. Other possibilities within the WEC include jumping up to 145 lb to contend with the likes of Jose Aldo, Wagnney Fabiano and ultimately Mike Brown. My advice would be to stick at 135 lb (it appears Warren can make it just fine) and take on Manny Tapia or Takeya Mizugaki; both tough fights but for Warren, even though he has low miles, age becomes a concern rather quickly...

I'm sure Dream will offer Joe a nice deal (especially if he wins the whole thing) but If Warren wants gold and a legacy in mixed martial arts the WEC is where it's at. 

via www.fcfighter.com (Rogers knocking out Jon Murphy in the first ever nationally televised MMA event)

Last Saturday night, it took Brett "The Grim" Rogers all of 0:22 to knock Andrei Arlovski from top contender status in the world of professional mixed martial arts to seriously having to consider what path to take with his career; (the road-less-traveled in professional boxing or the path to the land where trees often fall without little more than a thud to the casual MMA fan; Sengoku? Dream?)

It's a cold world out there; even for former UFC title holders. Reality is, Arlovski is now a sobering 15-7 who has lost four of his last nine fights; three of which came by referee stoppage in the first round. The last two in brutal fashion and Saturday's defeat coming at the hands of a man whose former promotion, Elite XC, at one point considered it's fifth ranked Heavyweight behind the likes of Kimbo Slice, Bigfoot Silva, Dave "Pee Wee" Herman and James Thompson.

This brings us back to Rogers and introduces us to the fine hard working folks who have battled a recession working in the unforgiving world of real estate. "The Grim" awaits your business card and your next open house tour. No more breaking out the tire irons and haggling over the cost of a synthetic oil change working at Sam's Club. Mr. Rogers is set to lay his head in a new neighborhood and frankly, couldn't be more deserving.

On August 15th, a short two months after dismantling Arlovski, Rogers is ready to put on his +300 underdog costume for what will likely be the last time and face favorite Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship. Overeem is a huge threat to anybody but most "anybodies" he has fought have already tasted "la belle vie;" this is what makes a guy like Rogers unique. The man literally has come out of nowhere to become the most intimidating fighter the sport has seen since the emergence of Wanderlai Silva in Japan. (Yes that includes the other Heavyweight fighting out of Minnesota.) Sure, he doesn't have the body, the entourage, or even the horror-inspired mouthpiece but the one thing he has that I can't recall seeing in an awfully long time is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Overeem, who notoriously does not respond well to getting hit (and who will be coming off an injury) is going to have his broken hand full.

Rogers will more than likely be a fish out of water if the fight hits the ground but I honestly don't see "The Demolition Man" having an easy time getting it there. Instead, I see a similar outcome to what I witnessed just four days ago. A first round KO and a new Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion that nobody currently in the organization will be able to compete with. A hungry fighter is a scary fighter and there is nobody in the world of professional MMA that has as much to gain by winning as Rogers.

A win over Overeem sets up two potential situations; a clash with the winner of Fedor and Barnett in a co-promoted event between Strikeforce and Affliction and possibly a call from Dana White to come to the UFC and throw his hat in the mix along with Carwin, Dos Santos and Velasquez as they look to 2010 for a chance to compete for UFC gold.

In closing I'd like to make one suggestion to those aforementioned Realtors; go easy on "The Grim" and get him and his family in that house before August 15th... for Alistair's sake... and anybody else looking to underestimate him.