Randy Savage was suffering from an enlarged heart at the time of his fatal car wreck , which authorities believe occurred when the wrestling legend suffered a cardiac episode behind the wheel.

The accident is still technically under investigation, but the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office has ruled that Macho Man's death was natural, or, more specifically, caused by artherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (aka coronary artery disease), according to a report released by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Toxicology tests revealed traces of caffeine, acetaminophen (pain and fever reducer), dihydrocodeine and hydrocodone (found in cough syrup) and doxylamine (found in sleep aids). The hydrocodone was prescribed and the levels were deemed "therapeutic," rather than an indicator of abuse.

Authorities had already ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash and, sure enough, his blood-alcohol level was .031, far below the legal limit.

There was no evidence that he was taking any medication for a heart condition, meaning he may not have known he was sick.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/entertainment-eonline/20110630/b250188/

2011 hasn’t been a very good year for the heavyweight division so far. It started out with a lot of promise but between the world catching up with Fedor, Cain being on the shelf, Randy Couture retiring (yet again) and Brock perhaps being out for good too a lot has changed from where we all thought things stood in 2010. Traditionally this has been MMA’s weakest division but it also seems to be the division that really grabs fan interest too, there is no denying the appeal of the big guys.  I thought it would be interesting to look at who’s in the division and the questions that will hopefully be answered in the future.

Lets start with Zuffa. There is no way now to deny that this is top of the sport, 23 out of the top 25 heavyweights are either under the UFC or Strikeforce banners (according to the consensus rankings, which I will use throughout the discussion). The biggest news in heavyweight will begin once Strikeforce and the UFC are able to throw these guys in the same pot and start having "super-fights" but that could potentially still be 18+ months away. Still they are all Zuffa fighters regardless so lets look at the group at a whole.

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Edited and Promoted to the Front Page by Anton Tabuena

January 5th 2011 we learned that Strikeforce was going to hold a heavyweight tournament designed to shock the world. Right off the bat many people wondered if Strikeforce could pull it off, nearly 6 months later not only do those concerns still remain a whole new set of concerns have popped up. The biggest development has been that the company was bought out by Zuffa. Dana White has flat out stated numerous times that he isn’t a fan of tournaments and Rich Chou the matchmaker who originally booked the tournament isn’t even with the company anymore. Still it looks like "business as usual" has so far at least appeared that they are planning on finishing this thing but plenty of issues remain so I thought I’d take a look at some of them:

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This is more of a fantasy of what I would be doing/thinking in Lorenzo Fertitta’s head although if I was Lorenzo Fertitta I would probably just waste several months laughing maniacally while rolling around in huge piles of hundred dollar bills. I don’t have Lorenzo’s education or bank account or charms and looks but for the purposes or pure fantasizing lets just assume that I’m not a complete doofus when it comes to international media business dealings.

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Ok so I’m completely and totally unqualified to talk about expanding an entertainment business as a media venture but then this is the Internet and that makes me very qualified to ramble on and on about what I would do with something someone else owns.

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Well for better or worse 2011 has been the year when the entire sport finally came to revolve around Zuffa. Sure it has seemed inevitable for years now but with JMMA’s woes and Strikeforce coming into the fold even the pretense of a war is pretty much over. So what now? We hear all sorts of huge vague plans and outrageous predictions out of Dana and company but we aren't privy to the specifics that go on behind closed doors. It's the weekend and I am stuck away from home bored so I figured why not toss some ideas against the board and see what sticks. So off into the fantasy world of "what would I do if I was Dana White?"  Yes it's rambling and long winded but then if you are going to fan book an industry you might as well go for broke I guess. Feel free to add to, comment on or just make fun of the whole thing as I plan on blowing an entire Saturday on four issues I see here(split into three parts).

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 Former M-1 Global employee Gary "Jerry" Millen has been a bit busy on twitter lately and has been saying some interesting things. Statements including M-1 Global being 15 million in debt and Fedor's percentage of the company being a sham set up to keep him with the company. Obviously anything Millen says should be taken with a huge grain of salt and it's quite possible that it's just sour grapes from a former employee towards their employer but I do have to wonder at the timing of his statements. A week after the UFC won the MMA organization wars Millen decides to throw M-1 Global under the bus in a random tweet.....

Millen's twitter: http://twitter.com/jerrymillen

 

 

via www.mikethetruth.com

So everyone is losing their minds today over Strikeforce selling itself to Zuffa and there are plenty of conversations already about that. Instead I thought I would stick to one long forgotten question that should still have a bit of meaning to us MMA old timers. Will Fedor vs Randy finally happen before both guys retire? In September of 2008 Dana said that if he could sign Fedor he would give Randy that fight, well Dana still doesn't have Fedor Emelianenko signed but he does now have a way to give Randy Couture the fight he's been wanting for years for. Fedor vs Randy on Showtime (or heaven help us all on CBS) would be huge even though it's a couple of years past it's due date and it would give both Fedor and Randy a fight they could both be happy to call their retirement match. It would give Fedor a true showcase fight to ride off into the sunset with and also would allow Randy to mark that last check off his MMA bucket list before he heads off into the hall of fame sunset. Like Chuck vs Wanderlei it's probably too late for it to make a real difference in terms of either guy's career or the standings of the sport in general but just like with Chuck vs Wandy sometimes late is still better than never.

There was a time when the Pit Bull was seen as the man who was going to dominate the UFC heavyweight division for a long time to come, but now that seems like a lifetime ago. There was a time when Freddie Roach was telling us all that Arlovski was going to take the sport of boxing by storm but that never came to pass either. Arlovski's entire career is filled with what if's but the biggest one now is what if he decides not to retire after losing his fourth fight in a row? Lets look back on his career.

via www.lowkick.com

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Was Fedor the greatest of all time or was he just the greatest of his time? Is that a question that even needs to be answered? Times have changed but there is no denying his accomplishments during his career and there is no question the effect he has had on fandom of the sport of MMA. He never has really shown the love of the sport that guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture have so I do believe that when he finally decides to walk away he will just walk away. It has had the feeling of an era coming to an end with a number of stories in the last year and Fedor retiring would fit right in with that . There are a lot of what if's that will be discussed in the near future and the M-1 Global angle will be beat to death but right now lets just look at what he has accomplished in his career.

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With all this talk about the ongoing bloodbath happening at lightweight in the UFC I thought it would be interesting to look at who is currently in the division. The UFC has 57 lightweights listed and while that may not be all of them if they didn’t bother to list you on the website then maybe you should be quite worried at this point. I included fighter records and took a list from the other discussion about whether they are able to cut to 145lbs or not (Thanks to: T.C. Engel) and added some notes and comments to the list. I don’t know if these guys actually can cut to 145lbs, I am just going by that list in the comments so feel free to post possible additions/corrections for this list. By comparison the UFC has 21 Bantamweights, 26 Featherweights, 51 Welterweights, 41 Middleweights, 35 Light Heavyweights and 27 Heavyweights listed on their site. I would expect that at least ten to fifteen of the listed lightweights will be either going down in weight or going out the door in the near future (going up probably isn’t an option as Welterweight seems to be overcrowded too, but that would be a different "chopping block" fan post).

So who do you think is on the lightweight chopping block and who may be doing some extra dieting in the near future, let the speculation begin.

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Fighter's Only has an article with some interesting quotes from Junior Dos Santos about his English, doing the reality show and who his coaching choices will be.

"My next bout would be for the belt but this one is welcomed. It will increase my resumé so much" Cigano told PVT’s Gleidson Venga. "I liked the choice and the opportunity to be the coach of the reality show, this will be a big challenge. My English isn’t 100% yet but I will do my best and I am sure and I will do well."

 ...

"I’m still choosing my team… Dorea will be the boxing coach, Billy [an American friend] the Muay Thai coach. I’m thinking on someone from jiu-jitsu and perhaps Rodrigo Artilheiro in wreslting, he is very good and speaks Portuguese and English, which will help in the communication.

"I guess the team will be complete in the beginning of the next week."

 

That would be Luiz Dorea and Billy Schiebe. Dorea is Dos Santos long time boxing coach who also works with the Nogueria brothers but I don't know much about Billy Schiebe (I think he may of been Brandon Vera's Muay Thai coach).

There has been a lot of talk of who should fight who in the new year and who deserves a title shot. So who are the title contenders in the UFC currently and where do they stand going into 2011? The opinions are purely my own but I thought this would be something interesting to look at at the start of the year and to go back and look at again at the end of the year to see how things changed.

Heavyweight

Cain Velazquez being on the shelf for the next 8 months seems to make heavyweight an afterthought in 2011 but maybe that will give the division some time to work itself out as right now it’s a huge mess.

Junior Dos Santos - The number one contender is on a 7 win streak and is fighting mad over Cain’s injury situation. Will he get an interim title fight? Doubt it but I feel sorry for whoever he fights next.

Brock Lesnar - Who knows what is up with Brock or if he is even taking getting back in the title hunt seriously. The biggest star in the sport is also its biggest question mark.

Shane Carwin - The former interim champion is out for the foreseeable future recovering from back surgery. Once he gets better look for him to jump right back into the hunt but it may be a while.

Roy Nelson - Big Country is stuck in contract limbo until further notice; he also needs a big win to get himself into this discussion. Hopefully Nelson and Carwin can both get back and have the match they were supposed to have at 125.

Frank Mir - Mir may be out of favor currently but you can’t deny that he is a force in the division and is one big win away from getting another crack at that belt. Still left without anyone to fight in early 2011 it’s going to be hard for him to push his name back into the conversation. Maybe if those TUF rumors are true………

Light Heavyweight

Shogun’s knee remains the story at the top of the Light Heavyweight division but it looks like this March him and number one contender Rashad Evans may finally get it on. After that there are numerous directions things could go.

Rashad Evans - Rashad has been not so patiently waiting in the wings for his title shot for quite a while now. Wonder if the long layoff will be an issue with either fighter when they finally meet.

Rampage Jackson - While he lost his number one contenders bout with Evans his win against Machida keeps him at the top of the list for guys in the hunt. Recently it seems Rampage’s biggest problem hasn’t been his opponents but his own focus on the sport. Maybe in 2011 he will get his smile back?

Lyoto Machida-  His questionable loss to Rampage has taken some of the wind out of Machida’s sails but a big win over Randy Couture could push him back up there. His chances of a title shot also get better if Rashad Evans wins as Evans vs Machida 2 makes more sense than Shogun vs Machida 3.

Randy Couture - Well Randy claims he isn’t in the mix for another title run but if he beats Machida then it would be a great way to finally end his career. Shogun has also expressed interest in fighting Couture. One thing is for sure in MMA, counting out Randy Couture in anything is a bad bet to make.

Forrest Griffin vs Rich Franklin - One of these guys’ jumps up the title shot list and one of them heads back to the drawing board after UFC 126. This clash has seemed inevitable for quite a while and should shake up the division. Griffin vs Shogun 2 or Griffin vs Rashad 2 are both marketable fights.

Jon Jones vs Ryan Bader - UFC 126 will also see one of the sport’s young guns jump into title discussion. Griffin vs Franklin is the now at light heavyweight but Jones vs Bader is the division’s future.

Middleweight

Anderson Silva and odd ball title contender Vitor Belfort are going at it at UFC 126, after that Yushin Okami is waiting in the wings. The big story though is Chael Sonnen coming off suspension. It’s been a while since Middleweight had this much serious movement.

Vitor Belfort - Still not sure why Belfort is getting a middleweight title shot being as he hasn’t actually fought in the UFC at middleweight but this fight may finally provide Silva the challenge we have all been waiting for. Should be a good one but it’s hard to bet against Anderson Silva.

Yushin Okami - The division’s number one contender is on a three fight win streak and just scored a huge victory over Nate Marquardt. I look for Okami to be ringside at 126 for a possible face off between Anderson Silva and the last man to score a victory over him. Okami isn’t an exciting fighter but this title shot is well overdue.

Chael Sonnen - It seems Sonnen’s ballitis defense worked with CSAC and got his suspension cut down to 6 months. He wasted no time in calling out Wanderlei Silva (and insulting most of Brazil) on twitter. An eventual rematch with Anderson Silva in the future seems a lock. Like him or not he sure keeps things interesting in the division. Edit: well the recent story about Sonnen's legal problems may preclude him from not only title contention but the sport in general in 2011.

Nate Marquardt - Once assumed to be the guy to challenge Anderson Silva Nate dropped 2 number one contender’s bouts in 2010 and seems to be on a bit of a slide. He has also called out Wanderlei Silva in order to try and re-establish himself as a contender in the division.

Michael Bisping - Bisping always seems to be on the outside looking in when it comes to title contention. Will 2011 be the year when he finally wins a big fight and steps up to title contention status? I’m sure the UFC hopes so but I’m not that positive.

Wanderlei Silva - It’s still too early to tell if moving to 185lbs marks the twilight of his career or a rebirth of it but one thing is for sure Wandy has no shortage of big time potential dance partners calling him out. He’s another one of those guys it’s hard to bet against.

Chris Leben - Going from a three fight win streak and calling out Wanderlei Silva in 2010 to being dropped hard by Brian Stann to start 2011 probably ended Chris Leben’s title contention buzz, at least for now.

Welterweight

After five one sided title defenses in a row it seems that George St-Pierre sits atop welterweight as the undeniable king of the mountain. Number one contender Jake Shields looks to be the next victim in line at UFC 129. This is an incredibly talent rich division but besides his one stumble against Matt Serra in 2007 GSP has made it look easy, if any division is close to being cleaned out by a champion it’s welterweight.

Jake Shields - The former Strikeforce champion now sits as number one contender in the welterweight division and is all but set to take on GSP at UFC 129. Jake hasn’t lost a fight since 2004 and has a very real shot at winning the belt but he didn’t look all that good in his last fight with Martin Kampmann.

Jon Fitch- I can’t remember the last time Jon Fitch wasn’t ranked at number two in the welterweight division and his only loss since 2003 came at GSP’s hands. The "other guy" at welterweight is the real deal but he’s been hampered by a boring style and a long string of decisions. Now that teammate Josh Koscheck as had his opportunity I imagine he will be pushing hard to get a second fight with GSP and beating BJ Penn at UFC 127 seems like a huge step in that direction.

BJ Penn- We all know Penn wants a third shot at GSP but does anyone else want to see it? If Penn beats Jon Fitch can he be denied a title shot?

Josh Koscheck- Koscheck worked hard for his title shot and got it but after GSP beat him down at 124 I can’t imagine him getting another shot for quite a while, at least as long as GSP is on top.

Thiago Alves- While still highly ranked Alves doesn’t seem to be generating much of a title shot buzz currently. Aside from losing to GSP at UFC 100 Alves also seems to have a real problem making weight and Dana White has threatened to force a move to middleweight once already.

Carlos Condit- The former WEC champion’s move to the UFC has been a tough one but Condit has rattled off three victories in a row and has an upcoming fight with the always tough Chris Lytle at UFC 127. Due to the fact that much of the rest of the division has already been put down by GSP Condit could generate plenty of title shot buzz with a big win or two.

Chris Lytle- Quietly in the background Lytle has rattled off four wins in a row. I’m not sure anyone expected the 36 year old journeyman to be anywhere near a title shot but a win against Condit could get people talking about him being more than just a "fight of the night" machine.

Lightweight

Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard turned out so tight they are going to have to do it again. After that the division should start to come into better focus (provided they actually get a winner this time).

Gray Maynard- The number one contender remains undefeated but he’s going to have to step up all over again if he wants to take that belt.

Anthony Pettis- Pettis isn’t sitting in the bird’s eye seat due to rankings or wins over other contenders but because White said the WEC champion would get a UFC title shot. Who thought that Edgar vs Maynard would end in a tie and Pettis would be on the outside looking in though? He’s only 23 years old and seems to be getting better every bout so I’m sure this is just a small hiccup on his road to a shot at UFC gold.

BJ Penn- Penn seems to of abandoned the division for welterweight and it was doubtful he was going to get another title shot as long as Edgar holds the belt anyway.

Kenny Florian- His loss to Gray Maynard cost him a 3rd title fight but it would only take one good win to get him back on track. White has stated that he thinks Florian chokes in big fights and perhaps Florian’s biggest hurdle to cross is living up to people’s very lofty expectations of him.

Sean Sherk- Sherk’s questionable win over Evan Dunham after a long layoff hasn’t done anything for building him towards a shot and his loss to Edgar in 2009 stands out as a big red flag too. Right now he seems more of a title gate keeper than a title contender.

George Sotiropoulos- Sotiropoulos is on a 7 fight win streak and is the favorite against Dennis Siver at UFC 127. At this rate it will be hard for the UFC to not give him a title shot in the future. Look for him to step up in competition if he beats Siver. Florian has expressed interest in fighting the winner and a win over Florian would cause Sotiropoulos’s title buzz to become deafening.

Jim Miller- Miller is another guy on a big win streak (6) who is building a title buzz. He’s still lacking that one big name win to push him over the top but he is a guy to watch in 2011. He has Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128.

Clay Guida- The carpenter has won three in a row and has people talking but it’s probably too soon to start thinking title shot just yet. He did manage to take Takanori Gomi out of this discussion with his last win though.

Featherweight

After Josh Grispi’s recent loss is there anyone in the UFC to challenge Jose Aldo? For that matter after Marlon Sandro and Bibiano Fernandes’s losses are their any outside of the UFC? The future at featherweight may not be from contenders coming up in the division but from lightweights worrying about the title log jam and moving down to 145lbs.

Michihiro Omigawa vs Chad Mendes- Recently signed Omigawa versus Team Alpha Male prospect Chad Mendes at UFC 126 seems to be about the only thing going on at featherweight that may give them a legitimate number one contender currently.

Bantamweight

By comparison to featherweight the UFC’s bantamweight division is stacked with names and talent. Dominick Cruz recently defended impressively against Scott Jorgensen but there are a couple of real challenges still looking him in the eye.

Brian Bowles- It will be interesting to see how Bowles comes back from an injury layoff against Damacio Page at the UFC on Versus 3 event (provided this fight happens). Bowles lost the belt due to injury stoppage for a broken hand and you know he would love to get back in there and try and get his belt back.

Joseph Benavidez- Benavidez has more than earned his spot towards the top of the division but the only two losses on his record are to Dominick Cruz which probably discounts him from getting a title shot in the near future, provided Cruz holds the belt that is.

Miguel Torres- Torres has hit some hard times recently but he was also undefeated from 2003 to 2009. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back now that he is on the big stage in the UFC. He’s facing Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126.

Urijah Faber- Faber couldn’t seem to get past Mike Brown or Jose Aldo at Featherweight but he does hold a submission victory over bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and has to be looked at as a huge deal moving into the division. Faber is set to fight former bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland at UFC 128.

Scott Jorgensen- Jorgensen didn’t have anything for Dominick Cruz but he is still a force in the division and could easily work his way back into the title picture, particularly if Cruz loses the belt.

　

Another season of TUF is in the books so I decided to go back and update the list I did a while back as to where these guys are at now. Let me know if anyone sees any mistakes.

The Ultimate Fighter season 1

Bobby Southworth 10-6 (0-1 UFC) Last fight in UFC in 2005. Former Strikeforce LH champion. Reported to of tried out for TUF season 11.

Sam Hoger 10-4 (2-3 in UFC) Last fight in UFC in 2007.

Forrest Griffin 17-6 (8-4 in UFC) Won season 1. Former UFC LH champion in 2008. expected to face Rich Franklin at UFC 126

Alex Schoenauer 13-10 (0-1 in UFC) Last fight in UFC in 2005.

Stephen Bonner 13-7 (7-6 in UFC)

Mike Swick 14-4 (9-3 in UFC) expected to fight David Mitchell at UFC fight night 23

Lodune Sincaid 15-9 (0-1 in UFC) Last fight in UFC in 2005

Jason Thacker 0-1 Only fight in 2005

Diego Sanchez 22-4 (10-4 in UFC) Won season 1. Lost UFC lightweight title fight in 2009.

Josh Koscheck 15-4 (13-4 in UFC) Fights GSP at UFC 124 for title belt.

Kenny Florian 14-5 (10-4 in UFC) Lost two UFC lightweight title fights (2006 & 2009)

Josh Rafferty 9-7 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2005

Nate Quarry 12-4 (7-3 in UFC) Lost UFC Middleweight title fight in 2005

Chris Leben 25-6 (11-5 in UFC) Too many issues to discuss. expected face Brian Stann at UFC 125

Alex Karalexis 10-5 (1-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006. Currently 4-3 in WEC

Chris Sanford 5-1 (0-1 in UFC) Hasn't fought since 2005


UFC Title fights: 7
Belts : 1
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 6
Currently in UFC: 9

The Ultimate Fighter season 2

Joe Stevenson 31-11 (8-5 in UFC) Won Season 2. Lost UFC lightweight championship bout in 2008

Luke Cummo 6-6 (3-4 in UFC) Last fight was in 2008

Josh Burkman 21-8 (5-5 in UFC) Last UFC fight was in 2008

Sammy Morgan 19-12 (0-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight was in 2006

Jason Von Flue 14-12-1 (1-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight was in 2006

Marcus Davis 17-7 (9-4 in UFC) expected to face Jeremy Stephens at UFC 125

Jorge Gurgel 13-7 (3-4 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008

Anthony Torres 6-2 (1-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007.

Melvin Guillard 25-8-2 (8-4 in UFC)

Kenny Stevens 9-8 Never fought in the UFC

Mike Whitehead 25-7 (0-1 in UFC) Last fought in UFC in 2006. Currently in legal trouble.

Dan Christison 17-7 (0-1 in UFC) Last fought in UFC in 2006

Rob McDonald 5-4 (1-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006

Tom Murphy 6-0 (1-0 in UFC) Last fought in UFC in 2006. Didn't fight at all between 2006 and 2008.

Keith Jardine 15-9-1 (6-7 in UFC) Recently cut from UFC

Seth Petruzelli 12-6 (0-4 in UFC) Recently cut from the UFC

Rashad Evans 15-1-1 (10-1-1 in UFC) Won season 2. Won UFC LH title in 2008

Brad Imes 12-7 (0-3 in UFC) Last UFC match in 2007

Kerry Schall 23-11-1 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2005

Eli Joslin 2-0 Never fought in UFC. Last fight was in 2006


UFC Title Fights: 3 (soon to be 4 when Rashad vs Shogun finally happens)
Belts: 1
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 8
Currently in UFC/WEC: 4

Ultimate Fighter season 3

Mike Stine 3-0 Never fought in UFC.

Kendall Grove 12-8-1 (7-5 in UFC) Won season 3

Rory Singer 12-9 (2-2 in UFC) Last fight in UFC in 2007

Danny Abbadi 4-6 (0-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006

Kalib Starnes 10-5-1 (2-3 in UFC) Ran his way out of UFC in 2008

Solomon Hutcherson 11-7-0-1 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006

Ed Herman 19-7 (4-5 in UFC) hasn’t fought since 2009

Ross Pointon 6-10 (0-2 in UFC) Last fought in UFC in 2007

Michael Bisping 20-3 (10-3 in UFC) Won season 3 will fight Jorge Rivera at UFC UFC 127

Noah Inhofer 4-4 Never fought in UFC. Wonder if he ever got married?

Josh Haynes 17-11 (0-3 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007

Matt Hamill 10-2 (9-2 in UFC)

Jessie Forbes 14-5 (0-3 in UFC) 0-1 in WEC.

Kristian Rothaermel 6-3 (0-1 in UFC) Hasn't fought since 2006

Tait Fletcher 4-2 Never fought in UFC

Mike Nickels 8-4 (1-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007


UFC Title Fights: 0
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 8
Currently in UFC: 3

Ultimate Fighter season 4

Travis Lutter 10-6 (2-4 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008. Missed weight and lost title shot.

Charles McCarthy 10-5 (1-2 in UFC) Retired from MMA in 2008.

Gideon Ray 18-12-1 (0-3 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006.

Jorge Rivera 18-7 (7-5 in UFC) expected to face Michael Bisping at UFC 127

Rich Clementi 38-17-1 (5-5 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009

Mikey Burnett 5-2 (2-1 in UFC) UFC Welterweight title shot in 1998. Hasn't fought since 1999 (injured himself on the show trying to run through a wall and retired due to injury).

Jeremy Jackson 10-5 (0-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006. Last fight in 2007. On trial for rape currently.

Pete Spratt 21-19 (3-4 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006.

Pete Sell 8-5 (2-5 in UFC) Last fight in UFC in 2009.

Scott Smith 17-8-0-1 (1-3 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007. Been a big name for EliteXC and Strikeforce since he left the UFC.

Patrick Cote 13-7 (4-7 in UFC) Had UFC Middleweight title shot in 2008. Recently cut from UFC.

Edwin Dewees 36-13-0-1 (0-3 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006. Tested positive for steroids in 2008.

Shonie Carter 49-26-7-1 (3-3 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2006. Retired recently

Chris Lytle 30-17-5 (9-9 in UFC) Has won 7 "of the night" bonuses. expected to face Carlos Condit on at UFC 127.

Matt Serra 11-7 (8-7 in UFC) Was UFC Welterweight champion in 2007.

Din Thomas 25-8 (5-4 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008.


Title Fights: 4
Belts: 1
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 1
Currently in UFC: 3

Ultimate Fighter season 5

Gray Maynard 10-0-1 (8-0-1 in UFC) Will face Frankie Edgar at UFC 125 for title belt

Matt Wiman 12-5 (6-3 in UFC) expected to fight Cole Miller at UFC fight night 23

Gabe Ruediger 17-6 (0-2 in UFC) Really likes cake. Fighting Paul Taylor at UFC 126

Joe Lauzon 19-6 (6-3 in UFC)

Rob Emerson 10-9-0-1 (3-3-1 in UFC) Recently cut from UFC

Andy Wang 7-7-1 (0-1 in UFC) Did not fight between 2007 and 2009

Allen Berube 2-2-0-1 (0-1 in UFC). Last UFC fight in 2007. Sometimes refers to himself as the Crustacean Sensation.

Noah Thomas 13-7 Never fought in UFC 0-2 in WEC

Cory Hill 4-4 (1-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008

Nate Diaz 13-5 (8-3 in UFC) Won season 5

Brandon Melendez 25-17 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007

Marlon Sims 3-4 Never fought in UFC

Manny Gamburyan 11-5 (2-3 with UFC 3-1 in WEC)

Cole Miller 17-4 (6-2 in UFC) expected to fight Matt Wiman at UFC fight night 23

Brian Geraghty 21-14-1 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007

Wayne Weems 12-2 Never fought in UFC. Hasn't fought since 2007


UFC Title Fights: 1 UFC, 1 WEC
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 7
Currently in UFC: 8

Ultimate Fighter season 6

Dan Barrera 2-1 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007

Blake Bowman 2-3 Never fought in UFC

Mac Danzig 19-8-1 (3-4 in UFC) Won season 6 will fight Joe Stevenson at UFC 124

Paul Georgieff 5-2 (0-1 in UFC) Hasn't fought since 2007

Billy Mills 2-2 (0-1 UFC) Hasn't fought since 2007

Dorian Price 8-3 (0-1 in the UFC) Hasn't fought since 2007

Jared Rollins 8-4 (0-1 in UFC) Hasn't fought since 2007 (What did Matt Hughes do to his team? Four of them never fought again)

Tommy Speer 15-5 (0-2 in UFC) Last UFC match in 2008

Matt Arroyo 3-3 (1-2 in UFC) Released by UFC in 2009

Richie Hightower 8-4-0-1 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007

John Kolosci 14-7 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007

War Machine 11-4 (1-1 in UFC) Jon Koppenhaver is currently doing hard time for felony assault.

Roman Mitichyan 7-3 (1-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008

Troy Mandaloniz 3-2 (1-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009

Ben Saunders 9-3-2 (5-3 in UFC) Cut from UFC in 2010

George Sotiropoulos 14-2 (7-0 in UFC) Will fight Dennis Siver at UFC 127

Joe Scarola 4-0-1 Never fought in UFC. Hasn't fought since 2006. Pulled a Noah Inhofer on show.


UFC Title Fights: 0
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 13
Currently in UFC/WEC: 2

The Ultimate Fighter season 7

C.B. Dollaway 11-2 (5-2 in UFC)

Matt Riddle 5-1 (5-1 in UFC) will fight Sean Pierson at UFC 124

Pat Schultz 8-2-1 Never fought in UFC. Replaced the neck herpes guy on the show.

Paul Bradley 14-2-1 Never fought in UFC. Guy who got cut for neck herpes.

Dan Cramer 5-2 (1-1 in UFC) Cut from UFC in 2009

Gerald Harris 17-3 (3-1 in UFC) Recently cut from UFC

Mike Dolce 4-10 Never fought in UFC

Jeremy May 8-7 Never fought in UFC

Brandon Sene 2-1 Never fought in UFC. Hasn't fought since 2008

Tim Credeur 12-3 (3-1 in UFC) Plagued by injury in 2010

Amir Sadollah 4-2 (4-2 in UFC) Won season 7

Jesse Taylor 17-6 (0-1 in UFC) Drank his way into TUF infamy and out of the UFC

Matt Brown 11-10 (4-4 in UFC)

Cale Yarbrough 8-2 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008

Dante Rivera 15-7-1 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008

Nick Klein 3-0 Never fought in UFC. Hasn't fought since 2007

Luke Zachrich 10-2 Never fought in UFC.


UFC Title Fights: 0
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 11
Currently in UFC/WEC: 5

Ultimate Fighter season 8

Rolando Delgado 9-5 (1-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009

Efrain Escudero 14-2 (3-2 in UFC) Won season 8, cut in 2010

Phillipe Nover 5-3-1 (0-3 in UFC) "Fainting Phillipe"cut in 2010

John Polakowski 2-2 (0-1 in UFC) Hasn't fought since 2008

Ryan Bader 12-0 (5-0 in UFC) Won season 8 will face Jon Jones at UFC 126.

Jules Bruchez 1-3 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008

Kyle Kingsbury 9-2-1 (2-1 in UFC) expected to face Ricardo Romero at UFC 126

Shane Primm 6-5 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008

Junie Browning 4-4 (1-1 in UFC) "Do you know who I am? I will kill you and rape your family!" Cut in 2009 for being crazy.

Dave Kaplan 3-4 (0-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009

Shane Nelson 12-5 (2-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009

George Roop 11-6-1 (1-2 in UFC, 1-1-1 in WEC) expected to face Mark Hominick at UFC Fight Night 23

Tom Lawlor 7-3 (3-2 in UFC) Just got big win over Patrick Cote

Vinny Magalhaes 4-5-1 (0-2 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009

Eliot Marshall 10-2 (3-1 in UFC) cut in 2010

Krzysztof Soszyński 22-10 (5-2 in UFC)


UFC Title Fights: 0
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 6
Currently in UFC/WEC: 5

The Ultimate Fighter season 9

Santino DeFranco 13-4 Never fought in the UFC. Hasn't fought since 2008

Jason Dent 19-11 (1-3 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009. Was in UFC twice, cut after 2 fights both times.

Cameron Dollar 7-2 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009

Richie Whitson 10-1 Never fought in UFC

DeMarques Johnson 11-8 (2-2 in UFC) expected to face Mike Guymon at UFC Fight Night 23.

Frank Lester 4-4 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009. Lost front teeth on show.

Mark Miller 10-8 Never fought in UFC.

Jason Pierce 9-0 Never fought in UFC. Didn't seem to want to fight on show so he didn't.

Jeff Lawson 14-4 Never fought in UFC

Ross Pearson 11-4 (3-1 in UFC) Won Season 9 expected to face Spencer Fisher at UFC 127.

Martin Stapleton 7-1 Never fought in UFC.

Andre Winner 12-5-1 (2-3 in UFC)

Dean Amasinger 7-2 Never fought in the UFC

Dave Faulkner 2-1 Never fought in UFC. Hasn't fought since 2008

Nick Osipczak 5-3 (2-3 in UFC) Out of UFC

James Wilks 7-4 (2-2 in UFC) Won Season 9


UFC Title Fights: 0
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 10
Currently in UFC: 4

The Ultimate Fighter season 10

James McSweeney 4-6 (1-2 in UFC) Out of UFC (?)

Brendan Schaub 7-1 (3-1 in UFC) Just got big win over Gabriel Gonzaga

Justin Wren 11-2 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2009.

John Madsen 7-0 (4-0 in UFC)

Roy Nelson 15-5 (2-1 in UFC) Won Season 10. Was in UFC title hunt, now stuck in contract limbo.

Darrill Schoonover 10-2 (0-1 in UFC) "Titties" was cut in 2010.

Matt Mitrione 3-0 (2-0 in UFC) "Meathead" expected to face Tim Hague at UFC Fight Night 23

Mike Wessel 8-2 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2008.

Kevin Ferguson 4-2 (1-1 in UFC) "Kimbo Slice" was cut in 2010. Now training for boxing "career".

Abe Wagner 6-3 Never fought in UFC.

Demico Rogers 2-1 Never fought in UFC.

Wes Sims 22-13-1-2 (0-3 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2004.

Scott Junk 8-2-1-1 (0-1 in UFC) Last UFC fight in 2007.

Wes Shivers 7-1 Never fought in UFC.

Marcus Jones 4-2 (0-1 in UFC) Retired from MMA in 2009.

Zac Jensen 9-6 Never fought in UFC


UFC Title Fights: 0 (Nelson came close)
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 11
Currently in UFC/WEC: 4

The Ultimate Fighter season 11

Kyle Noke 18-4 (2-0 in UFC) expected to face Chris Camozzi at UFC 127

Rich Attonito 9-4 (2-1 in UFC)

Charles Blanchard 8-2 Didn't fight on TUF 11 finale. Out of UFC.

Josh Bryant 10-1 (0-1 in UFC) Out of UFC

Brad Tavares 6-0 (1-0 in UFC) expected to face Phil Baroni at UFC 125

Court McGee 13-1 (2-0 in UFC) Won season 11

Joe Henle 4-0-1 Didn't fight on TUF finale. Out of UFC.

Nick Ring 10-0 Didn't fight on TUF finale due to knee injury. Rumored to finally make UFC debut at UFC 127

Kyacey Uscola 22-17 Didn't fight on TUF finale due to dog attack injuries. Out of UFC.

Kris McCray 5-2 (0-2 in UFC)

Jamie Yager 2-2 (0-1 in UFC) Out of UFC, Hasn’t fought since.

James Hammortree 5-2 (0-1 in UFC) Out of UFC, Hasn’t fought since.

Clayton McKinney 4-2 Didn't fight on TUF finale. Hasn’t fought since.

Seth Baczynski 12-6 (0-1 in UFC) out of UFC

Chris Camozzi 14-3 (2-0 in UFC) Broke jaw in the preliminary fight and was replaced by Seth Baczynski.

UFC Title Fights: 0
Two or fewer UFC fights in career: 14
Currently in UFC: 7  

Ultimate Fighter season 12

Jonathan Brookins 12-3 (1-1 in UFC/WEC) Won Season 12

Michael Johnson 8-5 (0-1 in UFC) tried out for season 8 and season 9

Spencer Paige 7-2 Didn’t fight on TUF finale.

Alex Caceres 4-2 Injury forced "Bruce Leroy" out of TUF finale fight.

Kyle Watson 13-6 (1-0 in UFC)

Cody McKenzie 12-0 (1-0 in UFC) 10 wins in a row by Guillotine Choke. Expected to fight Yves Edwards at UFC fight night 23

Dane Sayers 7-1 Didn’t fight on TUF finale.

Sako Chivitchian 5-1 (0-1 in UFC)

Nam Phan 16-8 (0-1 in UFC) "lost" to hypno-Garcia on TUF finale.

Aaron Wilkinson 6-4 (0-1 in UFC)

Marc Stevens 12-5 Didn’t fight on TUF finale

Sevak Magakian 8-3 Didn’t fight on TUF finale

Andy Main 4-1 Didn’t fight on TUF finale

Jeff Lentz 5-1 Didn’t fight on TUF finale

The old fanpost is here: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/6/21/1527939/tuf-seasons-1-11-fighter-records

 

 

Professional boxer and trash talker James Toney is at it again. His target this time, Rampage Jackson:

Professional Boxer James Toney is lobbying to get a fight with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Recently, Toney had some harsh words aimed towards Jackson in an interview with FightHype.

"The only thing that the Fake Mr. T has to do is sign the contract. Rampage is a decent club fighter and if he thinks his club fighting style can match my skills, then he is crazy as hell."

 And then there is this little gem:

"Is he mad because I called him an Uncle Tom or because I said Detroit wouldn't accept him?" laughed Toney. "My boy said Rampage stayed in his room and they were in Auburn Hills. They knew better than to go to the D where I'm from. I will go on record and say he is not dumb enough to stand and trade with me."

"Machida almost knocked him out, so what do you think I would do to him? Rampage is a black redneck. I ain't hard to find, sign the contract."

I can't imagine that Dana White wants to go down this road again but MMA's boxing stalker doesn't seem to want to go away quietly. As for Rampage, well of course he wants the fight. Apparently MMA fans were naughty for Christmas because instead of toys Santa stuck James Toney in our stockings.

Links to the MMA Encyclopedia contest fan post:

 

 

 

Continue reading this post »

Congratulations to "who me" who walks away with a free copy of The MMA Encyclopedia for this excellent fanpost. Honorable mention nods go to Raging Noodles, SquishingMachine, and Crazy Bones. Look for more chances to win all month at Bloody Elbow.

The issue of co-promotion in MMA keeps rearing its head, most recently with the talk of Bellator vs. Strikeforce, so I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at the history of major MMA organizations working with each other and how it turned out.

Pride and K-1

In 2002 Pride and K-1 teamed up to do a mixed MMA/kickboxing event(and a Jiu-Jitsu bout for good measure) PRIDE Shockwave/K-1 Dynamite. To say this was a huge event is a understatement, 91,108 fans flocked to Tokyo National Stadium for it. In the end Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Bob Sapp stole the show.

Result: While this wasn’t actually a MMA co-promotion as much as a mixed card co-promotion it did lead to FEG getting deeply involved with the sport of MMA and eventually Hero’s. It also started the yearly NYE Dynamite!! events from K-1, although this event wasn’t on NYE. From huge co-promotion success came direct competition. Dynamite!! 2004 was also a co-promotion of sorts with K-1 and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

 

Pride and the UFC

The UFC sent Chuck Liddell over to Pride to fight Guy Metzger for Pride 14 and then sent Chuck and Ricco Rodriguez over for Pride Total Elimination 2003 with the idea that Chuck would fight Wanderlei Silva at the end of the tournament. Chuck went back to famously lose to Rampage at Final Conflict 2003. Randy and Tito also made appearances in Pride. No Pride fighters ever came over to fight in the UFC but in 2006 Wanderlei did make an UFC appearance to challenge Chuck Liddell. That fight never materialized and Wanderlei went on to be knocked out by Cro Cop in Pride.

Result: Chuck didn’t fight Wanderlei until the end 2007 after Wanderlei signed with the UFC. Dana claimed that Pride was supposed to return the favor for him sending Chuck to Pride but that never happened (and the rumors are numerous and varied on why this never happened). All in all this wasn’t as much a co-promotion as it was just Chuck Liddell making a couple of trips to Japan and the controversial Ricco vs Big Nog fight. If anything came out of this it may be Dana’s current dislike of the idea of co-promotion.

 

EliteXC and FEG

K-1 and EliteXC got in bed together for the very memorable 2007 Dynamite!! USA show. See my previous fanpost for the details:

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2010/11/2/1789578/the-mma-encyclopedia-contest-dynamite-usa

Result: FEG hasn’t done a MMA show in the US since they laid that giant turd on our doorstep. EliteXC went on to bigger and better things, like going out of business and selling their assets to Strikeforce. Dream and EliteXC officially partnered to share stars but that never really got off the ground.

EliteXC and Strikeforce

EliteXC opened up shop with their inaugural show, EliteXC: Destiny, in early 2007 featuring Frank Shamrock vs Renzo Gracie. There was just one problem; Frank Shamrock was under contract with Strikeforce at the time. Legal hijinks ensued and the two settled out of court by agreeing to co-promote two shows with Frank Shamrock. The first was EliteXC/Strikeforce:Shamrock vs. Baroni and the second was Strikeforce: Shamrock vs Cung Le.

Result: Strikeforce, got to have two of their early shows broadcast on Showtime and also made the connections that eventually led to them purchasing EliteXC’s assets and signing TV contracts with Showtime and CBS. EliteXC got out of being sued.

 

EliteXC and Affliction

In late 2008 both companies were having issues and decided to work together on EliteXC: Heat on CBS. Affliction put Andre Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson on the card and also bought tons of advertising. It wasn’t as much a event co-promotion as it was EliteXC allowing Affliction to have a bout on their CBS card.

Result: EliteXC died shortly after this event so even though there were discussions of a more serious relationship between the two companies nothing else came out of this. Less than a year later Affliction slunk back to the UFC with their tail between their legs after Josh Barnett failed to get a fighter’s license from CSAC but who knows what would have been if both companies hadn’t fallen on their faces.

Yarennoka!

On NYE of 2007 a group called the Yarenoka! Executive Committee put on a show that was supposed to be a farewell to Pride. The Yarenoka! Executive Committee was a group of former Pride executives. They were joined by FEG and Monte Cox’s M-1 Global. FEG also was doing it’s Dynamite!! 2007 show on the same night.

Result: The end result of this show was that the Yarenoka! Executive Committee went to work for FEG and Dream was born. Instead of a farewell it turned into a rebirth for Pride but Dream has never been able to quite catch that same magic that Pride did and the whole sport has nose dived in Japan in the last couple of years. The M-1 part of this fell off shortly after as Monte Cox’s M-1 became no more and M-1 Mixfight took their ball and went their own way. Fedor was at the press conference announcing Dream but he hasn’t fought for them since Yarennoka!.

Dynamite!! 2009

FEG decided to do something special for Dynamite!! 2009 and co-promoted Dream vs. Sengoku as part of their big NYE card. The big deal here was that Dynamite!! 2009 would feature Satoshi Ishii vs.Hidehiko Yoshida as its main draw.

Results: Ratings were good (particularly for Ishii vs. Yoshida) but not as high as expected. Dream won the Dream vs. Sengoku inter-promotional contest but that was overshadowed by Shinya Aoki’s antics after his victory. Rumors have swirled of a second Dream vs. Sengoku event but FEG’s financial situation may spell the end of Dream. Sengoku parent company WVR is also not in the best of financial shape. Will Dynamite!! 2010 be the last hurrah for large scale MMA in Japan? Only time will tell.

 

M-1 Global and Strikeforce (and earlier Affliction)

Some people would say this is more akin to extortion than co-promotion. The basic deal is that if a company wants to sign Fedor they have to agree to co-promotion with M-1 Global. To be fair M-1 had put some other fighters on the Affliction cards besides just Fedor but for the most part this has been a situation where in order to work with Fedor you also have to agree to get in bed with M-1 Global. Has Fedor been worth it? Sort of.

Results: After Affliction fell apart M-1 and Affliction ended up suing each other over their past dealings which tends to point to an unhappy result between the two, still Affliction wouldn’t have done as much business as they did without Fedor. Strikeforce scored a good rating on CBS with Fedor but then got the short end of the stick when Fedor didn’t appear on their second CBS card due to issues with M-1. Strikeforce did above average ratings on their Showtime event with Fedor but it wasn’t the ratings hit they expected. M-1 took a huge hit when Fedor lost to Werdum and Strikeforce and M-1 are back in the negotiation trenches trying to get Fedor a fight. The biggest winner out of the entire situation was Fabricio Werdum who went from UFC cast off to MMA hot commodity after he took Fedor out with a triangle a minute into their bout.

 

Strikeforce and Dream

While not actually co-promoting with each other Strikeforce and Dream have agreed to share fighters and this arrangement has led to some very interesting match ups so I decided to throw this in here. This relationship has also seemed to of worked much smoother than any of the other agreements listed, which is probably because of Scott Coker’s past as a K-1 promoter.

Results: Due to the two organizations being in very different media markets and just sharing fighters instead of actually trying to put on shows together this relationship has been a good one for both companies. This has also allowed Strikeforce to sign some Dream fighters to Strikeforce contracts which will be good for Strikeforce if Dream doesn’t continue in 2011. The biggest issue so far has been Dream’s inability to pay many of its fighters in a timely manner, going into the future it will less likely that Strikeforce fighters will want to go to Japan to fight unless the payment issue is resolved.

 

via www.k-1.co.jp

June 2, 2007, FEG teamed up with MMA industry newcomer ProElite and Showtime to change the face of MMA in America with a mega-event in LA’s Memorial Coliseum. They planned to have Hong-Man Choi, Gina Carano, Antonio Silva, Mighty Mo, Ray Sefo, Melvin Manhoef, Jake Shields, JZ Cavalcante, Javier Vasquez, the MMA debuts of Johnnie Morton and Brock Lesnar and the highly anticipated rematch between Royce Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba. What could possibly go wrong?

 

via www.hero-s.com

The event was in trouble right from the start. FEG couldn’t get a promoter’s license from CSAC, Hong-Man Choi couldn’t get medical clearance for his fight with Brock Lesnar (although that didn’t stop FEG from continuing to advertise that match), Gina Carano pulled out of the event, Antonio Silva was pulled from the event, Gabe Ruediger was announced as a replacement for Javier Vasquez and then quickly pulled from the event, Ray Sefo vs Marvin Eastman was pulled from the event and Sakuraba had trouble getting medical clearance. Events have troubles all the time but all of the above issues were going on two weeks before this huge stadium show was supposed to happen. 22 fighters on the card and 10 days out FEG had only had one of them cleared by CSAC and they still hadn’t put up their bond for the event or got a license to hold it yet. It was beginning to look like a Coliseum sized disaster but in the end FEG managed to get a temporary promoters license from CSAC, find Lesnar a replacement fight and get enough guys medically cleared to actually have an event. I imagine that a lot of FEG officials lost a lot of sleep that week but the hurdles had been cleared and the event was a go, all they had to do was sit back and watch the magic. To quote Mauro Renallo, "Yo, yo, yo, and away we go". 

Showtime started with an hour of preliminary fights before the PPV. The announcers were Mauro Renallo, Jay Glazer and Bill Goldberg doing color. The only thing memorable from Jonathan Wiezorek vs. Tim "Big Perm" Persey was that "Big Perm" tested positive for Meth after the event. We got an "interesting" interview with a possibly drunk Phil Baroni and highlights of JZ’s 26 second blistering of Nam Phan then there was Jake Shields getting a trophy for manhandling some guy no one had ever heard of. EliteXC’s part wasn’t good but it wasn’t that painful either, shame the same couldn’t be said for FEG’s PPV.

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

It’s at this point that DJ Hoppa made his appearance. Apparently FEG thought it would be a great idea to hire a DJ to hype up the event, isn’t that what Americans like? DJ Hoppa was a complete disaster. From mispronouncing names to talking over announcers and fights to actually telling the fans to boo the fighters it just seemed to never end. You have to wonder at just who thought giving a DJ an open mike and complete freedom to say anything he wanted to at any time during an event was a good idea? They did pull out all the stops for their "opening ceremony", from bringing out Dennis Rodman to having a washed up pop group sing the national anthem to having Hong-Man Choi light the Olympic torch to hiring what looked like a parade of circus performers it seemed no expense was spared to blow the first half hour of the PPV.

The show finally got around to former NFL star Johnnie Morton fighting comedian Bernard Ackah. It lasted less than a minute and Johnnie Morton ended up being carried out with a neck brace on a backboard. The golf card ride to the ring lasted longer than Johnnie Morton’s MMA career. Morton also tested positive for steroids and refused to take a post fight test but honestly I think he had enough of MMA in the 38 seconds the fight lasted. "Warpath vs. Might Mo goes around a minute and a half before the expected happens. Dong Sik Yoon and Manhoef tear it up for a round and a half until Dong Sik Yoon gets the armbar in what turned out to be the most interesting fight of the night and Hideo Tokoro caught Brad Pickett with an arm bar early in their fight.

via www.cdn.sherdog.com  

Then we got to Gracie vs. Sakuraba in a fight that had basically everything, that is if you can call butt scooting and clinching everything. They really tried but sometimes 7 years is just too long to wait for a rematch. Both guys looked old. After eight faster paced fights that ended early this one went the distance without offering much at all. DJ Hoppa tried to help out by telling fans to boo these two legends of MMA but to no avail, the fight still plodded along. Royce got popped for steroids and hasn’t fought since; Sakuraba has fought nine more times since then with most fans wishing he would just stop before he dies in the ring.

via www.cdn.sherdog.com  

What could headline over two of the great legends having a rematch of one of the most important fights in the sport’s history? How about the debut of a former pro wrestler vs. a 2-5 judoka late replacement? Yea Brock mauled him as expected and Bill Goldberg gave birth to puppies due to the excitement of it all.

 

via www.cdn.sherdog.com

So what was good about the event? Well most of the fights were short. What was bad about it? Pretty much everything else. They did manage to sell 42,757 tickets to the event (about half full for the Coliseum); of course they sold 39,083 of them to themselves. There is no way to actually get a number on the attendance because they allowed entry through non-turnstile gates but the 42,757 is what people have gone with making it the most attended MMA show in North America. The PPV buy rate was 35,000 which means that more people actually had a ticket than ordered the event on TV. K-1 did put the fights on YouTube (without the commentary track thank goodness) which is very nice but it’s just not the same experience as watching the actual event. Fightlinker also did a video summing up the event in their own particular style which is worth a watch.

 

 

 

Brock Lesnar: Suspended 45 days, 30 days no contact for knockout. 60 days for left cheek laceration, and possibly 180 days unless cleared by ophthalmologist.

Jake Shields: Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days unless cleared by an ophthalmologist for bleeding in eye and blurred vision.

Diego Sanchez: Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days until cleared by physician for possible right wrist fracture.

Paulo Thiago: Suspended for 60 days with no contact for 60 days unless cleared by physician for laceration.

Tito Ortiz: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for a hard bout.

Brendan Schaub: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for a hard bout.

Gabriel Gonzaga: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for a hard bout.

Court McGee: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for a hard bout. Suspended 180 days or until cleared by physician for possible right hand fracture.

Ryan Jensen: Suspended for 45 days with no contact for 30 days for a hard bout.

Patrick Cote: Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days unless cleared by an ophthalmologic exam for his retina.

Chris Camozzi: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 60 days until cleared by physician for left brow lacerations.

Dongi Yang: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for a hard bout.

Gilbert Yvel: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days.

http://www.mmamania.com/2010/10/26/1776286/ufc-121-medical-suspensions-and-injuries-for-lesnar-vs-velasquez-on

Looks like things have come around for Frank and Lorenzo, even with Station still in bankruptcy they are back on the Forbes 400 list this year.

Frank Fertitta (365) $1.1B

Will jump back into casino game with brother Lorenzo when family's Station Casinos emerges from bankruptcy in 2011; Fertittas will remain controlling owners. Brothers bought mixed martial arts outfit Ultimate Fighting Championship for $2 million 2001; plowed in cash to improve operations. Today UFC is their most valuable asset. Father Frank Jr. started as Las Vegas dealer; built casinos geared to locals. Went public 1993, private 2007. Owns extensive art collection.

http://www.forbes.com/profile/frank-fertitta

 

Lorenzo Fertitta (385) $1B

Returns to billionaire status thanks to growing martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship owned with brother Frank; Abu Dhabi investment helping UFC go international. Scuba diver really swims with sharks--including tigers and great whites. Father Frank Jr. started as Las Vegas dealer; built casinos geared to locals. Went public 1993, private 2007. The brothers own extensive art collections.

http://www.forbes.com/profile/lorenzo-fertitta

 

Friend of the sport Mark Cuban is sitting at 144 this year with $2.5B. He's up from last year's $2.4B. Looks like the economy is improving for some people at least.

http://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-cuban

 Well it seems there is a bit of a catch to Werdum giving Fedor an immediate rematch. Can't blame Werdum for looking for a bit of "incentive" to do this fight in October. It's also interesting that he hasn't ruled out taking another fight between the rematch with Fedor too(Overeem?).

With Fedor Emelianenko's aura of invincibility shattered, his promoter, M-1 Global, is suddenly tasked with rehabilitating Fedor's image as "the baddest man on the planet." Their best course of action starts with getting Fedor back in the cage with Fabricio Werdum as soon as possible. In their eyes, proving Fedor's loss to Werdum was a "fluke" can't come soon enough. They've already targeted October for the fight.

Fortunately for M-1, Fabricio Werdum is willing to give Fedor Emelianenko the rematch they seek, however there's a catch. According to Fighters Only, Werdum is only willing to do it on their timetable if the right incentives are provided.

 http://www.mmaconvert.com/2010/07/01/fabricio-werdum-wont-rematch-fedor-emelianenko-in-2010-without-right-incentives/

 

Fighters Only quotes:

Fabricio Werdum's rematch with Fedor Emelianenko will take place - but not for at least eight months, according to a source very close to the Strikeforce heavyweight. The source told Fighters Only that Werdum does not want to rematch Fedor in what remains of 2010.

.....

The source told us that Werdum has not ruled out taking another fight before rematching Fedor, and also said that he may be open to fighting him again in less than eight months if the right incentives were provided.

 http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=4799

Sure everyone knows the disclaimer that goes with these numbers by now. The total payroll for the event was $788,800.  

Fabricio Werdum: $100,000
def. Fedor Emelianenko: $400,000

Cung Le: $100,000
def. Scott Smith: $55,000

Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos: $35,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus and $5,000 champion bonus)
def. Jan Finney: $6,000

Josh Thomson: $60,000
def. Pat Healy: $8,000

Chris Cope: $3,000 ($1,000 win bonus)
def. Ron Keslar: $1,500

Bret Bergmark: $3,000 ($1,500 win bonus)
def. Vagner Rocha: $2,500

Yancey Medeiros: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus)
def. Gareth Joseph: $2,000

Bobby Stack: $2,800 ($1,500 win bonus)
def. Derrick Burnsed: $2,000

Source: MMAJunkie.com

 

The gate was $1,066,739 and attendance was 11,757

18,265 - "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie" (March 2006)
16,326 - "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le" (March 2008)
15,211 - "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz" (April 2009)
14,749 - "Strikeforce: Evolution" (December 2009)
13,976 - "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg" (August 2009)
11,757 - "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum" (June 2010)
10,374 - "Strikeforce: Revenge" (June 2006)
9,672 - "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Baroni" (June 2007)
8,701 - "Strikeforce: Triple Threat" (December 2006)
8,152 - "Strikeforce: Destruction" (November 2008)
7,288 - "Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson" (June 2008)
7,249 - "Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives" (November 2007)

 

Source also MMAJunkie.com

Fight Matrix recently did an analysis of average opponent strength between 2007 and 2009 to determine which 25 fighters have fought the toughest schedules. The list had some real interesting names pop up on it and I thought it would be a good break from the 24/7 Fedor-fest that has been going on all weekend.

1. Forrest Griffin

2. Matt Hughes

3. Chuck Liddell

4. Dan Henderson

5. Georges St. Pierre

6. Thiago Alves

7. B.J. Penn

8. Sean Sherk

9. James Irvin

10. Frank Mir

11. Rich Franklin

12. Nate Marquardt

13. Jens Pulver

14. Yasuhiro Urushitani

15. Josh Koscheck

16. Marcos Galvao

17. Tim Sylvia

18. Mauricio Rua

19. Matt Lindland

20. Diego Sanchez

21. Patrick Cote

22. Mamoru Yamaguchi

23. Jon Fitch

24. Hong Man Choi

25. Dokonjonosuke Mishima

Source: Fight Matrix