UFCJunkie.com is reporting the following exclusives:

• Renato “Babalu” Sobral is slated to fight David Heath at UFC 74 in August.
• Jason Gilliam has been chosen to replace Drew Fickett against Chris Lytle at UFC 73 next Saturday.
• Jon Koppenhaver and Richie Hightower are the latest two fighters to be rumored to be involved in the current taping of the sixth installment of The Ultimate Fighter. Mac Danzig had previously been rumored.

To get more from UFCJunkie.com, click here.

I recently had the opportunity to interview IFL co-owner Gareb Shamus. Shamus was willing to tackle any difficult question pertaining to his company and I did my best to make sure that I asked him every difficult question I could think of. We talked about the IFL’s current financial situation, whether there are any plans to get away from the team concept, his reaction to Dana White’s critical statements about the IFL, some of the attendance troubles the company has run into, and much more!

Read the interview

Gareb was such a good sport that the interview you see on CBS Sportsline is only half of the whole question and answer session I had with him. He went into great detail about a lot of other topics but due to space constraints, I couldn’t get the entire transcript published. The good news is that CBS Sportsline has given me permission to post the entire transcript here in a couple of days.

The UFC held a conference call for reporters today in preparation for next Saturday’s UFC 73 card in Sacramento, Calif. On the call were UFC president Dana White, Rashad Evans, Tito Ortiz, Sean Sherk, and Nathan Marquardt.

The call was entertaining and informative, which is always the case when White is on the call. Each time he does a media conference call it turns into an impromptu “state of the UFC” address.

Here are the highlights:

- Weigh-ins for UFC 73 will take place next Friday and will once again be televised on ESPNews.

- I asked Dana to explain the situation pertaining to the Pride contracts and whether they can be transferred to the UFC. He said the old Pride contracts are valid with Pride Worldwide, the new company that owns Pride. However, the contracts can’t be transferred to the UFC and that with Pride’s status being uncertain, a lot of the guys need to fight so they are also signing them to UFC deals.

White’s comments were interesting because if Josh Gross’ report last week about Sokoudjou signing with EliteXC are true, then the UFC might want to take legal action. Sokoudjou confirmed to me in an interview for CBS Sportsline last week that he has two fights left on his Pride contract. If that’s the case, how can he sign with EliteXC if he’s not a true free agent? The UFC can’t force him to fight for them but I’m not sure he has the freedom to fight for another promotion right now. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

- Dana was asked a lot of questions about his relationship with Tito. The two didn’t interact much together but were rather cordial when expressing their thoughts on one another. In other words, there were no fireworks. Dana even said at one juncture that Tito has matured both as a fighter and as a person.

- A question was raised about Sean Sherk having been out of the UFC for awhile a one point. White attributed the absence to issues with Sherk’s former management.

- White said that as far as he knows that drug testing was conducted at UFC 72 in Belfast, Ireland and he hasn’t heard about anyone testing positive.

- Tito tried to downplay his “nappy headed ho” comment a few months back on the Underground forum. Said it was just a joke and that he was trying to get his fans to laugh. Rashad was asked if he was personally offended by the comments and he sort of gave an answer that I would classify as non-committal. He didn’t say what Tito did was fine but he also didn’t sound like he was too upset about it either. Rashad said at one point though his uncle called him and was very upset and said he needed to make Tito “pay for all the years the black man was enslaved.” Evans told the story in annectdotal fashion as a way to get a laugh (at least that was my take on it).

- I asked Tito if it was true that he turned down a rematch with Forrest Griffin at UFC 72. Tito confirmed that he in fact had and said that he felt it would have been a step back. He said he felt a match with Rashad would be more challenging and made more sense.

- Evans was very lively at times during the conference call. He had some funny lines and came across pretty witty. He was definitely talking smack to Tito and said at one point that “Tito isn’t half the man he used to be.” He also called out Tito’s recent history of wins and said he hasn’t beaten anyone besides Ken Shamrock. Evans came right out and said Tito got beat by Forrest. Tito talked a lot more smack than Rashad but Rashad had the better lines. I’d give the smack talk nod to Rashad.

- Dana said he was shocked when he heard that Royce Gracie had tested positive for steroids and that from what he saw, Royce didn’t look like he was on steroids.

- Pride was brought up several times. Dana said that Pride went out of business for a reason and the reason was because it was a mess. Said it was their intention when they bought Pride to actually run it but that there’s just a lot to sort out right now. He scoffed several times when reports about Pride running shows soon were brought up. I think it’s safe to say at this point that the rumors about Pride doing shows soon are being started by people that don’t actually own Pride.

- Another rumor/report that Dana scoffed at was that the HBO deal is dead. Dana said the deal is far from dead. Later he said that he felt they were actually “right about there with the deal.” Dana said that former HBO president Chris Albrecht was a supporter of the deal but that the UFC was talking to HBO about a deal with people other than Albrecht and that Albrecht only got involved later on.

- Tito said whether he fights Rampage depends on a conversation that the two would need to have. He said that when Rampage originally came to the UFC he told Dana White from the beginning that he wouldn’t fight Tito. Tito said that if the two talked and that it made sense for everyone involved, he’d be open to the fight.

- Dana said he feels he’ll get a new contract done with Tito. White said that he hasn’t lost a meaningful fighter to another promotion in six years. Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports asked who the last fighter he lost was and Dana said that it was B.J. Penn and that Penn ended up suing to get back into the UFC. Sean Sherk chimed in at one point and jokingly said it’s hard for anyone else to talk to any other promotions because Dana keeps buying them.

- Dana really backed away from the Wanderlei vs. Liddell talk. Said it was unlikely to happen in Anaheim at UFC 76 in late September and that Chuck’s next match could actually take place in November. Dana said that no opponent for Chuck is known yet. Dana said that people jumped the gun about Silva vs. Liddell. He said that after UFC 71 he was asked about the match and that all he said was that he told the media that “Yeah, Chuck vs. Wanderlei makes more sense now” and that people took the ball and ran with it.

- Dana confirmed that Paulo Filho was considered for the UFC and that he’s certainly worthy of fighting in the UFC. He said that the WEC is going to be a place to be for top talent and that we’d all be surprised who is being talked about for the WEC. I asked Dana if he could name specific names and he said that he couldn’t.

- Ken Shamrock and his recent release was brought up. Dana confirmed that Shamrock was let go with one fight left on his UFC contract. He said he had heard that Ken is taking it personally and is making all these statements about him. Dana said it’s nothing personal against Ken and that the decision was made based on Ken’s recent won/loss record. He said he doesn’t believe Ken is still a UFC-caliber fighter and that Shamrock should think about retiring. He said Ken as an opponent for Bisping was never discussed and labeled the people who reported it as “Internet knuckleheads.” Dana said he felt Matt Hamill will be a much tougher opponent for Bisping. I have to agree with him there.

- I asked Dana about Cro Cop vs. Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 once again and he yet again said the match is scheduled.

MMAWeekly.com now has an interview available with Frank Shamrock. In the interview, Shamrock indicates that he will likely need knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL and a partially torn meniscus. He’s waiting for the swelling to subside before a final determination is made about surgery.

Shamrock said that he respects Phil Baroni and that he feels everything is settled between the two. Once his knee is healed he indicated that he wants a rematch with Renzo Gracie.

To read the whole article just go to:

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4229&zoneid=2

WEC 29 is currently scheduled to take place on August 5 and be televised on the Versus network. But it appears things are going well for the WEC because they have another card scheduled for September 5 on Versus.

According to MMAWeekly.com, the rumored main event for the 9/5 show is a WEC lightweight title defense by “Razor” Rob McCullough against Rich Crunkilton.

The 8/5 show is rumored to be featuring a co-main event with Paulo Filho taking on Joe Doerksen and Carlos Condit defending the WEC welterweight title against Brock Larson.

If the rumors are true, the WEC will be putting on some damn good cards in the coming months.

According to an article on Midwestfighter.com, Houston Alexander said at an OFC event that his next fight for the UFC will be in August or September. The article goes on to say that Alexander hinted he might be fighting Forrest Griffin, but an exact quote is not directly attributed to Alexander.

To see the article for yourself, go to:

http://midwestfighter.com/latest/houston-alexander-makes-appearance-at-ofc-fight-night-2.html

Showtime has announced that it will replay six fights from last Friday’s EliteXC/Strikeforce co-promoted card in San Jose, CA this Saturday at 10 p.m. ET. The show will feature the dramatic main event between Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni and will also feature Cung Le’s stunning performance against Tony “The Freak” Fryklund.

UFCJunkie.com is reporting that Drew Fickett will be unable to fight Chris Lytle as scheduled at UFC 73 due to injury. A replacement for Fickett has yet to be named, according to Lytle’s agent, Ken Pavia.

UFCJunkie.com has a report on its site stating the UFC president Dana White said two days ago during his ESPNews appearance that light heavyweight and heavyweights will be featured on the next two editions of The Ultimate Fighter.

I guess the UFC will just be completely skipping the middleweights?

It will be interesting to see if the UFC and Spike TV decide to make any changes to the TUF format in light of the recent revelation that Mark Burnett has a deal with Pro Elite to producer a mixed martial arts reality TV show. We really don’t know much about Burnett’s plan at this point or if the project will even come to fruition. A lot of TV shows signs development deals and are never heard from again.

Whether the UFC views Burnett as a threat to the TUF franchise also remains to be seen. However, Pro Elite has a deal with Showtime, which is owned by CBS. If Burnett and Pro Elite could somehow swing a deal to get their show telecast on CBS then the UFC might not be too pleased. Spike TV is operated by Viacom, which is owned by CBS. If there’s any push by Pro Elite to have the show televised by CBS, I’m pretty sure the UFC will have something to say about it.

UFC president Dana White is quoted in Thursday’s edition of the Gainseville Sun as saying that a future UFC Fight Night or pay-per-view could emanate from Gainseville, Fla.

You can read the full article at:

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20070627/SPORTS/70627056/-1/sports

Dream Stage Entertainment may no longer own Pride but they still have fighters under contract. One of those fighters is heavyweight Josh Barnett. According to a recent report, Barnett is quoted as saying that he’s contracted to DSE until October. In the meantime, he’s scheduled to do some pro wrestling in Japan.

You can read Barnett’s quote here:

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/gryphonjapan/20070628/p1

I assume that because Barnett is under contract to DSE that he can’t sign with any other promotions. You would think though that Zuffa has some kind of exclusive negotiation rights where they are allowed to sign fighters contracted to DSE.

Phil Baroni is expected to undergo surgery this week to repair a hernia and torn groin muscle, according to his agent, Ken Pavia. Baroni will be sidelined for three months as he recovers and won’t be able to train during that time. Pavia estimated that it could be 6-7 months before we see Baroni fight again.

MMAOnTap.com has the full story at:

http://www.mmaontap.com/mma/entry/phil-baroni-out-for-6-7-months/

Loretta Hunt from The Fight Network is reporting that according to the California State Athletic Commission, Carter “The Beast” Williams has tested positive for cocaine.

Williams fought on the undercard of last Friday’s show that featured a main event bout between Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni. The show was co-promoted by Strikeforce and EliteXC but Williams is contracted to Strikeforce.

According to Hunt, if Williams does not appeal the penalty then he’ll be fined $1,000 and will serve a six-month suspension.

Williams, who won the U.S. leg of the K-1 Grand Prix in 2003 at the age of 23, was considered to be a high-profile signing by Strikeforce. However, he weighed in for last week’s fight against Paul Buentello at 265.5 lbs. and was visibly out of shape. Strikeforce has yet to comment on the positive test but you have to think that at this point they are none too pleased with Williams’ showing for the company thus far.

Once one of the top MMA fight camps in the world, Brazilian Top Team appears to be on the verge of total collapse. The web site GracieFighter.com has confirmed rumors that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has left BTT and the site is also reporting that Paulo Filho and Mario Sperry are out of the fold.

Here’s the report, according to GracieFighter.com:

Rumors that Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira has left Brazilian Top Team have been confirmed. Nogueira now heads his own team and does his training at other gyms. A split between Murillo Bustamante and Mario Sperry has resulted in Sperry’s ouster. Paulo Filho and others that made the core of the team have also left. BTT now is being controlled primarly by Murillo Bustamante and Bebeo Duarte.

Shogun has injured his knee and could be out of his upcoming UFC appearance. We should know more on the severity of the injury in the next few days and whether or not it will have any impact on his fight schedule.

One of the big issues I’ve heard attributed as to why Nogueira has left is attributed to the fact that he signed with the UFC without consulting Bustamante.

Ken Shamrock was a guest on today’s edition of Fight Network Radio with Mauro Ranallo and announced that he’s been formally released from his contract with the UFC. Shamrock talked about Dana White’s strong dislike for the IFL (he coaches the Reno Lions) and attributed it as being a reason why his relationship with the UFC has soured.

It looks as though that he’ll be fighting again, just not for the UFC.

The archives from the show should be available tomorrow on the Hardcore Sports Radio web site at hardcoresportsradio.com.

A match between Drew Fickett and Chris Lytle scheduled for UFC 73 on July 7 could be off. While hardly official, Fickett is no longer listed as Lytle’s opponent on the official fight card at UFC.com. However, if you go to the official site for UFC 73, the fight is still on the books.

According to comments attributed to him on GracieFigher.com, Nick Diaz is calling out Frank Shamrock following Shamrock’s dramatic second round submission over Phil Baroni this past Saturday.

Here’s what Diaz said on GracieFighter.com:

Nick Diaz, who is signed with ProElite, has requested to face Frank Shamrock as soon as possible. After a spectacular win against Takanori Gomi, Diaz seems intent on enrolling himself for higher profile fights. With both fighters fighting in the same organization this fight seems the logical next step in what would be an MMA fan’s dream come true.

“I watched his last fight and no disrespect intended but I think I would whoop his ass.”, stated Diaz. A formal offer of intent has been delivered to the promoters to set this fight up and now we await their response.

Smart move on the part of Diaz, as he probably saw the unofficial salary figures from Saturday’s card and saw Baroni’s fat paycheck. Baroni got that paycheck by calling out Shamrock via the Internet so if the formula worked once, why not try it again?

The match may not actually be far fetched either, as both have contracts with Pro Elite/EliteXC.

Dana White confirmed on ESPNews yesterday that Mirko Cro Cop will be taking on Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 on September 8 in London.

I believe this is a great matchup for Cro Cop in what could prove to be a very exciting fight. Both have similar styles since each are strikers. However, Cro Cop is the more dangerous striker of the two.

I get the feeling that the UFC is trying to set up a win for Cro Cop here so that he can be put in a position to fight for the UFC heavyweight title in his next bout.

411mania.com was able to get exclusive comments from referee Steve Mazzagatti, who presided over the Rob Emerson vs. Gray Maynard no contest that took place this past Saturday during the TUF 5 season finale.

In regard to the decision:

“I stopped the fight as Rob was in pain. I did not see a tap, but I don’t see what it matters. In boxing we give both fighters an 8 count and may count one or both fighters out. In this sport we don’t have an 8 count. But both fighters were done. Should a fighter who is out win? I don’t have time to think about all this stuff but I hope we can learn. I do think it was the right call.

“I also want to say the call was mine. I informed the commission that both fighters were unable to continue. That was my call.”

I still disagree with the decision. Mazzagatti didn’t even acknowledge Maynard’s condition until after the fight. He was completely focused on Emerson.

In any event, a rematch between Maynard and Emerson is already in the works, as is a possible rematch between Nate Diaz and Manny Gamburyan. However, the Diaz vs. Gamburyan may have to wait because it’s looking likely as though he’ll undergo surgery.

Update: In a previous version of this story I incorrectly stated that Loretta Hunt fromThe Fight Network had reported that UFC president Dana White was seen speaking with Mazzagatti and NSAC officials after the fight was stopped. Loretta never reported that and it was irresponsible on my part to attribute those comments to her.

UFCMania.com is reporting that Travis Lutter has informed the site that he has signed a bout agreement to fight at UFC 74 on August 25 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV.

Lutter is expected to take on UFC newcomer Ryan Jensen.

You can view the whole report at:

http://ufcmania.com/2007/06/26/ufc-74-travis-lutter-returns-against-ryan-jensen/