Ninja could still fight Villasenor; Baroni appears to be fine
Josh Gross of Sherdog.com has an update in regard to this Friday’s co-promoted card between EliteXC and Strikeforce available at: http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=7995 Gross reports that the medical issue that had been thought likely to prevent Murilo “Shogun” Rua from fighting Joey Villasenor for the vacant EliteXC middleweight title may have been resolved. CSAC executive... [Read More...]
Report: EliteXC trying to spring Krazy Horse
The Fight Network is reporting that Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett is currently in a Marion County (Fla..) jail after two recent probation violations. The site is claiming sources close to EliteXC have said that attempts are being made to secure Bennett’s release so that he can compete on the undercard of this Friday’s main event bout between Frank Shamrock and Phil Baroni. The... [Read More...]
Pride to return on August 18?
There are several Japanese-to-English translations making the rounds on the Internet claiming that a report by Nikkan Sports states that Pride will run an event on August 18 at the Saitama Arena. I am trying to find out more about the story. Read More →
GracieFighter.com removes Baroni report without explanation
The MMA news web site GracieFighter.com, which reported last night that Phil Baroni’s spot in Friday’s main event against Frank Shamrock is in jeopardy, has removed the original report. The original report said that the California State Athletic Commission was reviewing Baroni’s license after receiving a FAX from the UFC containing results of an old Baroni MRI following his fight... [Read More...]
Pulver confirms he’d like to move to 145 pounds
In addition to interviewing B.J. Penn for CBS Sportsline, I was also afforded the honor of interviewing Jens Pulver. The two will be fighting each other this Saturday in the main event during the live season finale of the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. I thought Jens came off very well during the airing of shows this past season. Speaking with him directly was no let down. I think he was even... [Read More...]
B.J. Penn addresses future in the lightweight division
I recently conducted an interview with UFC lightweight contender B.J. Penn and it’s available now on CBS Sportsline at: http://www.sportsline.com/mmaboxing/story/10230886 In the interview we discuss exactly why he dislikes Jens Pulver; whether he sees the lightweight division as his long-term home; and whether or not he believes that he and Pulver will shake hands and bury the hatchet after they... [Read More...]
Report: CSAC taking another look at Baroni’s medical
The web site GracieFighter.com is reporting that the California State Athletic Commission is reviewing Phil Baroni’s license for this Friday’s main event against Frank Shamrock. According to the site, the UFC faxed a previous MRI undergone by Baroni to CSAC executive director Armando Garcia. The report also says that Baroni had passed all of his medicals but that after receiving the fax... [Read More...]
Meltzer: Bisping vs. Hamill still on
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, a match between Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill at UFC 75 in London is still scheduled. He said a match between Bisping against Ken Shamrock may have been discussed at one point but that it’s not the current plan. Read More →
Report: Rua passes exam by neurosurgeon
According to the Wrestling Observer, Murilo “Ninja” Rua has passed an examination that was administered by a neurosurgeon at UCLA. Rua had been scheduled to fight Joey Villasenor for the vacant EliteXC middleweight title on the undercard of Friday’s Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni main event. However, the match was canceled after Rua was unable to get approved for a license in California... [Read More...]
Report: Berto to replace Krazy Horse
Mauro Ranallo reported on Fight Network Radio today that Edson Berto has been named as the replacement for Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett on the undercard of this Friday’s Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni card. Berto, the brother of top boxing prospect Andre Berto, will take on Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela. Read More →
Report: Krazy Horse off of Shamrock/Baroni card
MMAWeekly.com is reporting that Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett is off the undercard of this Friday’s fight between Phil Baroni and Frank Shamrock. Bennett had been scheduled to face Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela in a rematch from a fight that took place in King of the Cage a few years back. According to the report, “Krazy Horse” was recently arrested on two... [Read More...]
Report: Rua still trying to get licensed
MMAWeekly.com is reporting that Murilo “Ninja” Rua will be visiting another doctor in the next day or so in hopes of getting licensed to fight in the state of California. However, even if he does get cleared after getting a second opinion, Rua still appears to be off this Friday’s card. His spot against Joey Villasenor has been taking by Niko Vitale. Rua claims he’ll be fighting... [Read More...]
White: Dissolving Pride a possibility
Steve Sievert of the Houston Chronicle recently asked UFC president White if dissolving Pride was a possibility. To which White responded: “It’s a possibility. There’s a lot of different things we could do right now. That is definitely one of the possibilities.” I think most of us have known for awhile that dissolving Pride is a realistic possibility. It’s just interesting... [Read More...]
Two new interviews on CBS Sportsline
I recently had the chance to interview Manny Gamburyan and Phil Baroni and both those interviews are now available at CBS Sportsline. Baroni will be fighting Frank Shamrock this Friday for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title on a combined EliteXC/Strikeforce card scheduled to air on PPV. I didn’t know what to expect from Phil, but he was a very nice guy. He’s been doing a lot of media... [Read More...]
UFC business notes
Yahoo! is reporting that the UFC sold 7,850 tickets for this past weekend’s UFC 72 card in Belfast, Ireland, for a total house of $1.2 million. I’m not sure how legitimate those claims are because there have been a lot of reports that tickets didn’t sell as well as expected and that the house had to be “papered.” The payouts for last Tuesday’s UFC Fight Night 10... [Read More...]
Trigg: Sakurai vs. Sanchez may not happen
I didn’t hear it firsthand, but there are multiple accounts claiming that Frank Trigg said on TAGG Radio yesterday that he’s spoken with people for Hayato Sakurai who claim that Sakurai has not been contacted by Zuffa to fight for either the UFC or Pride. According to Trigg, he’s been told that no one has talked to Sakurai about a fight against Diego Sanchez. Read More →
Lawler’s title fight postponed
When EliteXC first announced that Murilo “Ninja” Rua had not been granted a license for his proposed bout this Friday against Joey Villasenor for the vacant EliteXC middleweight title, the first person I thought of was Robbie Lawler. Lawler is on a three fight win streak and defeated Villasenor at Pride 32 in Las Vegas. However, there are not one, but two reasons why he was never a candidate. First,... [Read More...]
Shamrock confirms he wants to fight for UFC
NBCSports.com has an article on Ken Shamrock now up on their site. Shamrock was in Vegas for the IFL show last week and confirmed to NBC Sports that he’s indeed looking to come out of retirement in order to fight for the UFC. Shamrock was asked about whether he could still coach the IFL while fighting for the UFC. He doesn’t believe it will pose a conflict. “They are totally different,”... [Read More...]
Couture to be at show in Winnipeg
Ultimate Cage Wars will be putting on their “Natural Invasion” card this Saturday night at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Jonathan Goulet, Steve Taylor, Jason Tatlow and Lindsay Hawkes will all be on the card. UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture will be on hand before the show to sign autographs. Read More →
Kimbo vs. Ray Mercer will be an exhibition
The New Jersey State Athletic Commission is only partially approving this Saturday’s match between Kimbo Slice and Ray Mercer. The match will take place as an exhibition. The fight will not be judged so if it goes the difference, it will be declared a draw. Somehow I don’t think the promoter or the fans going to see the show will seem to care, because I don’t know anyone who thinks... [Read More...]
