A rumored lightweight fight between Chris Horodecki and Dan Lauzon to take place during Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” pay-per-view event on Oct. 11 has been verbally agreed to and is expected to be finalized soon, according to multiple online reports.

The 20-year old Horodecki began competing in MMA as a teenager and currently holds a professional record of 12-1. He began his career in the Canadian-based TKO promotion but made his U.S. debut in June of 2006 after signing with the International Fight League.

While with the IFL, Horodecki compiled an 8-1 record with notable victories over Ryan Schultz, Bart Palaszewski, and Shad Lierley. His only career loss took place during the promotion’s lightweight Grand Prix in December of 2007, when he was TKO’d by Schultz in upset fashion at 2:51 of round 1. He rebounded with a unanimous decision victory over Nate Lamotte during the IFL’s New Jersey event this past April.

Lauzon, recently featured on the VERSUS reality television show “TapouT,” became the youngest competitor in the history of the UFC when he debuted at the age of 18 years, five months, and 14 days at UFC 64 in October of 2006.

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MMA Junkie is reporting that Matt Lindland and Trevor Prangley are set to face off against one another at October’s Affliction: Day of Reckoning event. Lindland’s original opponent, Vitor Belfort, had to pull out of the fight due to a hand injury.

Lindland’s last fight came at Affliction: Banned where he took a unanimous decision victory home over a very game opponent in Fabio Negao. Many thought that Lindland would steamroll Negao but Negao was able to give Lindland some trouble on the feet during the fight and was able to sustain a deep guillotine attempt, which is Lindland’s bread and butter submission, in the first round. Lindland was able to pull out the victory and knock off the ring rust from not fighting for over a year.

Prangley will now face off against Lindland at the event. Prangley is a long time veteran of the sport and has fought some of the biggest names in the middleweight division. He holds wins over fighters such as Chael Sonnen, Yuki Kondo, Travis Lutter, and Matt Horwich and has fought against several other top level fighters as well.

Prangley is also a former BodogFIGHT middleweight champion and at one point had been rumored to be set to defend his crown against Lindland, a former Olympic silver medalist in Greco Roman wrestling. However, financial problems pertaining to the new-defunct fight promotion prevented the proposed bout from ever being finalized.

Sherdog is reporting that Jay Hieron has verbally agreed to a bout against Drew Fickett at Affliction: Day of Reckoning in Las Vegas in October. Fickett has yet to come to an agreement with Affliction and his manager notes that negotiations are ongoing. Should he sign, however, it appears that he will be facing off against Hieron in a 170 lbs. matchup.

Hieron last fought on an IFL show in April, recording a TKO victory over Mark Miller in the first round and defending his welterweight title in the process. He has steamrolled through his competition inside the IFL and Fickett would be a great test for him to see just how far he’s come.

Fickett has won five out of his last six fights and has been at the center of a lot of controversy over the past couple of months. An ill-fated EliteXC fight against Jake Shields never took place due to injuries to both combatants at different times which led to scheduling issues for the fight. Fickett also tried to step in and fight Luke Stewart at a Strikeforce event in June but was already booked for a fight with Mark Pavelich’s MFC promotion in Canada on July 25.

What resulted from the scheduling mixup was nothing short of ridiculous as Pavelich trashed Fickett on various MMA forums and also left a scathing and now infamous voicemail on Fickett’s phone which made its rounds on the internet as well. According to his management, Fickett is back on track with his MMA career and is now looking forward to taking his career and training to the next level. Let’s hope so.

As for Affliction, this is a pretty damn good fight for them to put together if Fickett signs considering the lack of welterweight talent outside of the UFC right now. When Hieron signed with them earlier this month, one of the things that was harped on was who his opponents would be considering the lack of depth at welterweight outside the UFC. Fickett is a very good opponent who poses a lot of problems and if they can put this fight together then they’ve done more than I think most people thought they’d be able to do for Hieron’s first fight.

Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio informed MMAWeekly.com on Thursday that former UFC light heavyweight champion and current middleweight competitor Vitor Belfort has pulled out of his previously scheduled Oct. 11 bout against Matt Lindland due to a hand injury.

Belfort is the second top fighter to pull off of “Day of Reckoning” due to a hand injury, as WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was unable to move forward on a possible title defense against Andrei Arlovski due to a lingering hand injury of his own.

As of now, Lindland is still believed to be on the card but without an opponent. There has been some speculation that EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields has been offered an opportunity to fight Lindland on the show. While Atencio expressed to MMA Weekly that Affliction has admiration for his ability, he was quick to point out that Shields is currently under contract to another organization.

It should be note that Affliction did pursue one other fighter under contract to EliteXC. Sources informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com earlier this week that Affliction officials had been interested in putting together a featherweight bout at “Day of Reckoning” between Mark Hominick and Bao Quach.

It was determined that Quach’s limited non-exclusive would prevent him from competing on the Affliction show and a 140 lbs. title match between him and Wilson Reis on Sept. 20 was finalized on Thursday.

“Day of Reckoning” is scheduled to be headlined by a battle of former UFC heavyweight champions Arlovski and Josh Barnett fighting for a title shot against Emelianenko. Heavyweight bouts between Ben Rothwell vs. Pedro Rizzo and Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson are expected as well a light heavyweight contest between Vladimir Matyushenko and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

When: Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008
Where: Thomas & Mack Center; Las Vegas, NV
Watch: Pay-Per-View

Here’s the latest on the Affliction: Day of Reckoning event:

Main Card

• Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski @ HW (official)
• Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort @ MW (official)
• Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira @ LHW (official)
• Ben Rothwell vs. Pedro Rizzo (official)
• Jay Hieron vs. Drew Fickett
• Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon @ LW (rumored)

HDNet undercard

• Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello @ HW (official)
• Mike Pyle vs. Jason High @ WW

Card subject to change. All matchups are rumored unless stated otherwise.

Check out more Affliction content on 5 Oz. of Pain.

Ben Rothwell has confirmed rumored reports that he will be fighting Pedro Rizzo during Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” pay-per-view event on Oct. 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Rothwell revealed the fight to CagePotato.com earlier today.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com spoke with Rothwell’s manager, Monte Cox, last week and Cox indicated that Rothwell was not expected to be involved with the second Affliction event. However, Rothwell indicated that there was a change of plans.

“Monte turned down their original offer for this fight, so that’s why he said none of his guys would be fighting on the show,” Cage Potato quotes Rothwell as saying. “Then they came back with another offer that was better, so we agreed to it.”

The wording of Rothwell’s statement has led some to believe that he had to accept a cut in pay from the $200,000 salary he received for Affliction: Banned on July 19 but that has not been confirmed.

Rothwell originally was announced as having signed a three-fight contract with the promotion so for him to have to sign a second agreement when he has an existing salary schedule suggests that a change of some kind has occurred.

The Rothwell vs. Rizzo heavyweight title joins a lineup already set to feature bouts between Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett, Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko, Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson, Mike Pyle vs. Jason High, and Chris Horodecki vs. TBA.

Following up an exclusive story we first reported yesterday, former IFL lightweight wunderkind Chris Horodecki has officially signed a contract with Affliction.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news earlier this afternoon with one of his agents, Matt Stansell of North County Fight Club. According to Stansell, Horodecki has inked a three-fight deal.

MMAjunkie.com is also reporting that Horodecki will debut for the promotion during its next card on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas. An opponent has yet to be named.

Bryan Alvarez of Figure 4 Online is reporting that former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is expected to announce during a press conference tomorrow that he has signed with Affliction.

Ortiz completed his UFC contract at UFC 84 on May 24, losing a unanimous decision to undefeated light heavyweight Lyoto Machida.

Immediately after the bout, Ortiz became a restricted free agent with the UFC still retaining a right of first-refusal. However, that contract provision expired in recent days, making Ortiz an unrestricted free agent.

Previous reports have indicated that a light heavyweight bout between Ortiz and Renato “Babalu” Sobral, another former member of the UFC’s 205 lbs. division, are expected to fight during Affliction’s next show on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

The event will be titled “Affliction: Day of Reckoning” and will be headlined by a heavyweight bout between a pair of former UFC heavyweight champions, Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett.

IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson could be the latest free agent heavyweight to migrate to Affliction, according to a report by MMANews.com.

MMA News spoke with Xtreme Couture heavyweight Jay White who revealed that he has signed a three-fight contract with Affliction and that he is slated to debut against Nelson.

The report does not specify a debut date for White, but with only one show scheduled for Oct. 11, the potential White vs. Nelson fight would appear to be a lock for the promotion’s Las Vegas event at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Neither Nelson’s camp or Affliction have yet to confirm the report. FiveOuncesOfPain.com had been informed last week that Nelson was under consideration for a bout against Dave Herman during an EliteXC show on Sept. 20 so he is not without multiple suitors bidding on his services.

If Nelson does in fact sign with Affliction, that would mean that three of the IFL’s champions potentially have signed with promotions other than the UFC, which has reportedly acquired select assets from the IFL.

According to a report on Sherdog, IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko will be fighting for Affliction on Oct. 11 while IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz will compete for the Sengoku promotion in Japan on Aug. 24.

If a deal has been reached between the IFL and UFC, it remains to be seen just exactly what they have acquired besides the IFL’s extensive library of fight footage. While the UFC has signed IFL middleweight champion Dan Miller and his brother, Jim Miller, a source revealed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that both were involved in litigation with the IFL over their contract and that their contracts were not transferred to Zuffa as part of an acquisition.

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Sherdog is reporting that a rematch between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and two time collegiate national champion wrestler and former IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko is likely to be booked for Affliction’s upcoming October 11 show.

Matyushenko defeated Nogueira in Japan in 2002 via unanimous decision and is currently riding an eight fight winning streak. Matyushenko dominated competition inside the IFL, working his way into the top fifteen light heavyweights in the world. His last victory came against Jamal Patterson in April at an IFL event.

Nogueira most recently defeated Edwin Dewees at Affliction: Banned last month in dominating fashion, ending the fight via TKO in the first round. Nogueira looked every bit the part of a top ten light heavyweight during the victory.

This should be a very interesting fight as both of these guys are at the top of their game right now. Matyushenko’s wrestling has always been his strong point while Nogueira’s jiu-jitsu and boxing are his strong points, particularly his jiu jitsu. It won’t be a matter of if this fight hits the ground, but a matter of when. And when things do go there, expect it to get very interesting. Excellent matchmaking by Affliction and a very solid undercard bout to go along with the main attraction of Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett.

Affliction has officially announced that top ten heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett are set to face off against one another at Affliction’s October 11 event entitled “Day of Reckoning.” The event will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was the first to break this story on Friday night, revealing that a tentative bout between Arlovksi and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was likely to be scrapped due to a hand injury sustained by Fedor. We were also the first site to report the replacement main event featuring Arlovski vs. Barnett.

Arlovski is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Ben Rothwell at Affliction: “Banned,” while Barnett recorded a TKO victory over on the same show. Affliction is staying true to its plan to have the best heavyweights in the world go head to head with one another and this bout will be no different.

Tickets for the event go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m.

We have sad news to report this afternoon, as EliteXC welterweight and former Team Takedown member Eric Bradley was arrested last Friday, according to The Progress, a paper that serves Clearfield County and the Moshannon Valley in Pennsylvania.

The report indicates that Bradley, 26, and Patrick Cummins, 27, were taken into custody Friday on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit burglary, burglary, criminal trespass, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, loitering and prowling.

Bradley and Cummins were both arraigned with bail set for each at $50,000. They have a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, PA.

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ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) has learned that EliteXC is in the process of finalizing a four fight contract with 2003 National Collegiate boxing champion and 2-time All-American wrestler Eric Bradley.

While it has not been officially announced, Bradley is expected to make his EliteXC debut on February 16 in Miami. The main event for the show is scheduled to be a heavyweight clash between  Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Tank Abbott.

Bradley is one of four members contracted to Ted Ehrhardt’s Team Takedown, a fight camp that has adopted the unconventional tactic of putting its fighters on salary so that they can concentrate full-time on mixed martial arts.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON SAM CAPLAN’S PROELITE.COM BLOG

It was a mixed bag for Team Takedown at the Masters of the Cage event that took place this past Friday at the Coca Cola Center in Oklahoma City with the team’s four members combining for a record of 2-2.

Here are the official results for Team Takedown:

- MOTC light heavyweight champion Jake Rosholt defeated Christopher Clark at 4:07 of round 2. Rosholt is now 2-0.

- Eric Bradley lost to James Head at 1:47 of round 2 via TKO. Bradley’s record is now 1-1.

- Johny Hendricks was successful in his pro debut, winning via TKO at 1:54 of round 3 against Victor Rackliff.

- Shane Roller suffered an upset in his pro debut, losing to Jake Pruitt via TKO at 2:15 of round 3.

Official results for fights involving non-Team Takedown fighters:

- IFL veteran Wayne Cole defeated Heath Johnson via TKO at 1:00 of round 1.

- Cody Senseney submitted Warren Walker at 0:55 of round 1.

- Tim Estes won via TKO against Marcus Lanier at 1:45 of round 1.

- Cole Province submitted Aaron Williams at 3:20 of round 4.

- Former NCAA wrestling standout Paul Bradley defeated Mike Van Meer at 3:58 of round 1.

- Jared Hess defeated Dominic Brown via TKO at 2:37 of round 1.

Additional notes:

- The official attendance was 1,652.

- UFC referee John McCarthy served as the guest referee on the card.

- Eric Bradley and Shane Roller both received medical suspensions through Oct. 28.

Say what you will about the newly formed Team Takedown, if nothing else they’re ambitious. The fighter management company is signing NCAA wrestling champions to MMA contracts before they’ve ever had a fight, hoping to groom them into champions down the line.

One of their prospects – two-time NCAA champion Johny Hendricks, from Oklahoma State – is about to get his first test this Friday. Though he’s been wrestling almost since he could walk, Hendricks has only been training in MMA for three months. Fortunately for him, those three months were spent at Randy Couture’s Las Vegas gym – just one of the perks of signing with Team Takedown.

“It’s great,” said Hendricks. “I wake up every day, train hard for three hours, and then I go home and rest. Later I come back and train again, and I don’t have to worry about anything besides training and getting better…Everything’s been like sunshine.”

It’s an advantage that most up-and-coming MMA fighters don’t get. In a world where even some experienced fighters have to work full-time jobs just to get by, Team Takedown’s model is a new way of building MMA stars.

But the big question is, will their substantial investment in these young fighters pay off?

At the moment, they don’t seem to be in a big hurry to turn a profit. Hendricks is starting his MMA career in Oklahoma City’s “Masters of the Cage” organization, facing off against jiu-jitsu fighter Victor Ratcliff (2-0). Despite his wrestling experience, he says he is well aware that the big time is still a long way off.

“I need more fight time before I can get in there with guys at the level of the UFC or IFL or Bodog,” said Hendricks. “I need that time to figure out what kind of fighter I am, what I need to work on. Right now I don’t know what kind of fighter I am.”

Hendricks’ move marks a larger trend in MMA. After the recent success of wrestlers like Josh Koscheck and Matt Hamill, more NCAA champions have to be considering a move to professional fighting instead of vying for one of the precious few spots on an Olympic squad.

But just because a few wrestlers have made the transition, doesn’t mean it will necessarily work for others. In Hendricks’ case, he’s fighting not only to further his own career, but he has the expectations of his management team – created by businessmen Ted and Doug Ehrhardt, along with Tim McBride – to shoulder as well, though he claims he isn’t feeling that pressure just yet.

“I put enough pressure on myself. Anything I do I want to win, want to be the best at. The way I look at it is basically like a scholarship. I want to do well for them, but I always want to do well. I’m just focusing on doing what I need to do to get my hand raised.”

What he needs to do obviously involves learning the other facets of MMA that his wrestling background might not have prepared him for.

“I train a lot of jiu-jitsu. That’s been my main focus. I’ve been working tons of jiu-jitsu. I haven’t even taken a shot for a long time. I’ve just been focusing on my striking and jiu-jitsu.

“I’m focusing really hard on my ground-and-pound skills, working on transferring from position to position, and working on hitting people from wherever I’m at. Wherever the fight goes I want to be ready, but I know I’m probably going to do what I do best and that’s wrestling.”

Friday’s bout could mark the first phase of a major sea-change in MMA. If Team Takedown proves successful in their bid to turn wrestlers into fighters, there’s no telling who might follow their lead.

Before anyone can call them geniuses, though, their fighters have to prove the validity of their vision in the ring. Hendricks will get his chance in Oklahoma City, along with teammates Jake Rosholt, Shane Roller, and Eric Bradley. Whether or not they help change the sport of MMA, these wrestlers turned fighters are worth keeping an eye on.

Note: For those interested, Friday’s bouts can be seen on the web via pay-per-view at watchthisfight.com.

Ben Fowlkes is the editor of the IFL’s official website and is a special contributor to CBSSports.com. Ben also maintains his own blog, The Fighting Life.

Former Oklahoma State amateur wrestling standouts and current Team Takedown members Johny Hendricks and Shane Roller are scheduled to make their MMA debuts on Sept. 28 at the Bricktown Event Center in Oklahoma City.

Roller, who trains out of Guy Mezger’s Lions Den affiliate in Dallas, is scheduled to face Jake Pruitt in a 155 lbs. bout.

Meanwhile, Hendricks, who trains with Team Takedown teammates Jake Rosholt and Eric Bradley in Las Vegas at Xtreme Couture, will be fighting Victor Ratcliff in a match scheduled for 170 lbs.

In addition to the pro debuts of Roller and Hendricks, the 11-fight Masters of the Cage XVI card is also expected to feature Bradley and Rosholt along with several other former amateur wrestling standouts.

Bradley and Rosholt made their debuts last month on a Masters of the Cage Card with Bradley defeating Troy Allison in the first round and Rosholt winning the MOTC light heavyweight title with a first round defeat of Dusty “Dream Killer” Miller.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned that former four-time NCAA All-American amateur wrestler Johny Hendricks will likely make his MMA debut in late-September on a MMA card to be held in Oklahoma.

Hendricks was an NCAA Division I champion at 165 pounds in 2005 and 2006 while competing for Oklahoma State.

He is a member of Team Takedown, which is a fight team started with the intent of helping standout wrestlers from the collegiate ranks convert to MMA.

Other members of Team Takedown include fellow OSU alums Jake Rosholt and Shane Roller along with former Penn State wrestler Eric Bradley.

Hendricks, Rosholt, and Bradley all train with Randy Couture at Xtreme Couture in Vegas while Roller is currently training with Guy Mezger at the Lions Den locations in Dallas.

Both Rosholt and Bradley made their debuts on July 21 at a Masters of the Cage event in Oklahoma. Rosholt submitted Dusty Miller at 3:40 of the first round while Bradley tapped Troy Allison at 2:41 of the first.

Bradley is also signed to EliteXC and will be fighting on a future card.

I know I caught your attention with the Tiger Schulman’s Karate teaser.

I’ll get to TSK soon. But first, I want to talk about drugs.

Many pundits have written columns on the major sites discussing steroids and offering their ideas about how the issue should be addressed by the major promotions. Thus far, there seems to be a big push for the promotions to do internal testing.

While I respect all the writers who have expressed their thoughts, I think the idea of internal testing doesn’t make much sense.

Let me preface my next statement by saying all of my dealings with the major promotions have been nothing but positive and I have no reason to question their integrity.

However, which would you rather be responsible for the testing of athletes: the promotions themselves or an outside body?

Major League Baseball has its own testing program. Do you trust it? World Wrestling Entertainment has a “wellness program.” Do you trust it?

Look, I’m not an advocate for our government and I certainly don’t always have a lot of trust in our system at times, but I think they are better suited for the task of testing fighters as opposed to the promotions themselves.

Sure, if the IFL decides to do an internal program they’ll use an independent third party. But doesn’t the term “independent third party” become an oxymoron when you take into account that any testing lab brought in by a promotion will be getting their paycheck signed by the promotion they are working for?

Again, I have no reason to doubt the IFL or any promotion that would step up and decide to do internal testing. But is it necessary?

The commissions in states where MMA is regulated do a good job. Improvements still need to be made and testing needs to be expanded. But instead of instituting internal testing, I’d rather see the promotions work directly with the state athletic commissions and let the commissions be in charge of testing.

At the end of the day, the commissions are accountable to the people while independent third parties will be accountable to the fight promotions.

I’d really like to see the promotions stress to the commissions the importance of testing every fighter that’s slated to appear on a fight card.

Another thing I’d love to see — if it’s not being done already — is blood testing.

To my knowledge, only urine is used for drug screening (I could be wrong about this). While you can test urine for a lot of substances, there are some chemicals that don’t show up in urine such as Human Growth Hormone.

HGH is used by a lot of athletes, which is why the MLB drug testing policy is a joke. They test for steroids but not HGH. Blood tests might be costly but at the very least I think any fighter competing in a title fight should be tested for HGH.

Another thing I wanted to comment on is the assertion by some people that drug usage in MMA has reached “epidemic” proportions. The statement may or not be true because I have no idea whether the fighters who have tested positive recently are just isolated offenders or if the usage is widespread. However, from my own personal myopic perspective, steroids in MMA are relatively non-existent.

When I used to lift weights a lot, I primarily trained at home. However, I would go to gyms sometimes. When training at gyms I was amazed at how rampant and wide open steroid usage was. There was no attempt to hide it in most cases. It was incredulous.

I’ve trained at several martial arts schools that had people involved with competitive martial arts. Supplement use is frequent by many fighters that I know but if they’re on the juice, they are keeping it to themselves. I’ve never been offered any kind of chemical enhancer and have never seen a guy doing anything shady in the locker room or making comments about it during my MMA travels.

I’m making a broad statement here but this is a blog entry so cut me some slack, but I just don’t think steroids are a big issue in MMA at the grass roots level. While I find a lot of people who train MMA are educated, I don’t think many are all that affluent. What does affluence have to do with steroid use? Well, that crap isn’t cheap and a guy who is working multiple jobs so that he can pay down school loans, keep up with his rent or mortgage, and trying to pay training fees doesn’t have the investment capital needed to get in the business of performance enhancers.

My theory is that fighters don’t start using until they get to the higher levels then start making real money and then start feeling the pressure. It isn’t until so much is at stake and they feel like they have something to lose that they start to consider a turn to the dark side. Hermes Franca said in his letter he felt pressured because he was injured and needed the pay day. Whether that’s true in his case remains to be seen but it’s certainly a scenario that could be true for some fighters.

Then you have a guy like Stephan Bonnar. Endorsements aren’t easy to come by in MMA and sometimes your look dictates whether you get a sponsor just as much as your record. After having fought in the smaller shows and not wanting to go back, perhaps Bonnar also felt insecure about his status in the UFC after a couple of disappointing performances and was looking for a boost.

Unfortunately, we may never know precisely why fighters are taking steroids because for the most part, they aren’t talking.

Okay, enough talk about urine and drugs because now I want to discuss something that is almost a big of a threat to MMA’s reputation as steroids.

Tiger Schulman’s MMA?

For those of you who don’t live in the Northeastern corridor of the country, Tiger Schulman’s is a franchise of Karate schools that are usually strategically located in strip malls. They fit the description of the quintessential “McDojo.”

I’m not sure if it’s a company-wide transition, but on my way from Philly to Princeton, NJ each Saturday to do my show for ESPN 920, I pass three TSK locations and they are now called “Tiger Schulman’s Mixed Martial Arts.”

My first question is: what the hell has Tiger Schulman ever accomplished in MMA?

But I guess the fact that Tiger Schulman doesn’t come from a MMA background is irrelevant because MMA is what’s hot right now and TSK (hey, all the cool kids chant it at MMA shows!) has to keep enrollment up.

If that’s how they want to run their schools, so be it. However, I’m appalled by rumors (i.e. I’ve seen a few message board posts) that Tiger Schulman’s could be trying to secure a franchise in the IFL.

I have no idea if the talk is even accurate. For all I know, people could be getting things confused with previous speculation that Tiger Schulman’s was going to have a team in Chuck Norris’ World Combat League.

But just the thought of Tiger Schulman’s having anything to do with the IFL is enough to make me throw up in my mouth.

Some of you might feel it’s unfair of me to criticize TSK considering I don’t train there. However, I have an embarrassing admission to make and that is that I once trained there about 10-12 years ago. I only trained there for a month because they couldn’t convince me my street brawling style was ineffective. Quite frankly, a lot of the techniques they tried to teach me would have caused me to get my ass kicked (blocking kicks with forearms!?). I couldn’t believe some of the stuff they tried to teach with a straight face. But hey, they can break boards and I can’t.

I’m sure they’ve changed their curriculum over the years but my experience with McDojos (I sent my son to one at one point) has been that they teach a brand of martial arts that’s just challenging enough so that you don’t quit. The goal of these insidious places with their corporate tactics designed solely to separate you from your money is to make sure you advance through their program so that you keep paying them to move up the ladder.

TSK does have an MMA team that competes in a lot of smaller shows in the Northeast. Some of their fighters are actually pretty good, though none are nationally known. I’m sure they’ve assembled a decent camp with some good trainers but how are they able to teach MMA on a widespread basis? I’d really like to know the credentials of the people teaching MMA at all of their many local schools.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been inside of a Tiger Schulman’s (bow to your Sensei!) and I’m half-tempted to take a week of free lessons just to see what it’s all about. I’ve been to a school where MMA was taught the right way so I think I’d have a good comparative frame of reference.

If there’s any shred of truth that TSK is indeed trying to get an IFL team, I pray the IFL turns them away. No amount of money is worth what it could do to their reputation. The IFL allowing Tiger Schulman to have a team would be like Morton’s Steakhouse allowing McDonald’s to supply them with the meat they use.

Underachievers article on Sportsline

I’ve received a lot of good feedback on my latest Sportsline article regarding the “Ten biggest underachievers in MMA.” I received lots of e-mail and a few responses here on the blog in addition to a few message board threads dedicated to the topic.

It’s a fun topic that has sparked some debate and I’ve been asked about some guys that didn’t make my list. I wanted to comment on a few of them, not to put myself on the defensive but because I think it’s interesting and wanted a chance to comment publicly on some of the names.

One thing I focused on as I compiled my list is whether a guy was truly an underachiever or possibly not just as good as everyone had thought.

Robbie Lawler and Phil Baroni both fell into the category of not being as good as first thought.

While I respect Baroni’s boxing skills and feel his wrestling ability is underrated, I don’t consider him a versatile fighter. He just never developed on a rapid level and I think he got as big as he did because he provided the UFC with some big knockouts and a big personality back when they needed stars in the worst way. Simply put, I think he was overrated when he had his run in the UFC.

As for Lawler, he was like a major league hitter who gets called up from the minors and hits four home runs in his first four games because he’s an excellent fastball hitter. But then that hitter struggles once there’s a book on him and pitchers realize he can’t hit a breaking ball. Lawler brought the hit with his standup and big right crosses but wasn’t as well-rounded as you’d expect an MFS fighter to be. Once fighters started taking him off his feet he was exposed.

The ironic thing is that Lawler has really improved in recent years and is a much better fighter than he was during his first run in the UFC. In my mind, he went from being overrated to being underrated.

The name of Andrei Arlovski was brought up. The Pitbull has definitely been a disappointment and I think he’s capable of more. But I don’t think he’s been underachieving long enough to make the list. If things keep up the way they’ve been going, it won’t be long though until he gets added.

Renato Sobral was also a nomination but I think his current status in MMA is correct. His submission wrestling is world class and his striking has improved. But I see him as being nothing more than a guy worthy of fighting in the UFC just outside of title contention and that just happens to be exactly where he’s at right now.

Vernon White was also suggested. Ugh, don’t get me started. Now, if you know Vernon and think he’s a good guy, that’s fine. Just don’t let your personal bias get in the way of your overall perspective of his place in MMA. He’s right where he belongs and I don’t see any potential in him that’s untapped.

Two choices that people didn’t agree with were Frank Mir and Evan Tanner. There are those who actually feel both are overachievers.

Say what?

In regard to Mir, I will concede that with the improved depth in the UFC’s heavyweight division there’s no way he would be in the title picture even if he was in his prime. However, based on his ground ability, he should at least be a middle of the road guy similar to Heath Herring. But Mir isn’t even Heath Herring! Right now, he’s more like Wes Sims.

Tanner may not be a great pure athlete but he’s an incredible fighter who could easily be the UFC middleweight champ right now if he had his act together. Some people will bristle at that statement but I think Anderson Silva is a vulnerable champion and the UFC simply has an abundance of guys who he matches up well with.

The bottom line is that Tanner would be a bad matchup for Silva. Good luck in trying to convince me otherwise.

I know he can’t stand with Silva, but who can in the 185 lbs. division? But Tanner is a far superior wrestler and if the fight got to the ground then Silva would be in a world of shit.

I’m considering doing an overachievers article next week but have only come up with Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Kenny Florian, and Matt Serra.

Anyone else have any ideas?

A 160 lbs. division sounds good to me!

I like where EliteXC President of Live Events (what an awkward title) Gary Shaw is going with his idea of possibly creating a 160 lbs. division.

The 161 lbs. division in Pride was pretty exciting and it’s a practical weight class for a lot of fighters. It’s also a good idea on Shaw’s part because it would be a way for EliteXC to differentiate their product from the competition.

It would also be a great way to showcase Nick Diaz.

You could definitely build the division around Diaz, assuming he can put the bong down. He can held his own with anyone at 170 lbs., but Cesar Gracie teammate Jake Shields is a big part of EliteXC’s welterweight division and the two of them won’t fight.

Oh, how I could also forget that at 160 lbs., Diaz is a beast!

The 160 lbs. weight class would also be perfect for a fighter not currently on the EliteXC roster. I think former Bodog welterweight champion Eddie Alvarez is made for 160 lbs.

Alvarez is undersized for 170 lbs. in my opinion. He’s thought about dropping to 155 lbs. but feels comfortable at welterweight and wants to stay there. However, he might be more open to the idea of dropping to 160 lbs. as opposed to 155 lbs.

His boxing is good enough that he can hold his own with anyone at 170 lbs., however, put him at 160 lbs. and like Diaz, he becomes a beast.

Alvarez has two fights left on his contract to Bodog and when I had him on my show on ESPN 920 several weeks back, he expressed nothing but happiness with Bodog.

However, money talks and if Elite makes a strong offer once Alvarez becomes a free agent, then you never know.

Bringing in Alvarez would be a great move for Elite because he’s significant name that could be added for an affordable price. While he wouldn’t come cheap, he wouldn’t require Sokoudjou money ($150,000 per match).

If built up properly, a match between Alvarez and Diaz could headline a pay-per-view.

It would also be one hell of a fight.

IFL vs. EliteXC?

One thing I left out in my conference call notes for the IFL yesterday is that IFL commissioner Kurt Otto once again commented on the possibility of having all the winners from the upcoming IFL World Grand Prix eventually take on another promotion’s top five in a best-of format.

Otto said he’s willing to work with just about any promotion but wouldn’t talk specific names. However, EliteXC seems like a logical partner because thus far, Gary Shaw is the only other executive of a major fight promotion that I know of willing to work with promotions other than his own.

I’d love to see it. Right now EliteXC needs to work on building their heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions but Chris Horodecki vs. Nick Diaz at lightweight, Delson Heleno vs. Jake Shields at welterweight, and Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Benji Radach at middleweight are intriguing matchups on paper.

But in the end, I think an EliteXC vs. IFL team challenge is unlikely to happen because Shaw has not been extremely keen on the IFL’s team concept when the topic has been brought up during conference calls.

Free agent market ripe in MMA

It’s July 26 as I write this and Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Josh Barnett, Thierry Sokoudjou, Brock Lesnar, Denis Kang, and Gilbert Melendez are all still free agents.

I don’t think the MMA market in North America could handle another new promotion, but there’s enough talent out there that if there was a multi-millionaire who wanted to get involved with MMA and didn’t care about making money right away, they could throw some cash around and become an immediate player.

Tito Ortiz could also become available in the coming months and if you threw in guys like Matt Lindland and Robbie Lawler (who don’t have exclusive contracts), a newcomer to the business could make Dana White’s worst nightmare become reality.

I’m not saying, I’m just saying.

Rosholt wins MMA debut

Remember the name Jake Rosholt.

The Team Takedown member, who also trains with Randy Couture at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, won his MMA debut this past weekend in Oklahoma. Rosholt tapped Dusty Miller at 3:40 in round one during Masters of the Cage 15 in Oklahoma.

A former top college wrestler, Rosholt is one of four members of Team Takedown, a group started with the intent of recruiting top collegiate wrestlers and assisting them in making the transition to MMA.

Rosholt, Johny Hendricks, Shane Roller, and Eric Bradley all have big futures in this sport.

Where in the world is Chris Wilson?

Does anyone know what happened to former Portland Wolfpack welterweight Chris Wilson? I thought the Team Quest member was a legitimate prospect at 170 lbs. but he left the IFL and I haven’t heard about him since besides some rumors that he might be signing with Bodog.

If you know anything about Wilson’s current status, please drop me a line.

A day or so ago I posted a blurb about Team Takedown and how they were training with Xtreme Couture. Team Takedown is a group of standout amateur wrestlers making the conversion to MMA.

Two members of the team will be making their pro MMA debuts next Saturday, July 21 in Oklahoma City at Masters of the Cage XV. Both Jake Rosholt and Eric Bradley will be fighting on the card with Rosholt fighting at light heavyweight against Dusty “Dream Killer” Miller for a title and Bradley fighting at 185 lbs. against Troy Allison.

For ticket info, check out FightPass.com.

In addition to Rosholt and Bradley, Team Takedown includes Johny Hendricks. A fourth member, former three-time All-American and Big 12 wrestling champ Shane Roller from Oklahoma State was just recently added to the stable. Roller will begin his MMA training in the Guy Mezger’s Lion’s Den affiliate in Dallas before going to Vegas and training with Xtreme Couture.