That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. Noons vs. Diaz appears to be definitely not happening according to Sherdog. Instead, Thomas “Wildman” Denny has been booked to fight Nick Diaz in Stockton, CA. on July 26:

The former King of the Cage champion has agreed to face resident troublemaker Nick Diaz in his hometown of Stockton, Calif. on EliteXC’s second CBS-televised card at the Stockton Arena on July 26. Contracts are expected to be inked Tuesday.

My feeling is that Denny is just a filler opponent before Diaz fights Noons for the EliteXC title. Denny is a fighter who likes fighting on the ground and doesn’t pose too much of a problem for Diaz on his feet. Diaz is better at every facet of MMA than Denny. As long as Diaz doesn’t take him lightly this shouldn’t be too much of a test.

I do, however, wonder why Noons vs. Diaz isn’t taking place. Gary Shaw trotted Diaz out to the center of the cage after Noons’ last victory to hype up a fight between the two and now all the hype they created has been killed by this fight announcement of Denny vs. Diaz. Hopefully some answers will come to light.

MMA Mania is reporting that a rumored bout between Nick Diaz and K.J. Noons for the EliteXC lightweight title is not happening on the July 26 “Unfinished Business” card, which is rumored to take place in Stockton, California, Diaz’s hometown.

Diaz is still expected to compete on the card but it’s not clear who he will face off against come July 26. Could EliteXC be saving this fight for another CBS card down the line? Too many titles on the line during one card? Stay tuned.

Nick Diaz is on the warpath, ladies and gentlemen. From Carlos Arias’ Keep Punching blog at the OC Register:

“I’m trying to fight (Hayato) Sakurai, I’m trying to fight K.J. Noons, I’m trying to fight Anderson Silva, I’m trying to fight everybody. I’m trying to fight Georges (expletive) St. (expletive) Pierre. I’m trying to fight … I didn’t mean to call Georges a (expletive), but I ain’t got no problem getting there and fighting the best people in the world. Georges is a nice guy. I’m trying to fight Jon Fitch, I’m trying to fight Silva, I’m trying to fight K.J. Noons, I’m trying to fight everybody. I’m trying to fight Takanori Gomi, Sakurai, I’m trying to (expletive) everybody up. (Expletive) this (expletive). This is (expletive) gangster (expletive) warfare. I don’t give a (expletive). You know what I mean?”

No, Nick, I’m not sure that many of us know what you mean. Gangster warfare? Calling out Jon Fitch and Georges St. Pierre? Diaz would never be able to hang with those guys. He’s a fighter with a ton of potential who has been plagued by mediocrity his entire career. And this has never been more evident than right now with a lackluster victory over Mike Aina, a loss to K.J. Noons, and a poor performance against Muhsin Corbbrey in his last three fights on American soil.

For all the trash talk, and it is entertaining, don’t get me wrong, there is very little substance behind it. Trash talk only goes so far, especially in MMA. The time will come when it’s either put up or shut up for Diaz.

The ever-controversial Nick Diaz had some words to say to his rival K.J. Noons regarding what happened inside of the cage after Noons’ impressive title defense against Yves Edwards. From Yahoo! Sports:

“I’m not a punk and I don’t start (expletive),” Diaz said. “They brought me to the cage to do an interview about the rematch. I was doing my job. I didn’t go in there like some crazy psycho (expletive). It wasn’t staged. But it was all because of this (expletive) poser.”

“My car pulled up in front of the hotel and he and his girlfriend and his mom and dad were there,” Diaz said. “Right away, he put his mug on me. He was staring me down and trying to give the impression that he’s hard core. I flipped him off, but he’s standing over there like he’s flashing. I go, ‘What the (expletive) are you doing? I’m not the one doing (expletive).’ I couldn’t understand why this guy is putting his mug on me, but he had to act like he was some kind of a (expletive) tough guy in front of his girlfriend and his Dad.”

“This is war, this is life, and I take this very seriously,” Diaz said. “I’m not the one bringing my family into the ring and showing them off. I’m not the one who (showed up to the pre-fight news conference) in a (expletive) suit trying to act like I’m some kind of tough guy (expletive) rich kid. This is war to me and we have a serious situation on our hands now.”

This is pure Nick Diaz gold. Statements like these are why the guy is so polarizing. Love him or hate him, he makes you want to watch any fight that he’s in. He’s created enough hype already for both Noons and himself combined. Without Diaz, this would just be any other fights. With Diaz, it’s a recipe for viewers. He can make a situation like Noons mean muggin’ him sound like Noons punched his mom in the face while she was making brownies.

K.J. Noons could be the real deal.

I’m not 100% sold on Noons being the real deal just yet but he is certainly making a case for himself with some high-profile victories. This win over Edwards was really jaw dropping and Noons showed the ability to take a hard shot, recover with power, and go for the kill when he smelled blood. There are things that we haven’t yet seen from Noons, though, and that’s his ability to deal with adversity in a fight as well as his ground game. Those are two big question marks that are still out there but overall he is coming along quite nicely. It was quite an impressive showing from the EliteXC lightweight champion and it seems that a rematch with Nick Diaz is the next thing in store for him as champion and I think it may be likely that we’ll see that fight on the July 26 CBS card considering the heat these two drew tonight.

Poor Yves Edwards.

He just can’t get over the hump. Whenever Edwards is poised to make that leap in his career, the one that will put him exactly where he wants to be and in a great position, he always seems to get knocked down. I really do feel for the guy. He trained his ass off for this fight and just got a little too aggressive when he thought he had Noons hurt. He certainly paid the price for it. I know there were a lot of people out there that wanted to see the Yves Edwards that knocked Josh Thomson flat on his ass but that was not meant to be. By no means do I think we’ve seen the last of Yves, but you can’t help but feel for the guy. MMA is a tough business and Yves is living proof of that.

(more…)

What: Elite XC: Return of the King
When: June 14th @ 10pm ET
Where: Blaisdell Arena; Honolulu, Hawaii

Here’s the latest on the EXC: Return of the King event:
Main Card

• KJ Noons vs. Yves Edwards (EXC Lightweight Title)
• Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey
• Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Tony Bonello
• Dave “Pee Wee” Herman vs. Ron “H2O” Waterman
• Rafael Feijao vs. Wayne Cole

Undercard (televised on ProElite.com after the SHOWTIME telecast)

• P.J. Dean vs. Dean Lista
• Mike Aina vs. Kaleo Kwan
• Mark Oshiro vs. Chris Willems
• Chris Bernhard vs. Lolohea Mahe
• Kala Kolohe Hose vs. Bubba McDaniel
  

Check out more EliteXC event content on 5 Oz. of Pain.

This summer is really heating up as far as MMA action goes. We’ve had almost a month now where every weekend there has been at least one event. This weekend is no different as there’s three MMA events (EliteXC: Return of the King, Adrenaline MMA, and DREAM 4).

EliteXC: Return of the King is featuring some pretty bangin’ fights like Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey, heavyweight prospect Dave Herman taking on Ron Waterman, Rafael Feijao clashing with Wayne Cole, and of course the title fight between K.J. Noons and Yves Edwards. Oh, and don’t forget Kala Kolohe is fighting on the undercard as well so there should be some pretty damn good fights on this card. Here’s a little preview to whet your appetite.

KJ Noons had some choice words for the man that he beat to win EliteXC’s 160 lbs. title late last year at EliteXC: Renegade after a reporter asked him about the notion that he’s been dodging Diaz:

“But I don’t dodge anybody. As a champion, you can’t duck anyone. You only have one option. You fight the best. Whoever that is, that’s who I fight. Unfortunately, Nick’s not the best now. I have to fight the top guy as the champion. Right now that guy is Yves Edwards.

“Of course, it would be great to fight Nick in the future. It would be a great payday for me. (But) Nick is such a big crybaby. Let him rebuild himself and then we’ll fight again. I’d love an easy payday.

“It’s ridiculous what Diaz’ camp was saying. Why would they think I’m dodging him? I gave him plastic surgery on his face. That’s a fact. As long as he can get a doctor’s note, (I’m all for) round two.’’

And of course, Nick Diaz fires back:

“Noons is a little (expletive) and it doesn’t even matter what I am thinking about him because we are not fighting. Noons won on a cut. He is only a paper champion. His days are numbered.’’

Diaz is correct. Noons did win on a cut. But let’s not forget that Noons was completely outclassing him during the course of the fight. He beat Diaz up on the feet, stuffed all of Diaz’s telegraphed and sloppy takedowns and didn’t allow him any room to breathe. For Diaz to call Noons a paper champion is stepping over the line because even though the fight was stopped on a cut it was a completely legitimate stoppage and it wasn’t like Diaz was ahead on anyone’s scorecard. He was on his way to losing the figh and losing badly.

MMA Weekly is reporting that Drew Fickett has had to pull out of his June 14 welterweight title fight with Jake Shields due to a knee injury.

The news comes from EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw who was a recent guest on MMA Weekly radio.

From MMA Weekly:

“Obviously the back injury happened (to Shields) and the easiest thing to do was move him to Hawaii to fight Drew,” said Shaw in the interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “Unfortunately since then Drew Fickett has hurt his knee and he’s not going to be able to take that fight on June 14 and that will be rescheduled again.”

By “rescheduled again,” Shaw is referring to a scheduled March 29th bout between the two that didn’t go through due to Shields’ aforementioned back injury.

In addition to revealing Fickett’s injury, Shaw also announced five bouts for the June 14th show set to take place in Hawaii. The bouts are as follows:

• K.J. Noons vs. Yves Edwards (for EliteXC’s lightweight title)
• Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey
• Murilo Rua vs. Tony Bonello
• Wayne Cole vs. Rafael Feijao
• Dave Herman vs. Ron Waterman

Read more EliteXC content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com

The Fight Network is reporting today that an EliteXC lightweight title fight between Yves Edwards and K.J. Noons has been postponed to June 14th:

Yves Edwards will have to wait a little longer for his shot at K.J. Noons and the EliteXC lightweight championship. On a three-fighting winning streak, the rejuvenated Edwards will challenge Noons for the 160-pound belt on Saturday, June 14 – not April 26 as previously planned – in Hawaii.

“I had started training for it,” Edwards said. “A few weeks ago, they told us it was postponed.”

FiveOuncesofPain.com has learned that not only has this bout been moved from April 26th to June 14th, but that the April 26th show in Hawaii has been canceled altogether.

MMA Weekly is also reporting in their rumors section that Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva may be scheduled to compete on the June 14th show in Hawaii as well.

In an exclusive interview with ProElite.com (SamCaplan.ProElite.com) on Wednesday afternoon, EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons fired back at the camp of Nick Diaz following a post on the web site GracieFighter.com that accuses Noons of turning down a proposed rematch against Niaz on April 26 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

GracieFighter.com, which is operated by Diaz’s long-time trainer, Cesar Gracie, posted the following:

KJ Noons has refused a rematch with Nick Diaz. Noons won the EliteXC title after defeating Diaz by doctor’s stoppage due to a cut. Diaz subsequently went in for plastic surgery after a specialist determined that the sharpness of the bones above his eyes would lead to more cuts and make it impossible for him to pursue a successful MMA career. The surgery was a complete success.

EliteXC suggested a rematch just as the UFC had when Vitor Belfort defeated Randy Couture for their title due to a cut, however KJ and his camp have now responded that they do not want anything to do with a rematch. Diaz will still be fighting at the event against another EliteXC fighter, most likely Muhsin Corbbrey (6-2).

Noons, normally calm and reserved, had already read the comments when contacted by ProElite.com and took great issue with the claims made by Diaz’s camp. They are claims he categorically disputed.

“First of all, I don’t dodge anybody,” Noons stated in an uncharacteristic stern tone. “Whoever is the best, I want to fight them. As champion, you can’t decline who you want to fight. You only have one option as to who you’re going to fight, and that’s the best. Whoever the best is, that’s who I have to fight. In regard to a rematch with Nick, that would be a great pay day for me. Unfortunately, he’s not the best.”

Noons continued to rebut GracieFighter.com’s statements, claiming that he has no incentive to dodge a rematch with Diaz because he considers it an “easy pay day.” He indicated that he felt if anyone was entitled to a rematch, he deserved one against Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett stemming from a knockout loss during EliteXC’s first-ever show last February.

“As for Nick, of course he’s going to get a rematch in the future,” Noons commented. “They created a weight division for this guy (and) he’s such a big crybaby. Eventually they are going to be able to rebuild him and of course he’s going to get a rematch but he’s not the best right now. So I’d love an easy pay day. If he deserves a rematch right now, what about my rematch with Krazy Horse? I’d love a rematch with Krazy Horse and I’ve won a few fights so I think I’m more deserving than someone like Diaz in regards to getting a rematch right now. As far as declining the fight, I don’t decline fights. You don’t get an option as champion to decline a fight. You’re only option is to fight the best.”

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

According to the website of American Top Team, new EliteXC fighter and former number one lightweight in the world, Yves Edwards, will face EliteXC’s current 160 lbs. champion, K.J. Noons for the EliteXC lightweight title on April 26th in Hawaii.

Edwards is coming off of a brutal knockout victory over Edson Berto at EliteXC: Street Certified and seems to have rejuvenated his career since making the move to American Top Team.

Noons is coming off of the biggest win of his MMA career over Nick Diaz due to cut stoppage at EliteXC: Renegade last November. Surprising to everyone, Noons dominated the fight against Diaz, peppering him with better boxing and standup skills and stuffing Nick’s weak takedown attempts.

Edwards vs. Noons should be one of the best fights that EliteXC has put on during their short tenure in the MMA world.

I was able to catch up with new EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons on Tuesday afternoon. Iasked Noons about Saturday’s controversial ending against in his fight against Nick Diaz and what’s next for the newly crowned champion:

Sam Caplan: After you beat Nick Diaz, how did you celebrate?

K.J. Noons: I showered up and we went out to a Fudrucker’s that my buddy owns in Corpus Christi. I had about 40 friends and family down there that drove from Houston and he re-opened up his restaraunt and (there was) an open bar. Open bar and food. It was kind of like a private party. It was fun.

Sam Caplan: You lived in Texas at one point, correct?

K.J. Noons: Yes, I went to high school out there. I graduated from a school in Houston. I lived there until I was about 21-years old and then I moved out to San Diego.

Sam Caplan: And you mentioned that you had 40 friends and family at the event?

K.J. Noons: At least.

Sam Caplan: Does that put any pressure on you or does it give you more motivation to go out there and put on a better performance?

K.J. Noons: If anything it gives me more motivation to put on a better performance. But I didn’t see anyone before the fight. I knew my family was in the crowd but I was just focused to win.

Sam Caplan: Going into the fight were there specific things that you worked on with the belief certain aspects of Diaz’s game could be exploited?

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

For those of you who haven’t gotten into the habit of checking out my blog on ProElite.com in addition to this blog, you can check out an interview I recently conducted with K.J. Noons by clicking here.

I asked Noons about his thoughts on possibly fighting Nick Diaz on Nov. 10 and if he intends to continue to pursue pro fighting careers in both MMA and boxing.

EliteXC lightweight fighter K.J. Noons has confirmed that recent X-rays revealed a fracture to his left hand. According to Noons, the injury took place during the first round of his victory over Edson Berto and he’ll be sidelined 6-8 weeks as a result. He hopes to resume training in some capacity within six weeks.

With the injury, any chance of a bout with Nick Diaz on September 15 in Hawaii is off the table. EliteXC is believed to be exploring other options right now but they might already have a fighter in mind. More when it becomes available.

A source close to EliteXC informed me today that plans are in the works to make a match between K.J. Noons and Nick Diaz for September 15 in Hawaii. There is some internal concern about reports stating Noons may have suffered a hand injury vs. Edson Berto last Friday night and the match likely won’t become official until they know for sure that he’s 100 percent healthy.

In regard to an earlier report about a match in San Francisco between Frank Trigg and Jake Shields in October, it looks like Shannon Ritch may have spoke too soon. Apparently, Shields has signed a bout agreement and Trigg has not, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Additionally, there are reports circulating that the match was offered at a catch weight of 175 lbs. and Trigg is maintaining that he has no desire to fight below 185 lbs.

I was a guest on Fight Network Radio with Mauro Ranallo today. Mauro and I discussed a number of topics and Mauro revealed that K.J. Noons has been discussed as a possible opponent for Nick Diaz on EliteXC’s next card slated for September 15 in Honolulu.

I want to stress that Mauro didn’t say the match was signed, only that Noons is receiving consideration for the bout. He did mention that the bout would be contested at 160 lbs., if signed.

The potential matchup makes only a little bit of sense to me. Noons is a strong prospect who was finally able to show off his boxing skills to a mainstream MMA audience this past Friday vs. Edson Berto. The performance was impressive, but Noons simply isn’t ready for Diaz. Not by a long shot.

On the other hand, I understand the potential logic. Diaz won’t be fighting for Zuffa so right now he’s contracted only to EliteXC. Coming off what had been a win this past February against Takanori Gomi (the decision was overturned after Diaz tested positive for marijuana), Diaz has a chance to be one of EliteXC’s signature stars. They need to have him start fighting again as soon as he’s eligible.

With the way their roster is aligned now, the only other candidates to face Diaz are Victor Valenzuela, Edson Berto, and Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett. Berto is coming off a loss and Bennett is rumored to be finally rematching Valenzuela on the 9/15 card. Unless EliteXC brings in a fighter off roster, Noons is really the only choice.

I apologize for being late with my thoughts but I had to get up at 6 a.m. in order to get ready to haul ass to Princeton, NJ so I could do my show for ESPN 920.

If you were looking for a no-frills, meat and potatoes MMA show then I don’t see how you could have an issue with last night’s telecast of ShoXC.

I was thoroughly impressed with last night’s show from top to bottom. Pro Elite did a great job of booking new talent and making strong matchups for them so that they could show their skills. I don’t think there was a bad match on the card.

I thought that the announcing was top notch. It was the first time that Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros had ever worked together but you wouldn’t know it by listening to them. It sounded like they were old friends that had been broadcasting shows together for years. For my money, they are the best announce team out there even after only doing one show. I’m looking forward to them working together more in the future.

I also couldn’t help but notice that Gary Shaw didn’t come into the cage after any of the matches. Not even after the main event, which featured two EliteXC fighters. I applaud him for taking a step back and letting the fighters have their moment.

Here are my thoughts, match-by-match…

Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Lee Gibson - Solid match. It seemed to pick up steam as time went on. The two wanted to feel each other out (Corbbrey more so than Gibson) and perhaps that’s because these guys have been flying under the radar and there simply isn’t much footage out there. Corbbrey is a cerebral  fighter and it appeared that he didn’t like facing a guy he didn’t know much about. It also looked like he was getting frustrated when he couldn’t find a glaring weakness to exploit.

I like Corbbrey’s athleticism and his hand speed. It also looked like he was tough to hit from an extended distance. His boxing was top notch and he was quick enough to use a lot of head fakes and shoulder movement without setting himself to be caught with a kick or a knee. Not everyone can incorporate basic fundamental boxing into their MMA game like that.

Gibson just seemed like a dude that was tough as nails. It was obvious to me early in the fight that Corbbrey wasn’t going to be able to finish him.

I’d love to see both of them brought back for future shows.

Jefferson Silva vs. Aaron Rosa - Wow, did I really call Silva a prospect? It was a good stoppage, as he took some nasty elbows. But even before he ate those elbows it seemed as though Rosa broke his will. Those grimaces when he was getting hit in bottom position were ridiculous. You really can’t show that type of pain to an opponent or a referee.

Rosa was the most impressive fighter of the night, in my eyes. I wasn’t sure about his perfect record because he hasn’t fought any top guys. But he’s a rugged guy who enjoys fighting and at only 24 years of age, I think he has a bright future. EliteXC should sign him to a deal if they haven’t already.

Scott Jorgenson vs. Chris David - David fought with a lot of heart but Jorgenson was just too much for him. Next to Rosa, Jorgenson was the second most impressive fighter. I don’t know what EliteXC has planned for the 135 lbs. division, but whatever plans they have, Jorgenson will obviously need to be a big part of it. He also seems pretty marketable.

Jaime Jara vs. Jeremiah Metcalf - Jara’s standup wasn’t pretty but it was effective. He deserves a lot of credit for taking the fight on such short notice  and cutting weight. He deserves even more credit for agreeing to defend his 185 lbs. title while fighting at 175 lbs.  Middleweight means you fight at 185 lbs. and if I was in his shoes, maybe I would have taken the fight but I would had at least said that if they want the title to be on the line, then Metcalf needs to make my weight in order to compete for my title.  But Jara is 37-years old and I’m sure he realized the value of being about to get exposure as a champion.

It’s really hard to form any kind of solid opinion of Metcalf because the fight didn’t last long. I know he’s a very tactical fighter, so perhaps the fact that he didn’t have time to scout his opponent hurt him. Hopefully we’ll get to see Metcalf vs. Aaron Wetherspoon rescheduled for the next ShoXC in August.

K.J. Noons vs. Edson Berto - I’m not buying all the talk that Berto’s conditioning was off. There’s no way his father would let him get away with that. I think he got hurt in the first round and continued fighting when maybe he shouldn’t have. I think he definitely suffered a concussion early on. Not only was he winded but it looked like he was just out of it in the second and third rounds. He had a hard time focusing on Noons.  He’s just a much better fighter than what he showed.

I got the prediction for the fight wrong (I went 2 out of 5. Man, I suck. I want to stop doing predictions) but I knew Noons was no joke. I had been taking some flak for touting the guy but you saw just how crisp and fluid his boxing and Muay Thai is.

His ground game from a defensive perspective was good, but he needs to learn how to be able to go on the offensive. I think he’s way off base thinking he can train both boxing and MMA and still reach his full potential. Maybe when he’s mastered everything, I might agree with him. However, boxing reinforces a lot of fundamental bad habits when it comes to MMA standup.

I can understand an MMA guy who comes from a ground background trying to train boxing to improve his hand speed, footwork, defensive skills, learn to work angles, and just get used to taking punches. But Noons already has a lot of the standup basics down.

I guess Shaw doesn’t mind it because he’s a boxing and MMA promoter and the moon lighting could pay dividends from a marketing perspective. But do you think Dana White would let a young fighter try and pursue two full-time fighting careers? He doesn’t even want Kurt Angle to wrestle.

Alright, I’m out because I need to head up to North Jersey to see more young MMA fighters who could be breaking big soon. Matt Makowski from Philly MMA and Wilson Reis from Philly MMA/BJJ United are both making their pro debuts for Ed Hsu’s Combat in the Cage/Extreme Challenge show. I’ve trained with both briefly (and I mean I sparred with Matt for a round once last summer and took one of Wilson’s BJJ classes) in the past so I’m looking forward to it.

BTW, I’m going to be going to East Rutherford this Thursday to cover the IFL semifinals for CBS Sportsline. If you’re reading this and will be attending and want to meet up, drop me a line at SCaplan8@comcast.net.

EliteXC and Showtime will partner for the debut of ShoXC on Friday night live from the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif.  at 11 p.m. ET. The five bout card is expected to end sometime around 1 a.m. ET, at which time ProElite.com will telecast five additional fights via the Internet.

ShoXC is patterned after Showtime’s boxing series ShoBox, which has been a springboard for the career of many young boxers. Showtime is hoping that ShoXC will have the same impact on mixed martial arts.

If nothing else, the show has great timing in the sense that it feels like it’s been months since we’ve had live MMA to watch. While the card doesn’t boast any huge names, there are fighters on the card with a lot of potential. On paper, I also think the matchmakers have done a good job as far as styles are concerned.

The show will also feature the debut of Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros as an announce team. The team garnered strong fan support on an individual basis during their broadcast stints with Pride. However, they had never been on the air at the same time until this show.

Here’s my breakdown of what to watch for:

K.J. Noons vs. Edson Berto - This fight could prove to be a sleeper in the mold of Sam Stout vs. Spencer Fisher. You have two lighter weight guys with strong striking backgrounds.

In the case of Berto, he also has a strong ground game and is notorious for tapping guys with his heel hook. Berto is a true mixed martial artist and it boggles my mind why more people don’t talk about him. If he was in UFC, people would be drooling.

As for Noons, he’s a hell of a boxer who had a buzz surrounding him heading into his fight against Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett during EliteXC’s debut show on February 10. Bennett caught Noons and dropped him cold and Noons hasn’t fought in an MMA bout since (he competed in a pro boxing match, and won). This is his chance to regain some of the momentum he lost after losing to Bennett.

If Noons gives up boxing and focuses solely on MMA, he could be a star because his boxing is unreal. We didn’t get a chance to see it vs. Bennett but hopefully we’ll get to see it Friday.

My prediction is that Berto will win in the second round via submission.

Jeremiah Metcalf vs. Jaime Jara - This match was originally supposed to be a rematch between Metcalf and Aaron Wetherspoon in a bout that would unify the Gladiator Challenge and King of the Cage welterweight titles. However, Wetherspoon is injured and pulled out of the fight yesterday.

Stepping in for Wetherspoon will be Jara, a 37-year old tough as nails fighter who took the fight on next to no notice. Jara is the Gladiator Challenge middleweight champion and has also held the GC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles in the past. He has to cut to fight at 185 lbs. and now is faced with the task of cutting to an agreed upon match weight of 175 lbs. That dude’s life must have sucked the last few days.

Jara is a good wrestler who has worked hard to improve his boxing. He’s fought Rashad Evans (lost), Carter Williams (won), and Anthony Ruiz (holds three wins over him) so he won’t be feeling any pressure fighting for Showtime.

There’s been some talk that the match could be title vs. title but I don’t see how the state of California would allow a 170 lbs. title be on the line against a fighter weighing in at 175 lbs. We’ll have to see how this plays out.

Metcalf is a 26-year old freestyle fighter who trains with Gene Fields out of Team Voodoo. He’s a very well-rounded fighter who has good Greco-Roman wrestling skills. He’s going to be giving up a lot of size to Jara so who knows if he’ll be able to utilize those wrestling skills.

Metcalf has great cardio so his best bet may be to keep the fight standing and try to wear Jara down since he’s coming into the fight on short notice.

I’m going to pick Metcalf by unanimous decision. If Jara had more time to prepare, the outcome would be different.

Aaron Rosa vs. Jefferson Silva - Watch out for Jefferson Silva! He has a K-1 background and trains with Mario Sperry out of Brazilian Top Team. He’s a rangy Muay Thai striker with some Jiu-Jitsu training that has star potential written all over him. The only thing that is holding him back is his conditioning.

That could be a problem for Silva because Rosa has been a sparring partner for Tito Ortiz for Ortiz’s last two fights. His conditioning is excellent and he has a lot of heart.

Rosa likes to stand up but he’s got some ground skills. If Silva has top position and gets sloppy, Rosa will be a threat to triangle him.

These two will stand and trade early and if Silva doesn’t take Rosa out early, we easily could see an upset. In spite of that possibility, I’m still picking Silva to win the fight and come out of the show with a lot of people talking about him.

Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Lee Gibson - Besides Silva, Corbbrey is the other fighter on this card that people need to watch out for. I’m really impressed with him as he’s a smart guy who is extremely competitive.

Corbbrey is a professional boxer who has competed in professionally in Muay Thai as well. Don’t stereotype him though because he’s not just a striker. He also competes in grappling tournaments and has won events such as NAGA and ISCF. He trained Jiu-Jitsu with Lloyd Irvin and now works on his ground game with UFC fighter Din Thomas.

Gibson is a tough dude who is a former Army Ranger and served 16 months in Iraq as a private security contractor. He splits his time between Kansas City and Las Vegas. He works in KC as a fireman and trains MMA in Vegas with Tony Fryklund.

Gibson just recently fought for Richard Steele’s Steele Cage Promotions on July 7, defeating Talon Hoffman via TKO at 2:25 in the second round. He’s a solid fighter and Corbbrey will have to bring his A-game in order to win.

Finishing Gibson won’t be easy, which is why I am picking Corbbrey to win via unanimous decision.

Chris David vs. Scott Jorgenson - David is trained by UFC fighter David Terrell out of the Nor Cal Fighting Alliance. He has a record of 8-5-1 and is a perfect 3-0 when fighting for the Gladiator Challenge promotion.

David has been training in martial arts since the third grade and wrestled during high school. When he first got involved with MMA he was almost exclusively a wrestler, however, he’s made strides in recent years in all other aspects of MMA.

It’s good that his stand up has improved because that’s where he needs to keep the fight in order to win. Jorgenson has much better wrestling credentials, having been a three-time All-Pac 10 selection as a freestyle wrestler while at Boise State.

I expect Jorgenson to win the fight in the first round via ground and pound.

Pro Elite and Showtime conducted a conference call this afternoon in order to promote the launch of ShoXC this Friday night at 11 p.m. ET from the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif. The main event will be a clash of 155 lbs. fighters Edson Berto and K.J. Noons.

EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, Pro Elite CEO Doug DeLuca, and Showtime’s Senior V.P. of Sports Programming Ken Hershman were all on the call.

Here are some of the most notable developments:

- There will be a total of four ShoXC telecasts this year, including Friday’s show. The next one after Friday is slated to take place in the middle or end of August with the two other shows tentatively planned for October and December.

- The first ShoXC had been planned for December but Showtime is so excited about MMA right now that they asked for the debut show to be moved up.

- The next full-scale EliteXC show is scheduled for September 15 in Honolulu, Hawaii. It will be televised on Showtime. The main event being discussed right now is Murilo “Ninja” Rua taking on Robbie Lawler. However, Shaw made it clear at several points during the call that bout agreements have not been signed. Rua is EliteXC’s middleweight champion while Lawler is Icon Sport’s middleweight title holder. However, only Rua’s title was mentioned as being at stake.

- The rumors of EliteXC possibly buying King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge, and Icon Sport were brought up. Shaw said he couldn’t comment on possible acquisitions because they are a public traded company. There was no flat denial when the question was asked. A reporter also tried to re-phrase the question in a creative fashion by asking what promotions EliteXC was interested in working with. The name of GC, KOTC, and Icon were all brought up by Shaw as companies EliteXC has an interest in working with.

My personal take is that there appears to be a lot of fire to the smoke when it comes to the rumors but I don’t have any hard evidence to support my claim.

- The Internet telecast will take place on ProElite.com but the matches won’t be held until after the Showtime show. If you’re on the West Coast or are an MMA junkie, you’ll be able to watch some early morning MMA.

- Nick Diaz is also being talked about as fighting on the September 15 card.

- In regard to Thierry Sokoudjou, Shaw said they thought they were close to a deal that Jeremy Lappen help put together. They flew Sokoudjou out for the 6/20 show and wined him and dined him. When Sokoudjou returned home he received an offer from another promotion that Shaw wasn’t willing to match. He said any deal with Sokoudjou is “off the table.”

- Shaw talked about his concerns with extreme weight cutting in MMA and hasn’t ruled out the introduction of new weight classes. He said one class they are considering is a 160 lbs. class. I think that would be perfect for Diaz.

- I asked Shaw if there was any interest from EliteXC in Frank Trigg and he said they were indeed interested.

- There are two more shows with Frank Shamrock and Strikeforce left as a part of the agreed upon settlement that allowed EliteXC to keep Shamrock on the card of their debut telecast on Feb. 10.

- Steroids were brought up. Shaw said he is concerned and spoke out against the use of performance enhancers in MMA but said he doesn’t plan to test steroids. He then said fighter safe is a concern and wouldn’t rule out the possibility of implementing testing in the future.

- When the IFL deciding to test its own fighters in ‘08, Shaw sort of took what I considered to be a veiled shot. He said he wants to see how they react when a major star of theirs tests positive — if they ever get a star. Ouch. I’m not sure if Shaw meant that as an insult or if it just came out funny. It sure sounded like a shot to me. If he meant it, he should watch their program because they’ve got a lot of good young fighters on their roster now. I guess he hasn’t seen Chris Horodecki because Shaw would love to have that kid fighting for him if he saw him.