Freddie Roach: "There's Not One Fighter in MMA That Can Stand with James Toney"

Courtesy of "Inside MMA" which will air tomorrow night at 9:30pm EST

Legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach had an interesting quote on the show about Toney's foray into MMA.

“I think they’re using James as a way to say MMA fighters are better than boxers,” he said. “If he fights a quality ground guy, once he goes to the ground he’s gonna get killed. But if a guy chooses to stand up with James, James is gonna destroy him. That’s why they call him ‘Lights Out.’ I really don’t think there’s one fighter in MMA that could stand with James.”

I have to agree with Mr. Roach here. The level of boxing technique is absolutely abysmal in MMA and times it by ten when it comes to the heavyweight division. After BJ Penn, the drop-off in good clean boxing is pretty horrendous and James Toney will wipe the floor with anyone who wants to stand with him.

Dana White on Possible Pride Revival: "Anything is Possible"

UFC President Dana White was asked if a Pride revival was ever possible by The Scrapyard. He responded by saying the "Best of Pride" series on Spike TV pulled a solid rating and discussed further the possibility of a Pride resurrection.

“You never know, anything is possible,” said White when asked if he’d consider hosting an event or two in a ring under the Pride brand.
“For its time slot on Friday night, the first episode pulled a good rating so we’re excited about that. We’re hoping that series will continue to do well.”
“I don’t want to say the Pride name is dead. It’s still a strong powerful brand. But the reality is that us running Pride in Japan, that completely fell apart.”

Oh what a glorious day it would be in MMA, unless the rules were changed and it was completely Americanized of course. Get Yuji Shimada in("give up"), get Bas and Quadros to do the announcing and make it happen. Wishful thinking I know.

Jackie Chan Not A Fan of MMA

International movie star Jackie Chan weighed-in on what he thinks of mixed martial arts via Sherdog.

“I don’t like to see Ultimate Fighting,” Chan said. “As a martial artist, I find it too violent putting them in a cage. At the end, it’s not fighting anymore. That’s not the martial arts. Martial arts is about respect. When somebody is knocked down, stop. I really respect Sugar Ray Leonard. Come on, [when a guy is down] stop. Don’t fight. That’s not the spirit. When you’re down, I’ll grab you up. Are you okay? Should we continue? That’s the martial arts spirit. That’s what I want.”

Not everybody will like or respect mixed martial arts and that's fine, but there's something disheartening when a fellow "martial artist" calls it too violent and in the process trashes the intelligence of ground fighting. It's feels as ignorant as when somebody doesn't use Overnight Prints coupons or CVS coupons just because they don't like paper. I'm a fan of Jackie Chan, but it would serve him well to do a little more research on our beloved sport.

Top 5 "Extra"-Ordinary Moments in MMA

5. Don Frye Gets Into A Fight with Bodyguard Sonny Westbrook
For any fan of MMA that has been following the sport since the beginning, Don Frye is a legend. Perhaps the two words "tough guy" were invented for Don Frye. Here's a guy that will fight anybody, anytime, anywhere and he is notorious for telling crazy stories that happened to him outside the cage/ring. Below he got into a fight in a hotel lobby with bodyguard Sonny Westbrook, here's the back story courtesy of anabolicminds.com

First off Westbrook is a bodyguard employed by Dog the Bounty Hunter. He was with Leland Chapman (Dog's son) at an MMA event that Chapman was scheduled to compete in. The event ended up getting cancelled by the California State Athletic Commission after the cage they were going to use that night wasn't able to be assembled correctly.

Anyway the promoters promised the fighters 20% of their purses if the event was to be cancelled. Well during a meeting between the promoters and the fighters, the fighters found out that they wouldn't be receiving any money at all. An argument ensued and its unknown exactly how Frye and Westbrook started fighting but Frye obviously ended up losing. Reports of Frye being drunk also vary.

I've also heard that they ended up fighting again later that night and Frye was knocked out completely and taken to the hospital but others have claimed that it wasn't true since Frye was at the arena signing autographs at a wrestling convention later that night.

4.Mauricio Shogun Rua vs. Mark Coleman Aftermath
Shogun and Coleman squared off at Pride 31 what transpired was one of the craziest aftermaths to a fight ever. Shogun breaks his arm trying to defend a take down and after the ref stops it Coleman continues to punch him. The entire Chute Box and Hammer House gangs jump into the ring thats not to say they jumped into wedding rings or even tungsten wedding bands, it wasn't that crazy and it continued backstage after Mark Coleman tried to apologize and Wanderlei accuses him of stomping his face during the in-ring brawl.



3. Mark Coleman Goes a Little Crazy After Losing to Fedor Emelianenko
Coleman loses via arm bar the first time to Fedor Emelianenko at Pride: Total Elimination 2004 and afterwards cameras catch him losing it. Call it "Roid Rage" if you prefer or maybe it was just a passionate fighter really upset with the mistakes he made in the ring. Coleman calms down and hi and Fedor shake hands and probably had about 45 shots of vodka between them later that night.



2. Wanderlei Silva: "My Belt"
Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson is the greatest rivalry we have ever had in our sport next to Sakuraba vs. The Gracies. Like Ali vs. Frazier these 2 bring out the absolute worst and the absolute best in one another. It all started at Pride 25 when Rampage called out Wanderlei after knocking out Kevin Randleman.



1. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett Goes to Sleep During Backstage Fight with Cristiano Marcello
Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett had a little beef with the Chute Box camp and it culminated in this. Bennett would later claim that he knocked out Wanderlei Silva backstage, which Silva vehemently denies. It started when Bennett and the Chute Box camp were sharing a locker room at Pride Shockwave 2005 and Bennett started insulting everybody. Marcello was a corner man and had just finished with the fight. What ensued was a brawl that ended like an MMA fight and how sweet it was.


I am sure I missed many "extra" moments, if you have any, post links in the comments.

Mirko Crocop vs Hong Man Choi Rumored for NYE K-1 FIELDS Dynamite!!

Its not official yet, Fighters Only Magazine has the scoop.

Mirko ‘CroCop' Filopovic is being lined up for a fight with Korean giant Hong Man Choi, it has been rumoured.

Reports on several Korean websites indicate the pair are being offered a fight with each other for K-1 Fields Dynamite on New Year's Eve.

But the reports are unconfirmed and there has been no official statement from either fighter's camp, nor the K-1 organisation.

Filopovic last fought in October, when a long-awaited clash with Dutch heavyweight Alistair Overeem ended in controversy.

With so many great bouts rumored and comfirmed for this event, it was a foregone conclusion that there had to be one freak show bout thrown in. The rumors are that it will be fought under K-1 kickboxing rules. Choi just got his ass handed to him by Ray Sefo at the K-1 World GP Finals. Can Crocop's left high kick reach Choi's enormous cranium?

Jorge Gurgel Released from UFC, Signs Immediately with Strikeforce

This breaking news is being reported by PlopCulture.

Being Jorge's manager we are privy to this info before anyone else and wanted to break it on the Plop for you fight fans...Within minutes of getting released from the UFC today, Jorge signed on with Strikeforce and will be coming to CALI to fight for the next stage in his career. Today he had a very successful surgery on a recurring bone spur issue with his elbow and should be ready to begin training in a few weeks.

Good for Jorge, I hope he gets a fresh start in Strikeforce and performs at a high level. Say what you will about his game planning, but he always comes to fight and is usually in a war because he is damn near impossible to finish.

(Thanks to PlopCulture for the Tip!)

Fedor Emelianenko Wants Brock Lesnar

MMAJunkie has released an official statement from M-1 Global's Vice President Jerry Millen.

M-1 would like to congratulate Brock Lesnar on his UFC heavyweight title victory as well as acknowledge Randy Couture's return to active competition after a layoff that lasted over a year.

Couture and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko had publicly acknowledged a desire to fight each other multiple times over the course of the past year. While M-1 and Fedor remain interested in a match against Couture, we would also like to publicly state for the record that we would welcome a superfight between Fedor and Lesnar that would be held as a co-promoted event between the UFC, M-1, and Affliction Entertainment.

We've invited the media to speak with us today to not only make it clear we would welcome a Fedor vs. Lesnar matchup but to act in a preemptive fashion to address the possibility that UFC officials will try and position Lesnar as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, much like they have tried to use a marketing ploy to brand Anderson Silfva as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

In the past, UFC president Dana White and Zuffa, LLC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have tried to claim that Fedor was "overrated" and that his "record was irrelevant." They make these claims in spite of the fact that Fedor holds career victories over UFC champions past and present. While we have tremendous respect for the contributions Mr. Fertitta and Dana have made to this sport, we do not believe they are sincere in their statements.

It is the position of M-1 that the UFC has adopted an anti-Fedor policy because multiple attempts to sign him have not been fruitful. For a company that has tried to market itself as the number one promotion in the world, they are unable to accept the fact that the number one fighter in the world does not reside on its roster of contracted fighters.

We believe that the UFC has determined that it's much more inexpensive for them to use their marketing resources to use smoke and mirrors to brand a fighter as the pound-for-pound best as opposed to actually paying the pound-for-pound best what he is truly worth on the open market.

While Brock Lesnar is an accomplished athlete and a talented fighter, we do not consider him to be the number one heavyweight in the world. Until someone beats him, we strongly believe that Fedor should continue to be recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round.

For those who feel our statements in regards to Fedor are self-serving, we'd like to refer you to a video interview on the website RawVegas.tv in which at his UFC 91 after-party Couture himself acknowledges that "Fedor would probably tear Brock up at this point."

Jerry Millen, M-1 Vice President

I really hope this prompts a response from the UFC and Dana White(probably won't), very interested in what they would have to say after reading all the bashing that's in this statement.

Deadspin Shows Even More Stupidity About Lloyd Irvin

I recently wrote a fanpost on Bloody Elbow about this whole Deadspin.com vs. Lloyd Irvin situation. For those who don't know the whole situation, click here for the entire story from Bloody Elbow. Lloyd Irvin released a chilling 911 call made by his wife and asked the editors of Deadspin.com to delete the blog post in which they basically accuse him of making up the whole home invasion story to get more business for his academy. Here's the post I made over at Bloody Elbow.


On the front page of Deadspin is a new response to the ongoing Lloyd Irvin and Bloody Elbow vs. Rick Chandler saga. This time from DAULERIO. In typical Deadspin fashion, he decides to pick out some of the worst emails they received from Bloody Elbow readers and then he had this to say.

For the record, Rick will not be fired, he's not guilty of libel, and he will not be hung or shot or killed (by me, at least). But it should be noted (again) that our initial report on this was skeptical based on the facts that were available and then was quickly rectified. Also, in case there is still any skepticism about what Lloyd Irvin and his family went through last night, you can listen to the horrifying 911 call right here.

We wish Mr. Irvin and his family the best in getting through this traumatic time and also in his future business endeavors. The post has not been removed, but has been updated with these links. Hopefully, that makes Mr. Irvin happy and prevents Rick from being pummeled to death by angry Bloody Elbow readers on his way to the grocery store. As you were.

Is it really that hard to delete a blog post? The answer is of course no, I'm a blogger and I do it all the time. These Deadspin writers are just too arrogant and they think everything they say is golden. Get real. Lloyd Irvin probably saved his family's life and he has every right in the world to ask for a stupid blog post to be deleted. Rick Chandler and all the writers at Deadspin are inconsiderate pricks and they know it. So just stay out of our wonderful MMA community and stick to making fun of Terrell Owens!


I say again, what the hell is the big deal about deleting a blog post?

Chris Leben Tests Positive for Steroids, Suspended Nine Months

"The Crippler" has tested positive for the banned substance and anabolic agent stanozolol. Leben will be suspended nine months from fighting and have to forfeit one-third of his UFC 89 purse according to UFC.com.

“I’ve really done everything I can to turn my life around, and this is a huge setback for me, but it is something I will have to deal with. During my time off from fighting, I want to speak to kids about the dangers of using performance enhancing agents and let them know it just doesn’t get you ahead in life. Of course this is a hard hit for me monetarily, but more so this is embarrassing for me and for all of my fans. I apologize to the UFC and everyone who supported me in my fight in England. I hope to work through this and get back to fighting soon.”

Obviously some terrible news for everyone involved, but hey if you cheat you should pay the price. Anytime this happens, especially in the premier MMA organization on the planet, its a black mark on the sport.

Denis Kang Signs Four Fight Deal with the UFC

One of my favorite fighters has finally made the jump to the UFC.

From American Top Team's website.

American Top Team fighter Denis Kang just signed a 4 fight deal with the UFC!

Denis made a big name for himself in Japan and Korea fighting in the PRIDE and SpiritMC organizations, where he developed a huge following.

Denis will now be able to showcase his skills to a whole new audience who hasn;t had the chance to see this exciting fighter in action. Denis has always expressed a desire to fight in the UFC and we are pleased we were able to help him get this deal done. Denis will bring a lot of excitement to the 185# division! Congrats Denis!

Some fantstic news, good for Denis and the UFC!

EliteXC and Pro Elite Close Down Shop

SI.com and Sherdog's Josh Gross Gets the Scoop

Less than two years following the formation of ProElite, Inc., the group notified employees and fighters Monday it was shutting its doors effective immediately, multiple sources confirmed to SI.com.
ProElite was an entertainment and media company founded in partnership with Showtime Networks and spearheaded by the mixed martial arts promotional brand EliteXC.
Representatives for ProElite, EliteXC and Showtime did not return calls for comment.
Through its partnership with Showtime and later CBS, which in 2008 agreed to broadcast four live EliteXC events in primetime, EliteXC gained a tremendous amount of visibility. The company, however, hemorrhaged tens of millions of dollars during its 22 months in operation.
In September, Showtime, which owned a 20 percent stake in ProElite, entered into preliminary negotiations to purchase a controlling interest in the company. When those negotiations failed, said a source inside ProElite who asked not to be identified, funding dried up and the company was forced out of business.

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What becomes of Kimbo Slice, Jake Shields and Gina Carano?

DREAM 6 Live Blog Results Play-by-Play at 3am EST

I'm staying up all night and I will post the televised results as they happen with full play-by-play, my first time trying it.

Here is the card.

Middleweight tournament final:

Melvin Manhoef or Gegard Mousasi vs. Zelg Galesic or Ronaldo Souza

Middleweight tournament semifinals:

Melvin Manhoef (22-4-1) vs. Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1)
Zelg Galesic (9-3) vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (9-1)

Middleweight tournament reserve bout:

Dong Sik Yoon (4-5) vs. Andrews Nakahara (0-1)

Non-tournament bouts:

265 lbs.: Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (23-6-2) vs. Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem (28-11)
265 lbs.: Sergei Kharitonov (15-3-0) vs. Jimmy “The Titan” Ambriz (13-9-1)
185 lbs.: Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa (40-28-8) vs. Masakatsu Funaki (38-13-1)
185 lbs.: Yoshihiro Akiyama (11-1) vs. Masanori Tonooka (1-1)
170 lbs.: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (32-8-2) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (12-5)
160 lbs.: Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki (17-3) vs. Todd “Maniac” Moore (9-2)
160 lbs.: Keita “K-taro” Nakamura (14-3-2) vs. Adriano Martins (9-3)
145 lbs.: Hideo Tokoro (21-13-1) vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (11-5-1)

Play-by-Play begins below at 3am EST.

Let the show begin! The show starts with a nice little description of all the middleweight tourney semi-finalists. Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten are talking about tonight's festivities, and they go to Ron Kruck with a little preview of Crocop vs. Overeem. First fight coming up and its gonna be the tourney reserve match of Andrews Nakahara vs. Dong Sik Yoon. We'll have to wait for the action as they announce the judges and officials ringside, now Saitama Super Arena goes dark and they start the opening, looks awesome, but HDNet is not letting us in on the fun, all they're showing is a wide shot of the arena and screen. Some pyrotechnics and now fighter introductions, this will take awhile I'm sure, I'll be back when the match starts.

Middleweight Tournament Reserve Match- Andrews Nakahara vs. Dong Sik Yoon
Round 1- Yoon is sporting a full Gi and here we go. Nakahara misses with a low kick, then stuffs a Yoon takedown attempt. Some clinching in the corner and the fight ends up on the mat with Nakahara on top in Yoon's guard, but Nakahara quickly stands up and out. Low kicks are finding their mark for Nakahara and he also lands a nice knee to the body before being put on his back by Yoon. Yoon moves to side guard and now he moves to full mount and now is going for a Gi choke. Nakahara defends well, but is still mounted. Yoon is throwing some weak punches from the mount. Nakahara finally escapes the back door, both fighters back to their feet. Nakahara's low kicks are starting to take a bit of a toll, he also throws some Andy Hug like Axe kicks. Yoon goes for a takedown, but is stuffed and the round ends with Nakahara in north/south position and landing a knee.
MMA Post Scores the first round for Nakahara 10-9.

Round 2- Fighters come out swinging and Nakahara knocks down Yoon with a couple of well-placed left hooks, Nakahara pounces on Yoon with a flurry of unanswered punches to Yoon's face, Yoon has pretty much stopped defending himself and the ref saves him at 30 seconds into the round. Very good fight by Nakahara, he defended the dangerous submission game of Yoon well and pretty much dominated the stand-up.
Winner-Andrews Nakahara(TKO Punches)


Middleweight Tournament Semi-Final Match- Melvin Manhoef vs. Gegard Mousasi
This is gonna be a hell of a scrap, unless Mousasai gets a quick sub. Bas Rutten really likes Melvin Manhoef, not suprisingly.
Round 1- Fighters come out and Mousasi throws, but misses a low kick and not suprisingly Mousasi shoots in for a takedown. Manhoef initially sprawls, but is still taken down, he gets back to his feet, but Mousasi clinches and now gets a perfect takedown. Manhoef scrambles, Mousasi gets his back, lands some punches to the side of Mahoef's head and is now going for the rear-naked choke. Manhoef gets the sweep, but falls right into a triangle choke! Manhoef picks Mousasi up Rampage style, but man he is still caught in the choke deep while standing-up, Manhoef goes against Bas Rutten's advice and slams him on the mat, now the choke is even tighter. Mousasi pulls the head down hard now and Manhoef is forced to tap just a minute and a half into the fight.. Mousasi just totally dominated Manhoef on the ground, wow that choke was brutal!
Winner- Gegard Mousasi(Submission: Triangle Choke)


Middleweight Tournament Sem-Final Match- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza vs. Zelg Galesic
Round 1- Jacare quickly slips a front kick from Zelg and moves in with a nice takedown. Jacare works from the guard, but is immediately looking to pass. Zelg trys to get up, but Jacare keeps him down and easily advance to side mount. Jacare lands some nice punches to the head from side control and now he looks for an arm. Jacare gets knee on belly position and from there goes straight to full mount, awesome grappling display! Zelg goes for a sweep, but Jacare gets a quick armbar and Zelg is forced to tap, also a minute and a half into the fight.
Winner- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza(Submission: Armbar)


The non-tournament bouts begin.

Keita Nakamura vs. Adriano Martins
Round 1- Martins comes out and lands a nice inside low kick. Some sloppy exchanges now. Martins now scores a knockdown with a right hand. Nakamura recovers though. Another right hand stuns Nakamura a little. Nakamura secure a single leg takedown.
Not much going on, on the ground here, but all the pitter-patter punching has led to a cut on the left eye of Nakamura, a replay shows a well-placed elbow from the bottom by Martins led to the cut. The ref stops the fighters and wants to check the cut. It's not a bad cut. The fighters come back and start on the feet. Nakamura is starting to land some good punches now. Martins is taking some shots as the bell sounds.
MMA Post scores Round 1 Nakamura 10-9.

Round 2- Nakamura comes out and lands some nice punches. Martins' chin is way too high. Nakamura now landing numorous unanswered stiff jabs. Alot of clinching going on between the exchanges and thats how the fight ends. Fight started out pretty good, but ended up pretty uneventful.
Should be a unaminous decision victory for Nakamura.
Wow, one judge scored the bout for Martins.
Winner- Keita Nakamura(Split Decision)


Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jimmy Ambriz
Man I can't wait to see Sergei back in action. Bas and Kenny are talking about Ambriz and hey the camera catches Fedor sitting ringside. Sergei is walking out and Kenny talks about Sergei fought Fedor 2 years ago on September tenth? No idea, that has to be a mistake.
Round 1- Sergei lands a nice left and bam! a hard left hook from Sergei knocks down Ambriz, but Ambriz pops back up, gets a body lock and is going for a takedown against the ropes. Sergei is holding the ropes and gets a yellow card for it. The action resumes, the fighters circle each other a little and Sergei is pretty much landing at will, nothing too hard yet, but it looks like this guy is gonna get KO'd pretty soon. Ambriz has zero striking ability and he looks like he's gassing already. Hard right straight to the head lands for Sergei, now a nice straight body shot. Huge overhand right from Sergei staggers Ambriz a little. Sergei is starting to tee off, landing everything he throws. Ambriz is dazed now as Sergei lands a big uppercut. Now some hard knees to the chin of Ambriz, and this is gonna be over soon. Ambriz drops to his knees and Sergei(standing over top) lands two hard body punches and a hard head punch and Ambriz taps. Thats as easy as it gets for Kharitonov.
Winner- Sergei Kharitonov(Submission: Strikes)

Fedor is getting alot of camera time. Kenny(speaking of Kharitonov)-"Bas, ya think Fedor's impressed?", Bas-"NO"!

Now an interview with Zelg, he picks Mousasi to win the tournament.

Featherweights up next.

Hideo Tokoro vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Round 1- Both fighters come out and some nice boxing from both fighters. Now a beautiful left hook-right straight combo drops Tokoro to the ground. Yamamoto smells blood and jumps on Tokoro, but Tokoro recovers fast and now has Yamamoto in rubber guard. A stall in the action now as both fighters lobby for position. Tokoro goes for an armbar, but Yamamoto escapes and the fighters are back on their feet now. Yamamoto dancing around and getting cocky as he lands a jab. Yamamoto is dropping his hands, taunting Tokoro and he lands another nice jab. Inside low kick finds its mark for Yamamoto. Yamamoto lands a decent flying knee. Tokoro comes back with a nice body kick followed by a one-two. The two fighters clinch and Tokoro goes for a Flying armbar, but ends up pulling guard. Some scrambling and Yamamoto pops back to his feet and the two look to exchange punches again. Tokoro lands some hard punches with a left-right combo to the the chin. Yamamoto is landing his jab at will. Tokoro trys a flip kick, but ends up pulling guard.
MMA Post scores the first round Yamamoto 10-9.

Round 2- Another jab from Yamamoto, this one snaps Tokoro's head back. Tokoro's nose is bloodied up good. Tokoro again trys a flip kick, but again gets guard and goes for an armbar but Yamamoto defends. The ref stops the action to take a look at Tokoro, who now has a mouse under his eye. The action resumes and Yamamoto gets a single-leg to secure his first takedown of the fight. Not much doing on the ground and Yamamoto simply stands up. The fighters are back to the ground with Yamamoto in Tokoro's guard. With 2 minutes left, Tokoro reverses and gets an arm. He has it locked, but can't break the grip of Yamamoto to fully secure the hold. Yamamoto defends all the way to the end of the fight. Really good scrap, but Yamamoto should win it easily and he does.
Winner- Yamamoto(Unanimous Decision)


Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Masakatsu Funaki
Round 1- Funaki attempts a spinning back kick, but is taken down in the process. Funaki gets a leg and rolls over. Funaki has a heel hook, Minowa is trying for the same move. Funaki gets an inverted heel hook and it is brutal looking as he twists Minowa's foot almost completely around and Minowa is forced to tap just 53 seconds in, Ouch! Bas rutten points out the huge mistake Minowa made wearing shoes against someone like Funaki.
Winner- Funaki(Submission: Inverted Heel Hook)

A break in the action as HDNet shows a nice piece on Eddie Alvarez.

Hey, Fedor is now walking to the ring! Possibly to announce a New Year's match-up? Fedor says he wants to practice the Gold Medalist Judo winner Ishii. Bas and Kenny talk about how they would want to see Fedor fight the winner of Overeem/Crocop, but why would Fedor even mention Ishii? It seems like that fight is probably in the works for New Year's.


Hayato Sakurai vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Round 1- Front kick and spinning back fist attempt misses for Sakurai. Hironaka lands some nice low kicks. The fighters clinch and Hironaka secures a takedown. Hironaka lobbying for position, postures up, but falls back into half guard. The fighters scramble back to their feet. Hard low kick scores for Sakurai. Some uneventful punching exchanges. Sakurai lands a nice left straight and follows up with another nice low kick. A front kick to the chin lands for Sakurai and another good low kick scores. Another really hard low kick for Sakurai. Sakurai is controlling the stand-up and lands another hard low kick. The low kicks are starting to really hurt Hironaka. The fighters clinch now and after a stall the ref re-starts the action. Sakurai loses balance and falls to the canvas. He gets the guard now, Hironaka throwing punches, but nothing significant. Hironaka stands-up and stomps his opponent on the chin(ahh back to the good old Pride days), but Hironaka just gets a warning for it. Sakurai lands a good liver punch and another one, Bas is loving it. Some good front kicks to the gut for Sakurai land and the round ends.
MMA Post scores round 1 for Sakurai 10-9.

Round 2- Hironaka shoots in and secures a double-leg takedown. The fighters are in the corner and the ref moves them to the centers. Sakurai scrambles up as Hironaka goes for a Gulliontine, but Sakurai easily escapes. The fighters on their feet again and Sakurai lands another low kick. Some good straight punches land for Sakurai and some good counters by Hironaka now. Sakurai landing some good combos now to the head of Hironaka and lands 2 good knees. Huge left hook from Sakurai lands flush and drops Hironaka to the ground! Sakurai pounces and is looking for the finish, but there's not enough time left and the bell sounds as he lands some nice ground punches. Sakurai all the way.
Winner- Sakurai(Unanimous Decision)


Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Masanori Tonooka
Round 1- Akiyama in the full Gi, nothing doing as the fighters feel each other out for the first minute. Akiyama lands a short left hook, Tonooka swings wildly. Akiyama gets a body lock and takes the fight to the floor, passes right away into side mount. Nothing happening in side mount, Akiyama goes for an armbar, but switches posiitions and now has his opponent in full mount. Goes for another armbar, but to the suprise of the Bas and Kenny and myself he escapes back to his feet. Akiyama quickly takes it back down with a nice trip. Now he has the armbar and the overmatched Tonooka is forced to tap with 3:33 left in the first round.
Winner- Akiyama(Submission: Armbar)


Shinya Aoki vs. Todd Moore
Round 1- Some strikes from both fighters don't land. They clinch and Aoki jumps on Moore's back and goes for a rear-naked-choke, they fall to the canvas and Aoki has his hips locked up and pulls off a neck crank that forces the tap from Moore. I have never seen something like that before, I've seen positions like that, the fighter always twists out of it. Aoki prevented the hips from twisting.
Winner- Aoki(Submission: Neck Crank)


Crocop vs. Overeem coming up. Kenny Rice says its possible the winner fights Fedor on New Year's Eve. Fedor gets in the ring and gives flowers to both fighters.

Mirko Crocop vs Alistair Overeem
Round 1- Good staredown and here we go. Overeem looks huge. Both fighters circle, crocop lands a inside low kick. They clinch and Overeem throws Crocop to the canvas, wow. Working in Crocop's guard, and Crocop is cut above his left eye. Overeem landing some good strikes from the top. Ref stops to check the cut, its small and restarts it on the ground. The fighters come back to the feet and Crocop lands a hard liver kick and follows up with a high kick that misses and Overeem makes him pay for it and puts him on his back with a trip takedown. Overeem is doing damage to Crocop from top position with body and head punches. Huge hammer fist lands for Overeem. A little stall and the ref stands them up, Overeem lands a hard knee to the body, Crocop complaining it was low, but ref says fight on. They clinch and Overeem is connecting with knees to the body. Knee to the groin does land this time and there is a momentary stoppage. The action resumes and they clinch again and another knee to the groin from Overeem. Crocop doesn't look like he wants to continue, he's laying flat on the ground. He was certainly getting beat up badly before the groin shots, but yep they just called it a no contest. Well this sucks, especially with Kenny Rice now spurting out every minute that Fedor will fight the winner.

I'll say this, Crocop didn't look very good even before the groin shots, but who knows, one high kick later in the fight and just like that he's Crocop again.

Alistair gets the mic and apologizes for the groin shots and says he's number 1 in DREAM and he'll fight anybody.

The final fight of the night coming up.


Middleweight Grand Prix Final- Gegard Mousasi vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Round 1- Both fighters tentative early, Mousasi looks like he really doesn't want this fight to go to the ground(with good reason). A jab scores for Mousasi. Jacare goes for a takedown, but misses the legs momentarily, recovers and picks Mousasi up and slams him down to the canvas. Mousasi trying to work his way back to his feet, but ends up securing half-guard. Jacare stands over Mousasi and rains down some punches, but Mousasi lands a devastating upkick that knocks Jacare out cold! Wow!! The replay shows he was out cold before he ever hit the floor.
Winner- Mousasi(KO Upkick)

Gegard Mousasi is the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Champion, Congratulations to Mousasi.

Good event, I wish the Crocop/Alistair fight wouldv'e had a real ending, but I can't complain because the event as a whole was exciting.

Thanks to those who stayed up late with me!!

Affliction and Golden Boy Partnering Up and Frankly, I Don't Give a Damn!

MMA Weekly has the worthless scoop.

Affliction Entertainment Vice President Tom Atencio on Saturday confirmed that his company has entered into an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions, the boxing promotion led by Oscar De La Hoya. The two will co-promote a hybrid evening of boxing and mixed martial arts to be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Jan. 17.

“It’s very good news,” Atencio told MMAWeekly.com. “It’s good for the company, and it’s good for the sport.”

Already confirmed for the fight card is Fedor Emelianenko, who was forced off Affliction’s second card originally scheduled for Oct. 11 due to a chip fracture in his right hand. An opponent for the Russian has not yet been named.

Well, and people still wonder why Dana White and the UFC continue to dominate the market, maybe its because other promotions continue to show unbelievable stupidity. Yep, you know what this means, we will be waiting through boxing matches to see Fedor fight.

I just don't understand who in their right mind would think this is a good idea, this means Affliction head honcho Tom Atencio leap frogs Monte Cox to become MMA's premiere douchebag. Congratulations to Tom for jumping the rankings in record time. I guess the simple fact that the majority of boxing fans hate MMA and vice versa never entered the tiny brains of anyone involved in this soon to be colossal failure. Please UFC, pry Fedor away from this god awful train wreck.

UFC Ruling Pay-Per-View in 2008

The UFC is beating the WWE and HBO in PPV numbers for 2008 so far. Adam Swift goes over the numbers on "Inside MMA" in the video below.


UFC 89 and UFC 90 are solid cards, but they probably won't do much more than the average of 420,000 buys. On the other hand, UFC 91, with the huge match-up of Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar, plus Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva 3 and Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson may break UFC PPV records.

Fedor Emelianenko Will Fight on New January Affliction 2 Card. Tito Ortiz A Possible Opponent?

My speculation of Russian heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko possibly fighting on the rescheduled Affliction 2 "Day of Reckoning" has been confirmed by Affliction COO Michael Cohen. Cohen talked to NBC Sports about the development.

Affliction COO Michael Cohen told NBCSports.com that the company is expecting to run the show in January, and that they would also make a major announcement in the next two weeks that would “change the dynamics of mixed martials arts. Not just nationally, but globally.”

The October event was initially expected to feature a main event with current WAMMA champ Fedor Emelianenko against Arlovski, but the former broke his hand in defeating Tim Sylvia and would not have been ready in time for October, necessitating an opponent switch.

Cohen said that Emelianenko will fight on the new January card, but an opponent has not yet been decided.

“It is to be determined,” he said. “We are considering changing the combatants. We have not finalized that at this time. That is as a result of the issues to be revealed at the announcement.”

Some are speculating that a Fedor vs. Tito Ortiz fight could be the big announcement, but I would lean towards just the Tito signing or possibly a merger with another promotion.

Affliction 2 "Day of Reckoning" for October 11th Canceled, Rescheduled for January 2009

(Photo Props MMA Mania)

Affliction's second MMA event "Day of Reckoning" has been canceled for October 11th, but apparently has been rescheduled for sometime in January 2009.

MMA Rated broke the story earlier

MMARated.com has learned that the second Affliction show scheduled for October 11th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been cancelled.

The show was set to feature a main event heavyweight eliminator between Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski.

As of this morning, the event was taken off the Thomas & Mack Center's schedule.

Additionally, Loretta Hunt confirmed the rescheduling on Sherdog.

The Oct. 11 Affliction event scheduled for the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas has been postponed, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer confirmed Wednesday to Sherdog.com.

Affliction contacted Kizer on Wednesday morning to inform him that the event would be moved to a January date at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Advertising for the Oct. 11 pay-per-view event had already begun, including in New York, where scheduled headliners Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) and Josh Barnett (Pictures) were featured on a billboard in Times Square.

Arlovski’s management said they had not been contacted by Affliction with the cancellation as of this morning, and were “shocked” and “extremely disappointed” by the news.

Some disappointing news for sure, but does this extra time clear Fedor Emelianenko to fight on the card again?

UPDATED: Evan Tanner Dead at Age 37

From The Imperial Valley Press

UPDATE:CAGE POTATO CONFIRMS DEATH FROM HIS MANAGER

Hayner said that Tanner had gone into the desert on a motorcycle expedition and had run out of gas. Tanner was attempting to walk out of the desert, Hayner said, but apparently didn’t realize how far away from civilization he was and died of exposure in the triple-digit heat. Tanner’s empty campsite was spotted Sunday, and an aerial search located his body earlier this afternoon.

“Here was a famous UFC fighter who didn’t have enough food to eat at times. I’d call him just to make sure he had food in his fridge, but he never let it get him down. Starting over was kind of a theme in his life. He hardly ever lived in the same place more than six months,” Hayner said. “He moved out to Vegas and then found it too shallow for him, so he moved out to Oceanside and had a great place, he was learning to surf, and he was really enjoying his day-to-day life.”

A body was discovered in the Palo Verde mountain area on Monday, said Lt. George Moreno from Imperial County Sheriff's Department.

The Palo Verde mountain area is 60 miles northeast of Brawley.

Authorities have not confirmed if the body is that of missing mixed martial arts fighter, Evan Tanner, who had fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Tanner, 37, has been missing since last weekend.

Tanner's friends from Oceanside, where Tanner resides, had been texting him without reply since Wednesday before they reported him missing on Friday.

On Sunday, a campsite was discovered in the Clapp Springs area of the Palo Verde mountains. Tanner's motorcycle was found at the campsite. A body was found today when a sheriffs deputy was flying around the general location of the campsite.

The Imperial County deputy coroner is being flown in to retrieve and identify body.

This is what Tanner had to say on his last blog entry.

I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life. I’ve been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to know all I can about where I’m going, and I want to make sure I have the best equipment. One more week. I think one more week, and I’ll be ready to go.”

We can only hope it isn't true, but if it is, it is terrible news in the MMA community.

Its Official: Randy Couture is Back in the UFC and will Fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 91

Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com breaks the news, which happened at the UFC 91 teleconference. If any audio or video comes available I will post it.

From Thomas Gerbasi

If we’ve learned one thing in combat sports, it’s to never say never. This old adage was solidified once again today, as UFC President Dana White announced the November 15th return to the Octagon of heavyweight champion Randy Couture to face Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The announcement comes after nearly a year of contentious relations between the organization and Couture, who walked away from the UFC in October of 2007 with two fights remaining on his contract. But in August, the heavyweight champion and the organization worked on a renegotiation of his contract that will enable ‘The Natural’ to finish his Hall of Fame career with the UFC.

In addition BloodyElbow has many details of the announcement.

- Dana White: Brock vs. Couture will be "the biggest fight in UFC history".

- Dana White on competitors and co-promotion: ": These guys are dying on the vine. You’re not under contract if the company’s not in business anymore.

- Dana White: "I would be horrified if Affliction's still in business in January."

- Couture: would rather fight Fedor, but fight with Brock "a step in the right direction"

- Couture says UFC and he have "cleared the air"; "comfortable with way things stand right now"

- Couture says he'll weigh approximately 225lbs for this fight.

- Dana White says he doesn't know if Couture is the richest fighter in the UFC.

- Dana White: Nogueira is probably thrilled Couture is back.

- Dana White: research was done and proves Brock vs. Couture will be biggest fight in UFC history.

- Couture: re-signing with the UFC to get Fedor is "path of least resistance"

- Dana White: the heavyweight division "is looking pretty damn good now"

- Couture: MMA is the combative sport for this generation

- Couture: how can you overlook a guy [Brock Lesnar] that size?

- Dana White: over the next year we are going to see some really great heavyweight fights.

- Randy and Dana: feels good to have this problem resolved; "to see a little sunshine for a change is pretty nice"

- Dana White: "I like fighting with Tito"

- Dana White suggests Fedor might have to be not under contract for the UFC to sign a fight with him. He didn't say it was required, but he alluded to it.

- Dana White: Affliction is losing "shitloads" of money.

- Couture: biggest part of my decision was communicating with Lorenzo and Dana that I was feeling. Second was frustration with legal system. Tired of throwing money with lawyers with no end in sight. Best place for me to fight is a cage, not a court room.

- Dana White: "I'm like a giddy little girl right now"

- Dana White: "It drives me insane when Fedor is called the best p4p fighter in the world." If Fedor is the best, he has to come to the UFC eventually.

- Dana White: people don't know this, but there was bad blood between Brock and Herring. Herring was insulted he had to fight him.

- Brock Lesnar: "not a lot of people get this opportunity".

- Brock Lesnar: "who gives a shit about Fedor Emelianenko?" I'm sick and tired of sitting on the phone listening about Fedor. "Who fucking gives a shit?"

- Dana White: "UFC Countdown" for this fight could be two or three part series.

- Dana White: this is where all the best heavyweights are. Randy Couture is relevant; Fedor is not.

- Couture: I can't spend any time worrying about losing to Lesnar and losing luster on a fight with Fedor.

- Dana White: rivals can have whichever fighters we cut.

- Dana White: Werdum is still in the mix.

- Dana White: expecting 1million to 1.5 million PPV buys for this fight. It's a new deal: 3-fight deal.

- Dana White: I would not sign a one-fight deal with Fedor.

- Dana White: all court action is dead.

- Dana White: Randy Couture is the guy everyone wants to fight. Fedor is completely irrelevant.

- Couture: Mark Cuban wants what's best for me. He just wanted to facilitate what I wanted. Now the best path is to make the fight with Fedor happen in the UFC.

Some amazing news for MMA fans, hopefully they are serious about making the Fedor fight happen. Does this willingness to work with Couture and possibly Fedor come from Lorenzo Fertitta now working full-time with UFC or did Dana White finally come to his senses?

Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar Close to Being Reality

BloodyElbow has exclusive details on what now is becoming more than just speculation. Michael Rome of BE has the scoop.

First, I can say with 100% certainty that there are current negotiations for Randy Couture to return in November to main event, and that the current proposed opponent is Brock Lesnar. They can't get Fedor, too many issues to work out on short notice, and he has a US-only non compete with Affliction.

This will be a new contract, not a return to the old one. It will likely pay him more and give him more benefits, but it will lock him into the UFC for the long term. In exchange for signing it Zuffa would drop all breach of contract charges.

Its not just Rome either, Dave Meltzer has started confirming things on f4wonline.com

A source close to Randy Couture has confirmed today that Couture is in negotiations with UFC for a new three-fight deal which would end the nearly nine month legal battle between the two sides.

If the deal is closed, and the source said they are hoping to conclude negotiations and announce the match sometime within the next week, Couture would face Brock Lesnar on 11/15, most likely in Portland, Oregon.

Couture was said to be hoping that if everything went well, the next two fights could involve Fedor, Nogueira, and/or Chuck Liddell. However, all previous hangups involving Emelianenko and UFC remain.

In addition Ariel Helwani at MMARated is reporting that an announcement by the UFC may be made on Tuesday and the UFC is considering a Fedor fight after the Lesnar match-up.

Believe it or not, the UFC is also considering a proposal from M-1 Global to co-promote a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko bout following the Lesnar fight in November. The third proposed fight would be a bout against either current interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Chuck Liddell - depending on where both fighters are in their respective careers. However, given the nature of the fight game and the fighters involved, it's hard to predict what will happen that far in advance.

Rumor Alert: Randy Couture to Possibly Headline UFC 91, Lesnar a Possible Opponent

MMA Junkie has a story on a possible UFC return for Randy "The Natural" Couture by the end of the year at UFC 91 in Portland, Oregon.

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture could return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship by year's end as part of an out-of-court settlement with the organization.

Multiple sources close to the fighter, speaking exclusively to MMAjunkie.com, today said that Couture is willing to fight once more for the UFC, possibly before the end of the year, as a potential resolution to his ongoing legal battles with the fight promotion.

Red Sweat reports on a possible Brock Lesnar match-up.

In addition, the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota reported last Thursday that the UFC had Brock Lesnar in their sights for UFC 91. They apparently informed Lesnar of their wishes to have the WWE superstar compete at the event earlier that week.

What does this mean? If both of them compete at UFC 91, there is a chance they could compete against each other. However, there have also been rumors that Lesnar will be facing Cheick Kongo at the Portland event. Then again, with the Couture Saga in full swing and the popularity of Lesnar, a battle between the two would make for one of the biggest PPV events of all time.

While Couture’s participation at UFC 91 is far from official, Eric, an amateur member of the Xtreme Couture gym where Randy trains, has confirmed that Couture is training to fight somebody in the near future.

I would love to see him fight Lesnar or Nogueira, that would be a huge PPV for the UFC, especially the Lesnar fight. I just wish the UFC would somehow find a way to sign Fedor so we could all see the fight we've been waiting for.