Full Contact Talk: MMA discussion

It is my humble opinion that Yahoo Sports is one of the few mainstream sports departments that understands mixed-martial-arts. And they have understood and respected the sport for a while now. Kevin Iole often writes articles that are on the mark and beyond the stale opinions of some aging boxing writer trying to make the transition into MMA coverage. Iole has transcended the boxing analyst role for the most part while taking jabs from critics who accuse him of being a robot for the UFC. But again, I think Iole gets the sport for the most part. Earlier today as I scanned the Yahoo Sports section, I stumbled across a fiery blog post by Maggie Hendricks. Hendricks apparently covered the recent Olympics for Yahoo Sports and had some swaggering words for EliteXC’s top female fighter that was a response of sorts to comments Carano made during a story by John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com. To help my readers enjoy a full experience here, read Hendrick’s blog post below using Rosie Perez as the imaginary voice.

Maggie Hendricks:

“Gina Carano says that she is not the face of women’s MMA. She doesn’t want the label, she only wants to be known as a fighter. She definitely doesn’t want to be famous. I have just one thing to say to that: HONEY, PLEASE.

First off, being the face of women’s MMA has made you a wealthy woman. Do you think that your sponsorships, magazine profiles and job on American Gladiator would be around if you weren’t the face of women’s MMA? You didn’t even make weight for your last fight, yet media and the public are still writing about you, searching your name online, and looking forward to your fight on October 4. That translates into sponsorship dollars for you.

Secondly, if you didn’t want all of this attention, then why did you invite press to your workout? If you truly don’t want people writing about you, then don’t invite people who write for a living to your gym. It’s not rocket science. If you are just a fighter, then just fight. Don’t be an American Gladiator, don’t pose for Maxim and don’t accept every interview request.

Or you could try this, dear Gina. Enjoy the fact that you are a popular fighter and everything that comes with that title. Thrive in your role as the best known woman in MMA. Make weight for your next fight, win decisively and reap the benefits of being a great fighter. Be an ambassador for the sport and help it grow so that you can pass on the title of the face of women’s MMA. Just don’t complain about the fame you grew.”

So, did you imagine Rosie Perez exclaiming the words above? I sure did. With her neck bobbing back and forth and one of her palms held out like a stop signal.

Here’s a link to Maggie Hendricks’ rant.

The war of words between PrideFC veterans, Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipović and Alistair Overeem is hotter than any smack talk the average fight promoter could ever dream up. Probably because the words tossed around between Cro-Cop and Overeem are deeply passionate and serious. Cro-Cop is provoked and heated to say the least. In recent weeks Overeem called out Cro-Cop. The first blow came from Overeem when he called the legendary Croatian kickboxer a “chicken.” Then this insult was soon followed when the Dutch fighter called Cro-Cop “old” as if to insinuate that Mirko’s fight career was over.

And many do argue that the future of Cro-Cop’s career is on the line at Dream 6. Previously a dominant force in Japan just a few years ago, Cro-Cop experienced a lackluster performance recently  in the UFC octagon with a smashing KO loss to Gabriel Gonzaga and a decision loss to Cheick Kongo. A loss by Cro-Cop during his return to Japan at Dream 6 would not only hurt is fight record, but it would hurt his image as well. Earlier in repsonse to Overeems criticism, Cro-Cop declared that he would tar and feather himself and run around Amsterdam until he is arrested if he is defeated by Overeem.

Below is video footage of Mirko Cro-Cop addresing Overeem’s trash talk as well as working out in preparation for the fights on September 23 in Japan.

Additional Mirko Cro-Cop videos can be found here.

Dream 6 is not just about Cro-Cop and Overeem though. By no means. It’s a classically stacked Japanese fight card featuring a who’s who of MMA fighters not currently scooped up by the UFC or Affliction. There’s many notable and exciting fighters on the event including Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo de Souza, Sergei Kharitonov and Hayato Sakurai just for starts.

Below is a preview video from HDNet Fights.

 The Official Dream 6 fight card:

Middleweight Grand Prix: Ronaldo de Souza vs. Zelg Galesic
Middleweight Grand Prix: Gegard Mousasi vs. Melvin Manhoef
Middleweight GP Championship: Gegard Mousasi/Melvin Manhoef vs. Ronaldo de Souza/Zelg Galesic
Middleweight Grand Prix reserve: Yoon Dong-sik vs. Andrews Nakahara

Featherweight bout: Hideo Tokoro vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Heavyweight bout: Mirko Filipovic vs. Alistair Overeem
Heavyweight bout: Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jimmy Ambriz
Middleweight Bout: Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Masakatsu Funaki
Welterweight Bout: Hayato Sakurai vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
Lightweight Bout: Keita Nakamura vs. Adriano Martins
Middleweight Bout: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Masanori Tonooka
Lightweight Bout: Shinya Aoki vs. Todd Moore

The official Dream Website

EliteXC Champ KJ Noons Stripped of His Title

KJ Noons was stripped of his EliteXC lightweight title on September 19. The announcement came on Friday by EliteXC’s Head of Fight Operations, Jeremy Lappen.

According to Lappen, Noons was stripped of his title for refusing to defend the belt against Nick Diaz. Noons and Diaz have a history of bad blood that resulted in a post fight riot after a recent Noons victory when Bill Goldberg invited Diaz into the cage for a future fight challenge.  In many minds, Noons was simply taking the high road and possibly even a small bit of revenge in refusing Diaz a shot.

Noons was offered a headline fight for his title defense against Diaz on the upcoming October 4 CBS show that also features EliteXC darlings, Kimbo Slice and Gina Carrano. Jeremy Lappen went on to reveal that Noons was given a second chance for the defense against Diaz on Showtime but continued his stance of refusal.

The EliteXC brass has commented that the move by Noons is extremely bad for his career but kept the door open by saying he still had two fights to honor on his contract and there was still enthusiasm for Noons to fight again on a future EliteXC card. Lappen had no official fight announcement for the now vacant lightweight title.

Below is video footage of the incident between KJ Noons and Nick Diaz that was widely suspected to be choreographed controversy on the part of former EliteXC president, Gary Shaw. Following a victory in his home town, Noons was challenged and insulted by Nick Diaz after Bill Goldberg invited both Nick and his brother Nate (UFC fighter) into the cage. What followed was a lowbrow spectacle more fitting of WWE or possibly even the Jerry Springer Show. Many people in the wake of this unfortunate incident criticized EliteXC for exploiting a vulnerable situation considering the bad blood between the two fighters. A large percentage of fans sided with KJ Noons during the post fight incident as well as presently during his championship dethroning.

Full Contact Talk attended Fight Night 14 at Wild Bill’s in Duluth and caught up to Hardcore Gym fighter Dave Mewborn after his second round victory over Todd Carney. FCT also talked to UFC fighter, Ultimate Fighter 7 cast member and Hardcore Gym fighter, Cale Yarbrough.

For those unfamiliar with the local MMA scene in Atlanta, the massive Wild Bill’s entertainment complex located just outside downtown in Duluth on Interstate 85 hosts sanctioned MMA events nearly every month. Produced by David Oblas’ Undisputed Productions, the “Wild Bill’s Fight Nights” offer the top in MMA competition as well as occasional Muay Thai fights thrown into the mix for good measure.

Tonight’s fight card is stacked featuring Ultimate Fighter alumnus and UFC fighter, Jesse Forbes in a main event against local MMA star, Bernard Rutherford. Wild Bill’s puts on a top level production with bright lights, big sounds and equally big hits. And for about the same amount of money as going to a movie for two, local MMA fans can nearly get ringside for the same amount of cash. Go out and support the local MMA while having some fun and excitement in the process.

Wild Bill’s Fight Night 14, Friday, Sept. 19, 2008. Advance tickets are available through Ticket Master. Tickets are also available at the door. Wild Bills, 2075 Market St. Duluth, GA 30096. (678) 473-1000. Doors open at 8:30 PM.

Full Fight Card:

Fight 1: Amateur MMA
150 Lbs
Artie Gaddist Vs Greg Lawrence

Fight 2: Amateur Mma
170 Lbs
Steele Mccall Vs Joey Martin

Fight 3: Amateur Muay Thai
185 Lbs
Roger Streeter Vs Mike Gerbick

Fight 4: Amateur MMA
135 Lbs
Jeremy Barrett Vs Cody Black

Fight 5: Pro MMA
Heavyweight
Robert Alexander Vs Scott Barrett

Fight 6: Pro MMA
171 Lbs
Jason Wiggins Vs Jeff Boudreaux

Fight 7: Pro MMA
165 Lbs
Kalvin Hackney Vs Lance Thompson

Fight 8: Pro MMA
186 Lbs
Dave Vitkay Vs Steve Sawyer

Fight 9: Pro MMA
195 Lbs
Todd Carney Vs Dave Mewborn

Main Event
205 Lbs
Jesse Forbes Vs Bernard Rutherford

Welcome to  “This Week In MMA.” Each week, Full Contact Talk will filter through stories of interest within the world of mixed-martial-arts and hopefully provide our readers with everything they need to know as fans of the sport. All at a glance, of course.

Frank Mir Speaks Out On Kimbo Slice, Krazy Horse and Tank Abbott 

In an interview with Five Ounces of Pain, the UFC’s Frank Mir speaks his mind to Gary Ibarra with an opinion that’s increasingly becoming status quo within the ranks of professional mixed-martial-arts.

Frank Mir: “I think the show goes a long way towards humanizing the sport and the guys. By having the cameras in the house it acts as sort of a window into the real lives of the people who take the sport seriously, and how they really are when they are not in the ring, they’re mostly just regular kids. I mean let’s face it, the public’s perception of MMA is not exactly fantastic. Every time guys like Tank Abbot or Krazy Horse (Charles Bennett) fought or even now with Kimbo Slice; every time Kimbo fights it sets the sport back. Guys like that just reinforce the idea in the public’s eye that we are all blood thirsty barbarians who just want to pummel each other and that there is no skill required. Guys like them do the sport a disservice.”

UFC Announces Partnership With Fallen Heroes Fund

Wednesday night during the UFC Fight Night 15 broadcast, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White announced a special event titled “UFC Fights for the Troops.” The night of fights will be held on Dec. 10 at Fort Bragg, NC . 

The three hour show will air on Spike TV and benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Viewers will be able to call in and donate funds to support American soldiers wounded in combat.

UFC President Dana White: “UFC and Spike TV are going to present a three hour event. It’s called ‘UFC Fights for the Troops.’ And it’s to benefit the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The goal will be to raise millions of dollars to help the National Intrepid Center of Excellence. It’s a treatment center for men and women in the military who’ve experienced traumatic brain injuries.”

Showtime Enters Talks to Purchase Pro Elite

Showtime Networks filed public notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. This announcement reveals Showtime’s intention to enter negotiations for the purchase of Pro Elite Inc. The proposed acquisition might be music to the ears of Pro Elite which is currently on the edge of  potential bankruptcy. Pro Elite faces a staggering $55 million deficit only after two years of existence.

Pro Elite debuted with its first EliteXC event in 2007. The struggling company has held 15 events under its EliteXC and ShoXC brands. Pro Elite has acquired several other smaller MMA organizations in the last year alone. Cage Rage, King of the Cage, Rumble on the Rock and Icon Sport are part of the list.

Bas Rutten: An Opinion More Fitting of A Used Car Salesman?

The MMA News reports that Bas Rutten made some interesting statements during EliteXC’s recent press conference for the upcoming fight on CBS between Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice. Bas Rutten, a legend of Pancrase and MMA now serves a Mr. Slice’s trainer and mentor.

According to MMA News, Rutten claims the following: “Kimbo has much more skill than Brock Lesnar and feels he is a more well rounded fighter. Bas doesnt want to take anything away from Lesnar, but he feels Kimbo is just better.”

Many are left to ask, “Seriously Bas? Are you actually serious?” A large percentage of MMA fans normally praise Bas Rutten. A lot of fans find Rutten to be both a serious trainer and at times comic relief within the sport of MMA. But there’s nothing really that humorous about simple delusion. Brock Lesnar is a novice in the the MMA world but he’s also a tremendously huge and strong novice that just smashed a veteran MMA fighter in that of Heath Herring at UFC 87. Not to mention that Lesnar is a decorated collegiate wrestler.

Let’s balance the scales of justice here so to speak. Brock Lesnar is definitely a newcomer in the sport. Yet he has a convincing win over Herring in the UFC (the top MMA organization in the world) and came close to manhandling Frank Mir before he was caught in a knee bar by one of the best BJJ heavyweights in the world. Kimbo Slice has three wins against second or third tier competition at best. Heck, maybe even fourth tier competition.

Kimbo Slice beat an aging Tank Abbot who had lost his last four fights in a row prior to the bout. Slice then defeated Bo Cantrell who had entered the fight with five straight losses. Then Mr. Slice faced James Thompson who was legendary for suffering flash knockouts at PrideFC. And ironically, Thompson in many minds actually won the fight that was stopped due to a busted cauliflower ear. Many criticize referee Dan Miragliotta for his failure to stop the fight in favor of Thompson while Kimbo laid on his back for close to two minutes taking elbow shots to the head and not intelligently defending himself.

To say Kimbo has more skill than Lesnar is almost like saying Milli Vanilli has better chops than Metallica. It’s more than a stretch. So come on Bas, we really respect you. But this entire marketing campaign you are leading is tracking mud all over the new carpet in the house of mixed-martial-arts.

Spike’s Ultimate Fighter Scores Big with Young Men in Ratings

The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV, which many analysts cite as the essential part of the formula leading to the current financial success of the world’s top MMA promotion, scored huge ratings this week with its debut episode of the eighth season featuring teams coached by Frank Mir and Antonio Nogueira.

According to a press release from Spike TV:

The UFC proved once again to be the king of young men on cable television on Wednesday, September 17 with a live “UFC Fight Night” and the premiere of season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”  Spike TV’s “UFC Fight Night,” headlined by Nate Diaz and Josh “The Dentist” Neer’s, placed number one with Men 18-34, 18-49, 18-24, and 25-34.   In fact, the UFC fight drew more young men than ESPN’s telecast of Major League baseball game in the heat of a pennant race and ESPN2’s college football telecast combined as the Spike telecast drew 913,000 Men aged 18-49 and 465,000 Men aged 18-34.  By comparison, ESPN’s telecast of the Red Sox vs. Rays and ESPN’s Louisville vs. Kansas St. college football game drew a combined 858,000 Men aged 18-49 and 373,000 Men aged 18-34.

Overall, the UFC fight card, emanating from the sold-out Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska, earned a 1.6 in M18-49, a 1.6 in M18-34, and an average audience of 1.8 million viewers. The viewership peaked for Diaz’s thrilling split-decision victory over Neer in the main event with 2.3 million tuning in.

Following the live fight, the premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter 8” ranked #1 in cable in M18-49 (846,000) with a 1.5 rating.  Overall, the premiere earned a 1.2 household rating, a 1.5 in M18-34, and an average audience of 1.6 million viewers.

And Spike’s big night of mixed-martial-arts also provided the quote of the week in MMA. Junie Browning, a cast member of the eight season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” is a real sparkplug to put it mildly. Before his entrance bout against Jose Aguillar, Browning said the following during a prefight interview:

Do I think Jose Aguillar can beat me? He has a better chance of getting me pregnant.”

Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” airs each Wednesday night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Stay tuned …

Pictured above: Full Contact Talk Panelists – Episode 6 – (left to right) Steve Headden, Jason Hatcher, David Oblas, Chris Stolzman,Clay Harvison, Chris Dellerba and Kazeka Muniz. Photo by Joeff Davis.

Full Contact Talk Episode 6 – Segment 2

Welcome to the second half of Full Contact Talk Episode 6. You may downlaod the first half of the show here in case you missed it. In this segment, local fighters from the Knuckle-Up Fight Team, Undisputed Productions Fight Promoter David Oblas and special guest Kazeka Muniz discuss Knuckle-Up’s gym expansion to the west coast of the United States. Evan Tanner is remembered as well. Kazeka reveals a past connection to Tanner during his entrance into the UFC. The panel does a recap of UFC 88 as well.

Stay tuned for the next episode containing a conversation from UFC veteran Jeff Monson as he prepares to fight Mark Kerr at Don King’s debut Vengeance MMA fight card in Concord, North Carolina on September 27, 2008.

[display_podcast]

This season of SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter brings two legends of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into the cast as team coaches. Both former UFC champion Frank Mir and PrideFC legend Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira are considered two of the top submission fighters in mixed-martial-arts. Previews of this season look as dramatic as ever.

Meet the Cast …

Visit The Official SpikeTV website

Wednesday, September 17 crashes into living rooms around the world as much more than just a hump day. SpikeTV broadcasts UFC Fight Night 15 live from Omaha, Nebraska beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern time followed the premiere episode of the acclaimed reality series, “The Ultimate Fighter,” Season 8.

UFN 15 is a stacked fight card worthy of a pay-per-view price. The fact that these fights air free is stunning. There’s potential for numerous fights of the night. Keep an eye out for the Joe Lauzon versus Kyle Bradley bout. It should be fast with lots of submission attempts. FCT is picking Lauzon as winner in the second round via submission.

The main card is extremely exciting. Nate Diaz is a talented up-and-comer and looked to be in the best physical shape of his career during the weigh-ins. People will call us crazy but FCT is picking Nate Diaz to actually win by TKO in the third round.

Houston Alexander is the hometown hero coming into tonight’s fight with two recent losses under his belt. The pressure to win on national television in front of friends and family should prove to be enough motivation for Alexander to score one of his vintage first round KOs. But Eric Schafer is certainly not an easy win. The odds are stacked against Alexander if Schafer gets him down to the ground or takes the fight into the late rounds. But regardless of Schafer’s chances, FCT is picking Houston Alexander by first round KO.

And although not many are talking the fight up between Mac Danzig and Clay Guida. It should be a war. I expect it to be one of the best fights of the night. But I think Danzig is in deep water this time around. Guida is incredibly strong and fast and just plain tenacious most times. FCT is picking Guida by TKO third round.

Ultimate Fight Night 15 in detail:

Main Card:
Josh Neer vs. Nate Diaz
Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida
Ed Herman vs. Alan Belcher
Houston Alexander vs. Eric Schafer

Preliminary Bouts:
Wilson Gouveia vs. Ryan Jensen
Joe Lauzon vs. Kyle Bradley
Dan Miller vs. Rob Kimmons
Drew McFedries vs. Mike Massenzio
Jason Brilz vs. Brad Morris
Alessio Sakara vs. Joe Vedep

Live tonight on SpikeTV free!

Earlier this week Full Contact Talk reported on the sleazy EliteXC promo video also known as “Hits and Chicks” that was created by the marketing department at Showtime Sports to promote the upcoming fight between Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice on October 4. This unfortunate video, focusing mainly on the anatomy of women, Kimbo Slice and James Thompson’s busted ear, is lost somewhere beneath the Jerry Springer Show on a bad day. It quite simply enraged a large percentage of the mixed-martial-arts community. Especially female fans and female martial artists. Earlier today, either Youtube.com or Showtime Sports removed the video from its playlist. At this moment, FCT cannot clearly cite which company made the decision to remove the video. However, the controversial video is still circulating the web through other video hosting sites. For example, the promotional catastrophe from Showtime Sports is still available on Break.com.

Hits