Full Contact Talk: MMA discussion

During the past two hours rumors have been flying wildly across the web regarding a last-minute injury to Ken Shamrock resulting in the veteran Shamrock being pulled from the CBS event tonight. FCT decided to hold out a while and wait for confirmations. But now barely two hours before the EliteXC event, we must report what we know. The following information is not confirmed by EliteXC but comes from a few credible sources.

FightLinker.com pretty much summarized the situation perfectly by grabbing from several available sources. In a nutshell Ken Shamrock was pulled from the fight tonight due to a cut he sustained during training before the event today. This was the going rumor on the ground in Florida today with FightLinker.com citing sources from arena security.

MMARated.com broke the original story and confirmed the news around 5:30 p.m. or so. MMARated.com has connections to EliteXC and most folks (including myself) tend to believe news from a source such a source that’s been accurate before in the past.

MMARated reports:

“Ken Shamrock sustained a cut above his eye in the last 24 hours while training and WILL NOT be fighting in tonight’s main event bout against Kimbo Slice.”

But the drama does not stop here. Just as MMA fans around the world were exclaiming a unified “WTF,” MMARated.com returns again with a fresh rumor stating that EliteXC apparently found a doctor who would approve Ken Shamrock to fight tonight. Hence the fight is on and boy are we a long way from Las Vegas.

I do not know a thing about the athletic commission rules down in the Sunshine State, but this sort of stuff would never, ever happen in Las Vegas or most other places. Honestly, who knows at this point whether this fight will happen or not. FCT will stay on top of the situation and report any new findings if and when they are available. At the least, tune into CBS tonight to watch an MMA Organization scramble to cover its misfortune and possibly walk one step closer to bankruptcy.

If there is a silver lining to this big black cloud, it is the fact that the Andrei Arlovski and Roy Nelson fight can easily step in as the main event and replace the already criticized freakshow fight between Shamrock and Slice. But this is merely enough for the hardcore fans. After all, EliteXC’s bread and butter is the Kimbo Slice demographic. 

Shall Ken Shamrock remained pulled from tonight’s fight card, Kimbo could potentially fight a last-minute replacement. Rumors include that Frank Shamrock (Ken’s brother) asked EliteXC if he could step in and fight Kimbo but apparently the younger Shamrock is not licensed to fight in the state of Florida. Well, okay. I guess they do have some rules down there.

Other talk is that Seth Petruzelli volunteered to take the fight against Kimbo Slice but Slice’s management would not accept him as an opponent. This is not confirmed but is certainly believable.

Stay tuned …

*UPDATE*

It is confirmed that Kimbo Slice will face Seth Petruzelli tonight at EliteXC. Ken Shamrock is off the card. Seth Petruzelli is a wild card for Kimbo. It’s a risky fight for Slice. Petruzelli is by no means a contender but he does have TKO victories to his credit with a UFC decision loss to Matt Hammil.

(Pictured Above) An unlabeled photo used by the Houston Chronicle showing Randy Couture with a broken arm following his 2007 fight with Gabriel Gonzaga.

COUTURE AND LESNAR INJURIES RUMORED TO BE RUMORS WITHIN A CYCLE OF RECENT RUMORS

Rumors. Yes indeed, rumors. Rumors continue to abound. Several rumors have circulated the web claiming that both Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar are nursing serious injuries only a month out from the UFC championship bout on November 15, 2008. If true, the UFC 91 fight card is in danger of a cancelled main event. But really? Thus far the news (or rumors more accurately) have come by way of random blog sites. And in contrast, news has also made the rounds regarding a potential impersonator of UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta calling up gyms such as Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas as well as people in the media and spreading what is alleged as false injury reports. Josh Gross of Sports Illustrated recently reported that the reports of such injuries are outright bogus.

 In a recent article Gross stated:

“It’s amazing the things people ask sometimes. Last Saturday at Strikeforce’s card at the Playboy Mansion, a spectator said he’d heard a rumor in the bathroom: Randy Couture had injured his leg and wouldn’t be able to fight Brock Lesnar.

It seemed like one of those things you hear and generally dismiss. But there were a lot of industry insiders at the Mansion that night, and who knows what was going on in the bathrooms? So it was worth looking into.

Turns out, Couture was fine. In fact, he had a tremendous week of training and was taking the weekend off to hunt in the mountains of Colorado, according to his wife, Kim.

But, on Thursday, Kim Couture rang about another crazy rumor that was going around. Someone, doing his best Lorenzo Fertitta impersonation, called the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. People inside Xtreme Couture scrambled when the fake Fertitta claimed Lesnar was injured, and the Nov. 15 fight was off. The rumor, however, was quickly quashed after confirming Lesnar, all 280 pounds of him, was fine.

Nothin’ like a little MMA amusement.”

Yet, in light of Gross’ recent report, Jared Barnes of the Houston Chronicle continues the rumored reports that both Couture and Lesnar are actually injured and the UFC 91 bout is in jeopardy.

In a recent blog, Barnes stated:

“The main event between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 may be in jeopardy. According to 3 different sources that are either involved with the Lesnar or Couture camp, both fighters are currently battling serious injuries. Lesnar sustained a hamstring injury, that he’s trying to cover up and work through, and Couture is having major shoulder problems.

This is tough news for both fighters as neither one of them seems to have much room for error going into this UFC heavyweight championship fight. Since details on the injuries are being held close to the vest, it’s difficult to judge the severity of each injury and which fighter it’s going to affect more. All I know is no matter how big of an opportunity it was, or how big the pay day was, I wouldn’t have any interest in fighting Couture or Lesnar if I wasn’t at 100%.”

Certainly if there were any truth to these rumors, the news would be plastered on the front pages of MMA sites across the web. Not to mention that MMA writers such as Josh Gross and Kevin Iole would be right on top of it. The absence of such legitimate reports obviously reveal the answers for most. It is interesting that The Houston Chronicle and Jared Barnes baited its report with a file photo of Randy Couture nursing a broken arm from over a year ago following his victory over Gabriel Gonzaga. The use of the old photograph led many at first to believe that the recent injury rumors are true. Some folks thought it was a fresh photo of Couture during his current training.

So I say, “Hey Houston Chronicle. Put a caption on that file photo.”

Have you missed us? Hey, everyone needs a few days of vacation from time to time. Welcome to yet another edition of Full Contact Talk’s weekly MMA summary. 

EliteXC Poised for Potentially Big Television Ratings

Jared Shaw of EliteXC is seemingly celebrating the success of this weekend’s third network television installment of MMA on CBS far before the ratings have even rolled in. And honestly, if the October 4th fight card featuring Andrei Arlovski, Gina Carrano, Kimbo Slice and Ken Shamrock brings in bad numbers, it’s safe to say that EliteXC is treading on seriously thin ice. But what’s to stop positive ratings? The show is free and televised to even those people in far off places without a cable connection. 

As previously reported by FCT, Shaw had some daring words for UFC President Dana White last week. In an interview with MMARated.com, Shaw stated:

“This hits the mainstream, this hits the hardcore and, especially, this hits Dana White hard.”

MSNBC’s MMA Fight Weekly reports further in the following video where Dana White laughs off Jared Shaw’s words by citing the UFC as the corporate equivalent of McDonald’s fast food restaurants and mocking EliteXC’s $60 million of current debt. 

MSNBC – Dana White Interview and EliteXC Breakdown Video
 

As harsh as I have been towards EliteXC throughout the past, I’d be a bitter man to rain on its October 4th parade. In all honesty, I am actually motivated to see this Saturday’s night of fights. Mainly for the Andrei Arlovski and Roy Nelson bout that is being co-promoted by Affliction but the welterweight championship between Champ Jake Shields and Paul Daley could also prove to be an exciting fight. So why not a promo video for the Welterweight championship? 

Now back to bitterness for a moment. As long as Kimbo Slice continues to be the cash cow for EliteXC, I guess I always have a problem with the struggling MMA organization. Slice possibly has the most padded record in professional mixed-martial-arts and the marketing campaign utilized to pitch Kimbo into the living rooms of middle America is one of both genius and swindle. P.T. Barnum comes to mind. Put a freakshow up on Main Street and the masses will follow. 

Kimbo Slice has a 99.9% chance of knocking the old and tired shell of Ken Shamrock into the deepest sleep. It’s almost a given. Shamrock has lost his last five fights in basically the same fashion but at the same time he carries the monicker of “UFC Legend” upon his shoulders. And this is the great EliteXC sham on October 4.

Kimbo will more than likely overwhelm Shamrock with haymakers early in the first round. Then in the aftermath and celebration, EliteXC will pawn Slice off to MMA newcomers and the casual audience as a legitimate MMA contender who has disposed of two UFC fighters in his young career. But is an aging Ken Shamrock and an equally ancient Tank Abbott a contemporary representation of the UFC? How about a big, whopping “NO!”

In fairness, these easy fights are not the fault of Kimbo Slice. He’s simply riding a wave of cash and hype all the way to stardom and fame. And who can blame him? He does seem genuinely dedicated to training under MMA legend Bas Rutten and he does more than often take the high road of humbleness when in front of the media spotlight. But don’t go thinking for a moment that Rutten has not only coached Kimbo for the cage but the microphone as well. Can you imagine if Kimbo talked smack and called out legitimate champions? The backlash would rumble like the San Andreas Fault Line.

In the end, I am certain there are thousands of hardcore MMA fans hoping that Ken Shamrock will pull off an upset and derail the Kimbo Slice train. But the odds are impossibly high for such an event. Again, Shamrock has not had a good showing since possibly his fight against Limo Leopoldo at UFC 48 in 2004. But of course many analysts will argue that Shamrock has not shown respectable competitiveness since the middle of the previous decade. 

Nothing is impossible as someone once said. Ken Shamrock could technically get Kimbo down and immediately go for a trademark toe hold, ankle lock or heel hook. But first he’s got to get past a swarm of fists that have proven to be his demise over the past several years. And of course, critics will yell loudly that Shamrock took the easy road out if he does catch Kimbo in any variation of the leg lock kind. So this fight is a losing scenario for Shamrock on a number of levels if the veteran does not beat Slice at his own game.

The Full October 4th EliteXC Card: 

Main Card (CBS)
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson vs. Ken Shamrock 
Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson 
Champ Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley (for EliteXC welterweight title) 
Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold-Gavin 
Benji Radach vs. Murilo “Ninja” Rua 

Preliminary Card 
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos vs. Yoko Takahashi (could appear on CBS, time-permitting) 
Edson Berto vs. Connor Heun 
Seth Petruzelli vs. Aaron Rosa 
Lorenzo Borgomeo vs. Mikey Gomez 
Jorge Bouchat vs. Nicolae Cury 
David Gomez vs. Brett Jackowski

EliteXC Saturday Night FIghts airs live on CBS, October 4 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 

UFC Finishes 2008 With a Bang!

The UFC’s acquisition of the Pride organization in 2007 comes in handy as 2008 slowly comes to a close. Before year’s end MMA fans will be treated to a couple of Pride-era grudge matches as well as Pride-versus-UFC dream fights. UFC 92 on December 27 brings forth the rubber match between former Pride legends Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. And UFC 93 starts off 2009 with the same theme when former Pride champion Dan Henderson faces former UFC champion Rich Franklin. Shogun Rua meets Mark Coleman again in an attempt to avenge his controversial loss to Coleman at Pride 31 where the young Brazilian suffered a broken arm. The bad blood in the aftermath of the loss resulted in near riots from the Hammerhouse and Chute Boxe fight teams both in the ring and backstage. 

Need a video reminder of this legendary feud between both Coleman and Rua’s camps?

And of course 2008 is packed with many other exciting fights from the UFC. There’s the controversial heavyweight championship bout between UFC legend Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 on November 15th and the battle of “The Ultimate Fighter” winners for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 92 on December 27th when Forrest Griffin meets Rashad Evans in the Octagon. 

Upcoming UFC Events:

Thanks to Ricky over at Ultimate-Fighter.ca for compiling the current fight card information.

UFC 89
Date: October 18th
Location: NEC Arena in Birmingham, England

Main Card
Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Luiz Cane
Keith Jardine vs. Brandon Vera
Marcus Davis vs. Paul Kelly
Paul Taylor vs. Chris Lytle

Preliminary Card
Akihiro Gono vs. Dan Hardy
Jess Liaudin vs. David Bielkheden
Sammy Schiavo vs. Per Eklund
Sam Stout vs. Terry Etim
Shane Carwin vs. Neil Wain
David Baron vs. Jim Miller

UFC 90
Date: October 25th
Location: Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois

Main Card
Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote (UFC Middleweight Title)
Diego Sanchez vs. Thiago Alves
Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior dos Santos
Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk
Spencer Fisher vs. Melvin Guillard
Thales Leites vs. Goran Reljic
Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
Hermes Franca vs. Marcus Aurelio
Pete Sell vs. Josh Burkman
Rich Clementi vs. Gray Maynard

UFC 91
Date: November 15th
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Main Card
Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar (UFC Heavyweight Title)
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks
Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson
Demian Maia vs. Nate Quarry
Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory
Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Matt Riddle vs. Troy Mandaloniz
Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek
Amir Sadollah vs. Nick Catone
Travis Lutter vs. Joe Doerksen
Justin Buchholz vs. TBA

UFC 92
Date: December 27th
Location: Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir (Interim UFC heavyweight title)
Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans (UFC Light Heavyweight Title)
Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
C.B. Dollaway vs. Jorge Rivera
Dean Lister vs. Yushin Okami
Mustafa Al-Turk vs. Cheick Kongo
Brad Blackburn vs. Ryo Chonan
Ivan Serati vs. TBA

UFC 93

Date: January 17th
Location: o2 Arena – Dublin, Ireland

Fight Card (More TBA)
Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin
Shogun Rua vs. Mark Coleman

UFC 94

Date: January 31st
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Fight Card (More TBA)
BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre (UFC Welterweight Title)
Lyoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
Dan Cramer vs. Matt Arroyo

And what would a week in review be without some cheap gossip news?

Celebrity gossip news site TMZ.com reported this week that MMA fighter Dean Lister was choked out by George Clooney. But of course it was all in fun. 

According to TMZ: “Looking like Jason Bourne’s debonair uncle, everyone’s favorite bachelor George Clooney threw a mock choke hold on mixed martial arts fighter Dean Lister during a party at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego last week.”

Stay tuned for upcoming FCT Podcasts featuring Jeff Monson and Eliot Marshall from Spike TV’s The Ultimate FIghter Season 8.

Sengoku 5: A Respectable Night of Fights

World Victory Road presented it’s fifth production on September 28, 2008 t the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.

The official results:

Middleweight Grand Prix Series 1:
Yuki Sasaki defeats Yuki Kondo via submission (rear naked choke – Round 2)
Siyar Bahadurzada defeats Evangelista Santos via TKO (injury – Round 1)
Jorge Santiago defeats Logan Clark via submission (arm triangle choke – Round 1)
Kazuhiro Nakamura defeats Paul Cahoon via unanimous decision

Lightweight:
Jorge Masvidal defeats Ryan Schultz via TKO (Round 1)

Kiuma Kunioku defeats A Sol Kwon via unanimous decision

Light Heavyweight:
Xande Ribeiro defeats Takashi Sugiura via TKO (Round 3)

Heavyweight:
Muhammed Lawal defeats Travis Wiuff via TKO (Round 1)

And the videos …

MMABay’s Michael Pepper reports that Brock Lesnar injured a hamstring during training and will not be able to face Randy Couture at UFC 91 on November 15. There is currently no official word from the UFC but if Pepper’s report proves true this will be a massive blow to the UFC 91 fight card which was previsouly billed by UFC President Dana White as the biggest fight in pay-per-view history. Pepper continued by suggesting the Wanderlei Silva versus Rampage Jackson match as a potential replacement.

*UPDATE*

As we said earlier, “if this rumor proves true” it would be a tremendous blow to the UFC 91 fight card. But Sports Illustrated reports:

“It’s amazing the things people ask sometimes. Last Saturday at Strikeforce’s card at the Playboy Mansion, a spectator said he’d heard a rumor in the bathroom: Randy Couture had injured his leg and wouldn’t be able to fight Brock Lesnar.

It seemed like one of those things you hear and generally dismiss. But there were a lot of industry insiders at the Mansion that night, and who knows what was going on in the bathrooms? So it was worth looking into.

Turns out, Couture was fine. In fact, he had a tremendous week of training and was taking the weekend off to hunt in the mountains of Colorado, according to his wife, Kim.

But, on Thursday, Kim Couture rang about another crazy rumor that was going around. Someone, doing his best Lorenzo Fertitta impersonation, called the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. People inside Xtreme Couture scrambled when the fake Fertitta claimed Lesnar was injured, and the Nov. 15 fight was off. The rumor, however, was quickly quashed after confirming Lesnar, all 280 pounds of him, was fine.

Nothin’ like a little MMA amusement.”

Full Contact Talk just spoke with David I. Schwarz (Vice President of Communications for Spike) regarding the controversial video that was uploaded to Spike.com mocking the death of UFC fighter Evan Tanner. Spike immediately yanked the video from its website once it was viewed internally.

“When the video caught our attention, it was immediately removed from our website. We were equally appalled by it as Evan was a close friend of the channel, said Schwarz.“

The video which is unfortunately still available on Youtube.com was uploaded by two wannabe MMA analysts that seem to film from their parent’s basement. Known as “Tagteam Supreme,” host Justin Blank referred to his sidekick during the opening monologue as the ghost of Evan Tanner. The language and supposed humor used within the video is considered outrageous by the vast majority of the mixed-martial-arts community.

If you’d like to let Justin Blank know your feelings, he can be found at:

http://www.myspace.com/thetagteam

The following video is simply unacceptable on so many levels that I am experiencing difficulty even finishing this post. I had trouble making the decision of posting this horrific video. At first I thought by posting it, I was giving it exposure. But then I thought that my readers might like to get involved. Props to Yahoo’s Steve Cofield and Fight Linker for first exposing two wannabes treading on incredibly thin ice. And I adamantly support free speech. But the language on this video is quite simply cruel and an example of two lonely guys attempting to get famous from a controversial video blog.

UFC 89 Michael Bisping Vs. Chris Leben Predictions

If you have problems loading the video above. It is also available below from Youtube.com

He Said, She Said: Barnett Claims No Ducking, Affliction Insinuates Otherwise

MMARated.com reported yesterday that Affliction originally intended for the resheduled fight between Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett to take place during a co-promoted event with EliteXC during its October 4 primtime fight night on CBS. The web lit up with conclusions and criticism far and wide. Not necessarily criticism aimed directly at Affliction working together with EliteXC but rather some not always positive language for Josh Barnett. Barnett was criticized at times for being a prima donna. But of course there was those who sided with Barnett often asking, “Why would a top five world ranked heavyweight fighter want to be on the undercard of a fight with a highly controversial brawler and an aging veteran?” Throughout the day since MMARated’s report, a lot of uncertainty still hovered around the confirmation of the fight until of course it was revealed late yesterday that Andrei Arlovski would face Roy Nelson on October 4 instead. During an exclusive interview with MMARated.com, Affliction president Tom Atencio stated:

“We’ve been working on the CBS deal for ten days or so. What we’re trying to do is things that are good for the industry. If we can work with these guys great. It [The EliteXC fight on October 4] was going to be Arlovski versus (Josh) Barnett. But what happened was we couldn’t finalize a deal with Barnett and he went to sign with Sengoku.”

Clearly Atencio did not elaborate on the intimate details regarding the situation with Josh Barnett but the trash talk circulated the internet to the point that Josh Barnett posted a blog on Myspace in an effort to silence if not rebut the rumors that he refused the fight offer from Affliction and also rumors that he was asked to take a cut in pay. Josh Barnett stated in a blog post titled “Arlovski on CBS:”

“I read somewhere that I had declined the fight because I would have had to take a pay cut. I suppose others may also formulate some story about me declining the fight for other reasons. I never declined to take this fight. I was never told that I would have any part of my pay reduced since working with Affliction. To my knowledge, no one has been asked to take a pay cut that fights for Affliction. I did not turn down this fight.”

Interestingly, it should be noted that as of today, EliteXC has not officially updated the October 4 fight card on its events web page to feature the bout between Andrei Arlovski and Roy Nelson. But the fight is confirmed currently by the mainstream press.

From Russia with love: EliteXC signs Alexander Shlemenko

Five Ounces Of Pain reports that EliteXC has signed 2005 World Pankration champion Alexander Shlemenko. For those not in the know, Shlemenko is a tough up-and-comer from Russia that many insiders predict will be a contender very soon in the Untied States. Shlemenko’s deal is rumored to be one of the multi-fight persuasion and talk is that the Russian will make his EliteXC debut during the promotion’s October 10 ShoXC event at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana

Here’s a vintage fight video from Alexander Shlemenko:

The Brothers Lauzon: Joe’s litte bro gets some limelight

Joe Lauzon, a standout on SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 as part of B.J. Penn’s team, has a younger brother that is equally promising and tenacious in many minds. Dan Lauzon is cited as the youngest fighter to debut in the UFC even though some sources were claiming Vitor Belfort as the youngest to debut. But of course Belfort debuted at age 19 during UFC 12 against Tra Telligman in February 1997. Belfort was the youngest fighter to “win” a debut UFC fight with Lauzon losing his debut to Spencer Fisher via TKO at UFC 64. But youthful losses aside, Lauzon has a promising future. In fact, both Lauzon brothers are slowly climbing towards comparison with another very talented set of MMA brothers in that of Nick and Nate Diaz. Below is a great video produced by MSNBC that reveals a brief chapter in the young fighter’s life.

Dan Lauzon: I am a fighter

And here’s a Lauzon brothers highlight video which even features the two rolling in the family’s backyard.

And for good measure, here’s scenes from Joe Lauzon’s recent pig roast. Guests really got their kicks at the event.

Oh, the pain … and I am not talking about the punch that was thrown

Kimbo Slice appeared on national television again. Yes, the one time bodyguard for a pornography company now entertains grannies in middle America. Far away from the EliteXC cage, this television appearance by Mr. Slice was a stunt to punch magician David Blaine in the stomach in some lackluster homage to Harry Houdini. Fans of Houdini may recall that a punch to the stomach is what killed the legendary magician. Entertainment Weekly reports that the ratings for Blaine’s primetime show were a dump. And I think we at FCT know why. Kimbo should have punched Blaine in the head and then punched Criss Angel in the head afterward. And why not punch David Copperfield as well to keep things fair and balanced? Now, I would have watched such an event. Heck, I would have TIVO’d it for eternity. Do pardon me if I am showing my loyalty to Harry Houdini a bit too strongly.

Well, only in Rich Franklin’s dreams. But hey, it’s a start. And at least Franklin made some extra money. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen meet the “Cyborg Soldier.” A cybernetic humanoid who really knows how to fight in real life and can also challenge Randy Couture to a B-Movie brawl.

The official Movie Description

“I.S.A.A.C. (Intuitive Synthetic Autonomous Assault Commando), played by former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin, is the first prototype of a confidential “human weapon” program. Once a death-row inmate, he is now a genetically reconstructed, highly trained, deadly assassin whose body and mind have been modified to become a physically regenerative, intellectually superior human being. On the run, I.S.A.A.C. takes Deputy Lindsay Rearden (Tiffani Thiessen; “Beverly Hills, 90210″) hostage. Their lives in jeopardy from secret military agents being lead by world-renowned robotic engineer Simon Hart (Bruce Greenwood; I, Robot; National Treasure: Book of Secrets), the deputy and I.S.A.A.C. combine forces to expose the military group constructing these super beings. “

Cyborg Soldier is currently available for pre-order on DVD. The official release date is October 7, 2008. Oh, and we thought there was something a bit familiar about a martial artist starring in a movie with a cyborg theme.

Sherdog.com as well as several other MMA sites are currently reporting inside news that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and IFl standout Roy Nelson have agreed to fight on the upcoming Oct. 4th EliteXC fight card on CBS. If so, this would be a tremendous boost to EliteXC’s television ratings and credibility.

MMARated.com actually reported the rumor first in an interview with EliteXC vice president Jared Shaw. In the interview Shaw had daring words for UFC President Dana White.

Jared Shaw: “ Obviously, in my eyes, it’s a win-win for both organizations but the biggest winner on this night are definitely the fans of mixed martial arts. This hits the mainstream, this hits the hardcore and, especially, this hits Dana White hard. Because he has to realize that there are some other big players in this game and now those players have decided to work together. Affliction gets it as promoters, we get it as promoters. We want to bring fans the best fights possible in the world.”

Sherdog.com reports things in a slightly safer manner by not absolutely confirming the fight.

Sherdog: “Arlovski’s management team would not comment Wednesday on the proposed bout, while Nelson’s attorney, Rod Donohoo, also refrained from remarks. However, Sherdog.com has learned from separate sources that both fighters have agreed in principle to the match and that contracts have been issued for review.

If the Arlovski/Nelson fight proves true, the potential of record high television ratings for the Oct. 4 EliteXC event on CBS are almost guaranteed. Like it or not, Kimbo Slice draws in a brand new demographic of young fans to the sport of MMA as well does Gina Carano. Add in two big names of MMA with recent links to both the UFC and IFL and the fan crossover is tremendously deep. And again, this is a free televised MMA event on national American television. What’s to stop the ratings?