The Fight World at a Glance …
Monday, September 15th, 2008
Kudos to the UFC: Ultimate Fight Night 15 will be dedicated to Evan Tanner
UFC President Dana White will be dedicating Wednesday night’s UFN 15 on SpikeTV to recently deceased veteran, Evan Tanner. The event will air live from Omaha, Nebraska and feature a main event from hometown hero Houston Alexander as he faces Eric Schafer. An Evan Tanner tribute show will also air on SpikeTV. White told the press that the UFC has also put together 30 second tribute spots dedicated Tanner that will begin airing soon.
Cheick Kongo and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to join Michael Bisping at Wolf’s Lair in England
It’s official. Kongo and Rampage will travel to England for training. Rampage recently fired his former longtime trainer Juanito Ibarra just after his troubles with the police in California. Be sure to listen to Full Contact Talk Episode 6 as we had Wolf’s Lair founder Kazeka Muniz in the studio discussing his future training of both Rampage and Kongo.
MMA Bad Boy in the Pokey
UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard had pulled out of his UFC 90 bout with Spencer Fisher because he is currently in custody for cocaine possession in the Harris County jail in Houston, Texas. The arrest (not Guillard’s first) was a violation of his probation for a drug charge in 2007. Rumor is that Guillard will be released to a strict drug treatment program once a vacancy is available.
Rashad Evans will face Forrest Griffin But Not At UFC 92
Evans and Griffin are set to fight for the light heavyweight title and its official. Only problem is that the fight will not occur at UFC 92 on December 27, 2008. Word is that the title fight will occur on one of the first fight cards in 2009. Rumors are leaning towards a February date for the match.
The War Machine Currently Disassembled
Well, this is old news. A couple of days old anyway. But hey, we have been busy recording new episodes of the podcast and interviewing fighters. T.U.F. alumnus Jon “War Machine”Koppenhaver has been dropped by the UFC. Apparently The Machine was finally bitten by its own teeth when Koppenhaver made critical comments about the UFC’s pay to fighters in an unfavorable public statement about the death of Evan Tanner. War Machine also was rumored to have turned down a fight offer from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. Koppenhaver, just barely out of recent legal problems, legally changed his name to War Machine in court following a battle for the right of the title with a professional wrestler. War Machine has published several irrate and immature diatribes on his official website that probably contributed to the UFC’s decision and certainly places the young fighter alongside recently ejected Jesse Taylor and potentially Melvin Guillard in light of his current arrest. I am almost willing to bet that all of these recent UFC rejects go knocking on the door of EliteXC. After all, EliteXC does love controversy within its brand. Heck, controversy is its brand.
Stay tuned …
