Full Contact Talk: MMA discussion

Potential Title FIghts Scheduled for EliteXC on November 8, 2008 … Um, Maybe …

EliteXC is an amazing MMA organization on a number of levels. For starts, EliteXC created a whirlwind of media attention by signing a backyard brawler in that of Kimbo Slice and then the struggling MMA promotion molded this streetfighter into the face of EliteXC’s heavyweight division while stunningly keeping fighters like Antonio Silva on ice for the most part. Then EliteXC amazingly took Kimbo and pushed him up through the ranks by facing little to no competition yet cleverly making sure his résumé was built partially off of fighters who were previous forces within the UFC. No matter the fact that these fighters were forces a decade ago and all but washed up by the time they climbed into the cage with Mr. Slice. This is possibly the most brilliant example of record padding in modern sports. Thus I guess EliteXC deserves some sort of recognition for such an achievement.

Beyond the Kimbo Slice mirage, EliteXC does have some respectable talent in the ranks. FIghters such as Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, Antonion Silva and Robbie Lawler are respectful talent. And EliteXC’s promotion of female MMA fighters with the wildly popular and marketable Gina Carano is a smart business move surely to keep the organization finacially afloat for a while. Yet rumors of financial trouble for EliteXC simply fall right under the same diagnosis as the money disease which claimed the lives of several other MMA organizations including BodogFIGHT and the International Fight League.

When considering the rumored money woes of EliteXC and its questionable marketing practices at times, you’d think the organization would make a valiant effort at promoting its upcoming fight cards. But this does not hold true for EliteXC’s November 8th event on Showtime. EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw recently told the press to expect several title shots in November. But literally no details or confirmations have been revealed. Yet the rumors abound. And maybe rumors and speculation are simply the modus operandi for ElteXC? Consider this the polar oppostie of UFC or even Affliction marketing.

Potential Title Fights on EliteXC’s November FIght Card:

Nick Diaz vs. Eddie Alvarez (you’re guess is as good as ours)

Robbie Lawler vs. Joey Villasenor (again, you may know just as much or more than us)

And of course, the recent stripping of KJ Noons’ title by EliteXC for refusing to fight Nick Diaz has opened up the title for an upcoming event. And most analysts place Nick Diaz immediately in the upcoming title shot. It’s truly a shame that Noons and Diaz didn’t face one another again. But the fans are divided heavily over the drama that led up to the potential match. Below is a video of ELiteXC’s Jared Shaw discussing the aftermath of the post fight riot between part of the Noons family, part of the Diaz family, EliteXC staff and a rawkus hometown crowd.

Evan Tanner’s Lost Blogs

Spike.com revealed this week that recently deceased UFC star Evan Tanner wrote two blog entries before his untimely death. Here more about it here.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson versus Wanderlei Silva at UFC 93?

Everyone is talking about a rubber match between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva. Only this time instead of clashing in the PirdeFC ring, it will be inside the UFC Octagon. Of course critics rail on the fact that Wanderlei’s clinch which already destroyed Rampage twice will be even nastier against the fence walls of a cage where the referees do not step in for restarts as often.

Minutes before last’ week’s podcast, Jackson’s new trainer Kazeka Muniz told Full Contact Talk that a fight with Wanderlei was potential but nothing was official just yet. He mentioned other possible opponents to be Shogun Rua (another Chute Boxe nemesis)  and Keith Jardine. But of course Jardine has to get past Brandon Vera first in October at UFC 89. Really, none of these fights make sense for Rampage’s career at the moment. To fight either Silva or Rua is much like throwing the troubled former champ to the wolves. A loss would not be good for Rampage mentally or professionally.

However, Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports recently revealed that a reliable source told him the Rampage/Silva bout will most likely occur at the January UFC event labelled as the Superbowl of MMA. UFC President Dana White has been wanting to produce a massive UFC card the same weekend as the NFL’s big game for two solid years now. I recall the first so-called Superbowl of MMA was going to feature Randy Couture versus Fedor Emelianenko back in 2007 just after Zuffa purchased the PrideFC organization that Emelianenko still owed one contracted fight. But we all know how that went down. But UFC 93 looks promising with the almost confirmed mega-fight between UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn and UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.

Rampage just might face Silva in the cage in 2009, but first he must battle and defeat his current legal troubles resulting from his recent public meltdown that resulted in a car chase with California police and a few fender benders. Jackson faces two felony charges as well as four misdemeanors.

What Affliction?

Ronato “Babalu” Sobral is heavily rumored face Bobby Southworth for the Strikeforce light heavyweight title on November 20th. But who knows? Both guys are also rumored to be injured and Babalu is also rumored to fight again for Affliction in January.

Anderson Silva Out in the Pasture?

Recent rumors of Anderson Silva calling it quits in 2009 are bogus according to Silva’s manager. Many mocked the news by saying, “Great news for Rich Franklin.” The entire rumor started when InTheGuard.tv reported the following:

Anderson Silva: “I’ll retire next year, I already gave my all. I don’t need to prove anything for anyone and within one year I’ll put my gloves aside.”

This surprising and near unbelievable news was soon followed by a report from MMAJunkie.com that stated the opposite news from Silva’s manager Ed Soares by quoting a post from Soares on The Underground website.

Ed Soares: “Anderson’s goal is to retire when he is 35,” Soares wrote of the 33-year-old fighter. “He still has six fights on his contract, and he doesn’t turn 35 for another 18 months. I know he will finish his six fights before he considers hanging up his gloves.”

All FCT can say at this point is, “Who freakin’ knows?”

Fedor DREAMing of Japan?

Well, not according to Affliction’s Tom Atencio. Fedor made big waves this week when he showed up ringside at the Dream 6 event in Japan and even delivered flowers to Mirko Cro-Cop and Alistair Overeem just before their bout on September 23. Fedor mentioned to the press his desire to fight for the Dream organization and then HDNet commentator Kenny Rice went on to mention Fedor’s return to the Japanese ring in 2008. Rumors flew that Fedor would face the winner of the Cro-Cop/Overeem fight. Yet Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio recently said:

“Fedor was supposed to fight for them on New Year’s Eve, but he is not because we extended his contract.”

So who knows? Fedor is the most mysterious fighter in MMA. He just seems to wander where he wishes and has received massive criticism for seemingly avoiding difficult fights. But Fedor did smash former UFC heavyweight Tim Silvia at the premier Affliction event in seconds leading the criticism to fade for a moment.

Oh yeah, did we forget to remind our readers to watch tonight’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter on SpikeTV? Inside information tells us it is an episode not to miss. Oh, did we let the cat out of the bag? No, of course not. But Full Contact Talk does have an upcoming interview with Ultimate FIghter contestant, Eliot Marshall. Stay tuned for the podcast episode to premier next week.

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.

Kevin Iole is one of the few mainstream sports writers who has been writing insightful articles about mixed-martial-arts for quite some time. And in recent months Iole has been criticized by a small percentage of readers as a mouthpiece for the UFC due to his heavy coverage of the MMA organization.

One can only guess that those critics of Iole are blind to the fact that the UFC is the world’s top MMA promoter and the only organization broadcasting at least one solid fight card per month. This is not even mentioning SPIKE TV’s “Ultimate Fighter,” live fight nights on SPIKE, as well as the WEC events.

On Tuesday, Iole took a a rare stab at the UFC with criticism over its response and handling of Evan Tanner’s recent death. If anything, Iole’s article proves he is no propagandist on the Las Vegas payroll.

Kevin Iole: “I feel compelled to call out the UFC for its lack of response to Evan Tanner’s death. As of 12:30 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, there was no official statement from the UFC on its Web site for its one-time middleweight champion, whose body was discovered in a mountainous area near San Diego after he went missing on a camping trip. I contacted UFC president Dana White on Monday for a response and didn’t receive an answer. Though UFC.com has a story by Thomas Gerbasi announcing Tanner’s death, there is no comment in that story from anyone connected with the UFC. When ex-light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was arrested in July, White was on a plane to Southern California within an hour of learning the news. UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta or White (or both) should have acknowledged Tanner’s death with a statement on Monday. They look very bad for having seemingly ignored the tragedy.”

The fan reaction to Iole’s statements is a mixed bag as with anything else in this sport. Some agree completely while others defend Dana White and company as busy people devoid of the time to micromanage articles on the company website. Personally, I side with Iole on this one. Not as boldly but in reasonable agreement nonetheless.

Dana White is most certainly a micromanager. That’s why the UFC is even alive these days in light of the struggles the organization endured throughout the early years. But White’s direct control of the company’s operations seem oddly vacant in this matter.

In a perfect world, the UFC would have placed a photo or video memorial along with the article by Gerbasi at the top of the main page of the website. After all, drops of Tanner’s blood, sweat and tears are part of the foundation that the highly successful UFC now stands upon in 2008.

Read Iole’s entire article here.