UFC president Dana White has pitched UFC 91 as the biggest potential pay-per-view sale in the company’s history. But the event doesn’t come without a bit of controversy and criticism. For one, former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar is getting a title shot tonight with only a one and one record in the UFC and two and one overall in MMA. But fans are split over Lesnar’s attempt at the heavyweight championship. A large percentage of fans cite Lesnar as the future of mixed-martial-arts while others hail Randy Couture as king.
Tonight’s title bout is Couture’s first fight in MMA following a turbulent year of lawsuits with the UFC where his heavyweight belt lay in limbo while seeing an interim title come to the surface. And such is the fuel that fires the furnace of disgruntle fans. Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira sits on the sidelines presently watching Lesnar get the shot while he waits for a fight with Frank Mir whom handed Lesnar his first UFC loss.
Regardless of the divide, the clash between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar is definitely one for the ages. Whether or not Lesnar is popular with a portion of the MMA community, those who dislike him are still going to tune in to hopefully see his destruction. Win or lose, all things point to the potentially high sales numbers Dana White has been harking about for since as far back as UFC 88. And certainly if Lesnar wins, he’ll deserve a minimum of respect from his previous detractors. After all, a win is a win. Right? Especially a win over a legend of mixed-martial-arts.
Although many analysts and even several professional fighters have picked Lesnar to win, it’s hard to count Randy Couture out. Countless times Couture has defied the odds of age and size to come through in stunning victory. And Couture is absolutely famous for his amazing ability to design gameplans and execute such plans with authority. And statistically, whenever Couture goes into a fight as the underdog, he normally gets the win. And guess what? Tonight Couture is yet again an underdog.
One thing is certain. Although UFC 91 is a little thin in the middle not being the most stacked card in recent months, the main event is a monster. Two big monsters in fact. Dana White estimated 1.2 million pay-per-view buys earlier in the week. If this happens, not only is Mr. White and the UFC winners, but the sport of MMA comes back into the spotlight devoid of the same dirty laundry that has plagued the sport in the fallout of EliteXC’s October CBS debacle and even the latest round of drama and legal moves within the Affliction organization.
UFC 91 is available on pay-per-view through most cable and satellite services in the United States and Canada. Streaming is also available through Yahoo! Sports. The telecast begins at 9:30 p.m. eastern standard time.
Fight Night returns this Saturday at Wild Bill’s in Duluth with a stacked card featuring UFC veteran Junior Assuncao and The Ultimate Fighter star Cale Yarbough. Also on the card is local up-and-comer Jeff Boudreaux. This is one of the most stacked cards in many years at Wild Bill’s.
18 and up, doors at 7 p.m. Fights at 8 p.m. General admission, $25. Tickets available at the box office or Ticket Master. For more information visit Wild Bill’s website or Fight Night at Myspace.
Recent interviews with both Junior Assuncao and Cale Yarbrough can be found at Fighters.com.
What a week it has been. And unfortunately this week belongs almost exclusively to EliteXC. Why? Well, let’s just say that things smell more than fishy over at EliteXC in light of controversial statements and events following last weeks “Heat” event in Florida. The world is still rumbling over the devastation of EliteXC star, Kimbo Slice by UFC reject Seth Petruzelli. Or rather a massive percentage of the mixed-martial arts community is exclaiming, “See, I told you so.”
Kimbo Slice certainly hogged the spotlight leading up to last Saturday’s EliteXC “Heat” event and kept a stranglehold on media attention immediately afterward. But quickly the focus shifted to EliteXC’s leadership. And especially Jared Shaw. Inside rumors of corruption have exploded not only threatening to destroy the tiny thread of legitimacy EliteXC holds in the sports world, but legal action on behalf of the Florida State Athletic Commission and potentially the FBI now haunt the MMA organization in the wake of successful television ratings minced with massive fan backlash.
Last week’s Kimbo Slice bout was born from controversy in the first place. Whether it be Kimbo’s extremely questionable fight record or the fact that he was poised for a certain win over an extremely aged Ken Shamrock. But this is yet another layer of the controversy. EliteXC collects the heads of former UFC fighters far beyond their prime and markets their losses as a prize for the organization. Simply refer to the marketing of Kimbo Slice destroying a so-called veteran of the UFC in that of David “Tank” Abbot.
But reality showed us a brawler from the early age of MMA who was nearly a decade beyond his days of being a threat in the sport. Tank’s game was always one of a puncher’s chance. And in his old age, he was a prime opponent for Kimbo Slice. When Ken Shamrock became the next former UFC fighter on the list to face Kimbo, a massive majority of MMA analysts rolled their eyes. Shamrock had dropped his last five fights and was criticized for not retiring from the sport of MMA.
Hours before last week’s big fight, Ken Shamrock suffered an eye cut from an unintentional headbutt during a pre-fight workout. What followed was a storm of confusion leading up to a main event meltdown that found an MMA organization’s cash cow possibly at the slaughterhouse.
Kimbo Slice for most fans and analysts was exposed as a lackluster and over-hyped brawler when he lost in a mere 14 seconds to a much lighter Seth Petruzelli who took the fight at the last minute and rose from the depths of the undercard suddenly to the main event. Within 48 hours of Petruzelli’s sudden victory, a web of conspiracy was spun. Partially based on Petruzelli’s own words during a radio interview. But the criticism of EliteXC, Kimbo Slice and Jared Shaw soon found its way to the front page of sports sections around the world.
Suspicion, accusation and an eventual investigation have become the current identity of a struggling MMA organization in the pits of a near $60 million debt and a peak of unpopularity that makes its outstanding ratings on CBS both a partial success for the sport of MMA as well as a simultaneous mockery and moral anchor.
Below, I’ll attempt to summarize the current mess that is otherwise known as EliteXC.
The Evidence:
November 12, 2007: Bo Cantrell gets hit on the shoulder during the opening round against Kimbo Slice and actually starts tapping out as he falls down in a clumsy tripping fashion. Not visibly injured, Cantrell simply gives up and thus Kimbo wins his first fight for EliteXC. Quiet rumors follow claiming that EliteXC and Gary Shaw paid Cantrell to take a dive in order to promote Kimbo Slice and build the novice fighter from Youtube.com into a headliner. Review the fight for yourself below:
May 31, 2008: Referee Dan Miragliotta receives widespread criticism for seemingly controlling the fight between Kimbo Slice and James Thompson in a way that was favorable to Kimbo. Miragliotta didn’t stop the fight when Kimbo laid on his back for nearly 2 minutes taking elbows to the head with no intelligent defense. By standard MMA rules (ironically first used by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission) a fight should be stopped when a fighter shows no intelligent defense. Then others pointed out that Kimbo Slice actually tapped out during a guillotine choke in the first round. This was criticized by Brett Rogers (a fellow EliteXC heavyweight) who called Kimbo’s performance garbage during the post-fight press conference leading to a near riot by Kimbo’s large personal entourage. In many eyes, Kimbo was being protected during the fight. It seemed each time Kimbo was in trouble, it was overlooked. But as soon as Thompson’s cauliflower ear was busted by what Kimbo later called a part of his game plan, the fight was immediately stopped and yet another main event victory has awarded to Kimbo Slice. Ironically, a large majority of spectators had Thompson winning the fight by two rounds and possibly a third when the fight was suddenly stopped. Videos of the press conference and fight below:
The tapout controversy:
The actual fight between Kimbo and Thompson:
October 4, 2008: Kimbo gets legitimately KO’d against Seth Petruzelli but EliteXC vice-president Jared Shaw jumps up from his seat in clear site of the the live television broadcast and begins screaming at the referee. It has been widely reported by people in close proximity to Shaw during the fight that Shaw was protesting the referee not to stop the fight. Shaw then follows by stating publicly that Petruzelli won the fight by illegal blows to the back of the head. He even mentions the illegal blows in a post-fight interview with Ariel from MMARated.com and ironically claims that all he wants is “fair mixed-martial-arts.”
The 14-Second Fight between Kimbo and Petruzelli:
The MMARated Interview with Jared Shaw:
October 5, 2008: During a radio interview with Monsters in the Morning Seth Petruzelli claims he was paid to keep the fight on its feet and not take Kimbo Slice down where Kimbo had extremely low odds of winning a fight. This statement stirred up a lot of controversy. After all, if true, this is a form of fight-rigging and it is illegal. But hours later following a backlash and frenzy within the media, Petruzelli recants his statement.
Seth Petruzelli’s original statement on the Monsters in the Morning radio show:
“My original plan was to throw a lot of push kicks, they’re called teeps … have him think that I’m going to throw ‘em to try to rush in more, and then shoot in on him, obviously … I knew I would do alright standing up with him. The promoters kinda hinted to me, and they gave me the money to stand and trade with him. They didn’t want me to take him down. Let’s just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up and punch with him.”
October 6, 2008: Jared Shaw personally calls Ariel of MMARated.com to make a public apology for his statements and behavior following the Kimbo Slice debacle.
Jared Shaw’s apology to MMARated.com:
“I watched the tape back today. While I think that the ref may have missed the (blow to the back of the head) call, my reactions at ringside – I saw them myself – were inappropriate and inexcusable. I apologize to the MMA community and the fans and most of all Seth Petruzelli as although my reactions can not change a referee’s decision, they were inappropriate at the time and over a heated and tense mixed martial arts event. Again, I apologize to the community. I am all for fair mixed martial arts fighting and I am very happy to represent Seth Petruzelli.”
October 7, 2008: During an interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com, Seth Petruzelli suddenly back-peddles on his original statement regarding EliteXC’s bribe which supposedly asked him to stand and punch with Kimbo Slice. Suddenly what was originally criticized as something reminiscent of the old days of Mafia-influenced boxing became even more suspicious as the EliteXC brass as well as people associated with the organization scrambled to cover their backs in a public relations attempt that was nearly laughable. Jared Shaw then turned up the heat of denial in an interview with Damon Martin of MMAWeekly.com.
Jared Shaw’s statement to MMAWeekly.com:
“Absolutely not,” Shaw answered to questions if the allegations [of the bribe] were true. “Whether that was something Seth was taken out of context or Seth was trying to say something different, I don’t know. What I can tell you, I was in the locker room with Seth with the contract; that did not happen.
October 10, 2008: UFC President Dana White reacts strongly to the allegations of corruption over at EliteXC. I have criticized White in the past for various comments and behavior that I found a bit unprofessional but the fact is that mixed-martial-arts would not exist in the United States if not for White’s personal battle to keep the sport alive amidst political persecution and financial loss.
Dana White built the sport of MMA up into a marketable and legal format and thus launched MMA into the massive success it is today. One thing is for certain. With White you get the “no bullshit” commentary more times than not. He’s a passionate promoter that often speaks from unfiltered emotion. White’s reaction and opinion of the recent EliteXC crisis is all too true and understandable when considering that EliteXC dumped a lowbrow version of an otherwise respectable sport — which the UFC struggled to brand for over a decade — into the laps of middle America via free television.
The CBS deal with EliteXC is an unfortunate event that has most definitely sent MMA back a few years with regard to legitimacy and public relations with the mainstream. And it is a sad situation as well when considering that there are several extremely talented and marketable fighters currently on the EliteXC roster. Gina Carrano, Antonio Silva, Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler immediately come to mind. Watch the video of Dana White below. I agree 110% with White’s assessment. As does 99% of the mixed-martial-arts community.
The Dana White EliteXC Criticism Video:
The mainstream press responds negatively to EliteXC
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports hits the nail on the head when he rips the last week’s EliteXC event apart in a recent article.
A quote from Wetzel:
“Not that CBS didn’t keep up with the Slice willing to fight, “anyone, anywhere, at anytime.” This was a 100 percent true statement if “anyone, anywhere, at anytime” means “no one any good, anywhere, ever.”
Lance Pugmire of Los Angeles Times continues the conspiracies of fight-rigging at EliteXC when he reported that former EliteXC president turned consultant Gary Shaw encourages so-called entertaining stand-up fights.
A quote from Pugmire:
“Shaw said he has urged MMA fighters in the past to maximize the action, to avoid an abundance of yawn-inspiring wrestling.”
Did I mention that Dan Wetzel hit the nail on the head? Oh yeah, I did. But Wetzel hit the nail a second time in a yet a second article he wrote about EliteXC. Let’s not forget CBS’ role in this MMA fiasco. Wetzel certainly holds no punches on the matter.
Another quote from Dan Wetzel:
“Then there’s CBS, which gave up any pretense of journalism in favor of unseemly propaganda. The network previously embarrassed itself by comparing Kimbo to great sports figures such as Tiger Woods. This time, Gus Johnson’s declaration that Petruzelli’s triumph was “the most incredible victory in the history of mixed martial arts” was laughably ridiculous.”
Other interesting EliteXC facts this week
Kimbo Slice was paid a whopping half of a million dollars to get destroyed in 14 seconds on national television. This is quite astounding on too many levels to even mention. But what’s more astounding is that EliteXC’s equally popular Gina Carrano who is often called the face of women’s MMA got a lousy $25,000 for her win last saturday night. The official payouts are listed on Sherdog.com.
Kimbo Slice actually made more than $500,000 for his troubles. Kimbo was paid an additional undisclosed fee for accepting the last-minute fight with Seth Petruzelli. But of course this extra payment of encouragement was never mentioned on air by commentators at CBS whom chose another route of description entirely by suggesting Kimbo was a brave warrior for stepping into the fight.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Dan Wetzel:
“We made it up to him,” said Jeremy Lappen, EliteXC’s head of fight operations. He wouldn’t disclose the amount.
And Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel continues:
“The worst was Johnson [CBS Commentator] repeating the party line that Slice didn’t hesitate to switch opponents from an injured Ken Shamrock. That was simply a lie. Slice demanded a cash bonus on top of his $500,000 payout just to get in the cage with Petruzelli, according to Lappen.”
Death threats aimed at Seth Petruzelli round out this week’s edition of the EliteXC soap opera. According to an interview with ProMMA.info, Petruzelli was threatened with violence by thugs.
Pro MMA: “You said you had some death threats, but was it the locals because I know you are from Florida too?”
Seth: “Yeah, I’m from Florida but not from south Florida. It was mainly the Kimbo fans down there that was doing it.”
Pro MMA: ”Having to worry about some gangsters doing some shady stuff to you when you’re trying to celebrate your win, man that’s no fun.”
Seth: ”Yeah it kind of sucks and kind of takes the fun out of it. The first thing I said to the athletic commissioner when he came in the ring and told me to calm down was, “You gotta get me outta here, you gotta get me outta here. I’m scared.” I was just waiting for something to get thrown in the ring.”
FiveOuncesOfPain.com revealed another set of thugs that were not so happy with Seth Petruzelli during a recent interview.
Sam Caplan: ”Can you talk about the aftermath? That was a pretty crazy scene around the cage with Kimbo’s crew. At any point were you concerned for your safety?”
Seth Petruzelli: ”Oh yeah, 100 percent. Afterwards, and I didn’t know it at the time, buy my wife had got threatened a few times. My corner had got threatened a few times. I had stuff thrown at me from the crowd. As soon as I had got done circling and screaming, the athletic commission told me I had to calm down because the crowd was getting crazy. So I calmed down and said listen, “You’ve got to get me out of here.” And I kind of started to get worried about my well-being at that point.”
Sam Caplan: ”Did the threats against your wife and your corner come from Kimbo’s fans or his corner?”
Seth Petruzelli: ”It was some of his posse that was around the cage. Not all of them were like that but there were a few that were talking some crap that I wasn’t very happy about.”
Sam Caplan: ”Do you have any idea what they possibly could have been mad at you about aside from doing your job?”
Seth Petruzelli: ”I have no idea. I heard this one kid, he kept saying “You cheated! You cheated! You cheated!” And I’m like, how the hell did I cheat!? I mean, what are you talking about!?”
A new battle for EliteXC in a courtroom instead of a cage?
Lee Russakoff of Comcast.net reports via ESPN.com that the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has opened a preliminary investigation into whether there is any evidence that ProElite tried to influence the fight between Kimbo Slice and Seth Petruzelli.
A silver lining?
Well, not all was bad for EliteXC last week I guess. EliteXC “Heat,” was the number one program on both broadcast and cable Saturday among male adults. According to Nielsen ratings for Oct. 4, EliteXC was the highest rated program for adults 18-34, men 18-34 and tied in men 18-49. EliteXC beat out other events such as the MLB playoffs, college football games and a Spike TV replay of UFC 86. The broadcast drew 4.56 million total viewers for CBS.
An unfair fight at EliteXC Heat?
Oops, the controversy is not over yet. I failed to talk about a disgruntle Roy Nelson. The co-promoted fight between Affliction and EliteXC featuring former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski and IFL standout Roy Nelson was stood up by the referee in what the ref claimed as lack of action and Nelson claimed was a form of robbery stopping him from getting mount on Arlovski and eventually leading to his own knockout. In an interview with MMAWeekly.com Nelson stated that he was fighting more than one person last Saturday night.
Roy Nelson stated:
“I felt like I was fighting two people,” Nelson said about the referees last Saturday night. “I would fight for Elite, it all depends where we’re fighting at and who’s the ref. If we were fighting in Vegas, and I know the refs and they actually know what a Kimura is, that kind of makes for a big difference. Cause the reason they’re telling me to work for a better position and you’ve got someone in a submission, usually they have to get out.”
Push comes to shove
Since this is a special yet unintentional “This Week in MMA” column built exclusively around EliteXC, who am I as a thorough journalist to overlook last night’s embarrassing display of sportsmanship at the hands of Jason Guida during his ShoXC debut on Showtime against Mamed Khalidov. Many FCT readers may recall Jason Guida as the older brother of the UFC’s Clay Guida who entered this season’s The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV not to even make it into the cage due to his inability to cut weight. Guida then proceeded to argue and insult a Nevada State Athletic Commissioner against the advice of Frank Mir when he was not allowed to fight. Jason Guida continued his general immaturity last night following the stoppage of the fight when he failed to intelligently defend himself during a barrage of punches. Guida shoved the referee and later shoved the cameraman before storming out of the cage. One would guess that Jason Guida’s days in professional MMA might numbered. But who knows? EliteXC does like controversy. And in complete fairness to EliteXC, this is the one incident this week that was not its fault.
Watch the full video of the Jason Guida fight here.
Waiting for the exit music?
In the end, EliteXC has lost a lot of respect within the greater sports industry much less amongst most educated fans of MMA. Elite’s roll of the dice to stir controversy and place all of its eggs in one over-hyped basket has most certainly backfired in light of recent events. The future is unknown.
And as I stated previously, I am in total agreement with Dana White of the UFC on how EliteXC is more than often a cheap spectacle involved in the MMA game for a quick buck recklessly vandalizing a decade of struggle amongst MMA athletes to earn the respect of the mainstream sports world.
Respect will never come the way of MMA as long as organizations such as EliteXC toy with the reality of combat sports on free national television. MMA is not professional wrestling. It is not a staged event although the sport once crawled from under the shadows of similar comparison. But that was nearly ten years ago now.
MMA is one of the most exciting sports in the world because of its many intricacies. To create a paper champion through rigged fights and a single dimension of the sport is not only an embarrassment but apparently a crime at some levels.
I have taken heat in some circles for my outright criticism of Kimbo Slice, the Shaws and EliteXC from day one. I have been accused of bias and even being a crony for the UFC. But in reality, I have equally criticized the UFC and other organizations when it was deserved. It is safe to say that the UFC built MMA into the popular and respected sport it became by 2005 only to be challenged now by CBS and EliteXC as the two companies pawn a freakshow mislabeled as MMA to a new and greater MMA audience.
It is unfortunate that the talented and deserving fighters on the EliteXC roster have had to work as the opening act for a complete and utter farce. In fact, I have previously called EliteXC and the Kimbo Slice era one of organized sports biggest charades in history. And It is not the fault of Kimbo Slice. Sure, he’s taking the paychecks but do you blame him? Ultimately it is Gary and Jared Shaw who have vandalized the image of modern MMA while riding the coattails of Dana White. It is in some ways brilliant just as it is dumb. But it may also prove to be criminal at some point in the future. Only time will tell.
In the meanwhile, allow me to roll the exit music for this week’s column. I have found the perfect song and the perfect artist to encapsulate the week’s events. Without further ado, take in a couple minutes of Milli Vanilli as the perfect metaphor for EliteXC and the Kimbo Slice mirage. As someone once said, no press is bad press.
Welcome to episode 7 of Full Contact Talk. In this episode we talk to Eliot “The Fire” Marshall. A cast member of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 8, Marshall lost a controversial decision to Karen Grigoryan that resulted in protests by UFC President Dana White and T.U.F. coaches Frank Mir and Antonio Nogueira.
Episode 2 of The Ultimate fighter was certainly shocking. Following the upset decision loss to Grigoryan, the drama climaxed when Marshall was allowed into the T.U.F. house as a replacement for Antwain Britt who suffered a broken hand during an earlier fight
Eliot Marshall is a seasoned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. With five professional mixed-martial-arts victories to his credit, Marshall has also won numerous victories in Jiu-Jitsu competition prior to his entrance into MMA. Including a 2002 Pan Am gold medal. Marshall trains under Amal Easton (Blackbelt under Renzo Gracie) at Easton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Boulder, Colorado.
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 BrockLesnar.
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.
“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.
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) 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.
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 BrockLesnar.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t
I promise this is the last report on Alistair Overeem’s illegal strikes to Mirko Cro-Cop’s groin but Overeem did make some outrageous statements regarding the incident. Fighters Only out of the U.K. reports that Overeem claims Mirko was faking his injuries because he wanted to get out of the fight. Seriously? Huh? Now that is just a blatant case of adding salt to the wounds. Overeem stated:
“Tonight I was kicking his ass, I destroyed him. …The first knee was in the crotch but the second was not. Cro-Cop just didn’t want to fight anymore. I think he underestimated me, but if he wants to fight again, I’ll fight him again. I’d like to finish him.”
Wow, in one paragraph I think Alistair Overeem just became one of the most hated fighters in MMA currently.
