Pokerstars Poker Tournament!

Hey guys, I know I haven't posted in awhile, but it appears that Pokerstars is offering the chance for any bloggers to get in on some really cool freerolls. You can check it out here. Read more!

UFC 75 Conference Call - Babalu Fired, Dana Rips Barnett, etc..

I know it's been awhile since I made a blog but there was just too much good stuff today from the UFC 75 Conference Call. The boys over at MMANews.com have all of the information you need, check out their first report here, & Chris Howie's notes on it here.

My quick take on the conference call:

I think Dana is flat out trying to ruin Barnett.. It's true that most average fans have no idea who Josh is, but anyone who doesn't have him in their top 4 Heavyweights is a fool. Barnett has been taking cheap shots at the UFC ever since he left though, so I really don't blame Dana.

As far as Babalu getting kicked out of the UFC, I'm actually pretty happy about it. Not that I believe what he did was worthy of being kicked out of an organization, but I'm happy he'll go to other shows. Babalu is a big name in MMA, & him going over to EliteXC or one of the other big shows is good for the sport. We need another organization with good fighters, piling all the talent on one show simply isn't smart for the sport. Here's hoping Babalu doesn't retire & that we'll see him in EliteXC/Strikeforce/K1 Hero's.

Looks like Dana & the UFC are simply going to give up on PRIDE. I think they'll keep doing the little things, where they tell everyone it's going to take time, & simply wait until people just forget about it ever happening. I expect them to keep up the hope for a little while to please the die hard fans, only to unleash a final statement that the organization is completely dead within the next year.

I'm going to try and continue to be a bit more active in the future, just keep checking up. Read more!

Still Breathing

Yes, don't worry, no need to call your local police station, I am still very much alive. Just been pretty busy as of late, and I guess it's a good time to be inactive as there hasn't been all that much going on in the MMA world recently. I did catch the recent EliteXC card on Showtime and I was quite impressed. The only thing that was pretty lame was the pre-fight fighter video packages. They reminded me of the early UFC video packages, you know, like the one where Tank Abbott does his famous 500lb bench press?

Anyways, stay tuned guys, I promise I have good things planned. I'll have my preview for UFC 74 & my MMA Betting review up about a week before the card this time. One love. Read more!

Friday Notes

Ah, how nice it feels to finally wake up early and have some free time to write. Been quite busy the past few weeks, and I haven't been able to update as much as I have wanted to. I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I have a lot of good articles planned for the future. So stay tuned, I promise I'll continue to improve upon the site. Here's the latest happenings in the world of Mixed Martial Arts:

• So, I'm sure by now everyone knows both UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk & his most recent opponent, Hermes Franca, both tested positive for steroids. Are these guys really that stupid? Franca has made a statement already, and claims he doped in order to "accelerate the healing process". Sherk on the other hand, has yet to release a statement. Personally, I don't blame "The Muscle Shark" for not speaking out yet. What excuse is the guy really going to have about the matter that isn't completely idiotic, or absolutely cliche. Where does this leave the Lightweight division? How annoying is this going to be not being able to see any of the recently proposed dream matches involving Sherk not happen for a YEAR? The boys over at the UFC offices need to quit beating around the bush and address the 1000 pound canary in the room.
  
  
• There is a pretty funny video that surfaced recently of B.J. Penn calling out Wanderlei Silva from back in the day. A lot of people discussing it liked to point out that Penn is holding a beer during the interview. This video reaffirms my beliefs that Penn fears no man. If it wasn't so dorky to wear MMA shirts when you don't train or fight, I would surely sport a "Just Scrap" shirt in honor of "The Prodigy".

• K-1 stalwart Dewey Cooper won his MMA debut last night against a previously undefeated nobody named Adam Smith at the Palace Fighting Championships. Cooper could be a force if he trains with the right people. I've always felt like a sprawl shouldn't be that hard to learn, but I know there is more to it than that. It could be a little late for him to come on, & I'm not even sure if he intends on pursuing an MMA career, but Team Quest would be a good place to start. Also on the card Shawn Bias, & Ruben "Warpath" Villareal, picked up victories. Not too many big names on the card, but the full results are up over on Sherdog.

• I previously reported that Chris Leben would be facing Mike Swick in the Main Event at UFC Fight Night 11. Instead, Johnathan Goulet has stepped up and will be fighting Swick on the under card. UFCJunkie.com has a good article on it. But apparently, Leben backed out, & Goulet started yapping on message boards trying to get Swick & the UFC's attention. Whether you want to look down on Goulet for going about it the way he did or not, kudos to the guy for getting back into the UFC because of it.
  
  Update: UFCJunkie.com is now reporting that Chris Leben will be fighting Terry Martin at UFC Fight Night 11. I think this is a harder fight for Leben than Swick was, and I look for Martin to completely overpower him.
  

• While we're on UFC Fight Night 11, apparently the Lightweight showdown between Din Thomas & Spencer Fisher will be moving up into the main event slot. I'm actually quite pumped for this fight, especially with the news on Sherk & the state of the division. Whatever the outcome, the winner of this fight could see himself fighting for an Interim title in the very near future. Fisher is always game, and Thomas finally looks like he might live up to the enormous amount of potential he's always had.

• Numerous sources are reporting that Boxing & EliteXC promoter Gary Shaw has been following in Don Imus's footsteps. Apparently Shaw called one of his eight African American fighters "a black monkey". Check out the article on Bet.com for more information on it.

• TIME Magazine has recently published an article discussing Women's Mixed Martial Arts. Not only does the article comment on it's "brutality", but also cites a few comments from good ol' Dana White. From the article: "I don't want to see two women beatin' on each other," says UFC president Dana White. "I don't like it.". Please Dana, quit trying to impress people with your chivalry, we know you would love to be the one who has Gina Carano signed to a contract right now. It seems that Dana will trash talk absolutely ANYTHING the UFC isn't doing now a days.
  

• Graciefighter.com is reporting that both Nick Diaz & Jake Shields will be fighting for ProElite FC in September. Apparently both fighters are still working out negotiations with Gary Shaw(Who's probably too busy dealing with his "black monkeys".) & that both are expected to compete on a card in September. Graciefighter.com also claims they will be announcing their opponents next week, so stay tuned.
  

• According to an article at the OCRegister.com, EliteXC's upcoming July 27th show is being billed as the debut of "ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series". Apparently it is an MMA runoff of the popular "ShoBox: The New Generation" series. Personally I think it's a great idea, & the thought of young MMA fighters getting their start on Showtime at a national level is awesome. Props to Showtime for bucking up & not being scared to show the fastest rising sport in the world. HBO needs to quit messing around, and give Jim Lampley a big slap on the face by showing MMA. Edson Berto & KJ Noons will do battle in the Main Event of the debut card.
  

That's it for today, please keep checking back for more updates. I plan on writing a few very opinionated articles here in the near future. I also plan to continue my Reviews, Predictions, Betting Help blogs for any big cards that may take place in the future. Remember, this is only the beginning.
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Small update, Babalu arrested

Hey guys, just letting you know I didn't forget about you guys or the blog. Just been quite busy the last few days. I'll have a full update with a lot of notes on Monday. For now, just wanted to let you guys know to stay tuned, and to check out the Tampa, Florida charge report on Renato "Babalu" Sobral. No big deal or anything, he's already out, apparently he spit on a bouncer outside the Hard Rock. It's pretty funny, enjoy, & stay tuned. Read more!

Monday Notes

How's it going fellas? Thanks for all the good comments and emails I've been getting over the past few days. The hits on the website have really been picking up, and I really appreciate all of you. I've started to do a few link exchanges with some other MMA websites, and everyone should check them out. Also, if any of my readers have a link they would like to share, please let me know. Now, time for some notes..

• The fighter salaries & live gate totals are out for UFC 73. According to MMAWeekly.com, the live gate was roughly $1,551,920 while the total disclosed payroll was $628,340. Just another example of how the UFC needs to start dishing out more money to the fighters.

• Cage Rage has released the final lineup for their July 14th card, Hard as Hell. Competing in the Main Event is Eric "Butterbean" Esch taking on Tengiz Tedoradze. Also, in what will surely be a brawl, James Thompson & Cabbage will be throwing it down. Other notables in action are the legendary Mario Sperry, Edson Drago, Gary Turner, UFC referee Herb Dean, & TUF veteran Ross Pointon.

• Apparently earlier today a post on Sherdog surfaced about UFC.com. The post claimed that if you went to the UFC website and then went to Title Holders there were two empty spots for Featherweight & Bantamweight. Although these two spots have now been taking off the website, other posters confirmed they were previously there. Not sure what this means exactly, but I wouldn't read too far into it. The UFC is hyping up the WEC with a strong focus on the smaller weight classes, and I think they will keep them over there. I don't see any reason to bring them into the UFC at this point.

• BJ Penn's website has some very good videos on it. A somewhat daily show of Penn's training regiment, and incredible instructional videos offered up for free. It is surely something to check out.

• Arash Markazi of SI.com wrote a pretty good article about the Rashad Evans & Tito Ortiz fight. He had some really good stuff from the post-fight press conference. Including quotes from Rashad claiming "Tito, you were grabbing the cage the whole fight". Tito then asked Rashad "What about the Vaseline on your arms?". Looks like these two were already hyping up the rematch only a few hours after their first fight was a dud.

• According to an article by Gary Herman at CBS SportsLine.com, Dana White has confirmed that Fedor Emelianenko's UFC debut is imminent. Herman quoted White as saying "We are planning to have Fedor fighting in the UFC at the end of 2007, or early 2008".
  

• For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, there is a video of Kimbo Slice calling Tank Abbott out after his victory over Roy Mercer. Cage Fury has confirmed that Kimbo & Tank will clash in the Main Event at their upcoming Cage Fury 6 event "Heavy Hands" on September 14th, in Atlantic City.

• Apparently investors in Brazil liked the idea of the IFL. MMAWeekly.com reports that The MTL, an organization not affiliated with the IFL will be starting up a league in the near future. The coaches include Brazilian stalwarts like Wanderlei Silva, Murilo Bustamante, Pedro Rizzo, & Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Scanning the list of fighters on the various teams, I see names like Jean Silva, Alexandre Cacareco, Erick Wanderlei, & Andre Mussi.
  

That's it for today, hope you got your fill on some of the latest happenings. Until next time.. Read more!

Sunday Notes, Thoughts on UFC 73

Well, I had a good time last night watching UFC 73 in HD on my big screen television. One of the biggest disappointments I had was not betting on the fights. If you check out my UFC 73 Preview I went 7-1-1 on my predictions. I've been waiting quite sometime for the event, and I think it only somewhat lived up to it's potential. The thing is, if you really looked at the card, you had to somewhat know it wasn't going to be all fireworks.

The way some of the fighters were matched up, it was going to be real probable how most of the fights were going to go. Still, I'm not disappointed in the card whatsoever. The only thing I'd really change about the fight, is the Rashad Evans & Tito Ortiz fight. I would have liked to see what Rashad could have done if he wasn't so damn hesitant to swing.

Time for some notes..

• How impressive was Anderson Silva? The guy just continues to prove people wrong. I, like many other people on the net, have been continuously saying Silva's Jiu Jitsu is weak, and he keeps proving us wrong. I'm officially convinced that his Nogueira Black Belt is well deserved, and I will not doubt him on the ground ever again. The UFC announced the inevitable rematch with former champ, Rich "Ace" Franklin will be in Cincinnati, Ohio at UFC 77.
  

• Just when I was convinced Sean Sherk would hold the UFC Lightweight title forever, Dana White announced in the Post-Fight Press Conference that BJ Penn would be Sherk's next title defense in November. Not only was I very happy about this news, but completely mind boggled on who to pick as the winner. I'd like to say I think Penn could counter Sherk's offense, but I'm just not sure.

• I saw some pretty stupid rumors on Sherdog last night about the Heath Herring & Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight being a possible work. Sometimes it boggles my mind how dumb some of the posters are over there. No, Dana White did not tell Herring to "not finish Nogueira", he simply gassed. Yeah, it looked weird because it seemed like Herring could have finished him at any time.. But, it was simply because he ran out of steam, NOT because Dana White told him not to.

• News 10 Sacramento is reporting that a fan at the UFC 73 event last night fell 30 feet to the ground at the Arco Arena. Apparently he died from his injuries at the UC Davis Medical Center. Sincerest apologies go out to his family, and I'll try to have more on it when it develops.

• On a lighter note, how hot were the two Police officers escorting the fighters down to the arena? Were these even really officers or security guards? If so, I'd let them put me in handcuffs any day.

• The thing that disappoints me the most about the outcome of the Rashad Evans & Tito Ortiz fight is that I believe the UFC will try to push an entire PPV based solely on the rematch. I hope they realize it would be a good thing for the fans to go ahead and offer the rematch as a Main Event for an upcoming Ultimate Fight Night instead.

• An article on the Gainesville Sun's website says Dana White confirmed Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's first opponent in the UFC will likely be Ryoto "Lyoto" Machida. It's also just a pretty good article. You should check it out.

• The UFC has officially launched the UFC 74 "Respect" Website, the Main Event is Randy "The Natural" Couture taking on Gabriel Gonzaga for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

• UFCJunkie.com is reporting that a rematch between Chris Leben & Mike Swick may headline Ultimate Fight Night 11.
  

• Who else was happy to see Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at the UFC 73 event? I'm excited to see "Mach" test some of the Lightweights in the future. I just hope the UFC doesn't feed him to the sharks right off the bat.
  
  Edit: Now that I think of it, Sakurai will probably be fighting at Welterweight in the UFC.
  

• According to Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, Team Quest member Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has agreed to terms with EliteXC. Reports were that Sokoudjou was unimpressed with offers from the UFC, and will reportedly earn $150,000 to show, and $50,000 to win with Showtime's EliteXC. Sokoudjou is coming off of two huge upset victories in a row against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira & Ricardo Arona.

That's it for now. I'll have more stuff later this evening, or tomorrow. Thanks for reading. Read more!