MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

CSAC denies Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva steroids appeal and upholds year-long suspension

“There was no appellation. The suspension stays. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The Commission showed that doesn’t like MMA fighter, mainly Brazilian. Sean Sherk took nandrolone, it was proved, but they reduced his punishment, but with me they didn’t leave.”

Elite XC Heavyweight Champion Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva shares his disappointment with Tatame.com about the recent decision made by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) to uphold his year-long suspension and $2,500 fine for testing positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone following his win over Justin Eilers in July.

Silva’s manager, Alex Davis added this:

“The commission didn’t prove Bigfoot`s fault, there are doubts, but anything proved, and then the facts pass to be unimportant, and the opinion of six or seven commissionaires, who doesn’t understand anything about chemistry, predominate. The Commission, although have not proved the facts, continue to keep the suspension. We’ll sit down and see what we can do.”

Basically, Silva’s management doesn’t believe their client got a fair shake with the CSAC, but at this point it looks like “Bigfoot” will have to take it on the chin and serve the suspension regardless of his guilt or innocence.

The suspension will keep the first and only Elite XC heavyweight champion out of action until at least July 26, 2009. He has the option to fight outside the United States during this time; however, it would be heavily discouraged and frowned upon by the CSAC and other regulatory bodies nationwide.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dana White on Nick Diaz possible return to UFC

Count UFC President Dana White among the many interested suitors interested in possibly securing the services of 25-year-old mixed martial arts veteran, Nick Diaz (18–7), now that Elite XC is no longer.

That is, of course, if the Stockton, Calif., native can cool his temper outside the cage.

“I think Nick Diaz is a bad ass. Nick Diaz is a tough kid,” White said in a recent radio interview with TapouT Live. “Nick Diaz doesn’t handle himself right all the time in public. I like him — I respect him as a fighter. I love his attitude. I love the way that kid fights. But you can’t do the stuff that this kid does in public. You can’t get into fights when the fight is over … you can’t do that stuff.”

White is perhaps referring to an incident in the wake of UFC 57: “Liddell vs. Couture 3” in 2006 when Diaz was so fired up that a decision didn’t go his way in a fight against Joe Riggs that he dropped “Diesel” in the hospital afterwards.

He remained with the promotion after the post-fight fisticuffs, going on to lose his next bout against Sean Sherk via unanimous decision. The defeat to the “Muscle Shark” was his third straight inside the Octagon; however; Diaz, felt at the time that he should have won all the fights during that rough stretch.

Diaz would go on two fight twice more under the UFC banner, collecting stoppages over Josh Neer and Gleison Tibau, before signing on to challenge Pride FC golden boy, Takanori Gomi, once his contract with Zuffa expired.

He initially defeated the “Fireball Kid” with a thrilling submission (gogoplata), ending a explosive clash that up until that point was an absolute war. However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) changed the result to a “No Contest” when Diaz tested positive for marijuana in his post-fight drug test.

Diaz signed with upstart promotion Elite XC quickly thereafter in early 2007, emerging as one of its most marketable stars. And while he failed in his attempt to capture the vacant 160-pound title, Diaz put together a solid record (4-1) while with Elite XC (and one fight with DREAM).

Of course, Diaz — who had been a staple in the UFC 170-pound division for several years — would be an instant force in the lightweight division if he were to return to the organization and compete at 155.

His younger brother, Nate Diaz, currently competes in the category and has enjoyed tremendous success, including winning the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).

 

[Shogun Locc]

Rumored AFFLICTION 2 Day of Reckoning Card

- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
- Josh Barnett vs. Aleksander Emelianenko?
- Tim Sylvia vs. TBA
- Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
- Matt Lindland vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral or Trevor Prangley?
- Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
- Gegard Mousasi vs. Vitor Belfort
- Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson
- Pedro Rizzo vs. Ben Rothwell
- Jay Hieron vs. Drew Fickett
- Jason High vs. Mike Pyle

 

[Shogun Locc]

Paulo Filho Interview

The WEC middleweight champion is ready to go back to the octagon and defend his belt against Chael Sonnen. After submitting the same opponent in a polemic fight, Filho will be back in action at November 5th, and is ready to win again. In an exclusive interview to TATAME.com, the undefeated middleweight fighter spoke about the training, the postponed event, the possibility to fight in UFC and commented Anderson Silva’s fight against Cote, at UFC 90. Check below the complete interview.

How’s the training to the second fight against Sonnen?
It’s great. I’m making weight with no suffering and doing the specific technical training for him, the type of game he likes, ground n’ pound. After we do the preparation and we had some problems like it happened, the event being postponed, we kind of lose the rhythm and needs to start all over again. I tried to continue with my weight, 91kg, and now I’m doing the technical part and training for the situations I know will happen in the fight.

How was WEC’s postponement bad for you?
I believe it was worse for him than to me. I was ready, and the athlete in general has his best performance twice a year, and we chose these moments to important competitions, and that’s what happened. E trained a lot for the first fight and I couldn’t make it, had those problems, and now the hurricane postponed it again and I’m back in my perfect mental condition.

Dana White said he’s going to merge some WE fighters to UFC… Did someone spoke with you about it?
Yes, superficially, but I still don’t have anything concrete and I’m very happy with WEC. I like what I make there, I’m well paid, the event is great and I’m well recognized in America, maybe it’s better than UFC to be well-known, but I think UFC is the dream of every fighter. I fought in Pride and now I wanna be at UFC so that I could say one day that I fought at the best MMA events of the world.

How do you think would be the UFC middleweight division with you and Anderson Silva?
I think Anderson is doing the right thing. He always praises me, wants the best for me, and said we wouldn’t fight me, he’s the best, and I don’t wanna fight him too. I think he’ll go up (to light-heavyweight) and until then I’ll go there and when I get closer to the title, he’d be already retired. He already done a lot for the sport, and we they have a lot of great athletes there and I can’t let this opportunity go away, it’ll be a better motivation, show the Paulão from the Pride GP. The problem in this depression moment was motivation, it was a very complicated moment, but now things are better and I can show my best game.

What do you think about Anderson’s fight with Cote?
In fact I didn’t watched it yet, but (Josuel) Distak told me that he kind of preserved himself. He’s a lot better technically than Cote, he did a game preserving himself to fight again in December. He might face Chuck Liddell, and he needs to get there well, but that’s what I think will happen. They told me we’d do a tough fight, so I think it’s gonna be Liddell. They’re both great strikers and it’d be a huge fight. UFC has the tougher athletes and he’s dominating it, so I think they won’t rest until they take him from there, but they can try, try, but they won’t make it. Anderson is with a great rhythm, understood his own game, has a surprising ground game… I think he can complicate everyone’s life in the octagon. Middleweight division has tougher athletes than light-heavyweight, the move better and has more technique, so Anderson can go up and beat everybody.

How do you think would be a fight between Anderson and Chuck?
Liddell is a slow fighter. He moves well, but he’s slow, and I believe Anderson will dance in front of him, connect some punches… Anderson would win that for sure.

 

[Shogun Locc]

EliteXC: A Lesson in Expectations Management

There are many golden rules within the business world, but in regards to selling yourself, your company, or your product, none are more important than this: never over-sell, never over-hype, never over-promise. It’s basic expectations theory.

When an organization makes a promise, they set an invisible bar of expectations within the minds of their customers. Then, for better or for worse, they’re stuck with the task of meeting those expectations; because, obviously, if you don’t meet the expectations of your customers, they’re not going to be happy.

While it seems like common sense, there is a host of academic research behind expectations theory. Perhaps that’s why I’m so surprised that a guy like Jared Shaw – someone so quick to pull out his Harvard School of Business case studies against KJ Noons – has managed to commit one of the greater selling sins in recent memory.

Under the management of EliteXC and the Shaws, Kimbo Slice has been promoted as this “street certified,” legend-slaying monster – a veritable MMA God. Unfortunately, they did such a good job of duping the general public that most actually believed the hype.

To the mainstream, Kimbo Slice, was as advertised; and, their expectations followed accordingly.

Sadly, those expectations were brutally exaggerated and MMA’s first, real foray into the mainstream should be considered a failure if for no other reason than the damage that Seth Petruzelli managed to inflict, with one glancing right, to the chin of both Kimbo’s and MMA’s credibility. And that’s even ignoring the controversy surrounding “Standgate.”

As a result, the general public - and perhaps just as important, the mainstream media - is very weary of our sport; all thanks to those brutal expectations that were unwisely, and perhaps even unfairly, thrust upon a fighter that was not ready and a sport that knew as much.

Now, the rest of the MMA community is left with the task of picking up the pieces and learning from the mistakes of the past.

So to all of you would-be promoters out there, know this: you’ve got a fine line to walk, between under and over-selling – tread it carefully. You can’t dupe the consumer and live to operate another.

 

[Shogun Locc]

MMA Authentics Statement on UFC Ban

MMA Authentics, owner of the Cage Fighter brand, issued the following statement to MMAPayout.com in regards to their ongoing dispute with the UFC:

MMA Authentics™ has a tremendous amount of respect for the UFC, its’ athletes and the business Dana White and the Fertitta brothers have pioneered in the sport of MMA. We are working towards a solution and hope to work with the UFC in the future to grow the sport to greater heights worldwide.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ratner Responds on SC MMA Regulation

Marc Ratner, Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for the UFC, has been a tireless champion of the regulation of MMA since taking his post in 2006. So it should come as no surprise that he has been a very interested observer of recent events in South Carolina. After reading our reports on the situation, Ratner contacted MMAPayout.com with an update on the UFC’s efforts there:

We’re working with the SC Legislature and the Athletic Commission and have been there a couple of times. South Carolina is an important state and we look forward to having them approve MMA. The UFC will not go to a State that has not approved the sport of MMA. Our concern is that when there are unregulated fights like they had at Parris Island that something could go wrong either medically or in this case with the fight in question and bring the sport more controversy. This fight has caused some problems for the sport, but what it shows is the very real need for the MMA to be regulated.

Ratner also shared a few details regarding future targets for the UFC regulation push. “We are also working on Indiana, Wisconsin and West Virginia,” Ratner said. “So we’re busy!”

 

[Shogun Locc]

THIAGO ALVES: "I'M GOING TO BE THE CHAMP AT 170!"
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content3689.html?PHPSESSID=164dd1b09bb2b2c3ba5a5c53ac5de867
"I want to be with the belt around my waist, that's where I want to be. I'm not stopping until I get the belt and when I get the belt, I'm going to keep it for a long time...I'm one of the strongest 170 pounders out there and I'm not moving. I'm going to be the champ at 170," stated UFC welterweight contender Thiago Alves as he talked about his future plans after his dominant win over Josh Koscheck this past weekend at UFC 90. Check out what he had to say about his performance, a fight with Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn and much more.

 

[Shogun Locc]

ED SOARES: "ANDERSON FELT LIKE HE BROKE HIM"
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content3690.html
"Anderson felt like he broke him at the end of the 2nd round when he had him in the clinch kneeing him to the ribs....He was planning on finishing the fight in the 3rd round; that's what they trained for. They trained to feel him out for a round or two and try to take advantage of any opportunity. Patrick Cote was pretty good at not creating any opportunity for Anderson to capitalize on so Anderson started to enforce his game," stated Ed Soares, manager of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, as he talked about the fight with Patrick Cote. You don't want to miss what else he had to say about Anderson Silva and his future plans, Junior Dos Santos, Antonio Noguiera, Lyoto Machida and much more. Check it out!

 

[lenbiasyayo]

"WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown" fight card finalized

The fight card for "WEC 36: Brown vs. Faber," an event originally scheduled for Sept. 10 but postponed due to Hurricane Ike, has been finalized.

The WEC confirmed the Nov. 5 card, which features a main event between WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (21-1) and challenger Mike Brown (19-4), today.

The event takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and airs live on Versus.

In addition to the Faber vs. Brown title fight, WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho (16-0) returns from an extended layoff for a rematch with Chael Sonnen (20-9-1). The two fighters first met in December 2007 at WEC 31, where Filho picked up his 16th consecutive victory. However, Sonnen, who dished out a considerable amount of damage, claimed he never intended to submit from Filho's arm-bar submission (despite an audible grunt of pain) with just five seconds remaining in the second round.

The Filho-Sonnen bout will be the final middleweight title fight in the WEC. The division, as well as the light-heavyweight class, will be folded into the UFC by year's end.

In a key featherweight bout, former top contender Jens Pulver (22-9-1) meets title hopeful and fellow UFC veteran Leonard Garcia (11-3).

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD

Champ Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown (for featherweight title)
Champ Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen (for middleweight title)
Leonard Garcia vs. Jens Pulver
Nissen Osterneck vs. Jake Rosholt
Donald Cerrone vs. Rob McCullough
PRELIMINARY CARD

David Avellan vs. Aaron Simpson
Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Brookins
Steve Steinbeiss vs. Alex Schoenauer
Danny Castillo vs. Ed Ratcliff
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Rani Yayha

faber fightin yeah boy!!! and see jens pulver fight sweat pal

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

Silva's going crazy, wants to fight at UFC 91

It sounds like some of the criticism is starting to hit home for Anderson Silva. UFC president Dana White told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Silva wants to get right back on the horse:

"He's flipping out. He wants to fight again, like, on Nov. 15. He's (upset) about his performance and he wants to fight again immediately."

A Silva appearance on Nov. 15 is highly unlikely. There's no one of any quality who would take a Silva fight on three weeks notice for UFC 91. The following UFC cards (UFC 92 & 94) are completely stacked so where would a Silva fight fit in? UFC 93 in Dublin could use some beefing up. Right now the main event is Rich Franklin v. Dan Henderson and the second fight is Shogun Rua and Mark Coleman.

The UFC should make a fight for Silva at 205. Who should the next victim be? Dana White told Yahoo! Sports on Saturday that he feels sorry for the next guy who fights the 'disrespected' Silva. White had little response to a question about matching up Chuck Liddell and Silva in London in February. That matchup does have huge sizzle and all parties involved may feel some pressure to repair the image of both Liddell and Silva with a superfight.

 

[Shogun Locc]

St. Pierre Primes for Penn, Title Defense
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/St-Pierre-Primes-for-Penn-Title-Defense-1807

Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will defend his belt against lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn in what has already become the most anticipated bout of 2009 at UFC 94 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas.

“I look forward to this fight,” St. Pierre (17-2) told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview.

The two superstars, both considered among the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, met previously at UFC 58 in March 2006. St. Pierre was awarded a controversial split decision over the popular Hawaiian and would capture the welterweight crown from Matt Hughes eight months later.

“I think I’m very different [now],” St. Pierre said. “He’s different, too. He’s very well-rounded, but he’s got a lot of holes in his game.”

Since his stunning April 2007 defeat to Matt Serra, St. Pierre has looked all but unbeatable, rattling off wins against four top 10 opponents -- Hughes, Serra, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch. The 27-year-old halted Fitch’s record-tying eight-fight winning streak inside the Octagon with a unanimous decision victory at UFC 87 in August.

St. Pierre has already started to prepare for Penn (13-4-1), who stopped Sean Sherk on strikes at UFC 84 in May.

“I always train hard; I’m always in shape,” he said. “I’m not one of those guys who [trains] because he has to do it. I do it because I love it.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Lion's Den to open in Connecticut, Ken Shamrock holding tryouts Nov. 2

With the opening of his latest Lion's Den facility, MMA legend and UFC hall-of-famer Ken Shamrock will hold open tryouts for the gym's fight team on Nov. 2 in Middletown, Conn.

The tryouts are for the Lion's Den Middletown Elite Fight Team and will coincide with the grand opening celebration of Lion's Den Middletown, which is the latest venture for the quickly growing franchise.

The Lion's Den, founded by Shamrock in the early 1990s out of necessity, is now represented by a fight team of professional fighters in each facility. Gym and team locations can now be found in states such as Arizona, Nevada, California and Connecticut.

"Only fighters that excel in every level of the grueling competition will make the cut," Shamrock stated in a press release. "The competition will be tough. Our standards are extremely high. Athletes will be required to display their mixed martial arts skills during a series of extremely challenging drills. If they score high enough to avoid early elimination, they will move on to the next round and will eventually compete in multiple live MMA elimination matches."

The Lion's Den has long been known -- and even criticized -- for its grueling tryout processes, which are designed to push fighters to their physical and mental limits. Shamrock and Lion's Den Middletown coaches will oversee the tryouts on Nov. 2.

"The tryout process is intense," stated Shamrock, who served as a coach on the third season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series. "The competitors not only have to have heart, they will have to prove their skills as well."

The gym itself is a 16,000-square-foot facility that includes training for non-competitors to entry-level students to the world-class fight team. The gym, open seven days a week, also includes 2,500 square feet of mat space, a 2,000-square-foot weight room, 4,000 square feet of cardio equipment space, 60 heavy bags, a boxing ring, hexagon cage, pro shop, juice bar and Internet cafe.

Tryouts will be held at 10 a.m., and registration begins at 9 a.m. Competitors must provide their own MMA gear for the competition, including shin guards, 16-ounce gloves, MMA gloves, mouthpiece, head gear and groin protector. Space is limited, so call (860) 613-239 is you plan to try out.

The gym is located at 1385 Newfield St.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) writer Steve Sievert reported in last week's "MMAjunkie.com Fight Biz" column, Shamrock also recently opened a Lion's Den training center in Modesto, Calif.

The Lion's Den has produced fighters such as Frank Shamrock, Roy Nelson, Travis Lutter, Mikey Burnett, Edwin Dewees, Guy Mezger, Pete Williams and others, though not all of them are still associated with the team. A Lion's Den team based in Nevada also competed in the IFL when it switched to a camp-based system (rather than a team city/team format) before its demise earlier this year.

 

[Shogun Locc]

ECONOMY FALLING OUT, WEC'S STOCK RISING

Despite the economic fallout in the U.S., World Extreme Cagefighting is poised for its biggest year ever.

That's no small feat. Since being purchased by Zuffa (the UFC's parent company) in late 2006, WEC had seven events in 2007 and will have six in 2008 by the end of the year. They have also made inroads to the masses with a television deal on the Versus network, the rebranded Outdoor Life Network.

Vice president Peter Dropick says that the promotion currently has plans to run more events in 2009 than it ever has in the past, albeit only slightly more, but that is just the initial plans, which are open for expansion.

"We'll have at least eight shows, which will be live on Versus," relayed Dropick on Tuesday. "There's the possibility of additional events and pay-per-view opportunities, as well. Those are all in the plans for 2009, but a minimum of eight."

Pay-per-view has been in the works from some time now. The promotion came within a hair of making it's PPV debut in June of this year when WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber welcomed former UFC lightweight titleholder Jens Pulver to his hometown of Sacramento. Though WEC pulled the plug on airing it on PPV, WEC 34 was a success, drawing more than 12,000 fans and producing a $739,000 live gate.

It seems that is not enough to pull the trigger on PPV just yet. Dropick has it in the works for 2009 though, but would only say, "Do I have anything scheduled (for PPV)? No. Do I have plans? Yes."

He was more absolute on the direction that the WEC would take in 2009 as far as expanding its territories. While international expansion isn't at the top of the list, it is in Dropick's sights, though he is currently focused on growing on the promotion's home turf.

"I think our first order is to expand our footprint here domestically in the U.S. There are a lot of markets that we want to go into," said the VP. "New markets have opened up for us, one being Chicago," where WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres is extremely popular.

He also mentioned Southern California (San Diego specifically), New Jersey, Texas, and Arizona as locals that have thumbtacks on the WEC's expansion map.

"We have looked at opportunities oversees, but there is nothing on paper at this point. Obviously, the UFC is growing and has an office in the U.K. At this point, I don't have any plans," said Dropick of international plans, but added, "Another area we're looking at is Mexico. We have a new television deal in Mexico on Cadena Tres, which is one of the biggest TV stations down there. I don't know if that would happen in 2009, but that's another logical area to go to."

WEC fighters may not have to have their passports ready just yet, but it sounds as if 2009 could be the year for them to rack up some frequent flyer miles.

 

[Shogun Locc]

JACKSON'S AUCTIONS CAGE FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

In an effort to help raise funds for children whose parents made the ultimate sacrifice for service to the U.S., Jackson's MMA is teaming up with Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, Inc. to auction off a one-of-a-kind Jackson's MMA autographed cage.

The winning bidder will receive a certificate of authenticity with fighters’ autographs, as well as the 20-foot cage itself, three days training at Jackson's MMA, including a private lesson from both Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn. The winner will also receive a dinner with Greg Jackson and the Jackson's MMA staff.

The cage is the actual cage that was used to train some of the biggest stars in MMA today including UFC's welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, UFC star Keith Jardine, UFC No. 1 light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans, UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt, UFC welterweight Diego Sanchez, EliteXC No. 1 middleweight contender Joey Villasenor, UFC lightweight fighter Roger Huerta, UFC welterweight Karo Parisian, UFC veteran David Loiseau, UFC veteran Mike Van Arsdale, WEC No. 1 lightweight contender Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, WEC bantamweight fighter Damacio Page, WEC fighter Leonard Garcia, WEC fighter Brian Stann, top female fighters Holly Holm, Julie Kedzie and Michelle Waterson. Last but not least, world famous coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn.

"We believe that our freedom and our children's freedoms are forever guaranteed by every member of our Armed Forces those who have served in the past, present and future. Our lives are made even richer than those in many other countries because of our military personnel. They offer us freedom, something that no amount of money can buy. Something so priceless you cannot even purchase it on the market, but sadly may not be noticed until it is gone", said Rebecca Campbell, founder of the CFSRF. "We are truly honored to have the support of Greg Jackson, Jackson's MMA and all the UFC fighters associated with his camp as they join us in helping us continue our mission of support to our military and their families."

"Jackson's is a team deeply rooted in the belief that helping others is the cornerstone for the success of all," said Greg Jackson "We can think of no greater example of this than the sacrifices of our Armed Forces and their families, and we want to honor their sacrifices to our country, as well as express our gratitude with this token of our appreciation. “

The opportunity to win this once in a life time offer is open to all private individuals, corporations and organizations around the world. Bidding begins at US $4,500.00 A portion of the proceeds will benefit Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, Inc. Bidders may visit www.ebay.com, where the auction will begin for the duration of seven days beginning Nov. 1 at 12:00pm EST. Just search ebay for Jackson’s MMA Cage.

 

[Shogun Locc]

NICK DIAZ HEADING BACK TO JAPAN FOR NEW YEAR

In the Chinese fire drill of EliteXC’s talent division since its closure last Monday, fighter managers are taking the legal reigns to free their clients.

Cesar Gracie, manager of EliteXC fighters Nick Diaz and Jake Shields, informed MMAWeekly.com he had sent EliteXC a notice on Friday stating that the company had breached their contracts with his clients.

The clause in EliteXC’s contract, as reported by Loretta Hunt of Sherdog.com, states that should the company not be able to fulfill the terms of its “promotional and payment obligations” – essentially, to keep its employees working – the fighters could seek to terminate the agreement. EliteXC had 30 days from the notice of breach to correct the situation.

Gracie said he is already making plans for Diaz’s next fight. The 25-year-old fighter has an existing clause in his contract allowing him to compete in Japan as long as it doesn't interfere with his EliteXC duties.

“We’re not doing anything wrong if he fights in Japan,” Gracie said. “As far as him fighting in the U.S., then the 30 day thing (applies).”

Gracie said representatives from Dream and Sengoku had approached him about using Diaz. Dream’s parent company, Fight Entertainment Group, is planning a K-1 Dynamite! event for New Year’s Eve, while Sengoku 7 is scheduled for Jan. 4.

“We’ll be on one of those two cards,” Gracie said.

As for Shields, UFC president Dana White said he was interested in signing the EliteXC welterweight champion. In late November, that could be a reality.

 

[Shogun Locc]

M-1 Challenge debuts Wednesday in the US

M-1 Challenge comes to Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday for the world league’s first show on American soil.

M-1 Challenge, which is under the M-1 Global and Affliction Entertainment banner, is co-promoting this show with local promoter Titan Entertainment.

“The Ultimate Fighter 2” cast member Mike White, who was an All-American wrestler for the University of Missouri, will fight Leo Pla in the main event of the card slated to feature twelve bouts.

The show will air on a future episode of “HDNet Fights Presents: The M-1 Challenge,” which airs every Friday at 8pm ET on HDNet.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Chris Horodecki heads to Japan for 'S-Cup'

Chris Horodecki will enter the Shootboxing “S-Cup 2008” same-night eight-man tournament on November 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Horodecki will take on Shoot boxing-trained Hiroki Shishido in the quarterfinals of the biennial tournament, which will also feature PRIDE Bushido veteran Luiz Azeredo – the first man to beat Anderson Silva-- and 2-time K-1 MAX and 2-time S-Cup champion Andy Souwer.

Shoot boxing, also referred to as standing vale tudo, is similar to kickboxing except that throws and standing submissions are allowed.

After this fight Horodecki will fight on January 24, 2009 at Affliction 2 “Day of Reckoning” in Anaheim, California.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Murilo “Ninja” heading back to Japan

Fighting for five years in Japan, at Pride and Shooto, Murilo “Ninja” Rua now can be back to the Rising Sun Land, after EliteXC’s bankrupt. Training hard and looking for another show to fight, Ninja spoke to TATAMA about his future. “I don’t have anything set yet, I had two more fights to do at Elite and now I’ll see what I’m gonna do. I’ll speak with my manager and look for another event, maybe in Japan. I don’t have anything right yet, but I believe Japan is a good opportunity”, said Rua, who was surprised with EliteXC’s end. “I already heard some rumors about that, but I wasn’t imagining that it’d happen so fast. They did some events and they couldn’t make it, now it’s time to go after new opportunities, train hard and wait for another contract. I’ll continue training hard here to be ready for my next fight”, finished the fighter.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Satoshi Ishii to make MMA debut at Dynamite

Sports Nippon newspaper in Japan is reporting that 100 kg Olympic judoka Satoshi Ishii will make his ring debut in MMA on 12/31 at K-1’s Dynamite event at Saitama Super Arena. The newspaper further claims that Ishii will make the full-time MMA conversion in Spring of 2009 (after he graduates from college).