MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

RAZOR ROB LOOKING TO CUT IN LINE FOR TITLE SHOT

Rob McCullough is trying to get himself back in the lightweight title mix in World Extreme Cagefighting. The WEC had one of its strangest moments when they had to postpone the show scheduled for Sept. 10 when Hurricane Ike threatened the South Florida area. The show wasn't actually just pushed for a week or two, but for two months.

Now the time has come for the fight to finally begin when McCullough will take on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The postponement had a serious effect on McCullough's training camp, being it was so close to the fight when it was canceled... just five days prior.

“It was real close to the fight,” McCullough said recently in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “If they were going to call it, I'd rather they did it at the end so I can start my cycle all over again and not in the middle.”

When a fight gets postponed, it can cause a major inconvenience to the participating fighters because they depend on their purse to compensate their training camps.

“Yeah, because we didn't get reimbursed,” McCullough explained. “Basically, my partners and my training camp said, 'we're going to do this all over again?' I said, 'Yeah,' and we didn't get paid for it so... But I said, 'Don't worry. It'll all work out in the end.'”

This will be McCullough's tenth fight for the organization. He has enjoyed great success fighting for the WEC, going 7-2. He feels very lucky to be part of their promotion. “I'm really excited. The WEC has always taken care of me. It's like a second home. I've had quite a few fights in the WEC. I know everybody in the backdrop of it all. It's a great organization. It's comparable to the UFC. I'm glad I'm in the WEC and not in EliteXC.”

McCullough is the former WEC lightweight champion, but was stopped by current titleholder Jamie Varner. He returned to the cage in June against Kenneth Alexander. The Californian was noticeably hesitant to pull the trigger against his tough opponent, but was able to earn the split decision.

“I think I was a little gun shy at the beginning in the first two rounds,” commented McCullough about his most recent fight. “Towards the end, I started opening back up. Then it was just a matter of making sure I got the W and not doing anything dumb. Just getting back in there and getting the cage rust off.”

Cerrone has been on an impressive streak of his own, going 8-0 to start his career with one no contest. Not only is Cerrone undefeated, but he has also submitted all of his opponents in under two full rounds. McCullough knows the test he's about to face and doesn't take it lightly. “I think it's going to be a hell of a fight. I think I've been training my butt off. I'm sure he has too. I've got some tricks up my sleeve. I'm sure he's got some stuff, but all in all, I plan on being the victor that night and getting ready for another title shot.”

With a former titleholder taking on an undefeated fighter, the winner of this fight only further solidifies his case for being the number one contender for Varner.

“This is definitely a well-deserved title match-up fight,” said the 31-year-old fighter. “We've both worked hard to get here and we'll do our thing.”

“Razor” Rob McCullough has been through some tough times with the loss to Varner and the postponement of this last fight. He's trying to take everything in stride and just work to get back to where he once was: the WEC lightweight championship. “I've just got to take it one fight at a time. I've been doing this a long time.”

He may be taking it one fight at a time, but that doesn't mean he's lost sight on a rematch with Jamie Varner. If he is successful in his fight with Cerrone, McCullough really wants to get another crack at Varner. “Oh man, do I? I can't wait.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

WEC REALITY SHOW IN THE WORKS FOR 2009

The Ultimate Fighter reality series premiered on Spike TV on Jan. 18, 2005, featuring 16 aspiring fighters competing for two Ultimate Fighting Championship contracts. Largely responsible for mixed martial arts' meteoric rise from grassroots beginnings to a mainstream audience, the popular reality show has featured and made some of the sports' biggest stars.

The show's success has other promotions thinking of their own version of reality television, including the UFC's sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting.

"From the beginning it (a reality show) was something always in our plans," said WEC vice president Peter Dropick. "Versus, we're in discussions with Versus. We're looking right now at trying to figure out what we're going to do exactly.

"We've got a lot of ideas," he added. "We want to find ways similar to the UFC to showcase our fighters on a more consistent basis."

While still in the planning stages, expect to see a WEC reality show on Versus in 2009. "I don't know if we'll do exactly what the UFC did with The Ultimate Fighter, but we do have plans for a reality show of some nature," said Dropick. "Possibly soon and launching in 2009."

Scott Adams and Reed Harris founded the WEC in 2001. Zuffa, UFC's parent company, purchased the California-based promotion in December 2006 and relocated it to Las Vegas. Live WEC events began airing on Versus in June 2007.

 

[Shogun Locc]

FILHO TRIES TO STAY PERFECT WITH WEC 36 REMATCH

To say that World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) middleweight champion Paulo Filho is an intimidating man is a decisive understatement. His physique alone portrays strength and a robust toughness, but it may be what one can’t see from the Brazilian’s outward appearance that is ultimately most impressive.

Paulo Filho is a Rio de Janeiro native who grew up – literally – participating in combat sports. On WEC.tv recently, Filho stated, "I started fighting judo at the age of five as recommended by my pediatrician. I was a very hyperactive kid, so he thought it would be a good way to use up my energy and learn some discipline.”

He continued, “At age nine, I moved to Copacabana and started training jiu-jitsu with Carlson Gracie.”

In essence, Filho was groomed to be a fighter before he had even reached the first grade… and with a 16-0 record, it shows.

In his 16 professional bouts, Filho has yet to come up on the wrong side of a contest and has finished more than half of his opponents before the final bell. In addition to a WEC middleweight championship belt and successful title defenses, Filho has also laid claim to three Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships and five Jiu-Jitsu Championships.

Not bad for a man who just recently graduated from his twenties.

Filho has no intention of resting on his past laurels and coasting through life aimlessly, though. He's a fighter who wants to continually prove why he is the man who deserves the chance swagger around with the middleweight championship belt.

Keeping in his tradition of fighting top competitors, Filho is stepping up again to give Team Quest standout Chael Sonnen the rematch that he desires. There has been much discussion since the first battle between these two men on whether or not Sonnen tapped from Filho’s well-executed armbar… Filho has little doubt, though Sonnen seems to have other thoughts on the matter.

Filho’s victory that night helped him preserve his unblemished record, and though it might not have been an easy night for the jiu-jitsu ace, as former UFC champion Matt Hughes once quipped, “A true champion will always find a way to win.”

Regardless of any happenings during their last fight, though, both men know that a new fight provides a clean slate. Nothing from the last fight matters.

When these two men meet again on Nov. 5 at WEC 36 for the rematch that they both have been anticipating, there will likely be very little love lost between these two proven champs. Of all the fights on the WEC’s nicely stacked card, this fight has all the makings of a fan favorite. And after watching these two men compete before, this fight will likely live up to those high expectations.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Silva Interview

The UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva defended for the fifth time his title at UFC 90, against the Canadian fighter Patrick Cote, but in a fashion people wasn’t used to see. Getting his eighth victory in a row at UFC’s octagon, Anderson spoke to TATAME.com and explained the strategy used in the fight against Cote and replied the bad commentaries about the way he fought. Check below the exclusive interview with Anderson Silva, who commented the chances to give a revenge to Cote and fight Chuck Liddell at light-heavyweight division.

What do you think about your last fight against Cote?
The fight was good, but unfortunately he got hurt. We train hard for a fight and sometimes we get injured, but it was a good fight, interesting to watch. We imposed a game that was confusing him a lot, but unfortunately we couldn’t be able to finish it.

Many people criticized you, and others said you were underestimated him. What can you say about that?
Speak about me is easy, it’s hard to be me. I get when I am today after hard work and no joking. My job is serious, no joking about that. I never underestimated him, I was doing a strategy which was working perfectly, confusing him and making him mistake and then knock him out. We trained to do a five rounds fight, we wasn’t planning to knock on e first or second round. We were watching his mistakes, but unfortunately we couldn’t finish out fight, but it was good for me, all this experience, the technique we imposed, the punches, and if I had more one or two rounds I’d catch him…

Cote got on the third round against you… Why couldn’t you knock him out?
Nothing, our objective wasn’t knock him out, it was make him mistake and take the fight were we wanted, and it was happening, but he got injured.

We did you chose this tactic?
We did a whole training prepared for the kind of fight he does. We saw his fights, things he does in each round, and we trained for that. I think one thing is get to a fight against a guy who mistakes a lot on the first round and knock him out, and other one is prepare a strategy.

After the fight, Cote said you were scared to fight him. What do you think about that?
It’s complicated, he has a mouth can say whatever he wants, I won’t worry about that. He couldn’t hit me just once on the whole fight, I put him down, kicked him in the head, knees, elbow… I wouldn’t get into his game and risk taking a lucky punch and lose the fight. I did the fight my way and what we trained was working, he can say whatever he wants.

Would you accept a rematch against him?
It’s not my decision, if Dana White thinks he deserves that… I’m training to fight the best and develop my work and technique.

We heard some rumors about a fight between you and Chuck Liddell… Is that true?
Thanks for the information, but I didn’t know about that. Everything is possible, but that’s nothing set yet. Let’s wait and see what’ll happen.

Do you think Thales Leites, after this victory, can be your next challenge for the belt?
I can think many things, and I won’t be arrogant. He’s after his spot, running after that, and if they (UFC) think he deserves that, I’ll do it for sure.

Who do you think is the toughest that can fight against you for the belt?
I don’t think that’s only one tough guy, but a lot of good fighters, toughs, fighting for their chances.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Marco Loro commentes next WEC fight

After a draw against Masakatsu Ueda for the Shooto belt, Marco Loro is training hard to come back on fighting in 2009. The Nova União athlete spoke to TATAME.com and commented his next challenge, against Rafael Rabelo at WEC. “I believe he’s from BJJ, and has been fighting constantly, has some MMA fights and I believe he never lost. The deal is train hard and focused to get there and do everything I’ve trained”, said Loro, who still doesn’t know when the fight will happen. “I have to go forward all the time, because the American crowd likes people who do it all the time. They like lightweight fights and actually say is the division in witch people does the best fights, so I’ll do it. I’ll try to put him down, but I can do some boxing and muay thay too”, analyzed the athlete, who wants to show a good work in WEC’s octagon. “I need to get there and win this fight, I know that, go there and do a good fight… I need to start all over again, I’m being very humble, very sincere, I’ll fight a guy who’s debuting in WEC, but he already done some MMA fights and I hope I win”. After the draw at the Shooto title fight, Marco believes who can get a revenge against Ueda. “They (Shooto’s promoters) wanna put this fight again, but I’ll only accept it for the title, or I’ll never be back to Shooto again, even tough they pay very bad”, said the fighter, who believes he actually won the fight against Ueda. “I won the first and second rounds, then my corner said to calm down on the third, and I know I lost the third, but the others I definitely won”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Luis Cane Interveiw

At the biggest challenge of his career, Luis "Banha" Cane did a great job. Facing the tough Thierry Sokoudjou, the Brazilian fighter used the perfect strategy and surprised the Cameroon athlete with a knockout at UFC 89. In an exclusive interview with TATAME.com, Cane commented the excellent win, his expectations for the future in UFC and promised a Christmas gift to Sokoudjou. Check below the complete interview with Luis Arthur Cane.

What do you think about your victory against Sokoudjou?
It’s was tough. It was a very important fight for my career, beat a Top 10 is a great experience, and for the first time I fought more than one round, saw how I did and it was very important.

Which tactic did you prepared for him?
I knew he was dangerous, I couldn’t go striking like a crazy against him, because he knocked some good guys out lately and has a heavy hand. I was ready to do a three round fight, but on the second one I got a good distance and knocked him out.

Do you know your next step in UFC?
I don’t have anything set yet, I’m just waiting, no rush. I fought with a injured elbow, so I couldn’t train well for this fights, so now I’ll do a surgery, a simple one, and stop training for three weeks to recover it, and then I’ll be back and check what else UFC has to offer me. I trust on their work and I’m sure they give me a good fight.

Who do you think can be your next opponent?
Maybe they put me against (Keith) Jardine, a tough fighter, another Top 10, but I won’t choose opponents. I’ll wait for Joe Silva decide who I’ll fight and I’m sure it won’t be easy, they’ll put me another great fighter and that’s what I want. I’m ready for that and I want to be between the best.

And you also won the knockout of the night bonus…
Shit, that was great. He said (before the fight) that Christmas was coming and he needed to win some money… I’ll send him a “turkey cock” (in Brazilian, is a slang witch means penis). I’ll finish paying my car and invest this money, I won’t spend it all. In fighter career you never know what’s gonna happen.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Kitaoka and Gomi fight on Jan 4

Satoru Kitaoka won the title of the lightweight tournament. After the fight, Kitaoka called Takanori Gomi, who lost by split decision, to the ring.

Kitaoka: " You lost today. Are you still going to fight me on Jan 4? "

Gomi: "I lost today. However, why not, you can fight me. "

Kitaoka: " I accept your challenge."

 

[Shogun Locc]

World Victory Road to pursue Satoshi Ishii

Satoshi Ishii asked for a release from the All Japan Judo Federation on Oct 31. He will start working on striking techniques to prepare for his debut next spring.

Everyone talks about Ishii heading to DREAM. However, WVR PR Kuniyasu said SENGOKU is going to approach Ishii and try to win him over.

 

[midwest314]

Kitaoka and Gomi fight on Jan 4

Satoru Kitaoka won the title of the lightweight tournament. After the fight, Kitaoka called Takanori Gomi, who lost by split decision, to the ring.

Kitaoka: " You lost today. Are you still going to fight me on Jan 4? "

Gomi: "I lost today. However, why not, you can fight me. "

Kitaoka: " I accept your challenge."

nice, at least the sengoku officials realize gomi deserves the fight. but if gomi doesnt turn it up he will be tapping to kitoka on jan 4th

 

[Shogun Locc]

nice, at least the sengoku officials realize gomi deserves the fight. but if gomi doesnt turn it up he will be tapping to kitoka on jan 4th

I agree I was suprised Satoru Kitoka tapped Eiji mitsuoka. I thought for sure Eiji was going to take the tourney. Satoru sure is a really good grappler now if he can get some better ground and pound and dangerous stand up he will be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[Shogun Locc]

'Cowboy' Talks Big Fight at WEC
videolink: http://sherdog.com/videos/recent/Cowboy-Talks-Big-Fight-at-WEC-1810
Donald Cerrone discussed his bout with “Razor” Rob McCullough this week at WEC 36.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Sonnen Expects a Different Outcome in Rematch
videolink: http://sherdog.com/videos/recent/Sonnen-Expects-a-Different-Outcome-in-Rematch-1811
Sherdog.com news editor Loretta Hunt caught up with Chael Sonnen to discuss his rematch with WEC middleweight ace Paulo Filho.

 

[Shogun Locc]

WEC's Road Ahead

The clattering thud you’ll hear shortly after the conclusion of Wednesday’s World Extreme Cagefighting 36 card is likely to be the deposit of the organization’s middleweight championship belt -- to be contested by Chael Sonnen against Paulo Filho -- into the nearest garbage can.

In September, the promotion announced that it would be euthanizing both its 185-pound and 205-pound classes in an effort to focus more on the trimmer weight divisions, a charge headed by the personable (and generously chinned) Urijah Faber.

Should you be disappointed? While it’s true that the heavier slots were flimsy -- it’s unlikely Brian Stann or Steve Cantwell would survive even a UFC Fight Night -- the limited talent pool actually served a good purpose. By grooming athletes with clear potential, Zuffa -- which owns both the WEC and its bigger, substantially meaner brother, the UFC -- was able to control its own feeder system.

Perfect example? Jake Rosholt, a 4-0, four-time Division-1 wrestler who is predicted to be hell on wheels in another couple of years, is a ready-made prospect for the WEC’s competitive, but not suffocating, middleweight division. (Champion Filho was overqualified to begin with.) He could improve at his own pace; get pushed without getting pushed over.

In the UFC, where there’s no such thing as the shallow end of the pool, the learning curve is going to be steep.

It’s a shame for guys like Rosholt, and it’s a roll of the dice for the promotion itself, which is obviously banking on Faber to stir up attention for his sub-division of prizefighting. Faber is certainly a capable athlete -- too capable, having disposed of several challengers to his 145-pound title and left with only two compelling and attention-nabbing bouts remaining in the class: a rematch with Jens Pulver and an unlikely showdown with Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.

To that end, Faber has made noise recently about moving up to 155 pounds if the situation warrants, but it’s never sound business to try and cannibalize one champion against another. And if he does, what becomes of the WEC, which ostensibly exists solely for promoting both Faber and 135-pound titleholder Miguel Torres?

Faber’s drawing power is tenuous at best: Though his fight with Pulver in June drew a record number of eyes to cable station Versus, his opponent had been seen on weekly Spike television not long before under the UFC’s umbrella. There’s talk of him headlining a WEC pay-per-view in ’09, but without a similar hook -- a notable lightweight dropping a class -- it’s unlikely Faber would compel an already-stressed market to shell out the cash, even with the guaranteed coaxial hype brought on by Versus.

That leaves the WEC with a high-profile headliner that doesn’t exactly have an endless line of opposition in front of him. Challenges from underwhelming contenders are fine for quarterly free television, but as a premium event, it lacks.

To fuel Faber’s career, it seems inevitable that the promotion will have to begin signing more international talent and convince a handful of lightweight contenders to cut out the carbs -- even if it were for a one-off superfight. (Frankie Edgar, for one, is slight for that weight.)

Eroding contenders isn’t a problem unique to Faber: If and when Georges St. Pierre gets past B.J. Penn and Thiago Alves, he’s more or less cleaned out the welterweight division. The difference is, St. Pierre isn’t expected to power an entire promotion in the same way Faber is.

If all this reads like a Chicken Little monologue, it shouldn’t. The WEC has consistently been one of the most well-produced and entertaining fight programs on the dial. Lighter athletes who don’t need to feed 250 pounds of muscle can go for endless rounds; if anything, the excision of the bulkier classes just sheds some of the obligations to put on largely irrelevant fights. (Filho is already rematching Sonnen; Stann was set to face Cantwell again before the fight was scratched.)

Maybe it’s a good thing: With Faber’s skills towering over the others in his class, he could be embraced by a mainstream media desperate for an American MMA figurehead to hang their support on.

As for the belts in the waste bin? If it brings us another step closer to having one true world champion in each weight class, Godspeed.

And toss the WAMMA gold in there while you’re at it.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Kang Signs with UFC

Canadian middleweight Denis Kang has confirmed to Sherdog.com that he has signed a four-fight contract with the UFC. One of the world’s most coveted free agents, Kang said that he has dreamt of fighting in the sport’s top organization for a long time.

“Do you want to hear a funny story?” asked Kang. “Back in 1995-96 I was telling all of my friends that I’d be fighting in the UFC within a year. I don’t want to say that anybody could get in the UFC back then, but it was more what kind of martial art you did instead of your record.”

Kang notes that the UFC and the sport have evolved substantially since his high school days, but he feels he has the goods to make a dent in the promotion.

Kang (31-10-1) is coming off of a brutally quick TKO victory over Marvin Eastman at RAW Combat on Oct. 25 in Calgary, Alberta, and once went three years and 23 fights without losing.

When Kang fought in Pride Fighting Championships there was one thing that he envied about his friends who fought in the UFC.

“When I was fighting in Pride I was proud to be a Pride fighter and I loved it,” recalled Kang. “I felt like I was really part of the Pride family, but the only thing I envied the UFC fighters was that people could watch them live and go to their fights. I can tell you that if I hadn’t been fighting for Pride, the UFC would have been my other choice.”

Now that choice has come to fruition and Kang is ecstatic.

“It feels great man,” said Kang. “It’s brought me a new level of focus and motivation even higher because now I know I’ve got some work to do. It reminds me of when I first signed with a big league in Japan -– I was like this is serious now and I’ve got to get my shit together.”

Kang said that he has told the UFC he will be ready for inclusion on one of their fight cards in January, and if he had his druthers he’d love to be on the UFC 94 Super Bowl weekend roster on Jan. 31 alongside friend and training partner Georges St. Pierre, who will be taking on nemesis B.J. Penn.

Kang will be leaving for Montreal on Wednesday to continue training with St. Pierre and strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Chaimberg. Other than a brief Christmas visit to Vancouver, he’ll remain in Montreal until UFC 94.

Kang joins a deep pool of middleweight contenders, many of which have already tried and failed to unseat champion Anderson Silva from his throne.

With so many possible opponents to face, Kang says politically that he doesn’t care who his first foe will be, but he knows who he doesn’t want it to be –- friend and former training partner Jason MacDonald.

“Oh man, I hope it’s not Jay-Mac,” said Kang. “He’s one of my good buddies and we’ve been training partners. I hope that we meet later on in the rankings if we even meet at all.”

Facing Silva is a different story though.

“I think that I’ve got everything that it takes,” said Kang. “He’s on fire right now and he’s awesome, but I think that I can rise to the challenge and I definitely want a crack at being the champion of the UFC –- that would be a huge honor for me.”

Kang will need to get cracking out of the gate. Silva has publicly stated he will retire from competition after his five remaining fights on his UFC contract are completed. Kang is not worried.

“I’ve got five left to get at him,” he said.

 

[Shogun Locc]

John Alessio to meet Paul Daley at MFC 19

Xtreme Couture’s John Alessio (24-11) has been slated to face UK standout Paul Daley (18-7-2) at MFC 19 on Dec. 5 in Edmonton, Alberta, the Canadian fighter told Sherdog.com.

“I’m super excited and really looking forward to this fight,” says Alessio. “This is very important for my career and it’s important for me to keep winning. Daley is a great opponent who is very athletic with good striking. It’s also great to return to Canada to fight in my home country.”

Alessio had been in negotiations to sign a multi-fight deal with EliteXC, but with the demise of parent company Pro Elite, that avenue has closed.

Daley told Sherdog.com last week that he had numerous offers to consider following the Oct. 20 announcement of Pro Elite’s collapse. Daley had two fights remaining on his EliteXC contract, and said he was unsure of the “legal jargon” within the agreement. Apparently, Daley is set to move on though.

Alessio scored an impressive 45-second victory over Gideon Ray in Las Vegas last month and trainer Shawn Tompkins is confident that he’ll find a permanent home eventually.

“The good thing with John is that he’s always had a pretty open book with all of the organizations.” Tompkins said. “He’s had over forty fights and is on a huge win streak, so he’ll be placed somewhere else that will work out well for him.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jens Pulver reinvents himself

Coming off a loss in what arguably could be the most important match of his long career, Jens Pulver is embarking on an experiment.

A few weeks before his 34th birthday, the first-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion, whose style has largely been sprawl-and-brawl, is looking to reinvent himself – as a technician.

He said you probably won't see any major changes in his fight on Wednesday night, when he faces Leonard Garcia in the semi-main event on the World Extreme Cagefighting show, which airs live on Versus, from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Fla. But after four weeks of a new training regime, Pulver feels he's on his way.

Wednesday's show will be headlined by featherweight champion Urijah Faber, to whom Pulver lost a five-round decision on May 31 and who is the No. 5 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the Yahoo! Sports rankings. Faber will be defending his title against local product Mike Brown. The show is expected to sell out, as only a few hundred tickets were available at press time.

But after his loss to Faber, Pulver realized what many critics had said: that the sport had evolved while he had stayed the same.

Pulver recognized he would have to change his game to be a threat to the championship.

"The idea is to become a threat from every position," said Pulver. "I've had to evolve. Before, I would be afraid to throw a kick because I didn't want to get taken down. When I was in a bad position, I would have to scramble to get into a better position. The idea is no matter where the fight goes, to be a threat from that position."

He moved his training from the Miletich Gym in his home of Davenport, Iowa, to Matt Hume's AMC-Pankration Gym in Seattle. It meant a return to the city he grew up in, but that has far more bad memories than good, of a childhood where he went to bed every night fearing for his safety. He grew up with a father who routinely beat him and his mother, and his brother was in and out of jail.

Pulver has been a name fighter for nearly a decade, and was the first UFC lightweight champion in 2001. Garcia, 31, was virtually unknown until an April 7, 2007, loss to Roger Huerta.

But Pulver and Garcia actually started their careers in similar fashion, one week apart, in 1999. Garcia was in a tournament, which he didn't win, in Amarillo, Texas. Pulver was in a tournament that he also didn't win, in Denver, although at that point he was primarily a wrestler.

It was at Pulver's second tournament six weeks later, where he was told that John Perretti, the UFC matchmaker at the time, was in attendance. Bas Rutten told him to go out and throw punches because that would impress Perretti. He knocked out teenager Joe Stevenson in 38 seconds, then submitted Ray Morales in 51 seconds, and Perretti brought him into the UFC in the company's first-ever lightweight fight on Sept. 24, 1999, where he drew with Alfonso Alcarez.

But it's a completely different sport now.

"In those days, you had strikers and grapplers," he said. "The idea was to make the grapplers stand up or take the strikers to the ground. I could wrestle and I could box. Those were two things in a day when most fighters were one-dimensional. Today, you've got guys with great Muay Thai who are black belts in Jiu Jitsu."

He was talked into making the move by manager Monte Cox, as well as Rich Franklin and Spencer Fisher. When he got to Seattle, he was exposed to a completely different type of training. Gone were the endless sets of bench presses and squats. Every morning, he does a series of unique exercises with drills working both strength and endurance from every position, while being hooked up to a heart monitor. The idea is to work functional strength and endurance from every angle that you would be in during a fight. Pulver noted he's put on new muscle in different parts of his body and, for the first time, may have to work at making weight.

He's only had a month of this new system, so he's not predicting he'll be a new fighter.

"Matt Hume tested me out and told me I'm at 40 percent of my ability, and I have to get to 90 percent," he said, recognizing that he was simply not fast enough or varied enough, even at his best, to beat Faber, which would be the ultimate goal. "I fought B.J. Penn, the lightweight champion, for two rounds and fought Faber for five rounds at 40 percent of my ability. I can't wait until a year from now."

Garcia, 11-3, is coming off problems of his own. Garcia made his name in the UFC as a lightweight in a three-round decision loss to Huerta in one of last year's best fights. But since he was a small lightweight, after a loss to Cole Miller five months later, he was asked to move to featherweight and the WEC. He debuted in his new weight class on Feb. 13, knocking out Hiroyuki Takaya in just 1:31.

"He's very, very tough," said Pulver. "Knocking out Takaya was impressive and he's a big 145-pounder."

But after that win, not only was Garcia's career threatened, but also his entire future. He was arrested on charges of being part of a large cocaine ring in the Southwest. The federal charges have since been dropped. Garcia said he made the mistake of hanging around with he wrong people, but that he was not involved in the trafficking. This will be his first fight since the ordeal.

Pulver is 22-9-1 overall, but is 8-1 as a featherweight, as he's fought most of his career against much bigger opponents. Pulver biggest national exposure was last summer as an "Ultimate Fighter" coach, where he opposed Penn to build for a match. In what was the biggest lightweight fight of the early era of UFC, Pulver won a five-round decision over a heavily-favored Penn to keep the title in 2002. Then Pulver left UFC after a contract dispute.

If Pulver has one last business goal, it's to be in the first featherweight fight where the participants get six figures. It stems back to 2002, when he left UFC as champion. UFC was losing money and the company wouldn't match the $50,000 offer he got from Japan, even though UFC had several heavyweights who were not champions making substantially more. He was told that it's just the way it is – that the heavyweights in the sport are going to get the biggest money.

Pulver got $40,500 for the match with Faber, while the champion received $51,500, a far cry from some six- and seven-figure numbers the stars in the heavier weight classes have earned this year.

But he can look back at history as being the guy who started the lightweight division, and in a completely different era, was involved in the fight that really put the spotlight on the featherweight division. The Pulver-Faber match drew a near sellout 12,682 fans to Arco Arena in Sacramento, the third largest non-UFC crowd for an MMA event in North American history. It also drew a 1.44 rating, one of the largest in the history of the Versus network.

"We showed (with the Faber fight) that you don't need to have the big guys on the show to draw," he said. "Two featherweights, with two 135-pounders as the other main event, did the same kind of numbers as the Stanley Cup."

 

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ELITEXC RESPONDS TO NOTICE OF BREACH

MMAWeekly.com on Sunday learned that ProElite, Inc., parent company of Elite XC, has notified several fighter managers the company still intends to promote mixed martial arts events.

“Elite XC and ProElite are currently downsizing its staff in an effort to improve its business moving forward,” the notice states. “As this process is implemented, Elite XC cancelled the event previously scheduled for Nov. 8 in attempt to re-schedule another event in early 2009.”

The notice also disputes reports the embattled company is declaring bankruptcy.

On Oct. 20, ProElite sent a notice to managers declaring the company was ceasing fight operations, and had begun the process of letting its employees go.

In response, many of the managers sent a “notice of breach” letter to the company, citing a clause in the contract that permits fighters to terminate the contract and seek monies owed to them if Pro Elite isn’t able to fulfill their “promotional and payment obligations” within thirty days.

Cesar Gracie, manager and trainer of Elite fighters Nick Diaz and Jake Shields, said he received the new notice on Friday.

“They’re trying to buy time, to see if they can get more money from whomever,” Gracie said.

Gracie also said the notice granted Diaz permission to fight in other North American promotions with the company’s written permission. Previously, Diaz’s contract had only allowed him to fight in Japanese promotions, also under ProElite’s consent.

Manager Monte Cox said he was still evaluating options for his fighters under Elite contract, including middleweight champion Robbie Lawler. The notice changed little about his perception of the company’s position.

“I’m just guessing, but I think they’re trying to keep people to the contracts and sell them,” he said. “Or maybe they’re going to try and stay active. It’s hard to say.”

Repeated calls to Pro Elite’s CEO, Chuck Champion, have gone unreturned in the weeks since the company’s Oct. 20 notice.

Like most managers with clients stranded under the crumbling company, Cox said his first priority was to keep his clients working.

“It appeared to be obvious that they were going to cease operations, and if that’s the case, my guys have got to make a living,” he said. “If they’re going to continue to fight and they are going to honor the contract, that’s fine, we’ll honor the contract. But (Elite) has to prove to me that they’re really going to do this. Sending me a letter saying we plan to have a fight in 2009, that doesn’t prove to me that you’re going to be in business. So we’re going to need a little more than that.”

 

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FABER IS HUNGRIER THAN EVER TO GET IN A FIGHT

For World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion, Urijah Faber, the cancellation of the September event due to a pending hurricane in Florida didn’t throw him off his game, or make the strategy for fighting Mike Brown any different. It just made him hungrier.

The top 145lb fighter in the world has long been known for his intensive training regimen and desire to fight, but to say that he’s more prepared for the fight would be wrong, he’s just better all around now.

“In between fights I have more and more time to pack in some information, so I think I’m probably a better fighter, but not necessarily more prepared to fight,” Faber told MMAWeekly Radio recently. “I’m always prepared to fight.”

That preparation has become world famous as he trains as hard as anybody in the business, but the cancellation of the September show he was originally supposed to fight on didn’t cause him physical anguish as much as financial strain.

"For me, it wasn't too much of a big deal. I don't cut a lot of weight to make 145. I have a little bit of a peaking process, but most of the time I'm training anyway. So, the hardest part was on my bank account because I was expecting a big payday,” said Faber. “Other than that I love fighting and having to wait a little longer wasn't too bad for me. I just re-setup my training to draw it out a little bit longer. I wanted to fight, but it was okay to wait for me."

Never one to overlook an opponent, Faber is very adept to breaking down his opponent’s skills and weaknesses and looks forward to a big fight this Wednesday night.

“He’s just as dangerous as anybody I’ve fought,” Faber stated about Mike Brown. “He’s very, very well rounded. He doesn’t mind striking, I watched the fight with Yves Edwards and he did some stand up with Yves, who’s a real stand-up guy. He’s submitted a lot of good guys, he wrestled in college, so the guy is all around a tough guy and I think it’s going to be a good fight, but I just plan on coming out on top.”

With the WEC adding more and more top featherweights on seemingly a daily basis, Faber could easily look past this fight and towards the future, but while he respects all the competition out there, he’s focused on this fight and then he’ll worry about the beyond.

“I think, for me, it's an opportunity of a lifetime also. My career is still young. Although I've had a lot of exposure thus far, I plan on doing bigger things in the sport. So, every time I go out there and fight it's a big opportunity for myself as well,” commented Faber. “I know all these guys are tough. It's basically the combination of loving what I'm doing and understanding that it's always something that can be taken away from me as far as being a champion if I let myself slip. That's something I don't like to really focus on.”

“I just try to focus on the fact that I love this sport and I want to go out there and fight. It's not in my nature to let myself get beat up. And I feel like I've done my part to prepare. It's a win-win for me as well."

Faber finished up his camp last week before traveling to New York City for a brief media tour before heading to Florida before the weekend to finalize his preparation for Mike Brown.

The two featherweights will finally clash on Nov 5 as the WEC invades Florida for the first time ever.

 

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Randy Couture Training for Brock Lesner

 

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Takanori Gomi updated his blog

" Thank you for coming and watching my fight yesterday. I lost for lack of seriousness and being off guard. I didn't get injured and have no mental damage from the fight. I learn a lot from this fight. I fight for a belt on Jan 4th. I gather all I have to win. Please look forward to seeing me in "Sengoku no Ran 2009" on Jan 4.