MMA News and Notes

fufu · 11-18-2007, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReproMan

Yeah, we did too. Not only that, but my buddies' girlfriend had a snack buffet laid out for us too. I'm gonna be shitting artichoke dip for 2 the next days.

fufu · 11-18-2007, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoneCrusher

Ohhhhh no fufucious bet the bank on Chonan. Bzzzzzzt. Bust out that work for food sign there brotha

Meanstwhile ... way to go ReproBro

UFC 78: Validation •
Edgar vs Fisher $1,442
Frank Edgar +$3,028
[prediction bonuses] + $120

hahaha, yeah. My friend and I both put all out money on underdog fighters. My friend bet on Edgar, lucky him. I actually had Karo ftw but changed my mind at the last minute.

goandykid · 11-21-2007, 03:39 PM

I still don't understand what Hughes did in the last TUF episode

ReproMan · 11-21-2007, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Fedor Emelianenko Confirmed for New Year’s Event in Japan

Posted by MMA Junkie on November 21, 2007 at 12:42 pm ET

Longtime PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (26-1) has been confirmed as a participant in an upcoming New Year’s Eve show that will take place in Japan.

Emelianenko received permission from M-1 Global to compete in the event; the Russian recently signed a non-exclusive, long-term deal with the restructured organization. His opponent hasn’t yet officially been announced, though K-1 kickboxer veteran Hong Man Choi’s continually surfaces. The 7-foot-2, 350-pounder his just one professional MMA fight.

The event will take place at the Saitama Super Arena, a 22,000-capacity multi-purpose venue in Saitama City, Saitama, Japan.

We’ve covered the series of events leading up to today’s announcement, and all of the coverage can be found in the Fedor Emelianenko archives here on MMAjunkie.com.

Former employees of Dream Stage Entertainment and PRIDE are organizing the event. Zuffa LLC (the UFC’s parent company) purchased PRIDE earlier this year, eventually disbanded the organization, and in October, fired all of the former staffers.

According to the Mixfight.ru website (which is not the official M-1 Global website), other fighters competing in the event include Shinya Aoki, Ricardo Arona, Luis Azeredo, Joachim Hansen, Hidehiko Hasegawa, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Gilbert Melendez, Kazuo Misaki and Hayato Mach Sakurai. The list originated at FightOpinion.com, though, and Zack Arnold reported that they’re just rumored names at this point.

Other former PRIDE fighters are expected to be added to the card over the next couple of weeks.

The event, which is being “supported” by M-1 Global, will be available on pay-per-view via SkyPerfecTV.

Soon after signing with M-1 Global last month, Emelianenko penned an open letter to fans in Japan saying he wanted to fight for them on New Year’s Eve, which had become an annual tradition for the fighter.

That wish eventually led to today’s announcement.

Some pretty big names on that list. I don't expect any of them to fight each other.

ReproMan · 11-21-2007, 06:20 PM

Larkin Named IFL CEO as League Losses Down

Quote:

Larkin Named IFL CEO as League Losses Down

Wednesday, November 21, 2007
by Adam Swift

The International Fight League announced a major shakeup in its senior management on Tuesday when Jay Larkin was named acting chief executive officer. Larkin joined the company on Sept. 21 as president and chief operating officer. He replaces IFL co-founder Gareb Shamus as CEO.

Larkin made his name at Showtime, where he spent 20 years working his way up from junior publicist to become one of the most important power brokers in boxing. He is perhaps best known for his role as one of the key negotiators in the 2002 heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson. Co-promoted between Showtime and HBO, the fight was the biggest pay-per-view in history until De La Hoya-Mayweather unseated it earlier this year.

Additionally, Larkin was responsible for countless entertainment specials, including Dave Chappelle, Britney Spears and the Rolling Stones.

Read more..

I hope he can keep it afloat, I like the IFL.

ReproMan · 11-21-2007, 06:23 PM

Quote:

“The Ultimate Fighter” Marathon Underway

Posted by MMA Junkie on November 21, 2007 at 2:22 pm ET

For those of you who got an extra day off work, a marathon of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra” is now underway on Spike TV (for the Eastern Time zone folks, anyway).

The sixth installment of Spike TV’s UFC reality series features a cast of welterweight fighters, and current UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and former champ Matt Hughes serve as coaches. The show usually airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

The nine-hour marathon leads right into tonight’s new episode, which features two quarterfinal matches. As always MMAjunkie.com will have a full recap available tonight at 11 p.m. ET.

However, because of the holiday, our weekly “Ten TUF Questions” feature is in hold. However, go ahead and leave your questions for the eliminated cast members as usual, and we’ll post the interviews once the fighters are available to chat with us. As a reminder, you can find all of our previous Ten TUF Questions features — which include dozens of questions submitted by you, our readers — in the MMAjunkie.com archives.

The current season of “The Ultimate Fighter” ends in two weeks (on Dec. 5).

The show’s live finale, which will feature a fight between the season’s two finalists, takes place Saturday, Dec. 8. The event takes place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and airs live on Spike TV.

A full marathon of this season will precede the finale beginning at 9 a.m. ET/PT on Spike TV.

BoneCrusher · 11-21-2007, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReproMan

Larkin Named IFL CEO as League Losses Down

I hope he can keep it afloat, I like the IFL.

Same here. Great place for the new guys to come up free and clear of Dana White as they face some has beens and coulda wouldas for a little seasoning.

ReproMan · 11-23-2007, 09:04 AM

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Quote:

11/23/2007
Serra Injured, Withdraws From UFC 79 Card

UFC President Dana White announced Thursday that Matt Serra will have to withdraw from the UFC 79 card due to an injury he suffered after his training earlier this week.

The current UFC welterweight champion, who was scheduled to fight Matt Hughes at UFC 79, suffered a herniated disc in his lower back on Monday following a routine training session in his Long Island gym.

“This is devastating news because they were so looking forward to fighting each other, said White.

“Unfortunately injuries happen and I look forward to Serra recovering quickly, and to getting him back into the Octagon.”

Serra had just finished a Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling training session and was demonstrating a move when he became gripped with pain and fell to the floor. Serra went to the hospital and underwent an MRI, which revealed the herniated discs in his lower back.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” said Serra. “I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off of the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday – All I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.”

Godfuckingdamnit!!!!! This is worst case scenario for the UFC and the WW division. We've been waiting for 8 months for this fight and now who knows how long we'll have to wait for Serra to recover. Fuck.

fufu · 11-23-2007, 09:16 AM

What the fuck!!! That sucks!!!

ReproMan · 11-23-2007, 09:27 AM

I just can't believe it. Actually I kinda can, it just seemed surreal that those 2 were gonna lock up. Whatever, this sucks.

BoneCrusher · 11-23-2007, 09:43 AM

Might be 4 to 6 months before this one happens ... if it ever does. Means that if it happens I'll get to see it live

. Well, live on TV that is.

It sucks that Serra has blown out his fricken spine though. I like the dude ... despite that fucking voice of his ... from the way he generally carried himself in the show. This is potentially a career ending injury.

ReproMan · 11-23-2007, 09:59 AM

Yeah, I have a feeling this fight will never happen.

fufu · 11-23-2007, 12:16 PM

So, seeing as the main event of 79 is kaput...what are they gonna replace it with? They better not bump up wand and chuck to the main event and throw in another shit fight.

bigss75 · 11-23-2007, 02:37 PM

Congo vs Arlovski would be a good replacement both should be fresh, if Arlovski can get over his contract dispute

A Black Guy · 11-23-2007, 05:58 PM

Fitch should be due for a fight.

ReproMan · 11-23-2007, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Report: Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves Could Replace Matt Serra at UFC 79

Posted by MMA Junkie on November 23, 2007 at 9:00 pm ET
Matt Hughes might have a UFC 79 opponent, after all.

Earlier today the UFC officially announced that current welterweight champion and “The Ultimate Fighter” coach Matt Serra had suffered a back injury that forced him out of a UFC 79 main event with former champ (and rival coach) Hughes.

It’s far too early to know exactly how long Serra will be sidelined, but if it’s for an extended period of time — and if Hughes is willing to still fight at the Dec. 29 event — top welterweight Jon Fitch (15-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) or rising contender Thiago Alves (13-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) could fill in for the champ in a non-title fight.

The news comes from MMAjunkie.com (UFC News & Rumors - MMA News - UFC Fighters - UFC Event Recaps and Previews - MMAjunkie.com) content-partner site, Yahoo! Sports.

In a statement posted on his official website earlier today, Hughes stated that he hadn’t initially been told if (and when) he’d fight next. However, the former longtime welterweight champ defeated Chris Lytle at UFC 68 in March, and with the victory, he was promised an immediate title shot.
Given Serra’s injury, should Hughes have to fight anyway? Does he want to fight? And, could he lose his top-contender status if he’s beaten?

Unfortunately, we won’t have those answers until Serra has more time to evaluate his situation and to meet with doctors.

Hughes, though, stated that he would continue training as normal and prepare for any scenario.

Fitch, an American Kickboxing Academy fighter and former captain of the Purdue University wrestling team, is 7-0 in the UFC. He’s currently riding a 14-fight win streak and most recently defeated Diego Sanchez at UFC 76 in September.

Alves, a welterweight contender who’s somewhat flown under the radar, has won his past four fights, including a “Fight of the Night” performance over Chris Lytle this past weekend at UFC 78. His only UFC losses have come to Fitch and veteran Spencer Fisher.

With UF7 79 just five weeks away — and with Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva as the only other major fight booked for the event — the pay-per-view broadcast could surely use some starpower for the televised main card.

A Hughes-Fitch or Hughes-Alves could provide that, but with an extremely messy title picture in the UFC’s welterweight division, the potential fights could actually create more problems than it solves.

Quote:

UFC 79

Date: Dec. 29, 2007
Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Venue: Mandalay Bay Events Center
Broadcast: Pay-Per-View

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard
Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Mohr
Soa Palalei vs. Eddie Sanchez
Dean Lister vs. Jordan Radev
Roan Carneiro vs. Tony DeSouza
Mark Bocek vs. Doug Evans

fufu · 11-23-2007, 08:28 PM

yes yes, let's keep the title fight! Let's see Fitch v Hughes!

BoneCrusher · 11-23-2007, 08:37 PM

That doesn't look good for Hughes. Either he beats a middle contender and looks like "Wow I beat someone from the middle of the heap

" ... or ... "In an upset Hughes was beaten by someone not top ranked

". Loose/loose for Hughes.

bigss75 · 11-23-2007, 09:42 PM

I don't see they would find a replacement, hughes loses, does he lose his title shot?

Im just hoping to see Sokoudjou KO Lyoto. Its crazy that he is only 23

AKIRA · 11-24-2007, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReproMan

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Godfuckingdamnit!!!!! This is worst case scenario for the UFC and the WW division. We've been waiting for 8 months for this fight and now who knows how long we'll have to wait for Serra to recover. Fuck.

This is unbelievable. I have been talkign so much shit about this and now, NOW I have nothing.

bigss75 · 11-24-2007, 07:22 PM

Quote:

’m going to fight Georges St. Pierre on December 29th. I’ve got a couple reasons why I’ve made this decision and I will share those at a later time. I’ve asked for this to be for an interim title and if Matt Serra can’t fight in a year, then this would just be the title fight; but I don’t know if that is going to happen right now. I will keep you all posted.
-Matt EDIT: This WILL BE for the interim title, so it will be a 5-round fight. -Matt

Matt Hughes - 9-Time UFC Welterweight Champion

ReproMan · 11-24-2007, 10:03 PM

Quote:

UFC 79: Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre III for Interim Title (Updated)

Posted by MMA Junkie on November 24, 2007 at 9:47 pm ET

Georges St. Pierre (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) will fill in for injured UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and fight Matt Hughes (41-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) for the interim title at UFC 79.

The five-round title fight will headline the Dec. 29 pay-per-view event, which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The stunning announcement came Saturday evening from UFC.com. Hughes confirmed the fight on his official website, Matt Hughes - 9-Time UFC Welterweight Champion.

Additionally, a source close to the UFC today told MMAjunkie.com (UFC News & Rumors - MMA News - UFC Fighters - UFC Event Recaps and Previews - MMAjunkie.com) that St. Pierre showed no hesitation in taking the fight on short notice.

We passed along the news from early Friday morning that Serra had suffered a herniated disc. The injury occurred during a workout session earlier this week, prompting an announcement that the fighter would be unavailable to compete at UFC 79. Serra, who won the title by upsetting St. Pierre at UFC 69 in April, coached opposite Hughes on the current sixth season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The show was supposed to build up to their title fight.

Serra doesn’t know how long the injury will keep him sidelined.
However, possibly fearing the worst, UFC President Dana White decided to book the interim title fight. Apparently, though, it didn’t come without a few stipulations from Hughes.

“I’ve asked for this to be for an interim title, and if Matt Serra can’t fight in a year, then this would just be the title fight,” Hughes stated on his site.

“But I don’t know if that is going to happen right now. I will keep you all posted.“

Hughes and St. Pierre have fought twice before. Hughes won the first match-up at UFC 50 in 2004. Facing an undefeated French-Canadian who has just begun to garner some international fame, Hughes submitted his opponent in the final seconds of the first round with an arm-bar.

After reclaiming top-contender’s status, St. Pierre again took on Hughes at UFC 65 in November 2006, where he picked apart the longtime MMA veteran to score a second-round TKO.

However, St. Pierre would lose his belt to Serra in his very next fight. Serra had earned the title shot by winning the welterweight division of a special comeback season of “The Ultimate Fighter.“

Hughes rebounded from his loss to St. Pierre with a victory over Chris Lytle at UFC 68. The win guaranteed him a title fight. And while he and Serra filmed “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra,” St. Pierre got back into the title picture by scoring a unanimous-decision victory over Josh Koscheck at UFC 74, which earned him a title shot. His title shot was expected to come in March or April of 2008, when he’d face the winner of Hughes vs. Serra.

“Obviously, the loss of Matt Serra was brutal, but the great thing about the UFC is that we can put together great fights like Hughes-St-Pierre at a moment’s notice and bounce right back,” White stated. “I have the utmost respect for both Hughes and St-Pierre for stepping up for this fight, and not only are the fans going to see two of the greatest welterweights of all-time settle their score in a rubber match, but (they’re) going to do it in a five-round interim title fight, and the winner is going to face off next year against Matt Serra for the undisputed title.“

This is actually the second “interim” title White has created in the past two months. Sean Sherk, who’s currently awaiting an appeal of a failed UFC 73 drug test, will face the winner of an interim fight between Joe Stevenson and B.J. Penn when his suspension ends. White, saying he was fed up with the California State Athletic Commission’s handling of the appeal, recently decided to book the Stevenson vs. Penn bout for UFC 80, which takes place Jan. 19 in Newcastle, England.

This makes up for it. Awesome.

AKIRA · 11-28-2007, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReproMan

UFC® : Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Godfuckingdamnit!!!!! This is worst case scenario for the UFC and the WW division. We've been waiting for 8 months for this fight and now who knows how long we'll have to wait for Serra to recover. Fuck.

I just cant let this shit go.

Serra has been fighting and lifting for years, what did he do exactly that herniated his disk?

Ever since I herniated mine, I have felt kinda scared about certain movements, but I am sure Serra is more flexible than I am, so I am very interested in how it happened.

11-21-2007, 03:39 PM	#693
goandykid Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4,379	I still don't understand what Hughes did in the last TUF episode
	You guys are going to lose. You might as well just cheer for me, because Boston isn’t winning in Boston for the season opener. I’m sorry. " - Gilbert Arenas

11-23-2007, 09:16 AM	#699
fufu fiendish thingy Elite Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 15,737 Photos: 4	What the fuck!!! That sucks!!!
	fufu's 1337 Journal Your diet will set you free.

11-23-2007, 12:16 PM	#703
fufu fiendish thingy Elite Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 15,737 Photos: 4	So, seeing as the main event of 79 is kaput...what are they gonna replace it with? They better not bump up wand and chuck to the main event and throw in another shit fight.
	fufu's 1337 Journal Your diet will set you free.

11-23-2007, 08:28 PM	#707
fufu fiendish thingy Elite Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 15,737 Photos: 4	yes yes, let's keep the title fight! Let's see Fitch v Hughes!
	fufu's 1337 Journal Your diet will set you free.

11-23-2007, 09:27 AM	#700
ReproMan SeÃ±or Member Elite Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Stuart, FL Posts: 6,385	I just can't believe it. Actually I kinda can, it just seemed surreal that those 2 were gonna lock up. Whatever, this sucks.

11-23-2007, 09:43 AM	#701
BoneCrusher Lift or Die Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Austin Texas Posts: 8,344	Might be 4 to 6 months before this one happens ... if it ever does. Means that if it happens I'll get to see it live . Well, live on TV that is. It sucks that Serra has blown out his fricken spine though. I like the dude ... despite that fucking voice of his ... from the way he generally carried himself in the show. This is potentially a career ending injury.

11-23-2007, 09:59 AM	#702
ReproMan SeÃ±or Member Elite Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Stuart, FL Posts: 6,385	Yeah, I have a feeling this fight will never happen.

11-23-2007, 02:37 PM	#704
bigss75 Let Me See Yo Grill Elite Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Colorado Posts: 5,123	Congo vs Arlovski would be a good replacement both should be fresh, if Arlovski can get over his contract dispute

11-23-2007, 05:58 PM	#705
A Black Guy Registered Offender Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Fort Pierce, FL Posts: 678 Photos: 1	Fitch should be due for a fight.

11-23-2007, 08:37 PM	#708
BoneCrusher Lift or Die Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Austin Texas Posts: 8,344	That doesn't look good for Hughes. Either he beats a middle contender and looks like "Wow I beat someone from the middle of the heap " ... or ... "In an upset Hughes was beaten by someone not top ranked ". Loose/loose for Hughes.

11-23-2007, 09:42 PM	#709
bigss75 Let Me See Yo Grill Elite Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Colorado Posts: 5,123	I don't see they would find a replacement, hughes loses, does he lose his title shot? Im just hoping to see Sokoudjou KO Lyoto. Its crazy that he is only 23