Multiple breaking news items have come out of the Dana White press conference today: (click “read more” to continue)
- The UFC and Fedor negotiations have gone sour, it seems. Dana White is saying that the UFC gave up everything other than co-promoting with M-1.
Mitsuhiro Ishida will replace Josh Thomson against Gilbert Melendez
at the Aug. 15 "Carano vs. Cyborg" Strikeforce event. Strikeforce
director of communications, Mike Afromowitz, confirmed the news with
FanHouse on Thursday.
Filed under: UFC
UFC President Dana White has said he’ll break big news on a conference call Friday, and we’ll have live Dana White Twitter updates to give you all the details.
It looks like Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez will get his rematch with Japanese wrestling expert Mitsuhiro Ishida a little sooner than he expected.
STRIKEFORCE announced on Thursday that Ishida will replace the injured Josh “The Punk” Thomson, owner of the STRIKEFORCE lightweight belt who was unable to get medical clearance for an injured leg. [...]
Up-and-coming MMA Star, Ryan Couture, son of “The Natural” Randy Couture, will be featured when Tuff-N-Uff, the Nation’s Premiere Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization, returns to the ring with “The Future Stars of MMA”. The event is set to go down at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday, August 22 [...]
With MMA’s bigger money era here, the media now walks a fine line. Run with a report from one source and you can look like a jackass. It happens all the time to guys like Chris Mortensen and Ric Bucher. Mort was in too tight with the Falcons and let the organization and the NFL steer him in the wrong direction on early Michael Vick stories. Bucher has been the master of misinformation on Laker contract situations because he’s boys with Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom. The "Fedor Emelianenko to UFC" reports this week have been all over the map.
Just weeks after his second-round loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 100, Frank Mir thinks that he didn’t go about things the right way.
"I think I should respected the wrestling a little bit more. I really was under the impression that we would fight on our feet a little bit better. I thought he would avoid the ground with me and want to knock me out."
Fedor Emelianenko
said on Wednesday that he does not intend to sign a contract with the UFC unless it agrees to promote fights
jointly with Emelianenko’s promoter, M-1 Global. Since then, several Web sites have reported that Emelianenko had turned down a six-fight contract with the UFC worth $30 million.
Filed under: Affliction, UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive
On this week’s edition of The MMA Hour, MDS, Mike Chiappetta and I discuss the aftermath of Affliction canceling “Trilogy” and joining forces with the UFC. Where does Fedor Emelianenko go from here? How does this affect Strikeforce? What will be Afflction Entertainment’s legacy? Those questions and more were answered.
Filed under: MMA Media Watch, UFC
Filed under: Affliction, UFC
Fedor Emelianenko said on Wednesday that he does not intend to sign a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship unless the UFC agrees to promote fights jointly with Emelianenko’s promoter, M-1 Global. Since then, several Web sites have reported that Emelianenko had turned down a six-fight contract with the UFC worth $30 million.
Georges St. Pierre’s dominant win at UFC 100 again left many claiming there’s no one left for the champ defend his belt against at welterweight. That’s hogwash. There’s always a new challenger right around the corner. The winner of Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann at UFC 103 will certainly be a stiff test. And with the weight of 170 pounds being so common, there’s surely a wave of young 20-somethings who’ll be ready to go sooner than later. Anthony Johnson, 25, thinks he can be the guy down the road that GSP needs to fear.
Remember the days when Dana White said he hated talking about money? Part of it was the secrecy with which the UFC likes to operates but this week is really the reason why. Top end UFC contracts are starting to rival major sports, with that comes media scrutiny and very public negotiations. With all the info coming out what do we believe?
The UFC has a press conference scheduled for Friday that is supposed to announce "a laundry list of news." What could the UFC possibly be announcing?
1. Dana White is leaving the company to pursue his dreams to dance on Broadway.
Mitsuhiro Ishida. Photo courtesy of Fighting and Entertainment Group.
Josh Thompson has once again been forced to withdraw from a scheduled rematch against Gilbert Melendez.
The reigning Strikeforce lightweight champion will be replaced by Japanese wrestler Mitsuhiro Ishida, who will take on Gilbert Melendez, a man he once defeated, for the interim Strikeforce lightweight belt at the organization’s August 15 event in San Jose, California.
It was supposed to be different this time around.
With the collapse of Affliction complete and the list of suitable non-UFC opponents dwindling, the top heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, seemed likely to finally sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However despite early reports suggesting that a deal was imminent, we stand here with the two sides as distant as ever, and it comes as no surprise.
From ESPN.com, here’s this week’s installment of “MMA Live” with Jon Anik, Franklin McNeil, and former UFC champion Rashad Evans.
Post from MMA on Tap
Houston Alexander. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
— Monte Cox will likely hold his fourth “Adrenaline MMA” show on September 18 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The card is expected to feature some familiar names in the form of UFC veterans Houston Alexander, who is being permitted to take a tune-up fight in a smaller show, former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, and Jeremy Horn. A venue for the event has not yet been secured. [NWI.com]
From Pancrase’s “Changing Tour 3” show in June of this year, here’s reigning Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka, who defends his title this weekend against top contender Mizuto Hirota, taking on fellow Pancrase veteran Yukio Sakaguchi.
Post from MMA on Tap
Debbie Lee, UFC – Just when did Kendall Grove become so mature? One minute he’s a tatted-up punk known for hard partying, reality show antics, and a brazen, if not cringe-inducing, victory dance; the next, he’s a humble, sensitive guy who fights for his family’s welfare and the honor of his native Hawaii.