Your MMA News, My Views 6.22.07
Posted by Larry Csonka on 06.22.2007
Drugs are bad, mmmkay.
INTRODUCTION~!
Welcome once again to another edition of Your MMA News, My Views! I know I missed last week and am sorry, but I have a good reason, as I will explain below. But we have a ton of news to talk about. Drug busts, including an MMA legend and former NFL player, medical clearances almost kill tonight's show and a ton more! Let's get to work.
Talking Points~!
Just one this week. An apology. Last week was just a hellish week for the family and myself. I took on an extra job for the week, my one job had a death in the family and with all of that on top of the regular stuff I just needed to drop something for the week, and this was it. I usually never miss a deadline or column, but real life is a bitch sometimes. So that's the story, my apologies and I hope that this column is good enough to make up for that. I have a special video for you to make it right!
ZUFFA (UFC/WEC/PRIDE) stories, scuttlebutt and rumors:
Your News: Internet forums have been lighting up recently over the talk coming out of CBS affiliate KRQE that Diego Sanchez would be taking on PRIDE superstar Hayato "Mach" Sakurai at UFC 74. After asking for confirmation from Diego's camp, this indeed does seem to be the case.
My Views: Sanchez will be looking to go out there and redeem himself after the loss to Koscheck. While he went into the fight injured, I always hate hearing about that after the fight. If it was that bad, he should have pulled out, especially since they thought it was so serious. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai is a very experienced fighter, with over 40 fights to his credit and 30-wins. PRIDE fans are familiar with him and should prove to be a very tough opponent for Sanchez. He'll have to be in his game if he truly wants to impress and get back on the right track.
Your News: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson stated he would be fighting PRIDE double-division champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75, which is scheduled for September 8th in London. According to Jackson he will finally have a chance at "the belt that I was trying to go for and never got". The event in London is also rumored to include popular British fighter Michael Bisping as well as Cro Cop's return from a devastating loss to Gabriel Gonzaga.
My Views: I am all over this fight. The latest news is that this IS the case and it will be Title vs. Title. That gets my money because like in wrestling in a way, unification matches are a big deal. Rampage is looking great, Henderson is coming off of the huge title win and this has the makings of a great bout. Now all they have to do is deliver.
Your News: XTreme Couture has confirmed to 411mania that Wanderlei Silva worked out with Randy Couture in recent days at their Florida gym. Apparently this is a professional relationship that could continue, as Couture has expressed excitement at working with the former PRIDE Light Heavyweight Champion while he transitions back into American MMA. No word on if, or when, Silva will be traveling out to Las Vegas to continue his training.
My Views: This is especially interesting given Wanderlei's next rumored fight, against Chuck Liddell, and "Rampage" Jackson's affiliation with XTreme Couture prior to defeating the Iceman for the UFC's LHW gold. Maybe the key to winning is following the awesomeness of Couture.
Your News: A German news site, groundandpound.de, has reported that Cheick Kongo will be facing Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 75. The word on the fight has come from none other than Kongo himself. Not much else was stated in the article beyond Kongo's confirmation of the bout.
My Views: Cheick is 10-3-1 in MMA, and 3-1 in his last 4 UFC appearances. So I don't think that this is an "easy comeback" for Mirko, especially if his head isn't in the game. Mirko needs to get back training, IN A CAGE and also needs to take this time around seriously. I noted in his first UFC fight that he looked like he was going through the motions, and said he had to beware. Fight #2 he got owned and not only got knocked out, but almost blew out his entire leg. It will be interesting to see the fight when it happens, but as of right now I have no reason to doubt Kongo's chances.
Your News: Spike TV has announced that UFC Fight Night Live #10 ended up with 1.2 average rating while leading the 18-34 male demographic on cable.
My Views: Overall that is fine stuff. That show looked destined to fail, but it delivered and the rating is solid. I am sure SPIKE is happy.
Your News: The Wrestling Observer reports Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes will headline the November PPV event in Atlantic City.
My Views: Excellent. I was wondering if it would be October or November, but wasn't sure when their edition of TUF ended. I am looking forward to this fight a lot actually, and am curious to see if Serra can shock the world again and prove a lot of people wrong.
Your News: 411mania has received word from those close to Ken Shamrock and the Lion's Den regarding the rumored Shamrock/Bisping bout. According to 411's sources there have been no discussions between Shamrock's camp and the UFC to arrange a bout with Michael Bisping. Of course something could always develop in the upcoming days to turn the fight into a reality but as it stands now no such fight exists, nor has it been discussed with key people close to Ken.
For the moment, Matt Hamill is once again the current unofficial opponent for the "The Count" on September 8 in London, England.
My Views: To tell you the truth I am a little disappointed. I actually would have liked to see Ken Shamrock battle DA COUNT~! I think Shamrock would have given him enough of a challenge and that if Bisping beat him, it only helps his career. But Bisping vs. Hamill is a rematch that I have wanted to see. Hamill says he wouldn't have lost if he wasn't injured, and while everyone says that, I do want to see them at 100% have the fight. Plus, reports are Hamill has improved since then, so we'll see. Should be interesting.
EDIT: Speculation as to Michael Bisping's next opponent was erased today when UFC announced Bisping (13-0) will be facing off against Matt Hamill (5-0). The fight is scheduled to take place at UFC 75 on September 8th in London, England.
Your News: Amp'd Mobile, which had the most hate-inducing commercials of at least the 21st century, and was a major UFC sponsor, announced last week that they're filing Chapter 11. They owe $100 million to creditors and lost $360 million over the past two years.
My Views: Wow that company tanked. With losses and debt $460 MILLION! That is worse than WCW. I guess Amp'd Mobile is no Mickey's Malt Liquor.
The Battle of the Diaz Brothers~!:
SAI FIGHTING IN THEIR HOME! TURN DOWN VOLUME~!
Other MMA News…
Your News: California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer Armando Garcia has confirmed ex-NFL star Johnnie Morton tested positive for anabolic steroids from a pre-fight urinalysis. Morton went on to lose his MMA debut to Bernard Achah by knockout in just 38 seconds.
After the bout Morton refused to take any further drug tests, causing his fight purse of $100,000 to be withheld. According to the statements Garcia gave Sherdog, Morton's first sample returned as a positive for "very elevated TE ratio, which is testosterone. And that is 83.9 -- the normal industry standard for an athlete is 6." Morton's second sample confirmed the test results.
"Right now we are waiting for the drugs of abuse test to be completed, cause now that process begins," Garcia said. "And then the 10 days are running for him to respond to the letter that I sent them. Right now the disciplinary part of this situation has not been completed because [Morton] hasn't responded to the 10 day."
My Views: Holy Jesus! He was shot up worse than a racehorse! That explains his refusal of the second test, as I would guess that he figured he may pass one but not the other. So not only was he owned quickly, he was a jacked up juice monkey. I wonder if he has removed his mouthpiece yet?
MORE K1 Attendance News: K-1, announced 54,000 in Japan, a new North American record. Sherdog, upon getting the printout from the California State Athletic Commission, reported 42,757, also a record.
My Views: All right, so where did Sherdog get the 42,757 number? They took the total number of tickets sold by the Coliseum, visa Ticketmaster, which was 3,674. Then they took the total number of tickets sold by FEG, which was 39,083. Yes, they actually purchased 39,083 tickets, for a total value of $2,342,500. They did get a discounted rate and paid $1,602,610, that's sweet…yeah. Now of these tickets, they gave away 13,600, worth $1,150,170. There were 18,975 tickets left, worth $550,540 total. The reported total number through the turnstile was 18,340, handling tickets valued at $1,529,530. They then added this mess together. Here is some of the fun, the tickets sold BY FEG were almost entirely sold TO FEG and given away as comps! Also, FEG was REQUIRED to pay a tax to the CSAC on the gross. They could have only paid tax only on the 3,674 sold by Ticketmaster, but instead they purchased 39,083 to give away and were FORCED to pay taxes on $2,545,590 in sales, which was $100,000, the max gate fee. All of this was to prove to Japan that they "sold" 42,757 tickets. This promotion s GENIUS!
Your News: ICON Sport, Hawaiin MMA promoter, announced their June 30th event was being pushed back until September 15th in lieu of an injury to current Middleweight Champion, Robbie Lawler. The Miletich product separated his shoulder while training for his upcoming bout against the Aloha State's Kala Kolohe Hose. He is expected to resume preparation for the fight in approximately two months.
My Views: Robbie Lawler is still fighting? Robbie Lawler is a champion somewhere? Who knew?
Your News: The California State Athletic Commission issued a statement minutes ago regarding Royce Gracie's positive test for an anabolic agent and the news isn't good. The following is word-for-word the release:
"As a result of the various inquiries that we have received, the California State Athletic Commission contacted the laboratory that performed the testing on Mr. Royce Gracie's anabolic agent/masking agent sample and obtained detailed information regarding the test.
A normal person could have a level of 2 ng/mL of Nandrolone that the human body could potentially produce and an athlete that has just completed rigorous physical exercise could have a level of 6 ng/mL.
We received a written response from the laboratory's Director of Science and Technology confirming the positive "A" sample and positive "B" sample.
Both samples provided by Mr. Gracie had a level of over 50 ng/mL and we were informed that the level itself was so elevated that it would not register on the laboratory's calibrator."
My Views: HE BROKE THE TEST! Man, if anyone was expected to fail it was not Royce; in my opinion anyway. It's crazy that people expected Brock to fail and he passed with flying colors. What will happen next in 2007?
Your News: 411Mania's Bren Oliver spoke with the California State Athletic Commission to receive further comment and clarification on Murilo "Ninja" Rua being denied clearance to fight on the June 22nd Strikeforce card. The CSAC actually stated it was not a failed physical as other media outlets had reported, but would not elaborate as to the cause. The official statement is below...
"Mr. Rua did not meet the licensing requirements and his application for a license was denied. He has a right to appeal which is outlined in a letter that he will receive soon."
My Views: It was looking grim for the event, but now Bill Douglas of the California State Athletic Commission has confirmed that Phil Baroni and Murilo "Ninja" Rua have been approved to compete at the upcoming Strikeforce/EliteXC event on June 22nd 2007 at the HP Pavilion. Now if I am correct, both of these fights are "Middleweight Title Bouts." Baroni fights Frank Shamrock for the Strikeforce Middleweight Title and Ninja takes on Joey Villasenor for the EXC Middleweight Title. In my opinion if both men had not been cleared, they would have been screwed to a monumental degree.
Your News: Phil Baroni in a conference call last week noted that his EXC contract was non-exclusive, meaning if he beat Frank Shamrock for the middleweight title on June 22nd he wanted to get his shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Dana made an offhanded remark a few months back about how if Phil knocked out Shamrock he'd give him a title shot. I don't know if Phil is taking it that seriously or not, but non-exclusive EXC contract or not, Dana would want an exclusive, particularly if Baroni is fighting for a title, and that's not going to work legally.
My Views: I highly doubt that this will happen, yet I would not put it past Dana to try and steal him away. It would definitely be an interesting thing to watch if Baroni wins, which I think he can.
UFC TUF V FINALS PICKS~! This way, you can make fun of me when I make bad picks! I hope to do well in the Forum "PICK EM." I did ok last time, but lost points big time by getting them turned in late.
-Brian Geraghty vs. Matt Wiman – Geraghty, RD 2, Submission
-Allan Berube vs. Leonard Garcia – Garcia, RD 1 TKO
-Rob Emerson vs. Gray Maynard – Maynard, decision
-Andy Wang vs. Cole Miller – Miller, RD 2 TKO
-Brandon Melendez vs. Joe Lauzon – Lauzon, RD 1 submission
-Floyd Sword vs. Thales Leites: Leites, Decision
-Roger Huerta vs. Doug Evans: Huerta, TKO, RD 1
-TUF Finals: Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Diaz: Gamburyan, Decision
-Jens Pulver vs. B.J. Penn – Penn, TKO, RD 2
MMA LINKZ~!
Tons of great stuff to read this week from the 411 MMA crew!
READER FEEDBACK~!
From Chris regarding Rodman in K1 -
Let me start off by saying…
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH!!!!
I seriously hope Rodman doesn't try to step into a ring or a cage, he will end up worse than Morton. I see Rodman all the time at the gym I go to, the guy doesn't really do anything, goes to a machine, does a couple reps, wanders around, talks to people, sits down does another couple reps… He really is there just to be noticed it seems. Although… that gym does have a disproportionately high percentage of douchebags (male and female) who get dressed up to work out so I guess he fits right in.
It takes all the restraint I have to not bounce a 45 lb plate off some of their heads.
Meh…
On a side note… I hope Brock, or his management have the sense to not continually sign him to sideshow fights. He needs real fights against real people to progress in MMA. With his track record, I can easily see him going for the big money freak show fights over the next year. Vs Sapp, vs. Akebono, vs. Choi (yes choi is a decent fighter, but lest be real, he is a carnival attraction).
Yeah, Rodman would be a disaster. And yes, I hope that Brock's people are smart, but if the money is good enough, who knows.
From Johnny who asks about Brock and Gracie -
Yo Csonka, got some questions for you. #1 were you shocked that Gracie failed his drug test while Brock Lesnar passed his. #2, how great do you thin Brock can be.
For the first part, yes, I was shocked that Gracie failed a steroid test. I never even thought that he would try to get all gassed up. I suppose he just "didn't seem the type" to me. Brock dropped 20lbs from his WWE weight, so "IF" he was on stuff in the E, he looks to have been long off of them. As far as Brock, he COULD be great. Awesome wrestler, retard strength, he just needs time to grow as a performer and if that happens, he could be awesome.
From Jacob on Shamrock vs. Baroni -
I don't know if you plan on discussing this, but in your opinion who wins Baroni vs. Shamrock?
I honestly think that Baroni has a very good chance of winning, and what the hell, I'll pick him in 4 rounds.
For more interesting information on wrestling and MMA, check out Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly Online!
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