411 MMA Smacktalk 08.06.07: Insecurity
Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 08.06.2007
Why settle it in the cage when you can settle it in court?
Welcome to Smacktalk, the weekly source of MMA news and rumors on 411Mania. I am Damian Sarcuni and with is my trusty photographer, Jose Chavez who took excellent photos at last week's IFL event. Check those out here.
During a nice solid news week the format is always the same. They Say is the news item reported, You Say are comments and feedback from around the net, and We Say is our opinions on each topic. And we are underway.
They say
A post on the underground MMA forum from Joe Lauzon indicates that he will be fighting Karo Parisiyan at UFC 78. While the post consisted entirely of the single word "Karo", this fight would indicate that Joe Lauzon is moving up to the 170lb division.
You say
Intersting if true but I have to lean towards Joe just fuckign with people. I don't see him moving up or Karo moving down. - Clint, forums.mmanews.com
I can't imagine how Lauzon stands a chance in that fight, very dumb decision to be fighting at 170. Let alone making your 170 debut against one of the top guys.. - LethalStriker, forums.mmanews.com
We say
Damian: You can never be sure when it comes to message board posts obviously, and I think Lauzon would be a bit small at 170. That being said, this is a good fight for Joe and an even better one for Karo. With the Armenian looking to earn himself a shot at the welterweight title, I expect a super aggressive fight game out of Karo. I'm expecting him to run a clinic but at the same time Lauzon is no small task even at the lower weight. It'll be entertaining if it happens, and the stock on both guys should rise considerably, but if I'm a betting man this will be Karo's show.
Jose: I think Karo will be just too much for J-Lau. I don't think Lauzon can get off first, which would be his greatest shot to win. His only hope would be if Karo gasses which he has been known to do, but I have to think Karo will get the win here if he doesn't get overconfident. Why Lauzon is fighting at 170 is beyond me, but I guess we will see.
They say
Former UFC champion BJ Penn pleaded no contest to a charge of third degree assault that stemmed from a fight outside of a Hawaiian nightclub in 2005. This is a lesser charge than what Penn was originally charged with. Third degree assault is a misdemeanor and as such Penn's lawyer has stated he does not think BJ will be sentenced any jail time. Penn faces up to a year in jail and a $2000 fine.
You say
He's lucky they didn't charge him with Assault with a deadly weapon. But no matter what the issue was that night, I'm pretty sure I would have been on BJ side. - TheSundanceKid, forums.mmanews.com
We say
Damian: The thing that I find funny about this is that the UFC's legal team probably wasn't even involved. Penn is so rich he can buy himself out of jail all on his own. On the other hand, I and plenty others who have gone through the legal system can sense the bullshit in this case a mile away. The police have to charge Penn with something juicy to prove they are doing their job, so they say he punched them knowing full well the prosecution will plea bargain down later on. Penn puts a hefty charge on his American Express and the whole thing disappears. I love being an American.
Jose: Don't have much to say about this. Hopefully he wont have jail time.
They say
wrestlingobserver.com reports that there is nothing to the rumor about Marvin Eastman fighting Evan Tanner on September 22nd. According to the site, Tanner is not currently under contract with the UFC.
You say
Tanner has done everything but signed the fight. He IS fighting, I don't know who, but he is. - landonyon, forums.mmaweekly.com
I like Tanner and all but I think the last thing MMA needs is a "Mcall incident" happening in the cage. Not to mention if an athletic commission is going to deny Gabe then there is no way Tanner can get by. - Cheese4959, forums.mmaweekly.com
We say
Damian: If nothing else the rumor proves that Tanner still has some serious stock left as a fighter. There was some questioning about the state of his non-profit organization now and if the rumors are true and its over then Tanner is just fighting for the sake of fighting. That might even make a comeback from the master of hair styles even more interesting and I do hope to see it. Tanner/Eastman is a good match and if it isn't signed yet, here's hoping it will be.
Jose: This Is a good matchup for Tanner to get the ring rust off, and if marvin brings his A game like he did against Jackson it should make for a really entertaining fight. I have to say im pretty happy to see both fighters back, and against each other, even better. Here's hoping Tanner is sporting the mountain man look he had in his last photos.
They say
A California court ruled in favor of Zuffa Inc. after the corporation sued Todd Meacham Productions over the use of the "Octagon" fighting area. Dana White commented that the UFC will "vigorously defend our intellectual property rights".
You say
i hope the IFL trademarks "the squared circle" and never lets anyone use a squared ring again, seems like people seem to forget that an octagon is a shape and not an invention of the UFC. – muaythaiguy3, sherdog.net
It is not about the octagon being a fucking shape. All of you retards going "How can they trademark a geometrical shape!?", its has nothing to do with it being a geometrical shape. Ever since UFC has been around they have used a certain style of cage that has become synonymous with their organization. Like some others have already said, they trademarked it so they would not risk the chance of being associated with another organization. You can not have another fighting organization using your ideas and logos and passing them off as their own.. – Aquabot, sherdog.net
We say
Damian: It's hard to fight with Zuffa's legal team but there's obviously grounds for appeal here or at least there will be eventually. It's only a matter of time before somebody with an even bigger legal team steps up (most likely a fight promotion that has relations with Trump plaza) and appeals this whole mess. It's not fair for the UFC to own the term octagon but at the same time we have to admit that they do go out of their way to use their own terminology instead of the industry standard. All that "ultimate fighting sport" nonsense does have a purpose no matter how funny it seems, and no one is laughing now.
Jose: The whole thing seems like petty nonsense to me but Zuffa is pretty relentless about this kind of stuff.. I don't see how it hurts that someone is using an octagon also, most people wouldn't realize the difference on first glance anyway.
And we are done. We want to thank everyone who checked out our IFL coverage last week and remind you all to stay tuned to 411's MMA section all week for more news, rumors, and reports straight from the fights. Thanks for reading.
