Passing the Guard News Report 08.02.08: Fedor: Armbar God

Posted by Stephen DeAugustino on 08.02.2008

Falling a little behind on the MMA world? Passing the Guard has you covered with an entire week in review with nothing but the most in depth news from around the globe. Jesse Taylor in trouble again? Jackson having more problems? Huerta at ends with the UFC? All that and much, much more inside this edition of Passing the Guard!

Hi and hello MMA fans and readers! This week on Passing the Guard, we are going to cut to the chase and focus on some great news from around the MMA world. What kinda news? How about Roger Huerta clashing with the UFC? Jesse Taylor getting kicked again? Akiyama vs. Cro Cop? Coleman vs. Rua? Arona in the UFC? All that and much more coming up, so lets get started!



News


Jackson splits with Juanito, possible fight with Silva on the horizon.

If you know Jackson for his recent success in the UFC, than you also know a man named Juanito Ibarra. Ibarra has been Jacksons trainer for the past few years, something that Rampage has attributed greatly to his success inside the Octagon. Jackson has even gone as far as saying Ibarra has not only changed him as a fighter, but also as a person, providing spiritual guidance and support. However, all of the seems to be altering as Jackson's current fall from grace continues to unfold. SI.com writer Josh Gross provides the scoop:

"With defeat as the impetus, Jackson responded to rough terrain by relieving the trainer of his duties, though ‘bottom line, somehow, someway it all involves money,' said the fighter's friend."

Jackson's current string of unfortunate events undoubtedly has something to do with the split. Jackson has been on a downward spiral since his decision loss to current champion Forrest Griffin, going from a hit and run arrest to hospitalization due to mental instability. Word of the Ibarra-Jackson separation adds even more to the grim situation. Gross goes on in his article to touch more upon Jackson's recent release as well as his current condition.

"Rampage demanded silence when he wasn't offering words of faith. He spoke of a ‘wolf in sheep's clothing' and people aligned with the devil.

‘Mentally he wasn't there,' said the source. ‘It was almost as if he was possessed. He heard voices. He thought he was a God.'

Three days later, rested and nourished, Rampage was reunited with friends.

‘He would still make comments that were slightly weird,' said Jackson's longtime associate. ‘You could tell that he wasn't all the way there, but each day you could tell he was better.'

Against lawyers' advice, Jackson has gone out several times. Fan requests for autographs at a local mall have been happily fulfilled. His only other trips are to outpatient treatment, which he attends daily.

‘He knows what he went through," said the source. "He knew he had an emotional breakdown that led to a mental breakdown. Not eating and not sleeping kind of helped with that.'"

However all is not lost for the former champion. The UFC has expressed their clear interest to pit Jackson up against former nemesis Wanderlei Silva for a third go around as early as November. Silva and Jackson have bumped heads twice before, both times seeing Jackson take the L. While November may be early for the fighter undergoing such trauma, the fact that the UFC is still willing to hang in there with Jackson is still good news; fellow competitors and fans alike have expressed their wishes to see "Rampage" back in the ring and healthy as soon as possible.





Cro Cop vs. Akiyama rumored for upcoming DREAM event, Cro Cop accepts Overeem's challenge

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports is reporting an interesting claim that DREAM is currently doing their best to make a fight between middleweight Yoshiro Akiyama and heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop.

"Under the gun to draw ratings, the company is attempting to put together middleweight Akiyama against heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop, the country's most popular foreign fighter."

This news comes as a huge surprise for several reasons, most obviously because of the weight discrepancy. While this fight would bring in huge views from the Japanese crowd due to the fact that they get to see a crowd favorite destroy one of the most strongly disliked fighters in Japan, it is still a stretch even for DREAM; the company must be very desperate to try and pull this. It is also a surprise considering the fact that for the longest time now the organization has been trying to get a fight between Cro Cop and Dutch striker Alistair Overeem. Is DREAM really ready to compromise that fight right before it materialize for a spectacle bout like Akiyama-Cro Cop? That's a decision DREAM is hopefully contemplating right now.



Speaking of the Overeem-Filipovic fight, it seems Cro Cop has accepted the challenge and is willing to go at it as soon as DREAM gives the go ahead. Filipovic writes on his personal blog:

"I was asked by the members of media if I'm willing to fight Overeem since he challenged me twice already. I watched DREAM 5 and I was happy to see a strong heavyweight match-up on the card, I have no doubts that DREAM will put more match-ups like that in the future. It was a very good performance by Alistair I must say. I'm happy to accept his challenge and I'm looking forward to this fight, as I believe that we can deliver an entertaining fight. Now it's up to DREAM to make this fight happen, I'm ready to face my challenger on the next show already."





James Irvin fails post fight drug test
If being pummeled into oblivion by Anderson Silva wasn't enough, UFC light heavyweight James "The Sandman" Irvin tested positive for a couple of banned substances during the regulation fight drug screening. Irvin can still get a formal hearing, where he can be facing a suspension of 6 to 12 months, and perhaps a hefty fine that could sum up as high as his entire fight purse for his UFN 14 bout.

So what drugs are we talking about here? Methadone and Oxymorphon, both of which are a sort of painkiller. Methadone is commonly associated with the treatment of drug dependence as well as a painkiller, while Oxymorphon is associated with severe pain. Both can only be acquired through prescription, and neither is clear for use in the MMA arena. Irvin was the only fighter to test positive at the event.





Rua-Coleman feud heats up as "The Hammer" replies to comments
Haven't we been through this already? Most of you probably recall the great Chute Boxe-Hammer House feud back in Pride which erupted after Coleman broke Rua's arm at Pride 31. Now it seems they may be back at it again, as Rua seems to be claiming a potential match up is lingering on the horizon. In a recent interview with Brazilian fight magazine Tatume, "Shogun" spoke of a possible bout going down in December:

"I spoke with my manager now and he said they called him and said it would depend on October's event. I might face Mark Coleman on December, but nothing has been signed yet. He wanted to face me on November, and I really wanna face him, I hope this time he don't run from me. He said no to me a couple of times, but I believe now it will happen."

Of course, every action has an equal reaction. It wasn't long before Coleman himself caught wind of this statement and replied in a recent interview with MMA Junkie:

"I really haven't put much thought to Mauricio ‘Shogun' Rua lately. I have no clue what he's talking about claiming I ducked him. If he really needs to stir something up, I really don't give a [expletive]. He can stir something up."

"I've never picked my opponents since the beginning. I don't go around picking my opponents. I let the promoter do that. Whoever the promoter picks, that's obviously who the fans want to see."

"If [a fight with Rua] is something that interests the fans, if that's something that the UFC wants to make happen, I don't go around turning down fights.. Shogun is fine."

"As far as ‘Shogun' being on the top of my list, he's not," Coleman said. "I have no reason to want to fight his ass. I already fought him and beat him. … As far as him indicating the fact that I've ducked him, that's wishful thinking on his part."

It seems to be all the rage now in the UFC to move fighters around to face fighters from a different class, so this fight could definitely come into fruition in the near future, especially since both have fought once already and to a controversial finish nonetheless. Despite the numbers, Coleman's record isn't really all that bad; the Pan-Am champion has only lost to Fedor, Cro Cop, and Nogueira in the past nine years. However, it is hard to judge where Coleman's abilities currently lie; in two years time Coleman has not fought a full 15 minutes, and that is with all of his outings in that time span combined. Regardless, a win over Coleman would be a solid notch in Rua's belt, one that would easily set him back on the path to title contention.





Anthony Johnson undergoes eye surgery

That July 19th evening has yet to stop pestering Anthony Johnson as the young fighter recently underwent eye surgery due to damages sustained from his last fight with Kevin Burns. Claiming that a broken hand prevented him from using close fist strikes, Burns utilized an open palm attack that illegally caught Johnson in the eye several times throughout the fight. Eventually one of them would be bad enough to send Johnson to the floor wincing with pain, but in an unusual turn of events, Johnson was ruled out and the TKO victory was awarded to Burns. Now it seems Johnson will have to pay further for the incident. "Rumble" speaks of the situation:

"My retina was damaged, possibly detached, and the laceration was pretty long. It was basically from one end of my eye to the other. They did laser surgery that took about two hours, put some stitches on it basically."

"I told my agent, Ken Pavia, I have nothing against Kevin; but personally I don't want him to fight again until he gets his hands fixed. I don't want any other fighter to go through what I went through."

"I don't think it's cool that he fought with his hands like that. It put himself and others that he's competing with in danger. Just look at me. I can accept a loss, but I can't accept a loss or the consequence of someone else's wrong doing in a fight like that."

Johnson has been nothing but tolerating through the incident, showing amazing collectiveness and reserve not only immediately after the decision, but after his surgery as well. Johnson's manager is still trying to file an appeal for the Ultimate Fight Night 14 decision.





Arona interested in returning to MMA with UFC
After over a year of inactivity, Abu Dhabi champion and Pride standout Ricardo Arona sat down and spoke with Sherdog.com about where he has been and what he has been up to in the past months of his absence. "I decided to stop and watch from the outside, in order to be able to see everything that happens inside fighting." Said Arona. "I had to find myself. It's my aim to fight once or twice by the end of the year, but the most important thing is to come back well prepared, to come back different from what I was. I want to be a much more dynamic fighter in the next phase of my career."

However, what was possibly more interesting was what Arona had to say about the UFC and fighting inside the Octagon. "In America, the crowd's noisier, more agitated and wants to be entertained. For them, sometimes it's not important that an American wins. They want to watch a great fight, and we have to adapt ourselves to that. I like the Japanese people a lot, and I would like to fight in Japan again, but if America is dominating the market, I want to be there. I've already fought against almost all of the top fighters. I want very much to be part of this new market. I'm waiting on a good contract to make my comeback. I'm doing my part to be well prepared, and I'll be back to dominate the scene."

"When I arrived at Carlson Gracie's gym at 16 years old, I already wanted to fight in MMA, and one of my specialties was taking my opponent down, striking him and hurting him from that position. This was cut from MMA when I went to fight in Japan. In the UFC, you can use the cage, which is perfect for me, because once you have your opponent in the corner, there's no escape; it's excellent to use to get the takedown. Once on the ground, it's perfect for striking; it's fatal. With those rules, I guess the referee will have to stop a lot of my fights quickly, because my great strong point is striking from above, from any position. The third factor I see is that anyone in the ring who gets tired in five minutes is in the wrong place. I'm accustomed to fighting one 10-minute round and two five-minute rounds. In the UFC, it's three five-minute rounds, which is like child's play for me. I'm flying in and out with that time. I wouldn't even stop to wipe my forehead. The UFC rules were made for me -- no doubt about it."

When asked about where he will fight next: "I think the promotion would have to be the UFC, because it offers the best proposals and the best fighters, and it's the best event and the best show. The best opponent for me is whoever has the belt, but I don't think there's any way to come back and fight right away for the belt."





Aleksander Emelianenko puts rumors of hepatitis to rest
After Aleksander Emelianenko was taken off of the Affliction: Banned card and replaced by Gary Goodridge, the Internet went ablaze with rumors of possible reason. One "inside source" claimed that the younger Emelianenko had contracted hepatitis, something that would not only prevented him from fighting, but would have been life threatening given the right strain. Fortunately, Emelianenko has recently gone on to set the record straight.

"I passed the medical board and my license to fight was obtained without any problems. But the fact is that in California the commission is very rigid for admittance. One of the main conditions to let you fight is the ability to pass all of your tests on time. I had to be in America by July 13, the Visa was only good until the fourteenth and my tickets were purchased in advance for the fifteenth. On the whole, I was late. They thought the organizers could agree and settle the problem but they quickly found out they would not be able to get me on the card. Instead they were able to find a suitable replacement for Paul Buentello. The laws in California are so rigid."

And rigid they are; the California State Athletic Commission is known for taking no nonsense and giving no slack (take a look at the Sherk steroid fiasco), so this really wouldn't come as a surprise if Emelianenko did indeed get everything done late. But hey, at least its not hep, right?





Affliction's future looking better and better
While they lost a significant amount of money on their first event, Affliction can probably considered a success and very competitive organization. That statement is further solidified with news of several fighters looking to make returns to the next event, as well as a possible new addition to the roster, Tito Ortiz.

In a recent interview with MMARated, Ortiz spoke about his plans after the UFC and where he would like to fight next. "You never know what holds the hands of Tito Ortiz in the future. EliteXC? Affliction? I'm actually in freeze right, I can't talk to anybody" said Ortiz. However, after asked about challenger Renato Sobral, " I think he wants a beating, I think he wants to get some name recognition by fighting Tito Ortiz, and it's fine." said Ortiz. "Babalu, you know you are going to get beat down. You're going to get paid, it's good. You're going to get your chance to fight Tito Ortiz but, you got your hands full buddy." With that said, it looks like Ortiz may in fact be heading over to Affliction after all.



Ortiz wasn't the only one speaking of Affliction this past week. In another interview, former UFC champion Tim Sylvia spoke of his past fight with Fedor, the WAMMA system, and fighting In the next event. "Yeah I believe (I will be fighting), but I'm going to let Affliction do all of the announcing." Sylvia said.



It is also rumored that Affliction has its first bout planned out for the upcoming show, pitting Olympic wrestler and elite middleweight Matt Lindland against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort. Even before the first Affliction card, fans were putting this fight together as soon as Belfort was signed on to Affliction, as it is one of the few fights Affliction can make with their limited middleweight fighter roster. Belfort is coming off of an impressive KO victory over Terry Martin, while Lindland is looking at a previously lackluster outing against Fabio Negao.





Jesse Taylor released from the UFC again
Perhaps bringing Taylor back was a bit premature. Once again the Ultimate Fighter cast member has been released from the UFC, and this time it appears for good. Taylor was released the first time after kicking out a limo window and harassing several people in public after he had made it to the finals of the show. Now, after being brought back, it seems Taylor has managed to mess things up again, possibly by making offensive statements about former champion Quinton Jackson. "what goes around comes around, I guess." Taylor said. "Oh yeah, it's a big double standard, I'm sure if I were the ex-middleweight champion, I could get away with stuff. I'm sure if I would have done, I'd be banned."


Recently in an interview with MMAJunkie, Taylor spoke about the situation and his game plan for the future. "It's definitely frustrating, I was upset, of course. But I'm going to keep on fighting. It could be a blessing in disguise with the other organizations out there."

"It's like a three-year deal with the ['The Ultimate Fighter'] and all," Taylor said. "I think they can release you whenever they want. So yeah, they kind of let me go."

"I thought the whole thing was blown out of proportion," Taylor said. "I just said, ‘What goes around comes around,' kind of meaning about the double standards. Not meaning anything bad. I guess they kind of took it the wrong way, but I didn't mean anything bad by it."

"I actually really don't know. If it is, I think it's kind of funny because I definitely didn't make those comments to piss anybody off."

While his statements alone may not have been enough to merit the boot, Taylor's loss to Dollaway in conjunction with his former actions already placing him on thin ice probably were the cause of the release. Taylor will most likely be fighting for EliteXC or Strikeforce, but the chances of making another UFC appearance are slim to none




Huerta speaks out against UFC

The number of fighters displeased with the UFC continues to grow as lightweight stand out Roger Huerta recently expressed his distaste for the way Zuffa pays and treats their fighters. Via Fight! Magazine:

"Huerta is one of a growing number of Zuffa-contracted fighter who feel that there is a disconnection between the company's success and the way fighters are compensated. Huerta's disillusionment with the UFC began when he did press tours for his employer in Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, and London and received a $50 per diem for his troubles. It sounds like a a good deal until you factor in time away from training, friends, and family, days often stretch twelve hours or more, and an exchange rate of one UK pound for two American dollars. ‘Why do you think I don't do PR for the UFC any more?' he asks.

"He's also unhappy with the terms of his current contract, but to Huerta, the press tours underscore a larger point: by and the large, Zuffa does not treat its contracted fighters with sufficient loyalty or respect. He argues that many UFC fighters barely make enough to cover their training expenses. He brings up teammate Keith Jardine repeatedly, incensed that a main event fighter is working for ten and ten- $10k to show and 10k to win - while his opponent regularly makes ten times as much."

"Huerta's expression hardens and becomes more animated as talk turns to endorsements. The common counter-argument for complaints about fighter pay is that fighters often make more from endorsements and sponsorships than they do for competing. But Huerta has soured on the system after receiving lowball offers from companies who expect fighters to jump at the chance to endorse products. He rails against a Fortune 500 company for offering a deal to build him as a spokesman that included unpaid work. ‘Are you serious?' Huerta ask. ‘I know Dale Earnhardt Jr isn't doing appearances for free.'"

"'The truth is, I don't really care if I fight in the UFC or somewhere else,' Huerta says. The fighter says he understands that Zuffa has to keep an eye on the bottom line, but he wants to work, ‘For a company that is as loyal to me as I am to them.'"




EliteXC ratings down from last showing

After changing some things around for their second show, EliteXC's Saturday Night Fights on CBS drew in fewer viewers than the inaugural show that proceeded it. More specifically, last weekends event drew in 2.62 million viewers, averaging out to a 1.9 rating. In contrast, the first show attracted 4.3 million viewers (and that is without the main event), overshadowing the earlier numbers.

EliteXC seemed to be trying to appeal to the hardcore fan base by toning down some of the flair and focusing on some of their more skilled, but lesser known fighters. While this did seem to go over well with the MMA community, it obviously didn't help the rating.

There are two reasons why this happened; one, the lack of household names such as Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano kept mild fans away from the show, or two, the first show was so unappealing to hardcore fans that most of them didn't bother tuning in to watch the second. Regardless, the third show should see a larger improvement. With EliteXC already showing the ability to put on an solid show for larger fans of the sport, and with Kimbo and Gina returning for the next event, EliteXC may get the best of both worlds.



Random Pass

Sick of posting videos, I decided to find a form of entertainment closer to the still frame breed. After putting some thought into it, I figured why not throw some great pics of Fedor, in some of his best fights ever? I mean after all, the guy did just silence the entire MMA world by obliterating Tim Sylvia in less than a minute. Here are some of the greatest Fedor finishes of all time.









and of course…..




Well that's about it for this week. I hope to see you again next week and have a great weekend. Thanks for reading, you've just passed the guard!