The Fightin’ Stance News 08.29.08: The Clock Is Ticking

Posted by Adam Tool on 08.29.2008

Is Randy Couture coming back? What happens next for Rampage? Why should you care about Kimbo and Ken? Could Anderson Silva and Paulo Filho ever fight one another? And what the hell is up with KJ Noons? You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.



Welcome back to The Fightin' Stance News. My name is Adam Tool and just when I thought I wouldn't have much to talk about this week, a nice little news story pops up…



Captain America Lives?



This one should be filed as a rumor at this point, but if it comes true it may be some of the best news I've heard in a while. MMAJunkie.com is reporting that current UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture is willing to fight one more time inside the octagon.

But there's a catch. Couture's final UFC fight would only take place on the stipulation that afterwards he would walk away "clear and free" from the company. His fight would be an out-of-court settlement to end his litigation with the organization, and free him from his contract.

Again, this is just a rumor. Couture has not confirmed the offer and there's no word from the UFC either. However if it does take place there's a chance Randy could be added to one of the year-end shows.

As much as I would like this to be true, I have to play the pessimist and say that I don't think this is going to happen. For one, it's my understanding that Couture has two fights left on his contract. The UFC has that thing pretty well locked up, and I'm not sure if they'll be willing to give anything up in the situation.

And furthermore, who would he fight? His next opponent should be Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, so that we can unify the two heavyweight belts. What happens if Randy wins? Does he vacate the title and walk away? He's certainly tried to do that before. Of course, there's also the fact that Big Nog is already penciled in for a title defense against Frank Mir in December. If not Nogueira than he'd just be fighting one of the up-and-coming heavyweights (Werdum, Lesnar, Velasquez), and anyone of them losing would just set the division back even further.

Hopefully we'll have more on this story in the days and weeks to come.

The Kimbo Conundrum



EliteXC made big headlines earlier this week by announcing Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock as the main event for their third CBS primetime special on October 4th. Since the fight was made official everyone all over the place has thrown in their opinions…and now here's mine.

Make no mistake, Ken Shamrock is the biggest star to ever fight in EliteXC. He's a pioneer of the sport, and he achieved an even greater level of stardom with his run in the WWF. Some people may still call MMA "ultimate fighting," but those people certainly know who Ken Shamrock is.

What I find truly amazing is that Shamrock, a 44 year old fighter who hasn't won a fight since he beat Kimo back at UFC 48, has now reverted back to godlike status amongst MMA fans. For any number of reasons, a lot of fans in this sport really hate Kimbo Slice. They want to see him lose, and they are now convincing themselves that Ken is the man to do it.

He's not. Let's get that out of the way right now. Shamrock's toughness has declined proportionally as he's gotten older, and I don't see him being able to take too many shots from Kimbo's big ass fists. Obviously he'll be looking to take the fight to the ground, but let's not forget the wildcard in all this: Bas Rutten. Rutten has faced, and lost to, Ken twice in his career. Ken won't have anything new to show here and you can believe that "El Guapo" will be doing everything he can to prepare Kimbo for this fight. As long as they stay on the feet, Ken is in for a short night. Should it go to the mat, things could get interesting.

Here's what Shamrock had to say:

Honestly, I think I can test him anywhere. He's got big, heavy hands. Everyone says he punches hard and he probably does. But again, he doesn't punch properly, in my opinion. He swings his hands, he moves his body back and forth trying to get as much power as he can, but there's really no snap behind it. You can usually see the punches coming. I'm going to do what I need to do. If it goes to the ground, I'll probably break his leg. I mean, no question. I will break his leg. If he gives it to me, I'm going to break it."

Sorry Ken, but I don't think he's going to give you his leg. And if you got it I certainly don't think you could break it. Not with osteoporosis setting in.

More on this showdown as we get closer to October 4th, natch.

The Damage Has Been Done…Now What?



There have been a few news items reported this week regarding former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, so let's hit them one by one.

The most recent news is that Jackson has joined Wolfslair, the Liverpool-based fight team that is also home to Michael Bisping and Paul Kelly. Wolfslair will handle Jackson's fight preparation and sponsorship opportunities, although Jackson will continue to spend most of his training time in California. The change in trainers comes following Jackson's split from Juanito Ibarra last month.

As for Jackson's legal troubles, he was formally charged on Tuesday and now faces one felony count of evading while driving recklessly and one felony count of evading a peace officer and driving against traffic, along with three misdemeanor counts of hit and run and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. His sentence could be anywhere from probation to three years in prison. On Thursday Jackson entered a plea of not guilty, and his next court date is set for November 3rd.

Which brings us to Jackson's future in the octagon. Last week Dana White announced UFC 91 in Portland, Oregon on November 15th. Currently a lightweight bout between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson is the only confirmed fight, and White (along with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva) have been looking everywhere for a main event. As of now Jackson is the most likely candidate to fight on the top of the card, and the main two names being tossed around as opponents are Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Wanderlei Silva.

The obvious problem is what happens to his scheduled fight(s) if he's tied up in the courts? Should Jackson be found guilty he'd most likely get probation, but the possibility is there for jail time (particularly if the judge is anti-combat sports and decides to ‘make an example' of Rampage).

In one final Rampage newsbyte, earlier this week he made the following comments regarding the man who beat him for the UFC light heavyweight championship, Forrest Griffin:

"After the fight, I said ‘I've got to give you a lot of respect, because you hurt my leg and you had a good game plan.' But now, I don't respect him as a man. Because if it was me, I would have said, ‘I have to give him a rematch right away, to remove all doubt'. I'm a man and when you fight it's all about honor. I'm not angry at him or anything, don't get me wrong, but I've lost respect for him as a man."

Even though Dana swears up and down that Rampage is alright in the head, I have to wonder why he would make remarks like that? It's been a few months since the fight but I seem to remember Forrest in his post-fight interview saying something along the lines of, "He hits really hard, which sucks for me because we're probably going to have to do it again." Forrest isn't the matchmaker, and Jackson's chances for an immediate rematch vaporized (much like the left front tire of his truck) that faithful day he hit several cars and evaded police.

Come Together, Right Now



It's been talked about for a little while but now it appears as though Zuffa is moving forward with plans to merge the heavier divisions of the WEC into the fold of the UFC. This would mean the light heavyweight and middleweight fighters of the WEC would be moved to the UFC so that the WEC can focus on the smaller weight classes. Reports indicate that the merger could happen before the end of the year, possibly right after the WEC show on September 10th.

The guys that stand to suffer the most from this move are undoubtedly the light heavyweight fighters. Steve Cantwell is the new WEC light heavyweight champion and there's a chance he may not ever get the opportunity to defend that title. Cantwell, along with former champs Brian Stann and Doug Marshall would be giving up their top spots in the WEC and starting back at the bottom of the deepest division the UFC has to offer.

Of course, moving the WEC middleweights over to the UFC means that we could finally see a potential showdown between Anderson Silva and Paulo Filho. Silva is hands down the top middleweight fighter in the world, and most organizations (like 411mania) have Filho ranked directly underneath him at #2.

But wait, what about the fact that Silva and Filho have stated before that they have no intentions of fighter each other? The two men have been friends and training partners for a long time, but Silva and Filho's manager Ed Soares recently stated that at some point the friendship may have to be put aside for business. In an interview with MMAWeekly Radio Soares said,

"If that's the fight that the world wants to see, then I guess we're going to have to sit back and talk about it. I think that's going to be a hard one to get across to both sides. They're friends, they've been together. But at the end of the day, it's a business, and sometimes you've gotta go in there, and you shake hands. They've been on each other for free in training. I can just tell you that it would really have to be something that makes sense for both guys."

In a sense, what Soares is saying is that if the money is right, these two may just have to lock up sooner than later. The fight makes sense from a business standpoint, since the UFC is desperate for credible challengers to Silva's reign (no offense to any Patrick Cote fans).

Soares did say that Filho is currently focused entirely on his WEC middleweight title defense against Chael Sonnen on September 10th. According to Soares, Filho was disappointed with his two previous fights in the WEC and he wants to prove why he is the #2 middleweight in the world.

A Silva/Filho fight would be pretty damn great, but again I'll file this under believing it once I hear it. They are close friends, but they are also two very competitive men that happen to be at the top of the stack right now. I imagine the fight could happen at some point, especially if Filho comes to the octagon and racks up some nice wins.



-Following up on last week's story regarding KJ Noons and his battle with EliteXC, Noons released his own statement yesterday. In it he blasts EliteXC vice president Jared Shaw and says the company has done nothing to promote him (Noons) in his time there. He also states that his deal with Gary Shaw included promotion for his boxing career, and if Noons wanted to just do MMA he would've signed somewhere else. Finally, Noons says he's not afraid to fight Nick Diaz because he's already beaten him.

-The rumored bout between Gray Maynard and Rich Clementi is now official for UFC 90 on October 25th.

-Jon Koppenhaver has had to legally change his name to "War Machine," as TNA had threatened a lawsuit against the UFC due to the trademark TNA has on the "War Machine" name for Rhino.

-Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth has had to pull out of his title defense against Renato "Babalu" Sobral at the company's second Playboy show next month. Taking Southworth's place will be his most recent opponent, Anthony Ruiz.

-Newly crowned Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson will take on Ashe Bowman at the Playboy show, although the fight will be a non-title affair.

-It looks like a middleweight bout between Murilo "Ninja" Rua and IFL veteran Benji Radach has been set for EliteXC's October 4th card.

-Additionally, a women's bout between Cris Cyborg and Yoko Takahashi has been set for EliteXC's "Saturday Night Fights."

I Keep My Pimp Hand Strong

Sure I'm great, but why not check out some of our other fine writers?

The Frylock to my Master Shake, Jeremy Lambert has your Cardio Freak News.
Dustin James compiles the 411 MMA Rankings for the Light Heavyweights.
Reuel Mante shines a Spotlight on the reasons why GSP doesn't have to fight BJ.
BOSS Csonka gives his take on Shamrock vs. Slice.
Two men enter, one man leaves. You know the law. It's 411 Fact Or Fiction.
Jonathan Solomon profiles the life and career of one of the greatest of all time, Takanori Gomi.
Chris Robinson tries to find the reasons why so man fans hate the UFC in this week's Verbal Submission.
Solomon also has your recap of the latest WEC Wrekcage.



9/6 - UFC 88: Breakthrough
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET

9/10 - WEC: Faber vs. Brown
Live on Versus at 9 pm ET

9/17 - UFC Fight Night 15
Live on Spike at 9 pm ET

9/17 - The Ultimate Fighter: Team Mir vs. Team Nogueira
On Spike at 11 pm ET

9/20 - Strikeforce: Playboy At The Mansion II
Broadcast TBA

9/26 - EliteXC Presents ShoXC
Live on Showtime at 11 pm ET

9/26 - DREAM 6: Middleweight Grand Prix Finals
Live on HDNet (time TBA)

10/3 - Strikeforce: Payback
Live on HDNet (time TBA)

10/4 - EliteXC Saturday Night Fights
Live on CBS at 9 pm ET

10/11 - Affliction II
Live on PPV (time TBA)

10/18 - UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben
On Spike at 9 pm ET

10/25 - UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET



This is probably my favorite song on his new album
Beck – "Gamma Ray"



Sure you've seen The Dark Knight, but have you seen the alternate version?
Here's the trailer



Thanks as always for reading. In seven days we'll get up close and personal with UFC 88 as I breakdown what is looking like another solid show.

Also I would invite you to check out the site on Tuesday, as I'll be posting the first part of what will be an ongoing feature here at 411mania. I'm going to review every episode of every season of "The Ultimate Fighter." I'll start Tuesday with the very first show, featuring a bunch of up-and-coming young guys like Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Stephan Bonnar, and Chris Leben (oh, and Bobby Southworth but he's not as important). Join me, won't you?


Sources: MMAJunkie.com, Sherdog.com, Fiveouncesofpain.com, MMAWeekly.com