The Fightin’ Stance News 09.12.08: The Black Band Edition
Posted by Adam Tool on 09.12.2008
What happened to Evan Tanner out there in the desert? Why did Randy Couture decide to come back to the UFC? What’s going on with Affliction’s second show? Why should you watch the new season of The Ultimate Fighter? We’ll straighten out these questions and get the latest in fight announcements in this week’s Fightin’ Stance News!
Welcome to your Friday mixed-martial news explosion, The Fightin' Stance News. As always I am your host Adam Tool. I had planned to share some thoughts about last weekend's UFC 88 show, but I'm not really sure what else I have to add. It was a fine event but not exactly the kind of PPV that blew me away.
That was one hell of an ending though.
Instead let's get to the news. Unfortunately the biggest news story of the week is also the saddest…
Evan Tanner 1971-2008
"Today, I ran to the store to pick up a few things, and with the lonesome, quiet desert thoughts on my mind, I couldn't help but be struck with their brutally stark contrast to my current surroundings, the amazing congestion in which we exist day to day. The landscape as far as I could see, crowded, choked, with me and the rest of the species, an almost writhing mass of organisms, fighting over space and resources,....on the highways, in the parking lots, on the sidewalks, and in the ailse (sic) of the stores. And to think, there are still places in the world where man has not been, where he has left no footprints, where the mysteries stand secure, untouched by human eyes. I want to go to these places, the quiet, timeless, ageless places, and sit, letting silence and solitude be my teachers.
I've been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature. Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life."
-Evan Tanner, 8.16.08
This passage was posted on Evan Tanner's blog, but I'm sure nobody expected the last part to be so eerily prophetic.
By now I'm sure you know most of the details. Text messages to Tanner began to go unanswered last Wednesday, and on Friday his friends reported him as missing. His body was found near a campsite in the Clapp Springs of the Palo Verde Mountains. He was 37.
The Imperial County Police Department has yet to perform an autopsy, but as of now the cause of death is believed to be heat exhaustion. Tanner had several empty water bottles on his person, and the water supply at his campsite was also gone. Tanner's body was discovered several miles away from his campsite, and the temperature in the open desert was likely over 110 degrees.
There have been reports online that Tanner's motorcycle was found nearby, out of gas. While the bike was found close to the body, the police have stated that there was fuel in the tank.
Several tributes have been posted online, and we here at 411mania are putting together our own piece that should be on the site Monday. I'll have more to say then but for now all our thoughts are with the family and friends affected most by this tragic death.
The Beans, They Have Been Spilled
Who says message board posters aren't good for anything? After all, it was comments made by an MMA forum-goer that sparked the reunion between Randy Couture and the UFC.
At least, that's the story Couture told yesterday as a guest on TAGG Radio. Couture said that he was trying to think up some creative strategy for opening discussions with UFC President Dana White.
"I sent Dana a nice text. I told him I was on (an MMA forum), and there were some guys that were bagging on him -- no surprise there. They were saying that he likes to eat shit sandwiches. I told [Dana] that I stuck up for him, and that there was no way that could be true because he doesn't even like bread. I sent him that text, and he texted me right back -- laughing his ass off -- saying, 'I'd love to talk to you. We can enjoy some shit sandwiches together.' That started the whole thing."
The UFC heavyweight champion also said that this last year has been very difficult, and he wanted to try a different approach to getting his fight with Fedor Emelianenko.
"It's been a long year, I feel like I've been toting a black cloud around. I think both the UFC and myself were frustrated with the legal system and how long things take. We were both spending a lot of money on lawyers. I think after meeting with Fedor's people -- seeing the landscape and everything -- and realizing it was probably going to be at least another year of court battles and litigation and crap, it just made a lot more sense to try and find a way to bring Fedor back to the table with the UFC. That's the only fight that I'm looking for. I agreed to come back, fight Lesnar, and hopefully Fedor will be the second fight in the three that I signed for."
Wait, so Randy doesn't think he's winning on November 15th? Because the winner of his showdown with Brock Lesnar will then go on to face the winner of Nogueira vs. Mir to determine the undisputed champion. Am I reading too much into this?
Details of Randy's new deal with the UFC have not been released, but Couture seems to be happy with it.
"I think we cleared the air. Obviously (the UFC) didn't come across with a big check for some of the things I think I should have been paid for. But I think it's setup. I'm going to be taken care of, and I'm pretty confident in that. Can there always be room for improvement? Absolutely. Anybody working in any job anywhere could say, 'Oh, I wish was making 'this.'' But I think we cleared the air on a lot of the old crap. And I'm looking forward to moving forward positively."
"We not canceling it, we're not postponing it, we're rescheduling it completely. It doesn't make sense to do it where we wanted to do it, it's a positive. It was a business decision. We came out strong, and we want to continue with that momentum and continue strong. We don't want to come out and be weak and have to give tickets away. We want to continue to be a force in this industry. From a business standpoint, we don't want to lose money. We want to be here long term. It's a wise choice. This is definitely a positive."
The main problem with the show was low ticket sales. The event was scheduled for the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, but some reports stated that show had only sold 700 tickets. For a venue that holds 19,000.
That's not a good thing.
Affliction: Day Of Reckoning will now take place in January 2009 in Anaheim, California. Another reason to move the show?
I will never get rid of that picture.
With the world's #1 heavyweight currently out due to a broken hand (that he suffered while hitting Tim Sylvia's big dumb head), the moving of the company's second show gives them the chance to put their biggest star in the main event. Obviously this would help those low tickets sales as well as earning the show a better PPV buyrate.
Affliction COO Michael Cohen gave an interview with NBCSports.com where he stated Fedor Emelianenko would be on the show, although he hesitated to name an opponent.
"It is to be determined. We are considering changing the combatants. We have not finalized that at this time. That is as a result of the issues to be revealed at the announcement."
Announcement? Ah yes, Cohen also stated that he had an announcement to make in a few weeks that would, "change the dynamics of mixed martial arts. Not just nationally, but globally." As for what that announcement is, there are a few ideas floating around.
We can probably rule out the signing of Tito Ortiz. Bringing in former UFC champions is part of Affliction's bread and butter, so that's not a world-shaking thing.
There's also the rumor that CBS is in talks with another MMA promoter to replace EliteXC on the network's programming schedule. If indeed Affliction is CBS-bound, again it's not really a big deal. After all, EliteXC has already had two shows on network TV.
The most likely candidate? Affliction is teaming up with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions to create a new MMA/boxing super-promoter. While Cohen promises the announcement in a few weeks, Atencio has stated that he'll have a major announcement this weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That just happens to be the site of Saturday's HBO PPV boxing event (presented by Golden Boy) headlined by Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Joel Casamayor. This has also sparked talk that Affliction is teaming up with HBO to bring programming to the pay-cable network.
Time To TUF-en Up
Is there a future champion in that picture? Perhaps (and no, I'm not talking about Mir).
Wednesday night is not only Fight Night 15, it is also the premiere of the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." As you probably know by now current interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and interim #1 contender Frank Mir will serve as coaches. Rumors have it that current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida will be serving as Big Nog's assistant coaches.
WHAT'S NEW
For the first time since season four the show will feature two separate weight classes competing for the contract. Here is a list of the fighters scheduled for the first episodes. It's important to note that only half of these guys will actually be making it into the house.
As I mentioned above, just like last season the competition begins with 32 fighters who will have to win their way into the house. This means the first two episodes of the show will be ALL FIGHTING. ALL THE TIME. The other good thing about the opening round of fights is that it gives the coaches a better opportunity to scout their prospects. Somebody may be a beast in the gym but you'll never really know how good they are until they step in the cage.
Dana White will be back as host, and even though they're all supposedly fighting for a contract it's certainly likely that we'll be seeing more than just the winners in the octagon afterwards.
The season kicks off right after Fight Night 15 on Wednesday. If you can't watch then be sure to come back every week as 411mania recaps the show for you. It's like a vacation for your eyes!
Quick Hits
-This Saturday starting at 9 am ET you can catch a marathon of "The Ultimate Fighter" season one. All 12 regular episodes will air followed by the finale. It concludes with the premiere of the reunion show which will be feature Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Kenny Florian, Nate Quarry, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Mike Swick, and Bobby Southworth.
-The fight I was most looking forward to at UFC 89 was Thiago Silva vs. Lyoto Machida. I say ‘was' because Silva has pulled out with an injury and Machida has been scratched from the show entirely. Look for "The Dragon" to pop up on either UFC 91 in November or UFC 92 in December.
-Melvin Guillard is off the card at UFC 90. Stepping in to fight Spencer Fisher will be Shannon Gugerty. Gugerty made his octagon debut on the undercard of Fight Night 14 where he submitted Dale Hartt in round 1.
-A nice little welterweight showdown between Dustin Hazelett and Tamdan McCrory has been added to UFC 91. Hazelett is coming off his tremendous submission win over Josh Burkman at the Ultimate Finale 7. McCrory scored a decision victory over Luke Cummo at UFC 87.
-Strikeforce had announced Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Bobby Southworth for the light heavyweight championship at their second Playboy show, but then Southworth went down with an injury. Anthony Ruiz was tapped as a replacement, but now Babalu has had to pull out of the show as well. No word yet on whether or not the company will find a replacement for him or just scrap the fight completely.
I Keep My Pimp Hand Strong
Sure I'm great, but why not check out some of our other fine writers?
The Ignignokt to my Err, Jeremy Lambert has your Cardio Freak News.
Two men enter, one man leaves. You know the law. It's 411 Fact Or Fiction.
Jonathan Solomon lays out his predictions for the buyrate of UFC 91 in this week's MMA Juggernaut.
He's the guy everyone's been talking about, and now Randy Couture is the subject of our latest 411 Fighter Profile.
Chris Robinson was going to preview WEC 36, but Hurricane Ike has forced a change in this week's Verbal Submission.
Boss Csonka shares his take on UFC 88.
Finally, a special shout-out to Mr. Dustin James. This week Dustin not only ranks the top ten Heavyweights, he also celebrates his first full year here at 411mania. So make sure you stop by and show Dustin some love!
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
10/18 - 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
11/15 - UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar
Live on PPV at 10 pm ET
To Catch a "Different" Predator
One of my favorite albums of the year
The Dodos – "Fools"
That's enough for now. Next week I'll be looking back at Fight Night 15 as well as looking ahead to Strikeforce's Playboy At The Mansion II. Hopefully we'll have some better news to lead off with next week. Until then…
Sources: MMAJunkie.com, Sherdog.com, Fiveouncesofpain.com, MMAWeekly.com, TAGG Radio
