MMA News Roundup
MMA News Roundup |
By Jon Sattler Less than five months after becoming the first mixed-martial arts promoter to host an event on network prime-time television, EliteXC and its self-made MMA star, Kimbo Slice, are heading to the unemployment line. Here’s the story behind their meteoric rise and how it suddenly came crashing down: 2003: Slice begins his career as a backyard brawler. After a friend posts one of his nonsanctioned fights online, Slice becomes an Internet celebrity. June 23, 2007: Slice wins his MMA debut against former WBO heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer, who was coming off several kickboxing losses. October 11, 2007: Slice signs with EliteXC. Gary Shaw, EliteXC’s president, says, “He's real and we're willing to fight anybody with him.” November 10, 2007: Slice submits knockout-prone Bo Cantrell via strikes in just 19 seconds. February 16, 2008: Slice knocks out veteran brawler David "Tank" Abbott in 43 seconds. Before the match, Abbott had lost his last three fights. May 31, 2008: Slice headlines the first MMA event on prime-time network television. His opponent for the main event on CBS, James Thompson, had been knocked out in five of his last eight bouts. Referee Dan Miragliotta makes several questionable calls in Slice’s favor. During a stand-up exchange in the third round, Slice bursts open Thompson’s cauliflower ear. Even though both fighters remain on their feet, Miragliotta stops the fight and declares Slice the victor. June 2, 2008: Shaw declares Slice the best heavyweight striker in the world. September 17, 2008: Showtime officially enters into negotiations to buy EliteXC, which would keep the MMA promoter from going out of business. Since it’s creation in 2006, EliteXC has lost $55 million. October 4, 2008: EliteXC doesn’t have enough funds to stage the event, so CBS pays for all the expenses in exchange for all the event’s revenue. Slice is supposed to fight Ken Shamrock—who had been knocked out in his last five bouts—but Shamrock suffers a training injury the day of the fight and cannot compete. His replacement, light heavyweight Seth Petruzelli, defeats Slice in 14 seconds. October 6, 2008: Petruzelli says that EliteXC offered him money to not take the fight to the ground, where he would have an advantage over Slice: “The promoters kind of hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him. They didn't want me to take him down.” In response, the Florida State Athletic Commission starts a preliminary investigation to determine whether EliteXC tried to fix the outcome of the bout. October 20, 2008: After Showtime pulls out from the nearly completed contract, EliteXC tells its employees and fighters that the company had filed for bankruptcy and was closing its doors.
by Edward Pollard Former Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder Matt Hughes prides himself on coming from farm country. He enters the fighting arena to Hank Williams Jr.’s 1981 song “A Country Boy Can Survive,” with lyrics that declare: “I live back in the woods, you see, my woman and the kids and the dogs and me,” and “I can plow a field all day long, I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn.” It’s no wonder Hughes chose this tune; he practically embodies the description of a man whose skills help him live off the land. In an interview about his fighting career, Hughes addressed some questions about his other profession: eco-fuel farmer. What exactly does he grow on his land in rural Illinois? “We raise corn, beans and wheat,” he said. “We used to have over 100 head of cattle, but we don’t have any livestock right now except for a few goats.” By his estimation, the land under his family’s stewardship amounts to about 1,400 acres, several hundred of which are on nontillable ground that’s used for pasture and timber. The surprise came when he responded to a query about the use of his crops. “We sell it on the large market,” he replied. “None of our crops are food grade. It’s all used for soy diesel and ethanol fuel.” It’s no recent development. Hughes’ family has been doing it this way for as long as he can remember. With his name recognition and status as a heartland hero, will it be long before a company like Chevrolet makes him a spokesperson or gives him a spot in one of its patriotic advertisements? “Send me a couple vehicles, and we can talk about it,” he said, laughing, but he’s not really kidding. Notice that he didn’t say “cars.” When UFC President Dana White thanks the coaches of the hit cable series The Ultimate Fighter, he typically gives them a custom hot rod or tricked-out sport utility vehicle, not exactly the greenest or most practical gifts. What did Hughes receive after his tenure on TUF Season 6? A brand-new John Deere 6430 tractor. Former UFC Champ Evan Tanner Dies
Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner's body was found September 8 in the desert near Palo Verde, California. Tanner's management team, Driving Force Sports, issued the following statement:
by Jon Sattler According to Tito Ortiz, Affliction promoter Donald Trump just made his former apprentice the highest paid fighter in MMA history. “It will be a groundbreaking record contract for sure, without a doubt,” Ortiz says. “It's going to be a long-term deal where I put my heart and soul into the company and help build them. That's something I'm interested in doing. They're going to bring me on, not just as a fighter but also doing some of the back work." In other words, Ortiz won’t just be promoting himself; he’ll be promoting Affliction, and he believes that the Huntington Beach Bad Boy brand can generate pay-per-view numbers comparable to his record breaking UFC days. “I know they got over 100,000 pay-per-view buys on their first show,” Ortiz says, “and with me it's guaranteed to be over 500,000 pay-per-view buys just by the number of fans that are going to follow me no matter where I go, so they're going to get their money's worth just in pay-per-view no matter what.” Although Ortiz’s contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship technically expires on August 11, he met with Trump on August 5 to finalize the deal. And now that we know whom he’ll be fighting for, the only thing left to determine is whom he’ll be fighting against. “[Renato] Babalu [Sobral] has been in my cross hairs,” Ortiz says. “He's already been talking smack, saying if he sees me he's going to kick my [expletive], but right on if he keeps thinking that. He'll get his face caved in sooner or later. I know Frank Shamrock is another person who's been opening up his mouth. He beat me the last time we fought, and I think that would be a great revenge fight where I kick his [expletive] and finally shut him up.” Because of the hand injury Fedor Emelianenko suffered during his 36-second demolition of Tim Sylvia, Ortiz will most likely be headlining the next Affliction card, which takes place October 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Update: Ortiz’s announcement was a bit premature. Michael Cohen, Affliction’s COO and special councel to Donald Trump, told MMAWeekly.com on August 6 that he’s not sure whether Ortiz is allowed to negotiate at this point. “Donald Trump, myself and Tito engaged in a conversation,” Cohen says. “There was nothing substantive that was discussed other than that we are interested in sitting down with him, which we are planning on doing in the very near future, to discuss with him the opportunity to join the family of Affliction fighters.” Due to legal concerns, official details on Ortiz's future in mixed martial martial probably won't emerge until his contract with the UFC ends. Tito Ortiz on Kevin and Bean by Jon Sattler Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz will be on the L.A. radio show Kevin and Bean on Friday, July 31 to do what he does best: self-promotion. Along with selling his new autobiography, This Is Gonna Hurt, the most marketable free agent in mixed martial arts will be shopping for a new home now that his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship is seemingly over. Kevin and Bean airs on KROQ from 5-10 a.m. PST. Update: In case you missed the interview, here's the show. And as an added bonus, KROQ posted Ortiz's epic foosball game with one of the DJs. Seriously. Never Back Down Hits Home Theaters by Edward Pollard Summit Entertainment’s teen-oriented MMA movie Never Back Down—which made $24 million at the U.S. box office—is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
The movie offers a smart and stylish treatment of the grass roots of MMA, touching on questions of popularity, loyalty, self-discovery and the origins of the fighting impulse. An effective ensemble cast led by Djimon Hounsou (Amistad, Gladiator, Blood Diamond) as the jiu-jitsu instructor keeps the story from veering into clichéd territory. However, the MTV-flavored treatment of the teen elites who “sponsor” the underground tournaments provides enough eye candy in the form of bikinis, hot cars and flashy acrobatics to entertain even the most jaded of moviegoers.
by Jon Sattler America’s finest will have a chance to meet some of MMA’s finest in late June because B.J. Penn, Michael Bisping, Urijah Faber and Carlos Condit are flying to Afghanistan to visit with U.S. soldiers stationed at six military bases. “We are honored to send UFC and WEC fighters to visit the men and women of the United States Military,” UFC President Dana White says. (UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, also owns the WEC.) “We are pleased to be giving back to such a great cause; many of our fighters have served in the military and understand what a great contribution our troops are making overseas.” “Their presence will certainly help boost the morale of the soldiers, which is so important during their duties overseas,” says Sgt. Bart Murphy of the 101st Airborne Division. We’ll have more info following the tour.
by Jon Sattler When you go to a Marvel Comics film, you expect to see plenty of cameos from icons like Stan Lee. Still, we did a double take when we saw undefeated mixed-martial arts legend Rickson Gracie staring down Bruce Banner, The Incredible Hulk's alter ego. Minor spoiler alert: When Banner flees to Brazil, he turns to a martial arts master played by Gracie for lessons in anger management. After teaching him some takedowns and deep breathing exercises, Gracie tests Banner’s control by slapping him—hard. Here’s hoping we’ll hear the big green guy shout “HULK ARMBAR!” in one of the sequels. Weekend Free-For-All by Jon Sattler Following mixed martial arts isn’t easy—or cheap. Fight promotions form and fold with almost no advance notice, and watching an MMA event on television can cost more than going to a Major League Baseball game. So you can imagine our delight when we saw that HDNet is hosting two free events the weekend of June 13. Here’s what HDNet Fights has to say about its upcoming events:
by Jon Sattler When news broke that clothing designer Affliction would be officially announcing a major partnership with a true heavyweight on Thursday, June 5, we admit that Donald Trump wasn't the first name that came to mind. But Tito Ortiz must have opened Trump’s eyes to the business possibilities of mixed martial arts while Ortiz was competing on The Celebrity Apprentice because the Don King of real estate is staking his claim in the world of mixed martial arts. "I have been a fan of professional sports since childhood, and I am particularly impressed by the athleticism, courage, and strength of these disciplined athletes," Trump said. "This particular sport resembles my business style of being fast paced, strategic and aggressive … remembering to never give up. I am particularly excited to partner with Affliction and become a major player in promotion of MMA, the youngest and fastest-growing sport to emerge in the last century." "We are very excited to be partnering with the most recognized and accomplished business mogul in the world," said Tom Atencio, vice president of Affliction. "Trump is a true visionary who shares our belief in the future of MMA." At Thursday's press conference, Trump will reveal the details of his partnership with Affliction, who is promoting the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia, which takes place July 19th, 2008, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Update 1: Michael D. Cohen, the executive vice president of The Trump Organization, confirmed that Trump is now an equity partner and owns “a significant amount” of Affliction. Cohen also confirmed that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has signed with Affliction.
"We'll probably be asking Tito to come along also," Trump said. "We have many, many great fighters, but we'll be asking Tito to come along." Trump also discussed how his partnership helps Affliction. "I've got a lot of money," Trump said. "That helps, right? But also and perhaps more importantly, I seem to get a lot of attention. For instance, if I wasn't here today, you might have maybe one writer. And now the place is packed." Trump avoided taking any swings at his new rival Dana White. "I have great respect for Dana White," Trump said. "Some of the people in the room may not like him. I like him and I think he's done a very good job." Instead, Trump believes the rivalry between the two organizations will help mixed martial artists. "If there's only one organization," Trump said, "you can pay the fighters five dollars and they'll be happy to fight." Affliction Promotes Star-Studded Card text and photos by Edward Pollard CENTURY CITY, CA—The nearly ubiquitous clothing manufacturer—whose stylish and popular distressed T-shirts are worn by many top mixed martial artists—has entered the fight promotion game in stunning fashion. Succeeding where others have fallen short, Affliction has signed PRIDE Fighting Championships’ heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko to face former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Tim Sylvia on July 19, 2008, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Holding a roped-off press event on the Westfield Mall’s restaurant terrace, Affliction showed off an impressive array of top-notch fighters slated to appear at the event, a number of them former UFC athletes: Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Mike Whitehead, Ben Rothwell and Fabio “Negao” Nascimento. The conference was emceed by sports analyst Jay Glazer. Affliction employees gave away box loads of the popular shirts and many event posters to fans who waited in line to have their picture taken with the stars, but Emelianenko received the most attention throughout the presentation.
Kimbo and Carano Land in Studio City text and photos by Edward Pollard STUDIO CITY, CA—CBS hosted a media day with ProElite and EliteXC at the broadcaster’s Radford Studios on May 19, 2008. Gary Shaw, EliteXC president of live events, greeted the press, who were then treated to some basic demonstrations of mixed-martial arts techniques by a handful of the athletes slated to appear on the first major MMA event broadcast live on network television. The event takes place May 31, 2008, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Following the action in the cage, many of the upcoming e |
