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Wednesday war room: 9/19 UFC Fight Night card finalized
By Zach Arnold | August 1, 2007
Travis Lutter not fighting at UFC 74.
Yokozuna Asashoryu suspended for playing soccer. More on the story here.
Josh Gross defends his open letter to Dana White on Fight Network Radio.
Ivan Canello has video of Fabio Silva vs. Ryo Kawamura.
Here is the fight card for the 9/19 UFC Fight Night event.
Bad news on the IFL Front – both Erik Owings and Jamal Patterson have been pulled from the New Jersey show due to injury. Sam Caplan has more information, plus a preview of the New Jersey show. Sadly, I don’t think my IFL predictions will be so accurate after all!
Nick Lembo notified the media this morning that Dr. Arnold McKnight died. The Dr. was chairman of the Washington D.C. athletic commission.
Jake Shields vs. Renato Verissimo has been booked for 9/15 in Hawaii.
The Ryan Bennett Memorial Golf Tournament is happening soon.
Onto today’s headlines.
- Bloody Elbow: Ken Pavia asks a great question
- The Fight Network: No failed drug tests at ShoXC event last Friday
- The Michigan State News: Former MSU wrestlers test their grit in MMA
- 15 Rounds: Thinking out of the box – Larry Hazzard
- Between the Ropes: Roger Huerta interview
- MMA on Tap: Randy Couture appears on Jim Rome is Burning
- Sam Caplan: Fights set for next BodogFight tapings
- Florida Today: Miami Dolphins’ Matt Roth trained in MMA in the offseason for better conditioning
- The Record-Courier (OH): Fighting event at Grays Armory in Cleveland this weekend to showcase cage bouts
- WOAI (San Antonio, TX): Bas Rutten seminar at Texas MMA fight gear and fight club on Wed. 8/8
- The Facts (Texas): Former gridiron player Tony Guined in MMA
- Fox 11 Arizona: First combative tournament planned at Fort Huachuca w/ Don Frye attending
- The Canadian Press: Minnesota fighter Brock Larson finally gets crack at WEC Welterweight title
- MMA HQ: Nate Quarry returns against Pete Sell
- The Daily O’Collegian (Oklahoma State University): Jake Rosholt masters cage
- UFC Junkie: Jens Pulver’s arrival highlights WEC’s recent success
Topics: BoDog, Boxing, IFL, Japan, Media, MMA, Pancrase, Pro Elite, UFC, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Awesome podcast from the Fight Network, it’s a shame we don’t get this channel in the United States. But at least I can listen to the radio show :D.
This is not an attempt to plug my own site and all (I looked at the Cage Rage website but it isn’t there) but they’ve announced some pretty interesting matches for Cage Rage 23. Including the MMA debut of Julius Francis.
http://total-mma.com/?p=28
I’m not a huge Mauro fan, but he’s an excellent radio host.
I posted this in the wrong post’s comments section earlier: “On an unrelated note, let us all hope that Paulo Filho vs. Joe Doerksen on August 5th does not go to a judges’ decision. Two of the three judges for the bout will be Glenn Trowbridge and Abe Belardo. All we need now is for Dalby Shirley to be the third judge for the fight!”
Also, I read part two of the Drugs in MMA article in the other post and it was excellent.
On Mauro’s show with Gross he said he saw a response posted by Dana on the UG by a poster named “Saucy” and didn’t know if it was real or not. I don’t have Mauro’s email address, but “Saucy” is Beth and she works for the UFC. The response was legit.
Josh Gross = punk who’s trying to justify taking a shot at the UFC and White.
let’s blame the Olympics comish for people who test positive in the olympics? idiot is just trying to take a shot back at White because he lost his press credentials.
http://thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=4435
Lutter out of 74 with neck injury. Ah well.
Mauro is so bad it isn’t even funny. He didn’t break through to legit teleacts for years for a reason. The combination of his Canadian accent, his over the top speech, and just his bizarre commentating makes him less then decent to listen to. He sounds like a nice guy, but the guy just doesn’t cut it. And before people make the Mike Goldberg comparisons, at least Mike had smaller time national exposure along for a while.
As for Josh Gross, the guy thinks a little too highly of himself. A lot of the stuff he writes in the letter is just wrong. In fact, Dana White told ESPN.com that nobody tested positive and an independent laboratory did the testing. The fact remains that since 2005, the UFC has had drug testing at 36 of their 39 events in some capacity. Ratner even said Texas was being weird for not testing, and the first European event in years had a hiccup due to their lawyers. Beyond a UFC 55 (Mohegan Sun), the UFC has made sure they have gone to states with drug testing. Not to mention that the 1 year suspension now being handed out is 10 times more steep then any American professional sports league. When Dave Meltzer even makes note of White & Gross fueding, and then for Gross to deny this has anything to do with it, makes him a joke.
Jake Shields = One Man’s career who continues to disappoint me. There is no doubt he is talented. But he is wasting away his prime fighting years with basically nothing. He has no exposure outside of a hardcore fan base. This fight with Verissimo is just no good for him. It is a step down. If he loses, it makes him look bad. If he wins, he gains nothing.
“Jake Shields = One Man’s career who continues to disappoint me. There is no doubt he is talented. But he is wasting away his prime fighting years with basically nothing. He has no exposure outside of a hardcore fan base. This fight with Verissimo is just no good for him. It is a step down. If he loses, it makes him look bad. If he wins, he gains nothing.”
You make it sound like Jake Shields is choosing to fight in anonymity. A guy like Shields needs to take what he can get, because even in a world where people make way too big a deal out of what is ‘promotable’ and ‘marketable’, Shields stands out as a particular antithesis of those qualities. What is he supposed to do? Call Zuffa and demand a deal, or else he’ll go after a midcard regular at ADCC ’09? Jake Shields can’t simply will himself to fat paychecks and marquee opponents.
Way to go and refute Huddle’s point logic.
LOL I’m a moran…with logic. Frickin multitasking.
45: Mohegan Sun [ http://www.mohegan.nsn.us/ ], like the Hard Rock in Seminole [ http://www.seminoletribe.com/ ], is an indian casino, on tribal lands.
Are either of them actually under state regulation, I kind of doubt it.
“let’s blame the Olympics comish for people who test positive in the olympics? idiot is just trying to take a shot back at White because he lost his press credentials.”
I don’t think anyone is “blaming” White, per se. They’re saying that as the head of the company with a market share of over 80% of MMA in the United States, he’s the man with the ability to change things for the better if he so chooses. Also, if the International Olympic Committee had a drug policy like MMA, with no off-season or out-of-competition testing, the IOC would rightly be ripped a new one in the media on a constant basis.
That was my point about Mohegan Sun. That is one of the 3 locations in the last 39 events that did not drug test. MMA is illegal in CT.
As for Shields…. He has been offered a contract by Zuffa. He has been offered a spot on previous TUF Shows. So in a way, yes… He is choosing to fight outside of the microscope.
I never understood some MMA fighters. Olympic athletes have done it for the glory of being number one for years. They have been pad absolutely garbage wages (and staying afloat on donations) in order to prove themselves the best. Shields could easily make a solid wage fighting for the UFC.
Makes you wonder if he doesn’t think he can beat the Hughes’s, the GSP’s, and Fitch’s…. Perhaps he knows his stock would faulter quickly if the UFC matched him up against the elite of the sport.
“Not to mention that the 1 year suspension now being handed out is 10 times more steep then any American professional sports league.”
Again, why act like these doofus american sports leagues has set any sort of standard to follow? One year for testing positive for performance enhancing is very low – heck two years doesn’t deter people from going that route in certain other sports. Second offence should of course be life ban regardless. However, more important than increasing the punishment is of course to increase testing and introduce out of competition tests.
Why the American Standard?
1. The act of getting caught is more important then any type of suspension. Kind of like shaming men by posting their pictures, who try to pick up prostitutes. The fact that they have been outed… there is nothing worse that can happen to their career.
2. The sports fans in America and the corporate sponsors are what pay these fighters in the end. The sports fans have been more then satisfied with how long the NFL’s and MLB’s suspensions last. Once again, to the fan, the fact that they know that they are a cheater is far more important.
3. Two years is obnoxiously long. In fact, it is too long. Look at a guy like Jason Giambi. While he was never suspended, he was out for a while due to some of the side effects of steroid use. When he came back, he apologized, and acted as a humble man who made a mistake. The fans treated him like a king upon his return. If baseball would have suspended him for 2 years after he admitted to the feds that he roided, then a lot of that process would have been haulted and by the time he came back, it would have been too late for redemption. And the fact that we live in America… The land of second chances…. 2 years is without question out of the question.
“Shields could easily make a solid wage fighting for the UFC.
Makes you wonder if he doesn’t think he can beat the Hughes’s, the GSP’s, and Fitch’s…. Perhaps he knows his stock would faulter quickly if the UFC matched him up against the elite of the sport.”
I seriously doubt he’d get anywhere near the same money there as he does figting non-exclusively for EXC. Perhaps after two-three years of climbing the ladder, but certainly not on his first deal. 170lb’ers are smart to earn their good money and stay away from UFC atm. Paul Daley is another one.
Either way, it makes no sense for Shields.
IN IT FOR THE MONEY – He is making $12k/$12k per fight in EliteXC. That was documented for his June fight. If he went into the UFC, he would at least be making $10k/$10k, and perhaps fight a little less in the year. One submission of the night would make up for that difference. However, if he thinks he is the best, then he will continue to move up the ladder and eventually be worth $100,000+ for each fight. Plus, Bodog isn’t putting anybody on their cards who makes more then $10,000 a fight, so that is not an option for him.
IN IT FOR THE COMPETITION – All of the top guys at 170 lbs are in the UFC. There is Hughes, GSP, Fitch, Sanchez, Parisyan, and more. He isn’t going to get that quality of fighter in EliteXC.
It makes it very clear that he doesn’t think he can beat the best, and wants to cash in on the outside. Anybody who knew they were the best would be sounding like Jon Fitch in interviews were he doesn’t care if a belt is on the line, he just wants to fight the best guys and prove to himself that he can compete at that level.
On a completely different topic….
Versus just showed the 4th WEC Wrekage Show. It had Eddie Wineland vs. Chase Beebe. Wineland’s ear literally got smashed. It was gross and awesome at the same time. They are reshowing it before the live card on Sunday.
“It makes it very clear that he doesn’t think he can beat the best”
How exactly does it make it clear that he doesn’t think he can beat the best or that he is scared? Nevermind “VERY” clear? Not every fighter out there views signing for UFC pronto as the ultimate(pun) way to prove himself. And you seem to ignore the fact that he is fighting non-exclusively for EXC and can make money elsewhere on top of his guaranteed contract. If Jake Shields just keeps on winning and reaches the end of his career peak without having fought in the premier promotion despite offers being on the table – THEN you can perhaps make an accusation that he was scared. To do so now, when he has just this year taken another step up the ladder and signed with the biggest promotion he’s worked for yet, well that seems premature to say the least.
“The sports fans in America and the corporate sponsors are what pay these fighters in the end. The sports fans have been more then satisfied with how long the NFL’s and MLB’s suspensions last. Once again, to the fan, the fact that they know that they are a cheater is far more important.”
– MMA in the US didn’t break through because of drug testing. In fact, the implementing and development of testing has had zero proven impact on interest for the sport. Likewise, there was no crisis in football/soccer before they started testing, and in cycling the athletes themselves protested the testing not many years ago, making many a fan join their pattern of thinking. Heck, PRIDE drew full houses and made huge money in Japan with ZERO steroid testing, and their fans didn’t mind – so then it was okay? To let what the average fan(atic) is “satisfied” with and what sponsors are willing to go along with dictate the level of testing and punishment that should be done is nothing short of a scary thought.
“And the fact that we live in America… The land of second chances…. 2 years is without question out of the question.”
That’s a pretty bold prediction to make, but feel free to do so. Also, two years is certainly not a career killer in any sport – not least MMA with its limited schedule and relatively long career peaks – but only time and increased testing will tell if it actually becomes a necessity. The point I was making is that one year is certainly not too much at this stage, nor is it anywhere near the forefront of relevant anti-drug policies. MMA is of course not just an American thang either.
Meltzer and TFN say Thales Leites in for Lutter. I’m more interested in seing Thales again than Lutter to be honest.
According to Lutter’s message, he tried to give his injury time. However, the injury occurred on Saturday and by Monday he withdrew. I’m guessing there’s more to this story, whether it’s a weight issue, a much more serious injury or whatever.
At any rate, he doesn’t seem to be a fighter with a burning desire. Maybe he needs to toil in the minors for a few fights to see if he has it.
In regards to Gross: He is not a professional journalist and rarely makes even an attempt to act like one.
His letter was smug and inflamatory.
We have seen many MMA online writers (Zach included) write some excellent articles about drugs and MMA, yet only Gross took the opportunity to use it for petty reasons.
Well, we’ve had three cable events at Hard Rock so far, is what I’m saying, and they don’t seem to be covered by your three events without testing (Mohegan, Texas, and Manchester).
Is Seminole covered by Florida’s fight commission? Does Florida test?