UFC 78 odds
By Zach Arnold | November 17, 2007
Rashad Evans (-325) vs. Michael Bisping (+250)
Houston Alexander (-180) vs. Thiago Silva (+150)
Karo Parisyan (-450) vs. Ryo Chonan (+300)
Ed Herman (-140) vs. Joe Doerksen (+110)
Frankie Edgar (-135) vs. Spencer Fisher (+105)
Joe Lauzon (-450) vs. Jason Reinhardt (+300)
Thiago Alves (-185) vs. Chris Lytle (+155)
Akihiro Gono (-225) vs. Tamdan McCrory (+185)
Marcus Aurelio (-500) vs. Luke Caudillo (+350)
User prediction odds so far at MMA Predictions:
Rashad Evans is favored (79%) to beat Michael Bisping.
Houston Alexander is favored (68%) to beat Thiago Silva.
Ed Herman is favored (64%) to beat Joe Doerksen.
Karo Parisyan is favored (88%) to beat Ryo Chonan.
Spencer Fisher is favored (77%) to beat Frankie Edgar.
Joe Lauzon is favored (86%) to beat Jason Reinhardt.
Marcus Aurelio is favored (95%) to beat Luke Caudillo.
Akihiro Gono is favored (62%) to beat Tamdan McCrory.
Thiago Alves is favored (73%) to beat Chris Lytle.
I don’t know why MMA Predictions isn’t allowing users to make picks today for the UFC 78 show.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Saturday headlines: Media heat-up for UFC 78
By Zach Arnold | November 17, 2007
If anyone reading this has high-quality photos available (.TIF format, preferred) for either of the PRIDE Las Vegas events or the Kimbo Slice/Ray Mercer fight that you own the copyrights to, please e-mail me and let’s talk. Thanks.
BJ Penn compares Sean Sherk to Marion Jones.
Franklin McNeil sat down with Steve Cofield to talk about Larry Hazzard being fired. The Philadelphia Daily News has an article talking about both Hazzard’s supporters and detractors coming out of the woodwork. Bernard Hopkins issued a public letter in support of Hazzard.
Dave Meltzer is reporting that the California State Athletic Commission may not sanction Sean Salmon to fight any more in MMA. Salmon was knocked out on Friday night at San Jose Arena by Jorge Santiago on the Strikeforce event.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: BoDog, Boxing, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Friday fight notes: Fedor coming to Japan
By Zach Arnold | November 16, 2007
If you have not listened to the latest edition of Fight Opinion Radio, go download the show.
Dana White says that he will meet with Randy Couture next week. Alex Marvez has more information.
There has been strong rumors about an MMA event happening at Saitama Super Arena on NYE (it would allegedly happen at night while a Hustle pro-wrestling show takes place during the day). There is a report that it will end up being an M-1 Global tournament show with Fedor fighting on the card. The event would be carried on SkyPerfecTV PPV and not on free-to-air television in Japan. As for who is backing the Japanese event, I’ve heard a possible name that is quite the eye-opener (and was a name in PRIDE’s past)…
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, Canada, Japan, M-1, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Larry Hazzard fires back at NJ AG
By Zach Arnold | November 15, 2007
By Zach Arnold
Update: New stories in The Press of Atlantic City, The Philadelphia Daily News, and The New York Post. More thoughts over at The Fanhouse.
Larry Hazzard, who was Commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board until Wednesday afternoon after he was escorted out of his office by authorities, has fired back at Attorney General Anne Milgram in The Newark Star-Ledger.
Hazzard, a former three-time Golden Gloves champ never known to shy from a fight, called the move “retaliation” for his writing to Gov. Jon Corzine about a dispute with Milgram’s office over employees Hazzard believed were jeopardizing the health of fighters.
Milgram’s office landed another shot, Hazzard said, by firing him on the eve of his nephew’s funeral, which they knew was yesterday.
“It’s in retaliation for the letter and that some people took exception for what’s in the letter,” Hazzard said during an interview following the funeral. “‘I always challenge that stuff — that’s the way I am. … But in New Jersey state government, at least in the Department of Law and Public Safety, this time it wasn’t appreciated.”
However, that is not the most important quote from the article. Here’s the money quote:
In a letter sent to the governor on Oct. 23, a copy of which was obtained by The Star-Ledger, Hazzard’s attorney, James J. Binns, claimed his client was told “not to document the malfeasance and misfeasance” of a board employee even though it “jeopardized the welfare of contestants.” Among the concerns, Binns wrote, were the employee’s decisions to sanction mismatches in mixed martial arts contests, to okay a fighter who failed to test negative for HIV and to allow promoters to “shop” for medical approvals for their fighters.
So, here’s the obvious question to ask…
Who would be the employee that Hazzard is targeting? Until Hazzard names names, no one is for certain going to know who he is talking about.
Is Hazzard targeting Sylvester Cuyler, who is now replacing Hazzard as commissioner? Cuyler was previously deputy commissioner on the NJACB. Perhaps there are other possible candidates that Hazzard could be targeting based on this list of who is on the NJACB. Or is the employee with the DLPS? Will Hazzard file a lawsuit in the future and start naming names?
We’ll finish off this post with another comment from Hazzard in the USA Today newspaper:
“My lawyer had sent a letter basically outlining some serious blunders being made that could create a situation where someone will be very seriously injured or killed,” Hazzard said. “Instead of addressing the issues, they invited me into their office and thanked me for my years of service.”
This story has major ramifications for both boxing and MMA if the allegations that Hazzard are making are truthful.
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Larry Hazzard removed from the NJACB
By Zach Arnold | November 15, 2007
Update: This news is now on AOL’s Fanhouse site.
Update II: Here are quotes from Anne Milgram’s office about Hazzard’s firing. “It was time for a change.” What? Sounds like New Jersey-style politics to me…
Stunning news just days before the UFC 78 event in Newark, New Jersey. According to The New Brunswick Home News Tribune, New Jersey attorney general Anne Milgram (profile here) sent Kim Ricketts to deliver the news to New Jersey Athletic Control Board commission Larry Hazzard of his removal.
Hazzard is one of the most respected people in boxing and helped build momentum for the Unified rules of MMA in the United States.
- Why was Hazzard fired by Milgram in such an abrupt fashion? It’s not as if Milgram didn’t have enough on her plate already.
- What kind of impact will Hazzard’s removal have on the boxing and MMA scene? With Hazzard gone and Ken Condon’s role in the AC area perhaps decreasing, what domino will fall next?
- Speculative question – now that Hazzard is fired from the NJACB, will the WAMMA try to hire him to join their sanctioning body? It would give them a huge credibility boost…
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Thursday trash talk: WAMMA gets major media coverage
By Zach Arnold | November 14, 2007
UFC officially announced today the signing of Sokoudjou. He will face Ryoto Machida at UFC 79.
The state of Kentucky has now passed legislation to regulate amateur MMA.
USA Today has two high-profile MMA articles in its newspaper today. The first is about UFC 78 and the second is about the WAMMA. AM New York claims that a billionaire lawyer who sued tobacco companies is pumping the money behind WAMMA. The laughable part about the AM article is that WAMMA claims that they will not do drug testing for MMA fights, but rather leave that to the athletic commissions.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: HDNet, IFL, Media, MMA, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Wednesday war room: IFL makes a business pitch to everyone
By Zach Arnold | November 14, 2007
The IFL sent out two press releases on Tuesday. The first release talks about their 12/29 Mohegan Sun Arena card. The second release talks about their video deals with YouTube and Google Ads. Adam Swift analyzes the business deal. Steve Sievert says the promotion still has no live TV deal for the 12/29 show.
Thoughts on Riddick Bowe fighting in MMA. Who will he face?
Mark Kriegel praises Norman Mailer.
A UFC book that costs between $2,500-$3,500 USD to purchase.
Paulo Filho will fight Chael Sonnen on 12/12 in Las Vegas.
Interesting media item of the day: ESPN has now hired away two of America’s most notable media reporters on steroids, TJ Quinn of The New York Daily News and Mark Fainaru-Wada of The San Francisco Chronicle.
Someone attempts to defend the WAMMA.
Michael Bisping as Saddam Hussein.
Saturday night reassured my faith in the sport. Boxing is a violent triumph of one individual over another, yet it remains rooted in respect and usually is dignified. Unlike the up-and-coming Ultimate Fighting Championship, the dignity of the sport is why boxing will always find an audience to entertain.
Topics: Boxing, IFL, Media, MMA, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fight Opinion Radio #68: Shayna Baszler & Ken Shamrock
By Zach Arnold | November 14, 2007
We have a special edition of Fight Opinion Radio for you this week, as we are teaming up with The Fightworks Podcast to produce this episode. Expect more co-promotion with TFP and MMA Predictions in the near future.
Our special guests this week on the show are Shayna Baszler and Ken Shamrock (w/ Rod Donohoo).
Shayna stops by to talk about her recent win at the last ShoXC event, the chances of her fighting Gina Carano, and most importantly she gets interrogated by the investigative team of Fight Opinion Radio. Getting pulled over by cops, scandalous photographs, party stories, favorite alcoholic beverages, and working at Gigglebees Family Fun Center.
Ken and Rod stop by to talk about comments that Dana White recently made about Ken’s tenure in the UFC. Will Ken and Rod be heading for legal action against UFC or can a settlement be negotiated? Lots of comments in this Q & A segment on the show.
Plus, we have discussion about the upcoming Super Challenge Grappling event in Brazil this December. Where does this event rank amongst the various grappling tournaments around the world? Caleb has you covered with the answers.
The 68th edition of Fight Opinion Radio is now online and available to download. Download this week’s show here.
Or you can use the great flash player to listen to it streaming (without having to use an external program). Check it out (down below).
[audio:http://www.fightopinion.com/podcasts/foradio-11-14-2007.mp3]Podcasting: Use http://feeds.feedburner.com/fightopinionradio. This link should work for all RSS programs and podcatching programs. You’ll never miss another show again.
If you have iTunes, do the following:
- In your iTunes program, go to Advanced. Then choose the Subscribe to Podcast option.
- Type in http://feeds.feedburner.com/fightopinionradio.
- The newest edition of Fight Opinion Radio will be automatically downloaded and future editions of FOR will download for you as well, hassle-free.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Brazil, Fight Opinion Radio, Media, MMA, podcasts, Pro Elite, UFC, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
WAMMA press conference on Wednesday
By Zach Arnold | November 13, 2007
For those who care: Wednesday is the presser for the new attempt at a sanctioning body in MMA, WAMMA. Godwin Asifo was/is Ike Quartey’s manager.
I can’t begin to stress how little I take this deal seriously. Rank fighters by weight division? Every mom and pop MMA web site does that. (Besides, there’s a new online system in place for user-generated fighter rankings. You don’t need a panel of 30 ‘experts’ or scholars to rank fighters.) Establish Unified rules? Hello, there are already Unified rules in the books. Ensure the safety and welfare of the fighters? That’s what the athletic commissions are there to do with MRI & CT tests and insurance for the fights. Sanction ‘world championship bouts’? With who? UFC won’t cooperate and Gary Shaw (through EXC) has control of several of the mid-major MMA promotions. If those two aren’t involved, who’s going to care?
On a recent edition of Fight Opinion Radio, I stated that the alarm bells went off for me about the WAMMA project when I saw that the news story came out of Pensacola, Florida. Pensacola is the home territory for Roy Jones Jr. and months ago, I had heard rumblings from a couple of top boxing writers that the former management of Jones Jr. was going to try to get involved in a big way with MMA. One writer claimed to me that the former management team of Jones (which is the main part of this new WAMMA project) was going to try to pierce through the current system of MMA promotion (meaning each promoter has their own title belts as opposed to a sanctioning body controlling matchmaking and purse bids) and that Roy’s former management team felt real confident that they will be able to accomplish this task at hand.
If this new sanctioning body cannot change the Unified rules to their liking by persuading various state athletic commissions, then the only conceivable method (in my opinion) would be WAMMA filing a lawsuit or multiple lawsuits. The question is whether or not WAMMA can somehow create a power structure and force itself upon promoters in the sport legally. It would, by default, be the equivalent of lighting a stick of dynamite and imploding the current business models being employed in the industry.
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Tuesday news & notes: UFC 78 event talk
By Zach Arnold | November 13, 2007
All MMA blog and site owners: I want to update my bookmarks and RSS feeds, so if you have a site that you want to promote… post a comment here listing two things only: 1) your site URL and 2) your site’s RSS feed link.
A Texas MMA fighter is currently in the ICU ward at a Houston-area hospital.
A yakuza attack on a Sumo stable.
Eddie Goldman looks back at UFC 1.
Shu Hirata has a preview of the upcoming UFC 78 event in Newark, New Jersey from a Japanese perspective (mainly talking about Ryo Chonan). Spencer Fisher’s approach for his fight at UFC 78. The Asbury Park Press has an article on Frankie Edgar. Plus, more heat-up for Bisping vs. Evans. Which leads us to our question of the day…
Don King announced that Felix Trinidad will fight Roy Jones Jr. at MSG on 1/19, which is going to be on HBO PPV according to The Fight Network. 1/19 is the same day as UFC 80 in Newcastle….
Given that both Bisping and Evans are on TUF TV contracts (meaning anywhere from 12-18k to fight and a matching win bonus w/ no PPV percentage cut), will the main event of UFC 78 be the most cost-effective fight that the promotion has produced in the company’s recent history? I’m surprised that this question hasn’t been raised yet.
Brandon Vera is apparently teaching this guy muay thai and BJJ.
A profile article on Jason Reinhardt w/ Xyience Lemon Lime NOX-CG3 ad from the UFC store.
Boxer Robin Reid is retiring.
I cannot empathize with fans of pro wrestling. Never could. The behind-the-scenes machinations interest me — who doesn’t love a good YouTube video of a Warrior meltdown at a college campus — but the theatrics make Warner Bros. cartoons look like Ibsen. The WWE is the biggest pile of s— on television, surpassing even “Dirty Jobs.”
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Monday evening update (11/12)
By Zach Arnold | November 12, 2007
Mike Sawyer and Oliver Copp are back with a new edition of their MMA radio show.
Video of Joachim Hansen vs. Eiji Mitsuoka.
The folks at Fightmetric want your feedback.
Notes from today’s UFC 78 conference call. Dana White’s decided that if Sherk loses his appeal with the CSAC, he’ll strip him of the title. Huh…
Vancouver stops the upcoming HCF event from happening.
Alex Marvez goes to the UK to interview Michael Bisping. Really.
Mike Pyle is a real man of genius.
Dave Meltzer reflects on the first UFC event in 1993.
Changes to the IFL GP tournament.
Emanuel Steward is no longer going to be Jermain Taylor’s trainer.
Topics: Boxing, Canada, IFL, Japan, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Monday media notes: The MMA world outside of UFC
By Zach Arnold | November 11, 2007
Today is the 14th anniversary of the first UFC show produced.
Jess Liaudin says that he will KO Marcus Davis at UFC 80.
Another reason for Mike Pyle to be upset – ABC News has an article about the role of women in MMA.
The San Antonio MMA event (promoted by Jesse James Leija) drew 4,000 paid Saturday night.
The latest happenings in the Cage Force lightweight tournament.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, IFL, Japan, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, StrikeForce, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Sunday news review: Defending UFC 78’s main event
By Zach Arnold | November 11, 2007
Hikaru Sato vs. Josh Barnett was announced by Pancrase for the promotion’s 12/22 Differ Ariake show in Tokyo. The fight will be under catch wrestling rules (two 5-minute rounds). Sato seems interested in costume play.
Dana White defending the booking of Michael Bisping vs. Rashad Evans:
“Chuck Liddell is the biggest superstar in mixed martial arts and there is nobody close to him in terms of popularity,” White said. “But after him, these guys are as big as anybody. They’re the winners from Seasons 2 and 3 of The Ultimate Fighter. That is huge. They’ve been on TV many times. People know them. People like them.
“They’re undefeated. They have things to prove. This is a great main event, if you ask me.”
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Canada, Japan, Media, MMA, Pancrase, Pro Elite, UFC, Zach Arnold | 44 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |