Jon Fitch issued bounties to black belts to try to choke him out
By Zach Arnold | October 14, 2012
Interview video from MMAFighting.com:
JON FITCH: “There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of crap I’ve been through the last year-and-a-half and this kind of takes the pain away from a lot of it.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “It was an up-and-down fight. You had your moments, he had his moments. Did you expect him to be that tough?”
JON FITCH: “Yeah, I expected him to be that fast but… we had a rock solid strategy going into the fight. You know, I got to give Zinkin Entertainment and American Kickboxing Academy for preparing me for this. We had some very tough, athletic guys preparing me and getting me ready in sparring and all those guys combined coming in on fresh rounds on me…”
ARIEL HELWANI: “You told me earlier this week that you can’t just win, it has to be an impressive performance. Was that an impressing performance in your opinion?”
JON FITCH: “I think so, I got to go back and look at it… but, you know, I made a few mistakes here and there but I think some of those mistakes were because I was going for things, uh, and you open yourself a little bit. I mean… he footswept me and I frickin took a mouthful of canvas, you know, I think I’m going to be spitting Bud Light emblem out of my teeth. But I mean, he’s a tough kid but I had just too much desire in my heart to let him win today.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Was that the new Jon Fitch?”
JON FITCH: “You know, I think just having confidence in knowing that if I go for something and lose position, I’ll get it back. So, yeah, I think so.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “How’d you get out of the rear naked choke in the second?”
JON FITCH: “Man, I mean, after the training camp for BJ Penn, there’s nobody who’s coming close to finishing me for a rear naked choke. It’s just not going to happen. I was putting bounties out to guys, to black belts starting on my back with deep hooks and still getting out and getting on top. It’s almost a position I used to get on top sometimes because sometimes you can’t sweep guys, whatever. So, I’ll give you my back, give you hooks, let you try to choke me, stick you on your back, and turn around on you.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “What did you say to him after the fight?”
JON FITCH: “I told him he’s very tough, I told him keep his head up, keep training hard, he’s the future of his weight class, future of this sport and not to let this fight get him down.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Finally, is Jon Fitch back? The guy who fought for the title, made it five rounds with GSP, is that guy back?”
JON FITCH: “I think we have a better Jon Fitch there, so don’t call it a comeback.”
Glover Teixeira on his desire to fight Rampage Jackson:
“Well, I don’t care. I want to fight who wants to fight. I want to fight Rampage if he comes into top shape. I don’t want to fight him if he’s not motivated. I want to fight a guy like [Fabio Maldonaldo] that wants to fight, that wants to make a career in the UFC. Quinton’s got too much money already. Really, I mean he’s talking all the things. … He tell me I disrespect him. I don’t disrespect him at all but I’m not afraid of no man, either, you know.”
Rampage’s response on Twitter:
Yo @danawhite set up that fight with Glover please! Lets give him what he wants..fans I won’t let u down #fightofthenight
While Jon Fitch was having Fight of the Night at UFC 153 with Erick Silva, Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios were having their own little battle:
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC fighter Ryan Jimmo spouts off about gay people
By Zach Arnold | October 14, 2012
I present to you the visual evidence from Twitter:
Jimmo says he’s in Florida right now. Dana’s going to be in Orlando on Monday morning. Maybe Dana will pay him a little visit now…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 40 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White’s $2,000 media challenge
By Zach Arnold | October 14, 2012
ARIEL HELWANI: “Big Nog picks up another big win here in his hometown. How much more would you like to see out of him?”
DANA WHITE: “HE’S A WAR HORSE. You know how I’m always honest about this stuff, I should shut my face, but I’m always honest… I honestly thought that Herman was probably going to knock him out. You know, Big Nog, when you see Big Nog lumbering around and he comes in and he’s getting undressed you should see when he’s taking his clothes off at the weigh-in you’ll see he was holding onto my shoulders, you know what I mean, to take his clothes off… and then the guy comes into the Octagon, I told him after the fight… you’re amazing, you’re unbelievable, I bow down to you, man. He’s just… he’s so awesome and he’s such a good guy, such a good human being, and like he said… he had screws in his arm! However many months ago and tonight he’s in there, you know, going to battle again. He’s an absolute warrior. He’s a legend. It’s an honor, it’s an honor to even be in this guy’s presence.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “You have been critical of Jon Fitch in the past. What do you think of what he did out there (against Erick Silva)?”
DANA WHITE: “I mean, this whole thing about me and Jon Fitch is a little… it’s a bit of a myth and it’s a little overplayed over the whole video game rights thing. Half the crap I see on the Internet is bullshit, OK? And… it’s, it’s uh, it’s not true. Um, you know, do people think that Jon Fitch isn’t the most exciting fighter in the world? Absolutely, um… but he was tonight. You know, Erick Silva is an up-and-coming talented kid and, uh, Fitch went in there and went to war with him and, you know, because both guys are… I think Erick Silva’s incredibly talented, you know, I like this kid and this might be his, uh… this loss to him might be what, you know, when GSP lost to Matt Hughes that first time. This is that fight that might push this kid to the next level. Um… but Fitch looked awesome, he fought a hard-fought battle against a very tough kid and, uh, I got nothing negative to say about Jon Fitch.”
Interview from MMAFighting.com.
Dana White offered the media $2,000 if any of them could name one hit show on Spike since the UFC has left. Last week, I noted the show Bar Rescue with Jon Taffer. Perhaps he should check Bar Rescue’s ratings (1.3M viewers), which are better than The Ultimate Fighter on FX. Feel free to cough up the $2,000 and use this link to send the donation.
Pay up or else I’ll label you a deadbeat like the Association of Boxing Commissions has labeled the California State Athletic Commission deadbeats.
Regarding Showtime’s future: “Call Showtime! If they’re not talking about it, I’m not talking about it.”
“No fighter that has ever fought here has ever gotten screwed. … I’m not involved in that bullshit. … Call Lorenzo (Fertitta). Give him a buzz.”
Having Alistair Overeem fight the winner of Cain Velasquez/Junior dos Santos: “Yeah, that’s what we’re thinking. We’ll see how this thing plays out and what happens. Again, nothing is done, nothing is etched in stone but yeah, that’s what I’d like to see happen.”
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
No surprises at UFC 153 in Rio
By Zach Arnold | October 13, 2012
Event: UFC 153 (Saturday, October 13th)
Location: HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
TV: FX for undercard, PPV for main card
Undercard
- Lightweights: Cristiano Marcello defeated Reza Madadi after 3R by split decision.
- Middleweights: Chris Camozzi defeated Luiz Cane after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Middleweights: Sergio Moraes defeated Renee Forte in R3 in 3’10 by choke sleeper hold.
- Featherweights: Diego Brandao defeated Joey Gambino after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Lightweights: Gleison Tibau defeated Francisco Trinaldo after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Lightweights: Rony Jason defeated Sam Sicilia in R2 in 4’16 by TKO.
- Welterweights: Demian Maia (-130) defeated Rick Story (EVEN) in R1 in 2’30 by submission (neck crank).
Main card
- Light Heavyweights: Phil Davis defeated Wagner Prado in R2 in 4’29 by anaconda choke.
- Welterweights: Jon Fitch (PICK ‘EM) defeated Erick Silva after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Light Heavyweights: Glover Teixeira defeated Fabio Maldonado after 2 rounds by TKO (doctor stoppage).
- Heavyweights: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Dave Herman in R2 in 4’31 by armbar.
- Middleweights: Anderson Silva (-1300, 13 to 1 favorite) defeated Stephan Bonnar (+700) in R1 in 4’40 by TKO from a knee to the body.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Deadbeats: California State Athletic Commission stiffing Association of Boxing Commissions on money over MMA information access
By Zach Arnold | October 12, 2012
When Che Guevara’s California State Athletic Commission decided to protect deadbeat promoters in Oxnard last month, no one could understand why the commission wouldn’t produce the $50,000 bondholder information so that fighters who got stiffed on money could recover their purses.
It turns out that Denise Brown, Doreathea Johnson, and Awet Kidane at the Department of Consumer Affairs in Sacramento can sympathize with the deadbeats… because they’re being accused of being deadbeats as well.
Last night, we posted this teaser online about the Association of Boxing Commissions getting fed up with Che Guevara & DCA over the athletic commission not paying fees that they owe.
On background, we talked with a source that has knowledge of a letter that ABC is sending to Sacramento regarding Che Guevara being a deadbeat to ABC in paying the bills. If you don’t pay your water bill, your water service gets cut off. If you don’t pay your electrical bill, the power gets cut off to your residence. Same deal here.
The source claims that ABC is fed up with CSAC not paying for the use of the MMA database (to check for suspensions and other sorts of information). ABC is also going after commissions who are not requiring promoters to register their events and pay the fee owed to ABC. This fits right in with everything we know about how Che Guevara & DCA operate CSAC. So, ABC is giving CSAC an ultimatum — pay your bills or get cut off from the database and have your state be considered as the wild west.
Our source claims that other athletic commissions, who are timely in paying the fees, are pissed off at Che Guevara & DCA because they are using the database without paying for access to it. Freeloaders.
“The commissions who pay their fees on a regular basis, rightfully so, are disappointed that [California] continues to use the database free while other pay for the service,” the source opined. “MMA, LLC the owners of the database, have invested many dollars to develop and maintain this database for the betterment of the sport and to be used as a tool not only to track fighters and approve fights, but protect the health, safety and welfare of each contestant.”
- Investigation: The future of combat sports in California (May 6th)
- Investigation: How did (then) 80 year old scandal-plagued politician John Frierson get an important job promotion? (May 9th)
- The politics of MMA’s testosterone push & California’s coming collapse (June 7th)
- California State Athletic Commission on a path towards insolvency, could get shut down (June 10th, 2012)
- PDF report now online – Blame game: DCA, CSAC civil war (emergency 6/26 meeting set by DCA) (June 16th, 2012)
- DCA/CSAC civil war: Taxpayers & promoters get a raw deal in California (June 19th, 2012)
- DCA outlines potential CSAC fraud; Dodd out as Executive Director (June 22nd, 2012)
- Amidst DCA/CSAC civil war chaos, a second CSAC member (Brian Edwards) is gone (June 24th, 2012)
- Source – George Dodd prepared for showdown w/ DCA on Tuesday (June 24th, 2012)
- DCA, CSAC face retaliation & age discrimination lawsuit (June 25th, 2012)
- Explaining the motives of the DCA/CSAC civil war (June 26th, 2012)
- Civil war: CSAC keeps George Dodd (against DCA wishes) (June 26th, 2012)
- How the CSAC fought DCA’s power grab (June 28th, 2012)
- DCA’s illegal Saturday morning CSAC meeting (June 29th, 2012)
- Explaining why DCA’s Saturday CSAC hearing was illegal (June 30th, 2012)
- DCA’s new spin on illegal CSAC hearing doesn’t cut it (July 2nd, 2012)
- Incredible – DCA advising CSAC on getting a loan (July 6th, 2012)
- DCA preparing CSAC loan to help cover debt, some of which DCA admits was caused by fraud (July 9th, 2012)
- Horrible atmosphere at CSAC, strained promoter relations (July 12th, 2012)
- Notes from 9 AM CSAC stakeholders call (July 15th, 2012)
- George Dodd resigns at CSAC; DCA goes for full purge at CSAC (July 16th, 2012)
- Road map of CSAC chaos reveals fingerprints from California’s biggest politicians (Darrell Steinberg, Jerry Brown, Denise Brown) (July 18th, 2012)
- Why it’s possible UFC will get involved in CSAC chaos (July 18th, 2012)
- Tax records reveal DCA corruption & who cashed in big at the California State Athletic Commission (July 23rd, 2012)
- Pest Control E.O. Bill Douglas accused by prosecutor of targeting CSAC office (July 30th, 2012)
- Che Guevara thinks he’ll be the next E.O. at the California State Athletic Commission (August 3rd, 2012)
- Department of Consumer Affairs admits George Dodd was right & that the California State Athletic Commission isn’t broke (August 7th, 2012)
- Sacramento’s new sleazy cost-cutting measures for the California State Athletic Commission (August 8th, 2012)
- DCA’s nightmare: The California State Athletic Commission is about to get audited (August 9th, 2012)
- What’s next for the California State Athletic Commission? (August 13th, 2012)
- What’s missing on the job application for Executive Officer slot at CSAC (August 14th, 2012)
- Failed power plays has DCA interested in sunsetting the California State Athletic Commission (August 19th, 2012)
- Andre Berto re-licensing by CSAC is another stain for the Department of Consumer Affairs (August 21st, 2012)
- Did Governor Jerry Brown reveal a DCA quid pro quo at CSAC to fire George Dodd? (August 23rd, 2012)
- Crystal ball: CSAC audit will reveal up to 7-figures $ missing (August 28th, 2012)
- Chaos at CSAC – skinned gloves, illegal hand-wraps, wrong gloves (August 31st, 2012)
- The California State Athletic Commission is openly losing & manipulating fighter paperwork (September 6th, 2012)
- About that Strikeforce CSAC drug testing fiasco… (September 9th, 2012)
- Internal memos from Sacramento CSAC office reveal utter chaos & rules violations (September 12th, 2012)
- California State Athletic Commission gets served with $1.9M legal notice (September 17th, 2012)
- Exodus – Kathi Burns, Sarah Waklee out at CSAC office (September 19th, 2012)
- California State Athletic Commission backs shady promoters & watches a scandal brew in Oxnard (September 24th, 2012)
- When CSAC’s word isn’t their ($50k) bond: DcA leaves fighters vulnerable to predatory promoters (October 2nd, 2012)
- Legal policy changes at the California State Athletic Commission ignite an internal uproar (October 4th, 2012)
- Feijao: CSAC inspector re-used a collection cup for my drug test (October 6th, 2012)
- Sacramento’s bloodsucking bean counters screwing over broke fighters (October 9th, 2012)
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Strikeforce 11/3 Oklahoma City show canceled; next show January?
By Zach Arnold | October 12, 2012
Press release
LAS VEGAS– STRIKEFORCE® announced today it is planning its next card set to air live on SHOWTIME in January 2013. Further information on the fight card and location will be announced shortly.
STRIKEFORCE also announced the cancellation of its Nov. 3 event at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., due to injuries sustained by main event star Frank Mir and co-main event star Luke Rockhold. Refunds for tickets purchased are available at point of sale.
“Due to a series of injuries, we were forced to cancel the upcoming card on Nov. 3, but are already working to put together a stacked card in January,” STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said.
“While we’re disappointed with the cancellation, we are looking forward to an even bigger STRIKEFORCE event on SHOWTIME early next year,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President & General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 31 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Reality vs. fiction: Rob Schneider & Stephan Bonnar edition
By Zach Arnold | October 11, 2012
It was announced today that Roy Nelson has agreed to Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency drug testing for their upcoming December fight. Update: Shane Carwin’s camp is denying any reports linking him to VADA testing. In fact, they are strongly vehement about any association with VADA.
MMA Junkie reported that UFC gave one fighter at the UFC 152 Toronto card a hall pass for testosterone usage. However, the name of the fighter has not been revealed.
Interview with FightHubTV.com:
INTERVIEWER: “Marijuana has become a big topic in the fight game because there have been a lot of fighters who have tested positive for it.”
ROB SCHNEIDER: “Unfortunately, it’s a really, really good drug for pain. And it really is. It’s also got no side effects. If you take like, um, you know… those pain relievers that have like, whether it’s extra strength Tylenol or even if it’s all those things, ibuprofen, ibuprofen’s got a real toxic load for your liver. Marijuana doesn’t, so I would say that, you know, boxing’s got to come into the 21st Century and say… you have can medical marijuana if you sign up for it and you can take the pills, you don’t have to smoke it because that’s a bad influence for kids. But marijuana is a decent reliever and so I mean I think if you have a chance to do something that’s bad for your liver or do something that’s a pain reliever, it’s just you know ever since that stupid move in the 1930s… you know, um…. Reefer Madness, they’ve ruined marijuana. It used to be the biggest export out of Alabama was hemp. George Washington grew hemp. We have to get over that. I do think that the guy who are using and getting caught for marijuana, they’re not abusing it. They’re using it as a pain reliever. So, I would say… in boxing that’s a huge thing, you got to get over this pain. When you see the bruises outside, they also have bruises inside. So, it’s a pain reliever that has the least side effects. Unfortunately, it does fatten you up.”
Interview with MMAFighting.com:
ARIEL HELWANI: “Had you not received this opportunity, were you content never fighting again?”
STEPHAN BONNAR: “I mean, never is a strong word but I was just coming to grips with, like, you know, not… not fighting, you know, like, yeah, moving on with my life.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “So, mentally, how do go from that to fighting the best fighter in the world? How do you turn that switch on?”
STEPHAN BONNAR: “Well, because you get an opportunity of a lifetime and you think to yourself, in less than one month’s time I’m going to locked in the cage with Anderson Silva… I got to get in some shape and work my ass off, so that’s what I did.”
Josh Gross: Anderson Silva-Stephan Bonnar a promoter’s worst nightmare
ARIEL HELWANI: “What kind of shape are you in?”
STEPHAN BONNAR: “Pretty damn good shape. I can’t lie and say I’m in the 100% best shape I’ve ever been in because the training camp is 3 weeks and 2 days, I usually do 3 months… but like considering this is the shortest training camp I’ve ever had, pretty damn good shape.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Who did you bring in, anyone in particular, to help you train for Anderson?”
STEPHAN BONNAR: “I didn’t bring anyone in but I got (Anthony) Njokuani in Vegas and he may look like Chris Rock but he moves like Anderson Silva. He’s long and fast and slick… and black.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “I saw that promo with you and Forrest, one of the best the UFC has ever done. But it was comedy. The UFC doesn’t usually do that to sell a fight. What do you say to people…”
STEPHAN BONNAR: “You put me and Forrest at the coffee table shooting the shit, it’s going to be funny.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “What do you say to the people who say Stephan’s just coming for the moment but he may not coming to shock the world, like this is all part of…”
STEPHAN BONNAR: “I would say watch any other of my UFC fights, like 14 of them and when I have not got in there and fought my absolute ass off? Never.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “How do you beat this guy, though? He’s unbeatable in the UFC. Have you pinpointed something that you need to do on Saturday to beat him?”
STEPHAN BONNAR: “Yeah, just need to take it to him. I need to… yeah, I need to take it to him, to get in there and fight my kind of fight and be willing to eat punches and give them right back. I can’t lay down, curl up and go fetal. I got to keep going, you know, and I’m going to be going through hell and he’s coming with me.”
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Smoogy After Dark: Fixing the UFC Machine
By Zach Arnold | October 9, 2012
“It seems like every MMA writer I read has wrote about or alluded to a down turn or at least “struggles” for UFC, but nothing really specific. Most cite TV ratings and some have noticed the poor gates recently, but it’s hard to analyze the root causes without being an Armchair Dana. I’m going to try to break it down in simple terms. You know how people refer to “The UFC Machine(tm)”? Well, the UFC Machine is busted now.
“There was a clear and simple logic to the early days of the UFC boom. But the UFC Machine hasnt been maintained to cope as UFC scales bigger. In 2005-2007, it was easy. TUF launched the breakout PPV and the cast became the main event class for the Fight Nights that launched TUF. In that ecosystem on Spike UFC had a perfect fit. TUF was exactly what they needed to relaunch Couture, Liddell, Hughes etc. as PPV sellers. With everything on one channel, each program drafted off the other. Or if you prefer ball sports analogies, they worked like a 3 man weave. PPV was and remains the key to UFC’s strategy. But it’s the well-integrated TV programming that makes the PPV stars. AKA The UFC Machine. Of course it takes more than just putting fighters on TV. UFC scouted and found transcendent talents who were carefully brought up as stars. That’s the first, and hardest way to make a PPV star. And being on TUF wasn’t a prerequisite, but obviously boosted stars like (Anderson) Silva BJ Penn and GSP.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 45 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White’s Monday meeting with TV & PPV power players
By Zach Arnold | October 9, 2012
Dana White’s travel schedule this week is beyond hectic. He travels from North America to Rio for Saturday night’s PPV event headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar. After the show, he and other Zuffa officials will be hauling ass to get to Orlando, Florida by Monday morning to be present for a business conference (of sorts) that UFC is sponsoring. The event will have the big players from the TV world, including InDemand and Fox. Dana White will be the featured guest at the conference.
Somehow, I suspect he won’t be spending too much time on the crap ratings UFC is drawing on FX for Ultimate Fighter and for last Friday’s Minneapolis show. Fuel TV drew 44,000 viewers for the undercard of that event, while the main card drew 1.1 million viewers on Friday night. I guess fight fans aren’t digging this current batch of dog food.
What will be interesting to see is if Zuffa presents a detailed stance as to what the future of Strikeforce is and if the company will continue to work with Showtime. On Monday, Kenny Rice on Inside MMA reported the following:
Inside MMA has heard from multiple sources that the relationship between Strikeforce and Showtime may be coming to an end. We are being told that the November 3rd event is in serious jeopardy and there’s a strong possibility that Showtime will no longer broadcast Strikeforce events. This could very possibly signify the end of the Strikeforce brand. Strikeforce was purchased by Zuffa, the UFC parent company, in March of 2011. We have yet to receive any word from either Showtime or Strikeforce as this development continues.”
Here’s Dave Meltzer’s response today to the Inside MMA report:
Although Sara McMann vs. Liz Carmouche, Luke Rockhold vs. Lorenz Larkin and Daniel Cormier vs. Frank Mir have all fallen apart due to injury, and despite rumors all day yesterday about the future of Strikeforce, at the moment the November 3rd event is still going to take place.
Earlier this year, UFC got into a battle with the states of Oklahoma & Florida over taxes that UFC claimed were unconstitutional. Once the two states backed down, UFC went ahead with a summer show (FX version) in southern Florida that didn’t draw very well. Then came the booking of the Strikeforce show on November 3rd in Oklahoma City. Dave Meltzer thinks the show will go on but there is serious reason to believe that it could get postponed or canceled simply because there aren’t enough names left in the SF brand for Showtime to bother promoting the event.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Sacramento’s bloodsucking bean counters screwing over broke fighters
By Zach Arnold | October 9, 2012
Monday’s California State Athletic Commission hearing, streamed live online on UStream, was a perfect representation of everything we’ve written about the Department of Consumer Affairs over the last five months. The meeting was illustrative of the on-going civil war between the Commission body and Sacramento. It was also, at times, a horribly depressing meeting to watch if you understand the rules and regulations that govern combat sports in the state.
Watch the 8 minute video clip embedded in this article. Listen to the tone from Kathi Burns, a DCA lifer who is getting out of dodge by going to the California Highway Patrol because she wanted out of CSAC in a hurry.
It is one thing for me to write long articles explaining, at times in lengthy detail, just what is happening in Sacramento and how Denise Brown & company in DCA management are doing their best to destroy combat sports in the state. It’s another thing, however, for you as a reader to be able to watch these people in action on video. Once you see how these people operate and behave, the points we’ve made in our previous articles are hammered home with cold reality.
I will address Che Guevara’s performance at another date. DCA’s golden boy, who really is in charge of the front office for CSAC, looked as slimy and incompetent as those in the business know him to be. Just like he did in the Antonio Margarito hearing three years ago, he likely perjured himself again yesterday during the drug testing appeal hearing for fighter Rafael Feijao. And right by his side, while Che was making an ass out of himself yesterday was Karen Chappelle, the shady lawyer from the Attorney General’s office who got busted by a judge for fraud over the Robert Guerrero CSAC arbitration hearing. She was working alongside Che for the Margarito hearing, too. Chappelle looked awful at Monday’s hearing. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person, either. Josh Gross of ESPN did an excellent job writing a recap of Monday’s proceedings and made Che look like the fool that he is.
However, the biggest symbol of what’s wrong with the Department of Consumer Affairs is Kathi Burns.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
Video: CSAC meeting in Los Angeles, California
By Zach Arnold | October 8, 2012
Part 1 (jump to the 15 minute mark to start):
Part 2:
Part 3:
Topics: CSAC, Media, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Rafael Feijao: California State Athletic Commission inspector re-used a collection cup for my drug test
By Zach Arnold | October 6, 2012
Ronald Reagan State Building – Auditorium
300 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
The California State Athletic Commission has a meeting scheduled for Monday at 9 AM in Los Angeles. I suppose the 9 AM start time is to keep interlopers away but that won’t work. There are some big happenings scheduled for the meeting. Although it’s not listed on the agenda, you can be assured that the Department of Consumer Affairs will have to hear about the mess they’ve created by backing deadbeat promoters who stiffed fighters out of cash at a canceled show in Oxnard.
Ed Soares, famous for being Anderson Silva’s mouthpiece of a manager, is applying for a promoter’s license at the meeting. What should be a smooth transaction for Ed could turn out to be very interesting because he will also be involved in another matter at the meeting — Rafael Feijao’s appeal of his positive drug test result for stanozolol.
CSAC, at the last minute, did a 130-page document dump of meeting materials for Monday’s session. There’s a lot of interesting items in the document, including CSAC’s budget affairs and an update on the boxer’s pension fund ($5.3 million dollars in the bank). Curiously enough, they never give out any sort of information regarding the neurological fund. The Neuro fund has become a political hot potato since promoters still have to pay taxes into the slush fund but nobody knows much information (publicly) about the actual bank account and who is managing it.
On page 100 of the document, there is a 7-page letter from Rafael Feijao’s doping attorney, Howard Jacobs, detailing his client’s upcoming appeal hearing on Monday. What the letter alleges is surprising but not entirely shocking given the drug testing follies for CSAC.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: CSAC, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 29 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White: “The Ultimate Fighter isn’t about good TV”
By Zach Arnold | October 5, 2012
There’s a lot of curious & chaotic events happening in MMA right now. Dennis Hallman got the axe from the UFC after failing to make weight for his Minneapolis fight against Thiago Tavares. Anderson Silva says he won’t jump up in weight to fight Jon Jones. Crazy like a fox? Then there’s Donald Cerrone who revealed that UFC has added new clauses to their bout contracts prohibiting fighters from engaging in certain activities… which Cerrone has no intention of honoring.
We have King Mo — who WFAN’s Chris Carton on Spike TV said yesterday looked like Liberace with a King’s crown, sparkling robe, and throne. Paging Jerry Lawler. Mo gave Bobby Roode a piece of his mind on TNA Impact Wrestling last night. Then the Diaz Brothers afterwards on Spike TV acted like The Diaz Brothers.
But when it comes to crazy talk, nobody is better at it than Dana White.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |