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UFC and MMA News

Total news: 621
Last news: November 24, 2010 00:03:19

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Video: The Scorpion King 2 Trailer Featuring Randy Couture

In a recent interview with FIGHT! Magazine, lightweight contender Roger Huerta spoke out against the less than fair treatment he claims to receive from the UFC, and leaves few details to the imagination:

“Huerta’s disillusionment with the UFC began when he did press tours for his employer in Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, and London and received a $50 per diem for his troubles. It sounds like a a good deal until you factor in time away from training, friends, and family, days often stretch twelve hours or more, and an exchange rate of one UK pound for two American dollars. “Why do you think I don’t do PR for the UFC any more?” he asks.

He’s also unhappy with the terms of his current contract, but to Huerta, the press tours underscore a larger point: by and the large, Zuffa does not treat its contracted fighters with sufficient loyalty or respect. He argues that many UFC fighters barely make enough to cover their training expenses. He brings up teammate Keith Jardine repeatedly, incensed that a main event fighter is working for ten and ten- $10k to show and 10k to win - while his opponent regularly makes ten times as much.”

Huerta would go on to reprimand wealthy sponsors who have attempted to “low-ball” him in the past, and capped things off with some concerning words for UFC brass and fans alike:

“The truth is, I don’t really care if I fight in the UFC or somewhere else,” Huerta says. The fighter says he understands that Zuffa has to keep an eye on the bottom line, but he wants to work, “For a company that is as loyal to me as I am to them.”

Huerta speaking out so publicly against the UFC is naturally a risky move (see Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz or Andrei Arlovski), but with only one fight remaining on his contract following his bout with Kenny Florian, its entirely possible that “El Matador” has already decided to seek greener pastures once his contractual obligations are fulfilled.

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Roger Huerta Not Happy With The UFC

Heavyweight UFC veteran Gan McGee (12-4) will return to competition for the first time in over four years to take on Jonathan Ivey (27-33) at Xtreme Fighting Championships “Salute to Our Armed Forces V” on September 13th in Tampa, Florida.

After winning five straight bouts between 2001 and 2003 McGee challenged Tim Sylvia for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 44. McGee lost to Sylvia via TKO in the opening round of the contest but Sylvia would subsequently test positive for steroids and be stripped of the heavyweight title. Despite his opponent’s positive test McGee never fought again in the UFC, instead losing back-to-back fights in PRIDE to Heath Herring and Semmy Schlit before temporarily retiring.

“Tim Sylvia is a great fighter and the videotape doesn’t lie: He beat the hell out of me,” said McGee in a press release announcing his return. “Did the steroids make a difference? Different people have different theories, I guess. But for me, what hurt the most was sacrificing absolutely everything I had to finally achieve my dream of becoming a world champion — and then falling short. And when it became clear that UFC wasn’t going to consider me for a second title shot, my entire world collapsed. I felt like a part of me had just died. It was … beyond devastating.”

“Culturally and personally, being in Japan was an amazing experience,” said McGee. “I mean, from the ceilings to the shower fixtures, everything is so small over there — I felt a little like Godzilla trampling the villagers. But professionally, I never really recovered from the Sylvia fight. Mentally, I lost that edge — that killer instinct. Call it the ‘Eye of the Tiger’ or whatever you want; I was just going through the motions, unfocused and uncaring. And after losing my second fight in the Orient, I swore to myself that I would never step foot in a steel cage again — not until I regain my warrior’s mentality.”

“It took years of introspection and self-discovery, but I finally realized that God made me a giant and blessed me with this mind-blowing power for a reason: to be the most destructive heavyweight champion that’s ever walked on planet Earth,” McGee added. “Writers write, teachers teach — and giants destroy. For so many years I tried to run away from my destiny — to be something I’m not — but that part of my life has come to a screeching halt. My intensity level is off the charts right now; if I’ve gotta tear down buildings, smash open skulls or annihilate whole cities to get another title shot, then that’s what I’ll do. This time around, ‘The Giant’ will stand tall.”

Despite an overall losing record, Ivey has won nine of his past twelve bouts but was defeated by Ricco Rodriguez on July 26th in his most recent bout.

“Everyone likes to run their mouth — right until they’re smashed in the face with a fist or knee,” Ivey said. “McGee should’ve stayed retired.”

The September event will be streamed live on mmaxfc.com.

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UFC Veteran Gan McGee Announces Comeback, To Return In September

Jesse Taylor has been released by the UFC following his debut loss to CB Dollaway at UFC Fight Night 14. Yesterday, The Wrestling Observer reported that Taylor had been released by the promotion.

Taylor, who was originally scheduled to compete in the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter 7″, was kicked out of the promotion temporarily following a drunken Las Vegas rampage that included him kicking out the window of a limousine.

He was invited to return, however, and took on “The Ultimate Fighter 7″ runner-up CB Dollaway at UFC Fight Night 14. Taylor lost the contest via first-round submission and though the loss alone may not have been enough to get booted from the UFC his comments on former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson’s arrest and the UFC’s disciplinary actions sealed his fate.

“What goes around, comes around, I guess,” said Taylor. “I didn’t even know until I watched the show, but he said ‘He doesn’t deserve to to represent the company,’ and look what happened to him. It’s a big double standard. I’m sure if I was the ex-middleweight champion, I could get away with stuff. I’m sure if I would have done (what Jackson did), I’d be banned.”

Don’t be surprised if Taylor signs a deal with a major rival promotion in the very near future.

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Jesse Taylor Released By The UFC

Stereo Vision Entertainment, Inc., a film production company focused exclusively on developing high quality, low cost, polarized 3D feature films, announced today that the undefeated Mixed Martial Arts phenomenon, Kimbo Slice, will be co-starring with Hulk Hogan in Stereo Vision’s hilarious kids’ comedy “Kung Fu U” in 3D.

“Kung Fu U” in 3D is a Disney-type comedy about of a bunch of nerds and misfits that are sent away by their wealthy parents to the Brentwood Academy (a.k.a. Kung Fu U) to learn the finer arts of self-defense. It’s a heart-warming romp where the rather weathered warriors come to the rescue for the kids, and in turn, the kids rescue the warriors’ seemingly lost souls from what had been their eternal apathy. It’s a feel-good story that reminds us that we’re all the same, no matter what our age, or where we came from, and that we should all stick together.

Stereo Vision’s Chairman, “Baywatch” creator Doug Schwartz, stated, “We’re very happy to have Kimbo Slice co-starring in ‘Kung Fu U.’ He has an enormous media presence, and he’ll fit right in with our star Hulk Hogan, and the other cast members in our made for kids 3D movie. We hope to have ‘Kung Fu U’ in 3D in theaters by the fall of ‘09.”

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Kimbo Slice and Hulk Hogan To Star In Children’s Movie

Affliction “Banned” headliners Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia are among nine fighters who have been issued medical suspensions by the California State Athletic Commission following the July 19th event in Anaheim, California. Fedor, who defeated Sylvia via submission just 36-seconds into the opening round, has been suspended for 180 days due to a right hand injury [...] - [Read more]

“I spoke with my manager now and he said they called him and said it would depend on October’s event. I might face Mark Coleman on December, but nothing has been signed yet. He wanted to face me on November, and I really wanna face him, I hope this time he don’t run from me. He said no to me a couple of times, but I believe now it will happen.”

UFC light heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua tells Tatame that me may face UFC hall of famer Mark Coleman in December. Rua, a PRIDE veteran, was defeated by Forrest Griffin in his UFC debut in November while Coleman last fought in late-2006, losing to Fedor Emelianenko at PRIDE 32. Coleman and Rua previously fought at PRIDE 31 in early-2006 with Coleman scoring a TKO victory after “Shogun” sustained a broken arm in the opening minute of the bout.

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Quote of the Day: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Might Face Mark Coleman in December

EliteXC “Unfinished Business” headliners Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith are among eleven fighters who have been issued medical suspensions by the California State Athletic Commission following the July 26th event in Stockton, California. Lawler, who defeated Smith via TKO in the main event to retain the EliteXC middleweight title, has been suspended for 60 days due [...] - [Read more]

UFC, WEC, and IFL veteran Justin Levens (9-8), whose scheduled bout against Ray Lamaza at Affliction “Banned” was canceled due to time constraints, has tested positive for the banned painkiller Oxymorphone, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

Leven’s pre-event drug test returned levels of 10,141 ng/mL, nearly 10,000 ng/mL higher than the CSAC’s cutoff for oxymorphone of 120 ng/mL.

A loser of five-straight and eight of his last ten, Levens has been fined $1,000 and suspended for six months by the CSAC as a result of the positive test. He has the right to appeal the ruling.

Levens’ positive test was revealed just hours after UFC light heavyweight James Irvin was confirmed to have tested positive for the same painkiller following his loss to Anderson Silva in Nevada.

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Justin Levens Tests Positive For Banned Painkiller Oxymorphone

UFC heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum has signed a new, five-fight contract with the UFC and will take on UFC newcomer Junior “Cigano” dos Santos at UFC 90 on October 25th in Chicago, according to Tatame.

According to Werdum, the new contract stipulates that he will receive a heavyweight title shot if he is victorious in his next bout.

“It’s my last fight under the old contract and, with a victory, my first new contract’s fight will be for the title,” Werdum told Tatame. “I deserve that, I’m training hard for that, I wanna be UFC heavyweight champion. A final against Minotauro would be like a dream, it would be great for me, because I fought against him at Pride and it was a great fight, he deserved the victory, and I wanna say that fighting for the belt against Minotauro, probably on March.”

Werdum (11-3-1) disappointed in his UFC debut, losing a unanimous decision to former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at UFC 70 in early-2007. He bounced back from the debut loss with back-to-back TKO victories over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 80 and Brandon Vera at UFC 85 in June. A veteran of PRIDE, Werdum posted victories in the organization over Alistair Overeem and Aleksander Emelianenko and dropped a unanimous decision to current UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Dos Santos (6-1) has not had a fight go past the first round, defeating all but one of his opponents via TKO or submission in the opening frame. His lone loss was a fight-round armbar submission to Joaquim Ferreira last November. In his latest fight “Cigano” defeated Geronimo Mondragon via technical knockout due to a cut in May.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC news and UFC rumors.

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Fabricio Werdum Signs New Contract, To Fight At UFC 90

EliteXC president Gary Shaw and ProElite chief strategy officer and executive chairman Doug DeLuca have resigned from their positions with the MMA promotion according to ProElite’s latest SEC filing.

DeLuca also previously served as ProElite’s chief executive officer.

Shaw, DeLuca, Kurt Brendlinger, and David Marshall also resigned from the ProElite board of directors. Edward C. Hannah, Edward Corey, and Robert E. Brierley have been added to the board of directors and ProElite CEO, Charles Champion, has been elected chairman of the board.

The resignations were accepted on July 23rd, just days before the promotion’s second nationally televised event on CBS which, while generally considered a better event than their May 31st debut, returned poor ratings that dropped more than 40% over their first CBS event primarily due to a lack of starpower on the card.

DeLuca and Shaw have agreed through their respective companies to provide consulting services to ProElite through September 30th, 2009.

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Gary Shaw and Doug DeLuca Resign From ProElite

Spike TV has issued a press release announcing that the channel’s rebroadcast of UFC 84 “Ill Will” featuring BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk, which took place on May 24th and aired on pay-per-view, topped EliteXC’s “Saturday Night Fights” event on CBS in the key young men demographic.

Need proof the UFC is the preeminent mixed martial arts brand in the world? On Saturday, July 26, more men 18-34 watched a repeat…a repeat…of a UFC event on Spike TV than a LIVE telecast of a Pro EliteXC championship card on CBS. Despite being available in over 17 million less homes, Spike TV drew 27% more Men 18-34 for a re-broadcast of “UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk” from (9:00-12:00am ET/PT) than CBS’s live show (9:00-11:00pm). Spike TV’s telecast tallied 433,000 Men 18-34 to CBS’s 341,000.

Overall, “UFC 84: Penn vs. Sherk” drew higher ratings than Pro EliteXC in Men 18-49 (1.5 to 1.3) and Men 18-34 (1.5 and 1.0).

Reminiscent of the XFL’s rating collapse years ago, the CBS telecast was 69% lower in Men 18-34 and 57% lower with Men 18-49 than its initial broadcast on CBS in May featuring the “He Hate Me” of MMA, Kimbo Slice.

Compared to last week’s live Spike TV UFC telecast featuring arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, the UFC outdrew CBS by 165% with Men 18-34, 82% with Men 18-49, and 21% with total viewers.

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Rebroadcast of UFC 84 Draws More Young Men Than EliteXC on CBS

Spike TV heads across the Atlantic Ocean for the third time to telecast a UFC fight card with middleweights “The Ultimate Fighter 3” champ Michael Bisping and “The Ultimate Fighter 1” standout Chris Leben headlining on Saturday, October 18 at 9:00pm ET/PT (same-day tape delay) from The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. UFC 89 will [...] - [Read more]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization today announced the remaining fights for the upcoming UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY card, which features the UFC Welterweight Title bout between Champion Georges St-Pierre and number one contender Jon Fitch, Live from Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Just confirmed for the UFC 87 main card and undercard are exciting [...] - [Read more]

UFC light heavyweight James Irvin has tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone following his first-round TKO loss to Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The positive test was today confirmed to MMAFrenzy.com by Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer.

Both methadone and oxymorphone are commonly prescribed pain killers for moderate to severe pain.

The banned substances, which are considered “Drugs of Abuse” by the NSAC, were detected on a urinalysis drug test conducted by the NSAC following the bout.

Irvin has up to 20 days to request a formal hearing and faces up to a $20,000 fine and suspension.

The NSAC previously announced that all eleven fighters that were tested following the event had tested negative for steroids.

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James Irvin Tests Positive For Methadone and Oxymorphone

• Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano will return to network television at EliteXC Saturday Night Fights 3 on October 4th at the Bank Atlantic Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The event will be broadcast on CBS. Carano will likely meet Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos at the event, while Kimbo may take on Brett Rogers, though several other opponents are also under consideration.
• UFC newcomer Jon Jones will replace Tomasz Drwal and take on Andre Gusmao at UFC 87 on August 9th in Minnesota. Drwal was recently forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Gusmao for undisclosed reasons. [MMA Junkie]
• UFC veteran Joe Riggs defeated Matt Dempsey via second-round submission in the main event of Rage in the Cage 112 on Saturday in Arizona. [MMA Junkie]
• Cub Swanson has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled preliminary bout against Hiroyuki Takaya at WEC 35 on Sunday, August 3rd, after suffering a broken hand while preparing for the bout. IFL veteran LC David has agreed to replace Swanson against Takaya. [MMA Junkie]
• EliteXC has signed welterweight UFC and WEC veteran John Alessio to a three-fight contract. [MMA Junkie]
• IFL veteran and featherweight prospect John Franchi has signed a five-fight deal with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). [MMA Junkie]
• IFL middleweight champion Dan Miller will make his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 15 on September 17th against Rob Kimmons. The bout is expected to be on the non-televised preliminary card. [MMA Junkie]

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Quick Hits: Kimbo and Carano Return In October, Jones Replaces Drwal at UFC 87, and More

MMAFrenzy.com (www.mmafrenzy.com) has confirmed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission that all eleven UFC Fight Night 14 “Silva vs. Irvin” fighters who were drug tested have tested negative for steroids.

The eleven-bout Spike TV event took place on Saturday, July 19th, at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to the NSAC, the event drew a paid attendance of 1,690 (2,071 total) for a live gate of $590,000.

The tested fighters were Anderson Silva, James Irvin, Tim Credeur, Cale Yarbrough, Hermes Franca, Frank Edgar, Cain Velasquez, Brandon Vera, CB Dollaway, Nate Loughran, and Shannon Gugerty.

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UFC Fight Night 14 Fighters Test Clean For Steroids

UFC 2009 “Undisputed”, the upcoming UFC video game which is scheduled for a spring 2009 release, has taken home one of its first awards months before its release, according to UFC.com:

It’s been a long time coming for a new UFC video game, but by the looks of things, next year’s UFC 2009 Undisputed will definitely be worth the wait, as the highly regarded video game news site IGN voted it ‘Best Sports Game’ at the annual industry trade show, E3. UFC 2009 Undisputed - which beat out entries from Sony, EA Sports, and Ubisoft for this year’s award – is published by THQ and developed by Yuke’s Media Creation.

To check out a trailer for the upcoming game click here.

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UFC 2009 Undisputed Voted “Best Sports Game” at E3

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has signed with Affliction and will debut with the promotion at Affliction 2 on October 11th against former UFC light heavyweight challenger Renato “Babalu” Sobral, according to Yahoo! Sports:

Sources tell Yahoo! Sports that the Oct. 11 date has been submitted to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and that the first two fights named on the card are Fedor Emelianenko versus Andrei Arlovski, and the Ortiz-Babalu fight at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Roy Englebrecht will be the licensed fight promoter for the card.

Yahoo! Sports spoke with Affliction VP Tom Atencio who would not confirm the Ortiz-Babalu fight saying that details for the fight card will be released during an Aug. 6 press conference most likely in Las Vegas. Atencio also indicated that he didn’t think Affliction could speak with Ortiz until Aug. 4. Ortiz had a 60 day non-compete in his UFC contract. His last fight for UFC was on May 24 at UFC 84. If the 60 day clause is accurate, the deal ended this past weekend. Atencio said the biggest stumbling block for an Ortiz deal are the financial terms.

Ortiz (15-6-1) fulfilled his contract with the UFC in May with a unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has failed to win his last three bouts and has not posted a victory since a late-2006 win over Ken Shamrock.

Sobral (30-7) dropped back-to-back bouts in the UFC against Chuck Liddell and Jason Lambert but bounced back with a submission win over David Heath at UFC 74. The win, however, sent “Babalu” out of the UFC as he initially refused to release the choke and was subsequently fined and released by the UFC. Sobral won his third-straight bout at Affliction “Banned” with a unanimous decision victory over Mike Whitehead.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Affliction news and Affliction rumors.

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Tito Ortiz Signs With Affliction, To Debut Against “Babalu” At Affliction 2

The ratings for Saturday’s second installment of EliteXC Saturday Night Fights were down by 1.68 million viewers compared to the May 31st debut edition featuring Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano, according to TV by the Numbers:

And there really still isn’t much to say except for this: EliteXC Saturday Night Fights without any buzz surrounding Kimbo Slice performed much worse without Kimbo than it did with him. CBS initial foray into MMA didn’t draw a slew of viewers but at least performed well in the 18-49 and 18-34 demos.

That airing back on May 31, 2008 scored 4.3 million viewers and a 1.9/6 among 18-49 year olds and since the Kimbo Slice bout for that airing aired past primetime (11p) the most viewed portion wasn’t included. But lacking any Kimbo anticipation, last night’s fights pulled a mere 2.62 million and a 1.0/3 from 9pm-11pm.

The ratings drop was anticipated as Saturday’s card failed to feature the promotion’s top draws in Slice and Carano but look for the ratings to return to the 4 million range in October when both fighters return to action on CBS.

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EliteXC Ratings Down By More Than 1.5 Million Viewers