MMA/Fighting news-thread!

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Big John McCarthy Leaves the Fight Network

Big John McCarthy has said so long to the Fight Network … and it doesn’t sound like it was on the best of terms.

His farewell post is a heartfelt goodbye to the coworkers he’ll miss (including original President/CEO Mike Garrow, color commentator Mauro Ranallo and radio host/producer John Pollock), as well as a big “F” you to “all the higher ups that have taken over the Fight Network over the last year” (okay, so he doesn’t say “F” you, but rather “shame on you” — he is, after all, a family man).

Big John’s departure is just the latest name to leave the network — he joins Loretta Hunt, TFN broadcaster JT McCarthy (no relation), and others — following months of shakeup at the company, which involved new ownership and new management.

His departure will no doubt fuel emerging rumors that the Fight Network could go off the air … and soon. Whatever the case, you might want to read McCarthy’s post while it’s still made available.

And for all you diehard Big John fans out there, this could be the break you’ve been waiting for. He hints at a possible return to refereeing — even at a return to the UFC:

    “A few people have said that I have attacked the UFC. That is simply not true. I have never said anything bad about the UFC. I spent 14 years of my life trying to build up the UFC and make people understand how incredible the fighters of MMA were. I considered myself very lucky in the fact that I was able to be around the UFC for as long as I was, and you never know maybe I will go back to refereeing and someday work another UFC.”

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Scott Smith vs Hector Lombard Elite XC fight booked for Nov. 8

Former middleweight number one contender Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (13-5) and Cuban Judo Olympian Hector “Shango” Lombard (17-2-1) will soon duke it out the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada, adding another exciting bout to the main card of Elite XC’s November 8 Showtime event.

Smith has been busy over the past few months feuding with division champion Robbie Lawler. The two competed against one another in the “Fight of the Night” during the debut for Elite XC on CBS back in May before having the bout ruled a no contest in the third round after and inadvertent eye poke.

The rematch went down two months later during the second CBS event. This time, however, Lawler proved to be too much for the challenger, handing him a second round technical knockout with some vicious body kicks and strikes.

Smith’s road back to a title shot will not begin with an easy fight — Lombard is a highly touted prospect with a solid mixed martial arts resume.

“Shango” — the reigning Cage Fighting Championships (CFC) middleweight title holder — will be making his debut for the promotion after inking a deal nearly six months ago. He captured the CFC belt with a unanimous decision win over Jean Francois Lenogue last November and has successfully defended his strap three times this year.

His last loss was in 2006 at Pride: “Bushido 13″ against the 2008 DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix winner Gegard Mousasi. ince that time, he’s put together a streak of 11 straight bouts without a defeat.

November 8 will mark his debut fight on United States soil.

The event will be headlined by a middleweight championship match between Lawler and number one contender Joey Villasenor. The vacant company lightweight title will also be decided in Reno when Nick Diaz and Eddie Alvarez clash in the co-main event.

The action will be aired live on the premium cable channel Showtime beginning at 10 p.m. ET.

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Kaitlin Young vs Sarah Kaufman Elite XC fight set for Showtime

Continuing the theme of having at least one female match on each of its big events, Elite XC announced today that Minnesota Martial Arts Academy standout Kaitlin Young (4-2) will face off against undefeated Canadian Sarah Kaufman on the Showtime card set for the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada, on November 8.

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KJ Noons thinks he’s a free agent … Elite XC doesn’t

With a lightweight title fight between Nick Diaz and Eddie Alvarez confirmed for November 8, where does that leave recently stripped champion, KJ Noons?

According to a Sherdog.com interview with Noons it means he now has complete freedom:

    “I’m a free agent. Since I’ve been stripped, I’m no longer the champion and I don’t owe them the fights. I owed them fights for being a champion.”

Not so fast … Elite XC officials disagree. Here are thoughts from the company’s Head of Fight Operations, Jeremy Lappen:

    “KJ still has two more fights on his contract. I’m hoping we’ll work something out, but there’s really not much to work out. He’s still under contract with us.”

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Jake Rosholt vs Nissen Osterneck WEC 36 fight set

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UFC Quick Quote: Dana White ‘disgusted’ with Elite XC and alleged fight influencing

“It disgusts me. I’ve been busting my (expletive) for 10 years flying all over the planet to show everybody what a great sport this is and what amazing people are involved in it. Then CBS throws this guy who fights at people’s barbecues on the main event because they’re trying to compete with us, and he gets knocked out in (14) seconds by a guy who didn’t win ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ and couldn’t fight in the UFC. Then the guy turns around the next day and says, ‘The promoters actually paid me to not go to the ground with this guy. They paid me to stand up,’ which I’m pretty sure is illegal…. (Slice is) a joke. It was bound to happen. These guys have lost $60 million trying to get this thing off the ground. They’re building their promotion around a guy who can’t fight. It’s kind of (expletive) stupid, isn’t it? You’re in the fight business and you’re building your business around a guy who can’t fight…. When dirty people go out and do stuff like that, it hurts. Promoters have a bad rap as it is because of the last 100 years of boxing. We actually started to turn that around and were doing the right things and then you have these guys coming out and doing (expletive) like that. It hurts us.”

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MMA Quick Quote: Tito Ortiz back surgery a success

“On October 6th 2008 my extensive back surgery was performed in Las Vegas by Dr. Smith. It lasted 3 hours, due to the doctors careful hand and my densely muscled core that had to be separated in order to get to my spine. My doctor was impressed with my quick recovery, and an hour after surgery I was on my feet and walking to the car. This is now the beginning of a new era. There will never be a question again about where my heart lies … and that is with my fans. I am focused on a quick recovery, and I will be back in the cage with a renewed outlook on fighting. I am a new Tito Ortiz … one with a bright fight future … one ready to power through the light heavyweight class and get the belt around my waist again. Mark my words … the best is yet to come.”

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Joe Riggs vs Luke Stewart Strikeforce fight set for San Jose Nov. 21


Frank Shamrock: Kimbo Slice should have fought me - not a ‘Nobody’

“I think it was a mistake to not let me fight [Kimbo Slice]. When I realized we would have to cancel the show, I said, ‘Look, I’ll fight the guy’. You know, it’s a great story — little brother steps into the spot, comes out of the booth. It’s very compelling, but we need a fight to happen that’s compelling. That went around for hours. Then I put my shirt on and went to work. No one committed to it, so I just kept talking. Kimbo is great - great for ratings. But Kimbo fighting a star, a superstar, somebody who’s going to elevate him or knock him down in a good way, that’s what we needed that night. We didn’t need a nobody to beat Kimbo. Everybody knows that Kimbo is not very good. He hasn’t had time to mature. He’s a new guy.”


Brian Stann scratched from UFC Fight Night 16: “Fight for the Troops” with foot injury


Jorge Gurgel vs Aaron Riley UFC 91 fight likely to be announced soon

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Goran Reljic sustained a back injury while training for his upcoming 185-pound fight against Thales Leites (14-1) at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., on October 25, and has been forced out of the bout

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“People like to be on the side that’s winning. They’re supportive when you’re winning and critical when you’re losing. I still get some sweet hate mails pretty regularly. There are some gyms with guys who begged me to come in there and train and do seminars before that fight and who wouldn’t return my calls or talk to me afterwards…. It’s good. It separates people who are really supportive and back you from people that are just trying to jump on your wagon while you’re successful…. [Being granted a release from the UFC] was something I’m happy about. I’m glad I’m not fighting there and will be fighting independently where I want and for whoever wants to pay me.” - Kalib Starnes

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Steve Cantwell vs. Razak Al-Hussan possible for UFC Fight Night 16

All may not be lost for WEC light heavyweight champion Steve Cantwell.

After defeating Brian Stann for the WEC belt earlier this year, and with Zuffa's decision to fold the WEC's 205- and 185-pound weight classes into the UFC, Cantwell was slated to rematch Stann at "UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fights for the Troops" in December.

Although Stann was recently forced off the card with a broken foot, UFC newcomer Razak Al-Hussan (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) could get the fight with Cantwell (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) instead.

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Dana White tells the Canadian Press he does not feel Brandon Vera has been the same since money became an issue:

“As soon as he had a few wins and all the money got involved and his new contract and his ex-manager and all that bullshit, he’s changed. He’s not the same fighter he was. He needs to put all that shit behind him and he’s needs to come back and be the cocky, crazy Brandon Vera that I met a few years ago. That kid needs to come back. It seems that now the money’s involved, he doesn’t take chances like he used to, he doesn’t let his hands go like he used to. He’s got to come back and be the old Brandon Vera."

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World Victory Road has officially added Takanori Gomi to their November 1st card that will also feature Josh Barnett as well as the lightweight and middleweight semi final and finals of their Grand Prixs.

The full card to date is as follows:

Josh Barnett vs. TBA
Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal vs. Fabio Silva
Sergey Golyaev vs. Takanori Gomi
Middleweight GP final
Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Jorge Santiago
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Yuki Sasaki
Joe Doerksen vs. Izuru Takeuchi
Lightweight GP final
Mizuto Hirota vs. Kazunori Yokota
Satoru Kitaoka vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
Bang Seung Hwan vs. Jorge Masvidal

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Dana White tells the Canadian Press he does not feel Brandon Vera has been the same since money became an issue:

“As soon as he had a few wins and all the money got involved and his new contract and his ex-manager and all that bullshit, he’s changed. He’s not the same fighter he was. He needs to put all that shit behind him and he’s needs to come back and be the cocky, crazy Brandon Vera that I met a few years ago. That kid needs to come back. It seems that now the money’s involved, he doesn’t take chances like he used to, he doesn’t let his hands go like he used to. He’s got to come back and be the old Brandon Vera."

he better get his head on straight he's got a tuff fight coming up/

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UFC 91 preliminary drug tests come back clean from NSAC

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today confirmed that several fighters have passed initial screenings for drugs and illegal substances prior to their clashes at UFC 91: “Couture vs. Lesnar” on Saturday, November 15.

UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Nick Catone, Amir Sadollah, Aaron Riley and Jorge Gurgel were tested several weeks out from the pay-per-view (PPV) event that will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to eliminate the possibilities of “cycling off” performance enhancers such as steroids.

It’s a proactive and unique measure — often referred to as the new “out of competition” testing policy — that the NSAC has adopted to curtail and prevent the use of banned substances.

If a positive test is returned early, which would essentially devastate a major PPV event such as UFC 91, “the commissioners would decide” on a course of action based on the results, according to NSAC Executive Director, Keith Kizer.

These fighters — along with other random participants slated to compete on the card — will likely be tested again right around fight night. It is merely an extra layer of protection to ensure good clean fights when it comes time to bang.

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Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller retires from MMA competition … for now

“I got plenty of money. I don’t even care. I just do it for fun. I love fighting, but I’m just doing it for fun. I don’t feel like doing it right now, so I’m not going to do it. There’s no need. There’s no need for me to fight, so I’m just happy to have lived such a fun career inside of MMA, so if it ends now, it was fun.”

“Oh, I will be in the MMA world. I can’t really escape this land of tacky skull tee shirts and [censored] with bad tattoos. I can’t get out of here that easily, but with that being said … I don’t know, I don’t need to fight.”

“I might come out of retirement in a little while, but right now I’m retired.”

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UFC Quick Quote: Pete Sell vs Josh Burkman could be a loser leaves town match

“I think it’s do-or-die for both of us. We are in the same predicament. We have to show the UFC that we belong here…. All in all [the move to welterweight] is a very good thing for me. I can’t go on binges a week at a time, eating or drinking. If I go off the wagon, I’m not going to make weight…. I feel like being injured like that … being on a losing streak, it gives you the time to reflect when sitting on sidelines. It makes you appreciate being able to be in there. I’m really excited just to be able to get that feeling again, to feel that glory and that rush fighting in front of so many people. I’ve been putting my time in since March, and for all the hard work and dedication I’ve put in, it’s time to cash in.” - Pete Sell

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Josh Thomson vs Yves Edwards Strikeforce title fight booked for Nov. 21

Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson (16-2) now has an opponent to defend his title against for the first time at “Destruction” on November 21 at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, California.

We’ve known for sometime that he would be headlining the event with his first title defense, but it wasn’t until today that the promotion announced MMA journeyman Yves Edwards (34-14-1) as the challenger.

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Stephan Bonnar vs Jon Jones UFC 94 fight on tap

Stephan Bonnar (11-4) confirmed that he will return to action against Jon Jones (6-0) at UFC 94 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31

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UFC Quick Quote: Sean Sherk looking in the mirror against Tyson Griffin at UFC 90

“Stylistically, I think we’re a lot the same. Obviously, physically, we look a lot the same. I see a lot of same attributes in myself that he has as well. To be honest with you, I just don’t think he’s seasoned enough yet. We’re talking about a guy with 13 fights who hasn’t fought an A-level fighter yet, versus a guy who’s got 40 fights who’s been fighting A-level fighters for six years. So there’s a lot of experience coming into this that I have.”

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Nate Diaz unlikely to fight until 2009, UFC 94 return possible

"The Ultimate Fighter 5" winner and rising lightweight contender Nate Diaz (10-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will not fight at the Dec. 10 UFC Fight Night 16 event as was first expected, and instead, will likely sit out of competition until early 2009.

The news comes from GracieFighter.com, the official website for Cesar Gracie's fight team.

According to the report, Diaz was tentatively scheduled to meet veteran lightweight Clay Guida at the December event, but a foot injury sidelined Guida and has now put Diaz on the shelf.

"With every viable UFC contender having already been paired for fights in the next couple of months, it became clear that Diaz would not have an opponent ready for the rest of 2008," the GracieFighter.com report stated. "Nothing has been signed as of yet. However, we are hoping to see Nathan fight early in 2009 possibly on the same card as [Georges St. Pierre] vs. (B.J.) Penn in Las Vegas."

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HDNet reaches deal to purchase IFL assets for $650,000

A bankruptcy court has cleared the way for HDNet to purchase the remaining assets of the International Fight League.

During a hearing Wednesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York authorized the now-defunct IFL to sell the assets, which include the league's video and image library, to HDNet for $650,000 and the assumption of certain IFL liabilities.

HDNet made its bid in September, and no other bids were submitted. The deal is still contingent on certain closing conditions.