The Never Ending MMA thread

KillDevilHill · Post by **KillDevilHill** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 2:49 pm

SlayerNPG wrote:I can't really get pumped for 104 right now. I just think the main event is a joke, but I guess they really have no other people to give a title shot too. I am excited about Carwin/Valasquez though... a lot. Okami/Sonnen could be good, but it could also be really fucking boring. 103 is looking much better IMO.

Well 103's main event isnt anything to get up for ether, I think Shogun has a better chance then he is getting, but he could easily get brutally KOed because of style.

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:20 pm

103's official main event is Hendo vs. Franklin II.

KillDevilHill · Post by **KillDevilHill** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:25 pm

Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson II headlines UFC 103

In desperate need of a main event for the organization's first event in Dallas, the Ultimate Fighting Championship today announced a UFC 103 headliner that we've seen once before: Rich Franklin (25-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) vs. Dan Henderson (25-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

The two fighters first met at UFC 93 in January with Henderson picking up a somewhat controversial split-decision win.

UFC 103 takes place Sept. 19 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and marks the UFC's first trip to Texas since UFC 69 in Houston more than two years ago.

The UFC did not clarify whether the fighters will meet at light heavyweight or middleweight (or even a catch-weight). Franklin most recently competed at 195 pounds, and Henderson recently fought at 185. The bout, though, is unlikely to take place at 185.

UFC 103
Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin
Junior Dos Santos vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick
Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg
Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin
Sean Sherk vs. Gleison Tibau*
Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller
Tomasz Drwal vs. Drew McFedries*
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Matt Wiman*
--------------------------------------------
Talk about a random ass main event, they just took two fighters in limbo and slapped them together in a main event. Looks to be a good fight though, and I guess I agree with SlayNPG now, 103 is a pretty good card.

Still a fight coming right out of left feild, I thought they would have waited to see if Okami wins and then get Hendo to fight him for a title shot.

BD888 · Post by **BD888** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:08 am

Hendo vs Rich 2 makes no sense.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 7:34 pm

BD888 wrote:Hendo vs Rich 2 makes no sense.

No shit. I mean Im sure it will be a decent fight like the first, but this is the kind of fight you book when both are on losing streaks or something. This is totally the wrong timing for this. Both are coming off big wins, especially Henderson who got a huge knockout on their biggest, most watched show ever. He's much hotter this time as opposed to last time he fought Anderson, and it's dumb to be potentially throwing that match away.

I guess they didn't have enough faith in Cro Cop vs Dos Santos as the main event in Dallas and felt them needed a bigger main even and these two guys are literally the only ones available with big names right now.

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:08 am

God damn it, Barnett vs. Fedor is off. Josh tested positive for roids AGAIN. I really hope they don't let Vitor fight, that is lose-lose for Fedor.

Affliction vice president Tom Atencio confirmed in an interview with MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday morning that Josh Barnett has been pulled from his main event match-up against Fedor Emelianenko due to an alleged positive test result for a banned substance from the California State Athletic Commission.

At this time, he would not speculate who the replacement fighter to face Emelianenko would be, but said that the promotion is working on it and hopes to announce something soon.

"Josh was denied his license, the renewal of his license, due to testing positive for a banned substance," Atencio said in the interview.

Bill Douglas, Assistant Executive Officer of CSAC, wrote in an email to MMAWeekly.com that a “comprehensive statement” regarding the matter would be released on Wednesday.

With the show just over a week away, rumors are already flying as to who Affliction could bring in to face the No. 1 heavyweight fighter in the world on short notice.

"Right now, it's rumors. I'm working on something and I think anybody that knows me knows I'm not going to say anything until I have something finalized," said Atencio. "At this point everything's rumors. I am working towards finding somebody, but until I have the contracts signed I'm not saying anything."

The fight between Fedor and Barnett was set to be a five-round title fight, but again, Atencio said it's a wait-and-see situation for the replacement fighter if the bout would end up as a championship bout or a three-round non-title affair.

"It's up to whomever steps up and whatever agreement we come to," he commented.

At this point the rumored fighters to step up and face Emelianenko have centered on middleweight fighter Vitor Belfort, and former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley, but the Affliction vice president didn't want to speculate if either could step in to the main event.

Belfort's name seems to be leading the way as to who could step up for the fight with Fedor, and when talking about the currently scheduled match-up between Belfort and American Top Team fighter Jorge Santiago, Atencio said, "It's definitely a fight I'm looking forward to, if anything changes, obviously everybody's going to find out. At this point, it's an amazing fight."

MMAWeekly.com sources on Tuesday night said that Belfort had agreed in principle to step up two weight classes to face Emelianenko, but maintained he had not yet fully committed to the fight and was still weighing his options.

Speaking with Sherdog.com late Tuesday night, Lashley said, “I don't know if I would want it right now... That would be something I would really have to take a look at. To just jump in there probably wouldn't be the smartest thing for me right now.”

One fighter whose name has popped up amidst the speculation is Brett Rogers, although he hasn’t been approached about the fight yet.

"The opportunity to fight Fedor on 10 days (notice) is something that Brett would entertain," his agent, Ken Pavia told MMAWeekly.com. "A lot of stars would have to align, but it is not beyond the realm of possibilities."

Rogers, who has an undefeated 10-0 record, is fresh off a 22-second knockout win over former UFC heavyweight titleholder Andrei Arlovski. Emelianenko is 30-1 and unanimously regarded at the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the world. He is also coming off a knockout victory of Arlovski.

Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on Barnett's replacement as it becomes available.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:22 am

Barnett is pathetic, what a fucking moron. I always hated him, but I was looking forward to this fight just to see Fedor kick the crap out of him. I don't care if it's Vitor, it's bullshit having to see the best Heavyweight in the world fight a fucking Middleweight. I'd rather Lashley take the fight.

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:06 am

enter your username wrote:
BozoMcMetal wrote:I really hope they don't let Vitor fight, that is lose-lose for Fedor.
More like an easy win for Fedor. Vitor is a can. Steroids haven't been confirmed yet. It might be recreational drugs.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at...He's already taken a lot of shit for the Lindland fight, if he fights another middleweight his critics are not gonna let him live it down. Hopefully they can get Fabricio Werdum to step in, his fight with Overeem got canceled a couple days ago, or maybe Jeff Monson, those are the only top 10 non UFC heavyweights that don't have fights lined up that Fedor hasn't already beat.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:15 am

From Meltzer:

Josh Barnett has confirmed that he has talked to the commission and his license to fight was not approved. Contrary to original reports, Barnett said his June 25th drug test that came up positive was not part of California's new random out of competition testing. It was a test on a day Barnett himself chose as part of his licensing procedure in the state as his license had expired. He didn't want to give specifics because he is going to appeal, but made it clear there was no conspriacy against him, he knows what happened, and is looking to clear his name, but the timing of it is such that the fight with Fedor Emelianenko scheduled for 8/1 at the Honda Center is off.

The California State Athletic Commission had previously released that Barnett was the first person to take an out of competition drug test, saying he performed a test in front of a commission inspector and he was given 48 hours notice to show up for the test. The commission said Barnett was surprised by the call from the office but came the next day after the call and complied with the test.

At this moment, the leading candidate for the fight is Brett Rogers. The main hold-up is that Rogers is under contract to Strikeforce. Both Scott Coker and Showtime both have to approve of the fight. Coker is on vacation right now in Italy but is aware of what is going on. As of this moment, Showtime has not made a decision.

It appears the second choice is Vitor Belfort. Belfort has agreed to jump up two weight classes and take the fight. A name that has surfaced as a possible opponent for Jorge Santiago, who was to face Belfort, provided Belfort gets the spot, is David Loiseau. But there would likely be other names in the running for such a fight.

Accoding to American Top Team sources, Bobby Lashley has turned down the fight. Lashley was offered $500,000 for the fight, but their feeling is Lashley will be getting paydays like this in the future when he's ready, and at this stage of the game, Lashley, as a rookie in the sport, with no training camp and in ten days is not ready for Fedor. It's said that Affliction still believes it's not dead and that he would consider it with a stronger money offer. My impression is it's very unlikely to happen.

Daniel Puder, the former WWE Tough Enough winner, was also contacted earlier today regarding the fight but was strongly leaning against taking it.

The California State Athletic Commission has not made a statement other than a full report on what happened is expected to be released later today.

Affliction has a press conference scheduled for 3:30 p.m. so they are working feverishly on finalizing a deal.

Garbageman · Post by **Garbageman** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 2:55 pm

Guess it wasn't recreational...

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) announced today that they have denied a license to Mixed Martial Arts fighter Josh Barnett. Barnett's June 25 drug test
came back positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid. CSAC learned of the results July 21 and immediately denied a license for Barnett. CSAC also informed the promoter of Barnett's August 1 bout against Fedor Emelianenko that the bout would not be approved. CSAC Interim Executive Officer Dave Thornton made the following comments…

"The license of Josh Barnett was denied pursuant to rule 303 of Title IV of the California Code of Regulations. That rule prohibits the use of certain substances, including anabolic agents, by any boxer or MMA fighter. Our primary concern is for the health and safety of fighters. Anabolic agents and other banned substances put the users of those agents at risk, as well as their opponents. The commission simply will not tolerate their use."

Garbageman · Post by **Garbageman** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:26 pm

Still no official word...

I hope Fedor fights the Iron Sheik!

YYC · Post by **YYC** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:13 pm

Fedor/Lashley would be big business, but I don't think it would be a smart move on Lashley's part. Fedor would take him apart with ease, and he'd be seen as a joke. I think he's got potential, but he ain't ready for Fedor.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:48 pm

Right now it's down too Vitor and Brett Rogers. They want Brett and he really wants to do it for the $500,000 pay day, but Strikeforce and Showtime both have to approve which they don't know if they want too since Brett is somewhat of a star for them. I think they will go with Vitor, but I'd rather Brett. Jeff Monson also threw his name in. Pretty much every MMA fighter is coming out of the woodwork offering themselves for this fight for the $500,000 pay day but it's lots of joke bums like Don Frye and Tank Abbott.

Garbageman · Post by **Garbageman** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:29 pm

Don't call Tank Abbott a bum. he's a legendary bum!

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:15 am

Consider this Affliction's final nail in the coffin. This sucks, I was really looking forward to seeing quite a few of these fights.

Multiple sources have informed MMAWeekly.com that Affliction’s third show, “Triology,” has been cancelled. Fighters and managers were being notified of the situation early Friday morning.

The event was scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Details on the cancellation are few, but the loss of Josh Barnett, one half of the evening’s main event, undoubtedly contributed to the decision.

A source close to the situation also informed MMAWeekly.com that Affliction’s pay-per-view provider, Showtime, played a major factor in the cancellation.

Check back with MMAWeekly.com for more details as they arise.

Also on Sherdog and SI.com.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:14 pm

God, now that Affliction is dead they better do Brock vs Fedor at the big year end UFC show. My gut tells me Fedor will just go to Japan and beat up cans though.

BD888 · Post by **BD888** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:03 am

Shame about Affliction ceasing all their fight promoting. The UFC has been putting much stronger cards on since Affliction became a rival.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:05 am

enter your username wrote:
SlayerNPG wrote:God, now that Affliction is dead they better do Brock vs Fedor at the big year end UFC show. My gut tells me Fedor will just go to Japan and beat up cans though.
Sherdog says Affliction is now a UFC sponsor again and Dana White is holding a press conference on July 31. Hopefully they'll get Fedor. Barnett just made a lot of enemies. Strange that a promotion could be on such shaky grounds that it dies because a headliner fails a drug test.

You really have no idea what shaky grounds Affliction was on, they were doomed. Their fighter payroll was just out of control, they were losing money so bad that they actually have been looking for an out for this ppv for a while. It hasn't been widely reported yet, but according to Dave Meltzer Affliction actually went to UFC on July 13, before the Barnett test came in positive, and offered to cancel the show if UFC would take Fedor vs. Barnett and some of their other main fights and make it look like a merger. Several points ended up as deal breakers, one of which was Affliction wanting Dana to make a public apology to Tom Attencio.

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:21 pm

^^^^^ Yeah, it was widely speculated that this would be Affliction's last show even before Barnett's test came back positive. They needed something like 300,000 buys just to break even, while the 1st two shows did approximately 150k and 100k respectively. EliteXC part deux.

nakedmadman · Post by **nakedmadman** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 2:01 pm

SlayerNPG wrote:
enter your username wrote:
SlayerNPG wrote:God, now that Affliction is dead they better do Brock vs Fedor at the big year end UFC show. My gut tells me Fedor will just go to Japan and beat up cans though.
Sherdog says Affliction is now a UFC sponsor again and Dana White is holding a press conference on July 31. Hopefully they'll get Fedor. Barnett just made a lot of enemies. Strange that a promotion could be on such shaky grounds that it dies because a headliner fails a drug test.
You really have no idea what shaky grounds Affliction was on, they were doomed. Their fighter payroll was just out of control, they were losing money so bad that they actually have been looking for an out for this ppv for a while. It hasn't been widely reported yet, but according to Dave Meltzer Affliction actually went to UFC on July 13, before the Barnett test came in positive, and offered to cancel the show if UFC would take Fedor vs. Barnett and some of their other main fights and make it look like a merger. Several points ended up as deal breakers, one of which was Affliction wanting Dana to make a public apology to Tom Attencio.

Surely to God, no one would seriously make that a term of a "merger" deal. The apology I could understand, but to think that you could force Dana White to make one? Pure fantasy.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:02 pm

Holy fucking shit, it's finally happening...

Lance Pugmire of The Los Angeles Times has just reported that an agreement between Fedor Emelianenko and UFC would be announced Friday at a press conference.

UFC announced a Friday morning press conference officially a few hours ago. The Times quoted a source with information on the negotiations, who said he is not authorized to speak publicly.

It was also stated the source was not affiliated with UFC.

The story stated Emelianenko would likely get a match immediately with Brock Lesnar.

We do know negotiations are ongoing between Emelianenko with both UFC and Strikeforce.

But if true, that may not even be the biggest UFC deal of the week.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:56 am

Man look at this, from all accounts these number are actually legit and Fedor and his team still haven't signed. It's more his managers than Fedor himself, which I just found out apparently, the guy actually has very little say what goes on with his career and these deals that are made.

Anyway word has it UFC purposely let these numbers leak out because if they don't sign, Fedor & Co. will look like the bad guys and looking at this, what more does Dana have to do to get them to sign, who would pass this up?!

By: Carmichael Dave
CBS Radio MMA Host
Twitter.com/Carmichaeldave

So we all know the deal with M-1 and what they are saying about co-promotion. I'm not here to say who's right and wrong in this deal, but I can tell you some of the specifics that were offered to Fedor.....

- The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That's 5 mil a fight

- The UFC offered Fedor an immediate title shot

- Lesnar/Fedor would be the biggest PPV in MMA history (we assume), and the UFC offered M-1 Global a cut of the PPV on top of Fedor's purse.

- Fedor was free to wear as many M-1 logoed items as he wished.

- The UFC also relented on allowing Fedor to compete in combat sambo.

Drunken_Little_Elf · Post by **Drunken_Little_Elf** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:32 am

If they can't sign him after that, they never will. I've been watching a lot of Fedor's fights recently and while he is good, a lot of his wins have come against a bunch of cans.

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:53 am

Dave Meltzer is reporting that the negotiations have fallen through again because M1 won't relent on co-promotion. They want to use the UFC to take part of their profits. Fedor really needs to ditch these guys, they are taking advantage of him and he will never be in the UFC as long as these guys are around.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 8:57 am

They are insane for not taking this deal, even if they are just in it for the money they will never fall into a better deal than this.

It seriously looks like there is actually something to the stories that have always went around that Fedor's life is controlled by the Russian mafia...

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 9:29 am

^^^ That's becoming a very popular rumor, and I'm starting to believe it too.

Alabama Slammer · Post by **Alabama Slammer** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:19 am

SI is reporting that negotiations are off and there will be no deal.

BozoMcMetal · Post by **BozoMcMetal** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:53 am

Just saw this picture, too funny to not post it.

YYC · Post by **YYC** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 7:48 pm

As bad-ass as Fedor is, I don't think he can lay claim to being the best heavyweight in the world if he's not going to come fight in UFC. He's run roughshod over the rest of the world, now come prove it on the big stage. It's sad, really. Brock vs Fedor would have been a hell of a build up.

SlayerNPG · Post by **SlayerNPG** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:47 am

You can never take anything away from Fedor, and I still think he's the greatest fighter of all time but from this point on, he's irrelevant if he's not in the UFC. And for a guy who has barely ever been hurt in a fight, he sure if a fucking baby. Now the story is he doesn't want to fight with elbows in the UFC. Give me a break.

There's no way the UFC is wrong in this situation they gave them everything, except for this stupid "co promote" thing with M1 which is just ridiculous. Like Dana said, how the fuck would M1 help UFC promote a Brock/Fedor match? It's absurd.

If Dana agreed to the co-promote thing tomorrow, I guarantee you Fedor's handlers would just come up with another absurd request to put a halt in everything again. Fact is, they really don't want this guy in the UFC, but I don't know how they think they're gonna make any money off Fedor fighting cans in Japan, MMA is doing horrible in Japan right now. Dream is nothing, they're not even gonna have a tv deal soon. There is no heavyweight competition outside of the UFC anymore. Fedor's handlers are slowly turning him into a joke, as a fan of the sport it fucking sucks.

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