Fighters Only

Issue 115

June 2014

The sport's strangest stories from around the globe.

NO BUYERS FOR MARK COLEMAN’S $24.5K PRIDE GRAND PRIX TROPHY

DAYTON, OHIO

You, looking at this, why didn’t you put a bid in on UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman’s winner’s trophy from the historic 2000 Pride open weight grand prix? ‘The Hammer’ just wanted $24,500, and it even came with the oversized novelty check he was given with it.

Yes, it’s true, the 49-year-old ‘Godfather of Ground ‘n’ Pound’ put these one-of-a-kind items on eBay recently and not a single soul put a bid on them. The auction closed at its starting price of $24,500.

Coleman, a multi-time UFC tourney victor, originally won the prizes after winning the massive, 16-man, open weight Pride grand prix in 2000, where he had his hand raised against four fighters over two events.

Clearly the price was too steep even for MMA’s die-hard collectors. Or perhaps they just didn’t have the space – the multi-tiered golden trophy is over five-foot tall, and the ¥20,000,000 (about $185,000 these days) check was listed at being “well over six-feet long.”

RETURN OF ONE-NIGHT, EIGHT-MAN TOURNAMENTS JUST LIKE THE ‘90s USED TO MAKE

TULSA, OKLAHOMA

The Oklahoma athletic commission has agreed to allow the Battlegrounds MMA promotion to stage a one-night, eight-man tournament, just like the classic UFC events from the 1990s.

But unlike those outlaw days, when Zack was still courting Kelly in Saved by the Bell and nut shots were legal, thankfully Battlegrounds: One Night Elimination gets a full compliment of the Unified Rules.

To boot, fighters won’t be permitted to use elbow strikes until the final, which will take place over five five-minute rounds. Quarter-final and semi-final fights will be three five-minute rounds.

Details on TV coverage and weight class haven’t yet been confirmed, but the winner will earn $50,000 and Tulsa’s 19,000-seat (yes, really) BOK Center will be the venue, with former Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou working as the booker.

Olympic gold medal winning wrestler, and current Blackzilians coach Kenny Monday has been the president of Battlegrounds since it started in 2013. Provided this is more Pride glory years than YAMMA car crash, we’ll be happy.

FILIPINA BOXING CHAMP JULATON SIGNS TO ONE FC

Female boxing champion Ana Julaton has signed to leading Asian promotion One FC, with a card on May 2nd being her debut.

The US-based 122lb, 33-year-old Julaton was the first Filipino-American female boxer to win a world title, and currently has a record of 13-4-1. She is the former WBO and IBA female super bantamweight champion.

One FC CEO Victor Cui recently told reporters Julaton had “been thinking about a career in MMA for a long time.”

10m

The UFC says nearly 10 million people in China watched at least a portion of each TUF China episode.

WSOF TO STREAM EVENTS ONLINE FOR FREE OUTSIDE USA VIA NBC SPORTS WEBSITE

Growing Las Vegas promotion World Series of Fighting (WSOF) will live stream all future events for free on NBCSports.com outside the US.

Home to names such as Jon Fitch, Yushin Okami and Rousimar Palhares, international fans can watch both the main event and undercard of shows via the website.

WSOF president and former kickboxing great Ray Sefo said: “I am constantly receiving emails and tweets from fans who are eager to be able to watch our fights, and I’m so proud to finally offer them this opportunity.”