Issue 079

September 2011

FLYWEIGHT DIVISION COMING TO UFC ‘SOON’

The UFC expects to add a 125lb flyweight class to the promotion before the year’s end. Dana White, UFC president, said the company’s eighth weight division will be added “really soon.”

Unlike the UFC’s absorption of the WEC’s featherweight (145lb) and bantamweight (135lb) divisions, the Las Vegas promotion currently has no definite flyweight pool to choose from and will construct a new UFC weight division for the first time since 2006 when the lightweight division was rebuilt. “We bring the guys in, sign them and start putting on fights. You figure out who the best is, and you have a title fight,” said White, who did not rule out the possibility of using a tournament format to determine the division’s new top contenders.

COKER PROUD OF STRIKEFORCE ACHIEVEMENTS

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has expressed his pride at what his promotion was able to achieve before being bought out by UFC parent company, Zuffa. The boss of what was, until recently, the world’s number-two MMA organization, admitted: “For the [12-man] team that we had, to put on the fights that we did, it was pretty impressive. It was a testament to the people who worked for us. It was a lot of stress and 16-hour days. It’s bittersweet. It’s like your baby. We founded it when it was kickboxing league on ESPN in ‘92. It will be a great thing for the fighters because I think eventually they’ll all be able to fight each other. At the end of the day, I know it’s in good hands, and I feel a little relief in that.” Coker also added Strikeforce was now experiencing the benefits of being part of the Zuffa family. “With the Zuffa operation, they have 150 people in the Vegas office, and 50 worldwide. They have 200 personnel that you have access to and are very good at what they do.”

SENGOKU STAR BLANCO SIGNS WITH STRIKEFORCE

Former Sengoku lightweight Maximo Blanco has signed with Strikeforce. The Zuffa-run San Jose promotion snapped up the 8-2-1 (1 NC) Venezuelan to a four-fight deal. Blanco (profiled in FO issue 73) follows a glut of fellow former Sengoku talent that have now exited the Japanese fight company following the promotion’s financial and sponsorship troubles. The 27-year-old won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2007 Pan-American Games.

NCAA CHAMP BUBBA JENKINS JOINS ATT 

The 2011, 157lb NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion Bubba Jenkins will make the switch to MMA. The athletic and explosive Arizona State standout will begin his career under the guidance of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, alongside fellow fighters Thiago Alves, Mike Brown and Brian Bowles, among others. Jenkins wrestled to an NCAA Division 1 second place at 149lb in 2008 while at Penn State.

CARWIN PARTIALLY LOST VISION DURING DOS SANTOS FIGHT 

UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin has admitted he lied to the ringside doctor during his UFC 131 bout with Junior Dos Santos when asked if he could see. ‘The Engineer’ admitted he only had partial vision during the third round when referee Herb Dean called a doctor into the cage to test Carwin’s eyesight after he’d been battered and bloodied by the Brazilian. He said afterwards: “I wanted to keep myself in the fight.”

The record-breaking UFC 129 stadium event in Toronto during April is estimated to have taken over $52 million between gate and pay-per-view revenue

Former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez was arrested following a dispute with a taxi driver over a $70 fare. The 46-11 veteran wanted to pay $20