No plunder Down Under

Fighters from the two recent Impact FC fight cards in Australia are struggling to receive payment. The promotion, which put on two star-studded events in two weeks, looks to be in disarray with the two organizers blaming each other for the issue. Andrew McManus, Impact FC’s financial backer, claims that his colleague Tom Huggins has “run back to Brazil” leaving McManus’s promotions company to foot the payroll despite Huggins having a 50% share in Impact FC. At the time of going to press only a handful of the 36 fighters had been paid.

Diaz-Miller feud intensifies

The bad blood between Nick Diaz and Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller is growing after the two Strikeforce fighters made high-profile disparaging remarks about each other. The two have been at loggerheads since the controversial post-event, in-ring scrap between Diaz’s teammates and Miller at Strikeforce: Nashville in April. “I used to love this guy in the same way I loved President George Bush: so stupid that he’s hilarious,” said Miller, who blames the Strikeforce welterweight champion’s “thug” and “gangster” mentality for the Strikeforce brawl.

Diaz, however, feels he isn’t responsible and claims Miller was the cause. “You came running like a bat out of hell,” claimed Diaz in a video retort, “the [sponsorship] banner came down and you charged my whole team so you got your ass whupped. That’s what you get.” Diaz opened the rant by throwing his trademark double middle fingers to the camera and signed off by challenging Miller to come down to welterweight to fight him – despite having previously fought near 185lbs, ‘Mayhem’s weight class for the past three years. Strikeforce would likely be keen to set up the fight if a weight could be decided.

Bellator available on American Forces Network

Events from up-and-coming fight promotion Bellator will screen to US military personnel worldwide via the American Forces Network, a television station made available to all those in service. Bellator is providing 24, one-hour long, episodes of fight content from the promotion’s second and third seasons. UFC broadcasting on the channel has always been very popular, with the organization staging free fight events for troops on a number of occasions.

Son of Randy Couture signs for Strikeforce

The son of former UFC champion Randy Couture, Ryan, is taking his first steps in professional MMA with San Jose-based promotion Strikeforce. The Xtreme Couture-trained lightweight moves an impressive 4-1-1 amateur background into the company. Ryan Couture, 27, fought for the lightweight belt in Tuff-N-Uff, a Las Vegas-based amateur-MMA promotion, though the bout ended in a draw.

Jon Jones under pressure

Top ten UFC light heavyweight Jon Jones says he’s feeling the heat. The 23-year-old phenom is under duress to maintain his winning ways and says he’s unwilling to buy into the hype surrounding him. “[The expectations] really do bother me,” admits Jones. “It makes me really nervous sometimes. I was starting to beat up myself and say, ‘OK, not only do I need to win this fight, but I have to impress people and look spectacular.’” But ‘Bones’ says that he tries to stay relaxed pre-fight and remain grounded with the help of his trainers. “I talked to my mentors and my coaches, and they’re like, ‘Hey, Jon, listen. You do this for yourself. You lose a fight, all this media and all this hype train is going to be done, so don’t even worry about the train. There is no train. You do this for your family, and you do this for yourself. Mainly, you do this to have fun.’” Jones’ one-sided victory over Vladimir Matyushenko drew nearly one million viewers on cable channel Versus.

...

Already Subscribed? | Login