Issue 059
February 2010
Movers and Shakers
Your monthly guide to what’s been going on in the world of MMA.
TUF going global
Dana White has revealed plans to take The Ultimate Fighter to a global audience, with different regional versions of the show. “I am on it,” White said. “It’s going everywhere, like start off within the next couple of months with seven or eight countries. We’re trying to get these television deals in all these countries, major TV-deals exposing the fans to it, then you bring a live event to those places. Then the virus spreads and people start training at it, trying to make a living at it, eventually becoming professional athletes. That’s what we’re going to do over the next ten years.”
Ratner sees no end to judges’ controversial decisions
With three consecutive UFC main events drawing sharp criticism for controversial judging, an official within the promotion has predicted there is more to come.
Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice president for regulatory affairs, pointed to how boxing still suffers from controversial decisions even with the added rounds. “That sport [boxing] is what, 125 years old, 150 years old? And still boxing complains. The big difference is in a ten- or twelve-round fight; if you make a mistake usually you overcome it, but there are still crazy decisions,” he said.
Parisyan “has an addiction to pain medicine”
Karo Parisyan, who withdrew from his scheduled fight with Dustin Hazelett on less than 48 hours’ notice, has “some problems with an addiction to pain medicine” according to his friend and former training partner Neil Melanson, a Las Vegas-based grappling coach who works with the likes of Randy Couture.
Melanson spoke out after Parisyan was blasted by Dana White for pulling out from the fight. Parisyan claimed that he was unable to obtain a license to fight in Nevada but Nevada State Athletic Commission [NSAC] chief Keith Kizer disproved this. White had said that Parisyan is “done” with the UFC, and announced that Hazelett would receive his fight purse even though the contest did not go ahead.
No official reason was given by either the NSAC or Parisyan for the fight not taking place, but it is believed that the LA-based fighter feared he would not pass a post-fight drug test had he fought.
Brazilian Senate honor Helio Gracie
The Brazilian Senate paid tribute to Helio Gracie, the recently deceased patriarch of the Gracie family. Senator Arthur Virgilio from the state of Amazonas, a black belt in BJJ, requested the special session. Gracie, considered one of the major developers of the Gracie style of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, passed away in January aged 95.
Demian Maia predicts Dos Santos as future UFC champ
Demian Maia is well into training for his fight with Dan Miller (scheduled for UFC 109). He is sharing a mat with the likes of the Nogueira twins Rodrigo and Rogério and Junior ‘Cigano’ dos Santos.
“I had already trained with Rogério and Rodrigo, they’re excellent at jiu-jitsu,” said Maia. “I had never trained with Cigano, but I was surprised. He still has a lot to develop, but he has a good ground and he’s very talented, learns very fast, I think that in a little while he’s gonna be excellent.”
Lesnar’s illnesses place shadow over future
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has had a rough couple of months. The former wrestler postponed his title fight with challenger Shane Carwin twice due to illness, but details have emerged that suggest Lesnar’s issues could prevent him from returning to the Octagon in the foreseeable future.
Lesnar was thought to be suffering from a form of glandular fever, but collapsed while on vacation in Canada. The cause of his problems was diagnosed to be a hole in his intestine, which was repaired with surgery. It had gone undiagnosed for an unknown period but is thought to have seriously affected Lesnar’s performance for approximately 12 months. It is not known how long it will be before Lesnar is able to return to training or competition.
Health worries aside, this puts the heavyweight title in a difficult position. UFC president Dana White said he was reluctant do anything drastic, but did not rule out stripping Lesnar of his title if the heavyweight champ is unable to make a defense. “If it’s a long wait, we’re going to have to do something,” White said. “The last thing I ever want to do is strip a guy who won a title. I don’t know if we’ll have to do an interim or what we’ll do to fix it.”
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