Issue 044
December 2008
Cote blows out knee, where was Silva?
In a perplexing and often frustrating fight, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva retained his title against Patrick Cote, although the fight took a serious of strange turns and ended with a bizarre injury stoppage.
Cote had to endure plenty of showboating from Silva in the first two rounds, and suffered poor fortune when his knee gave out under him during the third for no apparent reason.
Dana White was as in the dark regarding Silva’s antics as everyone else, saying in the post-fight press conference, “I’ve seen guys who get thrown out of their rhythm, or can’t find their range, or just can’t seem to get off, and maybe that’s what happened. His corner guys were all lined up in that front row and they were screaming at him,” White said. “Screaming at him.”
The had been much talk of Silva, considered by many as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, flitting between middleweight and light heavyweight, even possibly fighting for the title at 205lb. But all that evaporated following his lacklustre performance in Chicago.
Silva’s position as champion is secure, but his performance raised more questions than it answered, particularly that of “Where is the real Anderson Silva?”
The TUF trials
The TUF trials in London were well attended, with over 170 people turning out for a chance to appear on the show. The most remarkable thing? Only 48 hours after their fights, Mike Bisping and Terry Etim both turned up to support their teammates, with Etim even holding pads for his men during the striking section!
Of the fighters who turned up, the welterweights really impressed, with many of the UK’s top fighters hoping for a chance to represent their country against the USA.
Wolfslair project Tony Quigley Jr snapped up the £200 bonus that was on offer for the first rear naked choke of the day – most remarkable is that Quigley’s background is boxing!
FO sponsored fighter Jack Sexton was one of the youngsters who travelled down and impressed Dana White, drawing comments on both his striking and grappling, only to be knocked back due to being less than 21 years of age. Better luck next time Jack!
The selections will of course be kept secret and the final team only announced as the show begins, but keep an eye here for updates.
ProElite go bust
Mounting debts, chronic mismanagement, scandal and bad publicity – much to the dismay of fighters and fans, it is possible to sum up ProElite’s last few months in one sentence.
The parent company of events such as EliteXC, King of the Cage, Cage Rage, IconSport and more finally went under in October, weeks after their star Kimbo Slice had been shown up on live TV in front of millions of people.
Slice, the controversial heavyweight fighter known for his backyard bare knuckle street fights that were posted on YouTube, fell at the feet of the relatively unknown Seth Petruzelli, a B-class light heavyweight drafted in at the last moment to replace an injured Ken Shamrock.
Petruzelli caused major controversy by claiming he was paid to stand up with Kimbo, so as to give the bearded brawler a better chance of winning the fight, but Petruzelli’s first punch of the night saw ProElite’s hopes and dreams come crashing down as Kimbo went face-first toward the canvas.
Though an investigation cleared ProElite of any illegal activity, investors were nowhere to be seen following the costly pay-per-view event in Florida, and with dwindling funds the company cancelled all future events and ceased trading with immediate effect.
The problem that fighters now face is that aside from being able to find suitable events on which to fight, their contracts could well prevent them from doing so until ProElite’s bankruptcy proceedings are over.
ProElite-owned companies such as Cage Rage as King of the Cage have all announced they will continue to run events in face of the troubles, citing their semi-independent status and long-running history as factors that set them apart from the core events such as EliteXC and ShoXC.
Shamrock vs Shamrock signed!
It must be the season for grudge matches, because adopted brothers Ken and Frank Shamrock have put pen to paper and finally signed for a 2009 fight.
Both men have signed contracts in principle for a fight as yet unscheduled but expected to take place sometime in 2009. Adopted brothers, former team mates and now bitter rivals, the two have expressed interest in fighting each other for many years, with tensions rising after Frank left Ken’s ‘Lion’s Den’ gym in the late 90’s.
Whether the bout will actually come off is far from certain at this point in time. Younger brother Frank told American website ESPN.com, “We’ve both signed a contract to fight each other. Ken is down with it. We talked about it two years ago, and we’ve agreed materially to fight.”
Ken, who fought in the very first UFC in 1993 and has been a controversial figure ever since, said, “He’s got a butt kicking coming to him. Everything I’ve learned, everything I have bottled up in me, is going to come out on him. I’ve still got love for Frank, but I’m angry at him.”
No promotion has yet announced they will hold the event, and with the current scene outside of the UFC in disarray following the collapse of ProElite, it is uncertain who would host the event. One possibility could be the San Jose-based Strikeforce, a large-scale regional show in Northern California that has successfully promoted main events featuring Frank Shamrock in the past.
Ken and Frank are the adoptive sons of Bob Shamrock, a youth worker who founded the Shamrock Home for Boys, a refuge for troubled teenagers. They never shared a close relationship but Ken was instrumental in introducing Frank to the sport and trained him in the early stages of his career.
