Issue 039
July 2008
Fitch finally gets his shot
The UFC welterweight title will be on the line when Jon Fitch steps up to take on champ Georges St Pierre, who makes his first defence after trouncing Matt Serra in Montreal. The bout will headline the UFC 87 card in Minnesota on August 9th.
Fitch is an awesome wrestler who has won eight consecutive fights in the UFC, the longest streak in modern-day UFC history. “He’s a very, very tough guy,” St-Pierre said. “I’m gonna have to train hard and be very well prepared because he may be my toughest fight yet.”
Fitch has been itching for a shot and many felt he had earned it with wins over opponents such as Thiago Alves, Luigi Fioravanti, Roan Carneiro and Diego Sanchez. “This is gonna be a tough fight, but I’m gonna make sure I’m sharp that night, and wherever the fight needs to go, that’s fine with me,” commented Fitch.
Affliction enter the MMA game
Affliction Clothing have branched out into the business of promoting, with a tantalising heavyweight match in the shape of Fedor Emelianenko vs Tim Sylvia. The popular clothing brand will host an event in Anaheim, California. They busted out the cheque book and signed fighters such as Josh Barnett, Ben Rothwell, Andrei Arlovski and Matt Lindland.
Amazingly the event sold $250,000 worth of tickets within 30 minutes of going on sale. “We didn’t think our clothing brand was going to get as big as it is and we hope our Affliction MMA branch will have the same result.” said Tom Acendo, vice president of Affliction. “We are looking at three fights [events] right now. The July card, and one in October and February. Obviously Anaheim is in our own backyard, but we want to change it up and move the event around, too.”
So far the card listed for the July 19th show includes Fedor vs Sylvia, Josh Barnett vs Pedro Rizzo (in a rematch of their 2001 encounter), ‘Babalu’ vs Mike Whitehead, Matt Lindland vs Fabio Negao, Ben Rothwell vs Andrei Arlovski, Paul Buentello vs Aleks Emelianenko. Also signed is Rogerio Nogueira, the twin brother of UFC heavyweight champion Minotauro. For more info go to www.afflictionbanned.com.
Franklin considering going back to 205
Middleweight star Rich Franklin, stuck for competition in the middleweight class, is considering a move back to light heavyweight, his manager Mote Cox has said. “He’s fought almost everybody in the 185lb division,” said Cox. “There are some guys that he could fight, but if he beats them it knocks them out of title contention. And nobody is looking to see Rich and Anderson Silva 3 right now, including me. He’s not helping the 185-pound division right now by beating everybody up in it. We’ve talked about going to 205 and how would he match up with some of those guys, with a Forrest Griffin or a Keith Jardine. I think there’re some really good fights.”
The Kimbo Fan Club
It seems that the controversial street fighter polarises opinion among not just fans, but also fighters and promoters. Dana White has publicly said he thinks BJ Penn could beat Kimbo, while others (including Penn) have stepped up and said they actually support the bearded brawler. Check out some of the quotes below:
“I’m a fan. I like him. I think he’s good for the sport. He trains hard. I think he’s really taking the route to become a full on pro fighter. I don’t think he’s the type of guy you pick off of Felony Fights. This guy is big, powerful. It’s clear that he’s an athlete.”
Josh Barnett on Kimbo
“I’m a street fighter and I love street fighters. It’s great to have other leagues. UFC can’t have everyone. There are thousands of fighters out there and they need a chance to make a living. Me, I’m a Kimbo Slice fan. I like fighting. I see where Dana is coming from and I respect his opinion, but I like street fighting.”
BJ Penn
“We don’t want him to be treated like a circus act, because he’s not...He’s a legitimate fighter who is working extremely hard – I mean as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen – and who is getting better so quickly. Kimbo is a nice, respectful person to everyone he meets and he’s taking the sport super seriously. He deserves that same kind of respect in return.”
Bas Rutten on Kimbo
Matt Lindland 1-0 in politics
As mentioned last month, Matt Lindland was running as a Republican candidate in his native Oregon. It appears Lindland won in decisive fashion with 57% of the vote in comparison to his rival’s 43%.
Silva and Minotauro go into business
Champions “Minotauro” Nogueira and Anderson Silva have joined together to open a gym in Miami, Florida. The Brazilian buddies opened a 15,000 square-foot MMA academy in downtown Miami aimed at members of the public, aspiring fighter and underprivileged children. At the opening of the gym Nogueira said, “The sport is growing here now and is a hotbed for MMA. Big things are growing here. This has been a dream to open an academy together here. This is a good area and the weather is very good. In Miami, you can walk in the street and see people. It’s like Brazil. This is the right time and right place.”
It is expected that light heavyweight twin brother of the UFC champ, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Minotauro’s ‘little’ brother, will instruct students at the academy. Silva and Minotauro will train together for their upcoming UFC fights in the facility.
Sakuraba signs own death warrant?
Explosive middleweight striker Melvin Manhoef is to take on the enigmatic Sakuraba in Japanese promotion DREAM. June 15th will see the aging submission grappler got toe-to-toe with the dangerous Dutchman, which will have fans either applauding a slick sub from the stylish Saku, or covering their eyes as Manhoef pummels the hapless buffoon in trademark style.
Mir and Nogueira to get TUF
UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former champ Frank Mir have been announced as the coaches for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The eighth season of the popular show (which will air from September) will feature fighters in the light heavyweight and lightweight divisions, in contrast to recent seasons which have only focussed on one weight class. It is expected the coaches will square off at a future pay-per-view event, with rumours pointing toward a showdown on New Year’s Eve.
Diaz vs Sakurai in July
Outspoken fighter Nick Diaz will face off with popular Japanese star Hayato “Mach” Sakurai for the DREAM welterweight title. The bout is expected to take place 21 July at DREAM.5 in Osaka, Japan.
Damm tests positive, Sexton gets shot at Purcell
Female MMA had it’s first case of a failed drug test last month when Carina Damm tested positive for nandrolone. The Brazilian tested positive after her first round submission win over Sophie Bagherdai in California and has been fined and suspended for a period of one year.
Damm was scheduled to fight Debi Purcell on June 27th, but the gap has been filled by Fighters Only’s very own Rosi Sexton.
Sexton, 30, is a veteran of BodogFIGHT and Cage Warriors. She holds a submission win over Damm, and will face Purcell in the first of a multiple fight deal with EliteXC. Purcell, 4-1-0, has not fought since 2006 when she lost a decision to Hitomi Akano in Japan.
