Murray Released; Immediately Rearrested!

Outlaw MMA fighter Lee Murray, who has been repeatedly accused of links to a £53million robbery three years ago, has been released from a Moroccan prison, only to be immediately rearrested!

Murray was in Sale prison in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, after being arrested there in June 2006. Half-Moroccan, Murray was granted leave of stay by the local government and, as there is no extradition treaty between the UK and Morocco, would not be deported. He was originally detained due to charges relating to drugs possession, assault and kidnapping.

Now it seems that Murray was released only weeks after reports surfaced that he had allegedly been caught trying to escape from jail. His attorney Derek Parker said, “I spoke to him and he didn’t even know that he was going for a hearing on the extradition. It was a complete surprise. When he arrived to court, they told him, ‘You’re a Moroccan citizen. You can go.’ He has every intention of fighting again, but I don’t think he’ll be going back to the UK in our lifetime, and the USA isn’t high on his list of vacation destinations either.”

Murray was immediately rearrested, with another lawyer saying “Lee was indeed rearrested right away, because the British authorities put in a formal request to the Moroccan authorities to have him tried in Morocco for the alleged robbery.”

The saga continues…

Kit Cope: Gina is worried about sexy pics

One of the most envied men in MMA, sometime Muay Thai fighter, MMA fighter and TV host, Kit Cope, has said that “there is media” of him and Carano in intimate situations.

Speaking on a Las Vegas radio show and repeatedly questioned on the topic by Mohammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal, Cope revealed “there is media that’s in a very safe place,” adding, “she’s so worried about that too.”

Cope is widely credited as being the man who introduced Gina Carano to training. The kickboxer dated Gina Carano and it was when she went to see him at Master Toddy’s Muay Thai academy that Toddy famously remarked, “Ooh baby, you fat!”

Cope continued by adding that he felt Carano’s training at Xtreme Couture was sub-standard, and he repeatedly called the gym “Xtreme Fashion”.

In a final moment of ‘foot in mouth’, Cope said, “I just need to add, I’ve smashed a lot finer than that.”

Aldo wants Torres!

Featherweight terror Jose Aldo is focused on fighting his way to the 145lb title in the WEC, but unbelievably he’s also got his eye on a second goal, namely the bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres. Aldo said earlier this year that although his goal is to take out Mike Brown, he would consider dropping down for a shot at the champ.

“We have a bit of a past,” said Aldo. “I think he’s a great fighter and would love to fight him, but there is also the story of how we were supposed to face each other years ago in Brazil. His master, my master’s master, Carlson Gracie, issued a challenge to any bantamweight fighter in Brazil, saying Miguel was the best. My master Andre accepted and offered me as an opponent, but it never ended up happening.”

Could Aldo be the first man to be a two-time champion in different weight classes in the WEC? We’d like to see him try!

UFC to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day

UFC co-owner and CEO, Lorenzo Fertitta, has said that the UFC will definitely be heading back to Ireland.

In a rare question and answer session with fans, Fertitta revealed the UFC’s plans to not only head back to the Irish capital, but to do so on St Patrick’s Day 2010. “We will be back in Dublin next year on St Patty’s Day,” said Fertitta.

The UFC last visited Ireland in January 2009 when they held the successful UFC 93: Franklin vs Henderson event in Dublin, selling out The O2, one of the largest concert spaces in the city.

Dana: “It’s a matter of time before we sign Fedor”

Dan White must be in a good mood. The hard-nosed UFC president has already proved he’s mellowed out by bringing in fighters such as Kimbo, who he previously wrote off as a “bum”.

Now the always-controversial visionary behind the UFC has said it is only a “matter of time” before the UFC signs Fedor Emelianenko, widely regarded as the number one heavyweight fighter in the world.

“This whole Fedor thing that has been going on, I keep saying this and that about him, he keeps waiting, eventually Fedor’s going to be here,” said White.

“I want Fedor, I want him to come to the UFC, we’ll get that deal done and then it’ll be Brock vs Fedor.”

UFC co-owner, Lorenzo Fertitta, expounded matters by saying that he feels Fedor’s management has created a barrier that has prevented them from properly negotiating a deal with him. “We’ve never met him,” said Fertitta. “He probably doesn’t even know how much we offered him.”

Coming Soon: The 2009 World MMA Awards!

After the success of the inaugural World Mixed Martial Arts Awards last year, they’re back – bigger and better than before! Launched in 2008 as an annual event, the Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts awards were created to give fans a voice within the industry. Thousands of people from around the world responded by nominating and voting for their winners in 15 categories.

The number of awards up for grabs have been increased, with new categories implemented this year that will allow you to recognize the efforts of individuals from all areas of MMA.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for you, every fan who nominates for the awards will be automatically entered into our Awards prize draw.

Nominations are open now and will run through until September 30, with finalists for the shortlisted candidates announced on October 5, 2009.

There will be plenty of very special announcements due in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on www.worldmmaawards.com for more details.

Karate vs Taekwondo at DREAM

In a throwback to the ‘style versus style’ days of early mixed martial arts, Japanese promotion DREAM will bring together two fighters from different backgrounds for their September event.

Karate stylist Andrews Nakahara, the half-Brazilian, half-Japanese fighter we mentioned in our last issue, is set to do battle with Croatian taekwondo champion Zelg Galesic. The pair were originally penciled in to clash at DREAM 8 this past April, but Galesic fell ill and was admitted to hospital.

Both men are strikers, though neither are strictly ‘stylists’. Both are well-rounded MMA fighters who happen to come from traditional backgrounds, although no doubt DREAM will push it hard that this is a clash of martial arts rather than people!

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