I think this human cockfighting ought to be illegal. A no-ruled fight to the death? Scratching, biting, headbutts, and groin strikes all legal? Hundreds dead every year? Savagery.
CHRIS LEBEN TESTS POSITIVE FOR STEROIDS
Monday, November 03, 2008
by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has suspended fighter Chris Leben for nine months and fined him one-third of his fight purse following a positive drug test for the steroid Stanazolol after his loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 89 in England in October. The news was reported by Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports.
The UFC has long stood by drug testing of the athletes competing for the promotion, even overseas in England where they have no formal athletic commission to handle the process.
At these events, the UFC leans on former head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission and now UFC vice president, Marc Ratner, to handle the duties normally handled by an overseeing committee like the athletic commissions in the United States.
Leben has never tested positive before, but this is still a major setback in his career.
“I am obviously disappointed with Chris, who has made great strides getting his life back on track,” UFC president Dana White told Meltzer. “To his credit, he has taken responsibility for his actions and is accepting the punishment that has been handed down. But as always, the UFC puts the safety of its athletes first and foremost, and we won’t tolerate anyone using performance enhancing drugs in our organization.”
According to the report, the UFC tested all 22 athletes on the card before and after the fights, and Leben to date is the only fighter who has tested positive for illegal substances.
so stupid... but really not surprised. He looked in a lot better shape that last fight and i guess now we know why. The only good thing to come of this is that he actually admitted it and isn't trying to fight it like some other idiots. I actually think he got off pretty easy, for everything he has done in the past and current, 9 months is nothing close to what he should have got.
"I'll ride the wave where it takes me"
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
boo chris leben! I seriously don't get why these guys take steroids when they know they will be tested. makes no sense
agreed, i have no idea why they would take them when they know they will be tested. Chris said that he thought it'd be out of his system by the time they tested him, gladly he was wrong. The only way to make sure of that is not to take anything ever, what a dumb ass.
"I'll ride the wave where it takes me"
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
three fighters missed weight today at the weigh-ins for tomorrow's WEC show in florida. mike brown came in at 145.5, and has one hour to make 145. rani yayha was over by a pound. his opponent, yoshiro maeda, decided to leave it at that.
the biggest miss came from paulo fihlo, who will now have to attempt to lose 7 lbs. in two hours in order to keep his meeting with sonnen a championship bout.
looks like one of the best fights on the night, mccullough vs. cerrone may be a swing bout. :( here's hoping for quick finishes!
WEC 36, November 5, 2008 - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida - Versus / TSN2
Main Card:
Urijah Faber (144.5) Vs. Mike Brown (145)* - WEC FW Championship
Paulo Fihlo (189)* Vs. Chael Sonnen (184.5)
Jens Pulver (146) Vs. Leonard Garcia (145.5)
Jake Rosholt (185.5) Vs. Nissen Osterneck (184)
Rob McCullough (155.5) Vs. Donald Cerrone (156)
Pre-lims:
Yoshiro Maeda (135) Vs. Rani Yayha (137)*
Danny Castillo (156) Vs. Rafael Dias (155)
Steve Steinbeiss (202) Vs. Carmelo Marrero (206)
Jose Aldo (146) Vs. Jonathan Brookins (146)
David Avellan (185) Vs. Aaron Simpson (184.5)
* Mike Brown makes weight on his second attempt, after initially weighing in at 145.5.
* Paulo Fihlo weighed 192 on his first attempt, and 189 after two hours of trying to make weight. The bout will now be a three round catch weight match at 189 lbs.
* Yoshiro Maeda agreed to the bout with Rani Yayha, despite Yayha weighing in one pound heavy. Yayha did not have to cut the extra pound.
NOW A NON-TITLE BOUT, FILHO'S BELT STILL AT RISK
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champion and No. 2 ranked 185-pounder Paulo Filho on Tuesday missed weight at the WEC 36 weigh-ins. Not only did he miss weight, he was over by an astonishing seven pounds, weighing in at 192 pounds.
Filho will now go down as the final WEC middleweight champion. He will fight Sonnen on Wednesday night, but it will not be for the title.
MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday evening confirmed with WEC officials that Filho got down to 189 pounds on his second attempt, therefore making the bout ineligible for championship designation. The two camps did come to terms, allowing the fight to go on as a three-round non-title bout.
Sonnen's cornerman, Matt Lindland, said that Filho was penalized a percentage of his purse and that Sonnen would receive some monetary compensation for Filho missing weight and it being changed to a non-title bout.
(The WEC later reported on its website that Filho gave up 25% of his purse to Sonnen.)
Perhaps more interesting is that Filho's cornerman indicated to Lindland that they would give up the title belt if Sonnen wins. "His cornermen told us that they would walk across the cage and hand Chael the belt if he wins. When Chael whoops his ass, I expect them to live up to their word.
"I just feel bad for Chael, he doesn't get a chance at the title. This is three times that Chael has been ready for this fight," continued Lindland. "One time it was put off due to the threat of Hurricane Ike, but the other two times were Paulo's."
Despite losing its championship luster, the bout is still holds important implications for Filho and Sonnen. With the WEC discontinuing both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions at the end of this year, this bout is expected to serve as a qualifier, likely to launch the winner into the WEC's sister promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Also, hey mookie thanks for the Anderson Silva links. He would definitely get my vote for a Hall Of Fame ballot.
no worries. someone was interested in seeing them, so i thought i might as well send them out to you all just in case anyone else was interested too. i'll probably have part 2 done tonight. an mma hof career, indeed!
looks like the senator should have spent less time posting here in the pit and more time on the campaign.
noooo, don't wish him luck. He doesn't need it, they'll just cheat again lol.
As a canadian, I am praying to god that they elect obama, please please please elect obama
You got your wish .... OBAMA!!
btw, I had the creepiest voting experience today. I went to my polling station at 11:20 am hoping that the morning rush would have cleared out and I could beat the lunch time voters. I got my wish ... I was the ONLY voter there. I had 15 election workers staring at me as I voted for Obama! I know my vote didn't really matter since I live in a red state that had no hope of going blue, but for the first time in a LONG time, I'm proud to be an american.
btw, I had the creepiest voting experience today. I went to my polling station at 11:20 am hoping that the morning rush would have cleared out and I could be the lunch time voters. I got my wish ... I was the ONLY voter there. I had 15 election workers staring at me as I voted for Obama! I know my vote didn't really matter since I live in a red state that had no hope of going blue, but for the first time in a LONG time, I'm proud to be an american.
they were showing the long lines on the news, so it sounds like you got lucky, releash. that would be kind of creepy, though.
let's hope your "votes" go as well as today on the 15th. it's not too far away!
enjoy the fights. always feel free to delete anything that's not of interest, of course. there is some good stuff in anderson's career, and i thought that the 90 prelims were pretty good, though...so watch them! haha.
wow! big upset win for mike brown! urijah faber tried to throw a backward elbow and instead mike brown lands a straight right hand and finishes the fight with punches on the ground in the first round! definitely the highlight of an otherwise pretty bad show. leonard garcia tko'd jens pulver quickly in the first, but the rest of the card wasn't very good. there was something very odd about paulo fihlo. he didn't make weight, didn't look very interested in the fight, seemed to be talking to himself, and then was looking out at the crowd or something? during the third round. he looked disoriented when the horn sounded. sonnen didn't look much better, despite getting the win.
so i go to mmaweekly, checking the play by play to see what happened in the cerrone vs. mccullough match since they didn't show it...and...of course...
Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone
R1 – They start off with some one-for-one exchanges before McCullough drops Cerrone to a knee with a straight right. Cerrone pops right back up and clinches before they separate and start trading blow for blow again. Another right hand sends Cowboy to the mat, but he pops right back up again, but McCullough is starting to land with more frequency both with his punches and leg kicks. Just as McCullough gains momentum Cowboy stops it with a straight right that sends McCullough to the canvas. Cowboy immediately mounts and unleashes a ground and pound assault, brutalizing McCullough's face with punches and forearms. McCullough turns, nearly giving up his back, but works into Cowboy's guard. They get up and the referee has McCullough's cut checked, they are allowed to continue but McCullough's face is a crimson mask. Cowboy drops McCullough again, he gets up and eats a knee and gets dropped with another right hand. Cowboy follows him down, but McCullough rides out the round.... WOW!!!!
MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Cerrone.
R2 – They pick up right where they left off, exchanging kicks and punches. Cowboy drops McCullough again with a right-left combo, then takes his back on the mat, but McCullough again turns into Cowboy's guard, nearly caught in a triangle choke. Cowboy catches an arm, has the armbar secured, but McCullough finds a way out. Amazing fight! Back up on the feet, they start trading blows again. The rest of the round plays out with them exchanging, nearly blow-for-blow, but Cerrone slightly edging ahead as the round wears on.
MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Cerrone.
R3 – Again McCullough and Cerrone start trying to knock each other's head off, but then Cowboy shoots in and gets the double-leg takedown, but they quickly get back up to the feet and start the striking routine. Midway through the round, Cowboy scores with a jumping knee to the chin and starts to land with more frequency though he can't seem to find McCullough's button. McCullough finds a fire inside and starts firing back hard again, but Cowboy seems to have a little more gas in the tank. Cowboy scores again with the jumping knee with 30 seconds left and then follows with another takedown. They stand and finish the fight in a flurry, with McCullough rocked, back to the cage.
MAMWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Cerrone and the fight 30-27 for Cerrone.
Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27), R3
as a fan of hermes, i am so disappointed in him again. stupid, stupid choices. this is a fucking ignorant asshole move if he was driving after drinking at the WEC show...
HERMES FRANCA ARRESTED FOR DUI OFFENSE IN FLORIDA
Thursday, November 06, 2008
by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight competitor, Hermes Franca, was arrested last night by the Jupiter Police Department in Jupiter, Fla for a DUI offense as confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by members of the police force on Thursday morning.
Authorities could not release much more information than what was listed on their official police blotter confirming Franca’s arrest.
According to the report, Franca was arrested at 2:38am by an officer who suspected the fighter was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
It was also listed that this was Franca’s first offense.
While officials of the Jupiter Police Department could confirm the arrest, they had no information about his detainment or release from being held from the arrest.
Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on this story as it develops.
agreed mookie, dumb ass move on franca's part. I can't say I haven't driven drunk before (when i was younger) but i smartened up, sad to see he still hasn't. I hope he learns from this huge mistake
Sounds like a couple good fights in the WEC show, i didn't get to see it, but i'll make sure to get the 3 fights you listed, thanks mookie
edit: got 2 of the fights mentioned but couldn't find the McCullough/Cerrone fight unfortunatly. I wasn't really interested in the Sonnan/Filho fight after what you said about it mookie.
Also, I'm extremely happy about the way the US Election went. Thanks to all who voted!
"I'll ride the wave where it takes me"
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
yeah, i hope so, leafs. :( i'm guessing he was out at one of the parties or something? it's good that he was caught and that he didn't hurt anyone. for his sake and the sake of others i hope he has learned a lesson.
sorry to have ruined the show, i figured i would save you some time. i was just posting a quick thought after what i thought was a disappointing show. garcia had a good performance, but it wasn't a great fight. i enjoyed the way mike brown vs. urijah faber played out, but it would have been cool to see it go a few. still, quite an upest and the way it happened too...with brown pushing faber down off of a clinch, and then looking stronger until faber tried to get fancy.
there was a quick ko at MW, with simpson over avellan. unfortunately that was the only prelim they showed. cerrone vs. mcculough, miraculously from what i've read, went to decision. if they'd switched that one out for the first fight, the show actually would have been pretty good. jake rosholt vs. nissen osterneck was a really green muay thai striker vs. a really strong wrestler who is green in mma. somewhat of a sloppy fight, as osterneck couldn't deal with the wrestling and ground control and i don't think rosholt blocked a punch on the feet! it reminded me of a fight you might see in the early stages of the ultimate fighter.
anyway, tsn is showing it again late on friday night if you're bored. the other match with sonnen and fihlo was just an all around strange experience. i mentioned the weight issue, then the first round was fihlo trying to get sonnen to come into his guard while sonnen played around with the idea for a while throwing the odd kick to fihlo's thighs while he was down. it would have been more of the same in the second, but sonnen backed out to get fihlo up instead of standing over him while he was on his back. mostly half assed shot attempts by fihlo and half assed striking by sonnen. enough striking to win the round on points and start to swell fihlo's eye a bit from the jabs. the third was perplexing. that's when fihlo started acting strange and looking out at the crowd while sonnen was directly in front of him. sonnen never took advantage and patted him with "punches" for the round. fihlo looked like he was about to engage an imaginary opponent as the horn sounded. i know he's had some issues with depression and chemical dependancy over the last year, so i wonder if the weight and lack of effort is a sign that maybe he needed some more time to get well.
i'm hoping that maybe they put that mccullough vs. cerrone on an episode of "wreckage" in the future. i think maybe that's why i was so sour about the show! :D
got the picks in for fantasy league, but there are a few i keep going back and forth on...stevenson vs. florian, gurgel vs. riley, bocek vs. robinson...they're all giving me fits!
UFC 91, November 15, 2008 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV
Main Card:
Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar - couture by tko
Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Stevenson - florian by decision
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Josh Hendricks - gonzaga by submission
Demian Maia Vs. Nate Quarry - maia by submission
Tamdan McCrory Vs. Dustin Hazelett - hazelett by submission
Pre-lims:
Jorge Gurgel Vs. Aaron Riley - gurgel by decision
Jeremy Stephens Vs. Rafael dos Anjos - stephens by tko
Alvin Robinson Vs. Mark Bocek - bocek by submission
Ryan Thomas Vs. Matt Brown - brown by tko
*Amir Sadollah Vs. Nick Catone scratched. Amir Sadollah out due to illness.
yeah, i hope so, leafs. :( i'm guessing he was out at one of the parties or something? it's good that he was caught and that he didn't hurt anyone. for his sake and the sake of others i hope he has learned a lesson.
sorry to have ruined the show, i figured i would save you some time. i was just posting a quick thought after what i thought was a disappointing show. garcia had a good performance, but it wasn't a great fight. i enjoyed the way mike brown vs. urijah faber played out, but it would have been cool to see it go a few. still, quite an upest and the way it happened too...with brown pushing faber down off of a clinch, and then looking stronger until faber tried to get fancy.
there was a quick ko at MW, with simpson over avellan. unfortunately that was the only prelim they showed. cerrone vs. mcculough, miraculously from what i've read, went to decision. if they'd switched that one out for the first fight, the show actually would have been pretty good. jake rosholt vs. nissen osterneck was a really green muay thai striker vs. a really strong wrestler who is green in mma. somewhat of a sloppy fight, as osterneck couldn't deal with the wrestling and ground control and i don't think rosholt blocked a punch on the feet! it reminded me of a fight you might see in the early stages of the ultimate fighter.
anyway, tsn is showing it again late on friday night if you're bored. the other match with sonnen and fihlo was just an all around strange experience. i mentioned the weight issue, then the first round was fihlo trying to get sonnen to come into his guard while sonnen played around with the idea for a while throwing the odd kick to fihlo's thighs while he was down. it would have been more of the same in the second, but sonnen backed out to get fihlo up instead of standing over him while he was on his back. mostly half assed shot attempts by fihlo and half assed striking by sonnen. enough striking to win the round on points and start to swell fihlo's eye a bit from the jabs. the third was perplexing. that's when fihlo started acting strange and looking out at the crowd while sonnen was directly in front of him. sonnen never took advantage and patted him with "punches" for the round. fihlo looked like he was about to engage an imaginary opponent as the horn sounded. i know he's had some issues with depression and chemical dependancy over the last year, so i wonder if the weight and lack of effort is a sign that maybe he needed some more time to get well.
i'm hoping that maybe they put that mccullough vs. cerrone on an episode of "wreckage" in the future. i think maybe that's why i was so sour about the show! :D
ya i pvr'd it on friday and am watching it right now (the fihlo/sonnen fight just ended) and i thought the 1st fight (rosholt/osterneck) was pretty good. Like you said, there was not much skill but so far it was probably the best fight i've seen on the card. The quick KO was just a damn good punch that landed perfectly. Garcia was really impressive, it was wierd seeing pulver hurt badly by a punch that looked like he blooked though. Guess this shows that Huerta really can take a punch eh.
Like you said the Fihlo/Sonnen match was just wierd. There has to be something wrong with Fihlo mentally, i've never seen somebody looking into nowhere while somebody was punching them in the face. Just weird. Then at the end when the bell rang, Fihlo looked all over the place until he finally clued in and touched gloves, then it looked like he had no idea where to go to get to his corner. Something really strange going on there.
Going back to watch the Faber/Brown fight now, i really hope the next card will make up for this one. I just had to post about that Fihlo/Sonnen fight, i've never seen anything like that.
ya i pvr'd it on friday and am watching it right now (the fihlo/sonnen fight just ended) and i thought the 1st fight (rosholt/osterneck) was pretty good. Like you said, there was not much skill but so far it was probably the best fight i've seen on the card. The quick KO was just a damn good punch that landed perfectly. Garcia was really impressive, it was wierd seeing pulver hurt badly by a punch that looked like he blooked though. Guess this shows that Huerta really can take a punch eh.
Like you said the Fihlo/Sonnen match was just wierd. There has to be something wrong with Fihlo mentally, i've never seen somebody looking into nowhere while somebody was punching them in the face. Just weird. Then at the end when the bell rang, Fihlo looked all over the place until he finally clued in and touched gloves, then it looked like he had no idea where to go to get to his corner. Something really strange going on there.
Going back to watch the Faber/Brown fight now, i really hope the next card will make up for this one. I just had to post about that Fihlo/Sonnen fight, i've never seen anything like that.
leafs, one million thanks for finding the cerrone vs. mcculough fight! unfortunately, it has been taken down, but there is mention above the videos that the WEC is looking to put this one on an episode of wreckage asap. i wouldn't be surprised, as a lot of people are talking about it.
yeah, i had a general sour time watching the show, i guess. i'd heard so many good things about rosholt rounding out his game, but as he said in the post fight, he has a long way to go. it's just preplexing that they would show two MW's making their debuts on the main card...then two more MW bouts, when they are floding the division anyway. they had a potential #1 contender match for the LW belt on the undercard and a BW bout with the guy who last fought for the title also on the undercard. the match between fihlo and sonnen of course they had to put on the main card, but like you said, a stranger fight you'll seldom see.
at least from now on, the smaller guys will have the main cards to themselves. i can only picture a small handful of guys from LHW and MW going to the ufc, and i don't see them staying there very long. fihlo was a sure signing, but now do they want to take a chance on him? i think he needs some time to get over whatever personal problems he may still be going through. sonnen has been there before and didn't perform all that well, so what do they do with him? the strangeness continues after the match, i guess...:D
thanks again for the effort on the fight. i really appreciate it!
this is interesting. rarely do you hear of two fighters trying to get signed together. i hope it happens, though, and i'd tend to agree with the writer. strikeforce is probably the leading candidate.
Package deal: Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg fight still possible
By: James Iannotti
Former Elite XC female superstar Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-0) still has plans to face off against Brazilian rival Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (6-1) even with the collapse of Elite XC, according to a recent interview with Fighters Only magazine.
Here’s a snip:
“I want to make (a fight against Cyborg) happen. My people are in touch with her, so we’re going to make sure we sign together for the same promotion.”
That sounds like a great idea, considering it was a match up that most fans were looking forward to seeing sometime in early 2009. The question now is, which promotion is going to sign these two world class strikers to go toe-to-toe once and for all?
Here’s a look at the possibilities:
UFC — The promotion has never expressed much interest in putting on female fights. President Dana White has said in the past that there just aren’t enough good female fighters to put together a competitive division. There’s still a slight chance he would sign these two because their fight would be so easy to sell, but it’s a long shot.
WEC — See above.
Affliction — By looking at the numbers this company produced with its inaugural event in July, a match like this could certainly help them improve on those for the second event scheduled in January. It would seem like perfect timing, too, since that’s when Elite XC had planned for the fight to go down anyway. The only thing that could prevent Affliction from signing this fight is the broken relationship the company now has with Randy Couture, who happens to be Carano’s head trainer and mentor. She could have some mixed feelings about dealing with the t-shirt company turned mixed martial arts promotion because of the falling out. “There’s a bit of a barrier between me and Affliction,” she recently said. “You know, with Randy and that whole thing. But if they approach me with an offer, who knows?”
Strikeforce — Perhaps the best fit. The San Jose-based organization has always been willing to include female fights on its cards. Not only that, but Strikeforce is also still trying to build its fan base and grow as an organization. A Gina Carano vs. Cyborg Santos fight would be a great draw for them on a possible future live NBC televised event. Not to mention that NBC seems like a logical landing spot for Gina anyway, given the role she already plays as “Gladiator Crush” on the network’s popular remake of “American Gladiators.” Therefore, Strikeforce seems like the most likely of scenarios.
Japan (DREAM or WVR) — Probably won’t be as marketable of a fight in Japan as it’s sure to be in the states. It’s not totally impossible, but probably even less likely than the UFC.
Other smaller promotion — This fight needs to happen on a big stage. Anything else would be a travesty.
Of course, this is all conjecture. The only thing we know for sure is that these two chicks want to fight each other and pretty much the entire MMA community wants to see it.
Let’s hope one of these organizations steps up and delivers.
good countdown show, especially for people who may not be familiar with randy's entire UFC career. there was some sugar on it , but the story seemed fairly candid for the most part. most of brock's training footage was replayed from the his last all access and countdown show, unfortunately. it would have been nice to see something new instead, to gain some insight into how he is looking in the gym now.
too bad for amir. :( hazelett vs. mccrory was the more promising looking match, and probably should have been on the main card anyway. i'm excited to see it. i think i may be wishing too hard to see these pre-lims sometimes...seems i've had my way with a few of the recent shows having bouts scratched and pre-lims moved up to the main card.
Sadollah scratched from UFC 91; Hazelett-McCrory to main card
by MMAjunkie.com
Nov 11, 2008
UFC 91 main card participant and "The Ultimate Fighter 7" winner Amir Sadollah (1-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has been forced out of his UFC 91 bout with Nick Catone (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) due to a leg infection, the UFC today announced.
With the UFC unable to find a replacement, the middleweight bout has been scratched from the card, which takes place Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Taking the fight's place on the pay-per-view main card is an intriguing welterweight match-up between prospects Dustin Hazelett (11-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Tamdan McCrory (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
Hazelett is coming off a victory over Josh Burkman in June in which he picked up Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. It was his fourth victory in six UFC fights. UFC 91 will be his television debut.
McCrory, meanwhile, has used his 6-foot-4 frame and awkward-but-effective striking style to post victories over notables Pete Spratt and Luke Cummo. His only career loss came to Akihiro Gono in 2007.
The UFC gave no details of Sadollah's infection or a potential timetable for a return.
UFC 91, November 15, 2008 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV
Main Card:
Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar - HW Championship
Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Stevenson
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Josh Hendricks
Demian Maia Vs. Nate Quarry
Tamdan McCrory Vs. Dustin Hazelett
Pre-lims:
Jorge Gurgel Vs. Aaron Riley
Jeremy Stephens Vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Alvin Robinson Vs. Mark Bocek
Ryan Thomas Vs. Matt Brown
*Amir Sadollah Vs. Nick Catone scratched. Amir Sadollah out due to illness.
I can't wait to see this one. I've been looking forward to seeing Krzysztof fight.
they've been airing more footage of the fight on the ads than usual, so the ads worked on me. i'm excited to see it. looks like dan henderson stops by to work with krzysztof too.
Comments
EV- 08/09,10/2008.06/08,09/2009
good laugh. thanks, longrd.
so stupid... but really not surprised. He looked in a lot better shape that last fight and i guess now we know why. The only good thing to come of this is that he actually admitted it and isn't trying to fight it like some other idiots. I actually think he got off pretty easy, for everything he has done in the past and current, 9 months is nothing close to what he should have got.
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
agreed, i have no idea why they would take them when they know they will be tested. Chris said that he thought it'd be out of his system by the time they tested him, gladly he was wrong. The only way to make sure of that is not to take anything ever, what a dumb ass.
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
noooo, don't wish him luck. He doesn't need it, they'll just cheat again lol.
As a canadian, I am praying to god that they elect obama, please please please elect obama
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
the biggest miss came from paulo fihlo, who will now have to attempt to lose 7 lbs. in two hours in order to keep his meeting with sonnen a championship bout.
looks like one of the best fights on the night, mccullough vs. cerrone may be a swing bout. :( here's hoping for quick finishes!
WEC 36, November 5, 2008 - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida - Versus / TSN2
Main Card:
Urijah Faber (144.5) Vs. Mike Brown (145)* - WEC FW Championship
Paulo Fihlo (189)* Vs. Chael Sonnen (184.5)
Jens Pulver (146) Vs. Leonard Garcia (145.5)
Jake Rosholt (185.5) Vs. Nissen Osterneck (184)
Rob McCullough (155.5) Vs. Donald Cerrone (156)
Pre-lims:
Yoshiro Maeda (135) Vs. Rani Yayha (137)*
Danny Castillo (156) Vs. Rafael Dias (155)
Steve Steinbeiss (202) Vs. Carmelo Marrero (206)
Jose Aldo (146) Vs. Jonathan Brookins (146)
David Avellan (185) Vs. Aaron Simpson (184.5)
* Mike Brown makes weight on his second attempt, after initially weighing in at 145.5.
* Paulo Fihlo weighed 192 on his first attempt, and 189 after two hours of trying to make weight. The bout will now be a three round catch weight match at 189 lbs.
* Yoshiro Maeda agreed to the bout with Rani Yayha, despite Yayha weighing in one pound heavy. Yayha did not have to cut the extra pound.
NOW A NON-TITLE BOUT, FILHO'S BELT STILL AT RISK
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champion and No. 2 ranked 185-pounder Paulo Filho on Tuesday missed weight at the WEC 36 weigh-ins. Not only did he miss weight, he was over by an astonishing seven pounds, weighing in at 192 pounds.
Filho will now go down as the final WEC middleweight champion. He will fight Sonnen on Wednesday night, but it will not be for the title.
MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday evening confirmed with WEC officials that Filho got down to 189 pounds on his second attempt, therefore making the bout ineligible for championship designation. The two camps did come to terms, allowing the fight to go on as a three-round non-title bout.
Sonnen's cornerman, Matt Lindland, said that Filho was penalized a percentage of his purse and that Sonnen would receive some monetary compensation for Filho missing weight and it being changed to a non-title bout.
(The WEC later reported on its website that Filho gave up 25% of his purse to Sonnen.)
Perhaps more interesting is that Filho's cornerman indicated to Lindland that they would give up the title belt if Sonnen wins. "His cornermen told us that they would walk across the cage and hand Chael the belt if he wins. When Chael whoops his ass, I expect them to live up to their word.
"I just feel bad for Chael, he doesn't get a chance at the title. This is three times that Chael has been ready for this fight," continued Lindland. "One time it was put off due to the threat of Hurricane Ike, but the other two times were Paulo's."
Despite losing its championship luster, the bout is still holds important implications for Filho and Sonnen. With the WEC discontinuing both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions at the end of this year, this bout is expected to serve as a qualifier, likely to launch the winner into the WEC's sister promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7498&zoneid=13
Also, hey mookie thanks for the Anderson Silva links. He would definitely get my vote for a Hall Of Fame ballot.
EV- 08/09,10/2008.06/08,09/2009
no worries.
looks like the senator should have spent less time posting here in the pit and more time on the campaign.
You got your wish .... OBAMA!!
btw, I had the creepiest voting experience today. I went to my polling station at 11:20 am hoping that the morning rush would have cleared out and I could beat the lunch time voters. I got my wish ... I was the ONLY voter there. I had 15 election workers staring at me as I voted for Obama! I know my vote didn't really matter since I live in a red state that had no hope of going blue, but for the first time in a LONG time, I'm proud to be an american.
they were showing the long lines on the news, so it sounds like you got lucky, releash. that would be kind of creepy, though.
cool story.
And thanks for the anderson silva and UFC 90 prelims!
I need to think about my picks for Nov 15!
enjoy the fights. always feel free to delete anything that's not of interest, of course. there is some good stuff in anderson's career, and i thought that the 90 prelims were pretty good, though...so watch them! haha.
Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone
R1 – They start off with some one-for-one exchanges before McCullough drops Cerrone to a knee with a straight right. Cerrone pops right back up and clinches before they separate and start trading blow for blow again. Another right hand sends Cowboy to the mat, but he pops right back up again, but McCullough is starting to land with more frequency both with his punches and leg kicks. Just as McCullough gains momentum Cowboy stops it with a straight right that sends McCullough to the canvas. Cowboy immediately mounts and unleashes a ground and pound assault, brutalizing McCullough's face with punches and forearms. McCullough turns, nearly giving up his back, but works into Cowboy's guard. They get up and the referee has McCullough's cut checked, they are allowed to continue but McCullough's face is a crimson mask. Cowboy drops McCullough again, he gets up and eats a knee and gets dropped with another right hand. Cowboy follows him down, but McCullough rides out the round.... WOW!!!!
MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Cerrone.
R2 – They pick up right where they left off, exchanging kicks and punches. Cowboy drops McCullough again with a right-left combo, then takes his back on the mat, but McCullough again turns into Cowboy's guard, nearly caught in a triangle choke. Cowboy catches an arm, has the armbar secured, but McCullough finds a way out. Amazing fight! Back up on the feet, they start trading blows again. The rest of the round plays out with them exchanging, nearly blow-for-blow, but Cerrone slightly edging ahead as the round wears on.
MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Cerrone.
R3 – Again McCullough and Cerrone start trying to knock each other's head off, but then Cowboy shoots in and gets the double-leg takedown, but they quickly get back up to the feet and start the striking routine. Midway through the round, Cowboy scores with a jumping knee to the chin and starts to land with more frequency though he can't seem to find McCullough's button. McCullough finds a fire inside and starts firing back hard again, but Cowboy seems to have a little more gas in the tank. Cowboy scores again with the jumping knee with 30 seconds left and then follows with another takedown. They stand and finish the fight in a flurry, with McCullough rocked, back to the cage.
MAMWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Cerrone and the fight 30-27 for Cerrone.
Donald Cerrone def. Rob McCullough by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27), R3
sounds like it was a doozie!!!
HERMES FRANCA ARRESTED FOR DUI OFFENSE IN FLORIDA
Thursday, November 06, 2008
by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight competitor, Hermes Franca, was arrested last night by the Jupiter Police Department in Jupiter, Fla for a DUI offense as confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by members of the police force on Thursday morning.
Authorities could not release much more information than what was listed on their official police blotter confirming Franca’s arrest.
According to the report, Franca was arrested at 2:38am by an officer who suspected the fighter was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
It was also listed that this was Franca’s first offense.
While officials of the Jupiter Police Department could confirm the arrest, they had no information about his detainment or release from being held from the arrest.
Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on this story as it develops.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7512&zoneid=13
Sounds like a couple good fights in the WEC show, i didn't get to see it, but i'll make sure to get the 3 fights you listed, thanks mookie
edit: got 2 of the fights mentioned but couldn't find the McCullough/Cerrone fight unfortunatly. I wasn't really interested in the Sonnan/Filho fight after what you said about it mookie.
Also, I'm extremely happy about the way the US Election went. Thanks to all who voted!
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
sorry to have ruined the show, i figured i would save you some time.
there was a quick ko at MW, with simpson over avellan. unfortunately that was the only prelim they showed. cerrone vs. mcculough, miraculously from what i've read, went to decision. if they'd switched that one out for the first fight, the show actually would have been pretty good. jake rosholt vs. nissen osterneck was a really green muay thai striker vs. a really strong wrestler who is green in mma. somewhat of a sloppy fight, as osterneck couldn't deal with the wrestling and ground control and i don't think rosholt blocked a punch on the feet! it reminded me of a fight you might see in the early stages of the ultimate fighter.
anyway, tsn is showing it again late on friday night if you're bored. the other match with sonnen and fihlo was just an all around strange experience. i mentioned the weight issue, then the first round was fihlo trying to get sonnen to come into his guard while sonnen played around with the idea for a while throwing the odd kick to fihlo's thighs while he was down. it would have been more of the same in the second, but sonnen backed out to get fihlo up instead of standing over him while he was on his back. mostly half assed shot attempts by fihlo and half assed striking by sonnen. enough striking to win the round on points and start to swell fihlo's eye a bit from the jabs. the third was perplexing. that's when fihlo started acting strange and looking out at the crowd while sonnen was directly in front of him. sonnen never took advantage and patted him with "punches" for the round. fihlo looked like he was about to engage an imaginary opponent as the horn sounded. i know he's had some issues with depression and chemical dependancy over the last year, so i wonder if the weight and lack of effort is a sign that maybe he needed some more time to get well.
i'm hoping that maybe they put that mccullough vs. cerrone on an episode of "wreckage" in the future. i think maybe that's why i was so sour about the show!
UFC 91, November 15, 2008 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV
Main Card:
Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar - couture by tko
Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Stevenson - florian by decision
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Josh Hendricks - gonzaga by submission
Demian Maia Vs. Nate Quarry - maia by submission
Tamdan McCrory Vs. Dustin Hazelett - hazelett by submission
Pre-lims:
Jorge Gurgel Vs. Aaron Riley - gurgel by decision
Jeremy Stephens Vs. Rafael dos Anjos - stephens by tko
Alvin Robinson Vs. Mark Bocek - bocek by submission
Ryan Thomas Vs. Matt Brown - brown by tko
*Amir Sadollah Vs. Nick Catone scratched. Amir Sadollah out due to illness.
ya i pvr'd it on friday and am watching it right now (the fihlo/sonnen fight just ended) and i thought the 1st fight (rosholt/osterneck) was pretty good. Like you said, there was not much skill but so far it was probably the best fight i've seen on the card. The quick KO was just a damn good punch that landed perfectly. Garcia was really impressive, it was wierd seeing pulver hurt badly by a punch that looked like he blooked though. Guess this shows that Huerta really can take a punch eh.
Like you said the Fihlo/Sonnen match was just wierd. There has to be something wrong with Fihlo mentally, i've never seen somebody looking into nowhere while somebody was punching them in the face. Just weird. Then at the end when the bell rang, Fihlo looked all over the place until he finally clued in and touched gloves, then it looked like he had no idea where to go to get to his corner. Something really strange going on there.
Going back to watch the Faber/Brown fight now, i really hope the next card will make up for this one. I just had to post about that Fihlo/Sonnen fight, i've never seen anything like that.
oh and i found some footage of the Cerrone/McCullough fight. It's shot by somebody in the audience, but the quality looks pretty decent.
http://themmafiend.com/2008/11/08/wec-36-unseen-fotn-donald-cerrone-vs-rob-mccullough/
09/19/05, 05/09/06, 05/10/06
leafs, one million thanks for finding the cerrone vs. mcculough fight! unfortunately, it has been taken down, but there is mention above the videos that the WEC is looking to put this one on an episode of wreckage asap. i wouldn't be surprised, as a lot of people are talking about it.
yeah, i had a general sour time watching the show, i guess. i'd heard so many good things about rosholt rounding out his game, but as he said in the post fight, he has a long way to go. it's just preplexing that they would show two MW's making their debuts on the main card...then two more MW bouts, when they are floding the division anyway. they had a potential #1 contender match for the LW belt on the undercard and a BW bout with the guy who last fought for the title also on the undercard. the match between fihlo and sonnen of course they had to put on the main card, but like you said, a stranger fight you'll seldom see.
at least from now on, the smaller guys will have the main cards to themselves. i can only picture a small handful of guys from LHW and MW going to the ufc, and i don't see them staying there very long. fihlo was a sure signing, but now do they want to take a chance on him? i think he needs some time to get over whatever personal problems he may still be going through. sonnen has been there before and didn't perform all that well, so what do they do with him? the strangeness continues after the match, i guess...:D
thanks again for the effort on the fight. i really appreciate it!
Package deal: Gina Carano vs Cris Cyborg fight still possible
By: James Iannotti
Former Elite XC female superstar Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-0) still has plans to face off against Brazilian rival Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (6-1) even with the collapse of Elite XC, according to a recent interview with Fighters Only magazine.
Here’s a snip:
“I want to make (a fight against Cyborg) happen. My people are in touch with her, so we’re going to make sure we sign together for the same promotion.”
That sounds like a great idea, considering it was a match up that most fans were looking forward to seeing sometime in early 2009. The question now is, which promotion is going to sign these two world class strikers to go toe-to-toe once and for all?
Here’s a look at the possibilities:
UFC — The promotion has never expressed much interest in putting on female fights. President Dana White has said in the past that there just aren’t enough good female fighters to put together a competitive division. There’s still a slight chance he would sign these two because their fight would be so easy to sell, but it’s a long shot.
WEC — See above.
Affliction — By looking at the numbers this company produced with its inaugural event in July, a match like this could certainly help them improve on those for the second event scheduled in January. It would seem like perfect timing, too, since that’s when Elite XC had planned for the fight to go down anyway. The only thing that could prevent Affliction from signing this fight is the broken relationship the company now has with Randy Couture, who happens to be Carano’s head trainer and mentor. She could have some mixed feelings about dealing with the t-shirt company turned mixed martial arts promotion because of the falling out. “There’s a bit of a barrier between me and Affliction,” she recently said. “You know, with Randy and that whole thing. But if they approach me with an offer, who knows?”
Strikeforce — Perhaps the best fit. The San Jose-based organization has always been willing to include female fights on its cards. Not only that, but Strikeforce is also still trying to build its fan base and grow as an organization. A Gina Carano vs. Cyborg Santos fight would be a great draw for them on a possible future live NBC televised event. Not to mention that NBC seems like a logical landing spot for Gina anyway, given the role she already plays as “Gladiator Crush” on the network’s popular remake of “American Gladiators.” Therefore, Strikeforce seems like the most likely of scenarios.
Japan (DREAM or WVR) — Probably won’t be as marketable of a fight in Japan as it’s sure to be in the states. It’s not totally impossible, but probably even less likely than the UFC.
Other smaller promotion — This fight needs to happen on a big stage. Anything else would be a travesty.
Of course, this is all conjecture. The only thing we know for sure is that these two chicks want to fight each other and pretty much the entire MMA community wants to see it.
Let’s hope one of these organizations steps up and delivers.
http://mmamania.com/2008/11/09/package-deal-gina-carano-vs-cris-cyborg-fight-still-possible/#comment-1006458
Sadollah scratched from UFC 91; Hazelett-McCrory to main card
by MMAjunkie.com
Nov 11, 2008
UFC 91 main card participant and "The Ultimate Fighter 7" winner Amir Sadollah (1-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has been forced out of his UFC 91 bout with Nick Catone (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) due to a leg infection, the UFC today announced.
With the UFC unable to find a replacement, the middleweight bout has been scratched from the card, which takes place Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Taking the fight's place on the pay-per-view main card is an intriguing welterweight match-up between prospects Dustin Hazelett (11-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Tamdan McCrory (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC).
Hazelett is coming off a victory over Josh Burkman in June in which he picked up Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. It was his fourth victory in six UFC fights. UFC 91 will be his television debut.
McCrory, meanwhile, has used his 6-foot-4 frame and awkward-but-effective striking style to post victories over notables Pete Spratt and Luke Cummo. His only career loss came to Akihiro Gono in 2007.
The UFC gave no details of Sadollah's infection or a potential timetable for a return.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/13215/sadollah-scratched-from-ufc-91-hazelett-mccrory-to-main-card.mma
UFC 91, November 15, 2008 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV
Main Card:
Randy Couture Vs. Brock Lesnar - HW Championship
Kenny Florian Vs. Joe Stevenson
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Josh Hendricks
Demian Maia Vs. Nate Quarry
Tamdan McCrory Vs. Dustin Hazelett
Pre-lims:
Jorge Gurgel Vs. Aaron Riley
Jeremy Stephens Vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Alvin Robinson Vs. Mark Bocek
Ryan Thomas Vs. Matt Brown
*Amir Sadollah Vs. Nick Catone scratched. Amir Sadollah out due to illness.
I can't wait to see this one. I've been looking forward to seeing Krzysztof fight.
they've been airing more footage of the fight on the ads than usual, so the ads worked on me. i'm excited to see it. looks like dan henderson stops by to work with krzysztof too.