- REPORT: SHINE FIGHTS FACING ANOTHER SHAKE-UP
A recent report says that Shine Fights is once again embroiled in controversy, having to move its Lightweight Grand Prix from Virginia to Oklahoma...
Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac targeted for The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
Stephan Bonnar, finalist in the original season of "The Ultimate Fighter," returns to where it all began.
Well, kind of.
While he'll compete at a different venue that the night of his legendary April
2005 battle with Forrest Griffin, Bonnar will fight Igor
Pokrajac in Las Vegas on a live finale of "The
Ultimate Fighter." This time, it's the soon-to-debut 12th season.
Drew McFedries, Marcus Hicks scratched from Shark Fights 13 event
All mixed martial arts promotions are forced to deal with the reality of
injuries, and the upstart Shark Fights organization is no exception.
While the Texas-based promotion will host its first-ever pay-per-view
event with next week's Shark Fights 13 card, the organization will need
to secure a pair of late replacements.
Shark Fights head Brent Medley on Friday confirmed with MMAjunkie.com
Radio that both Drew McFedries and Marcus
Hicks have been forced to withdraw from the event and replacements are
currently being sought.
Karo Parisyan: ‘The UFC Knows I Can Become A Contender Again And I Will’
“Somehow I knew I’d get back in, at least I hoped I would. What Dana said was in the heat of the moment. He felt we were friends and that I’d backstabbed him. Thank God he changed his mind… He told me to get a fight under my belt. He told me to get my life back on track and that’s what I did… My issues had to do with my anxiety problems and panic attacks. Painkillers were thrown out there, but that wasn’t it. People made these accusations because I’d been popped for medication (months before). I’d taken two pain pills the morning of my fight for a torn hamstring and didn’t think much of it… Every fighter I know takes pain medication like it’s M&Ms. I was the unlucky one who only took it the day of the fight without even thinking about it… I spoke to a psychologist and he pointed out that I’ve been fighting since I was 14 years old and that I had this balloon filling in my stomach with all my fight anxiety over the years. That’s what I’ve been addressing and working on… I think the UFC knows I still have something I can accomplish in the cage. They know that I can become a contender again and I will.”
—Karo Parisyan talking to Sherdog about his second chance in the UFC
Karo Parisyan is expected to face Dennis Hallman on Nov. 20 at UFC 123 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It will be his first fight on a new three-fight UFC contract.
Image via CombatLifestyle.com
WEC officials announce "Best of WEC" DVD for Sept. 7 release
While DVD sales have long provided a consistent revenue stream for the
UFC, the company's sister promotion just recently joined the market.
Now, a little less than two months after releasing its first title, "WEC
48: Aldo vs. Faber," under an agreement with Image Entertainment, Inc.,
the promotion has announced a follow-up.
On Tuesday, Sept. 7, a selection of some of the best fights under the
WEC banner from 2008 and 2009 will be released on a "Best of WEC" DVD.
EA Sports MMA: Shinya Aoki vs. Nick Diaz Gameplay
Shinya Aoki vs. Nick Diaz in the virtual world of EA Sports MMA.
Karlos Vemola drops to 205, meets Seth Petruzelli at UFC 122
More European talent is headed toward UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany.
MMAjunkie.com today learned from multiple sources
close to the event that Karlos "The Terminator" Vemola is moving from heavyweight to light heavyweight and is expected to
meet Seth Petruzelli.
UFC 122 takes place Nov. 13 in Oberhausen's Konig Pilsener Arena and airs stateside on Spike TV via same-day delay.
After latest opponent switch, UFC’s Gunderson says Edwards a better matchup
Short-notice and last-minute are two terms that describe the bulk of
John Gunderson's career. By now, the UFC lightweight is used to opponent
switches. He grumbles for a minute, then moves on. It doesn't much
change his job in the gym.
Gunderson is from the school of year-round training. There are no fight
camps - just a never-ending loop of gym sessions broken up only by his
daughter's soccer games.
He admits he was disappointed when he couldn't fight "The Ultimate
Fighter 8" winner Efrain Escudero, who instead ended
up taking a fight with Charles Oliveira on the main
card of UFC Fight Night 22 on Sept. 15 in Austin, Texas. But Gunderson also thinks Escudero's replacement, veteran Yves
Edwards, is just as good a name, and a better
overall opponent.
- MONGOLIAN WOLF FIRST WEC CHINESE FIGHTER
World Extreme Cagefighting on Friday announced the signing of undefeated lightweight fighter Tiequan “The Mongolian Wolf” Zhang of Beijing, China...
Trainer: James Toney Will Be Two-Sport Athlete With Or Without The UFC
“They might have won the battle, but the war ain’t over yet.”
That’s the word from John Arthur, James Toney’s trainer of 12 years. Despite barely putting up a fight against Randy Couture at UFC 118, James Toney’s camp says they are not done with MMA. Whether or not they’re done with the UFC is a different story. Dana White made it pretty clear following UFC 118 that he wouldn’t promote James Toney or any other professional boxer again. Arthur says if that’s the case, then send us the release papers, James Toney is going to be a two-sport athlete with or without the UFC.
“Well, then Dana needs to send me some release papers,” he said. “If we don’t plan on fighting in the UFC, send me the release paper and we’ll take it to the next level. I know the UFC is the No. 1 [promotion] in mixed martial arts, but if Dana voiced that we don’t fight for him anymore, send me the release papers. I don’t have any problem with that.”
“He’s going to be doing groundwork and boxing,” Arthur said. “He’s going to be a two-sport athlete. The reality is that he wants to do it, and he will do it again. I think the next time I match him up, I’ll make sure I’ll matchup at least 50-50 equal. The cards were stacked against him.”
Without naming names, Toney’s MMA trainer, Trevor Sherman says there’s “plenty of interest” in Toney from other MMA promotions, so if the UFC does in fact release him, he shouldn’t have too much trouble finding fights. Whether or not he’ll be able to find $500,000+ paydays like he found in the UFC is a different question entirely, and if he can’t, will his desire to be a “two-sport athlete” suddenly disappear?
That remains to be seen, but for now Toney is shifting his focus back to boxing. He’s scheduled to defend his IBA heavyweight title on Nov. 5 in New Orleans. He doesn’t have an opponent yet.
Image via CombatLifestyle.com
