Daily Media Mash: Feb. 13, 2008

by Scott White

Daily Media Mash: We’re going to begin putting a daily post up that features news from around the mixed martial arts world. Usually we report exclusively on the Canadian scene but this will allow us to bring a wider variety of news and discussion topics to our readers, especially on slow days.

Gomi to Battle “Bang” Ludwig

Former PRIDE lightweight champion Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi will be making his return to the ring on March 5 with World Victory Road. Gomi will be facing UFC veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig.

It was also announced that Nick “The Goat” Thompson (34-9-1) will square off with Fabricio “Pitbull” Monteiro (16-6) and Ryo Kawamura (7-2-2) will face Antonio Braga Neto (4-0).

Leben Signs Extension With UFC

UFC middleweight Chris “The Crippler” Leben (17-4) has a new two-year contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Reportedly the deal will pay Leben $25,000 per fight and an additional $25,000 for the win.

Leben will be facing Alessio Sakara at UFC 82: Pride of a Champion on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Boetsch Steps Up Again

MMAWeekly is reporting that Tim Boetsch will fill in for the injured Stephan Bonnar and face Matt “The Hammer” Hamill at UFC Fight Night 13. Boetsch impressed the masses at UFC 81: Breaking Point scoring a first round stoppage over David Heath.

Mitichyan vs. Sotiropoulos Added to UFC Fight Night 13

MMA Mania is reporting that The Ultimate Fighter 6 castmates George Sotiropoulos (8-2) and Roman Mitichyan (5-1) will clash horns at UFC Fight Night 13 on April 2, 2008 in Broomfield, Colorado.

Radach Injured, Haynes Fills In

The Fight Network is reporting that Benji Radach (17-4) has suffered a neck injury and pulled out of his upcoming bout with Leopoldo Serao at the IFL event on Friday, February 29 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Severn to Fight Colin Robinson in Ireland

UFC Hall of Famer Dan “The Beast” Severn will battle Colin “Big C” Robinson at Max Xtreme Fighting on Sunday, March 9, 2008 at Kings Hall in Belfast.

1 comment

1 David Connor { 02.28.08 at 11:33 am }

I’m not sure how things are in Canada but over here in Scotland MMA is very much in its infancy and being subjected to all sorts of ill-informed criticism from many quarters.
The MAX Xtreme fighting show you mention in Belfast is followed by one in Glasgow on 15 March and already we have politicians saying it is little more than human cock-fighting and calling for the sport to be banned.
I have blogged on this gross over reaction here (there is also a video of a Scottish news report daring to ask whether fighters are athletes or thugs!): http://davidconnor.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/mma-fighters-athletes-or-thugs/
Presumably the sport in Canada and the US came in for such criticism in the early days?

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