Posts from — May 2008

The Fight Club 3: This Means War
May 31, 2008
Edmonton, Alberta

MMA Bouts:

Nick Penner vs. Jared Kilkenny
Marcus Hicks vs. Solomon Hutcherson
Claude Patrick vs. Dan Chambers
James McCutcheon vs. Nolan Clark
Kevin Dolan vs. Jase Nibourg
Travis Whaling vs. James Hicks
Jason Gorny vs. Bill Mesi
Brent Haley vs. Dave Henry

Muay Thai:

Levi Kump vs. Sokhim Or
Peter Arbeau vs. Jordon Lannon
Ivan Verbotsky vs. Andy Sims
Keijiro Noda vs. Adam Hensen

* Card subject to change.

Main Bouts:

B.J. Penn (155) vs. Sean Sherk (155)
Keith Jardine (205) vs. Wanderlei Silva (205)
Lyoto Machida (203) vs. Tito Ortiz (205)
Thiago Silva (205) vs. Antonio Mendes (203)
Wilson Gouveia (205) vs. Goran Reljic (205)

Preliminary Bouts:

Rousimar Palhares (185) vs. Ivan Salaverry (185)
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (204) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (206)
Terry Etim (155) vs. Rich Clementi (155)
Yoshiyuki Yoshida (170) vs. Jon Koppenhaver (170)
Dong-hyun Kim (171) vs. Jason Tan (170)
Shane Carwin (252) vs. Christian Wellisch (230)

In a recent post on The Underground, MFC vice-president Dave Pavelich stated that Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford would be facing Drew “The Master” Fickett for the vacant MFC welterweight title. The fight hasn’t been officially announced but the potential matchup is very intriguing and will be an excellent gauge to see where Ford is at in his young MMA career.

UFC and Strikeforce veteran Drew Fickett possesses a decorated mixed martial arts record of 33-5-0. Fickett holds submission victories over the likes of Mark Weir, Kurt Pellegrino, Josh Koscheck, Josh Neer, Fabio Holanda, Carlo Prater, Nuri Shakir, and Brandon Melendez.

After putting up a record of 4-3 with the UFC, Fickett left the Las Vegas-based promotion and joined the ranks of HDNet Fights and Strikeforce. Fickett is currently riding a four fight winning streak with stoppage victories over Anthony Lapsley, Mark Weir and Jae Suk Lim.

MFC star Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford is currently one of Canada’s hottest prospects boasting an unblemished MMA record of 6-0. Ford holds victories over UFC veterans Pete Spratt and C.J. Fernandes as well as Mike Sorenson, Adil Abbas, Randy Valette, and Aaron Gallant.

MFC 17: Hostile Takeover is scheduled for July 25, 2008 at the River Cree Casino in Edmonton, Alberta. Check out our rumors section for the latest MFC 17: Hostile Takeover card.

DALLAS — Have you ever seen two fighters knocked out at the same time? Well, this Friday on HDNet’s “Inside MMA” you’ll see some incredible footage of two fighters doing just that - knocking each other cold at the very same time!

On Friday, May 16, Shaun Parker (3-6-1) and Tyler Bryan (0-0-1) met up in Indianapolis, in a match that ended in the rare official decision of “Double TKO.” Catch the amazing footage of this unbelievable bout on Friday’s “Inside MMA.”

Also in Friday’s episode, special guests Fedor Emelianenko (ranked #1 Heavyweight by “Inside MMA”) and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia talk with Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice about going head-to-head in the upcoming “Affliction” event.

Don’t miss Ron Kruck in the news cage for a special announcement on a new deal for HDNet Fights. And, Bas goes “Toe-To-Toe” with viewer’s emails.

“Inside MMA” airs Friday, May 23 on HDNet at 9:30 p.m. ET with additional airings scheduled for Saturday, May 24 at 1:30 a.m. ET, 3:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m., ET and 9:30 p.m. ET.

Updated: May 23, 2008, 5:30 PM: MMA Canada is reporting that Raw Combat Productions will host its debut event in association with Legacy Fighting Championship titled Raw Combat: “Resurrection” on Friday, June 20, 2008 at the Max Cell Center in Calgary, Alberta.

The card will feature notable names such as Travis Galbraith, Hector Ramirez, Nabil Khatib, David Loiseau, Carlo Prater, Garett Davis and many more.

Raw Combat: Resurrection
June 20, 2008
Calgary, Alberta

Travis Galbraith vs Hector Ramirez
Dan Hornbuckle vs Nabil Khatib - Raw Combat WW Title Fight
Andrew Buckland vs David Loiseau
Garett Davis vs Carlo Prater
Jason Maxwell vs Derrick Noble
Bibiano Fernades vs Juan Barrantes
Kajan Johnson vs Ariel Sexton
Marcus Vinicios vs Brandon MacArthur
Myles Merola vs Kurt Southern
Len Tam vs Chris Desaultels - LFC LW Title Fight
Nathan Gunn vs Max Dalsin
Adam Farr vs Dami Egbeyemi
Mike Rowbotham vs Mike Zvonick

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced that UFC hall of famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman has been forced to withdraw from his bout with Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 after suffering a knee injury.

After announcing Coleman’s withdrawl, the UFC broke news that UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre will headline the card in a welterweight title showdown with top contender Jon Fitch.

While speaking with UFC.com St. Pierre said, “He’s a very, very tough guy, I’m gonna have to train hard and be very well prepared because he may be my toughest fight yet.”

Jon Fitch also spoke with UFC.com and said, “The whole goal is to get the belt and be in the position where guys can’t duck me, run away, or say they don’t want to fight me. If I have the belt, there’s no excuse, and if you say you’re the best, then we’re gonna fight. 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.”

The UFC is expected to announce Coleman’s replacement in the near future. UFC 87: Seek and Destroy is scheduled for Saturday, August 9, 2008 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

It’s still almost two months until Affliction, the clothing choice of just about everyone in Montreal for UFC 83, makes it’s foray into hosting their own MMA events. While many still aren’t entirely sure what to make about their intentions (and more specifically, if they’ll last), this much is already clear: they’re swinging for the fences with their first effort.

The headline fight of Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia has been known for some time now, and many of the supporting bouts have been at least rumoured for nearly as long. With a venue (The Honda Centre in Anaheim) and a broadcast partner secured (Fox Sports Net) for the under card bouts leading up to the pay-per-view portion, the company has hurdled it’s two biggest obstacles to a successful event.

Add an anticipated main event and the inclusion of Josh Barnett, Matt Lindland, Babalu Sobral, among others and the overall depth of the card begs one question: do championships really matter in the big picture?

Consider, Tim Sylvia.

The Pat Miletich product has fought with the UFC title on the line eight times, winning it twice, defending it twice and losing the other four times. Despite all that, Emelianenko is easily the best opponent he’s faced and a victory would do far more for his career than any previous UFC fight.

Now consider, Josh Barnett.

It would be hard for anyone to leave The Babyface Assassin out of their top-10 or even top-5 heavyweight rankings, but he’s only fought for a title belt once in his career, beating Randy Couture for the UFC’s heavyweight strap in 2003, before he was stripped of it for a positive drug test.

Finally, consider Frank Mir.

After a victory over Brock Lesnar, Mir will not only be showcased as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter, but will also get his shot at the UFC (um, Interim?) heavyweight Champ, Minotauro Nogeria. Mir, of course, is a former champ that claimed the title with a first round technical submission of Tim Sylvia in 2004 after breaking his arm with an armbar. (After the bout, Sylvia was able to find a good way to heal up.)

A motorcycle accident nearly claimed Mir’s life though and seemingly de-railed his career. Nineteen months later, he was back in the Octagon trying to salvage what remained of the promise he previously flashed. Since his return though, he holds a 3-2 record and his two most recent victories (the ones that have set up his title shot) came against opponents (Lesnar and Antoni Hardonk) that hold a combined 7-5 record.

Not exactly the cream of the crop, is it?

So while there still is some luster for any world champion, a great match-up will still trump a sub-par title fight. If organizations continue to use championship belts more as a marketing tool than as a reward for the best of the best, will they eventually disappear all together?

(Note: I’m hoping to make columns like this a more regular occurrence here. The purpose is to entertain, enlighten and perhaps initiate a dialogue. In keeping with that, feel free to have your say. Do championships still matter?)

TKO Xtreme has received word that London, Ontario native Brandon “The Brick” Curts has signed an exclusive four-fight contract with the Maximum Fighting Championship.

Curts, a member of Team Tompkins, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 3-1-0. Curts made his professional MMA debut in November 2007 defeating Alexander Jr. at Xtreme MMA II. A month later, Curts was back in the cage but this time he suffered his first professional blemish falling victim to the hands of John Hachey in a bout that took place at heavyweight (+205 lbs.).

Since suffering his first pro loss, Curts has gone 2-0 scoring a TKO over Dwight Garlow and most recently a submission victory over Sean Wright in his middleweight debut at MFC 16: Anger Management.

Curts next bout, which is expected to air live on HDNet, will come against Elliot Duff at MFC 17: Anger Management. Duff made his MMA debut in April at Fighters Nation: Urban Conflict submitting Peter Dahl.

MFC 17: Hostile Takeover is scheduled for Friday, July 25, 2008 at the River Cree Casino in Edmonton, Alberta. Check out our rumors section for the latest MFC 17: Hostile Takeover card.

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization today announced a two year agreement for Canadastar to have exclusive distribution rights on closed circuit pay-per-view in restaurants, bars and similar locations in Canada.

“The UFC fans in Canada are some of the most passionate, loyal sports fans I’ve ever known, so I am pleased that Canadastar will help make the UFC live events available to them via closed-circuit distribution,” said UFC President Dana White.

Canadastar, now in its 17th year, is Canada’s premiere distributor of closed circuit-pay per view professional boxing, professional wrestling and Ultimate Fighting Championship events to Canadian commercial locations. Canadastar has been distributing the Zuffa, LLC-owned UFC events since its inception.

“We are pleased to be Canada’s exclusive commercial distributor of UFC events,” said Raymond Rutter, President, Canadastar. “The UFC is one of the most exciting live events in sports, and through closed-circuit pay-per-view, millions of Canadians can watch the fights in their hometown restaurant or sports bar.”

Canadastar has been established as a household name to sports oriented bars, restaurants and casinos throughout the dominion.

King of the Cage Canada has announced that UFC veteran Victor “Matrix” Valimaki (9-5) will headline their June 20, 2008 event in a light heavyweight affair with Chester Post (6-11-1).

Valimaki, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, is currently riding a two-fight losing streak with his last bout coming in August 2007 against Roger “The Hulk” Hollett. Valimaki is currently one of Canada’s best light heavyweights and his resume shows it. Valimaki is a two time UFC veteran who holds victories over the likes of Dan Severn, Jason “Dooms” Day, Vernon White, and Jared Kilkenny.

Chester Post, a native of Strathroy, Ontario, is currently riding a two-fight losing streak with stoppage losses to Dan Chambers and Josh Powell. Post has been in the cage with the likes of Brent Beauparlant, Yan Pellerin, Nabil Khatib, Marcus Celestin, and Sean Pierson though in a losing effort.

Also on the card will be Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague (6-1) defending his KOTC Canada heavyweight title against Josh Strickland (2-1).

Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague is the reigning KOTC Canada heavyweight champion who possesses victories over the likes of Adriano Bernardo, Ruben “Warparth” Villareal, Jared Kilkenny, Jessie Jones, and Eric MacDonald. In Hague’s most recent outing he scored a six second TKO over Kilkenny in a rematch of the November 2006 bout.

Josh “The Heat” Strickland possesses a mixed martial arts record of 2-1-0. Strickland holds victories over Justin McNutt and Jason Cecil with his sole loss coming to Karl Erickson.

King of the Cage is scheduled for June 20, 2008 at the Pierre Charbonneau Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Check out our rumors section for the latest news and information.