Report: Leben Behind Bars Until May 27 (Updated)

Update 9:15 PM ET: Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer is reporting that Leben has been removed from his scheduled matchup against Bisping next month. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva reportedly already has an unknown replacement signed and ready to go.

UFC middleweight contender Chris Leben was sentenced to a total of 35 days in jail earlier today by the Clackamas County Circuit Court according to a report from MMA Mania.

Leben, who is currently slated to take on fellow rising 185 lb. fighter Michael Bisping in London, England, on June 7th, is serving the stint in prison after turning himself in to Oregon authorities one week ago for violating terms of his probation stemming from a DUI arrest three years ago.

Leben’s manager, ICON Sport promoter T. Jay Thompson, has confirmed that his client was forced to serve the jail time in order to be approved for a visa that will allow him to travel overseas to take on Bisping in his home country.

An attempt to have his probation moved to his new home of Hawaii was unsuccessful. Leben has been behind bars since April 30th while awaiting sentencing and the nine days will count as time served towards his sentence.

The Team Quest product is slated to be released from prison on May 27th, less than two weeks before his anticipated showdown with Bisping, assuring the popular striker that he will have an extremely limited amount of time to prepare for the bout.

No word as of yet in terms of whether or not the fight may be postponed or Leben will opt to withdraw from the fight rather than going ahead with the proceedings.

Evening News and Notes: May 8, 2008

Jonathan Goulet, who recently knocked out Kuniyoshi Hironaka in Canada last month, has reportedly pulled out of his upcoming scheduled bout against Paul Kelly next month at UFC 85: Bedlam in London, England.

The circumstances concerning Goulet’s withdrawal differ however. In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, Goulet apparently stated that he was pulling out of the Kelly bout due to health reasons that he wished not to discuss. However our friends at TKO Xtreme have learned that Goulet may have backed out of the fight at the request of his training partners at the Tristar Gym, of which the Victoriaville native recently aligned himself with.

WVR Announces Thompson-Costa for ‘Sengoku III’

With the fight card for it’s upcoming May 18th event completed, World Victory Road officials today announced the first fight for the promotion’s third event on June 8th via their official website: Nick Thompson vs Michael Costa. Thompson, the current BodogFight welterweight champion, won a unanimous decision over Fabricio Monteiro at Sengoku I in March. Costa, a Chute Boxe product, is currently riding a two-fight winning streak.

Additional fighters being advertised as competing at the event include Hidehiko Yoshida, Rodrigo Damm, Kazuyuki Fujita, Fabio Silva, and Marcio Cruz. Former PRIDE lightweight title holder Takanori Gomi has also stated that he intends to return to action at the show.

Talks Between WEC, Alessio Stall

Contract negotiations between veteran welterweight John Alessio and World Extreme Cagefighting have reportedly come to a halt according to a report by The Fight Network.

“I’m actually wondering myself what’s going on,” Alessio said in the report. “I figured I would have heard something by now. They offered me the rematch with Larson, but it’s now up to my manager to negotiate. It’s going to come down to money and if they want to sign me long-term or not.”

Alessio also went on to say that he had been offered a bout against the above-mentioned Nick Thompson by Hardcore Championship Fighting officials. However it’s key to note that Thompson has stated in the past that he is not locked into any sort of contract with HCF to date.

MTV’s “True Life” to Feature Kit Cope

UFC and WEC veteran Kit Cope will reportedly be featured on MTV’s “True Life” series for the second time according to a report by our friends at MMA Junkie.

Cope, who was originally featured in “True Life: I’m a Muay Thai Fighter” back in 2004, will now serve as one of the featured fighters in “True Life: I’m an MMA Fighter”. Filming for the show is currently being done and cameras will also accompany Cope to his next scheduled fight for World Fighting Championships against Dave Cochran later this month.

Adrenaline 1 Show Taking Shape

The inaugural Adrenaline show, the result of the collapse of M1 Global and subsequent reorganization by president Monte Cox, is set for Chicago on June 14th. At this point, the fight card looks like this according to the Adrenaline website.

Main Event
Jeff Monson (23-7) vs. Mike Russow (9-1)

Main Card
Daiju Takase (7-11) vs. Terry Martin (16-4)
Alberto Crane (8-2) vs. Clay French (14-2)
Tony Fryklund (14-9) vs. Brian Gassaway (25-17-1)
Jeff Cox (9-6) vs. Bart Palaszewski (28-11)
Taiwan Howard (6-1) vs. Rory Markham (14-4)
James Giboo (11-2) vs. Mark Miller (9-3)
Herc Hayes (7-5) vs. Kerry Schall (22-9)
Rob Kimmons (15-3) vs. Hector Urbina (11-3)
Aaron Rosa (10-2) vs. Ron Fields (18-24-1)

Preliminary Card
Dom O’Grady (4-0) vs. Mike Stumpf (8-1)
Joe Jordan (40-11) vs. Ryan Williams (6-1)
Christian Reynosa (6-2) vs. Josh Hosman (7-3-1)

The event will take place at the Sears Center in Chicago.  Plans have already been announced for the second Adrenaline show, to take place in September in Iowa and featuring heavyweights Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell.

IFL to Announce August 15 Show and the HEX

MMAonTap has learned that the IFL is set to announce their next event, set for August 15th, 2008.  For the third time in the last year, an IFL fight card will emanate from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ.  Pre-sale tickets go on sale today, May 8th at 11:00am, using the password “IFL” for access.

But the bigger news is that the IFL will be using a new fighting surface for the event.  Replacing the traditional 4 sided boxing ring will be a 6 sided roped design.  From our source…

The night will also feature the world debut of “The HEX”, the IFL’s brand new six-sided ring. This is the future fighting surface for all of MMA.  To introduce this new era in fighting, the IFL Summer Throwdown fight card will present the most explosive Mixed Martial Arts action the East Coast has ever seen!

In addition to several title defenses between IFL champions and top young talent, a group of Eastern European superstars will clash and other groundbreaking fights will be announced.

With the dire financial outlook and rumors of its impending demise, the IFL is looking to shake things up once again to resuscitate itself. 

Sherk Tests Negative in Nevada

Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, who is still feeling the after-effects of a positive test for steroids under the watch of the California State Athletic Commission last summer, tested negative for steroids and any drugs of abuse during a recent mandatory pre-fight test under the state of Nevada.

The news comes from MMA Weekly, which confirmed the results of Sherk’s submitted sample with Keith Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

“The NSAC received Mr. Sherk’s steroid and drug test results this morning and they were all negative,” Kizer said in the report, also dispelling previous rumors that Sherk had also passed a test as part of the commission’s newly-instituted procedure to test fighters randomly throughout the year.

While Sherk’s upcoming title bout against B.J. Penn late this month will mark the fifth time that Sherk has fought in the state of Nevada throughout the course of his career, the Minnesota native was merely required to send in a sample as part of licensure policy. However it’s key to note that fighters who have tested positive for a certain substance in the past or are under suspicion of doing so may also be tested under the new regulations.

Sherk was only officially released from his suspension under the CSAC last month. At the time, he had not paid his $2,500 fine ccording to CSAC official Bill Douglas.

Rizzo: “I’m Fighting Barnett in July”

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship title contenders Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett will most likely collide in a rematch of their February 2001 bout when Affliction Clothing holds it’s first-ever mixed martial arts show on July 19th at a venue yet to be determined.

The news comes from Sherdog.com, which confirmed the fight with Rizzo himself. Barnett informed MMA Weekly on their nightly radio show that a fight with Rizzo was “pretty much a done deal.”

“I knew about this fight for some time, but was hoping to disclose it,” Rizzo said in the report. “I was hoping to face him due to the fact that he is one of the top five heavyweights, a very tough guy. This is my chance to return to the top, and I will seize it the best way.”

Despite inking a new three-fight deal with SUN Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of Art of War in December, the rematch against Barnett will be Rizzo’s first fight this year. The Brazilian has won his last two fights, most recently stopping fellow longtime veteran Jeff Monson with strikes in September of last year.

Barnett was part of the inaugural “Sengoku” show in March, submitting former judo standout Hidehiko Yoshida with a heel hook in the third round. Before then, the former UFC heavyweight champion had not fought since losing a unanimous decision to current UFC champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at PRIDE Shockwave 2006.

The part-time professional wrestler will first try his luck against Monson on May 18th in Japan before going up against Rizzo.

The show will be headlined by a heavyweight showdown years in the making as former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. A number of other notable fighters are expected to compete on the card as well including Matt Lindland, Mark Hominick, Ben Rothwell, Andrei Arlovski and Aleksander Emelianenko.

Nick Diaz Back on the DREAM 3 Card (UPDATED)

UPDATED:  Nick Diaz’s trainer, Cesar Gracie, is now reporting that Diaz was given the go ahead to fight this weekend. While the weight cut was going to be an issue, he’s scheduled to board a plane Thursday morning bound for Tokyo.

In the ever changing fight career of Nick Diaz, the fight against Katsuya Inoue that we reported last week, has now been called off at the request of EliteXC.  Apparently, there was once again a miscommunication within EliteXC’s management and president Gary Shaw was never informed of Nick’s participation in the Dream event this coming weekend.  Josh Gross, formerly of Sherdog and now with Sports Illustrated, reports that Shaw just found out about the fight this past weekend and called Diaz’s management Tuesday morning to call off the fight.  Shaw was concerned that the fight within the confines of Dream would jeopardize Diaz’s participation in the EliteXC event scheduled for June 14th.

Gary Shaw phoned Diaz’s manager Cesar Gracie early Tuesday with the news that the league was killing the fighter’s appearance on the May 11 Dream card.  Diaz will make his next scheduled contest versus Muhsin Corbbrey at 160 pounds June 14 on the Showtime-televised EliteXC card from Honolulu, Hawaii.

GracieFighter, the website of Diaz’s fight team, confirmed the news.  There’s no telling whether this could hurt relationships between EliteXC and the Dream promotion.  They already are sharing the services of Eddie Alvarez and EliteXC could certainly have used some of the talent in the Dream promotion to sure up its thin roster.

Will the Nick Diaz saga ever end?  Stay tuned…

EliteXC Announces Main Card for June Show

Elite Xtreme Combat has announced the full main card for it’s scheduled June 14th show in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The event is slated to be headlined by an EliteXC lightweight title bout between champion K.J. Noons and top contender Yves Edwards. An additional lightweight fight between Nick Diaz and Muhsin Corbbrey has also been signed.

A heavyweight bout between undefeated heavyweight prospect Dave Herman and longtime veteran Ron Waterman is also slated to take place.

The current fight card for the event is as follows:

K.J. Noons vs. Yves Edwards - EliteXC Lightweight Title
Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey
Murilo Rua vs. Tony Bonello
Ron Waterman vs. Dave Herman
Wayne Cole vs. Rafael Feijao

Report: Affliction-HDNet Deal Falls Apart

A potential deal with HDNet that would have Affliction Clothing hold it’s first-ever mixed martial arts show at the Dallas-based American Airlines Center on July 19th has reportedly fallen apart.

The news comes from Five Ounces of Pain, which reports through a source close to the deal that an agreement to book the arena, which serves as the home for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars, was not able to be finalized.

The event could potentially be moved to the Honda Center in Anaheim, California according to UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who mentioned the possibility on a Dallas radio show over the weekend.

The show will be headlined by a heavyweight showdown years in the making as former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. A number of notable fighters are expected to compete on the card as well including Matt Lindland, Mark Hominick, Josh Barnett, Ben Rothwell, Andrei Arlovski and Aleksander Emelianenko.

HT: MMA Junkie

Nick Diaz to Fight at Dream 3

Dream has posted that Nick Diaz will be competing at their Dream 3 event on May 11, 2008.  His opponent will be longtime Pancrase veteran Katsuya Inoue.  Though Dream 3 is slated to be the second round of Dream’s Lightweight Grand Prix, the Diaz-Inoue fight is not scheduled to be part of that tournament. 

EliteXC’s Nick Diaz has had a career of ups and downs.  It includes championships in the WEC and IFC, as well as a long run in the UFC.  But it has also been marred by controversy, including having his impressive submission victory over Pride’s Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi overturned when he failed a post fight drug test for marijuana.  Most recently, he was delayed in obtaining a fight license in California due to his medicinal marijuana usage, forcing his fight, on the undercard of the Frank Shamrock vs Cung Le show, to be cancelled two days beforehand.

Diaz is also scheduled to fight just 4 weeks later on EliteXC’s June 14th card in Hawaii.  But as reported this morning, stablemate Jake Shields’ fight for that night has already been postponed.  Between that and EliteXC’s need to fill their second TV show in July on CBS, many have raised suspicions as to whether many of the fights on that card June 14th card will happen.

The Nightmare of Battle is reporting that the winner of Diaz vs. Inoue will face Hayato Sakurai for the Dream Welterweight title in July or September.