Fight Teams

Updated: Liddell-Franklin Likely for June, White Issues Response

The rumblings of the UFC counter programming Strikeforce got much stronger today when it was reported that Chuck Liddell would be facing former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC Fight Night on April 17 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Liddell was originally reported to be facing Tito Ortiz at UFC 115 but according to Fighters Only, Ortiz is dealing with something that may significantly impact his future as a fighter and it’s not an injury.

Update: 2:38 PM: Sherdog.com and MMAJunkie.com are now reporting that the bout between Liddell and Franklin will now take place at UFC 115 in June, not the rumored show for April 17 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Update: 8:00 PM: UFC president Dana White has now posted a response on his Twitter saying, “Not true! We are doing Couture vs. Franklin, not Chuck.” Stay tuned for more.

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Quote of the Day: Jens Pulver: “They’re all gone”

“How could I have a falling out?  Fallen out with who?  There is nobody.  They’re all gone.  There was Pat, but Pat is too busy trying to make cash, making a living.  He ain’t coaching people.  Everyone always thought Pat had a magical touch and was teaching us all these magical things.  No he wasn’t.  No. Never.  Never ever.  It was a great combination of things that left.  Jeremy left, Matt left, Robbie left.  Matt Pena left.  Everybody grew up more or less.  We weren’t there anymore.  And that’s why the great experiment is over.”

—Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver tells ugo.com that there was no falling out with Team Miletich but that everyone moved on and the experiment is over.

Forrest Griffin to Face Tito Ortiz at UFC 106

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that former UFC light heavyweight champions Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will rematch at UFC 106 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Griffin will be replacing UFC Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman who was forced to pull out of the bout after suffering a tear in one of his medial collateral ligaments.

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Junie Browning Arrested, Cut From UFC

The Ultimate Fighter veteran Junie Allen Browning was arrested on Tuesday in Henderson, Nevada.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Browning was taken to St. Rose Dominican Hospital’s Siena campus after he ingested a reported 16 pills of Klonopin. The report also states that Browning tried to leave the hospital and while doing so he pushed a female nurse, punched a male nurse and kicked a male nurse.

The LVRJ report states that Browning yelled, “Do you know who I am? I will kill you and rape your family.” Browning faces three counts of battery on a health care provider.

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Thiago Alves’ Secret Weapon for UFC 100

In a recent article on UFC.com, Thiago “Pitbull” Alves mentioned that he had a secret weapon for his upcoming title bout with champion Georges St. Pierre.

Alves said, “Fabio Holanda, who trained GSP for nearly two years, is here supporting my training and giving me a lot of details about his game; that was a great addition.”

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The Future of Chute Boxe Looks Bright

What was one of MMA’s most-feared camps is now a shade of its former self after the departures of the Rua brothers and Wanderlei Silva among others. However despite the lack of drawing power to his gym, Chute Boxe headmaster Rudimar Fedrigo promises that his creation is thriving and will be producing world champions once again in the near future:

“The Chute Boxe is a great school, which has an excellent list of technicians, and it’s structured well,” Fedrigo said. “You can be sure that it’s going to continue solid in the market. I don’t have any doubts about that. We have our own production of good athletes—forming champions—and we are going to continue doing that.”

Despite the flight of established stars, Fedrigo promised new Chute Boxe blood would arrive on the professional MMA scene soon. His track record gives him reason for optimism.

“The name of a gym like ours can even go through a crisis, but the one that has a name like we do, can get through this kind of crisis more easily,” said Fedrigo, who opened the academy 31 years ago. “Soon, we are going to present new names. We’re absolutely right that we’re going to make great champions.”

Personally, I can’t help but hope that Fedrigo is right. Just look at his track record. He’s developed a literal who’s who of stars in MMA - Silva, the Rua’s, Anderson Silva, Fabricio Werdum, and Gabriel Gonzaga for starters. Having one of MMA’s best trainers still wanting to work at his craft despite losing his top students is nothing but good for the sport.

Video Interview: Swick Talks UFC vs. AKA

This interview took place prior to Saturday night, but it shows Mike Swick giving some good insight into the battle between the UFC and the American Kickboxing Academy over Jon Fitch and his decision to refuse to sign a rights agreement for the UFC video game that will be released later this year. Thanks to Raw Vegas.

Todd Beard Resigns from Affliction, Apologizes to the Coutures

According to a press release from Affliction Clothing, original founder Todd Beard has resigned in the wake of the controversy involving Kim Couture and himself.

The board of directors of Affliction Inc. announced today that it received and accepted the resignation of Todd Beard as an employee of the company. Mr. Beard is one of the original founders of the clothing company based in Seal Beach, California. The resignation coincides with a public apology for comments made by Mr. Beard and directed toward Randy Couture and his wife Kim Couture regarding their business relationship.

Mr. Beard also disclosed that he will be seeking treatment for anger management and alcohol abuse.

According to Mr. Beard, “I would like to apologize for my comments that may have offended Kim and Randy Couture and Mr. Spira. I had a long-standing relationship with the Coutures and I was deeply and emotionally hurt by some of their recent business decisions. I have only the best of intentions for the success of the Affliction and Xtreme Couture clothing brands and understand that there are personal issues I must address.”

According to the board of directors, “We are delighted Todd has decided to address these issues and wish Randy Couture well.”

The Board of directors of Affliction Inc. also wanted to clarify that Affliction Entertainment Group LLC. (the promotion company) is not controlled by Affliction Inc. Mr. Beard to its knowledge, is nether an officer, director, or a shareholder of Affliction Entertainment Group LLC. as stated in several periodicals.

This was a vital move if Affliction wanted to continue in the MMA.  Mr. Beard’s felony past would have been a crucial roadblock in any further dealings with Donald Trump due to gaming license issues. 

Morning News and Notes: Lashley Debut Set, Burkman Injured & More

— Former WWE star Bobby Lashley will soon join Brock Lesnar in the professional ranks of mixed martial arts. Lashley has reportedly signed on to make his pro debut against fellow newcomer Joshua Franklin at the Mixed Fighting Alliance’s scheduled December 13 event in Miami. The card will be headlined by a rematch between UFC veterans Ricco Rodriguez and Jeff Monson. Rodriguez stopped Monson via third-round TKO in the first meeting at UFC 35 in January 2002.

— UFC welterweight Josh Burkman will be sidelined indefinitely while attempting to heal two bulging discs in his back and another bulging disc in his neck. Burkman, who has attributed his current three-fight losing streak partially to the injury, says that he will first try to heal the injury via physical therapy before potentially undergoing surgery, which is similar to what Nate Quarry and Tito Ortiz have recently had, to repair the injury.

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Report: Denis Kang Signs with the UFC

According to a report on the official American Top Team website, Canadian MMA superstar Denis Kang has signed a 4 fight contract with the UFC.

American Top Team fighter Denis Kang just signed a 4 fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Denis made a big name for himself in Japan and Korea fighting in the PRIDE and SpiritMC organizations, where he developed a huge following.

Denis will now be able to showcase his skills to a whole new audience who hasn’t had the chance to see this exciting fighter in action.  Denis has always expressed a desire to fight in the UFC and we are pleased we were able to help him get this deal done.  Denis will bring a lot of excitement to the 185lb division!  Congrats Denis!

This is a solid signing for the UFC.  Just two years ago, Kang was ranked in the top 5 of world middleweights before he suffered 3 losses in 4 fights.  He has since bounced back with two straight wins against inferior competition.  He is extremely well rounded and can finish a fight from anywhere.

Kang had negotiated before with the UFC, but could never come to terms as he always wanted the option to fight once a year for the SpiritMC promotion in Korea, honoring his family heritage.  With expansion into South Korea being one of Zuffa’s assigned goals in the next year or two, this signing along with that of Dong Hyun Kim is very helpful. It might be the promised chance to still fight in South Korea eventually that convinced Kang to go ahead and sign with Zuffa this time.