Light Heavyweight

Penn, Sherk Continue War of Words

The war of words between UFC lightweight kings B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk raged on yesterday, a little over a week until their highly anticipated showdown that will decide the organization’s true lightweight champion in Las Vegas.

Even before the bout was officially signed, Penn has been adamant about blasting Sherk with every chance he gets concerning Sherk’s failed steroids test last year under the watch of the California State Athletic Commission, a ruling that the Minnesota native still feels is wrong to this day.

“It’s hard for me, being a guy that’s never used performance enhancing drugs,” Penn said on yesterday’s pre-fight conference call for UFC 84: Ill Will. “You wake up every day after training tired and in pain and it kind of gets to you when you learn that someone is taking those kind of things. I’m a purist and I love this sport more than anythning. When someone goes ahead and perverts a sport as pure as this, I can’t take it.”

Even though the two both agreed that the conclusion of the fight would most likely result in the end of the bad blood and hard-feelings, Penn continued to push Sherk’s button as the call went on, even going as far as asking the former champion himself about his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs, prompting Sherk to strike back.

“I know what I did and I know what I didn’t do,” Sherk said. “I went above and beyond what I had to do in order to try and prove that I was innocent. Anyone that has followed the case and what I’ve had gone through will know that I didn’t do what they said I did.”

“I have fans who stand by me and who believe that I didn’t take steroids,” continued Sherk. “Then there are those who will think a certain way because of the way I look. I’ve looked the same for the past 10 years. Shit, I’ve apparently been doing steroids and I’ve been able to drop down to 155 lbs. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Moderating the banter was UFC President Dana White. While White was hesitant to give a definite opinion on the situation involving Sherk, he also stated that he can’t complain about the amount of animosity between the two.

“I’ve known Sean Sherk for a long time. I respect him as an athlete and as a man,” White said. “B.J. has his opinions of Sean and he’s going to let you know what they are. This happens sometimes. One of the cool things about this sport is the sportsmanship and everything else. But you know sometimes guys just rub each other the wrong way and it happens. Everything I just said about the two best fighters in the world facing each other in their prime, it doesn’t suck when they hate each other either.”

Additional conference call notes from yesterday are after the jump.

Continue reading "Penn, Sherk Continue War of Words"

Controversy Surrounds Casting for “Hamill”

It seems that controversy has surrounded the casting process concerning “Hamill”, an independent film set to feature the story of current UFC light heavyweight Matt Hamill and the hardships he faced growing up as a deaf athlete.

Hamill discussed the ongoing protests by the deaf community of his selection of Eben Kostbar, a non-deaf actor, to play the character of Hamill himself, in a recent interview with Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com.

“I was really shocked by the reaction,” Hamill said in the interview. “I thought the movie would receive positive feedback from the deaf community because this movie is based on a deaf athlete and the life surrounding his deafness. It hurt at first, but I’ve come to realize that this is a small portion of the deaf community. With positive things, comes the negative things. If anything, it has kept me grounded.”

Kostbar was an easy selection for Hamill due to the fact that not only is he a personal friend of the former cast member of the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, but he is also fluent in American Sign Language and has a background in wrestling.

Protests of Hamill’s decision reached their highest point earlier this year when two casting calls at Gallaudet University and the Rochester Institute of Technology were canceled. It isn’t the first time that Hamill’s actions have been criticized according to the former Team Punishment member.

“An example of the criticism I have taken is that a lot of my taped interviews don’t show me signing,” said Hamill. “The camera is focused on my face, and not my top half where my hands can be seen, so they assume that I am only speaking and not signing. What they don’t realize is that I am signing, but my hands are cut off from the camera.”

Hamill bounced back from his first career loss to Michael Bisping last fall to score a first-round stoppage of UFC newcomer Tim Boetsch at UFC Fight Night 13 in April. No word as of yet on when the Loveland, Ohio native’s next fight will be.

The movie, which is set to begin filming this fall, is currently slated for a 2009 release. 

Freeman Victorious in Return at Cage Rage 26

English mixed martial arts legend Ian Freeman was victorious in his return from a brief retirement Saturday afternoon, earning an unanimous decision over Paul Cahoon and taking the former champion’s Cage Rage British light heavyweight title in Birmingham.

Freeman saw very little trouble during the course of the bout with Cahoon, save Cahoon taking the veteran’s back on a pair of separate occasions, while using an effective ground-and-pound assault to keep Cahoon at bay and leaving him unable to mount a suitable amount of offense.

After the fight, Freeman assured fans that a return fight against Cahoon was not a one-time thing and that he would be back to defend his title.

“I’m 41 years old now and I have to say that I’m in the best shape of my life,” Freeman said during a post-fight interview. “The training leading up to this fight was very difficult but the end result was worth it. I feel younger than I did years ago. Going back into retirement isn’t an option at this point. I’m not going anywhere.”

Marius Zaromskis was unsuccessful in his bid to win the vacant Cage Rage British welterweight belt, suffering a nasty cut in the beginning of the first round of his bout against Che Mills that forced the ringside doctor to stop the action after the first five minutes, ultimately awarding Mills the championship.

Matt Ewin controlled Mark Epstein over three rounds to win an unanimous decision and successfully defend his Cage Rage British middleweight title. UFC veteran Ross Pointon submitted Ross Mason with a heel hook and James Zikic submitted Rodney Faverus, handing the former kickboxer his fifth straight defeat.

Complete results from the event:

Harvey Harra def. Gary Kelly - Submission (Triangle)
Chris Rice def. Edgeleson Lue - TKO (Strikes)
Popek Rak def. Kevin Simms - TKO (Strikes)
Brad Pickett def. Paul Reed - Majority Decision
Henrique Nogueira vs. Marc Goddard - Draw
Matt Ewin def. Mark Epstein - Unanimous Decision
Ross Pointon def. Ross Mason - Submission (Heel Hook)
James Zikic def. Rodney Faverus - Submission (Armbar)
Che Mills def. Marius Zaromskis - TKO (Cut)
Ian Freeman def. Paul Cahoon - Unanimous Decision

Weekend Recap: April 28, 2008

Here’s a little recap of what went on this past weekend, starting with Carlos Condit reportedly signing a contract extension with World Extreme Cagefighting according to USA Today‘s Sergio Non. The new deal comes after Condit’s most recent victory over Carlo Prater in February. The fight against Prater was Condit’s second to last fight on his previous deal. Condit expects the new deal to kick in with a potential fight in August against an opponent yet to be named.

The promotion also confirmed two additional bouts for their next scheduled event on June 1st in Sacramento, California over the weekend via their official website. A rumored bantamweight title bout between champion Miguel Torres and injury replacement Yoshiro Maeda has been made official as well as Mark Munoz’s WEC debut against fellow newcomer Chuck Grigsby.

UFC Releases Travis Lutter

Fresh off of his disappointing loss to former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC 83 last weekend, Travis Lutter, the middleweight winner of the fourth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, has been released from his contract by the UFC. The news was first reported by Pramit Mohapatra of Fight Ticker and has since been confirmed by Lutter himself, who stated that his agent received a call Sunday morning informing him of his release due to consecutive losses in his last two fights.

Report: Southworth-Ruiz Rematch Possible for June

Bobby Southworth, one of the cast members on the original season of “The Ultimate Fighter” will attempt to avenge a recent loss to Anthony Ruiz at Strikeforce’s upcoming planned event in June according to MMA Mania. The two fought in November - Ruiz scored a TKO win over Southworth after the UFC veteran suffered a fight-ending cut over his left eye early in the second round.

However Southworth remains Strikeforce’s world light heavyweight champion due to the fight being a non-title bout. It’s unknown whether or not the belt will be on the line in June. Southworth has not fought since losing to Ruiz. Meanwhile Ruiz has recorded back-to-back wins over Jimmy Ambriz and Brad Imes since then.

Continue reading "Weekend Recap: April 28, 2008"

Report: Irvin Agrees to Step In Against Evans

James Irvin, fresh off of his quick knockout of Houston Alexander earlier this month, will reportedly replace former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell against an undefeated Rashad Evans when the UFC travels to London, England on June 7th.

The news comes from MMA Weekly, which has confirmed Irvin’s participation with sources close to both fighter’s camps.

Irvin’s stoppage of Alexander at UFC Fight Night 13 on April 2nd tied the record for the fastest finish in UFC history. Don Frye put Thomas Ramirez to sleep in eight seconds as well in his UFC debut back in February 1996.

Evans was originally scheduled to be fighting Thiago Silva in May before being tapped to replace an injured Mauricio Rua against Liddell. The one-time standout college wrestler has not lost yet inside the confines of his UFC. Evans has been victorious in all of his bouts with the exception of a draw against Tito Ortiz last summer.

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports reports that the UFC now plans to have a total of 13 bouts on the card in order to make up for Liddell’s absence. UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the card for the event is still in the works.

“We’re adding fights to the card and rearranging it so the UK fans won’t have to worry,” White said in a recent press release sent out to the media. “We’ll still be bringing an amazing card to London and the O2 Arena. The UFC always delivers.”

Is a WEC Invasion Nearing?

It’s the lower weight-classes that differentiate World Extreme Cagefighting from it’s sister organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. When Zuffa purchased the California-based promotion in the fall of 2006, it became a place to host the featherweight and bantamweight divisions, two classes the UFC didn’t sport at the time.

According to UFC President Dana White, those lower weight-classes may be forcing an exchange of talent between the two promotions. Neil Davidson of The Canadian Press caught what White said when asked if the UFC was planning to incorporate the featherweight division at any point in the near future before the UFC 83 weigh-ins.

“We have no plans to introduce a 145 lb weight class, that’s why we bought the WEC,” White said. “We’re going to make the WEC the smaller weights and the UFC will be the heavier weights. We’ll probably take some of the guys in the higher weights, the champions over there and bring them into UFC. We’re still trying to figure that out.”

The potential move of talent would likely bring members from light heavyweight and middleweight over to the UFC seeing that they are the two divisions really lacking depth within the organization. The lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight classes are all stacked with current stars and future contenders.

Doug Marshall and the man he recently lost his WEC belt to, Brian Stann, as well as Steve Cantwell would be welcome additions to a light heavyweight division where they could continue to gain experience and improve their skills.

The return of an ever-improved Chael Sonnen to the UFC’s middleweight division would be interesting to say the least. While many fans would clamor for a showdown between Anderson Silva and Paulo Filho, the friends and former training partners have already stated that they will not fight each other.

After a bit of a slow start, the WEC is quickly gaining steam and is set to put on the biggest event in the organization’s history in June with a featherweight showdown between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver. The exit of the two higher weight-classes would give the promotion more room to create new stars through televised events, potentially creating the divisional storylines many fans of the UFC curently enjoy.

HT: MMA Junkie

Randleman-Kawamura Set for Sengoku II

Former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman will take on Pancrase veteran Ryo Kawamura at World Victory Road’s upcoming second “Sengoku” show on May 18th at the at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.

The promotion officially announced the matchup earlier today.

Randleman, who had previously announced his participation at the event, will also be fighting Jeff Monson at a Global Fighting Championships in June.

He has not fought since being submitted by Mauricio Rua in October of 2006. Randleman’s time off last year was filled with bad events, including him suffering from multiple severe staph infections, kidney failure, and an arrest for driving under the influence as well as six other additional charges.

Kawamura was victorious at World Victory Road’s inaugural show in March, winning a unanimous decision over Antonio Braga Neto. A fight between he and Randleman is expected to take place at 205 lbs.

The signing of the matchup means that former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, who was reportedly offered to fight Randleman at the event, will now most likely be signing with Elite Xtreme Combat parent company Pro Elite.

Liddell Injured; Evans Fight Postponed

Update 10:00 AM ET: The UFC has confirmed that Liddell has suffered a torn right hamstring and will be unable to compete against Evans in June. Photo of Liddell’s injury here. A new main event for UFC 85 is expected to be announced shortly. - John

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell has reportedly suffered an injury leading up to his June fight against Rashad Evans, leaving him unable to participate and postponing their showdown until later this year.

The news comes from our good friend Ariel Helwani of MMARated.com.

According to the report, the kind and extent of Liddell’s injury is currently unknown but plans call for he and Evans to fight later this summer. There is also no word as to whether or not Evans will still compete at the event.

The main event of UFC 85 has been in trouble from the start. Liddell’s original opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, was forced to pull out of the bout after rupturing an ACL in his left knee during training. It’s an injury that required surgery and will keep Rua out of action indefinitely.

The fight was due to be Rua’s first since he was submitted by Forrest Griffin in his UFC debut in September.

Evans was originally scheduled to be fighting Thiago Silva in May before being tapped to replace Rua. The one-time standout college wrestler has not lost yet inside the confines of his UFC. Evans has been victorious in all of his bouts with the exception of a draw against Tito Ortiz last summer.

Liddell snapped a two-fight losing streak at UFC 79 in December where he won a unanimous decision over long-time rival Wanderlei Silva.

Report: Belfort Offered Randleman, EliteXC Deal

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort has reportedly been offered a fight against former heavyweight title holder Kevin Randleman at World Victory Road’s upcoming second “Sengoku” show on May 18th at the at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.

The news comes from Brazilian magazine website Tatame, citing a quote from Josuel Distak, Belfort’s boxing coach.

“We are training hard and Belfort is close to a deal to face Kevin Randleman in Japan or in Pro Elite in June,” Distake said in the report. “He is waiting for the best offer to sign”.

Belfort has not fought since winning a unanimous decision over international veteran James Zikic at a Cage Rage event in September of last year. It was the Brazilian’s second victory in as many fights. A fight with Randleman is expected to take place at 205 lbs.

EliteXC’s potential acquisition of Belfort would immediately make him the biggest star in an almost non-existent light heavyweight division, that is if he isn’t primarily used in Cage Rage. However at this stage in Belfort’s career, especially after struggling the past four years, a string of fights against lower competition may help him to regain his confidence again.

Report: Ortiz Tried to Hire Belfort as Training Partner

In an attempt to gain an advantage going into his May showdown against undefeated Lyoto Machida, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz reportedly tried to hire fellow former champion and rival Vitor Belfort to help him prepare for Machida.

The news comes from an article on Brazilian magazine website Tatame.

According to Belfort, Ortiz offered him a good amount of money to go over to the United States and help him train. However it was an offer that Belfort turned down.

“Tito wanted to hire with me with a lot of money but I said no,” Belfort said in the report. “I said that money can’t buy everything. I respect Lyoto a lot, we trained together and he is Brazilian. I thanked Tito and said that maybe another time, but not now.”

With Machida being a past training partner of Belfort, it seems logical for him to shoot down Ortiz’s offer. However Vitor’s reasoning might go a little further than that. After all, one of his main reasons in meeting with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva back in December was to try and set up a potential rematch with Ortiz.