This week's MMA Live
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All right, so by now you've probably heard that Rashad Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell. Cold. With one punch. As much as I don't care for Evans' showboating, you have to respect his abilities.
The first question is where does this leave The Iceman? Fighters can come back from devastating knockout losses. Wanderlei Silva did it - he had back-to-back knockout losses, courtesy of Cro Cop and Hendo. Before the fight with Rashad, Chuck talked about making another run at the title, implying that it would be a great way to end his career, but he also talked about fighting for years to come - a little Randy Couture, anyone?
Maybe it's time to get a new trainer. I know Chuck considers John Hackleman family, but something might need to be fixed. Jerod Phillips, who owns Tap or Sleep fightwear, hit the proverbial nail on the head: They finally started figuring Chuck out. He throws looping punches, and he keeps his hands down low. Couture, in their first meeting, got inside and dirty boxed him, evading the looping, yet dangerous bombs that Chuck can unleash.
Finish reading 'UFC 88 post-mortem' »
from mmaweekly.com:
When Brock Lesnar signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the former collegiate wrestling champion and former professional wrestling superstar said he wanted to fight the top heavyweights. He was serious.
At UFC 91 on Nov. 15 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Lesnar will face Randy "The Natural" Couture for the UFC heavyweight belt in only his fourth mixed martial arts bout and third time in the Octagon.
"I've wanted a fight with Randy since before I signed a contract with the UFC," Lesnar told the media on Tuesday.
Despite his inexperience and Couture's year-long layoff from competition, expectations are high that the match-up will generate record numbers. "We actually do research on these things if you can believe it or not," said UFC president Dana White.
Finish reading 'Brock Lesnar has sights set on UFC title' »
Dana talks with comedian David Spade and the woman who Joe Rogan called a "UFC groupie," Mandy Moore.
Dana introduces the fans to the newly re-signed Randy Couture and holds a conference call with Randy and Brock Lesnar.
Las Vegas, NV (USA) - On November 15th, the champ is back.
Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White today announced that after a year away from the game, UFC® heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon to defend his title against rising star Brock Lesnar in a clash of titans destined to shake the foundations of the sport. This championship bout, the biggest heavyweight title fight in years, will headline UFC 91: COUTURE vs. LESNAR, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008.
"I am happy to announce that UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture will be returning to action in the Octagon," said Dana White, UFC President. "He's a legend in the UFC, and one of the fighters that helped build this sport. I have always said that wrestling is one of the best bases you can have in MMA and not only is Randy a top level wrestler but his opponent is as well. Brock Lesnar showed the MMA world that he is for real in his last fight, dismantling the far more experienced Heath Herring. His combination of speed and power was absolutely devastating. It is a fascinating matchup: the crafty, multiple-time heavyweight champion versus the younger, bigger, and stronger challenger. This is one that will go down in the history books."
Finish reading 'Press release on Couture vs. Lesnar' »
Couture
Lesnar
Multiple sites on the Internet are reporting that Randy Couture has worked out his legal problems with the UFC and signed a new deal with the organization. His first fight will be at UFC 91 on Nov. 15 in Portland, Ore. against Brock Lesnar.
Randy Couture caves in Tim Sylvia's face with his fist en route to winning the UFC heavyweight championship.
by Michael Rome from bloodyelbow.com:
I've spoken with a lot of people about Randy Couture in the last day. Things are definitely happening.
First, I can say with 100% certainty that there are current negotiations for Randy Couture to return in November to main event, and that the current proposed opponent is Brock Lesnar. They can't get Fedor, too many issues to work out on short notice, and he has a US-only non compete with Affliction.
This will be a new contract, not a return to the old one. It will likely pay him more and give him more benefits, but it will lock him into the UFC for the long term. In exchange for signing it Zuffa would drop all breach of contract charges.
Finish reading 'Randy reportedly negotiating new contract with UFC' »
Tito and baby-momma Jenna.
from sherdog.com:
A chipper Tito Ortiz said he's still very much a free agent on Friday's episode of "Inside MMA" on HDNet.
Ortiz -- who also announced that he and longtime girlfriend Jenna Jameson are expecting their first child together -- recently satisfied a multi-fight contract with the UFC, where he has been one of the promotion's top-three draws for the last 11 years.
The popular former UFC light heavyweight champion ran down a list of promotional candidates who could snag his services in the coming months.
"EliteXC -- possibility. Affliction -- possibility. UFC -- a small chance of that happening," said Ortiz. "The things between me and Dana White, I'm shoving it off and moving on with my life.
A public feud between UFC president Dana White and the polarizing Ortiz has been well documented, to the point where Ortiz commented that he would not re-sign with the UFC on multiple occasions.
However, the Octagon still remains a viable option for the 33-year-old fighter, whose December 2007 rematch against former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell remains the highest grossing pay-per-view in the sport's history, netting a reported one million and eighty thousand buys.
"I've been doing this for 11 years now, and I still have five or six years ahead of me to compete," said Ortiz. "I want to make sure it's going to be a company that backs me, supports me, and uses me [in] the best [way] that I've been working this far to get."
Ortiz (15-6-1) dropped a unanimous decision to Lyoto Machida (13-0) at UFC 84 "Ill Will" on May 24 in Las Vegas for his second loss in three fights.
Best of friends, worst of enemies: Tito and Dana.
From 411mania, by way of The Wrestling Observer:
Dana White is interviewed in the new issue of Playboy that hits stands tomorrow. Highlights are below.
On UFC's place among the major American sports: "What are the major sports in America right now? The NFL and Major League Baseball, with the NBA third. The NHL was fourth, but now we're fourth, and we're still in our infancy. Our ratings on Spike TV beat most of the major sports in our 18-to-34 demo. Last year we beat four Monday Night Football games in the demo. In eight years, the UFC will be bigger than the NFL, bigger than World Cup soccer. It will be the biggest sport in the world."
On Mark Cuban & Donald Trump getting involved with MMA: "Mark Cuban's a smart guy. He's passionate about basketball, but I don't think he gives a sh*t about mixed martial arts. He sees some quick money in it. Trump's different. I have a ton of respect for him. When the Fertittas bought the UFC, most venues wouldn't deal with us. We were outlaws. Out first event was at the Trump Taj Mahal, and Trump actually came to the fights. You'll never hear me say a bad word about Donald Trump. He can have my seats anytime."
On MMA violence: "People think our sport's more violent than boxing. Wrong! They're weirded out because it goes to the ground. We grew up with John Wayne movies--you don't hit a man when he's down. It's un American! John Wayne would deck a guy, stand him back up and hit him again. So when Americans first watch UFC--one guy's on top of the other, hitting him when he's down--they say, 'Oh God, he can't defend himself!' It's not like that in Asia, where they've been doing martial arts since the samurai days."
On Tito Ortiz: "That big-mouthed bit*h, that clown. Back when he had the title, he refused to fight Chuck Liddell. He sat on the sidelines for a year and a half, crying, 'Aww, I don't have any money!' So I brought him back and made him a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. That year he made more than $6 million, yet he bit*hes about me. Well, I put up with Tito's sh*t when he was a decent fighter, but now he's not and I don't have to... Did you see what a wall flower he was on [The Celebrity Apprentice]? The guy has no presence. He was the idiot hiding in the back. If he actually did something, people would know how stupid he is."
-- So Florian beat Huerta. The UFC had said a while back that this fight would be to determine the number one contender to BJ Penn's lightweight belt, but then reportedly backed off from that days before the bout. One could make the connection the souring on the signifcance of the fight was due to Huerta's disparraging comments in FIGHT! magazine, where he doubted their loyalty and said they paid him $50 a day for a promotional tour. So, the question is, now that Florian won, will he get a title shot, or is Dana White's next move going to be to let BJ Penn jump up a weight class to take on welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre?
-- Cheick Kongo (who some call "Cup Check" because of the four or so knees he fired at CroCop's nuggets in their fight) beat Viking Dan Evenson (who was waaay into his entrance music, by the way) ... so where does Kongo go from here? I'm still not too impressed with this guy - Herring gave him problems .. let's see how he does against tougher competition on the ground, like maybe Shane Carwin or Brock Lesnar, or even Frank Mir.
Tracy Lee's combatlifestyle has all the pics from the UFC Seek and Destroy press conference. Here's some of the best:
Dana White stands behind Rampage ... er, in front of Rampage.
Battle of the Titans: Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
The dapper St-Pierre vs. regular guy Fitch
Roger Huerta: "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!"
Ken-Flo; Man, I sure hope I don't have to review my own loss on the next episode of MMA Live!
This was uploaded on Youtube on Wednesday.