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cnnWriteBotNav_transition(); </script> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> $('.hiddenNav').hover(function() { $('.globalNav').show(); }, function(){ $('.globalNav').delay(3000).hide(); }); </script> <div id="banner"> <script language="JavaScript"> siAds.render('mma_boxing/top.728x90', 728, 90); </script> </div>  <div id="content"> <div class="left-column"> <h1 class="pagetitle">Posts Tagged ‘MMA’</h1> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4933"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/amid-furor-fallon-fox-and-ufc-officials-address-matt-mitrione-suspension/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Amid furor, Fallon Fox and UFC officials address Matt Mitrione suspension">Amid furor, Fallon Fox and UFC officials address Matt Mitrione suspension</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/amid-furor-fallon-fox-and-ufc-officials-address-matt-mitrione-suspension/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/04/10/amid-furor-fallon-fox-and-ufc-officials-address-matt-mitrione-suspension/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4941" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><img class="size-full wp-image-4941" alt="Dana White said Matt Mitrione should not have been doing an interview in the first place. (Jed Jacobsohn/SI)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/dana-white-blog.jpg?w=600&h=400" width="600" height="400"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Dana White said Matt Mitrione should not have been doing an interview in the first place. (Jed Jacobsohn/SI)</p></div> <p>A significant portion of public reaction to the UFC’s suspension of Matt Mitrione for verbally assaulting a transgender fighter on Monday has been even more hateful and vile than the words spewed by the heavyweight during his ill-fated online radio appearance. The comment section on the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mma/news/20130409/mitrione-suspension/">SI.com story</a> was even taken offline because of the offensive tone.</p> <p>However, the responses by those most closely associated with the matter — Mitrione’s bosses at the UFC and the athlete he targeted with his rant — were more measured.</p> <p>“Matt Mitrione went well beyond disagreeing with the medical experts who say I should be able to compete as a woman, and personally attacked me as a fighter, as a woman, and as a human being,” Fallon Fox, a 37-year-old postoperative transgender female who is 2-0 as a mixed martial artist, wrote on her Facebook page. “His comments do not reflect the spirit of our sport, where most competitors uphold values like respect and dignity.”</p> <p>That was the theme also taken up by Lorenzo Fertitta, chairman/CEO of Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the UFC. “Whatever your thoughts are on the whole transgender issue, I’ve listened to [what Mitrione said] and, in my opinion, it came off as a bit mean-spirited and is something I think warranted review,” Fertitta told Yahoo! Sports. “Obviously, this is not the easiest issue and a lot of people are questioning both sides of this thing. A fair debate and discussion of the issue should be allowed. But when you call her disgusting, and Buffalo Bill, that’s another matter. It warrants review. I think it’s the same thing the NFL would look at and the same thing that any professional organization that is at the level we’re at would at least take a look at.”</p> <p>Reading between the lines, it would seem that rather than cutting Mitrione loose — for calling Fox a “lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak,” for comparing her to a serial killer character in <i>The Silence of the Lambs</i>, for putting the UFC in a hideous light — Fertitta is inclined to use this as an educational opportunity. That was the tenor of his rebuke, at least.</p> <p>Dana White also has fighter education in mind, but not so much focused on the issue at hand. The UFC president wants to simply teach his athletes when to do interviews and when not to. “I’m going to talk to these guys,” he said during a Tuesday conference call with reporters covering this weekend’s finale of <i>The Ultimate Fighter</i>. “The only time these guys really need to be doing interviews is leading up to fights. You know? It ended up being a nightmare for him.”</p> <p>White addressed the substance of Mitrione’s rant only obliquely. “It’s one of those things. It’s just a pain in the ass, you know what I mean?” he said, later adding, “What was the point of that interview? There was no point in it. Now it’s caused him a bunch of headaches and problems. It’s caused us a bunch of headaches and problems for no reason whatsoever.”</p> <p align="right"><b><i>– Jeff Wagenheim</i></b></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Apr 10, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/amid-furor-fallon-fox-and-ufc-officials-address-matt-mitrione-suspension/#comments" title="Comment on Amid furor, Fallon Fox and UFC officials address Matt Mitrione suspension"><span data-lf-article-id="4933" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 59 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4924"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/john-dodson-to-try-out-for-nbcs-american-ninja-warrior/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to John Dodson to try out for NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior”">John Dodson to try out for NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior”</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/john-dodson-to-try-out-for-nbcs-american-ninja-warrior/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/04/10/john-dodson-to-try-out-for-nbcs-american-ninja-warrior/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4925" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><img class="size-full wp-image-4925 " alt="John Dodson has not had any fights scheduled since his loss to Demetrious Johnson (left) in January. (AP)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/john-dodson.jpg?w=600&h=400" width="600" height="400"/><p class="wp-caption-text">John Dodson has not had any fights scheduled since his loss to Demetrious Johnson (left) in January. (AP)</p></div> <p>John Dodson wants to be known as more than just a great fighter. He’d like to add the title, “American Ninja” to his resumé, too.</p> <p>Dodson, the UFC’s second-ranked flyweight, will travel to Denver next month to try out out for the NBC reality show, <em>American Ninja Warrior</em>. The television series challenges contestants to run, jump, flip, and fly through a grueling urban obstacle course that, naturally, any ninja could complete.</p> <p>The 28-year-old says the UFC contacted him and wanted him to appear on the show as the sport’s ambassador. “They have more faith in me than I do,” says Dodson.</p> <p>Dodson’s unusual athletic abilities show through in his backflips in the cage and basketball dunks that defy his 5’3” frame — the stuff that makes him the sport’s most ninja-like candidate.</p> <p>Dodson most recently fought last January for the flyweight title, suffering a unanimous decision loss to Demetrious Johnson. With Johnson recovering from an injured shoulder and no fights on Dodson’s immediate horizon, he jumped at the chance to try out for the show.</p> <p>He’s been known to frequent gymnastics gyms to practice his flips and says he’s hit park playgrounds to practice jumping off jungle gyms in preparation for the show.</p> <p>“I just want to stay busy, have fun with my life,” says Dodson. “I don’t want people think fighting is just what I have to do. I only train about four or five hours a day. So the rest of them I have to be a normal person.”</p> <p>Or an exceptional ninja.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><em><strong>– Melissa Segura</strong></em></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Apr 10, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/john-dodson-to-try-out-for-nbcs-american-ninja-warrior/#comments" title="Comment on John Dodson to try out for NBC’s “American Ninja Warrior”"><span data-lf-article-id="4924" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 3 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4908"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/frank-mir-daniel-cormier-ufc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Frank Mir flying every week to train at renowned Albuquerque gym">Frank Mir flying every week to train at renowned Albuquerque gym</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/frank-mir-daniel-cormier-ufc/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/04/10/frank-mir-daniel-cormier-ufc/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4909" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><img class="size-full wp-image-4909 " alt="Frank Mir is training for his next bout at the Jackson/Winkeljohn Gym. (Steve Snowden/Getty Images)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/frank-mir.jpg?w=600&h=400" width="600" height="400"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Frank Mir is training for his next bout at the Jackson/Winkeljohn Gym. (Steve Snowden/Getty Images)</p></div> <p>When asked what the strategy for UFC heavyweight Frank Mir’s upcoming heavyweight bout with former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier will be, Mir’s trainer Greg Jackson said it simply: Stay moving.</p> <p>Moving — both in and out of the cage — best describes Mir’s approach to his April 20 bout with Cormier in San Jose’s HP Pavilion as the co-main event of the UFC on Fox 7.</p> <p>The 33-year-old former UFC World Heavyweight champion who lost his last fight to Junior Dos Santos last May has been on the move a lot lately, and not just when Jackson instructs him to lug around a 70-pound heavy bag to build his endurance.</p> <p>Mir’s moves begin late Sunday evenings when he temporarily relocates from his family’s home in Las Vegas to his training home — Jackson/Winkeljohn Gym in Albuquerque — and ends on Fridays, when he packs up and heads home again. The Cormier camp marks the first time Mir, a Las Vegas native, has left his training home led by longtime trainer Jimmy Gifford. Gifford will remain in Mir’s corner for the UFC on FOX 7 fight.</p> <p>“There’s a real high level of competition here at [Jackson's] all times,” says Mir (16-6) and currently ranked sixth among heavyweights. “When I’m having an off moment or when I make a mistake, [Jackson’s] isn’t like other gyms where I can kinda go through the motions and still succeed and be victorious. Here, if I’m not at 100 percent, I go home with a lot of bumps and bruises.”</p> <p>While the team might be fine tuning Mir’s ability to dodge a punch, Mir’s not one to elude any of Cormier’s verbal jabs. Mir says Cormier — the third ranked heavyweight — finds himself in a no-lose situation: If he beats Mir, he immediately launches through the rankings and leapfrogs other contenders for a title shot by citing Mir’s storied past. If Cormier loses, he can explain away the loss by, yet again, citing Mir’s storied past.</p> <p>Mir prefers not to think so much about the latter possibility.</p> <p>“Anyone at heavyweight would hope for a knockout,” Mir says. “As far as submissions go, if he makes a mistake, I’ll take one of his limbs home.”</p> <p>His ability to do that, of course, depends on his willingness to keep moving — both his feet and his home — so that he could make what could be the biggest move of all: up the UFC heavyweight rankings once again.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><em><strong>– Melissa Segura</strong></em></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Apr 10, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/10/frank-mir-daniel-cormier-ufc/#respond" title="Comment on Frank Mir flying every week to train at renowned Albuquerque gym"><span data-lf-article-id="4908" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4897"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/09/record-breaking-cfl-star-chad-owens-fights-in-mma-against-teams-wishes/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Record-breaking CFL star Chad Owens fights in MMA … against team’s wishes">Record-breaking CFL star Chad Owens fights in MMA … against team’s wishes</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/09/record-breaking-cfl-star-chad-owens-fights-in-mma-against-teams-wishes/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/04/09/record-breaking-cfl-star-chad-owens-fights-in-mma-against-teams-wishes/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4902" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><img class="size-full wp-image-4902" alt="Chad Owens (right) celebrates with Hawaii teammate Timmy Chang after winning the 2004 Hawaii Bowl. (AP)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/chad-owens.jpg?w=600&h=400" width="600" height="400"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Chad Owens (right) celebrates with Hawaii teammate Timmy Chang after winning the 2004 Hawaii Bowl. (AP)</p></div> <p>Imagine if Adrian Peterson were to step into a cage for a mixed martial arts fight. Then imagine the collective gasps of the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff, players, front office and ownership — not to mention the fan base — if an opponent were to start kicking or grabbing for a submission hold on the surgically repaired left knee of the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player.</p> <p>Well, if you’re Canadian and a football fan, you need not make much of a leap of the imagination. Last Saturday night, Toronto Argonauts receiver and kick returner Chad Owens — who as the CFL’s 2012 Most Outstanding Player is to that league what Peterson is to the NFL — took to a cage in Honolulu for his MMA debut. In a bout contested over two three-minute rounds under amateur rules, Owens beat up Junyah Tefaga on the way to a decision victory.</p> <p>That the former University of Hawaii star, an Oahu native, emerged unscathed no doubt brought relief to the Argonauts, who rolled to a Grey Cup championship last fall largely on the strength of Owens’ record-breaking season. The 31-year-old finished the season with 3,863 all-purpose yards — 2,510 on returns, 1,328 receiving and 25 rushing — more than anyone before him not just in the CFL but in all of pro football.</p> <p>For that reason, Argonauts general manager Jim Barker had expressed his displeasure with his star in the lead-up to the bout. “I think he’s making a bad decision. Our organization thinks he’s making a bad decision,” Barker told the Canadian Press. “But we don’t have control of what players choose to do and not do in the offseason.”</p> <p>Barker and the Toronto coaching staff will have a say in how Owens passes his time once training camp begins in June. Between now and then, though, maybe another MMA fight?</p> <p>“If all the dots align and it makes sense, then yeah, I’d definitely love to experience it again and see where it goes,” Owens told the Canadian Press after Saturday’s fight. “But for right now, I’m not looking towards that. I’m focused on June 1, which is when [I] have to report to training camp. That’s the next fight, and once I conquer that, then we’ll go into the season and it’s a new fight each week.”</p> <p align="right"><b><i>–Jeff Wagenheim</i></b></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Apr 09, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/09/record-breaking-cfl-star-chad-owens-fights-in-mma-against-teams-wishes/#comments" title="Comment on Record-breaking CFL star Chad Owens fights in MMA … against team’s wishes"><span data-lf-article-id="4897" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 6 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4854"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/05/pat-curran-retains-featherweight-belt-as-bellator-mma-takes-center-stage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Pat Curran retains featherweight belt as Bellator MMA takes center stage">Pat Curran retains featherweight belt as Bellator MMA takes center stage</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/05/pat-curran-retains-featherweight-belt-as-bellator-mma-takes-center-stage/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/04/05/pat-curran-retains-featherweight-belt-as-bellator-mma-takes-center-stage/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4857" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 628px"><img class="size-full wp-image-4857" alt="Pat Curran was less than impressed with his early victory, saying that was his plan. " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/pat-curranblog.jpg?w=618&h=430" width="618" height="430"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Pat Curran was less than impressed with his early victory, saying that was his plan. (Henry S Dziekan III/Getty Images)</p></div> <p>Timing is everything. Well, almost everything. Good fortune also factors into success.</p> <p>Bellator MMA had both of those things on its side Thursday night in Atlantic City.</p> <p>Bjorn Rebney & Co. put together perhaps the best fight card in the promotion’s history, headlined by a featherweight title bout, with two tournament finals billed right below. And the card got an added boost when the UFC lost its Saturday main event, allowing Bellator 95 to step out of the shadow of its behemoth rival and become <i>the</i> mixed martial arts event of the week.</p> <p>The only thing left for Bellator to do was deliver. And its fighters did just that right from the top.</p> <p>Pat Curran, who at No. 3 among featherweights in the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://preview.sportsillustrated.turner.com/mma/news/20130403/wagenheim-mma-fighter-rankings/?sct=uk_wr_a1">SI.com MMA rankings</a> is by far the highest-ranked non-UFC fighter, defended his belt for the second time with remarkable efficiency, choking Shahbulat Shamhalaev unconscious 2:38 into Round 1. What made it efficient? Before his lightning-quick takedown around 10 seconds from the finish transitioned into an arm-in guillotine that prompted referee Keith Peterson to jump in when the challenger went limp, Curran had not landed a single punch. He was credited with but one strike in the fight, a kick to the body.</p> <p>“It feels great, man,” Curran (19-4) said after his sixth straight victory. “I didn’t get hit once in the face. I wanted to get in, get out, get back to the gym, rest up, and on to the next one.”</p> <p>That’s efficiency for you.</p> <p>The fight actually threatened to kill the momentum that the main card had built, with a pair of knockouts and a rock ’em, sock ’em bout that went to decision. Why? While both Curran and Shamhalaev have shown spectacular flashes in recent fights, they’re both counterpunchers. What that stylistic matchup produced was mostly a circle dance, with each man waiting for the other to initiate. The challenger got off a few shots — he was credited with landing six strikes — but did not find the opportunity to show off the explosiveness he’d used to knock out his last five opponents. For Shamhalaev (12-2-1), the loss ended a run of 11 straight bouts without a defeat.</p> <p>Earlier in the evening, another Russian featherweight fared better. Frodo Khasbulaev took a tight but unanimous decision from Mike Richman to capture the Season 8 tournament and earn a shot at Curran. He might have to wait a while, though, as Season 6 champ Daniel Strauss still hasn’t had the shot he earned. He was the champ’s original opponent for Thursday night, but a training injury put him on the shelf, replaced by Season 7 winner Shamhalaev. The tourneys come fast and furious in Bellator.</p> <p>So do the punches of Doug Marshall. He’s the other tournament winner, as his brutal first-round knockout of Brett Cooper propelled him to a shot at middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko. That should be an explosive one, as Marshall is a wildman and the champ is a finisher as well, with five KOs during his 10-fight win streak.</p> <p>It’s a risky proposition, though, thrusting Marshall into the spotlight, and not because of the Iron Cross tattoo on his chest. That symbol was used by the Nazis, yes, but it’s also been seen on surfer dudes, so we’ll draw no conclusion about “The Rhino” based upon his ink. However, his classlessness in victory — standing over a prone Cooper smugly, then saying he was trying to knock the guy’s beard off — was bush league. And Bellator surely would prefer to be seen as a major-league player in the sport. But a tournament is a tournament, and you let the chips fall where they may. Even if they might look like roadblocks.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><em><strong>–Jeff Wagenheim</strong></em></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Apr 05, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/04/05/pat-curran-retains-featherweight-belt-as-bellator-mma-takes-center-stage/#comments" title="Comment on Pat Curran retains featherweight belt as Bellator MMA takes center stage"><span data-lf-article-id="4854" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 2 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4766"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/03/21/commission-to-reevaluate-nevadas-drug-testing-policy/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Commission to reevaluate Nevada’s drug testing policy for fighters">Commission to reevaluate Nevada’s drug testing policy for fighters</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/boxing/">Boxing</a>, <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/03/21/commission-to-reevaluate-nevadas-drug-testing-policy/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/03/21/commission-to-reevaluate-nevadas-drug-testing-policy/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4768" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><img class="size-full wp-image-4768" alt="Lavar Johnson tested positive for elevated testosterone levels after his UFC 157 fight. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/lavar-johnson.jpg?w=600&h=400" width="600" height="400"/><p class="wp-caption-text">Lavar Johnson tested positive for elevated testosterone levels after his UFC 157 fight. (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)</p></div> <p>The Nevada State Athletic Commission Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel is reevaluating the state’s drug testing policy which allows athletes a testosterone-to-<b> </b>epitestosterone<b> </b>level of 6-to-1, compared with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s allowable limit of 4:1.</p> <p>The panel made recommendations Thursday to begin researching the baseline testosterone-to-<b> </b>epitestosterone levels of combat sports participants, including boxers, mixed martial artists, and kickboxers. The panel recommended anonymously testing a collection of past samples taken from athletes competing in Nevada to develop a profile of hormone levels specific to fighters. The idea, says Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Keith Kizer, is to gather data specific to the average fighter rather than the population at large.</p> <p>If the commission is not able to test the samples collective from previous fights, the panel suggested using samples from future fights to create the baseline.</p> <p>The information could be the first step in lowering Nevada’s allowable levels, which are higher than those permitted in Olympic sports and by Major League Baseball.</p> <p>The advisory panel will meet in late April to begin discussing its marijuana policies. All recommendations by the panel are just that — recommendations — and require adoption by the full Nevada State Athletic Commission.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><em><strong>– Melissa Segura</strong></em></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Mar 21, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/03/21/commission-to-reevaluate-nevadas-drug-testing-policy/#respond" title="Comment on Commission to reevaluate Nevada’s drug testing policy for fighters"><span data-lf-article-id="4766" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4449"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/02/06/ufc-suspends-thiago-tavares-for-failed-drug-test-reveals-vitor-belforts-use-of-trt/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to UFC suspends Thiago Tavares for failed drug test, reveals Vitor Belfort’s use of TRT">UFC suspends Thiago Tavares for failed drug test, reveals Vitor Belfort’s use of TRT</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/02/06/ufc-suspends-thiago-tavares-for-failed-drug-test-reveals-vitor-belforts-use-of-trt/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/02/06/ufc-suspends-thiago-tavares-for-failed-drug-test-reveals-vitor-belforts-use-of-trt/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4452" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 225px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/thiago-tavares-t2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-4452 " alt="Thiago Tavares has been suspended 9 months after failing a drug test. (AP)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/thiago-tavares-t2.jpg?w=215&h=300" width="215" height="300"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Thiago Tavares has been suspended 9 months after failing a drug test. (AP)</p></div> <p>It was Friday evening, a little over 24 hours before a featherweight championship bout in Las Vegas that the UFC was hyping as a superfight. But the chatter in the various online meeting places of mixed martial arts fans was about a different fight, one that took place nearly two weeks earlier and 6,000 miles away.</p> <p>The circulating rumor that Vitor Belfort had failed a drug test following a Jan. 19 victory eventually reached Michael Bisping, who had a vested interest in the matter because he was Belfort’s opponent in that middleweight bout in Sao Paolo, Brazil. In fact, had Bisping won that night, he’d have earned a shot at the division’s champion, Anderson Silva. But the Brit had his hopes doused and his senses scrambled by a second-round head kick that led to a Belfort TKO.</p> <p>Now Bisping was wondering if he’d been in a fair fight. “About a certain someone who I fought recently failing his drug test,” he wrote on Twitter. “I hope it’s not true.”</p> <p>Well, it’s not.</p> <p>UFC president Dana White insisted over the weekend that while there had been an “irregular” test result, it did not involve Belfort. And on Wednesday the fight promotion issued a press release announcing that the failed drug test belonged to lightweight Thiago Tavares, whose results showed the presence of the anabolic steroid Drostanolone. The substance did not exactly enhance the 28-year-old Brazilian’s performance, as he was knocked out in less than two minutes by Khabib Nurmagomedov. Tavares was handed a nine-month suspension by the UFC, which assisted the new Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA, or Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission, in overseeing regulatory aspects of the event.</p> <p>However, that’s not the end of the story. In the same press release, the UFC revealed that Belfort competed while undergoing an approved regimen of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Vitor has been evasive whenever questions about TRT have been raised. And when he met with reporters prior to Saturday night’s fights in Las Vegas, and Bisping’s accusatory tweet was mentioned, the 37-year-old implied that what you see is all natural. “I think people get jealous,” he said with a smile, “when a guy at my age is destroying these people getting title shots.”</p> <p>Jealous, perhaps, or maybe just uncomfortable. Belfort has broken no rules. Neither has Chael Sonnen, Dan Henderson, Quinton Jackson, Frank Mir or anyone on the growing list of MMA fighters who’ve received athletic commission exemptions to use TRT to maintain their testosterone levels. But make no mistake: Legal or not, that’s a performance enhancing substance, allowing an aging veteran to punch and kick like a younger man. And when you see a KO like the one Belfort put on Bisping, you’ve got to wonder when this sport will take a stand. What’s at risk in MMA, after all, is much greater than in other sports. The worst thing a baseball player on a PED can do is wreck some pitcher’s ERA. An enhanced fighter poses a far scarier threat.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><b><i>—Jeff Wagenheim</i></b></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Feb 06, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/02/06/ufc-suspends-thiago-tavares-for-failed-drug-test-reveals-vitor-belforts-use-of-trt/#comments" title="Comment on UFC suspends Thiago Tavares for failed drug test, reveals Vitor Belfort’s use of TRT"><span data-lf-article-id="4449" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 5 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-4288"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/01/15/quinton-rampage-jackson-accuses-the-ufc-of-mistreatment/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson accuses the UFC of mistreatment">Quinton “Rampage” Jackson accuses the UFC of mistreatment</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/01/15/quinton-rampage-jackson-accuses-the-ufc-of-mistreatment/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2013/01/15/quinton-rampage-jackson-accuses-the-ufc-of-mistreatment/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_4290" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 241px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/quinton-jackson-t2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-4290" alt="Quinton Jackson will leave the UFC after his fight on Jan. 26. (AP)" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/quinton-jackson-t2.jpg?w=231&h=300" width="231" height="300"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Quinton Jackson will leave the UFC after his fight on Jan. 26. (AP)</p></div> <p>Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is living up to his nickname by going on one, accusing the UFC of mistreating and underpaying fighter to denying him the ability to wear Reebok products in the cage.</p> <p>Jackson (32-10) will be leaving the UFC after his Jan. 26 matchup with Glover Teixeira and he isn’t going quietly. In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Jackson said, “[The UFC] offered to renegotiate the contract but I didn’t want to. I don’t want to renegotiate with them. I think the UFC don’t know how to treat their athletes, in my opinion. The fighters, I feel like we do a lot for this sport and I just feel like we’re not taken care of. I feel like they’re getting rich off of us. We’re all having surgeries and stuff like that. Some of these guys can’t even afford to pay sparing partners. Some guys fight for $10,000 or $20,000. That ain’t right, man. . . I want to go somewhere they take care of their fighters and treat us like human beings.”</p> <p>He says money isn’t the only reason behind his departure.</p> <p>“It’s not just about money, it’s about respect,” he says.</p> <p>The former UFC light heavyweight champion claims the UFC prohibits him from wearing gear from his sponsor, Reebok.</p> <p>“Other fighters are sponsored by Nike and stuff, so why can’t I wear Reebok,” he asked.</p> <p>Heavyweight Junior dos Santos, for example, donned Nike apparel into the cage for his UFC 155 rematch with Cain Velasquez last month.</p> <p>“We work with apparel companies from all over the world through our approved partnership program,” a UFC spokesperson said. ”We’ve not yet been approached by Reebok on behalf of Rampage, but welcome the conversation. We do everything we can to support our athletes getting these types of sponsorships and will continue to do so moving forward.”</p> <p>Jackson, 34, says his experience with the premier mixed martial arts promotion “turned me into a very negative person. I just want to be a positive person. I got to get rid of all the negativity in my life. . . No matter what the outcome is on Jan. 26, I’m going to be happy for everything. . . I’ve trained to destroy him, and then leave the UFC to leave on a positive note and let the UFC be my past.”</p> <p>He didn’t mention any specifics for his future but suggested the possibility of working more in the film industry [he’s appeared in the movie The A-Team and has two films in post-production] and, perhaps, a professional boxing stint.</p> <p>“There’s nothing going on right now. I’m just concentrating on this fight. This fight is very important for me. I’ve put my time in. I did my thing. . . Maybe I want to try some boxing. . . I’ve done, jujitsu tournaments, wrestling tournaments, kickboxing fights but I’ve never been a boxer.”</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><strong>- Melissa Segura</strong></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Jan 15, 2013</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2013/01/15/quinton-rampage-jackson-accuses-the-ufc-of-mistreatment/#comments" title="Comment on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson accuses the UFC of mistreatment"><span data-lf-article-id="4288" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 8 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-3344"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/09/24/deja-vu-for-zuffa-with-melendez-hurt-strikeforce-cancels-saturdays-fights/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Déjà vu for Zuffa: With Melendez hurt, Strikeforce cancels Saturday’s fights">Déjà vu for Zuffa: With Melendez hurt, Strikeforce cancels Saturday’s fights</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/09/24/deja-vu-for-zuffa-with-melendez-hurt-strikeforce-cancels-saturdays-fights/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/09/24/deja-vu-for-zuffa-with-melendez-hurt-strikeforce-cancels-saturdays-fights/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_3351" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 308px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/melendez1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-3351" title="melendez" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/melendez1.jpg?w=298&h=400" alt="Gilbert Melendez" width="298" height="400"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">With headliner Gilbert Melendez suffering an injury in training, Showtime elected not to air Saturday’s Strikeforce card. (Mike Roach/Getty Images)</p></div> <p>The first 11 years of Zuffa’s involvement in the mixed martial arts business: zero fight card cancellations. The last four weeks: two events nixed.</p> <p>Strikeforce has called off this Saturday’s event scheduled for Sacramento, Calif., after headliner Gilbert Melendez, who was to defend his lightweight championship against Pat Healy, was injured in training last week. The announcement came with the UFC still feeling the aftershocks of its first cancellation in over a decade under Zuffa, which purchased Strikeforce a year and a half ago.</p> <p>Whereas UFC 151 fell apart last month after light heavyweight challenger Dan Henderson pulled out with an injury and champion Jon Jones declined to face a replacement opponent on nine days’ notice, Strikeforce had no such fallback possibility for salvaging its title fight, with the champ being the one injured.</p> <p>The event was to be televised on Showtime, but according to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, when the cable outlet learned that the star of the show was off the marquee, it opted not to air the evening of fights. “Without a television partner,” Coker said in a statement issued late Sunday night, “we simply could not move forward with this event.”</p> <p>Showtime Sports issued a statement Monday evening: “On Friday night Strikeforce informed us that lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez had sustained an injury and would not be able to compete in their Saturday, Sept. 29, card. Without our headline fighter and main event or a marquee undercard, we reluctantly informed Strikeforce that we could not continue with plans for the telecast.”</p> <p>On its face, Showtime’s decision signals nothing other than dissatisfaction with one event’s diminished ratings potential. But the cable executives’ disenchantment could very well run deeper. Since buying Strikeforce, Zuffa has stripped the fight promotion of most of its best fighters, moving Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem to the UFC. Other than Melendez, who is among the top 155-pounders in the world, and a women’s division featuring the star power of Ronda Rousey, the only premium cable-worthy attraction left might be Daniel Cormier, winner of the recent Heavyweight Grand Prix. But he, too, will move to the UFC after one more Strikeforce appearance.</p> <p>Curiously, the two-time Olympic wrestler’s scheduled Nov. 3 fight is nowhere to be seen on the Showtime Sports website, which touts boxing matches slated as far forward as December. Of course, it’s a bit awkward to promote a fight between Daniel Cormier and Mr. TBA. Frank Mir was to come over from the UFC for the fight, but the two-time heavyweight champ was injured last week, and a replacement has yet to be named. The fight is less than six weeks away, and Strikeforce and Showtime need a plan. The same could be said for the two organizations’ big-picture partnership.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"> <strong>–Jeff Wagenheim</strong></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Sep 24, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/09/24/deja-vu-for-zuffa-with-melendez-hurt-strikeforce-cancels-saturdays-fights/#comments" title="Comment on Déjà vu for Zuffa: With Melendez hurt, Strikeforce cancels Saturday’s fights"><span data-lf-article-id="3344" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Read 2 Comments</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div class="post-wrap"> <div class="post-top"></div> <div class="post" id="post-2902"> <h1><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Chris Weidman makes a statement with elbows, words at UFC on Fuel TV 4">Chris Weidman makes a statement with elbows, words at UFC on Fuel TV 4</a></h1> <div class="category"> <a href="/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/category/mma/">MMA</a> | <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/#comment"><span class="js-kit-comments-count" exclude-sources="Twitter" include-sources="Comments" uniq="/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/"></span> Comments </a> </div> <div class="entry"> <div id="cnnSCFontButtons"> <div id="cnnSCFontLabel"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize.gif"/></div> <div id="cnnSCFontMinusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('default'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_d.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_minus_l.gif" alt="Decrease font" title="Decrease font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"></div> <div id="cnnSCFontPlusBtn" onclick="setActiveStyleSheet2('LargeFont'); return false;"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_d.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnIncreaseFont"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/.element/img/4.0/story/textsize_plus_l.gif" alt="Enlarge font" title="Enlarge font" class="cnnDecreaseFont"></div> </div> <div id="attachment_2904" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/chris-weidman.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2904 " title="chris-weidman" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603im_/http://sicounterpunch.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/chris-weidman.jpg?w=300&h=461" alt="" width="300" height="461"/></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Chris Weidman (above) derailed Mark Munoz’s hopes for a title shot against Anderson Silva on Wednesday night in San Jose, Calif. (Ezra Shaw/Zuffa LLC)</p></div> <p><del></del>Nice 1-2 punch by Chris Weidman.</p> <p>The “1” was not actually a punch but an elbow, which connected to the head of Mark Muñoz and crumbled him in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 4 on Wednesday night in San Jose, Calif. What a knockout blow. It knocked Muñoz out of the fight (at 1:37 of the second round, after Weidman had followed his fallen opponent to the mat and unleashed a finishing flurry that really wasn’t needed), out of the No. 1 contender position in the middleweight division and out of a presumed matchup with champion Anderson Silva.</p> <p>That brings us to the “2,” which also was not a punch. It was a verbal challenge. “I want Anderson Silva,” Weidman (9-0) said afterward in the cage. “Every single time I’ve had a full training camp, I’ve gotten a finish. Give me a full training camp, and I’d love a shot at the man.”</p> <p>Talk about seizing the moment. Weidman seized Muñoz’s — Mark was expected to be next in line for Silva, since he had been slated for a No. 1 contender’s showdown with Chael Sonnen back in January before injuring an elbow — and then the unbeaten New Yorker seized his own with the respectful but no-nonsense challenge.</p> <p>It wasn’t merely the victory that allowed Weidman to step to the front of the line. It was the way he won. He came into this fight as an underdog — although no one with any sense was counting him out because, well, we’d never seen him lose. But the thinking was that the title shot was Muñoz’s for the taking, and if he didn’t snatch it up, then guys like Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher would lay claim to it. But Bisping is coming off a loss and Belcher is no more high-profile a fighter than Weidman, and he doesn’t have the kind of signature win that Weidman authored on Wednesday night.</p> <p>How’d it happen? Once again, we were taught the enduring lesson of the octagon: Wrestling is different from MMA wrestling. Weidman was an All-American at Hofstra but his singlet credentials don’t measure up to those of Muñoz, who was the 2001 NCAA Division I champion at 197 pounds. On those wrestling mats, however, you can go for a takedown without worrying about a punch, knee or kick to the face. And it was within that context that Weidman seized control, getting a takedown in the bout’s first minute, then threatening Muñoz with submissions and punishing him with fists while the fighters were on the ground. Weidman also began the second round with a quick takedown. And when Muñoz got the fight back to standing and tried to change the momentum with a looping overhand right, Weidman was quicker to the punch. I mean, the elbow.</p> <p>It was Weidman’s moment to shine. And to think about the shiny brass-and-leather belt that’s long been in the possession of Anderson Silva. “My takedowns are pretty good,” he said. “I’ll get him down, and I think, I really do believe, that I can submit him.”</p> <p>That’s the kind of confidence you can pull off convincingly when you’ve never lost.</p> <p style="text-align:right;"><strong>–Jeff Wagenheim</strong></p> <div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled sd-sharing-enabled"></div> <br/> </div> </div> <div class="post-bottom"> <li>Published On <span>Jul 12, 2012</span></li> <li id="right"><span><div><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130429000603/http://mma-boxing.si.com/2012/07/12/chris-weidman-makes-a-statement-with-elbows-words-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-4/#respond" title="Comment on Chris Weidman makes a statement with elbows, words at UFC on Fuel TV 4"><span data-lf-article-id="2902" data-lf-site-id="308691" class="livefyre-commentcount">Add A Comment</span></a></div></span></li> </div> </div> <div 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