(What do Mr. Glass and Dave Terrell have in common? Read on…)

Remember how Dave Terrell was going to be the next big thing in the UFC’s middleweight bracket? Well, happy days are gone according to GracieFighter.com. Terrell has been released by Dana’s organization.

Terrell went 2-1 in the UFC and got off to a great start – a quick KO of Matt Lindland at UFC 49. He was then sidelined for a while because of various injuries before a TKO loss to Evan Tanner and a ho-hum submission win over Scott Smith. But that last fight was almost two years ago. It’s now apparent that Terrell is made of glass because he kept getting injured and had to pull out of three fights – one due to a sinus infection, two to assorted injuries.

It looks like the Cesar Gracie-trained and BJJ black belt fighter will continue battling elsewhere and hopes to get a better contract next time out.

Plagued by injuries and unhappy with the financial terms of his bout agreements, Terrell sat out the remainder of his contract. Now focused on getting his career back on track, Terrell will be looking to signing and fighting with another organization.

5oz of Pain is making a case for Terrell heading to EliteXC. Nick Diaz and Jake Shields – Terrell’s teammates – fight for EliteXC already and could pull him over. Although that “unhappy with the financial terms” thing might get even worse with that organization unless he’s headlining events – which will be hard to do if he continues his injurious ways.

(Don’t ask.)

When he’s not hosting Inside MMA, pushing papers in the IFL’s front-office, training Kimbo Slice, or throwing pepper in people’s eyes, the tireless Bas Rutten regularly posts messages in the forum section of his official website, basrutten.tv. Yesterday, he wrote a long missive responding to claims that Kimbo’s massive, shiny beard unfairly absorbs the force of his opponents’ punches. An excerpt:

I wish that we had to do the Nat Geo episode MMA science again. We cut of a bunch of hair of Kimbo’s beard and glue it on the head of the crash test dummy (you must see by now that if you “picture this” that it really is unbelievably dumb right?) than let Tito elbow, and me hit the head, measure the impact, take the hair of and do it again. Do you really think that will be making a difference? If you think that, you probably also think that Superman is real (his hair is really strong), because that’s where it probably comes from, people who think that comics are real.

This is a beard from hair for crying out loud. If you believe this than you have to believe also that Kimbo has also less speed because the beard is not aerodynamic and will slow his head movement down, so that will make up for the impact absorbing BS, hahaha, man, they should glue some hair on air bags, people now will survive the crash because the one layer of beard took the impact away…

But, if you want to be right, OK, there will be of course a miniscule difference, if they have the equipment to measure such small differences on such great impact, I think it will be about the same as hitting something, than put a plastic bag over it and hit it again.

Rutten also addresses some of the racist bullshit that he’s encountered as Kimbo’s trainer, and we recommend reading the entire thread. Or, you could go to the forum main page where die-hard fans of El Guapo wonder which animals he’d be able to kill in a cage match and how to mend a broken heart.

Though he wasn’t the one who did the actual stomping of Wanderlei Silva’s head during the infamous PRIDE 31 Chute Boxe/Hammer House riot, Phil Baroni did jump into the ring to defend Mark Coleman against the attacking Brazilians, and Wanderlei seemed to feel that the New York Bad Ass was equally to blame for his rough treatment. The must-see video below shows Mark Coleman’s attempt at an apology after that show, which was not well received.

Fortunately, Silva seems to have buried with hatchet with Baroni, as the two are now training partners at Xtreme Couture. According to Xtreme Couture’s official blog, Silva is focusing on improving his wrestling and dealing with the limitations of the cage in preparation for his next fight:

Despite physically training here for the Chuck fight, Wanderlei didn’t train with our team outside of sparring with Shawn Tompkins. Instead he worked with his personal trainers. Wanderlei tells us that when he went to rope a dope Chuck in the first round of their fight he realized he couldn’t bounce of the cage and counter Chuck the way he could coming off the ropes in the PRIDE ring.

Training partner Phil Baroni says Wanderlei is already picking up some of Randy’s tricks after the first session. “He feels strong. He’s open minded and willing to learn. He picks things up fast.” The New York Bad Ass adds, “Once he learns to use the cage and incorporate wrestling into his game he’ll be really tough to beat in the UFC. It’s an honor to train with Wanderlei. He’s a guy I’ve always tried to emulate and I look up to him.”

Is there anything more humiliating than being Wanderlei Silva and having Phil Baroni pat you on the head and say “You’re doing such a good job! You’re picking this up so fast!” Poor bastard.

Also, there’s this bombshell:

Randy says that he and Wanderlei will continue working up until Wand’s next fight. We’re not sure if we’re allowed to say who he is fighting next. But we’re told it will happen in May and it is someone who has fought Chuck. He and the rest of the UFC’s 205lb division had best be on notice…Wanderlei tells us he’d like to rack up a couple of wins and rematch Chuck on New Year’s.

Specifically, Keith Jardine had best be on notice.

(Brandon Vera drools all over Frank Mir.)

Hey, good morning.

The latest fight-booking news is that UFC heavyweights Brandon Vera and Fabricio Werdum will likely face each other at UFC 85, which is scheduled for June 7th at the O2 Arena in London. The paperwork hasn’t been signed yet, but the offers are officially out. This would be Vera’s first match after breaking his hand during a loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 77 in October, and Werdum’s follow-up to knocking out Gabriel Gonzaga last month at “Rapid Fire.” At this point, we’d call the match for Vera, who will likely come out throwing fire in order to avoid a second-straight loss. Brock Lesnar is also rumored to be on the UFC 85 card, against a yet-unnamed opponent, who will probably be someone in the Eddie Sanchez/Antoni Hardonk range. Still, we wouldn’t rule out the UFC sacrificing Lesnar to a bigger name for a giant PPV payday — but then again, there aren’t many bigger names left in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

In other Octagon news, a twelfth fight has officially been added to UFC Ultimate Fight Night 13, which we’re pretty sure is unprecedented. To ensure that at least some fights on the card will be untelevised, the UFC has added a lightweight match between TUF 5 contestant Manny Gamburyan (who happens to be Karo Parisyan’s cousin) and Jeff Cox, who’s sole UFC fight was a submission loss to Gleison Tibau last June. This is the first UFN 13 matchup we’re like “meh” about, but hey, the more fights the better.

So we discovered that Moyses Gabin actually made a hot George Washington for beating Jirka Hiavati last Saturday during EliteXC’s “Street Certified”. That seems fair, considering that the main event fighters collected $301,000 – um, collectively. Pro Elite got an e-mail from EliteXC Head of Fighter Operations, Jeremy Lappen, regarding the matter:

“That fight was put together by a local promoter. “Gabin is paid a salary by the promoter who sponsored that bout.”

Outside promoter or not, Gabin got railed with no lube. Maybe he’s into that sort of thing…or maybe he was dying for something from the Wendy’s dollar menu. Either way, he notched a win, so it’s all good…kind of.

(“My wife can kick your ass!”)

We already know that Kim Couture, nineteenth wife of champion Randy Couture and VP of Xtreme Couture, will be in an amateur fight this weekend that will roll on HDNet. Her opponent has now been named – Allison Clarkson. And what will Kim do for an encore? Go pro in April!

While on Fight Network Radio, the hottie chatted about an upcoming Portland, Oregon event where she will battle Jessica Cruz – also making her professional debut – on April 5th. The fight will be promoted by real estate agent/fighter Chael Sonnen and the Full Contact Fighting Federation. Also, Kim has recently said she wants to fight on a card with her husband, so we’ll see how that shapes up – hopefully not as some lame tag-team promotion. She first started fighting as a stress-reliever, but apparently she’s good at it:

“I run all of the businesses, so it’s a good stress-reliever for me,” she said. “After a hard day’s work, it’s great to relieve some stress and punch something.”

Sure, why not — here’s Krazy Horse’s fight against K.J. Noons at EliteXC: Destiny (2/10/07), which we discussed earlier. It’s a leg-kick battle for a while, until the guys start throwing leather and Noons walks into a sledgehammer right hook. Entertaining as always, Bennett does his backflip thing a couple times after the knockout then leaves the cage before the cops can show up.

In this installment of our collaborative series with Break.com, a cockblocking collar-popped jagoff named Josh learns that face + grill ? fun. Watch, comment, and spread the love.

(The man on the ground is now EliteXC’s lightweight champion. The man in the air is now under a bridge selling oranges, possibly.)

Gary Shaw must have a boner for flying knee knockouts.

When EliteXC signed K.J. Noons, he was a pro boxer who was riding three-straight knockout victories in MMA matches for Icon Sport. His first fight for Elite in February ’07 resulted in a knockout loss to Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett, and he was relegated to a ShoXC card for his next match in July. Fortunately, he scored a dramatic flying-knee KO of Edson Berto in that fight, and despite having just seven pro MMA fights under his belt at that point he was given an immediate title shot in the 160-pound division against UFC vet Nick Diaz. Incredibly, that fight didn’t go so well for Diaz.

Now, it looks like Noons’s first title defense will be against Yves Edwards. And how did Edwards earn his shot? Coincidentally, with a hopping-knee knockout of Edson Berto, which must have tickled Gary Shaw something fearsome. To be honest, I kind of wish other fight organizations operated like EliteXC, where title shots don’t depend on a string of victories over top competition or marketability, but rather on who just pulled off the last ridiculous KO.

So yes, American Top Team confirmed today that Edwards will face Noons on April 26th in Hawaii for EliteXC’s 160-pound title. And not everybody’s happy about it. Nick Diaz called Noons out for ducking a rematch — according to Diaz, he just had surgery to fix his face, and that inconvenient blood-explosion thing won’t happen again — after which an insulted Noons responded with the following:

“First of all, I don’t dodge anybody. Whoever is the best, I want to fight them. As champion, you can decline who you want to fight. You only have one option as to who you’re going to fight, and that’s the best. Whoever the best is, that’s who I have to fight. In regard to a rematch with Nick, that would be a great pay day for me. Unfortunately, he’s not the best.”

Noons went on to express his desire for a rematch with Krazy Horse Bennett, which we’d love to see. And now, just for fun, here’s Yves Edwards’ acrobatic head-kick KO of Josh Thomson at UFC 49. I know we’ve discussed Steve Mazzagatti’s horrible reffing in the past, but this, I swear to you, is his worst performance of all time. Watch how he wanders into the frame like somebody’s lost grandfather after Edwards puts Thomson’s lights out, and slow-walks over to the fighters as Yves lands uninterrupted shots on Thomson’s face. It’s literally as if Mazzagatti forgot where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Amazingly awful.

(He can now afford to buy ten more of these hats.)

Hey, remember that EliteXC event last Saturday known as “Street Certified”? Well, dudes got paid for that – especially the main eventers. Kimbo earned $4,069 and change for every second of his fight, while Tank Abbott took home almost $3,000 for every second he was making like Kimbo’s punching bag. Not sure how he wrangled that sort of payday for going 1-8 since 1998, but guys like Jimmy Ambriz should be calling Tank’s manager. Also, being a getting KTFO specialist paid off for James Thompson — he grabbed $25,000 for going to sleep, while Brett Rogers earned just $4,000 for making that happen.

Antonio Silva did okay for himself, but had to go the distance to earn his $80k. However, if you’re not in the top 2-3 fights for an EliteXC show, it gets kinda shitty. Just ask Jirka Hlavaty. He got a sweet $500 for his losing effort. Don’t think that even covered his hotel room. (UPDATE: And Moyses Gabin earned just $1, not $1,000 as we reported earlier. We don’t know if that’s because Gary Shaw found out Gabin was banging Shaw’s wife or his daughter, but we’ll update you when we know for sure.)

The payday rundown:

Kimbo Slice – $175,000 ($125,000 to show, $50,000 to win)
Tank Abbott – $126,000

Antonio Silva – $80,000
Ricco Rodriguez – $20,000

(The foot of a champion.)

Though reports about Mark Coleman’s induction into the UFC’s Hall of Fame have been swirling for a month, the UFC officially confirmed it today — Coleman will get the honor at UFC 82, which takes place in his hometown of Columbus, OH. Coleman’s career highlights include winning the UFC’s first heavyweight title and stepping on Wanderlei Silva’s head during a melee after his fight with Mauricio Rua at PRIDE 31.

As for the next fighter to follow Coleman into the UFC’s Hall of Fame, Dana White was quoted in an ESPN.com article as saying that Tank Abbott “absolutely will be in our Hall of Fame” when he officially retires. White also called Tank’s fight with Kimbo Slice “a farce.” Man, does he love that word or what! Unrelated but awesome Tank Abbott quote from the ESPN article: “I was in really great shape. Don’t judge a book by looking at the cover. Just because I got blubber on me, that’s genetics basically, thanks to my mother.”

Roger Huerta may use his temporary hiatus from the UFC to try his hand at a movie career. Though he won’t be fighting in the Octagon again until September at the earliest, Huerta will reportedly stay busy by appearing as “Matador” in a film version of the video game series Tekken. According to IMDb, the movie begins production this month and is slated for release sometime next year. Check out the teaser trailer:

Now all they have to do is cast Kimbo Slice as Jeffry McWild in a movie version of Virtua Fighter, and we’ll be set…

(Props: MMAMania, CagePotato reader “Bill C”)

(“Hey, you know what would make you feel better? A delicious Rockstar Energy Drink.”)

— If Dan Henderson beats Anderson Silva at UFC 82, Wanderlei Silva would drop to middleweight to fight him. Hendo and Wandy have fought twice before in the PRIDE organization; Silva defeated Henderson by unanimous decision in December 2000, and Henderson knocked Silva out during a long-awaited rematch in February of last year.

— France is the latest European country to legalize MMA, and M-1 is looking to be the first promotion to hold an event there. Elbows, knees, and kicks on the ground will not be allowed in French MMA matches. Tapping out will be encouraged.

— Betting odds for Saturday’s Strikeforce at the Dome event have Bob Sapp as a -600 favorite, and Jan Nortje as a +450 underdog. Even though Nortje’s MMA stats have sucked, he’s done much better as a kickboxer. If you bet on fights, remember this: Sapp always has the capacity to lose.

— Chuck Liddell’s Iceman: My Fighting Life is #9 on the New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller list for the second week in a row.

— With great power comes a great big kick in the balls: That $325 million loan that Zuffa allegedly obtained through fraudulent means requires interest payments of approximately $23.9 million per year.

There, now don’t you feel smarter?

Rebecca Love is a model/actress and former WFA and WEC girl – and we wish she still was. And don’t confuse her with the porn star Rebecca Love…although we’d for sure support that career decision. In case you’re wondering, her stats are:

Height: 5’5′
Weight: 110
Chest: 34D
Waist: 24
Hips: 34
Dress: 1

Check out more pics of this MMA hottie – with the simplest and sexiest tattoo ever – after the jump.

The coroner’s report from GracieMag.com:

A little over two months since the death of Ryan Gracie, on December 15, the first toxicology report on the black belt’s death was released yesterday by the program Fantastico, on Brazilian television. According to the program, the document stated that Ryan’s death was not of natural causes. Listed in the report, therapeutic doses of the medicines midasolan, alprazolan, prometazina, clozapina, haloperidol and the fighter had already used intoxicating substances. Based on analysis of the report, the authorities will determine what caused Ryan Gracie’s death. Cardiorespiratory failure seems to be the most probable cause.

Interpreted: the Gracies’ personal psychiatrist killed Ryan when he visited him in the big house. R.I.P.

And let us take this opportunity to mention Kyra Gracie again.

(“…so after about five bong rips me and my bro Nestor are like we’re starving we need burgers so we roll out but first he has to stop at some chick’s house don’t ask me why takes him fucking forever I think it’s the sister of this other chick he used to smash a few months ago but finally we’re back on the road and just before we’re about to pull into the drive-through he’s like…”)

Aided, presumably, by the Fightlinker-led charge to make Ultimate Fight Night 13 a three-hour live broadcast, SpikeTV will reportedly do just that. According to MMAJunkie:

The UFC has made no official announcement, and Spike TV could not confirm the news, but a source close to the event exclusively told MMAjunkie.com that April 2’s UFC Fight Night 13 event will, in fact, run three hours…The MMA fanbase recently kicked off a letter-writing campaign to Spike TV executives asking that the broadcast run three hours rather than the usual two. UFC President Dana White recently stated that the decision was Spike TV’s — and Spike TV’s alone — to make, which prompted a campaign fueled by MMA blogs and message boards.

We know some of you took the time to send e-mails to Spike, so many thanks to you. In order to make sure there are enough matches to fill a three-hour broadcast, a bout between lightweights Nate Diaz and Kurt Pellegrino has been scheduled for the televised portion of the card; Diaz and Pellegrino last appeared at Ultimate Fight Night 12 in January, where they beat Alvin Robinson and Alberto Crane, respectively. This brings the number of fights on the card to a whopping 11. As of now, the card breaks down like this:

MAIN CARD
(lightweights) Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
(welterweights) Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves
(light heavyweights) Matt Hamill vs. Tim Boetsch
(light heavyweights) Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
(lightweights) Nate Diaz vs. Kurt Pellegrino

PRELIMINARY CARD
(lightweights) Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
(lightweights) Spencer Fisher vs. Marcus Aurelio
(lightweights) Din Thomas vs. Josh Neer
(lightweights) Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
(welterweights) George Sotiropoulos vs. Roman Mitichyan
(welterweights) Tommy Speer vs. Anthony Johnson

A revised official card should be released soon; we’ll keep you posted.

(Hey, if you say so buddy…)

Last week, we passed judgment on Settle Your Grudge, an ill-advised reality show that Rodrigo and Crosley Gracie are producing, in which two people involved in a feud get to settle it with some BJJ. Think People’s Court, except with the “due process and justice” replaced by “fighting.”

Well, it’s apparently not too lowbrow a concept for Tito Ortiz, who may be signed on as the “famous face” described in the original press release. MMAMania came across this posting on RealityWanted.com which lays out more gory details:

New TV Show Starring TITO ORTIZ is Looking For You!!!!

Do you have a beef with someone and tried everything to solve it but can’t? Did your best friend steal your girl?

Did your old roommate shaft you on your rent? Did you have a falling out with your best friend and have no way to solve it?

Also looking for competitive friends or friends with a problem they need to solve and the only way to do it is to fight it out!

UFC Champion Tito Ortiz is going to train you to battle out your problems in the Octagon!! We are looking for ALL SHAPES AND SIZES to walk into the ring and settle it once and for all!!!!

Both of you would need to come down and audition in our Hollywood studio, so you must live in Southern California!

Casting ASAP!

Can you feel the excitement?! It’s like they used a dartboard to determine how many exclamation points would go at the end of each sentence.

The posting reinforces what initially skeeved us out about the show’s concept to begin with — their attitude that when personal disputes get too heated, “the only way to [resolve them] is to fight it out!” It’s like they’ve never realized that losing a fight makes the average person more hostile afterwards, and winning a fight often makes the winner even more of a prick than he was in the first place. And if you’re answering an online ad to be on a reality show, chances are you were a huge prick in the first place.

By the way, we suggest you spend some time on RealityWanted.com, which seems to be the social networking site for the delusional, neurotic and fame-desperate. I mean, just look at some of the bullshit they need bodies for. Hello stardom!!!!

We caught a glimpse of him in today’s highlight reel, and some of you (justifiably) felt that he should have been included on this list — we’re speaking of course about Paulo César da Silva, a.k.a. Giant Silva, the 7’2″ mixed martial artist and pro wrestler who compiled a 2-6 record in PRIDE and K-1. In April 2006, he faced Ikuhisa Minowa at PRIDE Bushido; despite having a 17-inch height disadvantage, Minowa brilliantly somersaulted into a takedown and, unbelievably, controlled Silva on the ground until he could end the fight with knees to Silva’s body and head. When it comes to sad freak shows, this was one of the best…

Here’s some scoops for those nursing a post-President’s Day hangover.

— We’ve covered what we think would be dumb-ass fights for Kimbo Slice’s next war and what we think would be decent match-ups. Now the compass needle in the MMA universe seems to be pointing to Paul Buentello. The ex-UFC heavy – known as “The Headhunter” – has re-upped his challenge to Kimbo, as dictated to MMA Weekly.

“People want to see it. I think everybody wants to see it. Me and Kimbo should lace up the gloves. Everybody wants to see it and I think it’s time. He’s fighting all the guys I’ve already knocked out and I’ve already exposed. He needs to get off that buffet line I put out there and come over to my Paul Buentello taco shop and see if we can get to work.”

Buentello’s metaphors need some work, but it could be a fight worth parking your ass on the futon to see.

— Pro Elite is reporting that Muhsin Corbbrey has signed to fight Nick Diaz in an EliteXC match on April 26th in Honolulu. No confirmation on Diaz’s signing the agreement. Corbbrey is 6-2 and trains with Din Thomas and John Blanken. If this happens, it will be Exploding Eye Nick’s first battle since his TKO loss to K.J. Noons last November. That fight was also notable for Nick giving the crowd the finger after he was declared the loser.

— Not that we’re calling Babalu a liar or anything, but Lyoto Machida’s manger, Ed Soares, has confirmed that the UFC light heavy fight between Lyoto and “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Tito Ortiz will in fact happen on May 24th at UFC 84. The news comes via “The Lights Out Show” on TAGG – via MMA Junkie. Remember that Tito is saying that this is for sure his last fight with the ethically-challenged UFC.

(Emmanuel Yarborough probably won’t make the list.)

Attention, Potato Nation: We’re looking to put together a massive, ambitious feature on the greatest MMA fights of all time, and we need your help with the nominations. Now, what makes for a truly great fight? Well, if it’s…

…a non-stop war where two evenly matched fighters leave their hearts on the mat (see: Frye vs. Takayama, Griffin vs. Bonnar 1).

…a match where one fighter is getting his ass handed to him but comes back to steal a victory (see Minotauro Nogueira vs. Sapp, or Nogueira vs. a lot of people, for that matter).

…a fight that settles a genuine grudge or rivalry (see: Royce Gracie vs. Sakuraba 2, Liddell vs. Ortiz 1).

…the arrival of a new hero — or a new villain (see: Severn vs. Macias, Abbott vs. Matua).

…a fight that represented a changing of the guard (see: Hughes vs. Gracie, Ortiz vs. Shamrock III).

…a match that ends in Aleksander Emelianenko knocking out James Thompson (see: A. Emelianenko vs. Thompson).

If you think your all-time favorite fight should be included in the feature, tell us what it is and what made it so wicked awesome. Thanks, as always.

When Din Thomas was arrested for holding unlicensed amateur MMA matches in his gym, the world of the “smoker” was dragged out from the shadows. Though these unsanctioned fights are rarely policed, they’re generally illegal, which highlights a little-discussed challenge of being a mixed martial artist — how can you gain enough experience to turn pro if it’s impossible to compete as an amateur?

FIGHT! Magazine’s March issue hits newsstands today (pick it up at Borders, Barnes and Noble, or Walden Books), and it features an in-depth article on the history and legal status of smokers, and what’s being done to regulate amateur bouts. Check it out below, and let us know how you feel. Are you an amateur fighter struggling to find matches in your home state to build up experience? What special rules (if any) should be in place to protect fighters in amateur bouts? Should amateur fighters just man up, jump into the fire, and stop bitching about gaining experience before putting their records on the line? (Equally valid point-of-view, by the way.)

SMOKER
By Neal Taflinger

Someone broke the first rule of fight club, and Din Thomas wound up in jail. On October 31, 2007, in Port St. Lucie, Florida, police arrested Thomas, a 31-year-old Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran, for holding illegal cage fights in his St. Lucie West training center.

Two weeks earlier, police received an anonymous tip about a so-called fight club being held on October 19 at Thomas’ American Top Team gym. Police attended the event, a smoker featuring eight of Thomas’ students, fighting in front of friends and family. The officers filed a report stating that Thomas charged approximately 150 spectators $10 each for entry to the unsanctioned amateur event, and had no medical staff on hand.

Thomas’ arrest brought widespread attention to smokers – combat sports’ not-so-dirty, not-so-little, not-so-secret dirty little secret. Unfamiliar to many casual fans, smokers are a long-standing tradition in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts. These unsanctioned, often illegal fights are organized in gyms or private clubs to give young fighters experience in front of a crowd. Most smokers are held without incident, and often feature police officers as spectators or participants.

Professional prize fighting was illegal in many municipalities in the early to mid 20th century. Loopholes allowed for sparring between members of private clubs for exercise and entertainment, so promoters skirted the law by holding bouts in Eagle and Elk lodges, Knights of Columbus halls, and American Legion posts. Fighters and spectators simply joined the club and bought a ticket; authorities mostly looked the other way. These fights became known for the noxious cloud of tobacco smoke hanging over the crowd.

When Asian martial arts became popular in America after World War II, full-contact karate competitors continued the smoker tradition of their knuckle-bustin’ forebears. Over time, state lawmakers became comfortable with kickboxing, but the brutal elbows and knees of Muay Thai were considered beyond the pale. Until the sport was sanctioned, “guys did gym shows under the radar,” says famed kickboxer and trainer Jeff “Duke” Roufus.

States were hesitant to sanction no-holds-barred bouts in the early to mid-1990s, so cage fighters retreated to gyms, warehouses, pole barns, and discreet nightclubs to compete. Even now that the sport has established rigorous safety guidelines and unified rules, states are slow to legitimize it.

According to UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, 32 states regulate professional MMA and more are coming on board. But the sport is still illegal in some states and unregulated in others. Amateur matches are illegal in many more states, including some that allow pro bouts like California and Florida. These states host as many or more pro fights each year than Nevada does, but offer no structured opportunities to homegrown fighters looking for experience before taking on pro competition.

While Thomas says smokers are common in Florida, he never competed in them before turning pro, opting instead to compete in Japanese-style shoot fights. He believes that experience is essential and wants his own fighters to be tested in serious competition before jumping on pro cards. Thomas feels that the booming popularity of the sport has resulted in Florida’s professional undercards being filled with amateur quality fighters. “Guys who have no business fighting are ruining themselves early,” says Thomas, “They think they are ready to fight and they ain’t.”

Someone just mentioned it’s President’s Day – which is cool, I guess. So in honor of the day, here’s some news.

— The Dayton Daily News is confirming what we all suspected: That a light heavy fight between Keith Jardine and Wanderlei Silva at UFC 82 will not be happening. The show is set for March 1st in Columbus, Ohio. The rumors for this match were given more fuel when ads for UFC 82 shown on Versus during WEC 32 straight-up promised that Jardine was going to be there. An editing snafu is being blamed, but the fight could happen this year. The DDN is saying a source close to Jardine has confirmed the fight is in the works and could go down this summer – MMA Junkie is saying UFC 84 could be the card for this fight.

— Chuck Liddell believes he’ll smoke Mauricio “Shogun” Rua during their fight on June 7th. And “The Iceman” also believes he should be fighting Rampage for the title…like NOW. Chuck had this to say to Brawl Sports:

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported today that the preliminary estimate of pay-per-view buys for UFC 81 was a big, girthy 600,000. As Meltzer wrote:

That show was not going to do more than 325,000 buys with the Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira match and a semifinal of Nathan Marquardt v. Jeremy Horn. In fact, that would be an optimistic expectation. So if this holds up, Lesnar was worth $12.36 million in overall revenue.

Adam Swift of MMAPayout explains that the figure may put UFC 81 among the all-time top-five UFC shows in terms of gross buys, and thanks to the $45 price tag, #3 in revenue after Ortiz/Liddell and Ortiz/Shamrock III. As Swift points out, the final number is usually significantly higher than the early estimates.

Swift also calls into question the sustainability of Lesnar’s drawing power, and the show’s success in taking wrestling fans who were first-time UFC buyers and converting them into regular fans. We’re of the opinion that Lesnar’s wrestling fans will keep paying for UFC events whenever he’s on the card — and only those events — meaning that Lesnar’s appearances will continue to translate to a spike in UFC PPV buys, but not an overall bump of the average buyrate. But hey, we don’t need those yokels anyway.

So far, we’ve given away nine autographed copies of Chuck Liddell’s Iceman: My Fighting Life, and we’re going to put this thing to bed with one last caption contest. And here’s a curveball — Chuck’s not even in the pic this time. But I just came across this breathtaking photo of Josh Koscheck and GSP dressed to the nines and walking their dog, and the CagePotato reader who can provide the best caption in the comments section gets the last book. There will be no multiple winners this time, so bring your A-game, and feel free to enter more than once. The winner will be announced Friday, as is the custom.

(Photo props: Maxim)

Kimbo vs. Tank referee-cam video, courtesy of Sho.com

(The Fertittas: “Convicted criminals are people, too.”)

Props to BloodyElbow for spotting this Xyience piece recently posted by MMA Memories. We’ve been detailing the shitstorm created by UFC mega-sponsor Xyience when they filed for Chapter 11 a while back, including the Fertittas lawsuit against blogger/reporter Rich Bergeron for his “findings” and allegations against them – which basically means they’re worried. The aforementioned article throws some more light on the background of Xyience and founder Russell Pike – who you’ll recall was recently accused of death threats against the company’s managers and board members – thickening the Fertittas shady pot of shit.

Some of the backstory:

Russell Pike, who founded Xyience and oversaw its involvement with the UFC for some time, is a convicted felon, having pleaded guilty to grand theft and forgery in California in 1987 and of money laundering in 1999. Not only that, according to a “Desist and Refrain Order” filed by the California Department of Corporations in September of last year, pursuant to the sale of Xyience stock, Pike suffered a default judgment in a civil action filed against him by The Mirage, a hotel-casino licensed by the Nevada State Gaming Commission, when he allegedly wrote them $300,000 in bad checks over a two-day period in 1995.

And that is very interesting indeed, especially in light of the Fertittas’ recent lawsuit filing against Dream Stage Entertainment, the former owners of PRIDE, which the UFC purchased last year. In the complaint, the Fertittas allege that the rumored involvement of some of Dream Stage’s people with elements of the Japanese Yakuza “could have a detrimental effect upon the Purchasing Parties’ (the Fertittas’) affiliates’ gaming licenses (for the uninitiated, the Fertitta family controls Station Casinos Inc, which has about 17 properties in the United States).”

The obvious contradictions follow the pattern of stupidity exhibited now on an almost daily basis by the UFC’s execs. It’s been laced with “cloak-n-dagger” elements from the beginning, but this information makes it almost laughable. Bringing Pike and his prison-stripped ass into direct involvement with promotions is just asking for shit to rain down on you. The MMA Memories post suggests the gaming commission probe the many findings and ask the questions that must be answered by the Fertittas surrounding this whole mess. We tend to agree – but as much as we want the UFC bullshit to stop, this is also some serious illegal activity that could damage MMA promotions – which then filters down to the fans. I blame “The Man” and his stop-at-nothing greed.

Yves Edwards knocks out Edson Berto via one-legged hopping-knee with four seconds left in round one:

James Thompson adds to another fighter’s highlight reel with his predictable knockout loss to Brett Rogers:

Bonus: Kimbo Slice and Bas Rutten give their thoughts on the Tank fight and what might be next:

(Shocking.)

Four wild knockouts to one dull decision — not a bad ratio for Saturday’s EliteXC card. About 80 of you threw in predictions for how the “Street Certified” main event would turn out, and we’re pleased to announce a winner. On 2/15, at 2:37 pm, commenter “charles” said:

kimbo TKO in 42 sec

Sure, it was actually a KO, but the fight was called at 43 seconds, and that’s pretty damn close. So Charles, if you’re reading this, e-mail feedback@cagepotato.com with your address and we’ll send you a copy of Iceman: My Fighting Life, signed by Chuck Liddell himself. We’d also like to give special recognition to commenter “skeet,” who said “kimbo :37 tko kimbo will have him on the ground face down.” Psychic much?!?

Next order of business: Can we all agree that it’s time for Kimbo to face someone as good as he is? Not an old boxer, not a food-poisoned pussy, not a one-dimensional brawler 12 years past his prime, but a legitimate heavyweight with some talent? If there’s one thing that EliteXC proved on Saturday, it’s that its heavyweight division is at least as deep as the UFC’s — I know, not saying much — especially when you factor in Pro Elite sub-promotions like Cage Rage. I’m willing to accept that Antonio Silva had an off night (due to a possible pre-fight injury) and that he’s still a couple steps ahead of Kimbo as far as ability, but I would love to see how Kimbo would do against Ricco “Bacon Double-Cheeseburger” Rodriguez. Undefeated Brett Rogers, who knocked out James Thompson on Saturday, seems like he’d be the perfect guy for Kimbo to face if he wants to demand a little more respect. And at the end of the “Street Certified” broadcast, Mauro Ranallo and Stephen Quadros suggested that Kimbo could take on the winner of the Ken Shamrock/Robert “Buzz” Berry match at Cage Rage next month. Berry would be a great option — especially since he’s already called out Kimbo — but putting Kimbo against Shamrock’s legendary submission expertise (and willingness to take a beating) in just his fourth MMA bout might be asking too much.

Here’s what I’m afraid EliteXC might actually do: 1) Put Kimbo up against James Thompson so their franchise star can rack up at least one more guaranteed knockout before they start challenging him, or 2) Track down Sean Gannon so they can settle their grudge. As much as Kimbo might want to avenge his only loss as an “amateur,” the match-up just wouldn’t be competitive anymore, and wouldn’t do anything to prove that Kimbo should be taken seriously now.

One more thing: We went a perfect five-for-five in predicting the winners of “Street Certified”‘s main card, and called three of them perfectly (winner/round/method). Damn it feels good to be right once in a while…

(Would he also dominate at light heavyweight?)

—MMA News posted some quotes from Ed Suarez, the handler of superstar middleweight Anderson Silva and the UFC’s Interim Heavyweight Champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The statements were made on “The Lights Out Show”, broadcast by TAGG Radio. Suarez had this to say about Anderson Silva:

“We would consider going up in weight…I don’t think there’s a middleweight in the world that could beat him…You’d have a hard time having a light heavyweight in the world that could beat him.”

And about his heavyweight, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria, possibly fighting Fedor again:

“He (Fedor) hasn’t fought any top opponents over the past couple years…we would love to fight Fedor.”

[Note to Suarez: See Randy Couture's attempts to fight Fedor while contracted by the UFC.]

—Even more quotes were dropped recently, and if Renato “Babalu” Sobral is to be believed Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida won’t be battling afterall. The controversial fighter had this to say to Punch Drunk Gamer:

“I heard that Tito is not going to fight him anymore, so they are going to have to find another opponent for Machida. I got the news a couple of days ago that he was fighting someone else. I don’t know about Tito man……he is a celebrity. He makes a lot of money outside of fighting so I don’t know if he really wants to fight.”

—Chuck Liddell has confirmed he is officially signed to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on June 7th. Although the event details have not been officially announced by Dana & Co., the Iceman has pinpointed the date. The fight is expected to be the main event.