Dept. of Corrections: Kharitonov, Kimbo, and Riggs

(Joe Riggs won't be fighting tonight. Sucks, buddy. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

Yesterday, we passed along a Sherdog report that claimed Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva had agreed to face Sergei Kharitonov in an EliteXC heavyweight title fight. Awesome matchup, right? Unfortunately, EliteXC's Jared Shaw refutes it, telling FiveOuncesofPain “That fight is 100 percent not happening.”

When asked about whether an opponent was in place for Silva, Shaw indicated that one has been selected that is worthy of fighting for a title but that a deal was in the process of being finalized.

Worthy? Possibly. As worthy as Kharitonov? Probably not. But J. Shaw wasn't quite finished peeing on our parade. Regarding previous reports that Kimbo Slice was slated to face Brett Rogers in October, Shaw said “A fight could possibly take place between Kimbo and Rogers within the next 12 months,” but nothing was official yet. And as for rumors that Gary Shaw was on his way out of EliteXC, Jared denied those as well:

"I’m not gonna lie to you; the Tim Russert episode really struck a cord with Gary. He has an extensive travel schedule and is a workaholic much the way Tim was… And (the) truth is he’s getting up there in age. So Gary is at a point now where he just can’t keep up the constant back and forth to California from his home (in New Jersey). And so he’s just taking a step back in his life, not in the company (and) not being pushed. Just taking some time to be healthy and enjoy everything he’s built from the ground up. The creator rarely gets to smile at his artwork because he’s so busy making more."

Moving from EliteXC to Strikeforce, we mentioned yesterday that Joe Riggs had stepped in for Shonie Carter in a bout against Luke Stewart scheduled for tonight, despite having major back surgery just four months ago. Well, he's still on painkillers, and that's apparently a no-no. MMARated had the scoop:

According to Riggs' agent, Ken Pavia, Riggs was not cleared to fight because he took a prescribed percocet three days ago and while there was a chance it would not show up in a drug test his camp felt it was only right to tell the CSAC. According to Pavia, Riggs' camp was faced with a similar situation prior to his December 2006 fight against Diego Sanchez in San Diego where they informed the CSAC that he took a prescribed drug and nothing came of it. Same commission, different outcome this time around.

MMARated also claimed that Drew Fickett had been selected to replace Joe Riggs as Luke Stewart's opponent, at a catch-weight of 178, but that bit of news is being contradicted by TKO Xtreme, who report that a contractual obligation is blocking "The Master" from taking the fight, and Luke Stewart is still without an opponent:

For weeks now, Fickett has been slated to face Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford at MFC 17: Hostile Takeover on July 25, 2008 at the River Cree Casino and Resort in Edmonton, Alberta. With the bout being only a month away, it would make no sense for Mark Pavelich and his staff to allow Fickett to fight and risk injury.

Good lord, who can keep it all straight? I think I'm going to start my drinking a little early today...