Must See: C.B. Dollaway Pwns Rampage

I wish I could embed this — but you’ll have to click the picture above to see a “leaked” clip from this Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, in which C.B. Dollaway playfully kicks Rampage during a training session, which spurs Rampage to take his pants off and challenge Dollaway to a submission grappling match. We’ll just say that he should have kept his pants on, and that Nick Klein is a dead man.

Speaking of The Ultimate Fighter 7, the undercard for the season finale (June 21st, live at 9 p.m. ET on SpikeTV) has been officially announced. Right now, the lineup looks like this:

Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove
Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti
[match between the show's two middleweight finalists]
Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens
Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett
Marvin Eastman vs. Drew McFedries
Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister
Matt Arroyo vs. TBA?
Rob Yundt vs. TBA?

Other bouts featuring the show’s castmembers are also expected to be included in the three-hour telecast. I’ll sell my third testicle if Dollaway isn’t involved.

Another must-see: Remember that thing about Kimbo Slice presenting at the CMAs on Sunday? Well, it was even more awkward and uncomfortable than we thought it would be. Vid is after the jump…click if you dare.

(more…)

EMAIL THIS ADD COMMENTS (18) DIGG THIS

IFL To Debut Fighting Surface of the Future (!!!)

(The inspiration for the IFL’s new ring design.)

This morning we got a spam e-mail from the IFL imploring us to buy presale tickets to “IFL Summer Throwdown,” which goes down August 15th at the IZOD Center in the Meadowlands, New Jersey. And just as we were about to hit the delete button, we saw this at the bottom:

The night will also feature the world debut of “The HEX,” the IFL’s brand new six-sided ring. This is the future fighting surface for all of MMA. To introduce this new era in fighting, the IFL Summer Throwdown fight card will present the most explosive Mixed Martial Arts action the East Coast has ever seen!

Ho. Lee. Shit.

Merriam-Webster defines “hex” as a “jinx” (in its noun form), or “to affect as if by an evil spell” (in its verb form), which is astoundingly appropriate considering how cursed the IFL is. This is their response to public disinterest? A six-sided ring!? As we saw last week, IFL CEO Jay Larkin believes that since MMA fans haven’t taken to their events, we all must be Affliction-wearing, Xyience-swilling jokers who care more about light shows and dancing girls than high-level mixed martial arts competition. (The rebuttal to that misguided viewpoint is long and complex, and is expressed in the analysis and comments in the original post.)

So, my first thought was wow, what an idiot. Doesn’t Larkin know that gimmicky ring surfaces are the tool of the desperate and creatively bereft? American MMA fans don’t respond well to the ring, so the answer is to give them a different, more fucked-up ring? Really?

But now I’m starting to think that the “HEX” is Larkin’s final “Kiss My Ass” to all of us.

(more…)

EMAIL THIS ADD COMMENTS (13) DIGG THIS

Mark Coleman Goes Berzerk

…backstage at PRIDE Total Elimination 2004, directly after being subbed by Fedor Emelianenko via armbar. Lovely bit of behind-the-scenes MMA history, with Kevin Randleman and Fedor making plans to drink some vodka at the end. Props to MMAScraps for the find. (Audio NSFW.)

EMAIL THIS ADD COMMENTS (13) DIGG THIS

Tonya Evinger Lesbian Party

I love me some Tonya Evinger — she’s like a cute, perpetually drunk version of Aileen Wuornos.

(Props: TonyaEvinger.ProElite.com via Fightlinker)

EMAIL THIS ADD COMMENTS (10) DIGG THIS

Patrick Smith Is a Sex Offender + Other Fun Facts!

(GIS result for “Bedlam.”)

— YAMMA veteran Patrick Smith had a little misunderstanding with a “child” (ugh) back in 1999. To learn which other MMA fighters might be living in your neighborhood, check out nsopr.gov.

— UFC 85 has been given the official title of “Bedlam.”

— Wacky middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller has been booked to fight Katsuyori Shibata at DREAM.3 (May 11th; Saitama, Japan). Shibata is a former pro wrestler whose 2-3 MMA record includes a loss to Kazushi Sakuraba and a win over a dude named Ice Man. DREAM.3 will also feature the quarterfinals of their lightweight grand prix. (Well, maybe.)

— The lineup of WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver (June 1st; Sacramento, CA) has been finalized. Besides the much-anticipated headlining bout, the main card also features Miguel Angel Torres defending his bantamweight belt against Yoshiro Maeda, and former WEC lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough taking on Kenneth Alexander.

EMAIL THIS ADD COMMENTS (5) DIGG THIS

CagePotato vs. Fightlinker: The Devil’s Wager

As mentioned on Saturday, I’ve agreed to put my dignity where my mouth is and accept Ryan Harkness of Fightlinker’s challenge to a UFC 84 pick-off. Whoever predicts “Ill Will” more accurately wins; the loser will have to do something unpleasant, of the winner’s choice.

Here’s the fun part: I need your help to determine the punishment that Ryan will endure in the very likely event that I win. Something practical perhaps, that helps promote CagePotato.com in the Great White North? Something that demonstrates the superiority of my beloved New York City to Mudville Montreal? The usual naked donkey riding? Shoot us your ideas in the comments section. Just remember, these guys have no shame, so you’ll have to be creative. If we use your suggestion, we’ll make it worth your while. All proceeds go to charity. (Just kidding!)

By the way, Ryan and I will be keeping score not just based on which fighter wins each matchup, but how and in what round those victories are achieved. So if God talks to you some time in the next couple weeks and mentions anything about UFC 84, let us know, m’kay?

UPDATE: Or, you could go here to toss in suggestions on what I would have to do in the event of a loss. Please be gentle.

(BG)

EMAIL THIS ADD COMMENTS (30) DIGG THIS

New ‘Gladiator’ Loses Shit, Beats Husband

(Erin Toughill, limbering up before a pill-induced rage.)

In a development that will set female American Gladiators back ten years, MMA fighter Erin Toughill — who will be appearing alongside Gina “Crush” Carano in the next season of the spandex-and-ball-cannon freak show — was slapped with a restraining order last week by her husband Clark Bevans, who also happens to be an MMA fighter. As TMZ reports:

[Bevans] claims Toughill went “insane” with jealously, and accused him of being “a pedophile, sociopath and homosexual.” Aside from allegedly beating him on several occasions, Bevans claims Toughill smashed the windshield of his RV. He also says Toughill “bodychecked, hockey style” a trainer at Gold’s Gym he had dated years before. … Bevans has filed for annulment. As for the restraining order, it was granted.

Sadly, that description only scratches the surface. Combing through the criminal report reveals the most amazingly batshit craziest bits. For example:

— “Over a twelve month period, during and after our marriage, Respondent obtained over nineteen (19) prescriptions for NORCO, a narcotic similar to “Oxycontin.”

— “We both came clean about dating other people during our separation…lmmediately after the “coming clean” session, Respondent went insane that I had dated others, despite the fact that she slept with two of my best friends and is currently engaged to a fellow marine friend of mine. Since then, Respondent tapped into my cell phone and has harassed, stalked and threatened most of the people that she found in my text messages (women). Said parties include my attorney, my hairdresser, my manager, various employees, a restaurant owner and her daughter and even the janitor at Gold’s Gym. She has even gone around and accused me of sleeping with my friend Andrew.”

— “On April 4, 2008…Respondent arrived at Shear Talent Hair Salon, barged in at 10:15 a.m. and yelled ‘Who’s Shelley Smith?’. Ms. Smith is my hairdresser. l had not seen her in over a year. A couple of days prior, via text message only, we confirmed a haircut appointment for me at 11:00 a.m. for the 4th. Respondent then yelled out - ‘Great, just wanted to see the bitch that was fucking my husband while we were married.’ [ed. note: LOFLZ!] When I arrived and learned all of this from Ms. Smith and others in the salon who were shaken up, I realized that once again, Respondent is accessing my T-Mobil account.”

Wait, it gets better…

(more…)

EMAIL THIS ADD COMMENTS (16) DIGG THIS